YALE
UNIVERSITY LIBRARY

SINNER'S GUIDE:
IN TWO BOOKS.
BOOK I.
A FULL AND AMPLE EXHORTATION TO THE
PURSUIT OF VIRTUE;
WITH INSTRUCTIONS AND DIRECTIONS HOW TO BECOME VIRTUOUS.
BOOK II.
THE DOCTRINE OF VIRTUE ;
WITH NECESSARY INSTRUCTIONS AND ADVICE FOR MAKING
A MAN VIRTUOUS.

BY THE REV. F. LEWIS,
r *¦ '
OF GKANADA,
PROVINCIAL OF THE ORDEfl OF ST. DOMINICK, IN THE KINGDOM OF POETUQAL.

Srawslateij frum tjjc JSpatxisfr.

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PUBLISHED BY JAMES DUFFY,
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PREFACE.

Say to the just man, that it is well. Isa. iii. 10. This
is a message from God, delivered by the prophet Isaias, to
all the just ; it is the shortest in words, and the most
copious in bounty, that could have been sent. Men are
usually free in promising, but slow in performing ; God, on
the contrary, is so liberal and magnificent in performing,
that all the expressions of bis promises are infinitely short
of his actions. For what could be expressed shorter than
the aforesaid sentence, Say to the just man, that it is well.
Yet how comprehensive is this word well ! which I con
ceive was, therefore, not enlarged upon or distinguished,
that men might be sensible no words were sufficient fully
to express it, nor any distinction requisite to declare what
sort of blessings were comprehended under this word well,
which includes all that can be imagined. So that, when
Moses asked of God what name he bad, the answer was,
he that is, without adding any other word, to show that
his being was not limited and bounded, but that it compre
hended every being and perfection which belongs to the
said being, without mixture of imperfection ; so here he
delivered this short word well, without explaining it, to
signify that all the blessings the heart of man is capable of
desiring are contained under this promise God makes to the
just man in reward of his virtue, expressed by the single
monosyllable well.
2. This is the main subject I design, by the help of God,
to treat of in this book, adding such rules and instructions
as are proper to make a man virtuous. Accordingly, it
shall be divided into two principal parts. The first will
show how much it is our duty to follow virtue, and the in
estimable benefits and advantages we reap by so doing ;
the second shall treat of a virtuous life, and prescribe a
method and directions for attaining it. For there are two
things requisite towards making a man virtuous ; the one
is, that he really desire to be such ; the other, that he know
how to compass it. The first book shall answer the end of
the former of these two points; the second, the latter;

KEEFACE.

since, as Plutarch very well observes, " those who excite
us to virtue, and teach us not the way to it, are like those
that light a lamp, but put in no oil to feed the flame."
3. Though the second part be so necessary, yet the first
is much more absolutely so, for the light and law of nature,
born with us, teach us how to distinguish between good
and evil ; but there are great contradictions and impedi
ments proceeding from sin, both within and without man,
which obstruct his loving the one, and hating the other.
For man being composed of spirit and flesh, and each of
these naturally inclining to its likeness, the flesh seeks car
nal things, in which vice is predominant, and the spirit
spiritual things, in which virtue prevails. Thus the spirit
suffers much contradiction from the flesh, which regards
nothing but what is delightful, and whose desires and appe
tites are violent, since the guilt of original sin broke the
reins of original justice which served to curb them. Nor
is it the flesh alone that opposes the spirit, but the world,
which, as St. John says, is armed on all sides with vice ; as
also the devil, the mortal enemy of virtue ; and the ill
custom of habit, become a second nature, at least in those
that have been long in it ; and, therefore, it cannot be
denied to be a matter of great difficulty, and which requires
some assistance to break through all these obstacles and
contradictions, and to desire, sincerely and heartily, to be
virtuous, in spite of the flesh and all its confederates.
4. The design of the first of these two books is, to give
some assistance in this point; wherein I have used my
utmost endeavours to bring all the arguments this work
would admit of in behalf of virtue, showing the great
advantages that attend it, both in this life and in the next ;
as also how much we are obliged to pursue it, because God
requires it of us, to whom our duty is so great, as well
in regard to what he is in himself, as what he is to
wards us.
5. The motive I had to treat this subject was, that I
saw most men extol virtue and follow vice, and conceived
that among many other causes which produced this evil,
one was, that such persons did not understand the nature
and properties of virtue, looking upon it as harsh, barren,
and dull, and, therefore, believing vice to be more delight
ful, they give themselves wholly up to it, utterly casting
off virtue, which they suppose to be distasteful. Being,
therefore, concerned to see mankind thus deluded, I resolved

PKEEACE. V
to take the pains here to describe the inestimable worth,
amiableness, dignity, and beauty of this heavenly spouse,
and to make appear how little she is known, that this
might undeceive and induce them to fall in love with what
so well deserves it. For if it be true, that virtue is one of
the most excellent things in heaven, or on earth, and which
best merits love and esteem, it is a great misfortune that
man should so little know, and keep at such a distance
from this great good : and, therefore, he does the public
signal service, who endeavours to restore this lady to her
honour, and seat her on her royal throne, since she is
sovereign queen and mistress of all things.
6. Before I enter on it, I will shew by an example with
what attention this work is to be read. The heathens write
of their renowned Hercules, that being grown up to those
years when men use to choose what course of life they will
follow, he retired to a solitary place to consider seriously
upon this matter, where there occurred to him two distinct
methods of living, the one of virtue, the other of pleasure ;
and, after weighing both of them maturely, he at last re
solved to follow the way of virtue, and forsake that of de
light. If anything in this world requires good advice, and
a steady resolution, it is this same : for, if we so often make
reflection on those things which are for the benefit of life,
how much more application ought we to make for the bu
siness of life itself, especially since in the world there are
many guides and ways of living.
7. This it is, Christian reader, I would have you do, and
what I invite you to, viz. that laying aside, for a short time,
all the cares and business of the world, you withdraw your
self into this spiritual solitude, and diligently consider what
course of life you had best to steer. Remember that, among
all worldly concerns, there is none requires more solicitude,
and a longer study, than the choice of what life we are to
follow : for, if this be rightly instituted, all other things
will go right ; and, on the contrary, if this be mistaken,
everything else will go wrong. So that to be right or
wrong in other cases, concerns only particulars, this alone
is universal, and comprehends all. For, what can be built
upon an ill foundation ? What will all other prosperities
and prudential acts signify, if life itself be disorderly ? Or
what harm can all adversities and mistakes do, if life be duly
formed ? What is a man advantaged (says our Saviour), if he
gain the whole world, and lose himself, and cast away himself*

VI PBEFACE.
Luke, ix. 25 . So that there is not, under the sun, any business
of more moment to be treated than this ; nor is there any that
more nearly concerns man ; for it is not his honour or fortune
that lies at stake here, but the life of his soul and everlasting
bliss. Do not, therefore, read this cursorily, as you do other
things, turning over many leaves, and hastening to the end,
but sit down like a judge on the tribunal of your heart, and
give ear to these words, with silence and attention. This
is no business to be done with precipitation, but requires
much sedateness, as treating of the whole business of life,
and all that depends on it. Consider how nice you are in
examining worldly affairs, since you will not 8tand to the
judgment of one bench, but appeal to higher courts and
judges, that they may not miscarry. And since the matter
you have in hand does not concern earth but heaven, not
the things belonging to you, but your own soul ; remember
this is not to be treated negligently, as if you were half
asleep, but with much application. If hitherto you have
been in the wrong, reckon yourself now new born in the
world ; let us now call ourselves to an account, let us wipe
off all past miscarriages, and turn over a new leaf. Oh, that
you would now believe me, listen to me attentively, and,
like an upright judge, give sentence according to what shall
be alleged and made out ! How happy would your choice
be ! How fortunate my labour !
8. I am sensible my wish is very great, and no pen is
able to bring it to pass ; for which reason I here, in the
beginning, beseech him who is the virtue and wisdom of his
Father, and who has the keys of David, to open and shut
to whom he pleases, that he will be present with, and instil
himself into these words, and give them spirit and life, to
move such as shall read them. Yet, if I reap no other
fruit of my labour, but the satisfying my own desire, in
abundantly extolling so commendable a thing as virtue is,
which I have long coveted, I shall look upon this alone as
a sufficient reward for all my labours. I have endeavoured
in all this, as in all my other works, to suit myself to
all persons, either spiritual or carnal, that since the neces
sity and cause are universal, myjwriting may be so too. For
good men, by reading this book, will be more confirmed in
the love of virtue, and take deeper root in it ; and those
who are not so will, perhaps, discover how great losers they
are in deviating from it. According to this doctrine, good
parents may educate their children from their infancy, that

PEEFACE. Vll
from those tender years it may become habitual to them to
honour, worship, and follow virtue, for a virtuous child is
one of the greatest blessings a father can have.
9. This work may be also of great use to those whose
duty it is to instruct the people, and preach up virtue ; be
cause the principal motives and inducements, to oblige us
to embrace it, are here orderly set down, and whatsoever
has been written upon this subject maybe reduced to them
as to commonplaces. And as we here speak of the present
advantages of grace promised to virtue, specifying twelve
singular privileges it enjoys, and that it is most certain all
these riches and blessings were conferred on us through
Jesus Christ, therefore, this doctrine is very beneficial for
the better understanding those books of Holy Writ, which
particularly treat of the mysteries of Christ, and the ines
timable benefit of our redemption, such as the prophet
Isaias, the Canticles, and the like.

THE ARGUMENT.

1. This first book, Christian reader, contains an ample exhortation to virtue,
that is, to the keeping of God's commandments, wherein true virtue consists.
It is divided into three principal parts. The first is, a persuasive to virtue ; to this
purpose, making use of all those arguments holy authors, for the most part,
have brought upon this subject, which are, our infinite obligations to Almighty
God, as well in regard of what he is himself as what he is to us, on account of
his inestimable benefits, as also of what great consequence virtue itself is to us,
which is sufficiently expressed by the four last things relating to the end of man,
death, judgment, hell, and heaven, which is the subject of this first part.
2. The second is, to persuade the same thing, but by other arguments, viz. : —
the advantages of grace promised to virtue in this life ; and here are set down
twelve singular privileges belonging to it ; every one of which is particularly
discoursed of. Though holy authors sometimes briefly hint at these privileges,
speaking of the peace, inward light, true liberty, comfort of a good conscience,
and consolation of the Holy Ghost, enjoyed by the just, and the usual conco
mitants of virtue, yet I have not met with one that has handled this subject at
large, and in due order. This has caused me more laborious research, in select
ing and putting together all these matters out of several parts of the holy
Scriptures, giving them their proper names, placing them in order, and ex
pounding and supporting them with several other texts of Scripture, and of the
writings of the holy fathers ; which method was very requisite to be used, to the
end, that those who are not excited to the love of virtue, by the hope of blessings
to come, as believing them too remote, may at least be moved by the inestimable
value of the advantages which at present attend it.
3. But because it is not sufficient to adduce those arguments, that make for a
cause, without confuting those that may be alleged against it, therefore we have
formed the third part of this book, in which all the excuses vicious men plead
for avoiding virtue are answered and confuted.
4. Now, that the reader may not be confounded, he is to understand that this
first book answers to the first of The Memorial op a Chhistian Life, which, as
well as this, contains an exhortation to virtue ; but that there it is short, as
became a memorial, but is here very large, solidly handling this necessary and
noble subject, which is supported by all that has been piously written in the
world. The second book answers to the short Rule of Christian life we gave
there, which is here much dilated upon ; and because virtue is the object of
those books, the reader may observe, that by this word we do not only express
the habit of virtue, but the acts and duties to which this noble habit tends ; but
it is no new thing to call the effect by the name of the cause, and the cause by
that of the effect.

CONTENTS.

CHAP. BOOK I. pAol;i
I. — Of the first Motive that obliges us to Virtue and the Ser
vice of God, which is his Being, considered in itself, and
of the Excellency of his Divine Perfections, . . 13
II. — Of the second Motive that obliges us to Virtue and the
Service of God, which is the Benefit of our Creation, . 24
Section I. — Of another Part of this Motive that obliges
us to the Service of God, which is, that we are to
receive our Perfection from him, .... 28
III. — Of the third Motive that obliges us to serve God, which
is the Benefit of our Preservation and Direction, . .31
Section I. — From what hasTieen said is inferred, how
unworthy it is not to serve God, .... 35
IV. — Of the fourth Motive that obliges us to the Pursuit of Virtue,
which is, the inestimableJB£n£fit_of our Redemption, . 40
Section I. — We may gather from what has beenTiitherto
said, how grievous a thing it is to offend God, . . 46
V. — Of the fifth Motive that obliges us to Virtue, which is,
the Benefit of our Justification, . . . . . 50
Section I. — Of some of the Effects of Justification in the
Soul, . . . ".~ . . 50
Section II. — Of some other Effects that are wrought by
the Holy Ghost in the Soul of a Justified Man, and of
the Sacrament of the Eucharist, ... 58
VI. — Of the sixth Motive that obliges us to the Love of Virtue,
which is, the Benefit of_.Di-vine Predestination, . . 62
VII.' — Of the seventh Motive that obliges us to the Pursuit of Vir
tue, which is, Death, the first of the four last Things, . 67
VIII. — Of the eighth Motive that obliges us to the Pursuit of
Virtue, which is, the Last Judgment, the second of the
four last Things, . . .78
IX  Of the ninth Motive that obliges us to Virtue, which is,
Heaven, the third of the four last Things, ... 86
X. — Of the tenth Motive that obliges us to the Love of Virtue,
which is the fourth of the four last Things, that is, the
Pains of Hell,  .97
Section I. — Of the Duration of these Torments, . . 107
PART THE SECOND.
I. — Of the eleventh Motive that obliges us to the Pursuit of
Virtue, which is, the inestimable Advantages promised
it in this Life, . . . . . . ¦ .111
Section I.— Gospel Authority for what has been said, . 117
II. — Of the twelfth Motive that obliges us to the Pursuit of
Virtue, which is, the particular Care the Divine Provi
dence, takes of the Good, in order to make them happy,
and the Security with which the same Providence
punishes the Wicked. The first Privilege, . 121
Section I. — Of the Titles given to Almighty God in Holy
Writ, on account of his Providence, .... 125
Section II. — What Providence God uses towards the
Wicked in Punishment of.their Sins, .... 130

CONTENTS. PAGE.
III.— Of the second Privilege of Virtue, that is, the Grace of the
Holy Ghost bestowed upon virtuous Men, . . _ • 134
IV.— Of the third Privilege of Virtue, viz. : Supernatural Light
and Knowledge,  ¦ • 13'
V.— Of the fourth Privilege of Virtue, that is, the Consolations
which good Men receive from the Holy Ghost, . . 146
Section I. — It is particularly in Prayer that the Virtuous
enjoy these Divine Consolations,  1S2
Section II.— Of the Comforts they enjoy who begin to
serve God,  1!>5
VI.— Of the fifth Privilege of Virtue, viz. : the Peace of Con
science which the Just enjoy, and of the inward Remorse
that torments the Wicked,  159
Section I. — Of the Peace of Conscience which the Virtuous
enjoy, ......... 164
VII. — Of the sixth Privilege of Virtue, viz. : the Hopes the Just
have in God's Mercy, and of the vain Confidence of the
Wicked  168
Section I. — Of the vain Hopes of the Wicked, . . .173
VIII. — Of the seventh Privilege of Virtue, viz. : the true Liberty
which the virtuous enjoy, and of the miserable and un
accountable Slavery the Wicked live in, . . 178
Section I. — Of the Slavery of the Wicked, . . 179
Section II.— Of the Slavery of the Wicked, . . .184
Section III. — Of the Liberty virtuous Men enjoy, . . 190
Section IV. — Of the Causes whence this Liberty proceeds, 192
IX. — Of the eighth Privilege of Virtue, viz. : the inward Peace
and Calm the Virtuous enjoy, and of the miserable Rest
lessness and Disturbance the Wicked feel within them
selves,  197
Section I. — Of the inward Restlessness and Disquiet of the
Wicked,  198
Section II. — Of the inward Peace and Satisfaction good
Men enjoy,  204
X. — Of the ninth Privilege of Virtue, viz., that God hears the
Prayers of the Just, and rejects those of the Wicked, . 209
XI. — Of the tenth Privilege of Virtue, which is, the Assistance
good Men receive from God in their Afflictions ; and of
the Impatience, on the contrary, with which the Wicked
suffer their's, ........ 215
Section I. — Of the Impatience and Rage of the Wicked in
their Afflictions, ........ 221
XII. — The eleventh Privilege of Virtue, which consists in the Care
God takes to supply the temporal Necessities of the Just, 224
Section I. — Of the Poverty of the Wicked, . . .228
XIII. — The twelfth Privilege of Virtue, which is, the Quiet and
Happy Death of the Virtuous ; and, on the contrary, the
deplorable End of the Wicked,  231
Section 1.— Of the Death of the Just, . . . .235
Section II. — The foregoing Section proved by some Ex
amples,  238
Section III. — The Conclusion of the Second Part, . . 245
PART THE THIKD.
I. — Against the first Excuse of those who defer changing then-
Lives and advancing in Virtue, till another Time, , . 249

CONTENTS. XI
CHAP. PAGE.
II. — Against those Persons who defer their Penance to the Hour
of Death, . . . . . . . ".' ' " . 261
.. Section I. — The Opinions of the ancient Fathers concern
ing Death-bed Repentance, ...... 262
Section II. — The Opinions of the Schoolmen on the same
Matter,  266
Section III. — The same Thing proved by the Authority of
the Holy Scripture,  271
Section IV. — Some Objections answered, . . . 273
III. — Against those who continue in their Sins, confiding in the
Mercy of God,  278
Section I  Of the Effects of the Divine Justice mentioned
in the Holy Scriptures,  280
Section II. — Of the Effects of the Divine Justice which are
to he seen in this World,  284
IV. — Of those Persons who excuse themselves from following
Virtue, by saying the. Way to itJs_rough and uneasy, . 293
Section I. — That the Grace, which is given us through
Jesus Christ, makes the Way of Virtue smooth and easy, 293
Section II. — Some Objections answered, .... 297
Section III. — That the Love of God makes the Way to
Heaven easy and pleasant,  300
Section IV. — Of some other Things which make the Way
of Virtue pleasant to us, . . . . . 302
Section V. — Some Examples to prove what has been said, 305
V. — Against those who refuse to walk in the Way of Virtue,
because they love the_ World,  310
Section I. — How short the Happiness of this World is, . 311
Section II. — Of the great Miseries worldly Delights are
mixed with, ........ 313
Section III. — Of the great Snares and Dangers of the
World,  315
Section IV. — Of the Blindness andDarkness of the World, 316
Section V. — Of the Multitude of Sins there are in the
World,  317
Section VI. — How deceitful the Happiness of the World is, 320
Section VII. — The Conclusion of all that has been said, . 322
Section VIII  That true Felicity and Content are to he
found nowhere but in God,  323
Section IX. — Examples to prove all that has been said, . 326
VI. — The Conclusion of all that is contained in this First Book, 330
BOOK II.
Section I. — Of the first Thing to he pre-supposed by him
that desires to serve God, ...... 336
Section II. — Of the second Thing to he pre-supposed by
him that desires to serve God  337
PART THE FIRST. 1
I. — Of the firm Resolution a good Christian is to make, never
to commit any mortal Sin,  340
II. — Remedies against Pride,  344
Section I. — Of some other more particular Remedies
against Pride,  350

Xll CONTENTS.
chap. Tiax-
III. — Remedies against Covetousness,  353
Section I. — That no Person ought to detain another Man's
Goods,  358
IV. — Remedies against Impurity, ...... 359
Section I. — Of other more particular Remedies against Im
purity,  • 363
V. — Remedies against Envy,  368
VI. — Remedies against Gluttony,  ¦ 372
VII. — Remedies against Anger, and the Hatred and Enmities
which arise from it, ...... 375
'III. — Remedies against Sloth, ....... 380
IX— Of some other Sins which every good Christian must en
deavour to avoid, . . . . • • .384
Section I. — Of Detraction, Scoffing, and Judging rashly, 385
Section II. — Of rash Judgments, and of the Command
ments of the Church  390
X.— Of Venial Sins,  391
XI. — Of some other shorter Remedies against all Sorts of Sins,
but particularly those seven, called Capital, . . . 393
PART THE SECOHD.
I. — Of the three kinds of Virtues,"wherein consists the Fulness
of all Justice, ........ 400
II.— Of Man's Duty to himself,  401
Section I. — Of the Reformation of the Body, . . . 401
Section II. — Of the Virtue of Temperance, . . . 403
Section III  Of the Government of the Senses, . . 409
Section IV. — Of the Government of the Tongue, . . 410
Section V. — Of the Mortification of the Passions, . . 412
Section VI.— Of the Reformation of the Will . . .414
Section VII. — Of the Government of the Imagination, . 415
Section VIII. — Of the Government of the Understanding, 417
Section IX. — Of Prudence in our Business, . . . 420
Section X. — Of some Means necessary for the obtaining of
this Virtue,  422424425429 436
441447

III. — Of Man's Duty towards his Neighbour, .
Section I. — Of the Duties of Charity,
IV— Of Man's Duty to God, 
Section V. — Of the four Degrees of Obedience,
Section VI  Of Patience in Afflictions, .
V. — Of the Obligation of particular States and Callings, .
VI. — First Advice upon the Esteem we are to have of the diffe
rent Virtues, for the better understanding the Rule of a
good Life, ......... 450
VII. — Of four necessary Instructions that follow upon this Doctrine, 455
Section I. — The second Instruction, .... 456
Section II. — The third Instruction, .... 458
Section III. — The fourth Instruction, .... 458
VIII. — A second Advice upon the different Ways of living there
are in the Church, . . .... 465
IX. — The third Advice of the Vigilance and Care every Virtuous
Man ought to live with, ...... 470'
X.— The- fourth Advice of the Fortitude requisite to the obtain
ing of Virtue,  473;
Section I. — Of the Meaus-of acquiring this Fortitude, . 475

THE SINNER'S GUIDE.

BOOK I.
POWERFUL EXHORTATION TO VIRTUE, AND THE
KEEPING OF GOD'S COMMANDMENTS.
CHAPTER I.
Of the first motive that obliges us to virtue and the service of
God, which is his being, considered in itself, and of the excel
lency of his Divine Perfections.
1. Two things, christian reader, particularly dispose
the will of man to the undertaking of any commendable
action. The consideration of duty and justice, is the one ;
the other, the benefit and advantage we may reap by it.
All wise men, therefore, agree, that justice and profit are
the two most powerful inducements to incline our will to
whatsoever it ought to undertake. Now, though profit be
more generally sought after, yet justice is, in itself, the
more prevalent of the two ; for, as Aristotle teaches, no
worldly advantage can be equivalent to the excellence of
virtue, nor any loss so great, as that a prudent man should
not embrace it rather than incline to vice. The design of
this book being to allure and incline men to embrace the
beauty of virtue, it will be proper to begin with the prin
cipal part, shewing how far we are obliged to it, on account
of the duty we owe to God, who, being goodness itself,
neither commands, requires, nor asks anything in this
world, but that we be virtuous. Let us see, in the first
B

14 THE SINKER'S GUIDE.
place, and seriously consider, on what grounds, and for
what reasons, Almighty God claims this duty of us.
2. But since these are innumerable, we shall here touch
upon only six of the chief of them, on account of every
one of which man owes all he is or can do : the first,
greatest and most inexplicable of them, is the very being
of God, which comprehends the greatness of his infinite
majesty and of all his perfections ; that is, the incompre
hensible immensity of his goodness and mercy, of his jus
tice, his wisdom, his omnipotence, his excellence, his
beauty, his fidelity, his sweetness, his truth, his felicity,
with the rest of those inexhaustible riches and perfections
that are contained in his divine essence. All which are
so great and wonderful, that, according to St. Augustine,
if the whole world were full of books, and each particular
creature employed to write in them, and all the sea turned
into ink, the books would be sooner filled, the writers
sooner tired, and the sea sooner drained, than any one of
his perfections could be fully expressed. The same doctor
says further, that should God create a new man, with a
-heart as large and as capacious as the hearts of allmen toge-
ther,and he by the assistance and favour of an extraordinary
light, come to the knowledge of any one of his inconceiv
able attributes, the pleasure and delight this must cause in
him would quite overwhelm and make him burst with joy,
unless God were to support and strengthen him in a very
particular manner.
3. This, therefore, is the first and chief reason, that
obliges us to the love and the service of God. It is a point
so universally agreed upon, that the very Epicureans, who
by their denying a Divine Providence, and the immor-}
tality of the soul, have ruined all philosophy, never went
so far as to cut off all religion, which is nothing else but the
worship and adoration we owe to God. For one of those
philosopers, discoursing upon this matter, Cic de Nat.
Deorwm, brings very strong and undeniable arguments to
prove, that there is a God; that this God is infinite in all
his perfections, and deserves, therefore, to be reverencedj
and adored, and that this duty would be incumbent on us
though God had no other title to it. If a king, even out
of his own dominions, purely only for the dignity of his
person, is treated with respect and honour, when we have
no expectation of any favour from him j with how'mucW

THE SINNER'S GUIDE. 15
more justice are we to pay the same duties to this King and
Lord, who as St. John says, has these words written upon
his garment, and upon his thighs : King of Kings, and
Lord op Lords. This is he, who with three fingers holds
up the frame of the earth. It is he that disposes the causes
of all things ; it is he that gives motion to the celestial
orbs, that changes the seasons, and that alters the elements.
He it is that divides the waters, produces the winds, and
creates all things. It is from him that the planets receive
their force and influences. It is he, in fine, that, as King
and Lord of the universe, gives every creature its life
and nourishment. And, besides all this, the kingdom he
is in possession of, neither came to him by succession,
nor by election, nor inheritance, but by nature. And as
man is naturally above an ant, so this noble Being is, in
such an eminent degree, above all created things whatso
ever, that they and all the world together, are scarcely any
more, in regard of him, than one of these insects. If
philsophers, so ill principled as the Epicureans were,
have acknowledged this truth, what ought we to do, who
are brought up in the christian religion ? A religion, which
teaches us, .that, notwithstanding the infinite obligations
we have to God, we are more indebted to him, upon this
account than upon any other ; so, that if a man had a
thousand hearts and bodies, this reason alone should be
enough to make him offer them all to his honour and ser
vice. This is a point which all the saints, who have had
a sincere and disinterested love for him, have faithfully
complied with. And, therefore, St. Bernard, upon this
subject, says : " True love is neither increased by hope,
nor lessened by distrust." Serm. 83, in Cantic. Hereby
giving us to understand, that it is not the reward he ex
pects, that makes him serve God : but that he would go
on Still with the same fervour, though he were sure he should
never have anything for it ; because he is not influenced
by interest, nor wrought upon by any other consideration,
but that of the pure love which is due to his infinite
goodness. ,
4. But though this, of all obligations, is the greatest,
yet it is that which least of all moves those who are not
perfect. Because, the greater power self-love has over
them, the more they are carried on by their own interest ;
and, being as yet but rude and ignorant, they are unable

16 the sinner's guide.
to conceive the beauty and excellence of this supreme
goodness. Whereas, they were but a little more enlight
ened, the very brightness of this divine glory would charm
them into a love of it above all other things. For which
reason, it will be very proper to instruct them upon this
matter, that they may acquire a more perfect knowledge
of the majesty of God. All I intend to make use of, for
the effecting of this, shall be taken but of St. Denis, who
wrote his treatise of Mystical Divinity with no other
design, but to let us know how infinitely different God
Almighty's excellencies and perfections are, from those
of creature : that, by seeing this, we may learn, if we have
a mind to know what God is, the necessity of shutting our
eyes to the beauties we observe in creatures, for fear of
deceiving ourselves, whilst we judge of God by those
things that bear no proportion at all with his greatness.
We are to look upon them as mean and base, and raise up
our souls to the contemplation of a Being that exceeds all
beings ; of a Substance, above all other substances ; of a
Light, that eclipses all other lights ; and of a Beauty,
which is so far beyond all beauties imaginable, that the
greatest of them, and the most complete, is but ugliness
and deformity when set by this. This is what we are told
by the cloud Moses entered into to discourse with God,
which removed every thing but God from him, that he
might, by that means, have a better knowledge of God,
Exod. xxiv. 16,18. And Elias's covering his face with
his cloak, when he saw the glory of God passing before
him, is a lively expression of the same thing, 3 Kings,
xix. 13. It is certain, then, that a man, to contemplate
the perfections and beauty of God, should turn away his
eyes from all the things of this world, as too base and
mean to be regarded at the same time with him.
5. We shall understand this much better, if we consider
the vast difference between this uncreated Being and all
that are created ; that is to say between the Creator and
his creatures. For all these we see had a beginning, and
may have an end ; but he is without a beginning, and can
have no end. They all acknowledge a superior, and depend
upon another ; but he knows nothing above himself, and
therefore is independent. The creatures are variable and
inconstant, but the Creator is always the same, and cannot
change. The creature are composed of different matters,

THE SINNER'S GUIDE. 17
but the Creator is a most pure Being, and free from all
those mixtures which bodies are made up of : for, should
he consist of several parts, there must, of necessity, have
been some being above and before him, to have ordered
these parts, a thing altogether impossible. The creatures
can never come to such a degree of perfection as not to
admit of a farther increase: they may receive more than they
have already, and know what they are at present ignorant
of; but God can never be better thati he is now, because
he contains within himself the perfections of all other
beings : nor is it possible that he, who is the source of all
riches, should ever be richer. Nor can he know more than
he does already, because his wisdom is infinite, and his
eternity, which has all things present to it, suffers nothing
to be concealed from his knowledge. Aristotle, the chief
of all the heathen philosophers, not ignorant of this truth,
calls him a pure act ; which is complete and absolute per
fection, incapable of any further addition ; there being
nothing imaginable above it, nor can we think of anything
it stands in need of. There is no creature in the world
free from motion and change ; and it is this that helps
them in the finding of what they want, for they are all of
them poor and needy. God, on the contrary, is fixed and
immoveable ; because he is never exposed to any kind of
necessity, but is present in all places. There is in all
created things some difference or other, by which one crea
ture is to be easily known and distinguished from another;
but the purity of God's essence allows of no difference or
distinction. So that his being is his essence, his essence
is his power, his power is his will, his will is his under
standing, his understanding is his being, his being is his
wisdom, his wisdom is his justice, his justice is his mercy.
And though the effects of the one are contrary to those of
the other, because the duty of mercy is to pardon, and that
of justice is to punish; they are notwithstanding, so per
fectly one and the same thing in him, that his mercy is his
j ustice, and his j ustice is his mercy. So that, to appearance,
there are contrary perfections and qualities in God ; but
yet, as St. Augustine observes, there is no such thing in
effect, (Medit. c. 19 and 20,) because he is very remote and
yet very present, very beautiful and very strong, constant
and inconceivable, confined to no place and in all places,
seen by none and yet seeing all, who changes everything,

18 THE SINNER'S GUIDE.
whilst he himself can never change . He it is who is always
in action, and yet always enjoys an eternal rest : U is he
that fills all things, but cannot himself be circumscribed. :
who provides for all without the least solicitude : who is
great without quantity, and consequently immense :_ who
is good without quality, and therefore truly and sovereignly
good : nay, what is yet more, he only is good. Matt. xix.
17. In fine, not to lose ourselves in this abyss, we may
venture to say, that as all things are tied up to the bounds
of a limited being, so they have a limited power, beyond
which they can never pass. The works they are employed
about are limited, the places they live in have their bounds,
they have names to distinguish them by, and definitions by
which we may know them, and are reducible to their par
ticular kinds. But as for this supreme substance, it is as
infinite in its power, and in all its other attributes, as it is
in its being. It is not known by any definition, nor com
prehended under any kind, nor confined to any place, nor
distinguished by any name. On the contrary, according
to St. Denis, it has all names, though it has no name, be
cause it contains within itself all those perfections which
are signified by names. We may, therefore, say, that all
creatures, as they are limited, are to be comprehended,
' whilst this Divine essence, in as much as it is infinite, is
far above the reach of any created understanding. For, as
Aristotle says, since that which is infinite has no end, it is
not to be comprehended but by him alone who compre
hends all things. What else could be the meaning of
those two seraphim Isaias saw near the majesty of God,
seated upon a high throne, each of which had six wings,
with two of them they covered his face, and with two
his feet, Isaias vi. 1 2. Was it it not to teach us, that these,
which possess the chief places in heaven, and are seated
the nearest to God, are not capable of knowing perfectly
what he is, though they have the favour to see him clearly,
• in his very essence and in all his beauty ? For as a man,
standing on the shore, sees the sea itself, yet cannot dis
cover its depth or extent, so these blessed spirits, with
all the saints in heaven, see God truly and really, but
can neither fathom the abyss of his greatness, nor mea
sure the duration of his eternity. For this reason God
is said to be seated upon the cherubim : and, though they
are filled with treasures of wisdom, nevertheless, to show

THE SINNER'S GUIDE. 19
how short they come of conceiving his majesty, or of un
derstanding his essence, it is said that he sits upon them.
6. This is the darkness David speaks of, when he says,
God made darkness his covert. Ps. xvii. 12. To give us to
understand what the Apostle has expressed more clearly,
saying, that God inhdbiteth light inaccessible. 1 Tim. vi. 16.
The Prophet calls light darkness, because it dazzles our
eyes so that we cannot look against it to see God. And as,
according to one of the philosophers, there is nothing more
resplendent or visible than the sun, and nothing at the
same time which we can less look at, because of its extra-
orndiary brightness and the weakness of our sight ; in like
manner, there is nothing more intelligible in itself than
God is, and yet nothing, for the same reason, that we un
derstand less.
7. If, therefore, any man desire to know what God is,
when arrived at the highest degree of perfection he is
capable of conceiving, he must with humility confess, that
an infinite space still remains ; that what he proposed to
himself is infinitely greater than he imagined : and, that
the more sensible he is of these incomprehensibilities, the
farther advance he has made in this sublime science. For
this reason, St. Gregory, writing upon those words of
Job, v. 9, Who doth great things, and unsearchable and won
derful things without number ? says thus : We never speak
better of the works of the Almighty God, than when,
surprised with astonishment and ravished with wonder,
we keep an awful silence. And as those persons who
design to praise another, whose deserts are beyond
all they are able to say, think they best discharge them
selves from their obligation when they say nothing at all;
so ought we, in St. Denis's opinion, to reverence the won
ders of this supreme Deity with a holy and profound
respect of soul, and with a chaste and devout silence.
The saint seems herein to allude to those words of David,
A hymn, 0 God, becometh thee in Sion, (Ps. lxiv. 2) which
St. Jerom has translated thus : " Thou, O God, art
praised by silence in Sion ;" to signify to us, that we
cannot praise God in a more perfect manner than by say
ing nothing at all in praise of him, acknowledging the
incapacity of our understanding, owning with humility,
that this expressible substance is too high for us to con-

20 THE SINNER'S GUIDE.
ceive ; and confessing that his being is above all beings,
his power above all powers, his greatness above all great
nesses, and that his substance infinitely excels, and is
inconceivably different from all other substances, whether
material or spiritual. Upon which St. Augustine says
excellently well, "When I seek my God, I seek not the
beauty of the body, nor the agreeableness of the seasons,
nor the brightness of the light, nor the sweet charms of the
voice, nor the odoriferous smell of flowers, perfumes and
essences ; it is neither manna nor honey, nor any other
thing that is pleasing to the flesh ; I seek none of these
things when I seek my God ; and yet I seek a certain
light not to be seen by the eyes, and exceeding all light :
a voice beyond all voices, yet not to be discerned by the
ears ; a smell surpassing all smells, which the nostrils are
not capable of; a sweetness more delightful than all sweet
ness yet unknown to the taste, and a satisfaction above all
satisfactions, that is not to be felt. For this light shines
where there is no place, this voice sounds where the air
does not carry it away, this smell is perceived where the
wind does not disperse it, and this taste delights where
there is no palate to relish it, and this satisfaction is
received where it is never lost." L. 10. Conf. c. 6.
Soliloq. c. 3 1 .
! Section I. 8. If none of these reasons, as weighty as
\ they are, can give you the satisfaction you expect, of hav
ing some idea of this unspeakable majesty, cast your eyes
upon the frame of this material world, the work of God's
own hands ; that so the contemplation of such a noble effect
may give you some insight into the excellence of the cause.
Pre-supposing, in the first place, with St. Denis, that in
everything there is a being, power, and action, which bear
such proportion to one another, that the power is always
suitable to the being, and the action to the power. This
being pre-supposed, consider the beauty, the order and
extent of this world : since, as astronomers tell us, there
are stars in heaven four-score times as big as the earth and
sea together. Consider again, how many different sorts
of creatures there are upon the earth, in the water and in
the air : you will see everything so complete and perfect
in its kind, monsters only excepted, that you can wish for
nothing to be added or diminished to make its being more

THE SINNER'S GUIDE. 21
complete, and yet, according to St. Augustine, who grounds
his opinion on Ecclesiasticus xvii. 1, God, in one single
moment, created this world, as great and wonderful as it
is : drew a being from no being, and wrought this great
work without any matter to work upon : without any help
or assistance : without any outward draft or platform :
without any tools or instruments ; without any limits of
either space or time. He created the whole earth, and
all that is contained within the extent of the same, by one
single act of his will. Consider, farther, that God could
have produced a thousand worlds more, much fairer and
larger than this, much better peopled too, as easily as he
created this, and that if he had made them, he could with
as much ease, and without any kind of opposition, reduce
them to nothing again.
Now, according to our supposition, taken from St.
Denis, by the effects, and operations of things we judge
of their power, and by their power of their being : how
powerful must that cause be, which has produced such
wonderful effects ? And, if this power be so great, what
must the being be, which we are to judge of by this
power ? This, doubtless, surpasses all expression or ima
gination ; and yet we are farther to consider, that all
these great and perfect works, which are, or might have
been, are nothing at all in comparison of the Divine power,
but infinitely inferior to it : who, then, can reflect on, or
contemplate the greatness of so eminent a being, and so
high a power, without surprise and astonishment ? Yet,
though we did not see with our corporal eyes, we cannot,
from what has been said, but conceive, in some measure,
how great and incomprehensible this power is.
9. St. Thomas, in his Sum of Divinity, explains this
infinite greatness very clearly, by this example : we see,
says he, that in material or corporeal things, that which
is the most perfect is the greatest in quantity. Thus the
water is greater than the earth, the air is greater than
the water, and the fire greater than the air. The first
heaven is greater than the element of fire ; the second
heaven greater than the first ; the third than the second ;
and so of the rest, till you come to the tenth sphere, or
empyreal heaven, which is of unmeasurable greatness.
This will appear much plainer yet, if we consider what
proportion the sea and earth joined together have with
b 2

22 the sinner's guide.
the heavens ; for astronomers tell us, they are both but
as a point in comparison of them ; which they prove by
this demonstration. They divide the heavens equally into
twelve signs, through which the sun performs its yearly
course ; and because a man may always see six of these
signs, in whatsoever part of the earth he be, they con
clude that the earth is but as a point, or a sheet of paper,
in the middle of the world ; for, if its extent could be,
though ever so little, compared with that of the heavens,
we should not be able to discover half them at once, in
any part of the earth whatsoever. Now, if the empyreal
orb, the most excellent and most noble of all material sub
stances, is so incomparably bigger than all the other orbs,
we may from thence infer, that God who is above all
beings imaginable, whether corporeal or spiritual, as being
the author of them all, must be infinitely greater than all
of them together ; not in quantity, for he is a pure spirit ; i
but in the excellence and perfection of his being.
10. But to come more home to our subject, you may,
I say, by this means know, in some manner what God's
perfections are, because they cannot but bear a propor
tion to his being. The author of the book called Eccle
siasticus, speaking of God's mercy, says : His mercy is as
great as himself. Eccl. ii."23. Nor are any of his other
attributes less. So that his goodness, his mercy, his ma
jesty, his meekness, his wisdom, his bounty, his omnipo
tence, and his justice, are all entirely equal. Thus he is
infinitely good, infinitely merciful, infinitely wise, infinitely
amiable, and upon these considerations most infinitely
worthy to be obeyed, respected, reverenced and feared by
all creatures. Nay, were man's heart capable of an infi
nite love and fear, justice would oblige us to give it all to
God, upon the account of his infinite greatness. For, if
the greater quality a person is of, the more respect we are
to show him ; we ought to pay God an infinite respect, ,
because his dignity is infinite. Whatsoever therefore our
love wants of acquiring this degree, is wanting upon no
other account but our inability of making God the returns
his boundless greatness deserves.
11. Since, then, it is certain, that were there no other
consideration but that alone, it would be a sufficient motive
to oblige us to the love of God ; what can he be in love '.
with, who does not love this goodness ? Or what can he be

the sinner's guide. 23
afraid of, who does not fear this infinite majesty ? Whom
will he serve, who will not serve this Lord ? What was
our will given us for, but to love and to embrace good ? If,
therefore, this great God be the sovereign good, why does
not our will embrace it before all other goods ? If it is
an unhappiness and misery not to love him, nay, and that
too, above all things in the world, what should those
persons expect, who love every thing else better than they
do him ? Who would ever have thought, that man could
carry his ingratitude and malice so far ? And yet, what do
they less, who are continually offending this sovereign
goodness, for a beastly pleasure, for a trifling punctilio of
honour, or for some vile and sordid interest ? What,
then, shall we think of those, who sin upon no motive at
all, but either out of mere malice or custom; and without
the least hope of advantage or profit ? Yet this pass man
kind is now come to. O unparalleled blindness and folly !
O insensibility, worse than that of brutes ! 0 the diaboli
cal rashness and impudence of man ; What punishment
does he not deserve, who lets himself be carried away by
such a crime as this ? What torments ought not he to
expect, who has the boldness to despise so high a ma
jesty ? Such an unhappy soul shall, without doubt, be
condemned to those pains and torments prepared for it ;
to burn with the devils in hell for all eternity. A punish
ment far less than such offences deserve.
12. This is the first and chiefest reason, that obliges us
to the love and service of God. An obligation so close
and strict, that there is nothing in the world can oblige us
to love the creatures, because of their perfections, which
is to be called an obligation, if we compare it with this.
For, as the perfections of the creatures are but mere im
perfections, in comparison with the perfections of God ;
so, all the obligations that proceed from these perfections
and excellencies, cannot with any justice be called obliga->
tions, if you set them against those we owe to God: nor
can the offences we commit against the creatures, be pro
perly accounted such, if we but consider those we are guilty
of towards God. This is the reason why David, in his
Penitential Psalm, cries out, Against thee alone, meaning
God, have I sinned. Ps. 1. 6. Though at the same time
he had sinned against Urias, whom he murdered ; against
Urias's wife, whom he seduced, and against all his sub-

24 the sinner's guide.
jects, in the scandal his bad example gave them : and
yet, after all, he declared he had sinned against God
alone ; looking upon all those other offences as nothing
if compared with those he had committed against the
law of God. The crime so afflicted him, that he took no
notice of the rest. For, as God is infinitely greater than
all the creatures, so, the obligations we have to serve him,
and the offences we commit against his Divine Majesty,
are infinitely greater too, there being no comparison or
proportion between finite and infinite.
CHAPTER II.
Of the second motive that obliges us to Virtue, and the service
of God, which is the benefit of our creation.
1 . Another obligation we have in the pursuit of virtue,
and the keeping of God's commandments, besides his being
in itself, is the consideration of what he is towards us,
that is, of those innumerable favours we have received
from him ; which, though we have spoken of elsewhere,
upon other occasions, we will nevertheless treat of them
again, that so we may the better understand how much
we are obliged to this liberal benefactor.
2. The first of these benefits is, our creation, which
being so well known, I will only say that such a favour
is of itself sufficient to oblige a man to give himself up
entirely to the service of his Creator; because in justice
he stands indebted for all he had received : and since by
this benefit he has received his being, that is, his body
with all its senses, and his soul with all its faculties, it
follows he is obliged to employ them all in the service of
his Creator, under the penalty of being looked on as un
grateful to so bountiful a benefactor. For, if a man build
a house, who should have the use of the rent of it, but he
that built it ? If a man plant a vine, who else should
have the fruit of it but the planter ? If a man has any
children, who are they obliged to serve but the father
that begot them ? This obligation is so strict, that the
laws themselves give every father a right to transfer his
own children, if he should be reduced to a very press--
ing necessity. For his having given them their being,
makes his authority over them so absolute, that he may
dispose of them as he pleases. What power then and

the sinner's guide. 25
authority ought he to have, who is the sovereign master
and author of all creatures both in heaven and on
earth, since the power a father has over his children ex
tends so far ? And if those persons, who receive a favour,
are, according to Seneca, obliged to imitate a good soil,
which returns with interest what it receives, how shall we
be able to make God any such return, when, after having
given him all we have, we can give him no more than
what we have received from him ? And if he who gives
back but just what he received, does not comply with this
precept of the philosopher, what shall we say of him that
does not return so much as the least part of it? Aristotle
tells us, it is impossible for a man to make equal returns
to the favours of his father and the gods have bestowed on
him. How, then, can it be possible for us to make any
return to this great God, who is the father of all fathers,
and from whom mankind has received infinitely more than
from all the fathers in the world together. If for a son to
disobey his father is so heinous a sin, how grievous a crime
must our rebellion be against God, who has so many titles
to the name of father, that, in comparison with him, no
father deserves to be so called. And, therefore, he with
much reason complains of this ingratitude, by one of the
Prophets, in these words : If I am your Father, where is my
honour? And if I am your Lord, where is my fear ? Mal.i.6.
It is upon the account of the same ingratitude that he ex
presses his indignation in another place, with much more
severity and anger, saying : Is this the return thou makest to
the Lord, 0 foolish and senseless people ? Is not he thy Father,
that hath possessed thee, and made thee, and created thee? Deut.
xxxii. 6. These are truly the ungrateful creatures, who
never lift their eyes towards heaven to contemplate on it,
nor look down to consider themselves. Did they but
enter into this consideration, they would soon inform
themselves what they are, and desire to have some know
ledge at least of their original. They would be willing
to know by whom, and for what end they had been created,
that they might by this means be acquainted with'one part
of their duty. But having already neglected the one,
they easily neglect the other, and live as if they had made
and created themselves. This was the crime of that
unfortunate king of Egypt, whom God threatened so
severely by his Prophet, when he sent him this message :

26 the sinner's guide.
Behold, 0 Pharaoh, king of Egypt, it is to thee that I speak,
thou great dragon, that liest down in the midst of thy rivers, and
sayest : the river is mine, and I have made myself. These
words, if they are not in the mouths, are, at least in the
hearts of those who think as seldom of their Creator as if
they themselves were the authors of their own being, and
would acknowledge no other. St. Augustine's senti
ments were quite different from these ; for the knowledge
of his own origin brought him to the knowledge of him
from whom he had received it. Hear how he speaks in
one of his soliloquies : " I returned to myself and entered
into myself, saying, what art thou ? And I answered
myself, a rational and a mortal man. And I began to
examine what this was, and said, O my Lord and my
God, who is it that has created so noble a creature as this
is ? Who, O Lord, but thou ? Thou, O my God, hast
made me, and not I myself. What art thou ? Thou by
whom I and all things live. Can any one create and make
himself ? Can he receive his being and his life from any
one else but from thee ? Art not thou the chief being,
from whom every other being comes ? Art not thou the
fountain of life, from which all lives flow ? For whatso
ever has life lives by thee, because nothing can live with
out thee. It is thou, O Lord, that hast made me, and
without thee nothing is made. Thou art my Creator, and
I am thy creature. I thank thee, O my Lord and my God,
because thou hast created me : Thou, by whom I live,
and by whom all things live. I thank thee, 0 my Creator,
because thy hands have made and fashioned me. I thank
thee, O my light, for having enlightened and brought me
to the knowledge of what thou art, and what I am
myself." This is the first favour we have received from God, and
the foundation of all the rest, because all other benefits
pre-suppose a being, and this is first given us at our crea
tion. Nay, there is no benefit but has a near relation to
our being, as the accidents of a thing have to the substance
of it : by which you may see how great a benefit this is,
and how deeply you are indebted to God for it. If, then,
it is certain, that God is very careful and exact in requir
ing some acknowledgment for all the benefits he bestows
upon us, not out of any interest or advantage to himself,
but only for our good ; what acknowledgment do we think

the sinner's guide. 27
he will expect from us, for that favour, upon which all
others are built ? For God is no less rigorous in exact
ing our thanks than he is liberal in conferring his grace ;
not that he gets any thing by it, but because the perform
ance of our duty is so very advantageous to us. Thus we
read in the Old Testament, that God no sooner bestowed
any grace upon his people, than he commanded them not
to forget the same. As soon as he had brought his Israelites
out of the slavery of Egypt, (Exod. xii.) he immediately
commanded them to keep a solemn feast every year, in
remembrance of that happy day. He destroyed all the
first born of the Egyptians, but at the same time, to pre
vent his people's ingratitude, he gave orders, that in re
turn for so signal a favour, they should offer up all their
first born to him. A little after their departure from
Egypt, (Exod. xvi. 33.) when he first rained down the
manna from heaven, a food with which he maintained them
for forty years in the wilderness, he ordered immediately
that a certain quantity of it should be put into a vessel,
and kept in the sanctuary, as a memorial to all their pos
terity of so extraordinary a mercy. Exod. xvii. 14. After
, the victory which he gave them over the Amalekites, he
bid Moses write it down in a book for a memorial, and
deliver the same to Josue. Now, if God has been so exact
in requiring that his people should never forget those tem
poral favours he done them, what will he not expect from
us, for this immortal one ? For since the soul he has
given us is immortal, the benefit we receive with it must
be so too. It was this that introduced the custom amongst
the old Patriarchs, of erecting altars, as often as God had
favoured them in any particular manner. Gen. xiii. 7, 8 ;
xiii. 1 8 ; xii., &c. Nay, the very names they gave their
children expressed the favours they had received, that so
they might always be mindful of them. Hence, St. Au
gustine took occasion to say, that man ought to think of
God every time he draws his breath. Soliloq. c. 1 8. Ma-
nuale c. 29. Medit. c. 6. Because, as it is by the means
of his being that he lives, he should be continually giving
God thanks for this immortal being, which he has had
from the Divine mercy.
We are so strictly obliged to the performance of this
duty that it is the advice even of worldly philosophers
never to be ungrateful to God. Hear how Epictetus, a

8 THE SINNER S GUIDE.
ery noted stoic, speaks upon this matter: " Have a care,"
ays he, "0 man, of being ungrateful to that sovereign
ower,and forgetting to return thanks, not only for having
iven you all your senses, and life itself, but for all those
[lings that support it : not only for the pleasant fruits,
jr the wine, the oil, and for whatever other advantages
f fortune you have received from him ; but praise him
articularly for having endowed you with reason, by
rhich you may know how to make that use of everything
rhich it ought to be put to, and understand the true worth
nd excellence of all things." If a heathen philosopher
blige us to such acknowledgments for these common and
rdinary things, what sentiments of gratitude should a
hristian have, who has, besides all these, received the
ight of faith, which is a most inestimable favour?
5. But you will perhaps ask, what obligations can these
lenefits lay upon me, which are common to all, and seem
ather to be the ordinary graces of God ; since they are
tothing but the consequences and products of such causes
s work always after the same manner ? This objection
3 so much below a christian, that a heathen would be
shamed to make it, and none but the beasts can be guilty
f such baseness. That you may the more easily believe
ne, hear how the same philosopher condemns it. " You
rill say, perhaps, that you receive all these benefits from
lature. Senseless and ignorant creature that you are !
io not you see, that when you say so, you only change the
lame of God ? For what is nature, but God, who is the
uthor of nature : It is, therefore, no excuse, ungrateful
nan, to say you owe this obligation to nature, not to God,
iecause without God there is no such thing as nature.
Should you borrow a sum of money of Lucius Seneca,
nd afterwards say you were obliged only to Lucius, and
lot to Seneca, that would only change your creditor's
lame but not your creditor."
Iection I. Of another part of this motive that obliges us to the
service of God, which is, that we are to receive our perfection
from him.
6. It is not justice alone that obliges to the service of
>ur Creator : our own necessities force us to address our-
elves to him, if we desire to arrive at the happiness and
lerfection of our being, which is the end of our creation.

the sinner's GUIDE. 29
For better understanding hereof, you must conceive, that
generally speaking, whatever is born is not born with all
its perfections: it has something, but it wants much
more, and none but he that began the work can rightly
finish it. So that no being can be perfected by any other
cause, than that which put the first hand to it. This is
the reason why all effects have an inclination and ten
dency towards those particular causes which produced
them, that they may receive their last stroke and perfec
tion from them. The plants love the sun, and run as
deep as they can into the earth which shot them forth.
The fishes continue in the waters where they were first
engendered. A chicken runs under the hen's wings as
soon as it is hatched, and follows her up and down for
shelter. A lamb, as soon as it is brought forth, runs after
its ewe, and can distinguish it from a thousand others of
the same colour. It follows her without ever losing sight
of her, and seems to say : " Here it is I received whatso
ever I have, and it is here I will receive whatsoever I
want." This is what usually happens in the works of
nature, and if those of art had any sense or motion they
would do the same. Should a painter draw a piece and
leave out the eyes, what would it do were it sensible of
its wants ? Whither would it go ? Not to the palaces of
kings or princes, who, as such, could never be able to
supply its defects, but to the master's house, that he who
drew the first strokes might give the last, and finish it
quite. Is not this your own case, O rational creature ?
You are not yet finished. You have, it is true, received
something, but there is a great deal yet wanting to make
you as complete and as perfect as you should be. You are
scarcely any more than a rough draught. You have re
ceived nothing of the beauty and lustre you are to have.
This you will be very sensible of, if you but observe the
propension of nature itself, which, being always in want,
never rests, but is continually craving and wishing for
more. God thought fit to starve you out, that your own
wants might force you to have recourse to him. For this
reason it was he left you at first unfinished. His not giving
you at your creation all that you stood in need of was an
effect not of covetousness, but of love. It was not to
leave you poor, but to make you humble. It was not to
forsake you in your necessities, but to oblige you to address

30 the sinner's guide.
yourself to him. For since you are really poor and blind,
why do you not go to the Father that made you, and to
the painter that first began to draw you, that he may give
you what you have not yet received ? Consider whether
David did not understand this secret, when he said : Thy
hands, 0 Lord ! havemade me, and formed, me : give meunder-
standing, and I will learn thy commandments. Ps. cxviii. 73.
As if he had said, all that is in me is the work of thy
hands, 0 Lo rd ! but thy work is not yet completed. I am not
quite finished, 0 Lord, because the eyes of my soul are
not yet opened. I have not light enough to see what is
convenient for me. Whom shall I have recourse to for the
oboaining what I want, unless to him who has given me
what I have ? Grant me, O Lord ! that light which
is necessary for me. Enlighten the eyes of this wretch
that has been born blind, that he may see thee, and that
thou, O God ! mayest finish what thou hast already
begun in me.
7. As, therefore, there is none but this great God that
can perfect the understanding, so neither is there any be
side him, who can complete and rectify the will, with all
the other faculties of the soul ; that so he, who first began
the work, may finish it. It is this Lord alone, who satisfies
without leaving any want, who enlarges without noise,'
who enriches without vanity, and gives a solid content
ment, without possessing many things ; with whom the
creature lives, though poor, yet content: though rich,
yet destitute, though alone, yet happy ; though deprived
of all things, yet possessing all. It is upon this occasion
the wiseman says, with so much reason : One is as it were
rich, when he hath nothing ; and another is as it were poor,
though he hath great riches. Prov. xiii. 7. By this we are
taught that the poor man who has God for his inherit
ance, as St. Francis had, is truly rich, and that he whom
God takes no notice of is very poor, let him be ever so
rich in worldly possessions.
What advantage have great and wealthy men by all their
riches, if they are nevertheless racked with such cares
and diseases, that all they have cannot give them any
ease ? Or what comfort can rich clothes, a plentiful table,
and chests crammed with gold and treasures, bring to an
unquiet an troubled mind ? How often, and with what
restlessness, does the rich man turn and toss about*

THE SINNERS GUIDE. 31
every night in his down-bed : nor can all his wealth help
him to the least wink of sleep, or give any rest to his dis
turbed conscience ? It follows, from what had been said,
that we are infinitely obliged to serve God, not only on
account of his benefits, but for whatsoever else contributes
to the making our happiness complete. '
CHAPTER III.
Of the third motive that obliges us to serve God, which is, the
benefit of our preservation and direction.
1. Another obligation man has to God, besides that of
his creation, is the care he takes to preserve him. He it is
who gave you your being, and who still continues the
same to you. So that you depend now as much upon his
power for the preserving of it, as you did before he gave
it to you, for the receiving it ; and it is as impossible
for you to subsist without him, as it was before you were
created, to create yourself. Nor is the second obligation
less than the first, but rather greater, for that was laid
upon you but once ; whereas this is conferred on you
every moment of your life. For, to be continually pre
serving you after your creation, requires no less love nor
power than it did to create you. If, therefore, your obli
gation to him, for having created you in an instant, be so
great, what do you not owe him for preserving you so
many moments, so many hours, nay, so many years ?
You cannot go a step unless he gives you power to move.
You cannot so much as open or shut your eyes without
his will and assistance. For, if you do not believe it is
he who moves every joint and member of your body, you
are no christian ; but, if you believe it is from him you
receive this favour, and yet, after all are so imprudent as
to offend him, I cannot tell what name to give you. If a
man were standing on the top of a high tower with a
small cord in his hand, and another man hanging at the
end of it, do you think that he, who should be so near
falling down headlong, would dare to give abusive lan
guage to the person that held the cord? ' Imagine your
self to be in such a condition. You depend on the will
of God, as it were on a thread ; so that should he forsake
you but for one moment, you would be instantly reduced
to your first nothing. With what insolence, then can

32 THE SINNER'S GUIDE.
you dare provoke so dreadful a majesty, who is so merci
ful as to support you, even when you sin against Him ?
For, as St. Denis says, such is the virtue of the sovereign
good, as to give creature power to disobey and rebel at
the very moment they are rebelling against it. Since.
there is no denying this truth, how dare you presume to
make use of those senses and members, as instruments to
offend him who preserves them ? O incredible blindness
and folly ! O unheard-of rebellion and disobedience !
Was there ever so horrid a conspiracy as this is, that the
members should rise up against their head, for which they
ought to die a thousand times ? The day will come when
this affront shall be most severely punished. It is then-
that God will hear those complaints, which his own
honour, trampled under foot by you, shall make to his
divine justice. Disloyal and ungrateful man, is it not just,
since you have conspired against your God, that the
whole world should rise up and exclaim against you?
That God should arm all his -creatures to revenge the in
juries you have offered him, and, that the whole earth
should fight for him against the ungrateful. Without
doubt, there is no greater justice than that they, who
would not open their eyes to so many mercies, when they
might have done it, should be forced to it now by severity
and rigour, without finding any remedy or comfort.
2 . If to all these benefits we add the whole world, which
is as a rich and plentiful table God has prepared and
spread for your particular use, how infinitely will the
obligation be increased ? There is not any one thing
under the face of heaven, but what is entirely for man, or
for his service. And should any one object, that flies are
of no use to man, he may observe, they are food for birds,
which are created for him. Though a man does not eat
the grass of the fields, it nourishes the cattle which are
necessary for his subsistance. Cast your eye about the
world, and you will see what rich lands, and what large
possessions you have, and how great your inheritance is.
All that moves on the earth, all that swims in the waters,
that flies in the air, or that shines in the heavens, is made
for you. These things are all of them the effects of God's
bounty, the witnesses of his mercy, the sparks of his
charity, and the common publishers of his greatness. Con
sider these are so many preachers God sends to you, that

THE SINNER'S GUIDE. 33
you may not want the opportunity of knowing him. Every
thing, says St. Augustine, on earth and in heaven, perpe
tually exhorts me, O Lord ! to love you. And that no
man may pretend to a lawful excuse from so just a duty,
they speak the same language to every body else.
3. 0 ! that you had but ears to hear the voices of the
creatures, you would easily understand how they all agree
in their inviting you to the love of God; for they silently
declare they have been created to serve you : that you
may therefore love and adore this common Lord, not only
for yourself but for them. The sky says, It is I, that by
my stars continually furnish you with light, that you may
not walk in the dark. It is I, that by my different in
fluences occasion the production of all things necessary
for life. The air, on the other side, tells you, it is I,
who gives you breath ; it is I who refreshes you with my
gentle blasts, and tempers the heat of your vital spirits,
that you may not be scorched up by it ; it is I who main
tains this almost infinite number of different kinds of
birds, pleasing your eyes with the beauty of their feathers,
charming your ears with the sweetness of their notes, and
satisfying the niceness of your appetites with their deli
cious taste. The water says, it is for you, that I pour
out my seasonable and moderate rains ; it is for you, that
my streams and fountains are always running ; it is for
your nourishment, that I engender such variety offish. I
water your lands and your gardens, that they may bring
you their fruits in due season. I make a short passage for
you through the sea, that you may thereby have the op
portunity of making use of the whole world, and of join
ing the riches of other countries with those of your own.
What shall I say of the earth, the common mother of all
things, and the universal shop, as it were, of nature,
where all the different causes produce their several effects?
She may, with a great deal of reason, speak to you, as the
rest have done, and tell you it is she, that, like a mother,,
carries you in her arms ; it is she, that supplies you with
all the necessaries of life ; it is she that maintains you
with the variety -of her products ; that, to serve you, she
holds.a correspondence with all the other elements, and
with the heavens themselves, for the procuring of their
influence ; and, that she, in short, like a tender mother,
neither forsakes you whilst you are alive, nor leaves you

34 THE SINNER'S GUIDE.
at your death ; for she it is that nourishes and supports
you during your life, and takes you into her bosom when
you are dead, and there gives you a resting-place. To
conclude, all the world cries out aloud to you: Behold, 0
mortal man, and consider, what a love your Creator has
had for you ; since it is for your sake that he has made
me, commanding me, at the same time, for the love of
him, to serve you ; that so you may love aud serve him
who has created me for you, and you for himself.
4. This, O Christian, this is the general voice of all the
creatures ; and can you, after this, deny, that you are
most strangely dull and stupid, if you have no ears to
hear the same ? How can you avoid confessing, that you
are guilty of an unparalleled ingratitude, if you take no
notice of so many favours ? If you are not ashamed to
receive an obligation, why do you refuse to make a simple
acknowledgment of it, to Him from whom you have re
ceived it, that so you may escape the punishment your in
gratitude otherwise deserves ? For, according to a great
writer, there is no creature in the world but what speaks
these three words to man : "Receive, give, take heed ; that is
to say, receive the benefit, give what is due, and take
heed of the punishment which follows ingratitude, if you
do not do so." Rich, de S. Vict.
5 . And that you may have more cause to admire, con
sider how Epictetus, a heathen philosopher before men
tioned, has been able to lift himself up to this sublime divi
nity. He advises us, in these words, to make the creatures
serve us, as so many memorials of the Creator :
" When the raven croaks," says he, " and thereby gives
you notice of some change of weather, it is God, not the
raven, that gives you notice. If men should, by their
words and discourses, advise you to any thing, it is not
God that has given them power to advise you thus ?
thereby to let you understand, that he exercises his Divine
power several ways, in order to bring about his designs ;
for when God thinks fit to acquaint us with matters of
greater moment, he makes choice of more excellent and
more inspired men for this purpose." Afterwards, he adds
this, " In fine, when you shall have read my instructions,
say to yourself, is it not Epictetus, but God, that has
given me this advice ; for whence could he have had such
precepts and rules as these are, if God had not suggested

THE SINNERS GUIDE. 35
them to him ?" Thus far the words of Epictetus. Now, is
there any Christian in the world, that will not be ashamed,
and blush to be excelled by a heathen ? If there be, he
may well be confounded to think, that his eyes, with the
assistance of the light of faith, cannot see as far as those
that were in the darkness of human reason.
Section 1 . Prom what has been said is inferred, how unworthy
it is not to serve God.
6. Since things are really just as we have represented
them, is it not great ingratitude and neglect to be
surrounded on all sides by so many benefits, and yet to
forget him, from whom he has received them all ? St.
Paul says, that he who does his enemy a good turn, heaps
coals of fire upon his head, (Rom. xii. 20.) by which he
inflames his charity and love. Now, if all the creatures
in the world are so many benefits God bestows on you,
the whole world can be nothing else but one fire, and. all
the creatures so much fuel to feed and increase it. Is it
possible any heart should be in the midst of such flames
as these, and not be entirely inflamed, or so much as
warmed by them ? How comes it then, that, after re
ceiving so many benefits and graces, you should neglect
even to cast your eyes towards heaven, to see from
whence they all come ? If you were to go a great j ourney,
and in the way, being quite tired, and almost dead with
hunger should be forced to sit down at the bottom of a
high tower, from the top of which some charitable person
should take care to supply you with whatsoever you
wanted ; could you forbear looking up sometimes, if it
were but to have a sight of one that was so kind and
charitable to you ? Does God do anything less for you,
than continually shower down from above all sorts of
blessings upon you ? Find me out, if you can, but one
thing in the world, that does not happen by his particular
providence ; and yet; you never so much as look up to
know, and by that means to love so liberal and constant a
benefactor. What can be said of such hard-heartedness,
but that man has divested himself of his own nature, and
is grown more insensible than brutes ? It is a shame to
say whom we resemble in this particular, but it is fit that
man should hear it. We are like a herd of swine feeding
under an oak, which, all the time their keeper is shaking

36 the sinner's guide.
down the acorns from the top of the tree, do nothing else
but grunt and fight with one another for their meat, with
out ever looking upon him that gives it them, or lifting
up their eyes to see from whose hands they receive such a
benefit. 0 1 the brutal ingratitude of the children of
Adam! who, having received not only a rational soul
which other creatures have not, but also an upright body,
and eyes set to look up towards heaven, yet will not lift up
the eyes of the soul to behold him that bestows such bless
ings on them.
7- It is to be wished, that brutes and irrational crea
tures did not excel us in this point. For this duty of ac
knowledgment is, in effect, so deeply engraved by the
finger of God upon all his creatures, that the fiercest of
them have not been deprived of so noble an inclination.
There are a great many examples in history to prove what
we here assert. Is there any beast more fierce than a lion ?
and yet Appian, a Greek author, tells us of a man, who
having accidentally sheltered himself in a lion's cave, and
there plucked a thorn out of one of his feet, shared with
him every day of the prey he got, as an acknowledgment of
the favour and the cure he had wrought upon the beast.
This man was taken up a considerable time after for some
notorious crime, and was condemned to be exposed to the
wild beasts in the amphitheatre at Rome, to be torn in
pieces by them. The same lion, which had been taken
some days before being let lose, eyed the man, and
knowing him, came up gently and fawned upon him, just
as a dog does upon his master when he has been abroad,
and ever after followed him up and down without doing
any harm. We read of another lion, who, having received
the same favour from a seaman, that had been cast by a
storm upon the coast of Africa, brought him daily a part
of his booty, which maintained him and his company un
til such time as they put to sea again. Nor is that less to
be admired, which they tell us of another, who as he was
fighting with a serpent, was so put to it, that in all ap
pearance he would have lost his life, had not a gentleman,
whq was riding that way, accidentally come to his assist
ance, and killed the serpent ; the lion to return the obli
gation, gave himself up entirely to his deliverer, and fol
lowed him whithersoever he went, serving him as a hound
in hunting. The gentleman at last took shipping and left

the sinner's guide. 37
his lion on shore. The beast was so impatient and uneasy
to stay behind, that he took to the water, and, not being
able to make to the vessel, was drowned. What shall I
say of the gratitude and fidelity of horses ? Pliny gives
us a relation of some, that have had such a lively concern
for the loss of their master's, as to shed tears for them ;
and of others, that have starved themselves to death for
the same reason. Some there are again, that have revenged
their master's death upon those who murdered them, by
tearing them to pieces, or by trampling them under their
feet. Nor is the gratitude of dogs less surprising, of whom
the same author relates such strange things as are almost
incredible. Amongst the rest he tells us of one, who
having fought for his master, who was murdered by high
waymen, as long as he was able, sat by the dead body, to
keep off the birds and beasts from devouring it. He speaks
of another, that would neither eat nor drink after he had
seen his master, Lucius, dead. He relates another much
more remarkable passage, that happened at Rome in his
time, which is this : A man, that was condemned to die,
had a dog which he had kept very long, and which never
left him all the time he was in prison, no, nor after his
execution ; but, on the contrary, staying always by him,
made known his grief by his howling. If any body flung
him a piece of bread, he would take it up, and carry it im
mediately to his master, and put it into his mouth. At last,
the body being thrown into the Tiber, the dog leaped in,
and got under it, to keep it from sinking. Can there be
any thing in the world more grateful than this was? Now,
if beasts, who have only a small spark of natural instinct,
whereby to acknowledge a good turn, are yet so ready to
requite, serve and attend their benefactors, how can man,
who has so much more light to know the good he receives,
be so forgetful of him that bestows so much upon him ?
How comes he to suffer himself to be exceeded by beasts,
in courtesy, fidelity, and gratitude ? Especially, when the
benefits which man receives from God, are so infinitely
beyond those which beasts receive from men ; when the'
benefactor is so excellent, his love so singular, and his in
tention so sincere, that he professes no interest to himself,
but does all out of mere charity and bounty. This is, in
deed, a matter of no small wonder and astonishment, and
evidently shews there are devils, that blind our under*
c

38 the sinner's guide.
standings, harden our hearts, and impair our memories,
that we may not remember so liberal a benefactor.
8. Now, if it be so great a crime to forget this Lord,
what must it be to affront him, and to convert his favours
into the instruments of our offences against him? Seneca
says, that not to pay back the benefits we have received,
is the first degree of ingratitude ; the second is, to forget
them ; the third is, to render evil for good ; and this last
is the highest degree. But what is all this to the affront
ing and abusing your benefactor with those very kind
nesses he has shewn to you ? I doubt whether there is any
man in the world, who has ever dealt with his fellow-crea
tures, as we frequently deal with God. What man would
be so ungrateful as to go immediately, and employ a con
siderable sum of money he had received from his prince,
in raising an army against him ? And yet you, base and
miserable wretch ! never cease to make war upon God,
with those very bounties you have received from him.
What can a man think more abominable than this ? Should
a husband make a present to his wife of a neck-lace of
pearl, or a rich set of diamonds, to oblige her to honour
and love him the more ; what would you say of the per-
fidiousness of this woman, if she should throw all away,
immediately upon her gallant, to tie him the more strongly
to her, and make herself more the mistress of his affec
tions ? Every body would certainly look upon this as the
basest action she could be guilty of; and yet the offence
here is only between equals, flow much more heinous,
then, is the crime, when the affront is offered to God ?
And yet this it is those persons are guilty of, who waste
all their strength, and spend their estates, and ruin their
health, in committing sinful actions. Their strength makes
them proud, their beauty makes them conceited, and their
health unmindful of God. Their wealth enables them to
devour the poor, to vie with the great ones, to pamper
their flesh, and to corrupt the virtue of some unthinking
maid, making her, like Judas, sell what Christ purchased
by his blood, whilst they buy it with money, like the JewSi
What shall I say of the abuse of other graces ? The sea
serves but to satisfy their gluttony, and the beauty of
creatures their lust. The fruits and products of the earth
serve to feed their avarice, and their wit and natural gifts
go to the increasing of their vanity. They are puffed up

THE sinner's guide. 39
in prosperity, even to folly, and cast down to despair in
adversity. They choose the darkness of the night to hide
their theft, and the light of the day for the laying of
snares, as we read in holy Job. In short, whatever God
has created for his own glory, they have devoted to satisfy
their inordinate passions.
9- What shall I say of their essences and perfumes, of
their stately furniture, their sumptuous tables, and nice-
ness and superfluity of their dishes, with their different
sorts of sauces, and their several ways of cooking ? Nay,
sensuality and luxury are so much in fashion, that men
have made a trade of these scandalous excesses, and pub
lished books to instruct us how to sin in this matter. They
have corrupted all things by their misusing them, and
instead of taking an occasion from them to praise God,
the end they were given them for, they have made use of
them as the incentives to their debaucheries and vanities ;
thus perverting the lawful use of the creatures, they have
made those things help and assist them in vice, which
ought to have encountered and excited them to virtue.
There is nothing, in fine, which they have not sacrificed
to the gratifying of their senses, and the pampering of their
flesh, whilst they have quite neglected to relieve their
neighbour, though God has so particularly recommended
him to their care. They never complain that they are
poor, but to those who are so themselves ; nor do they
ever so much as think of paying their debts, unless when
any body comes to beg an alms of them ; take them
at any other time, and you shall neither find them poor,
nor in debt .
10. Take care this be not laid to your charge at the
hour of your death. Do not suffer so heavy a burden as
this to be pressing upon you at that time. Consider that
the greater the concern is, the more strict account you
must give of it. To have received much, and to have
made but small acknowledgment of it, is a kind of judg
ment laid upon you already. It is a great sign of a man's
reprobation, when he continues to abuse the favours
God Almighty bestows on him. Let us look upon it as
the utmost disgrace, that beasts should surpass us in this
virtue ; since they requite their benefactors with gratitude ;
whilst we neglect it ? If the Ninevites are to rise up
in judgment against the Jews, and condemn them for

40 THE SINNER'S GUIDE.
not entering into a state of penance after our Saviour's
preaching, let us take care that the same Lord have no
reason, at the last day, to condemn us upon the examples
of beasts, for taking so little notice of our benefactor,
when they have expressed such love to theirs.

CHAPTER IV.
Of the fourth motive that obliges us to the pursuit of virtue, which
is the inestimable benefit of our redemption,
1. Let us come now to the great work of our redemp
tion, a favour not to be comprehended by either men or
angels. A mystery so much above whatsoever I am able
to say, and myself so unworthy at the same time to speak
any thing of it, that I neither know where to begin, or
where to leave off, what to take, or what to leave. Were
not man so stupid as to stand in need of these incentives,
to stir him up to the love of virtue, it would be much
Jietter to adore this profound mystery in silence, than to
eclipse it by the darkness of our expression. They tell
us of a certain famous painter, who, having drawn a pic
ture representing the death of a king's daughter, and
painted her friends and relations standing about her with
most sorrowful countenances, and her mother more me
lancholy than the rest ; when he came to draw the father's
face, he hid it under a shade, to signify that so much grief
was not to be expressed by art. Now, if all we are able to
say fall short of explaining the benefit of our creation,
what eloquence will suffice deservedly to extol that of our
redemption ? God created the whole universe by one single
act of his will, without spending the least part of his trea
sures, or weakening the strength of his almighty arm. But
to the redeeming of it, he went no less than through thirty-
three years of sweat and toil, with the effusion of his blood
to the very last drop, and not one of his senses or mem
bers was exempt from suffering its particular pain and
anguish. It looks like a lessening of such sublime mys
teries to attempt to explain them with mortal tongue.
What shall I do then ? shall I speak, or shall I hold my
peace ? I am obliged not to be silent, and am unfit to
speak. How can I be silent at such wondrous effects of
Gpd's mercy ? And how shall I be able to discourse of

THE SINNERS GUIDE. 41
such ineffable mysteries ? To be silent looks like ingrati
tude, and to speak of it seems a rashness. Wherefore, I
here prostrate myself before thee, O my God, imploring
thy divine assistance and mercy to the end, that whilst
my ignorance detracts from thy glory, instead of extolling
and displaying it, those who are capable of doing it, may
praise and glorify thee in heaven, that they may supply
what I am deficient in, and beautify and adorn what a mor
tal man cannot but spoil by the meanness of his capacity.
2. After God had created man, and with his own hand
seated him in a place of delights, investing him with
honour and glory, that which ought to have engaged him
the more deeply in his Creator's service, emboldened him
the more to rebel against him. Whereas the infinite
favours he had received, should have laid a stricter obliga
tion on him, to love that divine goodness that bestowed
them, he made use of them as instruments of his ingrati
tude. This was the cause of his being driven out of para
dise, into the banishment of this world, and condemned
to the pains of hell, that, as he had been the devil's asso
ciate in sin, he might partake of his sufferings and tor
ments. When Giezi, Elisha's servant, had received the
present, which Naaman, the leper, made him, the prophet
said to him : Since thou hast received Naaman's money, the
leprosy therefore of Naaman shall cleave unto thee, and unto
thy seedfor ever. 4 Kings, v. 26, 27. God has pronounced
a like sentence against man, judging it requisite, that,
since he has coveted the riches of Lucifer, which are his
guilt and his pride, he should in like manner be defiled
with Lucifer's leprosy, which is the punishment of his
rebellion. Thus man, by imitating the devils' sins, becomes
like them, and shares with them in their punishment, as
well as in their guilt.
3. Man having brought such a disgrace upon himself,
this same God, whose mercy is as great as his majesty,
considered not the affront which was offered to his infinite
goodness, so much as he did our misery. He was more
concerned for the unhappy condition we were reduced to,
than angry for the offences we had committed against
him ; and therefore resolved to succour us by the means
of his only Son, and to make him the mediator of our re
conciliation with himself. But what was this reconcilia
tion ? Who is able to express this mercy ? He settled

42 the sinner's guide.
such a close friendship between God and man, as to find
out a way to make God not only pardon man, receive him
into his favour again, and make him one and the same
thing with himself by love; but what is far beyond all
' expression, he united him to himself in such a manner,
that there are no created beings in nature so closely united
as these two are now ; because they are not only one in
love and in grace, but in person also. Who could ever
have thought that such a breach as this would have been
so made up again ? Who could have imagined, that these
two things, which nature and sin had set at such a dis
tance, should ever have been united together, not in the
same house, at the same table, in the same union of grace
and love, but in the same person ? Are there any two
things in the world more different from one another, than
God and a sinner ? And yet are there any things more
closely united than God and man are now ? There is no
thing, says St. Bernard, more high than God, and nothing
lower than the clay man was made of. Yet has God, with
so much humility, descended into this clay, and this clay
with so much honour ascended to God, that we may say
the clay has done whatsoever God has done, and God has
suffered all the clay has suffered.
4. When man, finding himself naked, and become an
enemy to God, endeavoured to hide himself in the most
concealed parts of the terrestrial paradise, who would have
made him believe a time would come, when this base and
vile substance would be united to God in one and the
same person ? This alliance was strict and close, that it
could not be separated even by death, which broke the
union between soul and body, and could never divide the
divinity and humanity, because God never quitted what
he had once taken on him for our sake.
Thus our peace was concluded, this is the medicine we
have received at the hands of our Saviour and mediator.
And though we are infinitely more indebted to God for so
sovereign a cure, than we are any wise able to express, we
are no less obliged to him for the manner of applying it,
than for the remedy itself. I am infinitely indebted to
thee, O my God, for having redeemed me from hell, and
restored me to thy favour; but I owe thee much more, for
the manner of restoring my liberty, than for the liberty
itself. All thy works, 0 Lord, are to be admired in every

THE SINNER'S GUIDE. 43
part of them ; and though man may seem to lose himself
in the contemplation of any one of thy wonders, the
same disappears, as soon as he lifts up his eyes towards
heaven to reflect upon another. Nor is this any discredit
to thy greatness, O Lord, but an argument of thy glory.
What course, O my God, hast thou taken to heal me ?
Thou mightest have procured me my salvation by an infi
nite number of ways, without putting thyself to this trouble
or expense ; but thy bounty was so great and surprising,
that to give me a more manifest proof of thy goodness
and mercy, thou hast chose to relieve my miseries by thy
own pains and sufferings, which were so vehement, that
the very thought of them drew a bloody sweat from thy
veins, and thy undergoing of them rent the very rocks
with sorrow. Let the heavens and the angels praise thee,
O my God for ever, and let them never cease to publish
thy wondrous work ! What need hadst thou of our goods,
or what damage were our miseries to thee ? If thou
shouldst sin, says Elihu to Job, what hurt wilt thou do to
God? And if thy transgressions should be multiplied,
what wilt thou do against him ? On the contrary, if thou
shalt do that which is just, what wilt thou give him, or
what can he receive from thy hand ? Job xxxv. 6, 7.
This great God, who is so powerful, and so far above the
reach of any misfortune : He, whose riches, whose power,
and whose wisdom, can neither be increased nor lessened;
he, who was neither greater nor less after he had created
the world than he was before; he, who can receive no
more glory from all the praises men and angels are able to
give him, than he has always had from all eternity: he,
who would be no less glorious, though each particular
mouth were to be employed in cursing and blaspheming
him : this Lord, I say, whose majesty is so great and infi
nite, notwithstanding our infidelities and treacheries have
been such as deserve his eternal anger and hatred, has
vouchsafed, even when he had no need at all of us, and
upon no other motive but that of his excessive love to us
to bow down the heavens of his greatness, and to descend
into this place of banishment, to clothe himself with our
flesh, to undertake the payment of our debts, and, that he
might discharge us, to undergo the most dreadful torments
that ever were, or ever shall be undergone ! It was
for my sake, 0 my God, that thou hadst been born in a

44 THE SINNER'S GUIDE.
stable, laid in a manger, circumcised the eighth day> and
forced to fly into Egypt : it was for the love of me, that
thou hast been so affronted and injured: it was for me,
that thou hast fasted, watched and wandered from place
to place; that thou hast sweated, wept and subjected thy
self to aU those miseries which my sins have deserved,
notwithstanding that thou wert so far from being the of
fender, as to be all this time the party offended; it was
for me that thou wert apprehended, forsaken, sold, denied,
and brought before several courts and judges; it was for
my sake that thou wert accused before them, and that
thou wert affronted, buffeted, spit upon, whipt, blasphemed,
put to death and buried. Thou hast in fine vouchsafed,
for the healing of my wounds to die upon a cross, in the
sight of thy most holy mother, in such great poverty, as not
to have one drop of water at the hour of thy death, and
in so stupendous a manner forsaken by all, that thy hea
venly Father himself seemed to neglect thee at that time.
Can any thing enter into the heart of man more lament
able than this, to see a God of most infinite majesty come
down upon earth to end his life upon a cross, like a
notorious malefactor.
6. If any man, though of ever so mean a condition,
were to be executed for some public crime he had com
mitted, there is nobody could without some kind of con
cern, especially if he had known him before, consider the
deplorable state his misery had reduced him to, and the
unhappy end he was going to make. Now, if it be sur
prising to see a man of but an ordinary condition brought
to such disgrace, how ought we to be astonished, when we
see the Lord of all created things in no better circum
stances ? What a subject of wonder should it be, to see a
God like a malefactor ? and if it be true, that the greater
the quality a person is of, the more we are surprised at
his disgrace and fall, what surprise should here seize us ?
O, you blessed angels, who had so full a knowledge of the
greatness of this Lord, what did you think when you saw
him hanging upon a cross? God commanded Moses to
put two cherubims at the sides of the ark, with their faces
turned towards the mercy-seat, and looking upon one
another with admiration, (Exod. xxv. 18) and for what
other end was all this, but to give us to understand with
what a holy astonishment those supreme spirits must be

THE sinner's GUIDE. 45
seized when they considered the effect of such great
charity, and beheld this great God, who created heaven
and earth, nailed to the cross to atone for our crimes ?
Nature herself is amazed, and every creature is aston
ished. The principalities and powers of heaven are
ravished with this inestimable goodness which they
behold in God. Is there any body, after all this, that is
not swallowed up in the abyss of such wonders ? Who
is there that is not drowned in the ocean of such infinite
mercies ? Who is there that can contain his admiration,
so as not to cry out with Moses, when God shewed him
the figure of this mystery upon the mount: 0 the Lord, the
Lord God, merciful and gracious, patient, and of much com
passion, and true ! Exod. xxxiv. 6. He was unable to do
any thing else but publish aloud the infinite goodness God
had given him a sight of? Who would not, like Elias, (3
Kings, xix. 1 3) hide his eyes, if he saw his God passing by,
not in the brightness of his majesty, but under the veil of
his littleness ; not overturning mountains, nor spiltting
the rocks in pieces by his omnipotence, but delivered up
into the hands of the wicked and making the very rocks
melt and burst asunder with compassion ? Who is there
that will not shut the eyes of his understanding and open
the bosom of his will, that, at the sight of so boundless a
love, it may be inflamed with gratitude, and return all the
love it is able to give, without setting any limits or mea
sure to its passion ? O height of charity ! 0 greatness of
mercy ! O abyss of incomprehensible goodness!
7. If it be true, O Lord, that I am thus indebted to thee,
for having redeemed me, how great must the obligation be,
for having redeemed me in such a manner ? For to re
deem me thou hast suffered such torments, and such dis
grace, as are above the reach of our imagination. Thou
hast made thyself the scorn of men, and the contempt of
the world for the love of me. To procure me honour,
thou hast dishonoured thyself ; and hast suffered thyself
to be accused, that I might be acquitted. Thou hast shed
thy blood, to wash away the stains of my guilt. Thou
hast died, to raise me to life, and by thy tears hast deli
vered me from everlasting weeping and gnashing of teeth.
How truly dost thou deserve the name of a kind Father,
since thou hast had so tender a love for thy children ?
How justly art thou called a good Shepherd, who hast
c 2

46 the sinner's guide.
given thyself for the nourishment of thy flock ? How
truly faithful a guardian art thou, since thou hast so freely
laid down thy life for those whom thou hast taken into thy
care ? What present shall I make thee, answerable to
this? With what tears shall I return these tears?
With what life shall I repay this life ? What proportion
is there between the life of a man and the life of his God,
between the tears of a creature, and those of his Creator?
8. But if, O man, thou shouldst, perhaps, imagine that
his sufferings for every body else, as well as for thee, has
lessened thy obligation, thou deceivest thyself. For though
he suffered for all mankind in general, it was in such a
manner that he suffered for each particular person. For
his infinite wisdom gave him as clear and as distinct a
representation of all those for whom he underwent those
torments, as if there had been but one single person ; and
his immense charity, which made him take in all together,
has done no less for each one in particular. So that he
has shed his blood for every single man, as much as for all
mankind together ; and so great has been his mercy, that
had there been but one sinner in the whole world, he
would have suffered as much for him alone as he has done
now for all the world. Consider, therefore, how infinitely
thou art obliged to this Lord, who has done so much for
thee, and who would have done a great deal more, if there
had been any need of it for procuring thy happiness.
Section I. We may gather from what has been hitherto said,
how grievous a thing it is to offend God.
9- I appeal now to all creatures, whether man can pos
sibly think of any greater benefit, any more generous fa
vour, or any obligation more binding than this is ? Tell me,
O all ye choirs of angels, whether God has ever done so
much for you ? Can any man, then, after all this, refuse
to give himself up entirely to the service of God? " I am
indebted to thee, 0 Lord," says St. Anselm, " for all that
I am, upon three several accounts : because thou hast
created me, I owe thee all that is in me : but I owe thee
the same debt, and with more justice, because thou hast
redeemed me, and because thou hast promised to reward
me with the enjoyment of thyself, I cannot but acknow
ledge I am wholly thine. Why then do I not give myself
once at least to him, to whom 1 am so justly due?" O insup-

the sinner's guide. 47
portable ingratitude ! 0 invincible hardness of man's heart,
which is not to be softened by so many favours ! there is
nothing in the world so hard, but it may by some means
or other be made softer. Fire melts metal, iron grows
flexible in the forge, the blood of certain animals will soften
even the diamond itself ; but, O more than stony heart,
what iron, what diamond is so hard as thou art, if neither
the flames of hell, nor the care of so charitable a Father,
nor the blood of the unspotted Lamb, which has been shed
for thee, can make thee soft and flexible ? Since thou, O
Lord, hast shewed so much goodness, so much mercy, and
so much kindness to man, is it to be endured that any one
should not love, that any one should forget this benefit,
and that any one should still offend thee ? What can that
man love, that is not in love with thee ? What favours
can work upon him, that is not to be wrought upon by'
thine ? How can I refuse to serve him who has had such
a love for me, who has sought after me with so much soli
citude, and who has done so much for the redeeming of
me ? And I, says our Saviour,, if I be lifted up from the
earth, will draw all things to myself. John xii. 32. With
what force, O Lord, with what chains ? with the force of
my love, with the chains of my mercies. I will draw them,
says the Lord, with the cords of Adam, with the bands of
love. Osee, ix. 4. Who is there that will not be drawn
with these cords ? who will not suffer himself to be bound
with these chains, or who will not be won by these
mercies ?
10. Now, if it be so heinous a crime not to love this
great God, what must it be to offend him, and to break
his commandments? How can you dare employ your
hands in injuring those hands which had been so liberal
to you, as to suffer themselves to be nailed to a cross for
your sake ? When the holy Patriarch, Joseph was solicited
by his lewd mistress to defile his master Putiphars' bed,
the chaste and grateful young man, by no means consent
ing to so foul an action, made this reply : Behold my
master hath delivered all things to me, and knoweth not what
he hath in his house : neither is there any thing which
is not in my poiver, or that he hath not delivered to me,
but thee who art his ivife : How then can I do this wicked
thing, and sin against my God ? Gen. xxxix. 8, 9. As
if he had said, since my master has been so kind and

48 the sinner's guide.
generous to me, since he has put all that he is worth into
my hands, and has done me such an honour as to entrust
me with his whole estate, how shall I, who am bound by
so many obligations, dare affront so good a master ? We
are to observe here, that Joseph did not say, / ought not,
or it is not just that I should offend him, but how can I do
this wickedness ? to signify that extraordinary favours ought
to deprive us not only of the will, but in some measure of
the very power of offending our benefactor. If, there
fore, so great an acknowledgment was due to such benefits
as these, what is it those favours we have received from
God do not deserve ? That master, who was but a mortal
man, had entrusted him with the management of his
estate. God has delivered into your hands almost all he
has ; consider how much the riches of God exceed those
of Putiphar, for so much more have you received than he
did. And to make this apparent, what is it God pos
sesses, that he has not entrusted you with ? Ps. iii. The
sky, the earth, the sun, the moon, the stars, the rivers,
the birds, the fishes, the trees, the beasts, whatsoever, in
short, is under the heavens is in your power ; and not
only what is under heaven, but even what is in heaven
itself, that is, the glory, the riches, and the happiness that
is to be found there. All things are yours, says the apos
tle, whether it be Paul, or Apollo, or Cephas, or the world, or
life, or death, or things present or things to come : for all are
yours, (I Cor. iii. 22.) for they all contribute to your
salvation. Nor is that which is in heaven all we have,
the very Lord of heaven himself is ours too. He has
given himself to us a thousand ways, as our Father, our
tutor, our Saviour, our master, our physician, our price,
our example, our food, our remedy, and our reward. To
conclude, the Father has given us the Son, the Son has
made us worthy of the Holy Ghost, and it is by the virtue
of the Holy Ghost that we deserve the Father and the
Son, who are the very sources and fountains from whence
all sorts of riches flow.
11. If it be true that God has given you the possession
of all, how can you find in you heart to offend so bountiful
and so generous a benefactor ? If it be a crime not to re
quite such great favours, what must it be to despise and
offend him that bestows them ? If young Joseph thought
himself unable to do an injury to his master, because he

the sinner's guide. 49
had committed the care of his house to him, with what
face can you affront him who has delivered all heaven and
earth, nay, himself too, into your hands ? 0 miserable
and unhappy man ! if you are not sensible of this evil,
you are more ungrateful than the brutes, more savage
than the most savage tigers, and more senseless than any
senseless thing in nature. For what lion or tiger is so
enraged as to fly at him who has done him a kindness ?
St. Ambrose tell us of a dog, that seeing his master killed
by one of his enemies, continued all night by the body,
barking and howling. The next day amongst a great many
people that crowded to see the corpse, the dog espied out
the person that had committed the murder, and imme
diately flew upon him, and so by his barking and biting,
discovered the malefactor, who otherwise might have pro
bably escaped. If a dog shewed so much love and fide
lity to his master for a morsel of bread, how can you be
so ungrateful as to let a dog exceed you in good nature
and gratitude ? And if this creature was in sueh a rage
against the man that had murdered his master, how can
you forbear being incensed against those who have put
yours to death ? And who do you think are they, but
your own sins ? It was they that apprehended and bound
him, that scourged and crucified him. Your sins I say,
were the cause of all this. For his executioners could
never have had so much power, if your sins had given
it them. Why then do you not rise up in arms against
these barbarous murderers, who have taken away your
Lord and Saviour's life ? How can you behold him lying
dead before you, and for your sake, without increasing
your love for him, and your aversion to sin, which has
been the occasion of his death ? especially, knowing, that
whatsoever he either said, did, or suffered in this world,
was for no other end but to excite in our hearts a horror
and detestation of sin. He died to make sin die, and suf
fered his hands and feet to be nailed, that he might bind
up sin in chains, and bring it under subjection. Why then
will you let all your Saviour's toils, sweat and pains be
lost to you ? Since he has with his blood delivered you
from your fetters, why will you still remain a slave ? How
can you forbear trembling at the very name of sin, when
God has done such extraordinary things to ruin and destroy
it? What could God have done more, in order to bring

50 the sinner's guide.
men off from sin, than place himself upon a cross between
it and them ? If a man were to see heaven and hell open
before him, would he then dare offend God ? And yet it
is, without a doubt, a thing much stranger and more sur
prising to see a God nailed to an infamous cross. If,
therefore, so frightful a spectacle as this cannot work upon
man there is nothing in nature will be able to move him.
CHAPTER V.
Of the fifth motive that obliges us to virtue, which is the benefit,
of our justification.
1. But what would the benefit of our redemption avail,
were it not followed by that of justification, by which this
extraordinary favour is applied to us ? \For, as physic,
though ever so well prepared, is wholly useless, if not ap
plied to the distemper, so this heavenly medicine would
work no cure in us, unless applied by means of this benefit
we now treat of. This application is peculiarly the work
of the Holy Ghost, to whom the sanctification of man is
attributed. He it is who prevents the sinner with his
mercy, who having thus prevented, calls him, who justifies
him when called, who conducts him when justified in the
paths of justice, and thus raises him to perfection by the
gift of perseverance, to crown him in the end with ever
lasting glory. These are the different degrees of grace
contained under the inestimable favours of justification.
Section I  2. The first of all those graces is, that of
our vocation. When man, by the force of his divine spirit,
having broken all the bands and fetters of his sins, is freed
from the tyrannic slavery of the devil, and raised from
death to life ; when of a sinner he becomes a saint, and a
child of God from a child of wrath, which is not to be
done without the special help of the divine grace, as our
Saviour testifies to us by these words : No man can come
to me, except the Father who hath sent me, draw him. John,
vi. 44. To signify to us, that neither free-will, nor all
the advantages of human nature, are sufficient of them
selves to lift a man out of the depth of sin, and raise him
to a state of grace, unless the Almighty lend him a helping
hand. And as St. Thomas, explaining these very words,
says, " That as the stone naturally tends downwards,' and
cannot raise itself up again without some exterior assist-

the sinner's guide. 51
ance, so man, according to the bent of his nature, de
praved by the corruption of sin, is always sinking down
wards in the desire of earthly things ; so that God must
of necessity lend a hand to lift him up to a supernatural
love and desire of heavenly delights, or he will never be
able to rise." This sentence very well deserves both our
consideration and tears, for by it man comes to know him
self, grows sensible of the corruption of his nature, and of
the necessity he perpetually lies under of begging Almighty
God's assistance.
3. But to come to the point, it is impossible for man to
return from sin to grace, unless the Almighty hand of
God raise him up. But this is a favour of such value,
that there is no expressing how many graces are contained
in it. For there being nothing more certain than that sin
is by this means extracted from the soul, and that it is
sin, which is the cause of all its miseries, how great a good
must this consequently be, which expels and banishes so
many evils ? But as much of the consideration of this
benefit is a powerful motive to make us grateful for it, and
excite us to the pursuit of virtue, I will, explain here in
short the vast riches this benefit brings along with it.
4. First, then, it is by this that man is reconciled to
God, and restored to his favour ; for the greatest misery
sin causes in our souls is, the rendering them odious to
God, who, as he is goodness itself bears such a hatred to
sin as is proportioned to his goodness. For this reason
the Royal Prophet says: Thou, 0 Lord, hatest all those who
work iniquity, thou shalt destroy all those who tell lies ; the
Lord will abhor both the blood-thirsty and deceitful man.
Ps. v. 7, 8. It is this, which, in effect, is the greatest of
all evils, and the source from whence all others flow ;
as the love of God, on the other side, is the greatest of
all goods, and the very fountain of all the rest. This,
therefore, is the evil we are freed from, by virtue of our
j ustification, since by it we are restored to God's favour ;
and though we were his enemies before, this reconciles
us to his love again, and that not in any mean degree,
but in the highest that may be, which is that of a father
for his son. This it is the beloved Evangelist St. John
so much extols, where he says, Behold what manner
of charity the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we
should be called, and should be the sons of God. He does

52 the sinner's guide.
not think it enough to say, that we are called the children
of God, he adds farther that we are really so ; to the end,
that human distrust, which carries so much weakness and
imperfection along with it, should have a clearer and more
distinct view of the liberality of God's grace, and per
ceive, that he has truly and really ennobled man, by
making him his son, and not giving him the title only. If
as we have said, it is so miserable a thing to be hated by
God, what a happiness must it be to be beloved by him?
Philosophers tell us, that the worse any thing is, the better
and more excellent its contrary must be. Whence we are
to conclude, that thing to be supremely good whose op
posite is supremely evil, such as man is, when he is be
come the object of God's hatred. If men use so much
caution in this world not to lose the love of their masters,
fathers, princes, superiors ar kings, how solicitous should
we be to keep in favour with this powerful King, this
heavenly Prince, this sovereign Lord and Father, in com
parison of whom all earthly power and authority is a mere
nothing ? This favour is the greater, by how much it is
more freely bestowed : for as man could do nothing before
he was created, to deserve his being, because at that time
he was not ; so neither could he, after having once fallen
into sin, do any thing at all that might deserve the gift of
justification ; not because he was not, but because he was
wicked and odious in the sight of God.
5. Another benefit besides this is, that justification takes
off the sentence of everlasting torments, which man's sin
had condemned him to. For, whereas sin makes a man the
object of God's hatred, and it is impossible that any one
should be hated by him, and not at the same time be in
the greatest misery imaginable, it follows, that the wicked,
having cast Almighty God off from them, and ungratefully,
despised him, deserve very justly to be cast away by God,
and to be despised and neglected by him. They deserve
to be banished for ever from his presence, never to enjoy
his company, never to enter into his most beautiful and
glorious palace. And because in separating themselves
from him, they have had an irregular love for the crea
tures, it is but justice they should be condemned for the
same1 to eternal pains and torments, which are so rigorous
that if we compare all that men suffer in this life to them
they will look more ideal than real torments. Let us add

the sinner's guide. 53
to these miseries, the never-dying worm, which will con
tinually gnaw the very bowels, and tear the consciences of
the wicked ; add also the company, which these unhappy
souls must always keep, which shall be no pleasanter than
that of all the damned. What shall I say of their horrible
and melancholy habitation, full of darkness and confusion,
where there never shall be any order, joy, rest or peace ;
never any comfort, satisfaction or hope ? Where there
shall be nothing but eternal weeping and gnashing of teeth,
eternal rage and blasphemies. God delivers those whom
he justifies from all these miseries, and having restored
them to his grace and favour, frees them entirely from his
wrath and vengeance.
6. There is another advantage yet more spiritual than
the former, which is, the reforming and renewing of the
inward man, all deformed and disfigured by sin. Because
sin, in the first place, deprives the soul, not only of God,
but of all its supernatural force, and of all those treasures
and gifts of the Holy Ghost with which it was enriched
and adorned. So that being once robbed of the riches of
grace, it is immediately maimed and wounded in all its
natural powers and faculties ; because man being a ra
tional creature, and sin being an action against reason, as
it is very natural for one contrary to destroy another, it
follows, of course, that the greater and more numerous our
sins are, the greater must be the ruin the faculties of the
soul lie open to, not in themselves, but in the natural in
clination they have to do good. Thus, sin makes the soul
miserable, weak, slothful, inconstant in the doing of what
is good, and bent upon all kind of evil, unable to resist
temptations, and soon tired with walking in the way of
God's commandments. It also deprives the soul of true
liberty, and of the sovereignty of the spirit, and makes
it a mere slave to the world, the flesh, the devil, and its
own inordinate appetites ; bringing it under a harder and
more unhappy servitude than that of the Israelites in
Egypt or Babylon. Nor are these all the miseries which
sin reduces the soul to : it oppresses it besides in such a
manner, that it can neither hear God speaking to it, nor
perceive those dreadful calamities with which it is threat
ened ; it is quite senseless to that sweet smell which comes
from the virtues and examples of the saints ; it cannot
taste how sweet the Lord is, nor feel the strokes of God's

54 the sinner's guide.
hand, any more than those graces which he pours into
it, to excite it to the love of him. Besides all these ills,
it takes away the peace and joy of conscience, and so by
degrees lessens and cools the fervour of the spirit, till it
leaves poor man in such a miserable condition, that he is
foul, deformed, and abominable, in the sight of God and
of his saints.
7. The grace of justification delivers us from all these
miseries. For God, who is an infinite abyss of mercy,
thinks it not enough to pardon our sins, and receive us
into his favour, unless he free our souls from all those dis
orders which sin had raised in it, by reforming and renew
ing the inward man. So, that he heals our wounds, he
cleanses us from our filth, he loosens our chains, he eases
us of the burthen of our evil desires, he frees us from the
slavery and captivity of the devil, he moderates the heat
of our passions, he restores us to a true liberty, he beau
tifies the soul, anew, he settles peace and joy in our con
science again, he enlivens our inward motions, he makes
us forward to do what is good, and backward to do that
which is evil, he strengthens us against temptations, and
after all these benefits, he enriches us with a treasure of
good works ; in fine, he repairs our inward man with all
its faculties after such a manner, that the apostle does not
hesitate to call those who are thus justified, New men, and
new creaturest 2 Cor. iv. So great is the grace of this re
novation, that when we receive it by baptism, it is called
a regeneration, (Galat. vi. 15.) when by penance, a resur
rection ; not only because the soul, by virtue of it, is
raised from the death of sin to the life of grace ; but be
cause it holds some proportion with the glory of the gene
ral resurrection at the last day. This is so certainly true,
that no tongue is able to declare the beauty of a justified
soul, but only that divine spirit which beautifies and makes
it his temple and dwelling-place ; so that if we should
compare all the riches of the earth, all the honours of the
world, all the benefits of nature, and all the virtues we are
able to acquire, with the beauty and riches of such a soul,
they would all appear base and deformed before it. Be
cause the life of grace has the same advantages over that
of nature, the beauty of the soul over that of the body,
inward riches over the outward, and spiritual strength
over the corporeal, as heaven has over earth, a spirit over

the sinner's guide. 55
a body, or eternity over time. For all these thino-s are
transitory, limited, and only beautiful to the eyes of the
body; nor have they need of any more than a general as
sistance and supported from God, whilst the others stand in
need of a peculiar and supernatural help, and cannot be
called temporal, because they lead us to eternity. How can
we say they are altogether finite, because they make us
worthy to partake of the infinity of God, who has such an
esteem and love for them, that he is even enamoured with
their beauty? And though God could do all these things
by his will, yet he was not so satisfied, but would
adorn the soul with infused virtues and the seven gifts of
the Holy Ghost, by means whereof not only the es
sence, but all the faculties of the soul are adorned and
beautified with these heavenly graces.
8. To all these extraordinary benefits, his infinite good
ness and boundless liberality has added another, which is
the presence of the Holy Ghost, and of the Blessed Tri
nity, which descends into the soul of him that is justified
to instruct him what use to make of all these riches ; like
a good father, who not only leaves his estate to his son,
but provides him a guardian to look after and manage it
for him; so, that as the soul of one that is in sin is a den
of vipers, dragons and serpents, that is to say, a place
where all sorts of wicked spirits dwell, according to our
Saviour, (St. Matthew, ch. xii.) so the soul of a justi
fied man becomes the habitation of the Holy Ghost, and
of the blessed Trinity, who, having expelled all these
hellish monsters and wild beasts, make it its temple and
place of abode, as our Saviour has expressly signified by
these words : If any one love me, he will keep my word,
and my Father will love him, and we will come to him,
and will make our abode with him : St. John, xiv. 23 
From which words, the holy fathers and the school-men
conclude, that the Holy Ghost dwells in a particular man
ner in the soul of a justified man, distinguishing between
the Holy Ghost and his gifts, and declaring that such
persons partake, not only of the gifts of the Holy Ghost,
but of the Holy Ghost himself, who, entering into every
soul thus disposed, makes it his temple and dwelling-
place: and to this end he himself cleanses, sanctifies and
adorns it with his gifts, that it may be a place worthy to
entertain such a guest.

56 the sinner's guide.
9. Add to all these benefits one more, which is, that all
those who are justified become living members of Jesus
Christ, whereas they were dead before, and incapable whilst
they remained in that condition, of receiving the influence
of his grace, whence many other singular privileges and
excellencies flow to it. Fop this is the reason why the Son
of God loves and cherishes these persons as his own mem
bers, and as their head is continually communicating force
and vigour to them. And lastly, the eternal Father be
holds them with eyes of affection, because he looks upon
them as living members of his only Son, united to and in
corporated with him by the participatiou of the Holy
Ghost. And, therefore, their actions are pleasing to him,
and meritorious to themselves, inasmuch as they are ac-
' tions of the living members of his only Son, Christ Jesus,
who produces all that is good in them. This is also the
reason why those persons who are thus justified, whenso
ever they beg any favour of Almighty God, address them
selves to him witha perfectconfidence; because they suppose
that what they ask is not so much for themselves as for the
Son of God, who is honourd in them and with them. For
since the members can receive no benefit, but the head
must partake of it, Christ being their head, they conceive
that when they ask for themselves they ask for him. And
if what the apostle says be true, that they who sin against
the members of Jesus Christ, sin against Jesus Christ him
self, and that he looks upon any injury offered to one of
his members, upon his account, as done to him, as he said
to the apostle himself when he persecuted the church ;
what wonder is it that the honour done to these members
should be done to him ? This being so, what confidence
will not the just man bring with him to his prayers, when
he considers that in begging for himself, he, in some mea
sure, begs of the Heavenly Father for his beloved Son ?
For when a favour is granted at the request of another, it
may, doubtless, be said to be bestowed on him that begs
rather than on him that receives it : as we see, that he
who serves the poor for the love of God, serves God more
than he does the poor.
10. There remains another benefit, to which the rest
tend and are directed, it is the right and title those that
are justified have to eternal life. For God, who is no less
merciful than he is just as he on the one side condemns

the sinner's guide. 57
impenitent sinners to everlasting torments, so, on the other
side, he rewards those who are truly penitent with ever
lasting happiness. And, though he could forgive men their
sins, and restore them to his friendship and favour, with
out raising them so high as to partake of his glory, yet he
would not do so, but out of the excess of his mercy jus
tified those whom he had pardoned, adopted those whom
he had justified, and made them his heirs, giving them a
share in his riches, and an inheritance with his only Son.
Hence, proceeds that lively hope, which comforts the just
in all their tribulations, because they are assured before
hand of this inestimable treasure. For though they see
themselves surrounded with all the troubles, infirmities,
and miseries of this life, they know very well that all the
evils they can possibly suffer here are nothing, in compa
rison with the glory which is prepared for them hereafter ;
nay, on the contrary, they assure themselves, that our pre
sent tribulation, which is momentary and light, workeih for
us, above measure exceedingly, an eternal weight of glory.
2 Cor. iv. 17.
11. These are the advantages comprehended under that
inestimable benefit of justification, which, St. Augustine,
with a great deal of reason, prefers before the creation of
the whole world ; because God created all the world with
one single word: but the justifying of a man after his fall
was at the expence of his blood, and of those other most
grievous pains and torments he endured. Now, if we are
so strictly obliged to the Almighty's goodness for having
created us, how much more do we owe his mercy, for
having justified us ; a favour we stand so much the more
indebted, for, as it cost him more than the other ?
1 2. And though no man can certainly tell whether he be
justified or not, yet he may give a probable guess, espe
cially by the change of his life ; as for example, when one
that before never scrupled at committing a thousand mor
tal sins, would not now commit one, though it were to
gain the world : let him that perceives he is in such a happy
condition, consider what an obligation lies upon him to
serve his Lord, for having thus sanctified him, and at the
same time delivered him from all those miseries, and
heaped all those favours on him which we spoke of. But
if he happen to be in a state of sin, I know nothing that
can more efficaciously excite him to a desire of being freed

58 the sinner's guide.
from it, than the consideration of those misfortunes which
sin draws after it, and of those treasures of blessings which
go along with the incomparable benefit of jnstification.
Section II  Of some other effects that are wrought by the Holy
Ghost in the soul of a justified man, and of the Sacrament of
the Eucharist.
13. Notwithstanding the effects, which are produced by
the Holy Ghost in the soul of one that is sanctified, are very
great, yet they do not end there. This divine Spirit deems
itnotenough to putus in the way of justice, but after having
led us in, still helps us forward, till all the storms of this world
being weathered, he brings us into the haven of salvation ;
so that when he has entered into a soul by the grace of
justification, he does not remain idle there ; he not only
honours such a soul with his presence, but also sanctifies
it with his virtue, doing in it and with it whatever is
necessary for obtaining its salvation. He behaves him
self there like a head of a family in his house, looking
after and directing like a master teaching in his school,
like a gardener cultivating in his garden, and like a king in
his kingdom, ruling and governing it ; he further performs
in the soul what the sun does in the world ; that is, he
gives light to it : and, like the soul in the body, animates
and enlivens it, though he does not act as the former does
upon its matter, but as the head of a family in his house.
Can man desire any greater happiness in this world than
to have such a guest, such a guardian, such a companion,
snch a governor, such a tutor, and such an assistant within
himself; for he being all things, exercises all capacities in
the soul, in which he takes his habitation : thus we see,
that like fire, he enlightens the understanding, inflames
the will, and raises us from earth to heaven. It is he, who,
like a dove, makes us smile, peaceable, gentle, and kind to
one another : he it is, who like a cloud defends us against the
burning lusts of the flesh, who moderates the heat of our
passions, and, in fine, like a violent wind, forces and bends
down our wills towards that which is good, and carries them
away from all such affections as may lead to evil. Hence
it is, that they who are justified conceive such a horror
of the vices they had so great a love for before their con
version, and so great an esteem for the virtues they so
much detested before. This David very lively represents

THE SINNERS GUIDE. 5
to us speaking of himself in one of his Psalms, where h
says, I hated and abhorred iniquity ; (Ps. cxviii. 163) an
again, in the same Psalm, I have rejoiced in the way of tl
testimonies, as much as in all riches, ver. 14. Who was :
but the Holy Ghost that occasioned this alteration ? fc
he, like a loving mother, put wormwood upon the breasl
of this world, and most delicious honey into the con
mandments of God.
This plainly shews, that whatsoever good we do, whs
progress soever we make, we are entirely obliged to th
Holy Ghost for the same. So that if we are converte
from sin, it is by his grace; if we embrace virtue, it ish
that brings us to it ; if we persevere in it, it is by his as
sistance ; if, in short, we one day receive the reward h
has promised, it is he himself that gives it us : for whic
reason, St. Augustine says very well, God rewards his ow
benefits when he rewards our services. So that one favou
procures us another, and one mercy is only a step to th
obtaining of another. The holy Patriarch Joseph, (Gei
xiii. 25,) thought it not enough to give his brothers th
corn they went to buy in Egypt, but ordered his servant
to put the money they brought to pay for it into th
mouth of the very sack : God in some measure does th
same with the elect, for he gives them not only eterns
life, but grace and a good life to purchase it. Whereupo:
Eusebius Emissenus says excellently well, "that he wh
is adorned, to the end that he may shew mercy, ha
showed mercy already, when he gave us grace to ador
him." Let every man, therefore, consider how he has spen
his life, and reflect upon all those favours God has be
stowed on him, and on all these crimes, frauds, adul
teries, thefts, and sacrileges, which he has preserved hir
from falling into, and by this means he will see upon wha
accounts he stands indebted to him ; because, accordin]
to St. Augustine, it is no less mercy to preserve us fror
falling into sin, than to pardon it when committed, bu
much greater ; and, therefore, the same saint, writing to
virgin says : " Man is to make account, that God has par
doned him all sorts of sin, in as much as he has given hir
grace not to commit them." Lib. 2. Conf. c. 7. Let nol
therefore, your love be but little, as if he had pardoned yoi
but little, rather endeavour to love much, because you hav

60 the sinner's guide.
received much. For if a man love a creditor that forgives
a great debt, how much more reason has he to love a bene
factor that bestows so much on him? For he -who has
lived chastely all his lifetime, has therefore continued so,
because he had God to direct and guide him : he, who, of
an impure person, becomes pure, has had God to correct
him; and he who continues impure to the end, is justly
forsaken by Almighty God. This being a matter beyond
all doubt, it only remains that we say, with the Prophet :
Let my mouth be filled with praise, that I may sing thy glory
and honour all day. Ps. Ixx. 8. Upon which words St.
Augustine says " What means all the day ? Nothing else,
but that I will praise thee for ever, and without ceasing,
in my prosperity, because thou comfortest me ; in my ad
versity, because thou chastisest me ; since I have had my
being, because it is from thee that I have received it ;
when I sinned, because thou forgavest ; when I return to
thee, because thou receivedest me ; and when I persevered
to the end, because thou rewardest me. For this reason
my mouth shall be filled with thy praise, O Lord, and I
will sing thy glory all the day."
14. It would be proper here to speak of the benefit of
the Sacraments, which are the instruments of our justifi
cation, and particularly that of Baptism, as also of the
light of faith and of the grace we receive with it ; but
having treated this subject elsewhere, I shall add no more
at present ; yet I cannot pass by in silence that grace of
graces, that sacrament of sacraments, by virtue of which
God is pleased to live with us on earth, to give himself
every day to us as our food and as our sovereign remedy.
He was sacrificed on the cross but once for our sakes, but
here he is daily offered up to his Father on the altar, a
propitiation for our sins. This is my body which is given for
yow,-says he, Do this for a commemoration of me. Luke xxii.
18.0 precious pledge of our salvation ! O divine sacrifice!
O most acceptable victim ! Bread of life ! Most delicious
nourishment ! Food of kings ! O sweet manna, which
contains whatsoever is pleasant and delightful ! Who can
ever be able to praise you according to your deserts ? who
can worthily receive, who can honour you with due re
spect and reverence ? My soul quite loses itself, when it
thinks of you ; my tongue fails me ; nor am I able to ex
press the least part of your wonders as I desire to do.

THE SINNER'S GUIDE. 61
Had our Lord bestowed this favour upon none but in
nocent and holy men, it would have still been inestimable ;
how great then must this unparalleled charity be, which,
after having moved him to communicate himself so freely
to those, has farther prevailed on him to pass through the
impure hands of many wicked priests, whose souls are the
habitations of devils, whose bodies are vessels of corrup
tion, whose lives are continual sacrileges, and spent in
nothing else but in sin and iniquity ? And yet, that he
may visit and comfort his friend, he suffers himself to be
touched by such polluted hands, to be received into such
profane mouths, and to be buried in their noisome and
abominable breasts. His body was sold but once, but in
this sacrament he is sold a thousand times. He was
scorned and despised but once in his passion, whereas
these impious priests offer him infinite affronts and in
juries at the very table of the altar. He was once cruci
fied between two thieves, but here he is crucified millions
of times in the hands of sinners.
15. Who is there that will pretend, after all this, to be
able to pay due respect and honour to a Lord that has
consulted our interest so many several ways ? What re
turns can we make for so wonderful a nourishment? If
servants serve their masters for a poor livelihood, if sol
diers for their pay expose themselves to fire and sword,
what ought we to do for this Lord, who maintains us with
this heavenly and immortal food ? If God, in the old
law, required so great an acknowledgment for the manna
he sent from heaven, though it was corruptable food, what
returns will he expect for this, which, besides being exempt
from corruption, makes all those who receive it worthily,
incorruptible ? If the Son of God thanks his Father, in
the gospel, for only one meal of barley-bread, what kind
of thanks should we give him for this bread of life ? If we
are so much indebted to him for the nourishment he gives
us to preserve our being, how much greater is our obliga
tion for that food which preserves in us the supernatural
being of grace ? For we do not commend a horse purely
because he is a horse, but because he is a good horse ; nor
wine because it is wipe, but because it is good wine ; nor
man because he is man, but because he is a good man. If
you are so much obliged to him that made you man, how much
greater is our obligation for having made you a good man.
D

62 the sinner's guide.
If the acknowledgment be so great on account of corporal
benefits, what should it be for the spiritual ? If you are
so deeply indebted for the gifts of nature, how much more
do we owe for those graces? And if, to conclude, his
having made you a son of Adam, lays so strict a tie of
gratitude on you, how much must you be obliged to him for
having made you a son of God himself ? For it is cer
tainly true, as Eusebius Emissenus says, " That the day
we are born to eternity, is infinitely better than that which
brought us forth to the toils and dangers of this world."
This, dear christian, is another motive, and, as it were
a new chain added to the others, to bind your hearts the
faster, and oblige you to the pursuit of virtue and service
of this Lord.
CHAPTER VI.
Of the sixth motive that obliges us to the love of virtue, which is
the benefit of Divine Predestination.
1. Add to all the benefits we have hitherto spoken of,
that of election which belongs to none but those whom
God has chosen from all eternity to be partakers of his
glory. It is for this inestimable benefit the Apostle thanks
God in his own and in the name of all the elect, when, in
his Epistle to the Ephesians, he says, Blessed be the God
and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us
with all the spiritual blessings in heavenly things, in Christ :
as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the
world, that we should be holy- and unspotted in his sight in
charity. Who hath predestinated us unto the adoption of
children through Jesus Christ unto himself : according to the
purpose of his will. Ephes. i. 3, 4, 5- The Royal Prophet
highly extols this favour, when he says, Blessed is he whom
thou hast chosen, and taken to thee, he shall dwell in thy courts.
Ps. lxiv. 5. This therefore we may justly call the grace
of graces, and benefit of benefits ; inasmuch, as God,
purely out of his own goodness, bestows it on us before
we deserve it. For he, like one who is the absolute master
of his own riches, without wronging any man, but rather
affording every one sufficient assistance to work his sal
vation, pours out the abundance of his mercy on some
particular persons, without any limits or measure.
2. It is also the benefit of benefits, not only because it
is the greatest, but because it is the very source of all the

the sinner's guide. 63
rest. For God having chosen man for his glory, bestows
on him through the means of the first favour, whatsoever
is necessary for obtaining of his glory, as he testifies by
the mouth of one of his prophets, in these words, / have
loved thee with an everlasting love, therefore have I drawn thee,
taking pity on thee. Jerem. xxxi. 3. That is, I have called
you to my grace, that by its help you may arrive at my
glory. The Apostle expresses the same thing to us in
much clearer terms: Whom God has foreknoivn, he has also
predestinated to be made conformable to the image of his Son,
that he might be the first born amongst many brethren. And
whom he has predestinated, them he also called : and whom he
called, them he also justified; and whom he justified, them he
also glorified. Rom. viii. 29, 30. The reason of this is,
because as God disposes all things sweetly and regularly,
he has no sooner been pleased to choose a man for his
glory, but he bestows on him on account of his grace,
many others, and furnishes him with a sufficient supply
of all things necessary for the obtaining of the first grace.
So that as a father that has a design to bring one of his
children up for the church, or the bar, employs him, whilst
he is but a child, about such things as have a regard to the
one or the other, and directs all the actions of his life to
this end ; so the eternal Father, when he has chosen a
man for his glory, to which the way of justice leads us,
takes care always to keep him right in this road, that so
he may attain the end he is designed for.
It is fit, therefore, that they who perceive in themselves
any token of this favour, should thank God sincerely and
heartily for it. For though it is a secret hid from human
eyes, yet there are certain signs of our election, as there
are of our justification. And as the surest mark of our
justification is the conversion of our lives, so the best token
of our election is our perseverance in a good life ; for he
who has lived many years in the fear of the Lord, and has
been very careful not to fall into any kind of sin, may
piously believe, that, according to the Apostle, God will
confirm him to the end, that he may be blameless in the day of
the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. 1 Cor. i. 8.
3. It is true, no man ought to think himself secure,
since we see that Solomon, after he had led a pious life for
several years, was seduced in his old age ; but yet this
example is only a particular exception from a general rule,

64 the sinner's guide.
which is the same in effect with what the Apostle has
taught us, and which the same Solomon tells us, in his
Proverbs, ch. xxii. 6, in these words : It is a proverb, a
young man, according to his way, even when he is old, he will
not depart from it ; so that if he was virtuous in his youth
he will be so when he is old. By these or such like con^
jectures, which are to be met with in the writings of the
saints, a man may humbly presume, that God, out of his
infinite goodness, has made him one of the number of his
elect. And as he hopes to be saved through God's mercy,
so may he with all humility conclude he is of the number
of those that are to be saved, since the one presupposes
the other.
This principle once settled, a man will soon see how
strictly he is obliged to serve God for so extraordinary a
favour, as that of having his name written in that book,
whereof our Saviour, speaking to his apostles, says, Rejoice
not in this, that spirits, are subject unto you ; but rejoice in this,
that your names are written in heaven. Luke, x. 20. For
what greater benefit can there be than to have been be
loved and chosen from all eternity, ever since God has
been God ; to have been lodged in his bosom, and made
choice of by him for his adopted child, when he begot
his own Son according to nature in the glory of the
saints, who were then all really present in the divine
understanding. 4. Weigh, therefore, all circumstances of this election,
and you will find that each of them is an extraordinary
favour, and a new obligation to serve God. Consider the
dignity of him who has elected you ; it is God himself,
who, as being infinitely rich, and infinitely happy, had nq
need of you or any one else in the world. Reflect next
upon the person elected, how unworthy he is of such a
grace, since he is no better than a poor mortal creature,
exposed to all the necessities, infirmities, and miseries of
this life, and worthy for his sins to be condemned to eter
nal torments in the next. Observe how glorious an elec
tion this is, since the end for which you have been elected
is so noble, that nothing can be above it ; for what can be
greater than to become the Son of God, the heir to his
kingdom, and sharer with him in his glory ? Examine, in
the next place, how gratuitous his election was, since it
was before all merit whatsoever, proceeding only from the

the sinner's guide. 65
good will of Almighty God, and according to the apostle,
unto the praise of the glory of his grace. Ephes. i. 6. For
the more generous and free a favour is, the greater the
obligation it lays on him that receives it. Consider also
how ancient this election is, for it did not begin with the
world, but was long before it, for it is co-eternal with God,
who being himself from all eternity, has, in like manner,
from all eternity loved his elect, has always had them in
his divine presence, and has them there still, beholding
them with a fatherly eye of love, and being always resolved
to confer so great a favour on them Consider, after all,
how particular this benefit is, since he has been pleased to
honour you with so infinite a blessing, as the admitting
of you into the number of his elect, whilst there are so
many nations quite ignorant of him, and which he has
rejected, and, therefore, he separated you from the mass of
perdition, to raise you to a holy union with his saints,
making that which was the leaven of corruption become
the bread of angels. Such a grace should put a stop to
our pens and tongues, that we may be wholly taken up
in the acknowledging and admiring of it, and in learning
what returns we are to make for it. But what should
give a greater value to this favour is, the small number of
the elect, whilst that of the reproved is so great, that Solo
mon (Eccles. i. 15) calls it infinite; the number of fools, that
is, of the reprobate, is infinite. But if none of all these
considerations are able to make any impression on you, be
moved, at least, by the excessive price this sovereign elec
tor has given to purchase you ; it is no less than the life
and blood of his only begotten Son, whom he from all
eternity resolved to send down into the world, to put this,
his divine decree into execution.
5. If this be true, what time can suffice to spend in
humble reflections upon so many mercies? What tongue
can be eloquent enough to express them ? What heart
capacious enough to conceive them ? What returns and
acknowledgments can be made for them ? With what love
shall a man be ever able to repay this eternal love ? Can
any man be so base as to defer loving God to the end of
his life, when God has had such a love for him from all
eternity ? Who will part with such a friend as this is,
for any friend in this world ? For if the scripture sets
such a value upon an old friend, how much ought we to

66

THE SINNER'S GUIDE.

praise that friendship which is eternal. Forsake not an
old friend, for the new will not be like to him. Eccles. ix. 14.
If this advice holds good in all cases, who is there that
will not prefer this friend before all the friends in the
world ? And if this be true, that possession, time out of
mind, give him a title that had none before, what must a
possession do that has been everlasting ? It is eternity
that has entitled God to the possession of us, that he might
by this means make us his.
6. What riches or honour can there be in the world.
which a man should not give in exchange for this bless
ing ? What troubles and misfortunes which we ought not
to suffer for purchasing it? Is there any man though ever
so wicked, that would not fall down and kiss the ground
a beggar trod on, were he assured by divine revelation
that the beggar was predestined to everlasting happiness,
that Would not run after him, and prostrating himself at
his feet, call him a thousand times happy ? Who is there
that would not cry out, O blessed soul, is it possible that
you should be one of this happy number of the elect ? Is
it possible that God should have made choice of you from
all eternity, to see him one day in all his beauty and glory?
that he should have chosen you to be a companion and
brother to the elect ? Are you one of those who are to
be seated among the choir of angels ? Must you hear
the heavenly music ? And shall you behold the resplend
ent face of Jesus Christ and his holy Mother ? Happy
the day which first brought you into the world, but much
happier that of your death, because then you shall begin
to live for ever. Happy the bread you eat, and the
ground you tread on, since it bears such an inestimable
treasure! But much more happy those pains you endure,
since they open you the way to eternal ease and rest !
For what clouds of affliction can there be, which the
assurance of this happiness will not disperse !
7. We should doubtless break out into such transports
as these, did we behold a predestined person, and know
him to be so. For if all people run out to see a young
prince, that is heir to some great kingdom, as he passes
through the street, admiring his good fortune, as the
world accounts it, to inherit large dominions, how much
more reason have we to admire the happiness of a man
elected from his birth, without any preceding merits on

THE SINNERS GUIDE. 67
his side, not to a temporal kingdom in this world, but to
an eternal crown of glory in heaven.
8. Here you may learn how great these obligations
are, which the elect owe to God, for so unspeakable a
favour. Andyetthere is notone of us all, if we do
what is required of us, that is to look upon himself as
excluded this number. On the contrary, every one should
use his endeavours, according to St. Peter, to make his call
ing and election sure, by good works. For we are most
certain, that he who does so, shall not miss his salvation;
and, what is more, we know that God has never yet re
fused, nor never will refuse, any man his grace and assist
ance. It is therefore, our main business, since we are
assured of these two points, to continue in the doing of
good works, that he may by that means be of the number
of those happy souls, whom God has chosen to be
partakers of his glory for ever.
CHAPTER VII.
Of the seventh motive that obliges us to the pursuit of virtue,
which is, Death, the first of the four last things.
1. Any one of the aforementioned motives ought to be
sufficient to persuade men to give themselves up entirely
to the service of a master that has obliged them with so
many favours. But, because duty and justice have less
influence over the generality of mankind, than profit and
interest, I will therefore add those great advantages which
are proposed as the recompence and reward of virtue, both
in this life and in the next, and shall first speak of the two
greatest, viz. : the glory we shall acquire, and the punish
ment we shall avoid, by faithfully adhering to it. These
are the two oars that are so serviceable to us in this
voyage ; they are, as it were, the compass by which we
may steer our course more steadily and securely. This
is the reason why St. Francis and St. Dominick, in their
rules, both of them moved by the same spirit, and making
use of the very same words, commanded the preachers of
their orders, never to take any other subjects of their ser
mons but virtue and vice, heaven and hell ; the one to
instruct us how to live well, the other to incline us to it.
It is a received opinion among philosophers, that reward
and punishment are, as it were, the two springs which

68 the sinner's guide.
make the wheels of a man's life turn round in regular
motion. For such, alas ! is our happiness, and so great
the corruption of our nature, that no one can endure naked
virtue, that is to say, if the fear of punishment does not
go along with it, or the hope of a reward attend it. But
since there is no punishment or reward which can so justly
deserve our consideration as those which are never to
have an end, we will, therefore, speak here of everlasting
glory, and everlasting torments, together with those other
two things that are to precede them, which are death and
judgment. For any one of these points, considered with
attention, may be infinitely advantageous to the making us
love virtue and hate vice, according to the wise man, where
he says : In all that thou undertakest, remember thy last end,
and thou shalt never sin. Eccl. vii. 40. He means here
those four things we have just now mentioned, and which
we are going to discourse on.
Section I. — 2. To begin with the first, which is death.
The reason why this, of all the rest, works most on us, is
its being the most certain, the most frequent, and the most
familiar of them all, especially if we reflect upon the par
ticular judgment that is to be given on the whole course
of our lives at that time, which when once past, will not
be reversed on the general judgment-day; for whatsoever
is then decreed shall stand good for ever. But how rigor
ous this judgment will be, and how severe an account will
be taken of our actions, I do not desire you should believe
upon my bare allegation, but that you give credit to a
passage, related by St. John Climachus upon this point, to
which he himself was an eye witness, and is indeed one of
the most dreadful I ever read in my life. He tells us,
" there was a certain monk in his time called Hesychius,
who lived in a cell on Mount Horeb. Having led a very
careless and negligent sort of life, during the whole time
of his retirement, without so much as ever thinking of his
salvation, he was at last taken very ill, and, being past all
hopes of recovery, lay for about the space of an hour as
if he had been quite dead. But afterwards coming to
himself again, he earnestly desired that we would all go
out of his cell. And, as soon as ever we had left him, he
walled up his door, and remained thus, shut up within his
cell, for twelve years, never speaking one word to any
person during all that time. He lived upon nothing but

the sinner's guide. 69
bread and water ; and continued always sitting, keeping
his whole thoughts, as if it had been in perpetual ecstacy,
so bent upon what he had seen in his vision, that he never
so much as once altered the posture he was in, but remain
ing, as it were, always out of his senses, and in deep
silence, wept most bitterly. A little before his death we
broke open his door, and went into his cell, earnestly de
siring him to speak some words of edification. But all we
could get from him was, " Pardon me, my brethren, if I
have nothing else to say to you but this ; that he who has
the thoughts of death deeply imprinted on his mind can
never sin." These are St. John Climachus's own words,
who was present when this happened, and relates nothing
but what he saw ; so that though the passage may seem
incredible, there is no cause to mistrust the truth of it,
since we have it from so grave and so credible an author.
There is nothing which we ought not to fear, when we
consider the life this holy man led, but much more if we
inquire into the frightful vision that was the occasion of
his long penance ! This evidently makes out the truth of
that saying of the wise man : Be mindful to thy last end, and
thou shalt never sin. Eccl. vii. 40. If, then, this considera
tion be of such force as to make us avoid sin, let us briefly
reflectupon the most remarkable circumstances that attend
it, to the end we may by this means obtain so great a benefit.
3. Remember, therefore, that you are a man and a
christian. As man, you know you are to die, and as
a christian, you know you are to give an account of your
life as soon as dead. Daily experience will not permit us
to doubt the one, nor the faith we profess let us call the
other into question. Every one of us all lies under this
necessity. Kings and popes must submit to it. The day
will come when you shall not live to see night, or a night
when you shall not survive till day. The day will come,
and you know not whether it shall not be this very day or
to-morrow, when you yourself, who are now reading this
treatise in perfect health, and who perhaps think the num
ber of your days will be answerable to your business and
wishes, shall be stretched out on your bed, with a taper in
your hand, expecting the last stroke of death, and the
execution of that sentence which is passed upon all man
kind, and from which there is no appeal. Consider, then,
the uncertainty of this hour, for generally it surprises us
d 2

70 the sinner's guide.
when we least think of it, and is, therefore, said to come -
like a thief in the night ; that is, when men are fastest
asleep. A violent and mortal sickness is the usual fore
runner of death, and of all its attendants. Pains, aches,
distractions, griefs, ravings, long and tedious nights, which
quite tire and wear us out, are but so many ways and dis
position towards it. And as we see that an enemy, before
he can force his entrance into a town, must batter down
the walls, so the forerunner of death is some raging dis
temper, which so furiously, without intermission, batters
down our natural vigour, and breaks in upon the chief
parts of the body, that the soul, not able to hold out longer,
is obliged to surrender.
4. But when the sickness grows desperate, and the phy
sician or the distemper itself undeceive us, by leaving us
no hopes of life, how great is our anguish at that time ?
Then it is we begin with concern and sorrow to think of
departing this life, and of forsaking whatsoever we held
most dear. Wife, children, friends, relations, estates,
dignities, employments, all vanish when we die. Next
follows those last accidents, that attend us just at our going
off, which are much more grievous than all the rest; the
feet grow cold, the nose shrinks in, the tongue stammers
and is incapable of performing its duty, in fine, all the.
senses and members are in confusion and disorder on so
sudden and hasty a departure. Thus man, at his going
out of the world, by his own sufferings, pays back those
pains he put others to when he came into it ; so that there
is no great difference, as to the matter of suffering, be
tween his birth and his death, since they are both of them
attended with grief, the first with what his mother endured,
and the last what he endured himself.
5 . Nor is this all that makes this last passage so terrible ;
for after their violent anguish, there appears before him the
approach of death, the end of life, the horror of the
grave, the miserable condition of the body, just ready to
be preyed on by worms : but what is more dreadful yet
than all the rest, is the lamentable state of the poor soul,
as yet shut up in the body, but knowing not where she
shall be within two hours ; it is then you will imagine
yourself before the judgment-seat of Almighty God, and
all your sins rising up against you ; it is then, unhappy
man, you will be sensible of the heinousness of those

the sinner's guide. 7l
crimes you committed with so little concern ; it is then
you will curse a thousand times the day in which you
sinned, and those pleasures, which were the occasions of
your offences : your condition will be so deplorable, that
you will never be able sufficiently to deplore your own
blindness and folly, when you shall see for what trifles (for
all you have so foolishly set your affections on are no
better) you have exposed yourself to the dangers of
suffering most exquisite torments, which you will even
then be sensible of : for the pleasure being now all over,
and the judgment that is to be passed on them approach
ing, that which of itself was little, and now ceases to be,
seems nothing, and that, which of itself is of so much
weight and consequence, being present, appears just as it
is : thus will you become sensible of the danger you have
exposed yourself to, of losing so much bliss for the en
joyment of mere vanities, and which way soever you turn
your eyes, you will see you are surrounded with subjects
of sorrow and trouble ; for you have no time left to do
penance, the glass of your life is run out, nor must you
expect the least assistance from your friends, or from
those idols you have hitherto adored ; nay, what you have
had the most affection for, will be the greatest torment
and affliction to you then. Tell me now, if you can, what
your thoughts will be at that time, when you shall see
yourself reduced to such extremities ? whither will you
run ? what will you do ? or to whom will you have re
course ? To go back is impossible, to go forward is in
tolerable, to continue as you are is not allowed ; what is it
then you will do ? Then, says God, by the mouth of his
Prophet, the sun shall go down at mid-day, and I will
make the earth dark in the day of light, and I will turn
your feasts into mourning, and all your songs into lamen
tation ; and your last day into a day of bitterness. Amos
viii. 9, 10. Is there any thing more dreadful than these
words ? God says the sun shall go down at mid-day, be
cause then the wicked having the multitude of their sins
is before them, and perceiving God's justice is beginning
to shorten the course of their life, many of them shall be
seized with such dread and despair, as to imagine that God
has entirely removed his mercy from them. So that though
they are still in broad day, that is, within the bounds of
life, a time to merit good or evil, they persuade them-

72 the sinner's guide.
selves that, do what they can, it is lost, since it is impos-'
sible to obtain pardon. Fear is a very powerful passion ;
it makes those things which are little seem great, and
gives us a near view of that which is farthest from us. If
a light apprehension has been able sometimes to do so
much, what must a certain and real danger do ? Though
they see they have a little life left, and all their friends
about them, yet they fancy they already begin to feel the
torments of the damned in hell. They look on themselves
as between life and death, and grieving at the loss of the
goods of this life, which they are j ust ready to part with,
they begin to suffer the pains of the next, which they ap
prehend. They think those men happy whom they leave
behind, and envying the condition of others, increase their
own misery. It is then the sun shall truly set to them at
noon, when, which way soever they look, the way to
heaven shall seem to be blocked up against them, and they
shall not see so much as the least glimmering light. If
they look up towards God's mercy they think themselves
unworthy of it ; if they reflect on his justice, they imagine
it is now going to fall on them ; that till then it has been
their day, but now it is the day of God's wrath ;' if they
consider their lives past, there is scarce one moment but
what rises up in judgment against them; if they reflect
on the present time, they see themselves on their death
beds ; if they look forward, they imagine they see the j udge
waiting for them. What can they do, or whither can they
fly from so many objects of fear and terror ?
6. The Prophet tells them, that God will make the earth
dark in the day of light: which is, that those things which
they have most delighted in before, shall now become the
greatest occasions of their sorrow. A man in perfect
health loves to see his children, his friends, his family,
his riches, and whatsoever else can be any way agreeable
to him ; but this light shall be then turned to darkness,
because all these things will be a great affliction to a
dying man : and there is nothing will be a greater tor
ment to him than what he most delighted in. For as we
naturally are pleased in the possession of what we love,
so are we equally troubled and concerned at the loss of it.
This is the reason why they will not let a man's children
come near him when he is dying ; and why women, that
are unwilling to lose their husbands keep from them at

the sinner's guide. 73
this time, for fear the sight of one another should increase
grief and sorrow. And, though the journey is so long,
and the period of absence endless, yet grief breaks through
all, and scarcely allows him that is departing, leisure to
bid his friends farewell. If you have ever been in this
condition, you cannot but acknowledge all that I say to
be^true ; but if you have never yet made the experiment,
-Relieve those that have. Let them that sail on the sea tell
the dangers thereof. Eccl. xliii. 26.
Section II. — 7- If the circumstances which go before
death are so frightful, what must those be which follow it?
Death has no sooner closed the sick man's eyes, than he
is brought before the judgment-seat of Almighty God, to
render his accounts to him, who will avenge himself with
severity and terror for the crimes which have been com
mitted against him. For the understanding of this you are
not to inquire of the men of the world, who, living in Egypt,
that is, in darkness and ignorance, are always exposed to
mistakes and errors. Ask the saints, who dwell in the land
of Jessen, where the light of this truth shines always in
its full vigour. They will tell you, not only by their words,
but by their actions, how terrible this account will be.
For David, though so holy a man, was so prepossessed
with this fear, and with the just apprehensions of the ac
count he was to give, that he begged of God, saying, Enter
not into judgment with thy servant, 0 Lord, for in thy sight no
man living shall be justified. Ps. cxlii. 2. Arsenius was a
great saint, who had lived a very virtuous and rigid life
for several years in the desert ; and yet finding that he
had but a very little time to live, was seized with such
apprehensions of this judgment, that his disciples, who
were all gathered together about him, perceiving it, asked
him this question : " Father, are you now afraid ?" To
which the holy man made answer : " This is no new fear,
which you observe in me, my children ; it is what I have
been sensible of all my life-time." They write that St.
Agatho, when he was near his death, was seized with the
same apprehensions, and, being asked what he could be
afraid of, who had lived so virtuously, said, "because the
judgments of God are quite different from those of men."
St. John Climachus gives another no less dreadful example
of a holy monk, which, being very remarkable, I will here
relate it in the saint's own words. " There was a certain

74 the sinner's guide.
religious man," says he, " called Stephen, that lived in
this place, after having spent a great many years in a
monastery, where he was in much repute, on account of
his tears and fasting, and where he had enriched his soul
with several other excellent virtues ; but having an ex
treme desire to lead a solitary and retired life, he built
himself a cell at the bottom of Mount Horeb, where the
Prophet Elias had the honour to see God. This man, not
withstanding his great austerity and rigour, thinking that
what he did was not enough, but aspiring to a more rigid
and severe wayof living, went to anotherplace calledSiden,
where some holy anchorets lived. Here he continued for
some years in the severest and strictest life imaginable,
destitute of all human comfort and conversation, having
seated his hermitage about three score and ten miles from
any town. But the good old man, towards the endof his life,
came back again to his first cell, at the foot of Mount
Horeb, having there with him two disciples that were
natives of Palestine, who had retired thither not long before
he came back. Within a few days after his return, he fell
into his last sickness. The day before he died, being in a
kind of ecstasy, but with his eyes open, and gazing first on
one side of his bed, and then on the other, just as if he seen
persons there, who made him give an account of his life, he
answered so loud that every person could hear him, some
times saying, ' Yes, I confess it — that is true : but I have
fasted so many years in atonement for the sin.' Sometimes
he was heard to say, ' That is false, you wrong me, I
never did any such thing.' Immediately after: 'As to
that, I acknowledge it. You are in the right, but I have
bewailed the same, and have done penance for it, by
serving my neighbour upon such and such occasions.' —
Then again he cried out : ' That is not true ; you are all
impostors.' But to other accusations, he answered : ' It
is true, and I have nothing to say to that point, but that
our God is a God of mercy.' Certainly this invisible
judgment being so severe, could not but be terrible and
frightful. And what ought to make it more dreadful, they
laid such crimes to his charge as he had never been guilty
of. 0 my God ! if an hermit, after about forty years
spent in religious and solitary life, after having obtained
the gift of tears, declared that he had nothing to say for
himself, as to some sin that were brought against him, what

I'UE SINNER'S GUIDE. 75
will become of such a miserable and unhappy wretch as I
am ? Nay, what is yet more, I have been credibly in
formed by several, that whilst he lived in the desert, he
used to feed a leopard with his own hands. He died as he
was giving this account of himself, leaving us in an entire
uncertainty of the end of this judgment, and of the sen
tence that was passed on him." Thus far St. John Clima-
chus. By this, we may plainly see, what apprehensions a
man that has lived idly and carelessly must be in, when
he comes to die, since such great saints as these have been
so hard put to it at that moment.
8. Should you ask one, what there is in death that can
affright such holy men, I will answer you out of St. Gre
gory's fourth book of Morals, ch. 16, 17, 18, where he says,
" The saints, seriously considering how just the Judge is,
to whom they are to give an account of all their actions,
are continually thinking on the last moment of their lives,
and carefully examining themselves on what answer they
shall make to every question their Judge shall put to
them. But if they find themselves free from all those sin
ful actions which they might have committed : another
subject of their apprehension is, lest they should have con
sented to those bad thoughts to which man's corruption
always exposes him. For let us suppose that the over
coming of such temptations as lead to the performance of
some sinful action, is no very hard matter, yet you will
not find it so easy to secure yourself against the continual
war, raised by bad thoughts. And though these holy men
are always afraid of the secret judgments of so just a Judge,
yet they then particularly fear them most, when they are
at the point of discharging the common debt of nature,
and when they perceive themselves advancing nigher to
their sovereign Master. But this fear of theirs is much
greater at that time when the soul is just going to quit
the body. Then it is, that the mind is no longer filled
with idle thoughts, nor the imagination drawn away by
impertinent fancies. Neither does he that is now done
with this world, think of any thing that is in it. Dying
men think of nothing but themselves, and God who is just
before them. They look on every thing else as no concern
of theirs. But if, whilst they are in this condition, they
cannot think of any good action, which they have know
ingly omitted, they are afraid lest they might have omitted

76 THE SINNER'S GUIDE.
that which they did know ; because they cannot pass a
true judgment on themselves, nor have perfect knowledge
of their own failings. This is the reason of their being
seized at death with such great and secret apprehensions,
because they know they are entering into a state, which
they shall never afterwards be able to change." These are
St. Gregory's own words, which plainly show us there is
much more to be feared in this judgment, and at this
hour, than worldly men can imagine.
9. If this j udgment is so rigorous, and has been so much
and so justly dreaded by holy men, what apprehensions
ought theirs to be, who are not so ? They who have spent
the greatest part of their lives in vanities and trifles, who
have so frequently despised God, and his commandments,
who have scarce so much as ever thought of their salva
tion, and have taken so little pains to prepare themselves
for their last hour ? If the just man be ready to sink
under the weight of his fear, how shall the sinner be able
to keep up? If the cedar of Lebanon be thus shaken,
what will become of the reed in the wilderness ? And
in short, If, as St. Peter says, the just man shall scarcely be
saved, where shall the ungodly and the sinner appear ? 1 Pet.
iv. 18. Tell me now, after all this, what will be your
thoughts at that hour, when, having left this world, you
appear before the divine tribunal, in a lonely, poor, and
naked condition, without any other assistance but what
your own good works will bring you, without any other
company but that of your own conscience ; and if your
accounts fall short, how miserable will your condition
be ? To what shame and confusion will your past neglects
put you? The princes of Judah were without doubt
very much surprised when they saw the conqueror Sesach,
king of Egypt, putting all Jerusalem to the sword. Their
present punishment brought them to a sense of their
former crimes ; and yet what was all this in comparison
with the trouble and disorder the wicked shall be in, when
they are near their end ? What shall they do, whither shall
they go, or what defence shall they be able to make ?
Their tears will then be unprofitable to them, their repent
ance will not avail, their prayers will not be taken notice
of, nor their promises of future amendment regarded ;
they will have no more time given them to do penance ;
and as for their riches, their honours, or the respect the

THE SINNER'S GUIDE. 77
world gave them, they will signify least of all. For, ac
cording to the wise man, riches shalt not profit in the day of
revenge, but justice shall deliver from death. Prov. xi. 4.
What will a poor soul do, when it sees itself surrounded
with so many miseries ? what will it do but cry out with
the Royal Psalmist, The sorrows of death have compassed
me, and the perils of hell have found me. Ps. cxiv. 3.
Unhappy wretch that I am ! To what a miserable condi
tion have my sins reduced me? how unexpectedly has this
unfortunate hour stolen on me ? how suddenly has it sur
prised me when I least thought of it ? what good will all
my former titles and honours do me now ? All my friends
and servants, those riches and revenues which I have once
been master of, what service can I expect from them now ?
Six or seven feet of clay at the most, with a poor winding
sheet to bury me in, is to be my whole inheritance ; and
to complete my misery, all that money that I have been so
long hoarding up, with so much pains and injustice, I must
now leave behind me, to be squandered away by an extra
vagant heir, whilst the sins I have been guilty of in getting
it will pursue me to the next world to condemn me to
eternal torments. Where is now the delight I took in all
my former recreations and pleasures ? They are now at
an end for ever, and nothing but the pangs of them re
main ; that is the scruples and remorse of my guilty con
science ; the stings of which pierce my very heart, and
will torment me for all eternity. Why did I not rather
employ my time in preparing myself for this last hour ?
How often have I been forewarned of what I suffer, but
would never give ear to the advice? Why have I hated
instruction, and my heart consented not to reproof; and have
not heard the voice of them that taught me, nor inclined my
ear to masters ? Prov. v. 12, 13. I have committed all
kinds of sins and iniquities, in the very bosom of the
church, and in the sight of all the world.
1 0. See here whatanxietics and disquietudes thewicked
will be rent with. See here what a burden their own
thoughts will be to thorn in this miserable condition. But
to preserve you from falling into the same misfortunes,
I here advise you to gather from what has been said,
these three considerations, and to keep them continually
in your mind. The first is, that of the trouble you will be
in at the hour of your death, for all those sins you have

78 the sinner's GUIDE.
committed against God during the whole course of your
life. The second is, how you will wish to have served
him, that he might be favourable to you at this moment.
The last is, what a rigid penance you would willingly un
dergo in this world, if you could but obtain the favour
of returning thither, that you might begin from that
very moment to live as you will then desire to have
lived before.

CHAPTER VIII.
Of the eighth motive that obliges us to the pursuit of virtue,
which is the last Judgment, the second of the four last things.
1. As soon as ever the soul has left the body, immedi
ately follows its particular judgment, and after that, the
general one of all mankind together ; at which time shall
be accomplished what the Apostle said: We must all be
manifested before the judgment-seat of Christ, that every one
may receive the proper things of the body, according as he hath
done, whether it be good or evil. 2 Cor. v. 10. Having
treated, in another place, of those dreadful signs, which
are to be the forerunners of the general judgment-day,
I shall speak here of nothing but that severe and exact
account, which will be then required from us, and of
what is to follow, that this may teach man how much he
is obliged to the pursuit of virtue.
2. As to the first, which is the strict inquiry God will
make into all our actions, it is so frightful, that there was
nothing surprised holy Job more than to consider, that
God, whose majesty is so great, could show so much
rigour towards man, notwithstanding his being so frail a
creature as to set down every word, every thought, every
motion of his, in his book of justice, to require a parti
cular account thereof. After having said a great deal to
this purpose, he goes on thus : Why hidest thou thy face and
thinkest me thy enemy ? Against a leaf that is carried away
with the wind, thou showest thy power, and thou pursuest a
dry straw. For thou writest bitter things against me, and wilt
consume me for the sins of my youth : thou hast put my feet
in the stocks, and hast observed all my paths, and hast consi
dered the steps of my feet, who am to be consumed as rotten
ness, and as a garment that is moth-eaten. Job xiii. 24, 25,
26, 27, 28.

THE SINNER'S GUIDE. 79
Immediately after he adds, Man born of a woman living
for a short time is filled with many miseries. Who cometh
forth like a flower, and is destroyed ; andfleeth as a shadow,
and never continueth in the same state. And dost thou think
it meet to open thy eyes upon such an one, and to bring him
into judgment with thee ? Who can make him clean that is
conceived of unclean seed ? Is it not thou who only art? Job
xiv. 1, 2, 3, 4. These are the terrible words which Job
spoke, filled with surprise and astonishment at the seve
rity the divine justice exercises against so poor and help
less a creature as is man ; against one so bent on any
thing that is evil, and that drinks up iniquity like water
For that God should be so severe to the angels, who are
spiritual, and very perfect creatures, is not to be a matter
of so much wonder : but for his justice to call men, whose
vicious inclinations are numberless, to so strict an account,
as not to pass over any one circumstance of their whole
lives, not to leave out any one idle word, nor so much as
one moment of time that has been misemployed, without
a very narrow inquiry into it, is a subject of the greatest
amazement. For who can hear these words of our
Saviour without astonishment ? / say unto you, that
every idle word that men shall speak, they shall render an
account for it in the day of judgment. Matt. xii. 36. If we
are to give an account of such words as these are, that
hurt nobody, what an examination will be made into
lewd discourses, unchaste thoughts, bloody hands, and
lascivious looks ? What, in short, into all that time men
have spent in committing sinful actions ? And if this be
true, as doubtless it is, what can a man say of the severity
of this judgment, but it will fall far short of it ? What a
fright will a poor man be in, to see himself accused before
so venerable an assembly, of some light word he spoke in
his life-time, without any design or intention ? Who will
not be surprised at so strange a charge ? or who would
have dared to affirm this, had not God himself said it ?
Was there ever any prince that called his servant to
account for the loss of a pin or a needle ? O the excel
lence of the christian religion ! what perfection and
purity dost thou teach, and how strict an account wilt
thou require of it, and with how rigorous a judgment
wilt thou examine into it.
3. Now if this judgment-day be so great a subject of all

80 THE SINNER'S GUIDE;
men's astonishment, what shame and confusion must sin
ners be then put to ? For all the wickedness they have
ever committed, with so much caution and privacy in their
most secret closets, and all the impurities they have ever
been defiled with, and all the evil that has lain hid in the
darkest recesses of their souls, shall be then made public,
and exposed to the view of all the world. Is there any
man now, whose conscience is so clear, as not to begin to
blush and be afraid of this confusion ? We see how often
it happens, that men, upon no other motive but that of a
sinful and criminal shame, will not discover their secret
sins to their confessors, not even in confession, where the
obligation to secresy is so inviolable, and the tie so sacred.
They, for no other reason but this, choose rather to let
their souls be pressed down under the weight of their sins,
than to undergo the shame of revealing them. How great
then will that shame be, which men shall be put to before
God, and in the sight of all ages, past, present, and to
come ? The Prophet tells us this confusion will be so
extraordinary, that the wicked shall say to the mountains,
cover us, and to the hills, fall upon «s, that we may not be
exposed to such shame.
4. But what horror will they be filled with, at the hear
ing of this last sentence thundered out against them,
Depart from me you accursed, into everlasting fire, which ivas
preparedfor the devil and his angels. Matt, xxv. 41. What
will the damned think at the sound of those dreadful
words ? If, says Job, we can scarce endure the sound of
his voice, who shall be able to look against the thunder of his
greatness ? This word will carry such a force alone with
it, that it will make the earth open in a moment, to swallow
up and bury in its bowels those who, as the same Job
says, ch. xxi. 12. Take the timbrel and the harp, and rejoice
at the sound of the organ. St. John, in his Revelations, de
scribes this fall in these words : " I saw an angel come
down from heaven, having great power, and the earth was
enlightened with his glory. And he cried mightily with a
strong voice, saying, Babylon the great is fallen, it is fallen,
and is become the habitation of devils, and the hold of every
foul spirit, and the cage of every unclean and hateful bird."
Revel, xxiii. i. 2. In the same place the holy Evangelist
adds, " And a mighty angel took up a stone like a mill
stone, and cast it into the sea, saying, Thus with violence

THE SINNER'S GUIDE. 81
shall that great city Babylon be thrown down, and shall be
found no more at all." After the same manner shall the
wicked, who are to beunderstood hereby Babylon, befiung
into the dungeon of everlasting darkness and confusion.
5. But what tongue shall be able to express the multi
tude of torments they are to suffer there ? Their bodies
shall burn in scorching flames, which shall never be extin
guished ; the worm of conscience shall perpetually gnaw
and tear their very souls in pieces, without ever being tired
or sated. It is there that weeping, and wailing, and gnash
ing of teeth, we are so often threatened with in holy scrip
ture, shall never cease. There it is that the damned,
hurried on with rage and despair, shall vent their fury on
God and themselves, biting off their flesh, bursting their
hearts with sighs and grief, breaking their teeth with
grinning and vexation, like madmen pulling their own
limbs in pieces, and continually blaspheming that just God
who has condemned them to such torment. There every
one of them will a thousand times curse the hour of his
birth, frequently repeating, though with a different spirit,
these words of holy Job : " Let the day perish wherein I
was born, and the night in which it was said, a man child
is conceived. Let that day be turned into darkness, let
not God regard it from above, neither let the light shine
upon it. Let darkness and the shadow of death cover it.
let a mist overspread it, and let not the light shine upon it,
Let a darksome whirlwind seize upon that night; let it not
,be counted in the days of the year, nor numbered in the
months. Why did not I die in the womb, why did I not
perish when I came out of the belly ? Why received upon
the knees? Why suckled at the breasts ? Job iii. 3, 4, 5,
6, 11, 12, These are the complaints the damned shall
make in hell for all eternity. 0 unhappy tongues, which
shall never utter any thing but blasphemies ! O wretched
ears, which shall never hear any thing but frightful shrieks
and groans J O unhappy eyes, which shall never see any
thing but objects of misery ! O wretched bodies, which,
instead of being refreshed, shall be eternally burning in
hell-flames ! What a condition will those sensual persons
be in then, who have spent all their days in sports and
delights ? 0 ! for how short and how fleeting a pleasure
have they brought on themselves an endless train of mi
series? Foolish and sensual creatures ! what do all your

82 THE SINNER'S GUIDE.
pastimes which lasted so short a time, avail you, when the
consequence is an eternity of pain and sorrow ? what is
now become of all your riches and treasures ? where are
now your delights ? Your seven fruitful years are now
over and they are followed by seven years of such bar
renness that your former abundance is all swallowed up,
and not the least sign or memory of it remains. Your
honour is lost, and your happiness drowned, in that ocean
of sorrow. You are reduced to such extremity as not to
be allowed one single drop of water to quench the scorch
ing thirst which parches up your very bowels : nay, your
past prosperity is so far from giving you any comfort
now, that it is one of your greatest torments. For then
shall be fulfilled this saying of Job : " The delight of the
wicked shall be changed into worms." Which, accord
ing to St. Gregory, will happen, when the remembrance
of their past pleasures shall be an increase of their pre
sent torments : when they shall call to mind the days they
have seen, and those they now see ; thus unhappily ex
periencing, at their own cost, that, for things of so short
a continuance they suffer miseries which shall never have
an end. Then they will plainly see how the enemy has
deceived them, and being now, though too late, sensible
of their folly, they will begin to make use of these words
in the book of Wisdom : " We have erred from the way
of truth, and the light of justice hath notshined unto us,
and the sun of understanding hath not risen upon us.
We wearied ourselves in the way of iniquity and de
struction, and have walked through hard ways, but the
way of theLord we have not known." Wisd. v. 6, 7. These
are to be the perpetual complaints of the damned, this
their repentance, this their sorrow, but all to no purpose,
for the time of improving is now past.
6. The due consideration of these things cannot but
excite us to the love of virtue. And, therefore, St. Chry-
sostom often makes use of these arguments in his Homilies,
to exhort us to it. In one of them he says, " That you
may prepare your soul in time, to be the temple and abode
of God, call to mind the dreadful day when we are to
appear before the throne of Jesus Christ, to give an ac
count to him of all our actions. Consider in what manner
this Lord will come to judge the living and the dead.
Consider how many thousands of angels will attend him.

THE SINNER'S GUIDE. 83
Imagine you already hear the sound of that frightful, but
irrevocable sentence, which Jesus Christ will pass against
the world. Consider, that as soon as this sentence shall
be given, some will be tumbled headlong into outward
darkness ; others, though they have taken a great deal of
pains for the preserving of their virginity, shall have the
gates of heaven shut on them ; some shall be tied up like
bundles of weeds, and flung into the fire, others again shall
be delivered up as a prey, to the worm which will never
die, and condemned to everlasting wailing and gnashing of
teeth." We are all of us convinced of the truth of these
things ; why then do not we, whilst we have time, cry out
with the Prophet, Who will give water to my head, and a
fountain of tears to my eyes, and I will weep day and night ?
Jerm. ix. 1 . Let us, therefore, hasten and endeavour,
before it is too late, to prevent the judgment by a con
fession of our sins ; it is written : Who shall confess to thee,
0 Lord, in hell ? Ps. vi. 6.
7. Let us consider farther that God has given us two
eyes, two ears, two feet, and two hands, that if we should
happen to lose the use of any one of these members, the
other may still serve us. But he has given us but one soul,
so that if we lose that, we have no other left us to enjoy
eternal glory. Let it therefore be our main concern to
preserve it, for this soul must be one day saved or damned
with the body for ever, and must appear before the tri
bunal of our great God, where, if you would excuse your
self, saying you were dazzled with the false glittering of
money, the judge will answer, that he forewarned you of
this danger, when he said, What doth it profit a man if he
gain the whole world, and suffer the loss of his own soul?
Matt. xvi. 26. Should you say the devil seduced me, he
will tell you that Eve did not clear herself by saying, it
was the serpent that deceived her. Gen. iii.
8. Look into the scriptures, and consider the Prophet
Jeremiah's vision : first he saw a watching-rod, and then
a great cauldron boiling over a hot fire, to signify how God
dealt with men. First he threatens, and then, if that will
not do punishes them. Nor is it to be doubted, but that
he who will not submit to the correction of the rod, shall
be made to undergo the torture of the cauldron. Read
but the gospel, and you will see that nobody offered to

84 the sinner's GUIDE.
intercede for those unhappv wretches whom our Saviour
condemned. Brothers did not speak for their brothers,
nor friends for their friends ; the father did not stand up
for his son, nor the son for his father. But what do I
speak of these who were sinful men, since neither Noe,
Daniel, or Job, notwithstanding all their virtue or piety,
will be able to alter the sentence once given by the judge.
Ezech. xxvi. See whether any one durst so much as open
his mouth in favour of him, who was turned away from
the wedding-dinner. Matt. xxii. 11, 12, 13, and xxv. 11,
12, 13. See whether any body ever spoke one word for
that servant who would not trade with the talent hismaster
entrusted him with. Which of all those five virgins, that
could not get any admittance into heaven, ever found any
one that undertook to plead her cause ? Jesus Christ him
self called them fools, for managing themselves so un
wisely, as after having despised the delights of the flesh,
and extinguished the fire of concupiscence; nay, after
having observed the great precept of virginity, to neglect
the commandment of humility, which seems to be much
easier, and to take a pride in_ their chastity. Consider
whether the rich man, who took no pity on Lazarus, could
obtain one single drop of water, which he begged of the
Patriarch Abraham, as poor a comfort as it was to miti
gate those scorching flames that so tormented him. Luke
xvi. Why then will we not charitably assist each other ?
why will we not praise and glorify God before the sun of
his justice is set, and before he removes his light from our
eyes ? We had much better let our tongues be parched
with fasting for the short remainder of this life, than,
having satisfied them in this world, to let them be reduced
to the necessity of begging a drop of water in the next,
out of all possibility of obtaining it. If we are so nice and
tender here, that we cannot suffer the heat of a light fever
the space of three days, how shall we be able to endure
those eternal burnings ? If the sentence of death passed
on us by a mortal judge, who cannot take away above forty
or fifty years of our life at farthest, be so terrible, why do
not we tremble at the sentence that is to be given by a
j udge, in whose power it is to deprive us of life everlast
ing ? It terrifies us to see the punishments inflicted on
malefactors here on earth, to see the executioners drag

THE SINNER'S GUIDE. 85
them away by force, scourge, disjoint, quarter, tear, or
burn them ; and yet what is this but a mere dream or
shadow, in comparison to the pains of hell ? For death
puts an end to all these sufferings, but there the worm of
conscience never dies, there life is never at an end ; the
tormentors are never tired, and the fire is never put out.
Let us, therefore, set what we will against this misery, let
it be fire or sword, wild beasts, or any other kind of tor
ment whatever, to this it will appear but as an imperfect
draft or representation.
8. What will these unhappy wretches do, when they
shall see themselves deprived of so many blessings, and
condemned to suffer such unspeakable miseries ? What
will they say ? How will they cry out against themselves ?
How horribly will they sigh and groan, and yet to what
little purpose ? For neither is the sailor useful after he has
lost his vessel, nor the physician when his patient is dead.
It is then but too late, alas ! they will begin to reflect on
their sins, and to say, we should look better to ourselves,
and not have fallen into this deplorable state. Alas ! how
often have we been told of this, and would take no notice
of it ? The Jews shall then know him who came in the
name of the Lord, but it shall not avail them, because they
would not know him when this knowledge might have been
beneficial to them. But what shall we miserable creatures,
be able to say for ourselves, when heaven and earth, the
sun and moon, night and day, nay, the whole world, shall
cry out against us, and be witnesses of the sins we have
committed : but should every thing else be silent, we have
still' our consciences to rise up against and accuse us. This
is almost all taken out of St. John Chrysostom, and is suf
ficient to show us how terrible the idea of this dreadful
day must be to those persons, who have not. governed
themselves by the dictates of reason and virtue. St. Am
brose, as severely as he searched into his own actions,
gives us plainly to understand, in his Commentaries on
St. Luke, that this was his sentiment : his words are
these : " Wo unto me, O Lord, if I do not bewail my
sins ; if I do not rise at midnight to praise thy holy name,
if I deceive my neighbour, or if I speak against the truth,
because the axe is now laid to the root of the tree." Let
him, therefore, who is in the state of grace, endeavour to
bring forth the fruits of justice; let him, who is in the
E

86 THE SINNER'S GUIDE.
state of sin, endeavour to bring forth the fruits of penance.
For the Lord is nigh at hand, and comes to gather in his
fruit, and will give life to those who work faithfully and
profitably, and death to them who are idle and unser
viceable.
CHAPTER IX.
Of the ninth motive that obliges us to virtue, which is Heaven,
the third of the four last Things.
1. Any one of these considerations we have here pro
posed, should suffice to persuade us to the love of virtue.
But because the heart of man is so stubborn, that very
often all of them together are not able to prevail on it, I
will add here another motive, no less powerful than any
of the others ; that is the happiness and reward promised
to a good life, which is the possession of everlasting glory ;
wherein two things particularly occur to be taken notice
of: one is, the beauty of the place itself, which is heaven ;
the other, the glory and excellency of the King, who keeps
his residence there with all his elect.
As for the first, though no tongue is able to express the
beauty of this place, yet we will endeavour to guess at it
as well as we can, and to discover as it were, at a distance,
some part of it. The first thing then to be considered is,
the end for which God created this excellent frame ; for,
generally the best way of knowing the worth of a thing is
to inquire into the design of it. Now the design of this
place is to make known God's glory. For though, as
Solomon says, The Lord hath made all things for himself —
Prov. xvi. 4. It is plain, nevertheless, that he particularly
made this place for this end, because it is here that he
manifests the greatness and splendour of his glory in a
more than ordinary manner. Therefore, as the great-
King Assuerus, (Esther i.) who reigned over a hundred
and twenty-seven provinces, made a sumptuous feast in the
city of Suza, the metropolis of his empire, which lasted a
hundred and four-score days, with all the cost and state
imaginable, to let his subjects see how powerful and how
rich he was ; so this Almighty King is pleased to make a
noble feast in heaven, not for a hundred and four-score
days only, but for all eternity, to show the infinite immen
sity of his riches, his wisdom, his bounty, and his good
ness. This is the feast Isaias speaks of, when he says,

THE SINNER'S GUIDE. 87
In this mountain shall the Lord of hosts make unto this people
a feast of fat things, a feast of wine, of fat things full of marrow,
of wine purified from the lees, (Isaias xxv. 6.) that is to say,
of most rich and delicious things. If God has prepared
this banquet to make the greatness of his glory known,
we must needs imagine, that since this glory of his is so
great, the beauty of the place where he resides is propor
tionable to it.
2. We shall better understand this, if we but examine
into the power and riches of the Lord, who has chosen it
for his residence. As to his power, it is so great, that he
created the whole world out of nothing with one word,
and with one word only can destroy it again whensoever he
pleases. Nay, it reaches so far, that with one single word
he could have created not only one world, but millions of
them, and have reduced them to nothing with another.
And what is more considerable yet, whatsoever he has
made has cost him no pains nor trouble, nor was it harder
to him to create the noblest seraphim than it was to create
the least insect, because this infinite power can do what
soever it has a mind to do, and whatsoever it has a mind
to do it does purely of its own will, and is neither tired
by the greatest works, nor eased by the least. If this
Lord is so powerful, if the glory of his holy name is so
great, and if he has such a love for his own glory, how
beautiful must that place or that banquet consequently be,
which he has prepared to show us his glory? What is
there wanting towards the perfection of this great work ?
There can be no want of hands, because the workman is
infinitely powerful ; no want of skill, because he is infi
nitely wise ; no want of will, because he is infinitely good ;
no want of wealth, because he is infinitely rich. If, then,
all things be so well disposed to make it great, what must
that work be, which is performed by the omnipotence of
the Father, by the wisdom of the Son, and by the good
ness of the Holy Ghost ? Where goodness inclines, wis
dom directs, and omnipotence performs all that an infinite
goodness desires, and an infinite wisdom prescribes, though
all these things are the same in the same divine persons.
3. There is another remarkable thing yet to be consi
dered in this matter, which is, that God has prepared this
stately place, not only for his own honour, but also for the
glory of all his elect. How solicitous God is for them,

88 the sinner's guide.
and for the effecting of all he has promised in their behalf,
when he said, Whosoever shall glorify me, him will I glorify,
(1 Kings ii. 30.) plainly appears by his actions, since he
has put every thing in the world under their command,
even whilst they are in this life. How wonderful was it
to see Josue command the sun to stand still in the midst of
its course, and to make it stop, as if he had the direction of
the whole world in his powfer ? God, as the scripture says,
obeying the voice of a man. Jos. x. 14. How strange was it
to see the prophet Isaias bid king Ezechius, (Isa.xxxiii. 8.)
chose whether he would have the sun go back ten degrees
upon the dial or forward, for either should be performed ?
How prodigious was it to see the prophet Elias (3 Kings
xvii. 1. and xviii. 43, &c.) lock up the waters and clouds
of heaven as long as he thought fit ; and then command
them, by virtue of his word and prayer, to pour down
their rain again ? Nor is it during their life-time only
that God has given his saints such powers ; he continues
the same after their death, and confers it on their very
bones and ashes. 4 Kings xiii. 21. Who can forbear prais
ing God, when he reads of the prophet Elisha's bones rais
ing a dead man to life, who was accidentally thrown by a
band of highwaymen into the prophet's grave? Who will
deny that God bestows great favours on his saints, when
he hears that the sea opened for three miles together, the
day that St. Clement was martyred, that so those persons,
who had a mind to see the relics of one that had suffered
for Christ's sake might pass over ? God has been pleased
to inspire the whole church to institute a feast in honour
of St. Peter's chains, that we may see what an esteem he
has for the bodies of the saints, since be commanded us to
pay such solemn respect for the fetters they wore. But
what is all this in comparison with the honour which God
did not only to this Apostle's fetters, not only to his bones
or body, but to his very shadow; which, as St. Luke
affirms in the Acts, ch. v. 15, cured all persons of their
distempers that could come within the reach of it. 0 God!
how infinitely art thou to be admired ? O God ! how in
finitely good art thou, and with what an infinite honour
dost thou reward thy saints ? Thou hast given this man
what thou never madest use of thyself ; for nobody ever
saw Jesus Christ curing the sick with his shadow. Now,
if it be certain that God has such a love for his saints,

the sinner's guide. 89
even at such a time and in such a place as is designed for
them to toil and labour in, and not to receive their re
wards : how great must that glory be which he has pre
pared to honour them with, and for which he will be
honoured and praised in them ? What may we imagine
he, who has so great a desire to "glorify them, and who,
at the same time, both can and knows best how to do
whatsoever is capable of contributing to their glory has,
prepared and provided for this end.
4. Consider farther, how liberal God is in rewarding
services done him. He commanded Abraham to sacrifice
his son, whom he loved so .tenderly; and just as the Pa
triarch was on the point of complying with his command,
his divine goodness stopped him, and would not let him
proceed any farther. The angel of the Lord said to him :
Lay not thy hand upon the boy, neither do thou any thing to
him; now I know that thou fearest God, and hast not spared
thy only begotten son for my sake. By my own self have I
sworn, saith the Lord : because thou hast done this thing, and
hast not spared thy only begotten son for my sake : I will bless
thee, and I will multiply thy seed as the stars of heaven, and as
the sand that is by the sea-shore; thy seed shall possess the
gates of their enemies, and in thy seed shall all the nations of the
earth be blessed, because thou hast obeyed my voice. Gen.
xxii. 12, 16, 17, 18. Was not this service well
requited ? It is truly a return that becomes God,
who ought to appear like himself in all things, as well
in the favours he bestows, as in the punishments he
inflicts. David began one night to consider with himself that he
had a house to dwell in, and the ark of God had none, and
thereupon resolved to build one for it. But God sent the
Prophet Nathan to him the next morning with this mes
sage : Because thou hast thought of building me a house, I
swear to thee, that I will build one for thee and thy posterity,
which shall remain for ever ; and I will give thee a kingdom
which shall have no end, nor will I ever remove my mercies
from it. 2 Kings vii. ; 3 Kings viii. 1 ; Chron. xvii. This
was the promise God made David ; nor did he fail in the
performance of it, for the kingdom of Israel was governed
by the princes of the house of David down to the coming
of our Saviour who reigns there now, and will there reign
for all eternity. What follows on this is, that heaven is

90 the sinner's guide.
nothing else but the general reward which God gives
his saints, for all the services they have done him ; and
would we but at the same time consider how generous
God is, in the presents he makes, we might give some
kind of guess at least at the qualities and conditions of
this glory; though it is an abyss too deep for us to
fathom. 5. Another way of passing a judgment on it is, to re
flect on the price God has thought fit it should be pur
chased at for us. For since he has been so liberal to us,
we must not think he would set a greater value on things
than they are worth in themselves. Yet that we might,
after we had sinned, be made partakers of this glory, no
thing less than the blood and death of his only Son could
procure it for us. So that God has been pleased to die the
death of man, that man might live the life of God. God
has suffered those afflictions and tribulations which were
due to man, that man should enjoy the rest and ease that
belonged to God. Nor would man have ever been
honoured with a place among the choirs of angels, had not
God been nailed to the cross between two thieves. How
great a favour then must this be, for the procuring of
which, a God has sweated blood, has been taken prisoner,
has been scourged, spat upon, and buffeted ; and, after all,
has been fastened to a cross ? What can that be, which
God, who is so generous, has prepared, to procure at so
great a rate ? Could a man but fathom this abyss, he could
have no better way of finding out the greatness of eternal
glory. But besides all this, God requires of us as much as pos
sibly can be required of man, which is that we take up our
cross and follow him ; and if our right eye offend us, that
we should pluck it out ; that we have no farther concern for
father or mother, nor regard any thing in this world, be it
what it will, if it be consistent with whatsoever God shall
command us. And after we have punctually complied
with all that he enjoins, he tells us that he bestows this
glory gratis. This is what he says in St. John, lam alpha
and omega ; the beginning and the end. To him that thirsteth
I will give of the fountain of the water of life freely. Apoc. xxi.
6. How great a favour must this be, when God requires
so much for it ; and yet when we have given him all we
can, he tells us himself, he gives it to us for nothing. I say,

the sinner's guide. 91
for nothing, with respect to what our actions are worth in
themselves, when separated from the value grace puts on
them. Tell me now, if this Lord is so liberal in granting
of his favours ; if he has been so good as to bestow upon
every one so many several kinds of benefits even in this
few ; if every creature, both in heaven and earth, has been
created for man's use in general ; if he has given the sin
ner as well as the just, the bad man as well as the good,
a free and common possession of this world, how shall we
be able to rate those inexhaustible riches, which he has
laid up for none but the just ? How will he, who has been
so generous in conferring of his favours on those who have
not deserved them, reward those to whom his graces are
in some manner due ? How noble must he be in requit
ing services done him, who has been always so forward in
bestowing of his mercies ? And if he is so bountiful in
his gifts and presents, how magnificent will he be in the
return he makes ? It is certain we can neither express
nor conceive the glory he will bestow on the grateful, since
he has here laid so many obligations on the unthankful.
Section I. — 6. Something of this glory may be farther
discovered by the situation and height of the place designed
for it, which is not only the most capacious, but the noblest
and most beautiful of all the rest. It is called in the scrip
ture, the land of the living. Whence we are to infer, that
the land we now live in is the land of the dying. If, there
fore, it is certain, there are so many excellent and curious
things in this country of the dying, what must there be,
where those persons reside who are to live for ever ?
Look about in every quarter of the world, and consider
how many beautiful objects there are in it. Observe
the greatness of the heavens, the brightness of the sun,
moon, and stars, the beauteousness of the earth and of the
trees, of birds, and other creatures. Consider how plea
sant the plain and open fields are ; how delightful the
mountains, with their unevenness ; the valleys, with their
greenness ; and how the springs and rivers, which are dis
persed and scattered, like so many veins throughout the
whole body of the earth, contribute with their freshness
to its beauty. Reflect on the vast extent of the seas, which
have such a great variety of wonders in them. What are
the lakes and pools of pure water, but, as it were the eyes
of the earth, or the mirrors of the heavens? Or what can

92 the sinner's guide.
we think of the verdant meadows, interwoven with roses
and other flowers, but that they resemble the firmament all
bespangled with stars in a clear night? What shall we say
of the mines of gold and silver, and. other rich metals, of
rubies, emeralds, diamonds, and other precious stones,
which seem to stand in competition with the stars them
selves, for glittering lustre and beauty ? What shall we
say of that variety of colours, which is to be seen in birds,
in beasts, in flowers, and in an infinite number of other
wonderful objects ? Besides all this, art has added to the
perfections of nature, and so improved the beauty of all
things. Hence come those works, which are so pleasing
to the eye, glittering with gold and precious stones, noble
paintings, delightful gardens, royal garments, stately struc
tures adorned with gold and m arble, and innumerable things
of other sorts. If, then, there are so many, and such de
lights in this, which is the lowest of all the elements, and
the land of the dying, what must there be in that sublime
place, which as far exceeds all the other heavens and ele
ments, in riches, honour, beauty, and all kinds of perfec
tions, as it does in height ? If we consider Thow much
those "beauties of the heavens, which are visible to our eyes,
as the sun, moon and stars, surpass those of this lower
world in brightness, in form, and in duration, how glorious
must we imagine those of the next world to be, which are
only to be seen with immortal eyes ? All we are able to
conceive or think will come infinitely short of them.
"** 7. We know man must have three different places of
habitation, answering to the three different states of life.
His first place of habitation is his mother's womb after his
conception ; his second is the world he lives in after his
birth ; his third is heaven, where he is placed after his
death, if he has lived a good life. These three several places
bear some sort of proportion to one another, so that the
third has, in an infinite degree, all those advantages over
the second, which the second has over the first, as well in
duration, greatness, and beauty, as in all other qualities
whatsoever. As to the duration it is visible, for the length
of life in the first place, is nine months ; in the second, it
sometimes extends to a hundred years ; but in the third, it
lasts for eternity. The same is to be said of the size
of the first place, which has no greater extent than that
of a woman's womb ; the second is no smaller than the

the sinner's guide. 93
whole world itself ; and as for the greatness of the third,
the best rule we have, whereby to judge of it, is the
wide disproportion which is between the first and the se
cond place : nor does it less excel those other places in
beauty, riches, and all other perfections and accomplish
ments, most proper to recommend it to us, than it does in
extent and duration. If, therefore, this world of ours be
so great and glorious as we have represented it, and if,
notwithstanding, the other we have been speaking of, be
as far above it as we said it is, how charming must its
beauty be, and how vast and spacious its extent? This we
may discover by the great difference there is between the
inhabitants of both places, because the splendour of a
building should hold a proportion with the quality of the
person that is to live in it. We are to consider then, that
the place we live in, is the land of the dying, the other of
the living ; the one is the habitation of sinners, the other
of saints ; the one is the dwelling-place of men, the other
of angels ; the one is a place for penitents, the other for
those who are justified ; the one is the field of battle, the
other the city of triumph. In the one, to conclude, there
are enemies as well as friends, whilst there are none but
friends in the other, and those are no other but the elect
themselves. The same difference, that is between the
inhabitants of these two places, is between the places them
selves. For God has created all places suitable to the qua
lity of the persons they are designed for. Glorious things
are said of thee, 0 City of God. Ps. lxxxvi. Thou art im
measurable in thy extent, and most noble in thy structure.
The matter which thou art made of is most precious, the
people that live in thee are most rightous : all thy employ
ments are delightful, all sorts of goods abound in thee,
nor is there any kind of misery whatsoever, which thou art
not entirely secure from. Thou art very great in every
thing, because he who made thee is very great, because the
end which he designed for thee is very noble, and because
those citizens, for whose sake he has created thee, are the
most honourable of all mankind.
Section II  8. All we have hitherto said, relates only
to the accidental glory of the saints, besides which there is
another sort, called essential glory, infinitely beyond the
accidental. This essential glory consists in seeing and en
joying God himself, which St. Augustine speaks of, when
e 2

94 the sinner's guide.
he says, "that virtue shall be rewarded with no less a price
than with God himself, the giver of all earthly virtue,
whom we shall see for all eternity, whom we shall love
without ever being cloyed, and whom we shall praise with
out ever tiring." So that this is the greatest reward
we can receive ; for it is neither heaven or earth, or sea,
nor any created being whatsoever ; but it is God himself,
who, notwithstanding his being free from all kind of mix
ture, contains within himself all that is good and perfect.
For the understanding of this point you must conceive,
that one of the greatest mysteries in this divine substance
is, that it comprehends within itself, in an infinitely emi
nent degree, the perfections of all the creatures, though at
the same time it is a most pure Being : because God hav
ing created them all, and directed them to their last end, he
must of necessity possess what he gives to others. Whence
it follows, that the blessed shall enjoy and behold all things
in him, each in proportion to the glory he shall be partaker
of. For as the creatures serve us now instead of a mirror,
in which we may behold some part of God's beauty, so
God himself will, at that time, be the glass wherein we
shall see the beauty of the creatures, but in a much more
perfect manner than if we saw them in themselves. Thus
God will be the universal happiness of all the saints, he
will be their complete felicity and the accomplishment of
all their desires; he will then be a mirror to our eyes, music
to our ears, sweetness to our taste, and a most pleasing
perfume to our nostrils. In him we shall behold all the
variety of the times and seasons of the year, the
freshness of the spring, the clearness of the summer, the
plenty of the autumn, and the repose of the winter. There
is nothing, in short, that can please all the senses of our
bodies, or the faculties of our souls, which we shall not
meet with in him. " It is in him," says St. Bernard, " we
shall find the ^fulness of light for our understanding, the
abundance of peace for our wills, and the continuation of
eternity for our memories." There the wisdom of Solomon
will appear but folly, the beauty of Absalom deformity,
the.strength of Sampson weakness, the long lives of the old
Patriarchs a short mortality, and the riches of all the'
kings of the earth mere poverty and want.
9. If, as most certainly it is, all this be true, why do
you stay to look for straws in Egypt, and to drink muddy

the sinner's guide. 95
water in filthy pools, when you should be going on to
wards this spring-head of happiness, this fountain of living
waters ? Why do you beg by parcels, what you may find
heaped up together, and more abundant in this great all ?
If you aim at pleasures, raise up your heart, and consider
how delightful this good must be which contains in itself
all goods ^ and pleasures. If you are in love with this
created life, how much greater satisfaction will you take
in that life which has created every thing ? If the health
you enjoy be a pleasure to you, how much more will you
be pleased with him who is himself the author of health ?
If you are taken with the knowledge of the creatures, how
much more will you be with that of the Creator? If
beauty charms you, he it is whose beauty the sun and
moon admire. If nobility be what you seek after, he is
the very source and origin of all that is noble; if you wish
for long life, he is life everlasting ; if plenty be your de
sire, he is the fulness of all riches ; if you love music and
charming voices, the angels are continually singing in his
presence ; if you seek after company and conversation,
you will there have the company of all the blessed, who
have but one heart and one soul. If you aim at honourable
employments and covet riches, they are both to be found
in the house of God ; if, in fine, you would be freed from
all kinds of miseries and sufferings, it is there you will be
happily delivered from them, and that for ever. God com
manded his people in the old law to circumcise their chil
dren on the eighth day, giving us thereby to understand
that on the eighth day, that is the day of the general re
surrection, which is to follow the week of this life, he will
circumcise and cut off all the miseries of those persons who
shall have circumcised themselves, and have put a stop to
all their inordinate desires, who shall have retrenched all
their superfluities, and have overcome their failings for
his sake. What can be happier than such a life as this,
which is free from all misery and trouble, and which, as
St. Augustine says, shall never be exposed to any fear or
poverty, indisposition, or sickness ; where there never shall
be any anger or envy, where we shall never stand in need
of eating and drinking, never covet worldly preferments
and honours, never be afraid of devils, never dread the pains
of hell, nor apprehend the death either of the body or of
the soul; for we shall live there with all manner of content

96 the sinner's guide.
and satisfaction, enjoying the delights of immortality,
which shall never be interrupted or disturbed with divi
sions and factions ; for there all things are perfect and in
perpetual peace and concord.
10. To all these advantages must be added that of living
in the company of angels, of enjoying the conversation of
all those sublime spirits, and of seeing those noble troops
of saints, who are more bright and glorious than the stars
of heaven. There the patriarchs shall appear with glory,
for their perfect obedience ; and the prophets for their
lively hope ; there you shall behold the martyrs adorned
with crowns, dyed in their own blood, and the virgins
clothed in white robes, in token of their chastity. But
what tongue shall be able to express the Majesty of the
Sovereign Monarch who resides in the midst of them all ?
Were "we every day to suffer fresh torments, nay, should
we undergo for some time the pains of hell itself, that we
might see the Lord in his glory, and enjoy the happy com
pany of his elect, it would certainly be worth our while to
endure all this, that we might arrive at such a height of
happiness. Thus far St. Augustine.
If, therefore, this be so great a blessing, how happy shall
those eyes be, that are to be always fixed on those objects ?
What a happiness must it be to see this stately city, to
behold these honourable citizens in all their glory, to have
a sight of the face of this Creator, the magnificence of
these buildings, the riches of these places, and the common
joy of this heavenly country ? What must it be to behold
all the orders of these blessed spirits, the authority of this
sacred senate, 'and the majesty of those venerable elders,
whom St. John saw seated on thrones in the presence of
God ? Apoc. iv. 4. What a pleasure must it be to hear
these angelic voices, these charming singers, and this
harmonious music, not in four parts as ours here is, but in
as many parts, and of as many different voices as there are
blessed souls in heaven ? How shall we be charmed when
we hear them sing this most ravishing song, which the
same St. John once heard: Benediction, and glory, and
wisdom, and thanksgiving and honour, and power, and
strength to our God for ever and ever. Amen. And, if it
be so pleasing a thing to hear the harmony of these voices,
how much more delightful must it be to see the unity and
concord of these unanimous souls and bodies ? to observe

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what a union there will be between men and angels, but
more particularly between men and God ? What a hap
piness shall it be, to see these fine fields, these fountains of
life, and these pastures on the mountains of Israel ? Ezek.
xxxiv. 14. What a glorious thing will it be to sit down at
this sumptuous table, to have a place amongst the guests, to
eat of the same dish with Jesus Christ, that is, to share
with him in his glory ? There the blessed shall be at rest,
and have a full enjoyment of eternal bliss. It is there
that they shall sing and praise, and be perpetually enter
tained with the most delicious banquets. Since, there
fore, faith tells us, that such great blessings as these are
the rewards of virtue, can any man stand so much in his
own light, as not to resolve on an immediate pursuit after '
it, in hope of so large a recompence ?

CHAPTER X.
Of the tenth motive that obliges us to the love of virtue, which is,
the fourth of the four last things, that is, the Pains of Hell.
1 . Any, the least part of this great reward we have now
spoken of, should be more than sufficient to inflame our
hearts with the love of virtue. But if, to the fulness of
that glory which is reserved for the j ust, we farther add
the severity of those torments that are prepared for the
wicked, what an effect should this have on us, especially
there being no middle state between these two ? The
wicked man cannot comfort himself by saying, " All that
can come of my living wickedly is, that I shall never en
joy God ; as for the rest, I expect neither happiness nor
misery." The sinful rr.an shall not escape thus. One of
these two opposite conditions must be his lot, he must
either reign with God for all eternity, or burn for ever
with the devils in hell. These are the two baskets the
Lord in a vision showed the prophet Jeremiah, before the
gates of the temple, (Jerem. xxiv. 1, 2.) one of which had
very good figs, and the other very bad ones, which
could not be eaten. God's design by this was, to
let his prophet know, that there were two sorts of
persons, the one objects of his mercy, the other of his
justice. The first cannot be in a more happy condition, nor
the latter in a more miserable one; because the happiness

98 the sinner's guide.
of the first consists in seeing God, the perfection of all
goodness, while the misery of the other is to be deprived
of his sight, the greatest misfortune that can possibly
befal poor man.
This truth, well considered, would make those men who
sin so unconcernedly, sensible what a weight they volun
tarily lay on themselves. They who get their living
by carrying burdens, observe first what they carry, and
lift it up a little, to see if it is not too heavy for them ;
and will you, who are brought up amidst the delights and
charms of sin, let your sensual desires draw you away so
far, in opposition to the will of God, as to oblige you to
carry the heavy burden of sin, without any hope of ease,
or rest, and all this for the enjoyment of a base, infamous
pleasure ? Try first its weight, that is, consider the pun
ishment attending it, that you may see whether you are
able to bear it. That you may better conceive how pain
ful this torment is, and how weighty a burden you lay on
your shoulders as often as you sin, I will propose to you
the following considerations : and though I have treated
of this matter elsewhere, yet I cannot pass it over without
saying something on it again in this place, though quite
different from what I have said before ; for the subject is
so copious there is no exhausting it.
2. Consider first the immense greatness of God, who is
to punish sin. He is God in all his works, that is great
and wonderful in them all, not only in heaven, earth, and
sea, but even in hell, and in all other places. Now, if this
Lord is God, and shows himself God in all his actions, he
will certainly appear so no less in his wrath, in his justice,
and in the punishment he inflicts on sin. This is what he
means, when he says, by the prophet Jeremiah, Fear ye
not me ? Will ye not repent at my presence ? I have
set the sand a bound for the sea, an everlasting ordinance
which it shall not pass over ; and tJie waves thereof shall
toss themselves, and shall not prevail; they shall swell, and
shall not pass over it. Jerem. v. 22. As if he had said
more plainly, is it not highly requisite that ye should fear
the strength of that arm, which has wrought so great
a miracle ? Which will be neither less powerful nor less
wonderful in the punishment it inflicts, than in all its other
works. So, that we have as much reason to fear him infi
nitely, on the account of the miseries he can reduce us to, as

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we have to praise him for the favours he has bestowed on
us. It was this that made the same prophet, though inno
cent, and sanctified in his mother's womb, to tremble,
when he said, who shall not fear thee, 0 King of nations,
for thine is the glory ? Jer. x. 7. And in another place,
I sate alone, because thou hast filled me with threats, ch.
xv. 17. The holy prophet knew very well that these
threats did not touch ; yet, for all this, they were so
dreadful as to make him tremble. Therefore, it is with
reason we say, the pillars of heaven shake before the Ma-
jesty of God, and the powers and principalities all trem
ble in his presence ; not that they are in doubt of their
own happiness, but because they are in continual admir
ation of his infinite Majesty. If these pure spirits are not
free from fear, what apprehension should sinners, and such
as despise God's commandments be in, as being the per
sons on whom he will thunder out the dreadful effects of
his vengeance ? This is, without doubt, one of the chief
reasons, which ought to stir up in our souls a fear of this
punishment, as St. John plainly shows in the Apoca
lypse, ch. xviii. 8, where, speaking of the punishments
which God will inflict, he says, Babylon's plagues shall
come in one day, death, and mourning, and famine, and
she shall be burnt with the fire ; because God is strong,
who shall judge her. And St. Paul, who very well knew
his great strength, says, It is a fearful thing to fall into
the hands of the living God. Heb. x. 31. It is no dread
ful thing to fall into the hands of men, because they are
not so strong but that a man may break from them, nor
have they power enough to thrust a soul headlong into
hell. Our Saviour, for this reason, said to his disciples,
Be not afraid of them who kill the body, and after that have
no more that they can do. Fear ye him, who, after he hath
killed, hath power to cast into hell. Tea, I say to you, fear
him. Luke xii. 4, 5. These are the hands the apostle says
it is terrible to fall into. Those persons were surely
very sensible of the force of these hands, who cried out
in the book of Ecclesiasticus, ch. ii. 22, If we do not
penance we shall fall into the hands of the Lord, and not
into the hands of men. All this plainly makes it appear,
that as God is great in his power, in his authority, and in
all his work, so will he be in his anger, in his justice, and
in punishing the wicked.

100 the sinner's guide.
3. This will be still more evident, if we but consider
the greatness of the divine justice, which inflicts this pun-
nishment ; and we may see more of it in those dreadful
examples we have in the holy scriptures. How remarkably
did God punish Dathan and Abiron, (Numb, xvi.) with all
their accomplices, by making the earth to open and swal
low them alive, and by sinking them down into hell, for
rebelling against their superiors ? Who ever heard of any
threats or curses like those that are to be read in Deuter
onomy, against the transgressors of the law ? These are
some of those many dreadful comminations. I will send
armies of enemies against you, says God, which shall besiege
your cities, and shall bring you into such straights, that
the tender and delicate woman among you, which would not
venture to set the sole of her foot upon the ground, for
delicacy and tenderness, shall devour the after-birth, with
the blood, and the rest of the uncleanness that flows from
her. She shall eat them, for want of all things, secretly
in the siege. Deut. xxviii. 50, &c. These are, indeed,
most terrible punishments ; and yet neither are these,
nor any others whatsoever, that man can suffer in this
life, any more than a mere shadow, or a feint resemblance,
in comparison of those which are reserved for the next. '
Then will be the time that the divine justice shall sig
nalize itself against those who have here despised his
mercy. If, therefore, the shadow and the resemblance be
so frightful, what shall we think of the substance and ori
ginal ? And if the chalice of the Lord be so unpalatable
now, when there is water mixed with it, and when the
severity of justice is lessened so much by the mildness of
mercy, how bitter must the potion be, when we shall be
forced to drink it off, without any mixture at all ; and
when those persons who would not accept God's mercy,
shall feel nothing but the effects of his judgments ? And
yet these torments, though so great, are all infinitely less
than what our sins deserve.
4. Besides the consideration of the greatness of God's
justice, another way to make us understand the rigour of
the punishments he will inflict, is to reflect on the effects
of his mercy, on which sinners so much presume. For
what greater subject of astonishment can we have, than
to see a God taking human flesh, and suffering in his
body all the torments and disgraces which he underwent,

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even to the dying on the cross ? What greater mercy
could he show, than thus to humble himself, to carry the
burden of all our sins that he might thereby ease us of
their weight, and to offer up his most precious blood for
the salvation of those very wretches who shed it ? Now,
as the works of the divine mercy are wonderful in them
selves, so will be the effects of God's justice. For since
God is equal in all his attributes, because all that is in him
is God, it follows that his justice is no less in itself than
his mercy is ; and as by the thickness of one arm we may
judge how big the other is, so may we know how great
the arm of God's justice is by that of his mercy, since
they are both equal.
If God, when he was pleased to make known his mercy,
to the world, performed such wonderful, and almost incre
dible things, that the same world looked, on them as folly,
what do you think he will do at his second coming, which
is the time designed for manifesting the severity of his
justice ? Especially, since every sin that is committed in
the world, gives him a new occasion to exercise it ; whereas
he never had any motive to mercy but that same
mercy itself ; there being nothing in human nature that
deserves his favour ; but as for his justice, he will have
as many reasons to execute its utmost rigour, as there
have been crimes committed by mankind. Judge by that
how terrible it must be.
5 . St. Bernard in one of his sermons on the coming of
our Saviour, has explained this very well, in these words :
"As our Lord, at his first coming into the world, showed
himself very merciful and easy in forgiving, so at his se
cond he will show himself as rigid and severe in punishing ;
and as there is no one but may be reconciled to his favour
now, it will be impossible for any one to obtain it then ;
because he is. as infinite in his justice as he is in his mercy,
and can punish with as much rigour as he pardons with
mildness. His mercy, it is true, has the first place, pro
vided our behaviour has not been such as may provoke the
severity of his justice." These words give us to under
stand, that the greatness of God's mercy is the standard
whereby we may guess at his justice. The same doctrine is
held forth to us by the royal prophet, saying, Our God
is the God from whom cometh salvation ; God is the Lord
by whom we escape death. God shall not wound the head of

102 the sinner's guide.
his enemies, and the hairy scalp of such a one as goeth on
still in his wickedness. This shows how kind and merci
ful God is to those who return to him, and how severe
against hardened and obstinate sinners.
6. Another proof of this, we have in the extraordinary
patience with which God bears, not only the world in
general, but every sinner in particular. How many do we
daily see, who, from the very first moment they came to
the use of reason till their latter days, have been employed
in nothing but sin, without ever regarding God's promises
or threats, his mercies or his commands, or any other
thing that tended to their conversion? And yet this sove
reign goodness, has been all the while expecting them with
patience, without cutting off one minute of their unhappy
lives, and has not ceased to make use of several means to
bring them to repentance, but all to no purpose. What
therefore will he do, when after having exhausted his
patience, his anger, which has been so long gather
ing in the repository of his justice, shall overflow the
banks which kept it in? With how much force and
violence will it rush in on them ? This is what the
apostle meant, when he said, Knowest thou not, 0 man,
that the benignity of God leadeth thee to penance ? But
according to thy hardness, and impenitent heart, thou trea-
surest up to thyself wrath, against the day of wrath and
revelation of the just judgment of God, who will render to
every man according to his works. Rom. ii. 4, 5, 6.
What can he mean by, treasurest up to thyself wrath,
but, as they who hoard up riches, daily heap gold on gold,
and silver on silver for the increasing of their stock ; so
God daily adds to the treasure of his anger, in proportion
to the number of the sinner's crimes ? Were a man to be
altogether employed for fifty or sixty years together in
heaping up treasures, so as not to let one day or hour pass
without making some addition to it, what a mighty sum
would he find at the end of that time ! How miserable
then must your condition be, since you scarcely suffer one
moment of your life to slip without adding something to
the treasure of God's wrath, which is every minute in
creased by the number of your sins? For though nothing
else were to be put in but the immodest glances of your
eyes, the malicious and vicious desires of your heart, and
the oaths and scandalous words that come from your

THE SINNER'S GUIDE. 103
mouthy these alone would suffice to fill a whole world.
Then, if so many other enormous crimes as you are daily
guilty of, be added to these, what a treasure of wrath and
vengeance shall you have heaped against yourself at the
end of so many years ?
7. If, besides all this, we make a serious reflection on
the ingratitude and malice of the wicked, it will in a great
measure show us, with what severity and rigour this pun
ishment is to be inflicted. To pass a true judgment on
this matter we should consider, on one side, how merci
fully God has dealt with men, what he did and said for
them whilst he was here on earth, and how much he suf
fered for them, what dispositions and means he has found
for their leading a virtuous life, how much he has pardoned
or seemed not to take notice of, the benefits he has done
them, the evils he has delivered them from, with infinite
other graces he is always bestowing on them. Let us con
sider on the other hand, how forgetful men have been of
God, their ingratitude, their treasons, their infidelities,
their blasphemies, the contempt they have had both of him
and his commandments, which has been carried so far that
they have trampled him under foot, not only for a trivial
interest, but very often for nothing, and out of mere ma
lice ; nay, they are come to such a degree of impudence,
that the laws of God are frequent matters of their plea
santry, ridicule, and impiety. What do you think those
persons who have despised so high a majesty can expect,
those who, as the apostle says, (Heb. x. 29.) hath trodden
under foot the Son of God, and hath esteemed, the blood of
the testament unclean, by which he was sanctified, but to be
punished and tormented on that day wherein they must
render an account of themselves, according to the affronts
and injuries they have offered? For God being a most
equitable judge, that is to say, such a one as will punish
the offender proportionably to the offence given, and
being besides the party offended, how great must the
torments be, when the soul and body of the criminal de
livered up to his justice shall suffer, since they are to
equal the grievousness of the crimes by which the Divine
Majesty has been affronted? And if it was necessary
that the Son of God should shed his blood to satisfy for
those sins which had been committed against him, (the
merits of the person supplying what might be wanting to

104 the sinner's guide.
the rigour of the punishment,) what must follow when this
satisfaction is to be made in no other way but by the se
verity of the punishment, without any consideration of
the person at all ?
8. If, as we have seen, the quality of the judge ought to
make us so much afraid, what should that of the execu
tioner do? For the sentence which God shall pass against
a soul, is to be put in execution by the devil, and what
favour can be expected from so cruel an enemy ? That
you may conceive something of his fury and malice, con
sider how he dealt with holy Job, when God had delivered
him into his power. What cruelty and violence did he
not exercise on this righteous man, without the least show
of tenderness or pity ? He sent the Sabeans to drive
away his oxen and asses ; his sheep and his servants he
destroyed by fire ; he overthrew all his houses, he killed
his children ; he covered his body all over with sores and
ulcers, leaving him no part of those vast riches he pos
sessed before, but a dunghill to sit on, and a tile to scrape
off the corruption that ran from his sores. And to add to
his sorrow, he left him a wicked wife, and such friends as
it had been more humanity to destroy than spare. For
they with their tongues pierced and tormented his heart
more cruelly than the worms that preyed on his flesh.
Thus he behaved towards Job. But what was it he
did, or rather what was it he left undone, against the
Saviour of the world, in that dreadful night when he was
delivered up to the power of darkness ? It is more than
can be comprised in a few words. If, then, this enemy
of mankind and all his accomplices are so inhuman, so
bloody, such enemies to mankind, and so powerful to do
harm, what will become of you, miserable creature, when
you shall be delivered up into their hands, with a full and
absolute authority, to execute on you all the cruelties they
shall be able to invent ? And this not for a day, or for a
night, nor for a year only, or for an age, but for all eter
nity. Do you think these merciless devils, when they
have you in their clutches, will use you kindly? 0!
how dark and dismal will that unhappy day be, when you
shall be delivered up to the power of these ravenous
wolves, these savage beasts !
9- But that you may the better conceive what usage is
to be expected at their hands, I will here set down a not-

THE SINNER'S GUIDE. 105
able example, out of St. Gregory's Dialogues, L. 4, c. 33.
He tells us, " that there was a religious man in one of his
monasteries, no riper in virtue than in years, who was
ready to "die of a very violent sickness. The brothers
being all met together, according to their custom, to assist
him in this his dangerous passage, and kneeling about his
bed to pray for him, the dying man cried out to them
' Begone, begone, fathers, and leave me a prey to this
dragon, that' he may swallow me up, for my head is al
ready in his fiery jaws, and he presses me with his scales,
which are like the teeth of a saw, so that I am in most in
supportable torments. I desire you, therefore, to quit the
room, and leave me to him, for not being able to make an
end of me whilst you are here, he puts me to much
greater pain.' The religious advised him to take courage,
and make the sign of the cross : 'How shall I do it,' says
he, ' when the dragon has so twisted his tail about my
hands and feet that I am not able to stir ?' They, not at
all disheartened at this, renewed their prayers with much
greater fervour than before, and seconded them with sighs
and tears, obtained of the Father of Mercies his deliver
ance from this violent agony, which left him so astonished
and confounded, that he afterwards lived so virtuous a life,
as to put him out of all danger of seeing himself reduced
to such circumstances again."
10. These are the wicked spirits which St. John de
scribes in his Revelation, under the most frightful forms
we can conceive. " I saw," says he, " a star fall from
heaven upon the earth, and there was given to him the
key of the bottomless pit. And he opened the bottomless
pit ; and the smoke of the pit arose, as the smoke of a
great furnace : and the sun and the air were darkened
with the smoke of the pit. And from the smoke of the
pit there came out locusts upon the earth, and power was
given to them, as the scorpions of the earth have power.
And it was commanded them that they should not hurt the
grass of the earth, nor any green thiDg, nor any tree, but
only the men who have not the sign of God on their fore
heads : and it was given unto them that they should not
kill them ; but that they should torment them five months,
and their torment was as the torment of a scorpion, when
he striketh a man. And in those days men shall seek death,
and shall not find it ; and they shall desire to die, and

106 the sinner's guide.
death shall flyfrom them. And the shape of the locusts was
like unto horses prepared unto battle : and on their heads
were, as it were crowns like gold ; and their faces were as
the faces of men. And they had hair as the hair of women :
and their teeth were as lions. And they had breast-plates
as breast-plates of iron, and the noise- of their wings was
as the noise of chariots of many horses running to battle.
And they had tails like to scorpions, and there were stings
in their tails." Apoc. ix. 1,10. Thus far are the words of
St. John. Now what was the design of the Holy Ghost in
showing us the greatness of these torments under such
terrible representations and figures ? What other design
could he have but to let us know by these dreadful forms,
how great the wrath of the Lord will be, what the instru
ments of his justice, what punishments are to fall on sin
ners, and what power our enemies are like to have, that
the dread of these things might deter us from offending
God ? For what star was it that fell from heaven, and had
the key of the bottomless pit delivered to it, but that bright
angel, who was flung headlong out of heaven into hell, and
to whose power the kingdom of darkness was committed ?
And what were these locusts, so fierce and so well armed,
but the devils his accomplices, and the ministers of his
rage ? What were these green things, which they were
commanded not to hurt but the just, who flourish by being
watered with the heavenly dew of grace, and thus bring
forth the fruits of eternal life ? Who are those that have
not the seal of God stamped on them, but such as are desti
tute of his spirit, the true and fallible mark of his servants,
and of the sheep of his flock ? It is against these unhappy
wretches the divine justice has raised such forces, that they
maybe tormented, both in this life and in the next, by
those very devils, whose service they have preferred before
that of their Creator, as the Egyptians once were by the
flies and gnats which they adored. Add to all this, how
dreadful it will be to behold, in this sad place, those hideous
and frightful monsters, this devouring dragon, and this
writhing serpent. What a horrible sight must it be, to
see this huge and monstrous Behemoth, which is said, in
the book of Job, to erect his tail like a cedar, to drink up
whole rivers, and to devour mountains ?
11. A thorough consideration of all these things is suf
ficient to make us understand what torments the wicked

THE SINNER'S GUIDE. 107
are to suffer. For who can imagine, from what has been
said, but that these pains must be very great ? What can
a man expect from the greatness of God himself, from the
greatness of his justice in punishing sin, from the great
ness of his patience, in bearing with sinners, from the in
finite multitude of favours and graces by which he has en
deavoured to invite and draw them to himself, from the
greatness of the hatred he bears to sin, which deserves to
be infinitely hated, because it offends an infinite Majesty,
and from the greatness of our enemies' cruelty and fury ?
What can we, I say, expect from all these things, which
are so great, but that sin should meet with a most severe
and terrible punishment? If, therefore, so severe a punish
ment is ordained for sin, and no doubt can be made of it,
since faith testifies this truth, how can they, who pretend
to own and believe it, be so insensible of the heavy weight
every sin they commit throws on them, when, by giving
way to but one offence, they bring themselves into the
danger of incurring a penalty, which on so many accounts
appears so terrible.
Section I. Of the duration of these Torments.
12. But though all these considerations are sufficient,
without any farther addition, to make us tremble, we shall
have much more reason to be afraid, if we do but reflect
with ourselves on the duration of the pains mentioned.
For, if after several thousands of years there should be
any limits set, or any ease given to these sufferings, it
would be some kind of comfort to the wicked : but what
shall I say of their eternity, which has no bounds, but will
last as long as God himself ? This eternity is such, that,
as a great doctor tells us, should one of the damned, at the
end of every thousand years, shed but one tear, he would
sooner overflow the world than find any end to his mi
series. Can any thing then be more terrible ? This is cer
tainly so great an evil, that though all the pains of hell
were no sharper than the prick of a pin, considering they
were to continue for ever, man ought to undergo all the
torments of this world to avoid them. 0! that this eter
nity, this terrible world for ever, were deeply imprinted in
your heart, how great would be the benefit you would reap
by it ? We read of a certain vain and worldly-minded
man, who, considering seriously one day on this eternity

108 the sinner's guide.
of torments, was frightened with the duration of them into
this reflection : No man in the world, in his right senses,
would be confined to a bed of roses and violets for the
space of thirty or forty years, though he were at this price
to purchase the empire of the whole earth. If so, said he
to himself, what a madman, must he be, that will for things
of much less value, run the hazard of lying infinite ages
on a bed of fire and flames ? This thought alone wrought
him up to such and" so immediate a change of life, that he
became a great saint, and a worthy prelate of the church.
What will those nice and effeminate persons say to this,
whose whole night's sleep is disturbed and broken if a fly
be but buzzing in their chamber ? What will they say,
when they shall be stretched out on a bed of fire, and sur
rounded on all sides with sulphurous flames not for one
short summer's night, but for all eternity ? These are they
persons to whom the prophet Isaias, ch. xxxiii. 14, put this
question : Which of you can dwell with devouring fire ? —
Which of you shall dwell with everlasting burnings ? Who
can be able to bear such scorching heat as this for so long
a time ? O foolish and senseless men lulled into a lethargic
sleep by the charms of this old deceiver of mankind ! Can -
any thing be more unreasonable than to see men so busily
provided for this mortal and corruptible life, and at the
same time to have no greater concern for the things which
regard eternity ? If we are blind to this mistake what
will our eyes be open to ? What will we be afraid of if
we have no apprehension of this misery, or what shall we
ever provide against, if not against a matter of such
importance ?
13. Since all this is so undeniably true why will we not
resolve to walk in the way of virtue, though ever so pain
ful that we may avoid those punishments we are threatened
with, if we take the contrary way ? Should God leave it
to any man's choice either to be tormented with the gout
or tooth-ache, in such a violent manner, as not to have
any hopes of ease either day or night, or else to turn Car
thusian or barefoot Carmelite, and undergo all the auster
ities those religious men are obliged to, it is not to be
imagined any man would be so stupid as not to chose either
of these two states, though on the bare motive of self-love
rather than suffer such torture for so long a time. Why
then do not we accept of so easy a penance to avoid such

the sinner's guide. 109
lasting torments, since the pains of hell are so much more
insufferable, of much longer continuance, and God requires
so much less of us than the life of a Carthusian or Carme
lite? - Why do we refuse to undergo so little pain, when
by it we may escape so long and so rigorous a punishment?
Can any man be guilty of greater folly than this is ? But
the punishment of it shall be, that since man would not, by
short penance done here, redeem himself from so much
misery, he shall do penance, in hell for all eternity without
reaping any benefit by it. The fiery furnace which Na-
buchodonosor commanded to be kindled in Babylon is a
type hereof, (Dan. iii. 47.) for though the flames mounted
forty-nine cubits, they could never reach to fifty, the
number of years appointed for solemnizing the Jewish ju
bilee. To signify to us, that though the flames of this
eternal furnace of Babylon, which is hell, are continually
casting forth a most violent heat, and put those souls which
are thrown into them, to most exquisite pains and tor
ments, yet they shall never obtain for them the grace and
remission of the year of jubilee. O unprofitable pains !
0 fruitless tears ! O penance so much the more rigorous,
as it is accompanied with perpetual despair ! How small
a part of all those evils you are now forced to suffer,
might have obtained you a pardon, if you would but will
ingly have undergone it in this life ? How easily might
we prevent our falling into such miseries with but little
pains and trouble ! Let our eyes then melt into fountains
of tears, and let our hearts break forth into continual
sighs without intermission. For this, says the prophet,
/ wail and howl ; I will go stript and naked ; I will make a
wailing like the dragons, and a mourning as the ostriches;
because her wound is desperate. Micheas i. 8, 9-
14. If men had never been told these truths, or if they
had not looked on them as infallible, we should not won
der to see them fall into that supine negligence they are
subject to. But have we not much reason to be as
tonished, when those very persons who hold what we have
here asserted as an article of faith, and know that, as
our Saviour has said, Heaven and earth shall pass away,
but not my word; that is to say, it shall infallibly have
its effect, live so inexcusably careless and unconcerned ?
Tell me now, O man, blind in body, but blinder more in
soul and understanding, what pleasure can you find in all

110 THE SINNER'S GUIDE.
the advantages and riches of the world to counterbalance
the hazard of. your eternal salvation ? " If," says St. Je
rome, "you were as wise as Solomon, as beautiful as Ab
salom, as strong as Sampson, as old as Enoch, as rich as
Croesus, and as powerful as Caesar, what good would all
this do you, if, when you die the worms should prey upon
your body, and the devils seize on your soul to torment
it, as they do the rich glutton for all eternity ?"
Thus much for the first part of the exhortation to vir
tue. We will treat now of the extraordinary favours
which are promised to it, even in this life.

THE SINNER'S GUIDE.

BOOK I.
PART THE SECOND.
OF THE SPIRITUAL AND TEMPORAL ADVANTAGES
PROMISED TO VIRTUE IN THIS LIFE, AND PARTI
CULARLY OP TWELVE EXTRAORDINARY PRIVI
LEGES BELONGING TO IT.
CHAPTER I.
Of the eleventh motive that obliges us to the pursuit of Virtue,
which is, the inestimable advantages promised to it in tills Life.
1 . I know not what excuse men can plead for not fol
lowing virtue, which is supported by such powerful rea
sons : for in its behalf may be urged all that God is in
himself, all he deserves, what favours he has done us, what
he still promises, and what punishments he threatens.
And therefore we have cause to ask how there are so
few christians that seek virtue, since they confess and
believe all that has been said. For it is no wonder that
the heathens, who are ignorant of its value, should not
prize what they do not know, like a delving peasant, who,
if he happen to find a precious stone, makes no account of
it, because he is ignorant of its value. But for christians,
who are well acquainted with these great truths, to live
as if they believed nothing of them, to be so entirely
forgetful of God, to be such slaves, to their vices, to let

112 THE SINNER'S GUIDE.
their passions so tyrannise over them, to be so wedded to
the things of this world, and so little concerned about
those of the next, to give themselves over to all manner
of crimes, as if there were neither death, judgment, heaven
nor hell ; this is what should surprise the whole world, and
give us ground enough to ask, Whence does this blindness,
this stupidity proceed ?
2. This mighty evil owes its rise to more causes than
one. The chief one is the general prepossession of world-
ings, that God reserves to the next life all the rewards
he promises to virtue, without allowing it any recompence
in this. This is the reason why men, who consult their
own interests so much, and are so violently wrought on
by present objects, concern themselves so little about
what is to come, as looking after nothing that does not
give them immediate satisfaction. Nor is this mistake a
new one, for it is what was made in the days of the
prophets.' Thus we see that whenever Ezekiel made
,any great promises, or threatened severely in the name of
God, the people laughed at him, and said to one another,
The vision that this man seeth, is for many days to come ;
and this man prophesieth of times afar off. Ezek. xii. 27.
They also jeered the prophet Isaias, and repeated his words,
saying: Command, command again, command, command
again ; expect, expect again, expect, expect again ; a little
there — a little there. Isa. xxviii. 13. This then, you see, is
one of the chief reasons of men not observing the command
ments of God. They have nothing they think to hope for,
from his mercy at present, but that all is to put off till here
after. Solomon, very sensible of this common error, took
occasion from hence to say : ' That the reason why men
gave themselves over without any kind of consideration to
all manner of vice, is because the sentence passed against
the wicked is not immediately put in execution.' And after
wards he says : ' That the greatest misery in this life, and
what of all makes men sin most, is to see that the good and
the bad, that those who offer up sacrifice, and those who
contemn it, fare alike in all things, in appearance at least.'
Eccles. ix. 2, &c. And therefore the hearts of men are filled
with malice in this life, and they are afterwards plunged
into hell. What Solomon said concerning the wicked is
sufficiently confirmed in themselves, in the prophet Mala-
chy, iii. 14, 15, where they say : He laboureth in vain that

THE SINNER'S GUIDE. 113
serveth God, and what profit is it that we have kept his
ordinances, and that we have walked sorrowful before the
Lord of Hosts ? Wherefore, now we call the proud people
happy, for they who work wickedness are built up, and they
have tempted God, and are preserved. This is the common
talk of sinners, and one of the chief motives of their
continuing in their crimes. For, as St. Ambrose says,
" they think that to buy hopes with dangers is too hard
a bargain, that is, to purchase future goods with pre
sent evils, and to let go what they have in their hands,
to feed themselves up with an imaginary possession of
things which they have no hold of yet." L. 7. in Luc. c. 7.
There is nothing better, in my opinion, to disabuse us
of this dangerous mistake, than these words of our Saviour,
interrupted with his tears, when considering the deplorable
state of Jerusalem, he wept over it, saying, if thou also
hadst known, and that in this, thy day, the things that are
to thy peace : but now they are hidden from thy eyes.
Luke xix. 42. Our Saviour considered, on one side, what
advantages this people had received by his coming; for all
the treasures and all the graces of heaven were brought
down from thence with the Lord of heaven. On the other
side, he saw this same people despising the poor and
mean appearance which he made in his dress and in his
person, would neither receive nor own him for what he
was. He knew how great a loss this nation, which he
loved so tenderly, would suffer by their ignorance. For
they were to lose, not only all those graces which he
brought with him for them, but their temporal government
and liberty. The Lord, pushed on by the force of grief,
shed these tears, and spoke these few words, which he
broke off abruptly, though they were as significant as they
were short. The same words may be well applied to our
present purpose; because, if on the one hand, we consider
the beauty of virtue, with the extraordinary graces which
go along with it, and how those graces, on the other hand,
are hidden from the sight of carnal men, it is manifest we
have reason to weep, and to say with our Saviour, if thou
also hadst known 1 0 unhappy sinner, how great a value
would you set on virtue : how would you long after it, and
what would you not do for obtaining it, should God but
open your eyes to let you see what riches, what pleasures,
what peace, what liberty, what tranquility, what light, what

114 THE SINNER'S GUIDE.
sweetness, and, what other benefits are its continual atten
dants ? But these are all hidden from the eyes of worldings
who minding nothing but its hard and bitter outside, ima
gine all within to be troublesome and unpleasant, and that
it may pass current in the next life, but not in this. So,
that reasoning according to the flesh, they say they will not
be subject to certain dangers for the purchase of un
certain hopes, nor hazard their present happiness for a
slippery dependance on what is to come. That is the com
mon discourse of those who are daunted by the outward
appearance of virtue. They do not know that Christian
philosophy is like Christ himself, who under the form of a
poor and humble man, continued still to be God, and so
vereign Lord of all things. And for this reason it is said
of the faithful, that they are dead to the world : but their
life is hidden with Christ in God. Coloss. iii. 3. For as our
Saviour's glory was concealed under this veil, so should
the glory of all such as imitate him. We read of certain
images that were called Selenes, coarse and rough on the
outside, but very curious and artificial within, so that all
the beauty and art lay hidden whilst that which was but
mean and ordinary was turned outward. Thus the eyes
of the ignorant were deceived by the appearance, but the
inside ingenuity attracted the wiser sort. Such, without
doubt, have been the lives of the prophets and apostles,
and of all true and perfect Christians, as was the life of
their Lord and Master.
4. But if you still find the practice of virtue hard, re
flect on the means God has assisted you with to make it
easy. Such are the infused graces, with the gifts of the
Holy Ghost, the sacraments of the new law, and several
other divine favours, that serve as oars and sails to a ship,
or as wings to a bird. Consider what the very name and
being of virtue import, which is essentially a very noble
and perfect habit : and, therefore, regularly speaking, ought
like all other habits to make us act with facility and. plea
sure. Consider farther, that our Saviour has promised to
his elect, not only the goods of glory, but those of grace,
the latter for this life, and the former for the life to come.
As the Royal Prophet assures us, saying : The Lord will
give grace and glory (Ps. lxxxiii. 12.) which are like to
rich vessels, filled with all kinds of good things, the one
for this life, and the other for the next. By which we may

the sinner's guide. 115
see there is something more in virtue than appears at first
sight. Consider again, that since God lets us want no
thing that is necessary, having so plentifully provided all
creatures with whatever they stand in need of, it is not to
be imagined, since nothing can be more necessary, or of
greater importance to man than virtue, that he would
leave us entirely to the disposal of our own free wills,
which are so weak and impotent, to the blindness of our
understanding, to the inconstancy of our humours, to our
own desires, which are so bent on evil, to a nature in
short so depraved by sin, without strengthening us with
infused habits, which are, as it were, oars to help us over
all those shoals and sands, that hinder us from making
our way through the sea of this life. For it is unreason
able to think, that the Divine Providence, which has taken
so much care of the fly, the spider, and the ant, having
supplied them with all things requisite for their subsist
ence, could have left man, the noblest of all creatures,
under heaven, without such means as are necessary for
his acquiring virtue.
5. To go farther yet, how can God possibly be so
sparing to his faithful servants, as to leave them in their
necessities, and forsake them in the midst of their suffer
ings, whilst the world and the devil, by too many different
false delights and pleasures, win the hearts of those who
serve them? How can you imagine the practice of virtue
to be so mean, and that of vice so noble ? Can you per
suade yourself that God would ever permit this last so
much to surpass the other ? What do you think God de
signed to signify to us by the answer his prophet Malachy
made in his name, to the complaints of the wicked ? Re
turn, said he, and you shall see what difference there is
between the righteous man and the wicked, between him that
serves God, and him that serves him not. This shows that
God does not think it enough to propose the advantages
of the next life, of which he treats afterwards to those
who return to him ; but he says to them, Be converted,
and you shall see ; as if he had said, it is not my only
design you should, wait till the other life to know the
advantages you are to reap, but return to me and you shall
see, this very moment, what difference there is between
the good and the bad, the riches of the one and the po
verty of the other, the joy, peace and satisfaction the one

116 the sinner's guide.
enjoys, and the sorrow, restlessness, and discontent that
follow the other. The light the one walks in, and the dark
ness that surrounds the other. Thus experience will shew
you how many advantages, more than you imagined the
followers of virtue have over those that follow vice.
6. God gives almost the very same answer again to some
other persons who had no better opinion of virtue, than the
former. Deceived by the same appearance, they laughed
at those who were virtuous, and said to them : Let your
Lord be glorified, and we shall see it in your joy. Isa. lv.
After these few words the Prophet, giving a large account
of the torments prepared by God's justice for the wicked,
immediately tells us what joys are laid up for the just. —
Rejoice, says he, with Jerusalem, and be glad with her, all
you that love her: Rejoice for joy with her, all ye that
mourn for her. That you may suck, and be filled with
the breasts of her consolations, that you may milk out,
and flow with delights from the abundance of her glory.
For thus saith the Lord : Behold I will bring upon her
as it ivere a river of peace, and as an overflowing torrent
the glory of the Gentiles, which you shall suck : you shall
be carried at the breasts, and upon the knees they shall
caress you. As one whom the mother caresseth, so wilt I
comfort you, and you shall be comforted in Jerusalem. —
You shall see, and your heart shall rejoice, and your
bones shall flourish like an herb, and the hand of the
Lord shall be known to his servants, ch. lxvi. 10, 11, 12,
13, 14. This is to signify, that as men, by the vast ex
tent of the heavens, earth and sea, and by the brightness
of the sun, moon and stars, judge of the omnipotence and
the infinite beauty of God, the author of these wonderous
works shall discover to the just, the greatness of his power,
riches and mercy, by those infinite favours he will bestow
on them, and the joy they receive. So that as he showed
the world his severity and rigour toward the wicked, by
the punishments he inflicted on Pharaoh, he will in the
same manner show the greatness of his love to his elect, by
the extraordinary favours he will confer on them. Happy
the soul that shall receive favours from God, in token of
his infinite love ! and unhappy those whose torments and
sufferings shall manifest the rigour of his justice ! For
each of these attributes being infinite, what effects must
such infinite causes produce ?

THE SINNER'S guide. 117
7. I must further add, that if you shall think the way of
virtue uneasy and melancholy, you may look into those
words the divine wisdom utters of herself, which follows :
" I walk in the way of justice, in the midst of the paths of
judgment, that I may enrich them that love me, and may
fill their treasures." Prov. viii. 20, 21. What are these
riches but the riches of the heavenly wisdom, far more
precious than are the riches of the world, and bestowed
on the lovers of justice, which is the same we have hitherto
called virtue ? For, if her riches did not much better
deserve the name, than all other riches, how could the
Apostle have thanked God for the Corinthians being rich
in spiritual things, 1 Cor. i. 5. He calls them rich with
out any kind of limitation, whilst he stiles others the rich
of this world only.
Section I. Gospel authority for what has been said.
8. For farther proof of what I have said, I will add this
divine sentence of Jesus Christ : St. Mark tells us, that
when St. Peter asked our Saviour, what reward they
should have who quitted all for love of him, he gives
him this answer : Amen I say to you, there is no man who
hath left house, or brethren, or sisters, or father, or mo
ther, or children, or lands, for my sake and for the gos
pel, who shall not receive a hundred times as much, now
in this time; and in the world to come life everlasting —
Mark x. 29, 30. If you weigh those words exactly, you
cannot in the first place deny, but that Jesus Christ makes
a formal distinction between the rewards of virtue in this
life, and in the next, the one being a promise of a future,
and the other of a present happiness. You must confess
too, that it is impossible this promise should not be per
formed, since heaven and earth are sooner to pass away
than one tittle of these words, how hard soever they ap
pear, shall fail. And as we certainly believe, there is in
God both Trinity and Unity, because he has said so,
though this mystery is beyond the reach of our reason, so
are we to believe this other truth, though it exceeds all
human understanding, since it is grounded on the same
authority of God's own word.
9. What then is this hundred-fold, which the j ust receive
even in this life ? For we see they are for the most part
men of no very considerable quality, nor very rich, of no
f 2

118 , THE SINNER'S GUIDE.
great employment in the state, nor enjoy any other worldly
advantages, but, on the contrary, many of them live re
tired, obscure, poor and necessitous. How then can this
infallible word of God be proved to be true, but by the ac
knowledging, that God makes them so spiritually rich,
that they are more happy and quiet than if they were so
vereign lords of the world, and. yet are destitute of the
conveniences of this life ? Nor is this to be wondered at,
because, as God may preserve mankind by other means,
and not by bread alone, so it is not necessary he should
satisfy those souls he has such a love for with temporal
goods, having better ways of doing it. This we have seen
in a particular manner justified in all the saints, whose
prayers, fasting, tears, and labours, have given them far
greater delight and satisfaction than all the joys and plea
sures of the world conld ever have done ; which shows
us plainly, that what they received was a hundred times
better than what they left for the love of God. For instead
of the false and apparent goods they forsook, they received
such as were true and real ; instead of the uncertain, those
which were certain, spiritual instead of temporal, ease in
stead of care, quiet instead of trouble, and for a vicious and
unpleasant life, a virtuous and delightful one ; so, that if
¦for the love of God you have despised the base treasures
of this world, you shall find in him such as are inestimable.
If for his sake you have contemned false honours, you shall
meet with true ones in him. If you have forsaken a mortal
father on his account, the eternal Father will satisfy you
with all kinds of delights. If, in fine, you bid adieu to
hurtful pleasures for the love of him, he will entertain you
with such as shall be free from the least tincture of bitter
ness or alloy. When you shall arrive to such a degree of
perfection as this is, you will then abhor what you took
the greatest pleasure in before. For when our eyes are
once cleared up by this heavenly brightness, we discover
a new light, which represents things quite different from
what they appear to us at first. What we then thought
sweet, tastes bitter to us now ; and what we looked on as
bitter then, we now find to be sweet. We are pleased
now with that which frighted us before, and look on that
as hideous and ghastly, which once seemed beautiful and
charming. Thus we find our Saviour's words to be veri
fied, by his bestowing on us the incorruptible goods of the

THE sinner's guide. 119
soul for the corruptible one's of the body, and for the
goods of fortune those of grace, which are incomparably
better, and more capable to satisfy man, than all earthly
goods. 10. In farther proof of this important truth, I will give
you an example, taken out of the lives of the famous men
of the order of the Cistercians. It is there written, " that
as St. Bernard was preaching in Flanders, full of zeal for
the conversion of souls to God, amongst those who were
touched with a particular grace, was a certain person called
Arnulphus, one of the chief men of that country, and
closely, tied to the things of this world. But he at last
breaking through all, became a Cistercian monk, in the
monastery of Clairvaux. St. Bernard was so pleased with
this great change, that he used often to say, that God,
had manifested his power as wonderfully in converting
Arnulphus, as in raising Lazarus from the dead, having
drawn him from so many pleasures, which, like a grave,
he lay buried in, to raise him to a new life, which was no
less to be admired in its process than it had been in his
conversion." But because it would be too tedious to give
you a particular account of this holy man's virtues, I shall
only make use of what serves our present purpose. " This
good monk was very subject to terrible fits of the cholic,
which often put him in a very dying condition. One day it
seized on him so violently, that he lost both speech and
senses. Whereon the religious, seeing but little hopes of
life left, gave him the Extreme Unction. Soon after
coming to himself, he began to praise God, and cried out
aloud, " All thou hast ever said, O most merciful Jesus !
is very true." The religious, surprised at his frequent
repeating the same words, asked him what he meant, but
he made them no answer, continuing to cry out louder and
louder, " All thou hast ever said, O most merciful Jesus !
is very true." Some who were present, fancied his pains
had put him beside himself ; but he perceiving their mis
take, said to them, •' It is not so, my brothers, it is not so,
for I never was better in my senses than now whilst I tell
you, that all that Jesus Christ has said is very true."
Hereon the rest of the monks said, it is what we all of us
believe, but why do you repeat it so often ? " Because,"
said he, " otir Saviour has told us in his gospel, that who
soever shall forsake his friends and relations for the love of

120 the sinner's guide.
him, shall receive a hundred-fold now in this world, and
in the world to come life everlasting. Mark, x. 30. This
is what I find true by my own present experience ; for I
assure you, I at this very moment receive that hundred
fold ; the excessive pains I endure being so pleasing to me,
through the lively hope I have now given me of my salva
tion, that I would, not exchange it for a hundred times as
much as I left when I forsook the world. And if so great
a sinner as I am finds so much satisfaction in what I suffer,
what consolations must they who are perfect be sensible
of? For the anticipated fruition of those eternal pleasures,
which I now enjoy by hope, is not a hundred times only,
but a hundred thousand times better than all the delights
the world could ever afford me." They were all astonished
to hear a man of no learning at all talk so piously and
sublimely; but it plainly appeared that what he said was
dictated by the Holy Ghost.
11. This is a demonstration, that God can give those
who serve him more pleasure and delight, than they for
sook for his sake, and yet not enrich them with temporal
goods. And thus we see how much in the wrong those
men have been, who could never persuade themselves that
virtue had a reward in this life. The twelve following
chapters shall serve for the better undeceiving such per
sons, wherein we shall treat of twelve wonderful fruits and
privileges that attend virtue even in this life ; by which
they, who have hitherto loved nothing but the world, may
understand that it is more delightful than they imagine.
And though it is in some manner requisite for the perfect
comprehending of this truth, that a man should have had
some experience from the practice of virtue, because there
is no one knows her own worth so well as she herself does;
this defect may nevertheless be supplied by faith, since by
means of it we believe the holy Scriptures to be true, out
of which I intend to prove all I shall say on this snbject,
that so no one may call the truth of it in question.

THE SINNER'S GUIDE. 121

CHAPTER II.
Of the twelfth motive that oblige us to the pursuit of Virtue.
The particular care the Divine Providence takes of the good, in
order to make them happy, and the severity with which the
same Providence punishes the wicked. The first privilege.
I. Op all these favours, the greatest certainly is, the
care God takes of those who serve him. From this, as from
their fountain, flow all the other privileges of virtue. For
though providence extends itself to all creatures, yet we
see how particularly careful it is of those whom God has
chosen for himself; because, they being his children, and
receiving as his gift, an affection truly filial for him, he on
his part, loves them with a truly fatherly love, and his love
is the measure of the care he takes for them. Yet no man
can conceive how great his providence is, unless he has
either had experience of it, or read the Holy Bible with
much attention, and observed those passages there that
treat of this matter for there is scarcely any part of scripture
but treats of this subject. It turns on these two points, to
ask, and to promise, as the world turns on its poles. So, that
whenever God on one part requires our observance of his
commandments, he promises a generous reward to those
who comply, and severely threatens such as neglect to obey.
This doctrine is so distributed, that almost all the moral
books in it require and promise, whilst the historical verify
the fulfilling of both ; giving us to understand, how dif
ferently God deals with the just man and the sinner. But,
considering how liberal he is, and how poor-man ; how
ready he is to promise, and how backward man is to per
form : we must needs find a great difference between what
he requires and what he gives. All he requires of us is,
that love aud obedience which he himself has given us :
and yet, in return of that little which we hold of his liber
ality, he offers us inestimable riches for this life as well as
for the next. Of all which the chiefest is, the fatherly
love and providence wherewith he assists those he looks on
as his children, and this is infinitely beyond whatever affec
tion the most tender father in the world can show ; for
never was there any one yet who laid up such riches fqr his

122 THE sinner's guide.
children as God does, which is no less than the participa
tion of his eternal glory. Never did any man undergo, so
much for his children as God has done, having for their
sakes shed the very last drop of his blood ; nor will ever any
father take so much care of them as God does, since he
always has them in his sight and assists them in all their
necessities. This, holy David acknowledges, when he says,
Thou hast uplield me by reason of my innocence ; and hath
established me in thy sight for ever, (Ps. xl. 13.) which is
to say, you have always watched so carefully over all my
actions as to keep your eyes continually fixed on me.
¦And in another Psalm he says, The eyes of the Lord are
upon the just; and his ears unto their prayers. But the
countenance of the Lord is against them that do evil
things; to cut off the remembrance of them from the earth.
Ps. xxxiii. 16, 17.
2. But because this divine providence is the greatest
treasure a christian has, and on his hopes and assurance of
his being protected by it depends the increase of his con
fidence and joy ; it will be to our purpose here to make use
of some passages of the scripture, in proof of those im
mense riches wherewith God blesses the j ust. In Eccles.
xxxiv. 19, 20. it is said, The eyes of the Lord are upon them
that fear him, he is their powerful protector, and strong stay,
a defence from the heat, and a cover from the sun at noon.
A preservation from stumbling, and a help from falling ;
he raiseth up the soul, and enlighteneth the eyes, and
giveth health, and life, and blessing. The royal Prophet
says, With the Lord shall the steps of a man be directed,
and he shall like well his way. When he shall fall, he
shall not be bruised, for the Lord putteth his hand under
him. Ps. xxxvi. 23, 24. What harm can he come to
who falls so soft, and is supported by the hand of God ?
He says again, in another place, " Many are the afflictions
of the just : but out of them all will the Lord deliver them.
The Lord keepeth all their bones, not one of them shall be
broken." Ps. xxxiii. 20, 21. This providence is yet much
more magnified in the gospel ; for our Savionr himself
there not only tells us, that he takes care of all their bones,
but of their very hair, that not one of them may be lost,
Luke xxi. 18. Thus, to express in how extraordinary a
manner he protects them ; for what is there he will not look
after, who does not neglect the very hair of our heads ? If

the sinner's guide. 123
this be a declaration of his great concern for us, what the
prophet Zacharias, ch. ii. 8. tells us, expresses it no less :
" Whosoever," says he, "shall touch you, touches the apple
of my eye." It were much, had he said, " whosoever shall
touch you, touches me ;" but, "whosoever shall touch you,
touches the apple of my eye," is still much more.
3. Nor does he only look after us himself, but has also
committed us to the care of his angels : and therefore
David says, " He hath giveth his angels charge over thee :
to keep thee in all thy ways. In their hands they shall
bear thee up : lest thou dash thy foot against a stone." Ps.
xc. 11, 12. Thus, our good angels, like elder brothers,
carry the just men in their arms, for not knowing how to
walk by themselves, they had need of another to lead them.
Nor are the angels content to serve them thus in this life
only, but even at their death too, as appears by the poor
man in the gospel, who, after he was dead, " was carried
by angels into Abraham's bosom." Luke xvi. 22. We are
told also in another Psalm, " The angel of the Lord shall
encamp round about them that fear him : and shall deliver
them." Ps. xxxiii. 8. Or, as St. Jerome renders it more
expressive, " the angel of the Lord has pitched his camp
about those that live in his fear, to preserve them. B. 4.
c. 6. v. 15, 16, 17. What king has such a guard about
his person as this ? We .see it plainly in a passage of the
Book of Kings, where we read, that as the king of Syria's
army was marching toward Samaria, with a design to take
the prophet Elisha, the holy man took notice of the con
cern his servant was in at the sight of so formidable an
army, and prayed to God that he would be pleased to open
the young men's eyes, and let him see that there was a
much greater army ready to defend them than that of their
enemies. God heard the prophet's prayer; whereon the
young man saw the whole mountain covered with horse
and fiery chariots, and Elisha in the midst of them. We
read, of such another guard in the Canticles, ch. vii. 1, in
these words : " What shalt thou see in the Sulamitess,"
which is the figure of the church, and of a soul in the state
of grace, " but the companies of camps," which is com
posed of angels? The same thing is signified by the
Spouse, under another figure, in the same book, ch. 3, 7, 8,
where it is said, " Behold threescore valiant one's of the
most valiant of Israel, surround the bed of Solomon : all

124 THE SINNER'S GUIDE.
holding swords, and most expert in war : every man's sword
upon his thigh, because of fears in the night." What is
all this, but a lively representation made by the Holy
Ghost, under these figures, of that care the divine providence
has over the souls of the just ? For how can a man, who
is conceived in sin, who lives in a body so naturally in
clined to evil, and who is surrounded with so many dangers,
preserve himself for several years from committing any
mortal crime, did not the divine providence secure and
keep him from it.
4. Thus providence is so powerful, that it not only de
livers us from evil and leads us to good, but what is more,
very often, by a wonderful effect, draws even good out of
evil, which sometimes God permits the just themselves to
fall in. This happens, when repenting for their sins, they
thence take occasion to become more circumspect, more
humble, and more grateful to God for the mercies he has
shown them, in freeing them from the danger they were in,
and in pardoning them all their faults. It is in this sense
the apostle says, to them that love God all things works together
unto good. Rom. viii. 28.
If, therefore, these favours so highly deserve our admi
ration, how much cause have we to wonder at God's being
so careful of their children, of their whole posterity, and
of all that belong to them ? As himself has assured us,
when he said, lam the Lord thy God, mighty, jealous, visiting
the iniquity of the fathers upon the children, unto the third and
fourth generation of them that hate me : and shewing mercy
unto to them that love me, and keep my commandments.
Exod. xx. 5, 6. We find him as good as his word to
David, whose race he would not destroy after a great
many years, though several of them had deserved it for
their sins, Kings, viii. 19- Another example of his care
we have in Abraham, whose posterity he pardoned so
often for their father's sake. This care of his went so
far as to promise Abraham, that he would bless his son
Ismael, though he were born a slave, that he would make
him encrease, and multiply him exceedingly ; and that he
should grow into a great nation. Gen. xvii. 20. And all
this only because he was Abraham's son. We have
yet a farther proof hereof, in God's conducting Abra
ham's servant through the whole journey and instruct
ing him in his duty when he went to seek a wife for

THE sinner's guide. 125
Isaac, ch. xxiv. Nor has he only been merciful to a ser
vant for the sake of a good master, but even to wicked
masters for their pious servant's sake, ch. xxxiii. 22, 23.
Thus we see he bestowed great favours on Joseph's mas
ter, though a heathen, in consideration of the virtuous
young man who lived with him. What mercy can exceed
this ? Who will not serve such a Master, who is so liberal,
even so thankful to those that do him any service, and so
careful of every thing which belongs to them ?
Section I. Of the titles given to Almighty God in Holy
Writ, on account of his Providence.
5. This Divine Providence producing so many different
and wonderful effects, God has therefore a great many
different names given him in the Holy Scripture ; but the
most usual and most remarkable is that of Father, as his be
loved Son calls him in the gospel, and he has been pleased it
should be given him in several places of the Old Testament.
And, therefore, David says, " As a father hath compassion
on his children, so hath the Lord compassion on them that
fear him, for he knoweth our frame, he remembereth that
we are dust." Ps. cii. 13, 14. Another prophet not con
tent to call God Father, because his care is infinitely
greater than that of a father, speaks thus to him : " Thou,
O Lord, art our Father ; Abraham hath not known us,
and Israel hath been ignorant of us." (Isa. lxiii. 16.) to
give us to understand, that these, being our carnal fathers,
deserve not that name, in comparison with God.
6. But because a mother's affection is, generally speak
ing, more affectionate and tender than a father's, God is
pleased to call himself a Mother, nay, and more than a
mother too. " Can a woman," (says he, in Isaias, ch. xlix.
15, 16.) " forget her infant, so as not to have pity on the
son of her womb ? and if she should forget, yet will not
I forget thee. Behold, I have graven thee in my hands :
thy walls are always before my eyes." Can any thing be
more tender than this ? Or can any man be blind to such
proofs of love as these are ?
7. Did we but consider it is God who speaks, he, whose
truth cannot deceive, whose riches are inexhaustible, and
whose power has no limits, what joy would such pleasing
words as these bring us ? But such is the excess of God's
mercy, that not content to compare his affection with that

126 THE SINNER'S GUIDE.
of common mother's, he amongst all others chooses the
eagle, a creature the most remarkable for this love, and
compares his tenderness to her's ; saying, by Moses, " As
the eagle enticeth her young to fly, and hovering over them,
he spreads his wings and hath taken him and carried him
on his shoulders." Deut. xxxii. 11. The same prophet ex
pressed this yet more lively to the people of Israel, when,
on their arrival at the land of promise, he told them : "You
seen how the Lord your God has carried you through the
wilderness all the way you went, as a man doth his little
son, until you came to this place." Deut. i. 31 . As he does
not disdain to call himself our Father, he does us the honour
to call us his children : as a proof of which, we have
in the prophet Jeremias, ch. xxxi. 23. " Ephraim is an
honourable son to me, surely he is a tender child : for
since I spoke of him, I will still remember him. Therefore
are my bowels troubled for him : pitying I will pity him."
Every word here should be weighed with attention, as
coming from God, and should force from us a tender
affection for him, in return of his tender love for us.
8. It is on account of the same providence that he gives
himself the name of a Shepherd, as well as that of a Father.
And to let us see that how great his pastoral care is, he
says : " I am the Good Shepherd ; and I know mine, and
mine know me. John x. 14, 15. How is it, O Lord, that
thou knowest them ? How dost thou look after them ;
" As the Father knoweth me, and I know the Father."
0 blessed care ! O sovereign providence ! What greater
happiness can a man enjoy than to be taken care of by the
Son of God, just as his Father takes care of him? The com
parison, it is true, will not hold in all respects, because a
begotten son deserves much more than one that is only
adopted ; but to be in any manner whatever compared with
him, is a very great honour. God acquaints us with the won
derful effects of this his providence, fully and elegantly, by
the mouth of the prophet Ezekiel, saying: " Behold I my
self will seek my sheep, and will visit them. As the shep
herd visiteth his flock, in the day when he shall be in the
midst of his sheep that were scattered : so will I visit my
sheep, and will deliver them out of all the places, where
they have been scattered in the cloudy and dark day. And
I will bring them out from the people's, and will gather
them out of the countries, and will bring them to their own

the sinner's guide. 127
land ; and I will feed them in the mountains of Israel, by
the rivers, and in all the habitations of the land : I will
feed them in the most fruitful pastures, and their pastures
shall be in the high mountains of Israel : there shall they
rest on the green grass, and be fed on fat pastures upon the
mountains of Israel. I will feed my sheep : and I will cause
them to lie down, saith the Lord God. I will seek that
which was lost: and that which was driven away, I will
bring again : and I will bind up that which was broken,
and I will strengthen that which was weak, and that which
was fat and strong I will preserve : and I will feed them in
judgment," (Ezekiel xxxiv. 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16.) that
is, with great care, and with a particular providence. A
little lower he adds : " I will make a covenant of peace
with them, and will cause the evil beast to cease out of
the land : and they that dwell in the wilderness, shall sleep
secure in the forests. And I will make them a blessing
round about my hill : and I will send down the rain in its
season, there shall be showers of blessing," (ver. 25, 26.)
that is to say, wholesome showers, and such as shall do
no hurt to the places which my flock feeds in. What greater
promises can God make us, or what more tender expres
sion can he give us of his love ? For it is certain, that
he does not speak here of a material but of a spiritual
flock, composed of men, as the text itself plainly shows.
It is no less certain that he does not mean fat lands, or an
abundance of temporal goods, which are common to the
bad as well as the good, but like a Good Shepherd, he pro
mises to assist those that are his with particular graces, on
all occasions. It is what he himself has explained by Isaias,
ch. xl. 11. where he says, "He shall feed his flock like a
shepherd : he shall gather together the lambs with his arm,
and. shall take them up in his bosom, and he himself shall
carry them that are with young." Is there any tenderness
like this ? The divine Psalm which begins thus : " The
Lord is my Shepherd," (Ps. xxii.) is full of these charitable
offices of a shepherd, which God performs to man.
9- As we call God our Shepherd, because he guides us,
so we may call him our King, because he protects us ; our
Master, because he instructs us ; our Physician, because
he heals us ; our Foster-father, because he carries us in his
arms ; and our Guardian, because he watches so carefully
over all our actions. The holy scripture is full of such

128 THE SINNER'S GUIDE. ,
names as these. But yet there is none expresses a more
tender love, or discovers his providence more than that of
Spouse, a title he often gives himself in the Canticles, and
in other places of the Bible. It is by this he invites the
sinner to call on him : " Thou art my Father, the guide
of my virginity." Jerem. iii. 4. Which name the Apostle
highly extols ; for after those words which Adam spoke to
Eve, " Wherefore a man shall leave father and mother,
and shall cleave to his wife, and they shall be two in one
flesh ;" he goes on saying, " This is a great sacrament,
but I speak in Christ and in the church," which is his
spouse, (Gen. ii. 24. Eph. v. 31, 32,) and we may in some
respect say the same of every one in the state of grace.
What then may we not hope from him who goes by such
a name, and that with so much reason,?
But what need is there of recourse to the Bible to seek
for names, since there is not one that promises us any good,
but may be applied to God ? For whosoever loves and
seeks him shall in him find whatever he can wish. For this
reason St. Ambrose says : " We have all things in Christ,
and Christ is all to us. If you want a cure for your
wounds, he is a physician ; if you are in a burning fever,
he is a fountain ; if you are tired with the burthen of
your sins, he is justice ; if you are afraid of death, he is
life in you ; if you hate darkness, he is light ; if you would
go to heaven, he is the way ; if you are hungry, he is your
food." L. 3. de Virg. See here how many names God
has, who in himself is but one ; for though he is but one
in himself, yet he is all things for us, that he may relieve
all our necessities, which are infinite.
1 0. It would be tedious to count all the authorities of
this kind in the holy scriptures. These I have taken no
tice of, for the comfort and encouragement of all that serve
God, and for the gaining of such as do not ; for it is cer
tain there is no greater treasure under heaven than this.
As, therefore, those persons who have served their prince
upon some extraordinary occasions, and received certifi
cates under his hand, and promises of considerable rewards
for their services, are very careful to secure those authen
tic papers, comforting themselves, in the midst of dangers,
with the hopes of obtaining the reward of their labours ;
so God's servants lay up in their hearts all these divine
promises, which are much more securely to be relied on,

the sinner's GUIDE. 129
than any that are made by mortal kings. In these they
place their hope, these are their support in all their toils,
their trust in all their dangers, and their comfort in all
their miseries. To these they have recourse in all their
necessities ; they inflame them with the love of so good a
master, and oblige them wholly to his service, for as he
assures them he will give himself entirely up to the pro
curing of their good, for he is their all. Thus we see,
that the main foundation of a christian life is the practical
knowledge of this truth.
11. Can there be any thing in the world more precious
or valuable, or that better deserves our esteem and love ?
Or what greater happiness can a man enjoy in this life than
to have God for his father, his mother, his shepherd, his
physician, his tutor, his master, his mediator, his will, his
defence, and what is yet more, for his spouse, in short,
for his all ? Has the world any thing comparable to this to
give to its admirers ? How much reason then have those
who enjoy such a benefit, to rejoice, to comfort, to encou
rage themselves, and to glory in him above all things ? —
" Be glad in the Lord, (says the prophet,) and rejoice ye
• just: and glory all ye upright of heart." Ps. xxxi. 11. As if
he said more clearly, let others lejoice in their worldly
riches and honour, others again in their birth and quality,
others in their favour and esteem of their prince, others
in their great employments and dignities ; but as for you,
who lay claim to God for your share, do you more truly
rejoice in this inheritance, which as far exceeds all other
inheritances as God himself does all other things. This we
may learn from the royal Psalmist, when he says : " Deliver
me, and rescue me out of the hand of strange children,
whose mouth hath spoken vanity ; and their right hand is
the right hand of iniquity. Whose sons are as new plants
in their youth : their daughters decked out, adorned round
about after the similitude of a temple : their storehouses
full, flowing out of this into that. Their sheep fruitful in
young, abounding in their goings forth ; they have called
the people happy, that hath these things ; but happy is that
people whose God is the Lord." Ps. cxliii. 11, 12, 13, 15.
The reason why David delivers himself thus is evident,
because in God alone we possess every good thing that is
to be desired. Let others value themselves as much as
they please on riches, but as for me, though I am a

130 THE SINNERS GUIDE.
rich and powerfnl king, in God alone shall be all my glory.
Thus another holy prophet glorified, saying : " but I will
rejoice in the Lord : and I will have joy in God my Jesus.
The Lord God is my strength : and he will make my feet
like the feet of harts ; and he the conqueror will lead me
upon my high places singing psalms." Habac.iii. 18, 19.
This is the treasure, this the glory, which he has prepared
even here for those that serve him. This is a great reason
why all men should desire to serve him, and on this will he
ground the greatest complaint he can make against those
who serve him not. Thus it was, he complained, by the
prophet Jeremias, ii. 5, of his people : " What iniquity,"
says he, " have your fathers found in me, that they are
gone far from me, and have walked after vanity, and are
become vain ?" and a little lower : " Am I become a wil
derness to Israel, or a lateward springing land ?" (ver. 31,)
as if he said, it is plain it is not so, since by my means
they have been so successful and victorious. " Why then
have my people said : we are revolted, we will come to
thee no more ? Will a virgin forget her ornament, or a
bride her stomacher ? but my people hath forgotten my
days without number," (ver. 32.) who am all their orna7
ment, their glory, and their beauty. If God complained
thus in the time of the old law, when his favours were so
great, how much more reason has he to complain now
when they are so much greater, as they are more spiritual
and divine ?
Section H. What providence God uses towards the wicked in
punishment of their sins.
12. If the mercy of this blessed providence which the
good enjoy has no influence on us, let us at least be moved
with the fear of that providence, if I may so call it, which
God uses against the wicked, and which measures sinners
by their own measure, and deals with them according to
their forgetfulness and contempt of the Divine Majesty,
forgetting those who forget him, and despising those by
whom he is despised. God, to make this the plainer to us,
commanded the Prophet Osee, ch. 2, to marry an adul
teress, to signify to his people the spiritual fornication
they had committed, in leaving their true spouse and Lord,
and ordered the child he had by his wife to be called Lo-
ammi, a Hebrew word, which means " not my people," to

THE SINNER'S GUIDE. 131
show them that since they would not acknowledge nor
serve him as God, he would not own or deal with them as
his people. And that they might know him to be in
earnest, he says to them, "Judge your mother, Judge
her : because she is not my wife, and I am not her hus
band," (ch. ii. 2.) giving them to understand, that since
she had not observed the respect and duty of a good wife,
neither would he show her the love and kindness of a true
husband. Thus plainly God tells us he will deal with us,
just as we deal with him.
They therefore who live as if1 they took no notice at all
of God. are abandoned by him, and left as a school with
out a master, a ship without a rndder, as goods without an
owner, or as a flock that goes astray for want of a shep
herd, which never misses falling among the wolves. —
And therefore he tells them by the prophet Zacharias,
ch. xi. 9. " I will not feed you : that which dieth, let it die,
and that which is cut off, let it be cut off: and let the rest
devour every one the flesh of his neighbour." What he
says by Moses, in his Canticle, is to the same purpose : " I
will hide my face from them, and will consider what their
last end shall be." Deut. xxxii. 20.
13. He acquaints us more at large with this kind of
providence, by the prophet Isaias speaking to his people
under the figure of a vine, against which, for not yielding
the fruit that was expected from it, after having been so
carefully dressed and pruned, he pronounces this sentence :
" I will show you what I will do to my vineyard, I will
take away the hedge thereof, and it shall be wasted : I
will break down the wall thereof: and it shall be trodden
down. And I will make it desolate ; it shall not be pruned,
and it shall not be digged : but briars and thorns shall come
up : and I will command the clouds to rain no rain upon
it," (Isaias v. 5, 6.) that is to say, I will take away all those
efficacious helps and succours I had given it before, and
then must necessarily follow its utter ruin and destruction.
14. Do not you -think- this sort of providence is much
to be dreaded? what greater misery can a man fall into
-than' to be deprived of the providential care of God, to be
exposed to all the accidents of the world, and to all the
injuries and calamities this life lies open to ? For since.
on the one hand, this world is like a tempestuous sea, a
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132 THE SINNER'S GUIDE.
such numbers of misfortunes and accidents, so many and
such powerful enemies to encounter with, so many snares
laid for us, and so many dangers surrounding us ; and since
man on the one hand is a creature so frail, so helpless, so
blind, so impotent, so destitute of strength, and so much in
need of advice, what can he do against so many strong ones,
if he want the help and assistance of God ? What can
he, who is a mere dwarf, do against so many giants ? How
can he, who is so blind, avoid so many snares ? Or, alone
and unarmed, how can he deal with so many enemies ?
15. Nor does their punishment end here. For God not
only turns his eyes from the wicked, whence it follows
that they fall into such sins and miseries, but does him
self produce and send them these afflictions ; so that the
eyes which watched for their advantage before, are now
open to their ruin: as the prophet Amos, (ch. ix. 4.) testi
fies, saying : I will set my eyes upon them for evil, and not
for good : that is, I who before looked on them, in order
to secure them, will do it now to punish them, according
to what their sins deserve. And the prophet Osee, (ch. v.
12.) tells us plainly, that God says : " I will be like a moth
to Ephraim : and like rottenness to the house of Juda." —
And because this seemed too easy a punishment, and too
lingering, he immediately threatens them with another
more speedy and more severe. " I will be like a lioness to
Ephraim, and like a lion's whelp to the house of Juda : I
will catch, and go ; I will take away, and there is none
that can rescue," ver. 14. Can any thing be more terrible
than this ?
16. We have as clear a proof of this kind of providence
in the prophet Amos, who, after telling us, that God would
put all the wicked to the sword, for their sins of covetous-
ness, goes on and says: " They shall flee, and he that shall
flee of them shall not be delivered. Though they go down
even unto hell, thence shall my hand bring them out : and
though they climb up to heaven, thence will I bring them
down. And though they be hidden on the top of Carmel I
will search and take them away from thence : and though
they hide themselves from my eyes in the depth of the
sea, there will I command the serpent, and he shall bite
them. And if they go into captivity before their enemies,
there will I command the sword, and it shall kill them.
And I will set my eyes upon them for evil, and not for

the sinner's guide. 133
good." Amos ix. 1, 2, 3, 4. These are the words of the
prophet. And what man on reading them, if he but con
siders that they are spoken by God himself, and does but
consider what kind of providence he exercises against sin
ners, can without trembling see how powerful an enemy he
has against him, and how closely he pursues him having
secured all the avenues, and lying continually in wait to
destroy him ? What rest can a man take, that reflects on
this ? What stomach can he have for his food, who has
the eyes of God, red with indignation and fury fast fixed
on him ? Who has such a persecutor and such an arm
stretched out against him ? For if it be so great a misfor
tune to be deprived of God's favour and providence, what
must it be to have armed this same providence against you,
and to make him turn that sword on you which was drawn
in your defence ? What an unhappiness must it be to
have those eyes open to your destruction, which before
watched for your security ; to have that arm which was
before stretched out to hold you up, extended now to cast
you down ; to have that heart, which thought of nothing
for you once but of peace and love, have no other thoughts
for you now but of affliction and sorrow ? What misery
is it, that he who ought to shade, shield and protect you,
should be changed into a moth to consume you, and into
a lion to tear you to pieces ? How can that man sleep
securely, who knows that God all the while stands over
him, like Jeremiah's rod, to punish and torment him ? —
What means can he have to frustrate the designs of God ?
What arm can withstand his arm ? Or what other pro
vidence can resist his providence ? Did any man, says
Job, (ch. ix. 4.) ever resist him and prosper ?
17. This evil, in fine, is of such a nature, that the with
drawing of his fatherly providence from sinners is one of
the severest punishments he either inflicts on, or threatens
them with in this life, as he himself has declared in several
places of the holy scripture. In one of which, he says,
" My people heard not my voice, and Israel hearkened not
to me, " (Ps. lxxx. 12, 13.) for which reason I will not take
any notice of them as I have done before ; " So I let them
go according to the desires of their hearts: they shall walk
in their own inventions." Their condition must, therefore
grow each day worse and worse. He says also, by the
prophet Osee, (ch. iv. 6.) since "thou hast forgotten the
G

134 the sinner's guide.
law of thy God, I also will forget thy children." As there
is no greater misfortune can befall a woman than to be di
vorced from her husband, nor a vine than to be neglected
and unpruned, so the greatest loss a soul can undergo is,
to have God withdraw his hand from her. For what is
a soul without God, but a vine without its pruner, a gar
den without a gardener, a ship without a pilot, an army
without a general, a commonwealth without a ruler, and,
in short, a body without life ? See here how God encom
passes you on all sides, that the fear at least of being for
saken by him may work on you, though his providential
love and concern do not move you; for fear and apprehen
sion often influence those whom favours and benefits can
do no good with.
CHAPTER III.
Of the second privilege of Virtue, that is, the Grace of the Holy
Ghost bestowed upon virtuous men.
1. From this fatherly providence, as from a fountain,
flow all the favours God bestows on those who serve him.
For it belongs to this providence to supply them with all
necessaries for obtaining their end, which is their last
perfection and happiness, by assisting them in all their
wants, and infusing into their souls such virtues and habits
as are requisite for this end. Of all which the chief is the
grace of the Holy Ghost, because next to this divine pro
vidence, it is the beginning of all other heavenly gifts and
privileges. It is the garment which was first given to the
prodigal son, on his return to his father's house. And
should you ask me, what this grace is ? I answer, that
grace, as divines define it, is a participation of the divine
nature, that is, of God's sanctity, purity and greatness. —
By virtue of which, a man rises from the baseness and filth
he received from Adam, and partakes of the divine sanc
tity and beauty, divesting himself of himself, and putting
on Christ Jesus. Holy writers explain this to us by this
familiar example : When we take a piece of iron out of the
fire, it sparkles and looks red like fire itself, but continues
still to be iron, retaining the same name and substance it
had before, though the brightness, heat, and other acci
dents belong to fire : so grace, which is a heavenly quality,
infused by God into the soul, transforms man into God, in

the sinner's guide. 135
.such a manner as to make him in some measure partake of
the virtues and purity of God, without ceasing to be a man.
Thus was he transformed who said, " I live, now, not I ;
but Christ liveth in me." Galat. ii. 20.
Grace is also a divine and supernatural form, by means
whereof man lives suitably to the origin and source he pro
ceeds from, which is supernatural and divine. And here
the providence of God so gloriously exerts itself. For
it being his will that man should have two lives, the one
natural and the other supernatural, he has to this end given
him two forms, which are, as it were, two souls for each
life. Hence it follows, that as all the powers and sen
sations of the natural life spring from the soul, the natural
form ; so from grace, the supernatural form, flow all those
virtues and gifts of the Holy Ghost that go to the support
of the supernatural life. As if one man should furnish
another, that understands two trades, with two sets of
tools, to work at them both.
2. Grace is moreover a spiritual dress and ornament for
the soul, made up by the hands of the Holy Ghost, which
renders her so acceptable to God that he adopts her for his
daughter, and takes her for his bride. It was in this dress
the prophet gloried, when he said : " I will greatly rejoice
in the Lord, and my soul shall be joyful in my God : for
he hath clothed me with the garments of salvation : and
with the robe of justice he hath covered me, as a bride
groom decked with a crown, and as a bride adorned with
her jewels," (Isa. lxi. 10.) which are the several gifts of the
Holy Ghost, wherewith the soul of a just man is adorned
and beautified by the hand of God. This is the garment of
divers colours with which the king's daughter, seated at the
right hand of her bridegroom, was gloriously arrayed. Ps.
xliv. For, from grace come the colours of the different
virtues and divine habits, wherein their beauty consists.
By what has been said, we may judge what effects grace
works on the soul it resides in. One of the greatest is, to
make it look so lovely and fair to the eyes of God, that he
chooses her, as has been. said, for his daughter, his spouse,
his temple and his habitation, where he takes his pleasure
with the children of men. Another effect is to strengthen
the soul by means of those virtues it brings with it, which,
like Sampson's hair, at the same time confer forces and
beauty. She is commended for both these qualities in

136 the sinner's guide.
the book of Canticles, (ch. vi. 9.) where the angels, ad
miring her beauty, say : " Who is she that cometh forth as
the morning rising, fair as the moon, bright as the sun,
terrible as an army set in array ? Grace then, as we see,
is like a complete suit of armour, which secures a man
from head to foot. It both beautifies and strengthens him
in such a manner, that, as St. Thomas says, the least de
gree of grace suffices to overcome all the devils and all
sorts of sin.
3. A third effect of it is, to make a man so pleasing to
God, and to give him such power with him, that every
action deliberately performed, saving those that are sinful,
is acceptable towards meriting eternal life. So that not only
acts of virtue, but even those actions that are done in sub
mission to the necessities of nature, as eating, drinking,
sleeping, and the like, are grateful to God, and merit such
a favour. For when the object itself is so agreeable and
meritorious, whatever it does that is not sin must be so too.
Besides all this, grace makes man the adopted son of
God and heir to his kingdom. It causes his name to be
written in the book of life, and gives him a claim to the
inheritance of heaven. This is the privilege our Saviour
so highly commends to his disciples, when, observing
how pleased they were that the devils had obeyed them in
his name, he said, to them : " Rejoice not in this, that spirits
are subject unto you ; but rejoice in this, that your names
are written in heaven." Luke x. 20. This, therefore, is the
greatest treasure a man can wish for.
4. It is grace, to conclude, that qualifies man for all
kinds of good, that makes the way to heaven smooth and
easy, and the yoke of Christ light and pleasant ; it is this
makes men run in the path of virtue ; it is this that cures
the infirmities of nature, and makes that easy and light,
which, whilst, she was weak, weighed her down ; it is this
that, by means of those virtues which proceed from it, re
forms and strengthens all the faculties of the soul, enlighten
ing the understanding, inflaming the mind, refreshing the
memory, fortifying the will, moderating the concupiscible
appetite, that it may not give way to evil, and animating
the heart, that it may not be too backward in the pursuit
of good. And because all the passions of nature which
reside in these two inferior parts, are like so many hills
that overlook and command the fortress of virtue, or as

the sinner's guide. 137
sally-ports through which the devils enter into our souls|
to remedy this, grace sets a sentinel at these places to se
cure the passage; and this is some infused virtue sent
down from heaven, and placed there to deliver us from
those dangers, which the heat of our passions may expose
us to. Thus temperance, for example, secures us against
gluttony, chastity against impurity, humility against
pride, and so with the rest.
But what is yet above all, grace brings down God him
self into our souls, that he by his presence may govern,
defend, and conduct them to heaven. There he is like a
king on his throne, like a general in his army, like a house
keeper in his family, like a master in his school, and like
a shepherd amidst his flock, exercising in a spiritual man
ner all their several offices. If, therefore, so precious a
pearl as this is, which brings in such vast treasures, be the
inseparable portion of virtue, can any man refuse to imi
tate the action of the wise merchant in the gospel, who gave
all he had for the purchase of this jewel ? Matt. xiii. 46.
CHAPTER IV.
Of the third privilege of Virtue — Supernatural Light and
Knowledge.
1. The third privilege of virtue is a particular light and
wisdom God grants the just, which, like all the rest, comes
from that grace we have spoken of. For as it is the business
of grace to cure nature, and to heal the infirmities occa
sioned by sin in the appetite and will, so it enlightens the
understanding, which was no less obscured by sin ; to the
end that man, through the one may know his duty, and by
the help of the other may put it in execution. It is on this
account St. Gregory says in his Morals : " That as man's
not knowing his duty is a punishment for his sins, so is
his not being able to perform it when he does know it." —
L. 25. c. 9- For the same reason the Psalmist so often re
peats, the Lord is my light against ignorance ; the Lord is
my salvation against the want of power. By the one we
are taught what we are to desire, and we are enabled by
the other to bring our desires about ; but they both de
pend on grace. And, therefore, besides the habits of faith
and of infused wisdom, which instruct us in what we are
to believe, and what we are to do, there are added, the

138 THE sinner's guide*
gifts of the Holy Ghost ; whereof four belong to the un
derstanding : which are, that of wisdom, to give us the
knowledge of the sublimest things : that of knowledge, for
those things that are lower: that of understanding, to dive
into the divine mysteries, and see how beautiful they are,
and how consonant to one another ; and that of counsel,
to direct us how to conduct ourselves amidst the difficulties
so frequently to be met with in this life.
AU these rays of the divine light are reflected on us by
grace, which in the holy scripture is called an unction, or
anointing : And this anointing, (says St. John,) instructeth
you in all things." For as oil, above all other liquid things,
is good both for the nourishing of light and for the curing
of wounds, so this divine unction performs both, curing
the wounds of our will, and enlightening the darkness of
our understanding. This is the oil more precious than
any balsam, which David gloried in, when he said : "Thou,
0 Lord hast anointed my head with oil." Ps. xxii. 5. It
is plain he speaks not here of a corporal head, or of ma
terial oil, but of a spiritual head, which is the noblest part
of our souls ; and according to Dydymus, on this text, the
seat of understanding, and of the spiritual oil, which is
the light of the Holy Ghost, that feeds this lamp and
keeps it in. This holy king was sensible of the light this
oil gave, as he himself confesses in these words : " The
uncertain and hidden things of thy wisdom thou hast
made manifest to me." Ps. 1. 8.
2. Another reason is, that since it is grace makes a
man virtuous, and since it cannot do this without dispos
ing him to a sorrow for his past life, to a horror of sin, to
a love of God, to a desire of heavenly things, and to a
contempt of the earthly, the will can never be excited to
such affections, unless the understanding receive a suffi
cient light and knowledge to produce them. For the will
is a blind faculty, unfit altogether to act, unless the under
standing go before, and inform it what is good or bad, that
so it may accordingly fix or withdraw its affection. St.
Thomas, to this purpose says : " That the knowledge of
God's goodness and beauty increases in the souls of the
just proportionably to the love they have for him. So that
if the one advance a hundred degrees, the other will ad
vance as many ; because he that loves much must know a
great many qualities in the thing he loves, which make it

the sinner's guide. 139
deserve his love ; and so on the contrary." S. Th. 2. 2. qu.
2. ar. 4. What we say of the love of God, is also to be
understood of fear, of hope, and of the horror of sin, which
he can never have above all things, if he do not know
that it is so great an evil as to deserve such hatred. For
as the Holy Ghost requires all these affections to be in the
soul of a just man, he expects there should be cause to oc
casion and produce them, even as when he designed to
work different effects on the earth, he appointed there
should be different causes and influences in the heavens.
3. Moreover, since, as we have said before, grace induces
God to dwell in the soul of a just man, and God, according
to St. John, i. 9, " is a light enlightening every man that
cometh into this world," it is certain the purer and cleaner
he finds this habitation, the rays of his divine light will
shine the brighter on it ; as a glass, the clearer it is, the
brighter and the stronger it reflects the sun. St. Augus
tine therefore calls God, " the wisdom of a purified soul,"
(Lib. 2. de Lib. Arbit.) for enlightening the soul, which is
in such a state, with the rays of his light, and instructing
it in what is necessary to its salvation. And what wonder
that God should do this for man, since it is in some manner
what he does for other creatures ? For they, by a certain
natural instinct, know all those things that are necessary
for the preservation of their being. Who has taught the
sheep, among so many different plants, to avoid those
which are hurtful to them, and to browse on those which
are not ? From whom has it learned what creature is its
enemy, and what its friend ; and by this means to run
from the wolf, and to follow the mastiff ? is it not from
God ? Now, if God thus instructs the brutes for the pre
serving of their natural life, how much more reason have
we to think he will enlighten the just with such a know
ledge as shall be necessary to the maintaining of their spi
ritual life ? considering that man stands in no less need of
those things, that are above his nature, than the brutes do
of such as are suitable to theirs ? And if the divine pro
vidence has been so careful in providing what regards
nature only, how much more solicitous will it be, in fur
nishing us with such things as regard grace, which are in
finitely more excellent, but at the same time far above the
reach and power of man ?
4. This example teaches us, not only that there is such

140 the sinner's guide.
a knowledge, but what a kind of knowledge it is, which
consists not so much in the speculation as in the practice,
since it is given us more for the direction of our actions,
than for the improvement of our understanding ; and is
rather to instruct us how to perform all we do virtuously,
than how to discourse learnedly. For this reason, it stops
not at the understanding, as that knowledge we acquire in
the schools does, but communicates itself to the will, and
makes it ready in the performance of whatever this know
ledge inclines it to. This is the property of the inspirations
of the Holy Ghost, who, like an accomplished master,
perfectly instructs those under his care in all that is requi
site for them to know. And, therefore, the Spouse in the
Canticles, (ch. v. 6,) says : " My soul melted, when my
beloved spoke." Thus we may see what difference there
is between this and human learning. For whereas the one
does nothing else but increase the understanding, the other
moreover governs and excites the will, and by its virtue
searches unto all the recesses of our souls, doing all that
is necessary for the reformation of each in particular. — ¦
Whereon the Apostle says : " The word of God is quick
and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword,"
(Heb. iv. 12,) because it separates the sensual part of man
from the spiritual, cutting asunder those unhappy knots
which generally tie the flesh and the spirit together, when
the spirit, closely contracting with the wicked flesh, be
comes one with it. It is the force and efficacy of the
word of God that breaks this knot, and makes man follow,
not the dictates of the flesh, but of the spirit.
5. This is one of the chief effects of grace, and a par
ticular privilege of virtuous men in this life. But because
carnal and sensual men perhaps can neither under
stand, nor will so readily believe this truth, I will make it
plainly appear to them, by several passages of the Old and
New Testaments. In the New, our Saviour says : " the
Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he
will teach you all things, and bring all things to your
mind, whatsoever I shall have said to you." John xiv. 26.
He tells us in another place, (ch. vi. 45,) " It is written in
the Prophets, And they shall be all taught of God. Every
one that hath heard of the Father and hath learned cometh
to me." He has told us, in like manner, by his prophet
Jeremiah: " I will give my law in their bowels, and I will

the sinner's guide. 141
write it in their heart. And they shall teach no more every
man his neighbour, and every man his brother, saying :
know the lord, for all shall know me." Isa. xxxi. 33, 34.
In the prophet Isaias, (ch. liv. 11, 12, 13,) the Lord speak
ing of the prosperity of his church, uses these words : " Oh,
thou afflicted, tossed with the tempests, and not comforted!
Behold I will lay thy stones in order, and lay thy founda
tions with sapphires. And I will make thy bulwarks of
jasper, and thy gates of graven stones, and all thy borders
of desirable stones. All thy children shall be taught of
the Lord." He repeats the same again elsewhere by the
same prophet : "lam the Lord thy God that teach thee
profitable things, that govern thee in the way that thou
walkest." ch. xlviii. 1 7. By these words are understood
two sorts of knowledge, that of saints, and that of wise
men. It is that of the saints, which Solomon speaks of,
when he says : " The knowledge of the holy is prudence."
Prov. ix. 10. For bare knowledge does but teach us how
to know, but prudence instructs us how to act by what we
know : and this is the knowledge of holy men.
6. Besides, how often shall we find this very same wis
dom promised to the just, in David's Psalms. In one of
them, he says : " The mouth of the just, shall meditate
wisdom, and his tongue shall speak judgment." Ps. xxxvi.
30. God, in another place, makes the good man this pro
mise : " I will instruct thee in this way in which thou shalt
go." Ps. xxxi. H. In another, as if it were a business of
the greatest consequence, the prophet puts the question
saying : " Who is the man that feareth the Lord ? He
hath appointed him a law in the way he hath chosen." Ps.
xxiv. 12. And in the Psalm we have these words : " The
salvation of the just is of the Lord ; " which St. Jerome
renders thus : " The Lord discovers his secrets to those
that fear him, and he will show them his covenant ;" that
is, his holy laws are made known to them. This knowledge
is a great light to the understanding, a delicious food to
the will, and the greatest pleasure man can enjoy. The
same prophet calls it, a pasture in which God fed him, a
water with which he refreshed his soul, and a table upon
which were placed such meats, as might strengthen him
against all the powers of his enemies. Ps. xxii. 2, 5. For
¦which reason the same prophet so frequently begs for this
inward light, and for their inward instructions, in that
2 G

142 THE SINNER'S GUIDE.
divine psalm, which begins, " Blessed are the undefiled."
Ps. cxlviii. To this end he says, in one place: " O Lord,
I am thy servant : give me understanding, that I may
know thy testimonies." In another place : " Open thou my
eyes, 0 Lord, and I will consider the wonderous things of
thy law," ver. 18. And again : " Give me understanding,
and I will search thy law, and I will keep it with my whole
heart." ver. 34. This is, in fine, the petition he so often
makes in this Psalm. Nor would he have done it with
such earnestness, had he not being very well acquainted
with its efficacy, and with the manner of God's communi
cating the same.
7. All this being undeniably true, what greater honour
can man receive, than to have such a master and such a
school to go to, where the Lord himself teaches his elect
this heavenly wisdom ? If, as St. Jerome says, men in
former times went as far as Rome, from the remotest parts
of France and Spain, to see Livy, a man so renowned for
his eloquence, (Ep. 120. ad Paulin.) and if Apollonius,
who had the false reputation of one of the wise men of his
age, went to Mount Caucasus, and traversed the greater
part of the world, to see Hiarchas sitting among a few
scholars on a golden throne, disputing with them on the
motions of the heavens and of the planets, what should
men do, to hear God seated on the throne of their hearts,
not to teach them how the heavens move, but how they
themselves may move thither ?
8. And that you may not look on this doctrine as con
temptible hear the Royal Prophet's commendations of it :
" I have understood more than all my teachers, because
thy testimonies are my meditation ; I have understanding
above ancients, because I have sought thy commandments."
Ps. cxviii. 99, 100. Nay, the Lord promises more than
all this, by his prophet Isaias, to those that serve him :
" The Lord (says he,) will give thee rest continually,
and will fill thy soul with brightness, and deliver thy
bones, and thou shalt belike a watered garden, and like a
fountain of water, whose waters shall not fail." Isa. lviii.
1 1 . What brightness is this, wherewith God fills the souls
of his servants, but the knowledge he gives them of things
necessary to their salvation ? For it is he that shows them
how beautiful virtue is, and how deformed vice ; he it is
that tells them how vain a thing the world is, that informs.

the sinner's guide. 143
them of the worth of grace, the greatness of eternal glory,
the sweetness of those consolations which the Holy Ghost
bestows, the goodness of God, the malice of the devil, the
shortness of life, and the general mistake of most men. — .
God, as the same prophet observes, by virtue of this know
ledge, makes his servants dwell on high, " that they may
see the king in his beauty, and they shall see the land afar
off." Isa. xxxiii. 17. Therefore, the things of this world
are of so little value with them, because, besides their
being generally so, they see them only at a. distance; but
as to the riches of the other world, they praise them at what
they are worth, as having a very near view of them. The
wicked, on the contrary, having a distant prospect of hea
venly things, and standing so closely by the earthly, under
value those and overrate these. This is what preserves
such persons as partake of this heavenly gift, from being
either puffed up with prosperity, or cast down by adver
sity ; for they, by the help of this light, see how little
what the world can give them is, in comparison with what
they have from God. And therefore, Solomon says : "A.
holy man continueth in wisdom as the sun, but a fool
is changed as the moon." Eccles. xxvii. 12. Upon which
words St. Ambrose says, " That as for the wise man,
neither can fear move him, nor power change him ; amidst
his prosperity he is never proud, (Epist. L. 2.) nor melan
choly in the midst of troubles, (Ep. 7.) because virtue,
strength, and courage, are the perpetual attendants on
wisdom." Such a man's soul is always in an even temper,
no change makes him either greater or less, nor is he to
be carried away by the winds of a new doctrine, but re
mains steady in Jesus Christ immoveable in his charity,
unshaken in his faith.
9. Nor are we to wonder at the force of this wisdom,
since it is not earthly, but heavenly ; which does not
puff up, but edify ; which does not enlighten the under-r
standing by its speculation, but inflames the will with its
heat. Thus so wonderfully was St. Augustine touched and
moved, that, as it is written of him, he never heard- the
psalms and hymns of the church sung but he wept. The
words entering in at his ears, sunk down to the very bot
tom of his heart, whilst the warmth of his devotion spread
the truth of them throughout his whole soul. This made
him break out into tears, and, acpording to his own con-,

144 THE SINNER'S GUIDE.
fession, gave him a great deal of joy and comfort : 0
blessed tears ! O divine school ! 0 happy wisdom, that
bears such fruit as this ! Conf. L. 9. v. 24. Is there any
thing in the world we can compare with this wisdom ? Job
says : " The finest gold shall not purchase it, neither shall
silver be weighed in exchange for it. It shall not be com
pared with dyed colours of India, or with the most
precious stone sardonyx, or the saphire. Gold or crystal
cannot equal it, neither shall any vessels of gold be
changed for it. High and eminent things shall not be
mentioned in comparison with it, but wisdom is drawn out
of secret places." Job xxviii. 15, 16, &c. After all these
commendations the holy man concludes : " Behold the
fear of the Lord, that is wisdom, and to depart from evil
is understanding." ver. 28.
10. This is one of the greatest rewards that can be of
fered to excite you to follow virtue. And Solomon makes
this proposal to encourage men to a good life : " My son,
if thou wilt receive my words, and hide my command
ments with thee, then shalt thou understand the fear of
the Lord, and find the knowledge of God. For the Lord
giveth wisdom, out of his mouth cometh knowledge and
understanding." Prov. i. This wisdom does not always
continue in the same degree, but receives a daily increase
of light and knowledge, as the same wise man has hinted
to us : " The path of the just," says he, " is as a shining
light goeth forwards, and increaseth even to perfect day,"
(Prov. iv. 18.) the day of this blessed eternity wherein we
shall receive the divine inspirations, I will not say with
Job's friends, by stealth, but shall have a full sight and
knowledge of God himself. Job. iv. 1 2.
11. Of this true wisdom the children of light partake,
whilst the wicked, on the confrary, live in such ignorance,
that like the Egyptian darkness, they may feel it with their
hands. We have a lively figure of the one in the land of
Jessen, where the Israelites lived, which always enjoyed
the light : and of the other in the land of Egypt, (Exod. x.
22, 23.) which was quite covered over with darkness, a
true emblem of that horrible blindness in which the wicked
live, as they themselves acknowledge in Isaias, when they
say : " We looked for light, and behold darkness ; bright
ness, and we have walked in the dark. We have groped
for the wall, and like the blind we have groped as if we

THE SINNER'S GUIDE. 145
had no eyes ; we have stumbled at noon-day as in dark
ness; we are in dark places as dead men." Isa. lix. 9, 10.
What greater blindness than what the wicked fall into
every step they take ? What greater blindness than for a
man to sell the solid joys of heaven for the vanities of the
world ? What greater blindness than for a man not to be
afraid of hell, not to seek after heaven, not to have a
horror for sin, not to think of the last judgment, not to
regard the threats or promises which God has made, not
to be afraid of death, which may every moment surprise
him not to prepare himself for the making up of his ac
counts, not to see how short and momentary his delights
are, whilst the torments that shall follow them are to last
for ever ? They will not be learned nor understand,"
says the Royal Prophet, " but walk on in darkness," (Ps.
lxxxi. 5.) from an inward darkness to an outward one,
from the darkness of this life to that of the next.
1 2. I shall conclude this chapter with a word or two of
advice, which is, that notwithstanding the truth of all I
have said upon this matter, a man, how just soever he is,
should not on this account withdraw himself from the
humble submission he owes to the opinion and counsel of
those above him, especially of such as are looked upon as
the doctors of the church. For was ever man more en
lightened than St. Paul or Moses, who talked with God
face to face ? And yet one of them goes to Jerusalem to
confer with the Apostles on the Gospel he had learned in
the third heaven, (Galat. ii. 1, 2.) and the other refuses not
the advice of Jethro, his father-in-law, though a heathen.
Exod. xviii. Thereasonis, because theinwardhelpsof grace
exclude not the outward assistance of the church, since
the Divine Providence has been pleased to allow them both
to supply our weakness, which stands much in need of them.
As, therefore, the outward heat of the air maintains the .
inward natural heat, and as nature, after all its care to pro
cure the health of every particular, is assisted with such
medicines as have been created for this end, so is the light
and doctrine of the church a help to the inward lights and
assistance of grace, and whosoever refuses with humility
to submit to the authority of the one, is to be judged un
worthy to receive the favours and helps of the other.

CHAPTER V.
Of the fourth privilege of Virtue, that is, the consolations which
good men receive from the Holy Ghost.
1 . I might here very well, after having spoken of the light
of the Holy Ghost, which enlightens the darkness of our
understanding count charity and the love of God with
which our wills are inflamed, as the fourth privilege of
virtue, especially since the Apostle accounts it the first
fruit of the Holy Ghost. But our design at present being
not so much as to treat of virtue itself, as of the favours
granted to it, and charity being not only a virtue, but of all
virtues the noblest, we shall forbear to treat of it here ;
not but that we might speak of it in this place, though not
as of a virtue, yet as of a gift which God bestows on the
virtuous, inflaming their wills in an unspeakable manner,
and making them love God above all things. The more
perfect this virtue grows, the pleasanter it becomes, so that
we may therefore look on it as the fruit and reward, not
only of the virtues, but of itself too. But not to be thought
ambitious of speaking too much in commendation of this
virtue, which gives us so many other occasions of speaking
in its favour, I will assign the fourth place to the joy and
comfort of the Holy Ghost, it being the natural property
of charity itself, and one of the chief fruits of this same
spirit, as St. Paul tells us. Galat. v. 22.
2. This privilege is a branch of the former ; because, as
we said before, this light, with which God enlightens his
servants, does not stop at the understanding, but descends
into the will, and there darts out the rays of its brightness,
with which it entertains them, and gives them a wonderful
delight in God. So that from this spiritual light comes the
spiritual joy we speak of, as the material light produces
the heat we perceive by our senses. This gave the Royal
Prophet occasion to say : " Light is risen to the just, and
joy to the right of heart." Ps. xclvi. 1 1 . We have treated
on this subject elsewhere, yet we may venture to speak of
it again, without anyfear of repeating what we said before.
3. For the better pursuing the design of this book, we
must first explain the greatness of this joy, because the
knowing of this will go a great way towards making men
be in love with virtue. We all know, that as all kinds of

THE SINNER'S GUIDE. 147
miseries are included in vice, so are all kinds of delight in
virtue, those excepted which the wicked complain they
have not. For which reason, man being naturally a friend
to pleasure, these persons tell us, by their actions at least,
if not by word of mouth, that they had rather enjoy what
please them, though at the expense of their salvation, than
not to satisfy their sensual desires, though hell follows their
consenting to them. Lactantius, writing on this subject
says : " that men are frightened into a flight from virtue,
and charmed into a pursuit of vice, because vice has a
sensible pleasure attending it." L. 2. de Falsa. Relig. c. 2.
This being the rise of so many misfortunes, he that shall
disabuse men of his mistake, and show them plainly that
the way of virtue is much more pleasant than that of vice,
must certainly be very serviceable to mankind in general.
My design therefore is, to prove this to them by unques
tionable authorities, drawn particularly from the holy
Scripture, the best proof we can bring for matters of this
nature, since " heaven and earth shall pass away, but the
Word of God shall not." Mark xiii. 31 .
4. Tell me then, blind deluded man ! if the way to
heaven be so rough and so unpleasant as you imagine it
is, what means the prophet David, when he says : " O
how great is the multitude of thy sweetness, 0 Lord,
which thou hast hidden for them that fear thee !"
Ps. xxx. 20. Here he lets us see the delights the virtuous
enjoy, and why they are unknown to the wicked, because
God hides them from such. What, likewise/ do these
words of the same prophet signify : " My soul shall rejoice
in the Lord, and shall be delighted in his salvation. All
my bones," that is, all the powers of my soul, " shall say,
Lord, who is like thee?" Ps. xxxiv. 9. 10. This is to
teach us, that the comfort the just have is so great, that,
notwithstanding it is immediately received by the spirit,
it rebounds in such a manner on the flesh, that though its
chief delight is in carnal things, yet, by the communication
of the spirit, it is pleased with the spiritual, and places its
satisfaction in God, and that with such transports of joy,
that all the bones of the body being ravished with this
sweetness, men are forced to cry out: " Who is like to
thee, O Lord ?" What pleasures are to be compared with
those we enjoy in thee ? What content, what love, what
peace, what delight can any creature give, like what we

148 THE SINNER'S GUIDE.
receive from thee ? What is it again the same prophet
means by his saying: "the voice of rejoicing and of
salvation is in the tabernacles of the just?" (Ps. cxvii.
15), but to tell us, that true peace and pleasure are no
where to be met with, but in the dwellings of the just.
He says again: "Let the just feast and rejoice before God;
and be delighted with gladness." Ps. lxvii. 4. And this to
show us, what spiritual feasts God often makes for the
entertainment of his elect, by giving them a taste of
heavenly things for the refreshment of their souls.
5. It is at these divine banquets they drink that
delicious wine, the same prophet so highly commends :
They shall be inebriated, says he, 0 Lord, with the plenty of
thy house, and thou shalt make them drink of the torrent of thy
pleasure. Ps. xxxv. 9. Could the prophet have used
more expressive words to show how these delights
even force men to a hearty love of God ? For as one
that has drank a deal of wine loses the use of his senses,
and is, in that point, like a dead man ; so he that has once
drank of this celestial banquet dies to the world, and to
the irregular desires of what is in it.
6. We read again, Blessed is the people, that knoweth
jubilation/ Ps. Ixxxviii. 16. Others would perhaps have
said, happy they, who roll in riches, who are enclosed
with strong walls, and have their soldiers to defend them !
But holy David, who had a share of these things, terms
only him blessed, who, by experience, knows what it is to
rejoice in God, and that not with an ordinary joy, but
with such a one as deserves the name of jubilation; which,
according to St. Gregory, is a joy of spirit, we can neither
express by words, nor discover by outward signs and
actions. L. 24. Moral, c. 3. Happy they who have made
such an advance in the love of God, as to have experience
of this jubilation ! It is a knowledge, which neither
Plato, with all his wisdom, nor Demosthenes, with all his
eloquence, could arrive to. For God resides in none, but
in the pure and humble of heart. If then, God be the
author of this joy, how great must it be of course, since
the comforts, that come from him, as are equally propor
tioned to himself, as are the punishments he inflicts ? If,
then, he punishes with so much rigour, with what sweet
delights must he fill the souls of those that love him ? If
his arm is so heavy, when he holds it out to chastise, how

the sinner's guide. 149
must it be when stretched out to caress ? For he is more
wonderful in his works of mercy, than in those of justice.
7. What cellar of rich wine is that which the Spouse
in the Canticles (ch. i. 3,) boasts of her being carried
into by her beloved, and of being filled there with charity
and love ? What noble banquet is that which the same
Spouse invites us to ? Eat, 0 friends, and drink, and be
inebriated, my dearly beloved. Cant. v. 1. We look upon
that man to be drunk, when, having more wine than his
natural heat can digest, the vapours fly up into his head,
and rendering himself incapable of governing himself,
force him to follow the impressions they make on his
imagination. If this be so, what condition must a soul be
in, that has drank so much of this heavenly wine, and is
so full of God and of his love, as to be overcharged with
an excess of delight and pleasure, and to be made unable
with all its force to bear up under such a weight of
happiness ? So it is written of St. Ephrem, that he was
so often overpowered with the strength of the wine of this
divine sweetness, that his body not being able to support
these delights, he was forced to cry out, " Retire from
me a little, 0 Lord ! because my body is too weak to
endure the force of thy sweetness any longer." St. John
Clim. deg. 19.
8. O unspeakable goodness ! 0 immense sweetness of
this sovereign Lord ! who communicates himself with
such profusion to his creatures, that their bodies are too
weak, and their hearts too narrow, to endure and contain
the strength and fulness of such charms ! It is by this
celestial wine the powers of the soul are lulled to rest ; it
is this that gives them a gentle slumber of peace and life ;
it is this that raises the soul above herself; it is by virtue
of this she knows, and loves, and enjoys such pleasures, as
are far above the strength of her natural faculties. Hence
it follows, that as water over a fire, when it has arrived
at a certain degree of heat, forgetful as it were of its own
quality, which is to be heavy, and consequently to tend
downward, mounts upwards, borrowing the natural light
ness of fire, which give it this extraordinary motion ; so
the soul, warmed with this heavenly fire, lifts herself up
above herself, and endeavours to fly from earth to heaven
from whence this flame was darted, is transported with
the desire of enjoying God ; runs after him, with all the

150 the sinner's guide.
speed she can, and stretches out her hands to embrace
him, whom she so passionately loves. But if she can
neither overtake him, nor cool the heat of her flames, she
pines and languishes under the loss of her wishes and all the
comfort she has is to send up her amorous sighs to heaven,
crying out with the Spouse in the Canticles, v. 8. Tell
my beloved, that I languish with love. Holy writers inform
us, that these languishings proceed from the opposition
the soul meets with, in the effecting of her desires.
Whereon, one of them says : " Be not discouraged, 0
amorous soul, for thy sickness is not to death, it is for
God's glory, and that the Son of God may be glorified
thereby." St. John, c. xi. 4. But what tongue can express
the charms and pleasures these happy lovers enjoy, on
Solomon's stately bride-bed, which was made of the wood
of Libanus, the pillars thereof were of silver, and the seat of
gold? Cant. iii. 9. 10. Here it is the spiritual marriage-
feast is kept. It is called a bed, for its being a place of
rest and love, and where they enjoy such pleasures, that
as St. John says, in his Revelation, no man can conceive
how great they are, but he that has experienced them.
Though the knowledge of these things be hidden from us,
we may nevertheless frame to ourselves some idea of them.
For if a man but considers what an excess of love the
Son of God had for him, in suffering such unheard of
injuries and torments for his sake, he cannot wonder at
what we cannot say, since it is but little when compared to
this. What will he not do for the just, who has undergone
so much for sinners ? How will he caress and make much
of his friends, who has endured such pains, as well for his
enemies as for them ? We have a token of this in the
book of Canticles, where the heavenly bridegroom shows
such a passionate tenderness to his bride, which is the
Church, and every particular person in the state of grace.
Such amorous discourses pass there between them, that
no other eloquence or love can express it.
9. We may also conceive it from the just themselves,
God's true friends, for if you look into the hearts of those
persons, you will find their greatest concern and desire,
and the perpetual employment of their thoughts is in the
service of God, and the putting themselves into a condition
of doing something for him, who has done, and who con
tinues every day to do so much forthem, treating them with

THE SINNER'S GUIDE. 151
such sweetness and love. If, therefore, man, of himself
so unfaithful, and so unable to do any good, can never
theless be so faithful to God, what is there that God will
not do for him. God, who is infinite in his fidelity and
love ? If it is the property of God, as the Psalmist says,
to be holy with the holy, and innocent with the innocent,
(Ps. xvii. 26,) and if man can arrive at such a degree of
goodness, as we have said he can, how far will the good
ness of God reach ? If God should vie with men on this
point, how much will he outdo them in this glorious
strife? If, therefore, a good man is willing to do so
much to make himself pleasing to God, what will not
God do in return to comfort and please him ? He will do
more than we can express or conceive. For this reason
the prophet Isaias says : The ear hath not heard, neither
hath the eye seen what thou, 0 God, hast prepared for them
that wait for thee, ch. lxiv. 4. This is to be understood,
not of the goods of glory only, but, according to St. Paul,
(1 Cor.ii.) of those of grace too.
10. This surely may suffice to show how pleasant the
way of virtue is, and that the delights of this world are
not to be compared with what the just enjoy. For what
comparison is there between light and darkness, Christ
and Belial, between the pleasures of earth and those of
heaven, the satisfactions of the flesh, and those of the
spirit, the thoughts which come from the creature, and
those from the Creator ? It is more certain the more ex
cellent it is, the more capable it is of contenting us.
What did the prophet mean else, when he said : Better is
a little to the just, than the greatest riches of the wicked.
Ps. xxxvi. 16. And in another place : I had rather be the
most abject person in the house of jny God, than dwell in the
tabernacles of sinners. Ps. lxxxiii. 1 1 . These words of the
Spouse in the Canticles, teach us the same lesson : Thy
breasts are better than wine. And a little lower : We will
le glad and rejoice in thee, remembering thy breasts more than
wine, (Can. i. 1 . 3.) that is to say, we will think of the
most delicious milk and comforts and the caresses which are
more sweet than wine, with which you feed your spiritual
children at your breasts. It is certain, that neither
material wine nor material milk is meant here ; for by
these are understood the pleasures of the world, which
the lewd woman in the Apocalypse, xvii. seated over

152 the sinner's guide.
many waters, clothed in scarlet and holding a golden cup'
in her hand, made the inhabitants drunk with ; thus
drowning their senses, that they might be heedless of their

Section I. It is particularly in Prayer, that the Virtuous enjoy
these Divine Consolations.
11. If, on farther inquiry into this matter, you should
ask me, where it is particularly the virtuous enjoy these
comforts, God himself will answer the question, by the
Prophet Isaias, ch. lvi. 6. 7. " The children of the stranger,
(says he,) that adhere to the Lord, to worship him, and
to love his name, to be his servants : every one that keepeth
the sabbath from profaning it, and that holdeth fast my
covenant : I will bring them into my holy mount, and make
them joyful in my house of prayer." So that it is in this holy
employment particularly, that the Lord comforts his elect
in such a manner. It was on this occasion, St. Laurence
Justinian said, (Tract de. Ord. Lig. Vitas.) " The hearts
of the just are inflamed with this love of their Creator,
whilst they are at prayer. It is then they are at times
raised above themselves, and imagine they are amidst the
choirs of angels, singing with them in the presence of
their God ; it is then they love and sigh ; it is then they
praise, weep and rejoice ; it is then they eat, and are still
hungry, they drink without being satisfied; and endeavour
with all the force that love can give them, to transform
themselves into their Lord, whom they contemplate by
faith, whom they adore with humility, whom they desire
with passion, and enjoy with the utmost heat of love." It
is then, they, by their own experience, find these words of
his to be true : " My joy therefore is fulfilled." John iii. 29.
This joy, like a gentle stream, spreads itself over all the
faculties of the soul ; it enlightens the understanding, it
pleases the will, it refreshes the memory, and makes them
think of nothing but God, and they lovingly embrace what
they are unacquainted with, and which yet they have such
a passion for, that they had rather die than lose it. Thus
the heart wrestles with this divine sweetness, lest it should
get away, being the only object of its wishes, as the Pa
triarch Jacob did with the angel. Gen. xxxii. 26. And
thus, like St. Peter on the mountain, it cries out, Lord, it
is good for us to be here. Matt, xviii. 4. It is here the soul

THE SINNER'S GUIDE. 153
has all that amorous discourse, which is in the Canticles
addressed to her, whilst she, on her part, sings these charm
ing airs of love : His left hand is under my head, and his
right hand shall embrace me. Stay me up with flowers,
and compass me about with apples, because I languish
with love. Cant. ii. 5, 6. Then it is, the soul inflamed
with these divine heats, desires nothing more than to
break out of the prison of her body, whilst her tears are
her food both day and night, because the time of her
enlargement is not yet come. Life is the trial of her
patience, but the object of her desire is death, and there
fore she is continually using these words of the Spouse :
Who shall give thee to me for my brother, sucking the breasts of
my mother, that I may find thee without and kiss thee ?
Cant. viii. 1. It is then she is astonished at herself, and
wonders how such treasures could be hidden from her so
long ; but finding it is a happiness which every man is
capable of enjoying, she longs to run up and down in the
streets and public places, and to cry out, fools and madmen!
whither do you run? what is it you are in search of? why do
you not run to the possession of such a treasure as this is ?
Taste and see that the Lord is sweet, blessed is the man that
hopeth in him. Ps. xxxiii. 9- When the soul has once
tasted these spiritual pleasures, none carnal will please
her. Company is then a restraint on her, whilst she looks
on solitude as a paradise ; for all her desire and comfort is,
to be alone with her God, whom she loves. Honours and
preferments are but a burden to her, and an estate and
family a torment. She would not for all the world, no
not for heaven itself, be deprived of her comforts ; and for
this reason, all her endeavours are to disengage herself
from the world. She has but one love, and one desire ;
so that whatsoever she loves, it is for the sake of one alone,
and this one she loves in all things ; she knows how to cry
out, with the Royal Prophet : What have I, 0 Lord, in
heaven, and besides thee what do I desire upon earth ? For
thee my flesh and my heart hath fainteth away ; thou art the
God of my heart, and the God that is my portion for ever.
Ps. lxxii. 25, 26.
12. The knowledge of holy things seems no longer ob
scure to a soul in this state ; she sees them now with other
eyes, and feels such motions and changes within, as are
Strong proofs of every article of faith. She thinks the

154 the sinner's guide.
day long and tedious, and the management of her temporal
concerns is troublesome to her, longing till the night
comes, that she may spend it in the company of her God.
She never looks on the night as too long ; the longest, on
the contrary, are those she desires most. If they happen
to be clear, with her eyes cast up to heaven, she admires
its beauty and the brightness of the moon and stars, con
sidering them quite differently from what she used to do,
and much more cheerfully ; she looks on them as so many
marks of her Creator's beauty, and so many mirrors of
his glory, as so many messengers that come to bring her
news of him, as so many lively drafts of his grace and
perfections, and as so many presents which the bridegroom
sends his bride, to endear and make her constant to him,
till he himself shall come and lead her by the hand to this
happy marriage, for an eterntiy in heaven ; she looks on
the whole world as a book that treats of nothing else but
of God; she regards it as a letter from her beloved, and
a token of his love. These are the pleasures and delights,
they who love God pass the nights in ; these the quiet
sleeps they enjoy. For the regular motions all creatures
observe, are like an harmonious concert to the soul, that
makes her slumber a little, and lulls her into the gentle
and soft sleep, of which it is said : / sleep, and my heart
tmtcheth. Cant. v. 2. And when her dearest spouse per
ceives her thus at rest within his arms, he takes care not
to disturb her, and gives orders that no one presumes to
wake her, saying : I adjure you, 0 ye daughters of Jerusa
lem, by the roes and harts of the field, that you stir not
up, nor make the beloved to awake, till she please. Cant.
ii. 7.
What do you think now of such nights as these ? which
do you imagine to be the pleasanter, these, or those of
worldlings, who spend their time lying in wait to defile
innocent virgins, to rob them of their chastity, and make
them lose their honour and their souls ? Thus they miser
ably expose themselves to the hazard of their own salvation
heaping up for themselves a treasure of vengeance against
that day, wherein God will punish them, according to the
heinousness of their crimes. Rom. ii. 5.

the sinner's guide. 155

Section II. Of the Comforts they enjoy, who begin to
serve God.
13. Perhaps, you will tell me such extraordinary favours
as these, are for none but those who have already advanced
in perfection and virtue. It is true they are for them,
but yet God presents even those who are but just entered
into his service, with all the blessings of his consolation.
He feeds them at first like children with milk, and brings
them by degrees to eat more solid meats. You see how
the prodigal son was entertained on his return, and
welcomed home with music and feasting. This is but a
representation of the spiritual joy which the soul receives,
when she sees herself escaped out of Egypt, and freed from
the captivity of Pharao, from the slavery of the devil,
Luke xv. For how can a slave, when he has got his liberty,
choose but to be glad of such a benefit ? What can he do
less than invite all creatures to thank his deliverer with
him? Let us sing to the Lord, for he is gloriously magnified,
the horse and the rider he hath thrown into the sea.
Exod. xv. 1.
14. If this were not so, where would be that providence
which supplies every creature so fully, according to its
nature, strength, age, and capacity? For it is certain,
carnal men could never be able to enter into this new road,
and trample the world under foot, unless God showed them
such favours. To this end, his divine providence takes
care, as soon as ever it has determined to disengage them
from the world, so to smooth and plain the way, that they
meet with no rubs to make them stumble. This is admirably
represented to us by God's leading the children of Israel
into the land of promise, whereof Moses gives us this
relation: When Pharao had sent out the people, the Lord
led them not by the way of the Philistines, which is near,
thinking lest perhaps they would repent, if they should see
wars rise against them, and would return into Egypt.
Exod. xiii. 1 7. The same Lord who took such care to
conduct the Israelites into the land of promise, after he
had brought them out of Egypt, takes no less at present, to
bring those to heaven, whom he is pleased to call to this
happiness, after having made them quit the world.
15. But I would have you to conceive, that though
such as have arrived to perfection in virtue, are caressed

156 the sinner's guide.
after a particular manner, yet, God is so good to beginners,
that considering their poverty, he helps them forward in
the new way they have undertaken, and perceiving they
are still exposed to temptations of sin and have passions
to overcome, he gives them, imperfect as they are, so
much comfort, that their joy does not fall short of what
they possess, who are advanced much farther. This he
does for no other end, but to give them an entire victory
over all their inordinate appetites, to make them break off
with their own flesh, to wean them from the milk, that is
from the weak delights of this world, and to tie them to'
him with such strong bonds of love, that they may never
be able to break loose. If this does not convince you,
consider what God has been pleased to signify to us by the
feasts of the Old Testament, where he commanded the first
and last day to be observed with an equal solemnity. As
for the six days which were between them, they were no
more than the ordinary days of the week, but these two
they always kept with much greater veneration. What
can this be but a figure of what we are now treating? He
ordered the first to be kept solemnly as well as the
last, to give us to understand that he makes much of those
who serve him in the beginning of their conversion, a3
well as those who have attained the utmost perfection.
This he does in consideration of what these have deserved,
and of what those stands in need of, dealing with the one
according to the rules of his justice, by giving them what
their virtue has deserved, and treating the other according
to the dictates of his grace and mercy, by bestowing on
the other much more than they deserved, on account of
their necessities.
16. We are never more taken with the sight of trees,
than when they are in they; flourishing condition, and
their fruit is ripe. The day of betrothing and the wedding
day are always devoted to mirth and festivity. Almighty
God on the return of a soul to him, betrothes her to himself,
and when he marries her, he is at all the charges of
the wedding feast, which he makes according to his estate
and ability, not according to the deserts and quality of
his spouse; and, to that purpose he says: Our sister is little,
and hath no breasts, (Cant. viii. 8.) and, therefore, she
must live on another's milk. The bride, speaking to
her bridegroom, tells him, the young maidens have loved

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thee. (Cant, i. 2.) She does not say the maidens, which
are those souls, that have made a considerable progress in
virtue ; but those who are not of so ripe an age, that is,
such as have but just opened their eyes to this new light.
These, says she, have an ardent love for thee. For young
lovers do usually express their passion with the greatest
love and heat. This is what St. Thomas tells us, when,
among several other reasons he alleges this, that the
newness of the state, of the love, of the light, and of the
knowledge of divine things, discovers those beauties to
them, which they never perceived before ; filling them
with admiration, giving them at the same time a particular
delight, and teaching them what returns they are to make
him, who has so kindly restored them their sight, after
they had been so long blindfolded, and in the dark. When
a man first comes into any great town or noble place, he
walks up and down for some time and is pleased with what
he sees ; but, having satisfied his curiosity with the fre
quent sight, he is less taken with it than he was before,
nor does he admire it so much. Thus stands the case with
those who first come into this new country of grace, for
they are surprised to find such wonderful things. So that
it is not to be admired, that beginners in devotion should
feel more fervour in their souls than old practitioners ; for
the newness of the light and of their understanding divine
mysteries, causes greater sensations in them. This, as St.
Bernard remarks, (Serm. 14. in Cant.) is the reason why
the Prodigal Son's elder brother was not in the wrong,
when he complained to his father, and told him, that for
his so many years service, without ever disobeying the
least of his commands he had never shown him so much
favour, as he had done this extravagant lewd son at his
return home. This new love, like new wine, ferments at
first, and as water over a fire boils up as soon as it feels
the heat it never felt before ; the flame, after these first
sallies, grows more strong and equal, though in the begin
ning it is more violent and impetuous.
17. God entertains those who enter anew into his house,
with great kindness and love ; he bears all their charges
at first, and makes every thing seem light and easy; he
deals with them, as traders do with their customers, who
gives samples of their wares gratis, but will have their full
price for what they sell. The affection we show little
H

158 the sinner's guide.
children is usually more tender, though perhaps, not
greater, than what we show those who are of riper years.
We carry those up and down in our arms, but let these go
by themselves : and whilst these are labouring and toiling
we lay those to sleep, and let them take their rest; without
giving them the trouble of asking for their meat, we feed
them ourselves, and put their victuals into their mouths.
It is this kind reception new beginners find with God,
and the manifest favours he shows them, which occasions
that spiritual joy and comfort the royal Prophet speaks of:
The young plant shall flourish with thy drops. Ps. Ixiv.
Now, what is this plant, and what these drops, but the
dew of the divine grace with which God waters these
spiritual young plants, which he has lately dug up from
amongst the wild brambles of the world, and set in his
own garden ? These are the plants, which the Prophet
means, when he says, They shall rejoice in drops. Ibid.
This shows how great the joy of such persons is at their
first receiving this new visit. Nor are you to think that
because these favours are called but drops, they have no
more in them, than their name seems to promise : " For
(as St. Augustine says) he that drinks of the river of
Paradise, one drop of which is more than all the ocean, is
sure, though he drinks but one single drop, it will quench
his thirst for ever^"
18. If, when you think of God, you are sensible of these
comforts, it is no argument against what has been said.
For if the palate, when it is out of taste by any bad
humour, cannot distinguish what is bitter from what is
sweet, but judges what is sweet to be bitter ; what wonder
is it if your soul, corrupted with so many vices and irre
gular affections, and which longs so earnestly after the
flesh-pots and onions of Egypt, should not relish the manna
of heaven an d the bread of angels ? Wash your mouth first
clean with the tears of penance, and then you will be able
to taste and see how sweet the Lord is. Ps. xxxiii. 9.
What I have said being so undeniably true, is there
any pleasure in the world to compare with these ? Holy
writers tell us, there are two sorts of happiness : the one,
a happiness that is but begun : the other, complete and
perfect; the latter the blessed above enjoy, and the former
just men here on earth. What, therefore, can you
desire better than from this very moment to begin to be

the sinner's guide. 159
happy, and even in this life, to receive the pledges of that
divine marriage, which is to be solemnised in heaven,
though it be proposed here but at a distance? O mortal
man ! whosoever you are, since it is in your power to live
in Paradise, and to enjoy such treasure, go and sell your
all, to purchase so great an estate for so small a sum. It
is Jesus Christ will sell it, and he will let you have it, in
a manner for nothing. Do not defer the opportunity any
longer, for every moment lost is of more concern than all
the riches of the world. And though you may perhaps,
meet with an occasion of purchasing it hereafter, assure
yourself yet the time you shall have lost will be a trouble
to you, and will force yon to cry out with tears, as did
St. Augustine, " O ancient goodness, it is too late I have
known thee." Solil. c. 31. The lateness of this glorious
saint's conversion, though he failed not of his crown, was
the perpetual subject of his complaints and tears. Have a
care, therefore, lest it should be your misfortune to deplore
the loss of both, if you should be deprived of the benefits
of glory, the inheritance of the saints in the next life, and
of grace, the reward of the just in this.
CHAPTER VI.
Of the fifth privilege of Virtue — the Peace of Conscience,
which the Just enjoy, and of the inward remorse that torments
the Wicked.
1. Besides the joy proceeding from the consolations of
the Holy Ghost there is another attends the just, which
is the testimony of a good conscience. For under
standing the nature and value of this privilege, you
are to conceive, that the divine providence, which has
furnished all creatures with as much as is necessary for
their preservation and perfection, being willing that the
rational creature should be most perfect, has supplied it
with all that was requisite for this purpose. And because
the perfection of this creature consists in the perfection
of its will and understanding, which are the two principal
powers of the soul, the one made perfect by knowledge,
and the other by virtue ? therefore, he created the prin
ciples of all sciences, whence the conclusions flow, and
the seed of all virtues in the soul, endowing it with a
propensity to" good, and aversion to eviL which inclination
is so natural and prevalent, that though a long habit of ill

160 the sinner's guide.
life may weaken, yet it can never totally destroy it. Thus
we read, that amidst all holy Job's misfortunes, there was
always a servant escaped to bring him the news ; even so,
he that sins is never forsaken by that faithful servant, con
science, who still escapes alive and safe, to show the wicked
man what he lost by sin, and the miserable estate he is
reduced to.
2. This plainly demonstrates how vigilant divine provi
dence is, and its love for virtue, since it has furnished us
with a monitor, that never sleeps, a continual preacher,
that is never silent, and a master and tutor, that never
ceases guiding and directing us. Epictetus, the stoic,
was very sensible hereof, when he said : " that as fathers
are wont to commit their young children to some careful
tutor, who will diligently divert them from vice, and lead
them to virtue, so God as our Father, after creating, put
us into the hands of this natural virtue, called conscience,
as it were of a tutor, that it might still put us forward in
the way of goodness, and check us in wickedness.
3. Now this conscience, as it is a master and tutor to
the good, so it is an executioner and scourge to the wicked,
inwardly punishing and accusing them of the ills they do,
and mixing such bitterness among their delights, that
they have no sooner tasted the Egyptian onion but their
eyes presently begin to water. This is one of the
punishments wherewith God threatens the wicked by the
mouth of Isaias saying: "He will deliver Babylon into
the power of the hedge-hog." For God's justice delivers
the heart of a wicked man, signified by Babylon, to the
hedge-hogs, that is, the devils, and to the pricks of con
science that attend sin, which, like sharp thorns, pierce the
heart. If you would know what these thorns are, one is
the deformity and hideousness of sin, which is so abomin
able of itself, that a philosopher was wont to say: "If I
knew the gods would forgive me, and men should know
nothing of it, yet I could not dare commit sin, because of
its own deformity." Another thorn is, when the sin is
prejudicial to another, for then it appears like that blood
of Abel spilt, which cried to God and craved revenge.
Thus it is written in the first book of Macchabees, that
King Antiochus had a full view of the mischiefs he had
done in Jerusalem, which so afflicted him that it hastened
his death, and being ready to expire, he said ; "I remember.

the sinner's guide. 161
the evils that I did in Jerusalem, from whence also I took
away all the spoils of gold and silver that were in it, and
I sent to destroy the inhabitants of Judea without cause,
I know, therefore, that for this cause these evils found me ;
and behold I perish with great grief in a strange land."
Another thorn is, the shame that attends sin, which the
sinner cannot be ignorant or insensible of, because it is
natural for man to desire to be beloved, and to be troubled
at being hated : for as the wise man said : " There is no
greater torment in the world than public hatred." Another
thorn is the inevitable fear of death, the continual uncer
tainty of life, the apprehension of the strict account that
must be given of every action, and the dreadful horror of
eternal torments ; for each of these things pricks and
gores the sinner's heart in such a manner, that he can
never think of this death, so certain on one hand, so
uncertain on the other, without being extremely concerned
as the book of Ecclesiasticus says, because he is sensible
that day will take vengeance of all his crimes, and put an
end to all his sinful pleasures, it is impossible for any
man to put this thought out of his mind because there is
nothing more natural to man than death is, and therefore
the least indisposition fills him with a thousand fears and
doubts whether he shall die or not ; for the excess of self-
love, added to so violent a passion as fear is, makes him
afraid of every shadow, and puts him into a concern and
apprehension, where there is not the least ground for it; so
that if any mortality should happen, any earthquake, or
thunder and lightning, the sinner is immediately disturbed
by his conscience, and fancies that God sends all this to
punish his iniquities.
4. All these thorns gore the wicked at once, as one of
holy Job's friends declare at large, whose words I will add,
as a clearer proof of what I have asserted: " The wicked
man, (says he,) is proud all his days, and the number of
the years of his tyranny is uncertain. The sound of dread
is always in his ears," (Job xv. 20.) which are nothing but
the cries of his guilty conscience, accusing and reproach
ing him every moment ; and in the very midst of peace,
he is afraid of the snares and treacheries of his enemies ;
because let him live ever so quiet, his wicked conscience
never fails of putting him into continual apprehensions.
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162 the sinner's guide.
from darkness to the light; that is to say, he does not
believe there is any possibility of his getting out of the
dreadful darkness he lives in, to enjoy the tranquillity of a
good conscience, which, like a comfortable and clear light,
rejoices, and enlightens the most secret parts of the soul ;
for which way soever he turns himself, he fancies he sees
a naked sword pointed at him ; so that even whilst he is at
table, which is, generally speaking, a place of mirth and
joy, he is wrecked with all kinds of fears, distrusts and
jealousies, "and he knoweth that the day of darkness is
ready at his hand," (ver. 23.) that is, the day of death and
judgment, and on which his last sentence is to be passed
on him. " Tribulation shall terrify him, and distress shall
surround him, as a king that is prepared for the battle."
ver. 24. This is the description which Job's friend gives
of the dreadful torments those unhappy wretches suffer
within ; for to make use of the saying of a philosopher,
" God, by his eternal law, has ordained that fear should be
the constant companion of the wicked ;" which agrees very
well with a sentence of Solomon, who says, "that the
wicked man fleeth, when no man pursueth ; but the just,
bold as a lion, shall be without dread." Prov. xxviii. 1. St.
Augustine has the same thing, in short, when he says,
" Thou, O Lord! has commanded, that every soul that is
irregular, should be its own executioner, and we find that
it is so." St. Aug. L. 1. Conf. c. 12 There is nothing in
nature that does not convince us of this truth ; for can you
tell me of any thing in the world which is not disturbed
when out of its order ? what sensible pain a man feels if
he has but a bone out of joint ? what violence does the
element suffer which is out of its centre, and what sickness
does not follow when the humours of our bodies are out
of their due proportion and temperament? Since, there
fore, it is so natural to a.rational creature to live a regular
orderly life, how can its nature choose but suffer and be
uneasy when life is irregular and contrary to reason. Job
had a deal of reason to say, " Was there ever any man
that resisted God, and yet lived in peace ?" Job ix. 4.
Upon which words St. Gregory says, " that the order in
which God has disposed of all things for continuing and
preserving them in their being, is no less the matter of
our admiration than the power with which he has created
them." St. Greg. Moral. L. 9. c. 12. Whence it follows

the sinner's guide. 163
that no one can disturb the order of the Creator, without
breaking that peace which he has intended should be the
effect of this order; because it is impossible for anything
to be at rest when it is out of the place where God had put
it. And thus we see, that those things which were undis
turbed, whilst they submitted to the order of God, no
sooner break off from this subjection than they lose the
peace they enjoyed before. We have an example hereof
in our first parents and the fallen angels, who, as soon as
ever they disobeyed the will of God, to follow their own,
and went out of the order he had put them in, were de
prived of their former happiness, and lost that content they
had before. And man, who, whilst he continued obedient,
was absolute over himself, when he cast off that obedience,
found a war and rebellion within himself.
5. This is the torment the wicked, by God's,just judg
ment, are perpetually racked with, and of the greatest mi
series they can suffer in this life, according to the opinions
of all the saints, amongst whom St. Ambrose, in his Book
of Offices, asks, "is there any greater torment in the world
than the inward remorse of a man's own conscience ? Is it
not a misery we ought to fly more than death itself, or the
loss of our estates, our health, or our liberty." L. iii. c. 4.
And St. Isidore tells us : " There is nothing in nature
which man cannot fly from but himself; for let him run
where he will, he will still carry the string of his own
wicked conscience along with him." St. Isid. in St. L. ii.
c. 36. The same Saint says, in another place, " The
greatest punishment that can be inflicted is that of an evil
conscience : if, therefore, you desire to live in peace, fol
low virtue and piety." Idem L. ii. Sinom. c. 36. This is
so undeniable a truth, that the very heathen philosophers
themselves acknowledged it, though they neither knew nor
believed any thing of those pains, which our faith teaches
us the wicked are to suffer; and therefore, Seneca asks:
" What avails it to fly from the conversation of others ? A
good conscience calls all the world to witness for it, whilst
a bad one is always tormented, though in the midst of a
desert. If what you do be good, you need not be ashamed
to let the whole world know it ; but if, on the contrary,
it be bad, what matter is it whether any body knows it or
not, as long as you know it yourself? Your condition will
be miserable if you take no notice of such an evidence,

164 the sinner's guide.
since every man's own conscience is as good as a thousand
. witnesses." Sen. Epist. 97. The same author tells us, in
another place, " That the severest punishment which can
be inflicted for any crime is, the very committing of it."
Epist. 98. And he repeats the same elsewhere, saying : " If
you have been guilty of any crime, you ought not to fear
any witness that can come against you so much as your own
self, because you may find out some means or other to fly from
every body else, but you will never be able to fly from
yourself, for every wicked action you do is its own exe
cutioner." Epist. 45. Cicero has something to the same
purpose, in one of his Orations, where he says: "There is
nobody so able as a man's own conscience is, either to
cast or to acquit him : and, therefore, an innocent man is
never afraid, whilst the guilty lives always in apprehen
sions." St. Isid. in St. L. ii. c. 36. This, therefore, is one
of those torments which the wicked are never free from :
it begins in this life, and will remain for all eternity in the
next : it is the never-dying worm, (as Isaias, lxvi. 24, calls
it,) that shall never cease to gnaw the consciences of the
wicked. And it is in this sense St. Isidore interprets those
words of the Psalmist, (Ps. xii. 8.) " One abyss calls upon
another : that is, (says he,) the wicked shall be carried
from the sentence which their own consciences pass against
them, to that of eternal damnation." St. Isid. in sent. L.
ii. c. 26.
Section I. Of the Peace of Conscience which the Virtuous enjoy.
Virtuous men are free from this plague, because they
arenever tormented with the stings of a bad conscience; but
on the contrary, enjoy the comfort they receive from the
sweet fruits of virtue, which the Holy Ghost has planted
in their souls, as in an earthly paradise and a private garden,
in which he delights. So St. Augustine terms it, in his
Book on Genesis, where he says : " The joy a good
conscience gives a virtuous man is a true paradise." Tom,
iii. Lib. 12. de Gen. ad lit. c. 34. And this is the
reason why the church is called a paradise, full of all
kinds of graces and innocent pleasures for those who live
justly, piously and temperately. And the same Saint,
in his Method of Instructing the Ignorant, has these
words : You who seek after that true peace which

THE sinner's guide. 165
is promised to christians after death, assure yourself
that it is to be found among the bitter troubles and
pains of this life, if you will not love him that has made you
this promise, and will keep his commandments; for you
will soon find, by your own experience, that the fruits of
justice are much sweeter than those of iniquity; and you
will meet with a much more solid satisfaction from a good
conscience, amidst all your afflictions and tribulations,
than a bad conscience would ever let you take, though in
the very midst of delights and pleasures." Lib. de. Catech.
rud. Hitherto the words of the Saint, which give us to
understand that this comfort is of the nature of honey,
which is not only sweet itself, but makes those things so,
of themselves unsavory, that it is mixed with; so a good
conscience brings so much peace along with it, that it
makes the most painful life sweet and easy. And, as we
have said, that the foulness and enormity of sin, are of
themselves a torment to the wicked, so, on the contrary,
the beauty and worth of virtue, without anything else,
are comforts to the good. This is what the holy prophet
David expressly teaches us, when he says : The judgments
of the Lord (that is, his holy commandments,) are true,
justified in themselves. They are more to be desired than
gold and many precious stones, and sweeter than honey and
the honey-comb. Ps. xviii. 10, 11. This holy Prophet, who
had tasted how sweet they were, took no greater pleasure
in anything than in the observance of them, as he tells us
himself in another Psalm, where he says : I have been
delighted in the way of thy testimonies, as in all riches. —
Ps. cxviii. 14. His son Solomon, in his Book of Proverbs,
is of the same opinion, for he says : It is a joy to the just
to do judgment, (Prov. xxi. 15.) that is, to act virtuously,
and to do his duty. Though there are several causes for
this joy, yet it proceeds chiefly from the bare splendour
and brightness of virtue, which according to Plato, is most
incomparably fair and beautiful. In fine, the advantages
and delights which a good conscience brings are such, that
St. Ambrose, in his Book of Offices, makes the happiness
of the just in this life depend on it : and therefore he says,
" the brightness of virtue is so great, that the peace of
conscience and the assurance of our own innocence are
enough to make our lives pleasant and happy." St Amb.
L. ii.de Off. c. 1.
h 2

166 THE SINNER'S GUIDE.
The ancient philosophers were no less acquainted, by the
bare light of nature, with the comfort that proceeds from
a good conscience, than they were with the disturbances
which attended a bad one ; as we may see by Cicero, who,
in his Tusculan Questions, says, thus : " The life which
is spent in actions of honour and virtue, is accompanied
with so much satisfaction and pleasure, that they who pass
away their time thus, either never feel any trouble at all,
or if they do, it is very light and insignificant." L. 8.
Tuscus. He repeats almost the same thing in another place,
and says : " That virtue can find no theatre, either more
public or more honourable, than the testimony of a good
conscience." Id. Ibid. Socrates being asked, who could
live free from passion, immediately made answer : " A
virtuous man." And Bias, another famous philosopher,
being asked, who in this world, was free 'from fears and
apprehensions? answered: A good conscience." Seneca,
in one of his Epistles, writes thus : " A wise man is
always cheerful, and his cheerfulness comes from a good
conscience." Epist. 23. So that you see how these philo-_
sophers were of the same opinion in this mattter with
Solomon, who says : A 11 the days of the poor are evil ; that is
to say, tedious and troublesome, but a secure mind is a con
tinual feast. Prov. xv. 15. It is impossible for a man to
say more in a few words ; by which we are to understand,
that as he who is invited to a feast is pleased with the
variety of dishes, and with the company of his friends
that are invited, so the just man is delighted with the
testimony of a good conscience, and with the sweetness of
the divine presence, having such good ground to believe
that God is in his soul. But yet, there is this difference
between these delights, that the pleasure a man has in a
feast is but earthly and transitory, whereas this other is
heavenly, eternal, and noble. The one begins with hunger,
and ends with distaste and loathing ; but the other begins
with a virtuous life, is preserved and continued by perse
verance, and ends with eternal honour and glory. Now,
if the philosopher, who had no hopes of any reward after
his life, had such an esteem for the pleasure which a good
conscience gives, at what rate ought a christian to value it,
who knows very well what rewards God has prepared for
him in the next life, and with what favours he honours
him even in this ? And though this assurance ought not

THE sinner's guide. 167
to be quite void of an holy and religious fear, yet this is
such a fear as does not dismay, but rather strengthens him
that has it, after a wonderful manner ; because it tells him
inwardly, that his confidence is then more secure and pro
fitable, when it is tempered with, and kept in awe by this
wholesome fear, and that if he had no fear at all, it W9uld
no longer be a confidence, but false security and presump
tion. You see here another privilege which the virtuous
enjoy, and which the Apostle speaks of, when he says,
Our glory is the testimony of our conscience, that we have lived
in simplicity of heart, and in true sincerity, not according
to the wisdom of the world. 2 Cor. i. 12.
This is almost all that is to be said of the greatness of
this privilege ; but neither what I have said, nor what I
am able to say, can discover its excellence to him that has
never had any experience of it : for how can any one ex
plain the deliciousness of a meat to any one who has never
tasted it ? This joy is in effect so great, that often, when
a virtuous man is afflicted, and can find no ease which
way soever he casts his eyes, yet if he but reflect on him
self, he is immediately comforted with the consideration of
the peace and quiet he finds in his own conscience For
he knows, that as for the rest, let it go which way it
will, it is no matter to him ; this is the only thing he has
to look after. And though, as I have said already, he
cannot have an evident knowledge of his innocence,
nevertheless, as the sun in a morning enlightens the world
before we see it, by its advance towards us, so the testi
mony which a good conscience gives a just man, is a com
fort for his soul', though this knowledge is not sufficiently
clear and evident. This is so true, that St. Chrysostom,
speaking of the same thing, says : " Let a man be ever so
melancholy, if he have but a good conscience, all his
trouble vanishes like a spark of fire that is extinguished
when it falls into a great river." Horn. 10. in 2. ad
Corinth, c. 3. & Horn. 54. in Matt. c. 16.

168 THE SINNER'S GUIDE.

CHAPTER VII.
Of this sixth privilege of Virtue — the hopes the Just have in
God's Mercy, and of the vain Confidence of the Wicked.
1. The comfort of a good conscience is always accom
panied with that particular hope virtuous men live in : of
which the Apostle says : That they comfort themselves up
with hopes, and are patient in their tribulations, (Rom. xii.)
advising us to make our hope the subject of our joy, and
in virtue of the same, to suffer with patience whatever
crosses may happen, assuring us, that God himself is our
assistance, and the reward of our sufferings. This is
one of the greatest treasures of a christian life : these are
the riches, this the inheritance of the children of God ; it
is the common haven against all the storms of this life,
and the best remedy we have against all our miseries.
2. But not to deceive ourselves, we must observe here,
that as there are two sorts of faith, the one, a dead faith,
which performs no actions of life, and is that which bad
christians have ; the other, a lively one, the effect of
charity, by which the just perform the actions of life ;
so there are two sorts of hope, the one, a dead hope,
which neither enlivens the soul, nor assists her in her'
operations, nor comforts her in her troubles ; such a hope
as the wicked have : the other is a lively hope, as St.
Peter calls it, (1 Pet. i. 3.) because it produces the effects
of life, as those things do, which have life in them ;
that is, because it encourages, enlivens and strengthens
us, in our way to heaven, and gives us breath and con
fidence amidst all the dangers and troubles of this world.
Such a hope as this the chaste Susanna had, of whom we
read, (Dan. xiii. 42, 43.) that after she was condemned
to die, and as they were leading her through the streets,
to be stoned to death, yet her heart trusted and confided
in God. David had such a confidence, when he said,
Be mindful, 0 Lord, of thy word to thy servant, in which
thou hast given me hope. This hath comforted me in my
humiliation ; because thy word hath enlivened me. Ps. cxviii.
49, 50.
3. This hope works many and very wonderful effects in
the souls of those who are filled with it : and that in a

THIS SINNER'S GUIDE. 169
greater measure, by how much more it partakes of charity
and the love of God which gives it life. The first of these
effects is, to encourage man to continue in the way of
virtue, in hopes of the reward he is to receive ; for, as all
the saints testify, the surer man is of his reward, the more
willing he is to run-through all the miseries of this world.
St. Gregory says: "Hope is so strong, as to be able to
lift up our hearts to the joys of heaven, and to make us
quite insensible to the miseries of this mortal life." Moral.
1. xvi. c. 13. Origen says: "The hope of future glory
gives those persons much ease, who are toiling in this life
for obtaining it ; as we see the hopes of victory, and of
reward, mitigate the pains of the wounds the soldier re
ceives in war." St. Ambrose says: " An assured hope of
reward makes toil seem less, and lessens the apprehensions
of dangers." St. Ambr. in Ps. xii. St. Jerome says: "Any
labour seems light and easy, when we put a value on the
reward; because the hopes of what we are to receive make
us think there is no trouble in what we have undertaken."
Epist. ad Demet. c. 9- St. Chrysostom is much fuller on
this matter : " If," says he, " a tempestuous sea is not
able to frighten seamen, if the hard frosts and violent rains
of winter are no discouragements to the husbandman, if
neither wounds nor death itself can daunt the soldier, and
if neither falls nor blows can dishearten the wrestler,
whilst they think of the deceitful hopes of what they pro
pose to themselves for the reward of their toils and labours ;
how much less ought they, who aspire to the kingdom of
heaven, to take any notice of the difficulties they may
meet with in their journey thither? Therefore, O Chris
tian, consider not that the way of virtue is rugged and
uneven ; but reflect on what it will lead you to ; and do
not, on the contrary, falsely persuade yourself, that the
path of vice is smooth and pleasant, but think of the pre
cipice it will bring you to." St. Chrys. Horn. 18. in Genes.
O how true is every word this great saint speaks! for will
any man be so mad, as willingly to follow a path that is
strewed with flowers, if he is to die when he comes to the
end of it ? And who is there that will refuse to take
another, that is rugged and uneasy, if it leads to life and
happiness ?
4. Nor does this hope serve only for attaining so happy
an end ; but assists us in the means that tend to it, and

170 THE SINNER'S GUIDE.
in bearing with all the miseries and necessities of this life.
For it is. this that supports a man in tribulation, that
defends him in danger, that comforts him in afflictions,
that assists him in sickness, and supplies all his necessities
and wants, because it is by means of this virtue that he
obtains mercy from God, who helps us on all occasions.
We have evident proofs of this throughout the holy scrip
ture ; but particularly in the Psalms ; so that there is
scarcely any one of them wherein the royal Prophet does not
highly commend this virtue, and speak of its wonderful
effects and advantages, as being, without doubt, one of
the greatest treasures and comforts the virtuous can pos
sibly enjoy in this life. To prove this I will make use of
a few passages of the scriptures, but shall be forced to pass
by many more than I could be able to quote. The pro
phet Hanani tells King Asa, the eyes of the Lord behold
all the earth, and give strength to those with a perfect heart that
trust in him. 2 Paral. xvi. 9, The prophet Jeremias says:
The Lord is good to those that hope in him, and to the soul
that seeks after him. And in another place it is said, that
the Lord is good, he strengthens, his servants in the day of
tribulation, and knows all those that hope in, him, (Nahum,
1. 7.) that is, he takes care to relieve and assist them.
Isaias says : If you be quiet, return and you shall be saved ;
in silence. and in hope shall your strength be. Isa. xxx. 15.
By silence is to be understood here, the inward rest which
the soul enjoys amidst all her troubles : now this rest is
nothing else but the particular effect of this hope, which
banishes all kind of solicitude and immoderate trouble,
by the favour it expects from the mercy of God. The
book of Ecclesiasticus says: ii. 8. 9- 11. " Ye that fear
the Lord believe him, and your reward shall not be made
void. Ye that fear the Lord, hope in him, and mercy
shall come to you for your delight. My children,
behold the generations of men, and know ye that no one
hath hoped in the Lord, and hath been confounded."
Solomon's advice to us, in his Proverbs, is this : " In all
thy ways think of the Lord, and he will direct thy steps."
Prov. iii. 6. The prophet David says, in one of his
Psalms, " Let those who know thy name, 0 Lord, hope in
thee, because thou never hast forsaken them that seek thee."
Ps. ix. 1 1 . And in another Psalm he says : " I have hoped
in the Lord, and I will be glad and rejoice in thy mercy."

TIJE SINNER'S GUIDE. 171
Ps. xxx. 7, 8. And in another place he says : " Mercy
shall encompass him that hopeth in the Lord." Ps. xxxi.
10. He has much reason to say, shall encompass, to let us
know that he shall be surrounded on all sides with his
mercy as a king is with his guards, for the security of his
person. He treats his subjects more at large in another
Psalm, where he says: "With expectation I have waited
for the Lord, and he was attentive to me. And he heard
my prayers and brought me out of the "pit of misery, and
the mire of dregs. And he set my feet upon a rock, and
directed my steps. And he put a new canticle into my
mouth, a song to our God. Many shall see, and shall fear,
and they shall hope in the Lord. Blessed is the man whose
trust is in the name of the Lord; and who has turned his
eyes from vanities and lying follies." Ps. xxxix. 1,5. From
these words we may learn another extraordinary effect of
this virtue, which is to open a man's mouth and eyes, that
he may be sensible, by his own experience, of the fatherly
tenderness of God, and may sing a new song, with a new
delight, for the new favour he has recived, to wit, the
assistance he hoped for. If we were to cite all the verses in
the Psalms, nay, and all the entire Psalms that treat on
the subject, we should never have done : for the whole
Psalm which begins-: " They that trust in the Lord are
like Mount Sion," is to this purpose. Ps. cxxiv. Heb.
cxxv. And so is the Psalm which begins, "He who dwells
in the sacred place of the Most High, Ps. xc. Heb. xci.
• Neither of them speak of any thing else but the ex
traordinary advantages of those who put their trust in God
and live under his protection. For this reason, St. Bernard,
writing on these words of the Psalm, " O Lord, thou art
my refuge," speaks thus : "Whatever I am to do, or what
ever I am to omit, whatever I am to suffer, or whatever I
am to desire, you, O Lord, are my hope. It is this hope
that makes you perform every thing you have promised,
and it is you that are the chief cause of this hope of mine.
Let another allege the good works he has done, and
please himself with having undergone all the heat and bur
then of the day; let him say, with the Pharisee, that he
has fasted twice a week, and that he is not as other men,
I, for my part, will cry out with the Prophet, It is good
for me to adore my God, and to put my hope in the Lord
God. Pa. lxxii. 28. If any one promise me a reward, it

172 THE SINNER'S GUIDE.
is by your mercy alone that I shall hope to obtain it ; if
any one should make war against me, my hopes of over
coming shall be in you. Should the world set on me, should
the devil roar at me, should the flesh rebel against the
spirit, I will hope in none but you. Since, therefore, the
Lord is alone able to assist us, why do we not banish im
mediately out of our hearts all these vain and deceitful
hopes? And why do not we, with fervour and devotion,
stick to so secure a hope as this is ?" The Saint imme
diately after has these words : " Faith says, God has laid
up inestimable benefits for those that serve him faithfully;
but Hope says, it is for me that keeps them; and as if
this were not enough, Charity cries out, I will hasten and
take possession of them," St. Bern. Serm. 9- Psalm xc. 2.
5. Behold how advantageous this virtue is, and how
necessary on several occasions. It is like a secure haven
which the just put in at in bad weather ; it is like a strong
shield to keep off the attempts of the world ; it is like a
magazine of corn in time of famine, whither the poor
resort to relieve their wants; it is the tent and shade
which God promises his elect, by the prophet Isaias, to
shelter them from the burning heats of summer, and from
the storms and tempests of winter; that is, from the pros
perity and adversity of this world. To conclude, it is a
universal remedy for all our evil, because it is certain, that
whatsoever we hope with justice, faith and prudence, to
receive from God, we shall not fail of obtaining it, provided
it is for our good. For which reason, St. Cyprian says,'
" that God's mercy is a fountain of healing waters, that
hope is a vessel to receive them, and that the cure will be
proportioned to the largeness of the vessel; for if we con
sider the fountain, it is impossible it should be ever dried
up." So that as God himself told the children of Israel,
(Josu. i. 3.) that whatever place they but so much as
set their foot on, it should be theirs ; so, as much mercy a3
man shall put his confidence in, shall be his own. So that,
according to this, he who, inspired by God, shall hope for
all things, shall accordingly obtain all things. Thus, this
hope seems to be a resemblance of the divine virtue and
power which redounds to the honour of God. For, (as
St. Bernard very well observes,) " nothing so much dis
covers the omnipotence of God, as that we see he is not
only Almighty himself, but that he in some manner makes

THE sinner's guide. 173
all those so, who hope in him." Serm. 85. in Cant. Did not
Josue partake of that omnipotence, who from the earth
commanded the sun to stand still in the firmament? Josu.
x. 1 3. Nor was his power less, who bid king Ezechias
choose which he would, either to have the sun go back, or
advance so many degrees. 4 Kings xx. 9. 1 1. Isa.xxxviii. 8.
It is his giving his servant such power as this, that pro
motes the greatness of his glory in a particular manner :
for if Nebuchodonosor, the great king of the Assyrians,
valued himself on having so many princes to obey and
serve him, that were kings as well as he, how much more
reason has Almighy God to glorify himself, and say, that
those who serve him are in some measure gods, in as much
as he communicates so much of his power to them.
Section I. Of the vain hopes of the wicked.
6. You see here what a vast treasure the virtuous enjoy,
whilst the wicked have no share of it ; because, though
.they have not entirely lost all hope, yet what they have is
only a dead one ; because it is deprived of its life, so that
it cannot work any of those effects on them which we have
spoken of. For as nothing enlivens hope so much as a
good conscience, so nothing ruins it more than a bad one,
because it generally walks in dread and fear, as being sen
sible how unworthy it is of the Almighty's grace. So that
distrust and fear are the inseparable companions of a bad
conscience, as the shadow is of the body. By which it
appears, that such as man's happiness is, such is his confi
dence; for as he places his happiness in worldly treasures,
so his trust is in them, because all his glory is in them, and
it is to them he has recourse in time of affliction. The book
of Wisdom takes noticeof this kindof hope; where it is said,
that "the hope of the wicked is as dust, which is blown
away with the wind, and like a thin froth, which is dis
persed by the storm, and a smoke that is scattered abroad
by the wind." ch. v. 15. Judge by this how vain such
a hope must be.
7. Nor is this all; for it is not only an unprofitable
but a prejudicial and deceitful hope, as God himself has
declared to us by the prophet Isaias, saying: "Wo to you
children that have forsaken your father, who have taken
counsel, but not of me, who have begun a web, but not
in my spirit, that you might add sin to sin. You have

174 the sinner's guide.
sent into Egypt for help without consulting me, expecting
help from Pharao's forces, and putting your trust in the
protection of Egypt. But Pharao's strength shall turn to
your confusion, and the trust which you placed in Egypt's
protection shall be to your disgrace. All those that have
trusted in the people have been confounded, because they
could neither help them nor do them any good ; on the
contrary, they have put them to greater shame and con
fusion." These are the prophet's own words, who, not
thinking that he has said enough yet, continues to make
the same reproach to them, saying: "Wo to those that go
down for help into Egypt, placing their trust in their
horses, and confiding in their chariots, because they are
many, and in their horses, because they are very strong,
who have not their hope in the Holy of Israel, nor sought
after the Lord. For the Egyptian is a man and no God, and
their horses are flesh and not spirit; and the Lord will
Stretch out his hand, and both he that assists and he
that assisted shall fall, and they shall be all destroyed
together." 8. See here the difference there is between the hope of
the just, and that of the wicked, for the hope the wicked
have, is that of the flesh, but the spirit, that of the just.
Or if this does not thoroughly express it, man is the hope
of the wicked, whilst the hope of the just is God: by
which it appears, that there is the same difference between
these two hopes, that there is between God and man.
It is on this account the Psalmist, with great reason,
advises us to beware of the one, and invites us to the other,
with these words : " Put not your trust in princes, nor in
the sons of men, in whom there is no salvation. Their
life shall have no end, and they shall return to the earth
out of which they have been created, and then all their
designs shall perish. Blessed is the man who hath the God
of Jacob for his helper, whose hope is in the Lord his God,
who made heaven and earth, the sea, and all things that
are in them." Ps. clxv. 3, 4, 5. Here we plainly see ho"w
different these two hopes are. The same prophet expresses
it again in another Psalm, where he says : " Some trust in
chariots, and some in horses, but we will call upon the name
of the Lord our God. They are bound and have fallen,
but we are risen and are set upright. Ps. xix. 8, 9. Con
sider now how the effects of their hopes are proportioned,

the sinner's guide. 175
to what they are founded on, since ruin and destruction
are the consequences of the one, and victory and honour,
of the other.
9- For this reason, they who rely on the first of these
hopes, are rightly compared to the man in the gospel, who
built his house on the sand, which was beat down by the
first storm that arose ; but they who rely on the other, are
like him that built his house on a firm rock, so that neither
winds nor waves, nor any tempests whatever, were able to
shake it. Matt. vii. 24, 25, 26, 27. The prophet Jeremias
explains this same difference by a very proper comparison:
" Cursed be the man that trusteth in man, andmaketh flesh
his arm, and whose heart departeth from the Lord. For
he shall be like tumeric in the desert, and he shall not
see when God shall come : but he shall dwell in dryness
in the desert, in a salt land, and not inhabited." Jer. xvii.
5, 6. But speaking immediately after of the just, he says,
" Blessed be the man that trusteth in the Lord, and the
Lord shall be his confidence. And he shall be as a tree
that is planted by the waters, that spreadeth out its roots
towards moisture; and it shall not fear when the heat
cometh. And the leaf thereof shall be green, and in the
time of drought it shall not be solicitous, neither shall it
cease at any time to bring forth fruit." Ibid. ver. 7, 8.
Now what more need be said, were men in their right
senses, to show how different the condition of the virtuous
is from that of the wicked, and how much more happy
they are than these, on the bare account of hope itself.
Is it possible for a tree to flourish better in any place,
than in such a one as the prophet has here represented ?
Itfares exactly after the same manner with a virtuous man,
for there is nothing imaginable but what goes well with
him, because he is planted near the streams of the waters
of divine grace. But on the other hand, it is impossible
for a tree to be in a worse condition, than to branch all out
into wool, and to bear no fruit, because of its being set
in a bad ground, and in a place where no one can come to
prune it. This may convince the wicked, that it is their
greatest misery to turn away their eyes and hearts from
God, who is the fountain of living waters, to fix them on
creatures, and to rely on their assistance, who are them
selves so weak, and so deceitful, and maybe truly called,
tf a dry, barren, and uninhabitable land." By this we may

176 THE sinner's GUfDE.
see how much the world deserves our tears, being planted*
in so bad a soil, as having placed its hopes in things that
are so unable to assist it, if that may be called a hope,
which is in itself so far from being so, that it is, oh the
contrary, nothing but confusion and deceit.
10. What misery is to be compared with this? Can
there be any greater poverty, than to live without this
hope ? For if sin has reduced man to such a low condi
tion, that he can find no relief, but from the hope he has
in God's mercy, what will become of him, if this anchor,
which is the only support left him, should fail ? We see
all other creatures are in their way perfect at their birth,
and provided with all things necessary for the preserva
tion of their being. Man, on the contrary, by reason of
sin, comes in such an .imperfect manner into the world,
that he has scarcely any thing in himself that he stands in
need of, but requires that every thing should be brought
to him, and lives on the alms which Almighty God's
mercy distributes. If, therefore, he were destitute of this
means, what kind of life would his be, but an imperfect
and defective one, subject to a thousand miseries and
wants ? What is it else, but to live without hope, to live
without God ? What, therefore, has man left, of his an
cient patrimony to live on, if this support be taken from
him ? Is there any nation in the world so barbarous, as
not to have some knowledge of a God, as not to pay some
kind of honour and worship to him, or to hope for some
favour from his providential care, ? When Moses had been
absent but for a little while from the children of Israel,
they imagined they were without their God; and being as
yet very raw and ignorant, they immediately cried out to
Aaron to make them a God, because they were afraid to
go on any farther without one. By which it appears, that
man is taught by nature, that there must of necessity be
a God, though he is not always so happy as to know the
true, and that he is sensible of his own weakness, though
he is at the same time ignorant of the cause of it, and
therefore runs naturally to God for a remedy against it.
So that, as the ivy seeks some tree to support it, that so
it may creep upward, not being able to support itself, and
as woman naturally has recourse to the assistance and pro
tection of man, her own imperfection telling her she wants
his help, so human nature, being reduced to the utmost

THE SINNER'S GUIDE. 177
extremity, seeks after God to defend and protect her.
And since nothing is more evident than this, what kind
of life must those men live, who are unhappily neglected
and forsaken by God ?
1 1. I would willingly know of those who are in such a
condition, who it is that comforts them in their afflictions ?
to whom they have recourse in dangers? who looks after
them when they are sick? to whom they can discover
their ailments? whom they consult in their difficult affairs?
with whom they hold a correspondence, with whom they
converse, and whom they desire to assist in all their neces
sities? with whom they discourse, lie down and rise? In
short, how can they, who are deprived of this help, get
out of the confusion and disturbances of this life? If a
body cannot live without a soul, how is it possible for a
soul to live without God, who is as absolutely necessary
for preserving the life of the soul, as the soul is for pre
serving that of the body? And if, as we have said before,
a lively hope is the anchor of life, what man will be so
rash as to venture out into the stormy sea of this world,
without carrying this anchor along with him ? If hope be
the shield with which we are to defend ourselves against
our enemies, how can man dare to go without that shield
nto the very midst of so many foes? If hope is the staff
hat has supported human nature ever since the general
.distemper, wherewith our first parents infected it, where
ill feeble and impotent man be, if he has not this staff
i keep him up?
12. We have here sufficiently explained the difference
t ere is between the hope of the good and that of the bad,
s td consequently between the condition of the one and the
o her ? for the one has God to protect and defend him,
v hilst the other puts his trust in the staff of Egypt, which,
we venture to lean on, will break and run into his hand;
ause, the very sin man commits in placing his confi-
ce ^there, is enough to make God let him know, by his
owrkfiall, how foolishly he has deceived himself: as he has
declarecki byjnie prophet Jeremias, who foretelling the
destruction^^ the kingom of Moab, and the occasion of
it, uses these words : " Because thou hast trusted in thy
bulworks, and in thy treasures, thou also shalt be taken :
and Chamos," which is the god in which you have trusted,
"shall go into captivity, his priests, and his princes toge->

178 THE SINNER'S GUIDE.
ther." Jerem. xlviii. 7. Consider now, what a kind of
succour this must be, since the very seeking and trusting
in it is certain ruin and destruction.
This shall suffice to show how great a privilege this of
hope is; and though it may seem to be the same with the
particular providence we have treated of already, which
God extends towards those that serve and love him, there
is yet as much difference between them, as is between the
effect and its cause. For though there are several causes
and beginnings of this hope, as the goodness and truth of
God, the merits of our Saviour and the rest : however
his paternal providence, from which this confidence pro
ceeds, is one of the chief, because the knowledge that -
God has such particular care over him, is the cause of
this confidence in man.
CHAPTER VIII.
Of the seventh privilege of Virtue — the true liberty which the
virtuous enjoy, and of the miserable and unaccountable slavery
the wicked live in.
1 . From all the above mentioned privileges, but parti- >
cularly from the second and fourth, which are the grace of
the Holy Ghost and the divine consolation, there arises
another extraordinary one, which virtuous men enjoy, and
is the true liberty of the soul ; it is what the Son of God
brought into the world with him; and it is on this
account, that he is called the Redeemer of mankind, for
having delivered it out of that real and miserable bondage
it had so long lived under, and having set it in perfect
liberty. This is one of the greatest favours our Saviour
has bestowed on us, one of the most remarkable advan
tages of the gospel, and one of the chief effects of the
Holy Ghost. For, (as the Apostle says,) where the spirit
of the Lord is, there is liberty. 2 Cor. iii. 1 7. It is, in fine,
one of the noblest rewards God promises those who serve
him in this life. And it was this our Saviour himself
promises to some persons who had a mind to begin to
enter into his service, when he said to them, "If you
continue in my word, you shall be my disciples indeed.
And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make
you free ;" that is to say, shall give you a true liberty
To which they answered: "We are the seed of Abraham

THE sinner's guide. 179
and we have never been slaves to any man, how sayest
thou, You shall be free? Jesus answered them: Amen,
amen, I say unto you, that whosoever committeth sin, is
the servant of sin. Now the servant abideth not in the
house for ever ; but the son abideth for ever. If, therefore,
the son shall make you free, you shall be free indeed."
John viii. 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36.
2. Our Saviour by these words gives us plainly to
understand, that there are two sorts of liberty ; the one
false, which, though it looks like liberty, is not so, the
other true, which is what it appears to be. As for the
false one, it belongs to those persons who, though their
bodies are free, have put their souls under the arbitrary
government of every passion ; like Alexander the Great,
who, after having made himself master of the whole world,
was a slave to his own vices. But the true liberty is
enjoyed by them alone, whose souls are free from the
yoke of such tyrants, though their bodies may sometimes,
perhaps, be prisoners, and sometimes at large, as was St.
Paul's, who, notwithstanding his imprisonment, soared up
to heaven in spirit, and by his preaching and doctrine set
the whole world free.
The reason why we with so much freedom call this
liberty, and not the other, is, because, since of those two
principal parts which compose a man, to wit, the body
and soul, the soul is beyond all comparison the most noble,
and, as it were, man's all; whereas the body is nothing but
the matter and subject, or the case the soul is shut up in;
it necessarily follows, that he who has the best part of
him at liberty, may be said to be truly free, whilst he,
whose better part is under confinement, enjoys but a false
liberty, though he has the free disposal of his body, and
may carry it where he pleases.
Section I. Of the Slavery of the Wicked.
3. Should you ask me, whose slave is he, who is under
such confinement? I answer, he is a slave to the most
hideous tyrant we can possibly represent to ourselves ; I
mean to sin. For hell's torments being the most abomin
able thing, sin must of necessity be yet more abominable,
in as much as these torments are but the effect of it. It
is to this the wicked pay their slavish homage, as appears
plainly from the words of our Saviour so lately cited;

180 the sinner's guide.
" Whosoever committeth sin, is the servant of sin.''
John viii. 34. And can a man possibly be oppressed with
a more deplorable slavery than this is ?
Nor is he a slave to sin only, but what is still worse, to
those who incite him to it, that is, to the world, the devil,
and his own flesh, depraved by sin, and to every disor
derly appetite the flesh is the occasion of; for he who is a
slave to the son, must be a slave to his parents. Now
there is none of us but knows, that these three are the
parents of sin, and on this account they are stiled, "the
enemies of the soul," because they are so prejudicial to it,
as to take it prisoner, and to put it under the power of
such a cruel tyrant as sin is.
4. But though these three agree in this point, yet there
is some kind of a difference in their manner of proceeding ;
for the two first make use of the third, which is the flesh,
like another Eve, for deceiving of Adam, or like a spur
to drive him on to all manner of mischief. For this
reason the Apostle calls it sin, as it were by excellence,
giving the name of the effect to the cause, because there
is no manner of sin whatever which it does not tempt us
to. The divines, on the same account, term it femes pec-
cati, that is, the bait and the nourishment of sin, because it
serves instead of wood and oil, to keep in and increase the
fire of sin. But the name we generally 'call it by, is
sensuality, flesh, or concupiscence, which, to speak more
plainly, is nothing else but our sensual appetite, the cause
of all our passions, as it is spoiled and corrupted by sin,
it being the incentive and provocative, nay, and the very
source of all manner of vices. This it is, particularly,
that makes our other two enemies employ our sensual
appetite as their instrument for the carrying on of the war
against us. It was this that gave St. Basil occasion to
say, " That our own desires are the chief arms with which
+he devil fights against us ; because the immoderate affec
tion we have for whatever we desire, makes us endeavour
to possess it right or wrong, and break through all, that
lies in our way, though forbid by the law of God ; and
from hence all sins take their rise and origin." St. Bas.
Horn. 23. de non adher. reb. sreeularibus.
5. This appetite is one of the greatest tyrants the wicked
are subject to, and by which, the Apostle says, they are
made slaves; and though he calls them slaves, he does noi;

THE SINNER'S GUIDE. 181
mean, that they have lost that free-will, with which they
were created ; because this never was, nor never will be
lost, as to its essence, though man commit ever so many
sins; but that sin, on the one side, has so weakened this
free-will, and on the other, lent such forces to the appetite,
that the stronger, generally speaking, prevails over the
weaker. Besides what greater subject of grief can we have, than
to see man, whose soul is created according to God's own
image, who is enlightened from heaven, and has an under
standing so subtile, as to fly above all created beings, and
to contemplate God himself; it is, I say, a deplorable
thing to consider, that this soul should take no notice of
all these noble qualities, but let herself be governed by the
blind impulse of her beastly appetite, which has been cor
rupted by sin, and hurried on by the devil? What must
a man expect from such a government, and from such
directions, but dangers,, calamities, and all kinds of unpa
ralleled misfortunes ?
6. I will give you a clear prospect of the deformity of
this slavery, by an example, which comes home to our
present business. Represent to yourself a man married to
a woman, that is as noble, as beautiful, and as prudent as
possible woman can be, and that this fortunate man should
at the same time have a servant, a most deformed creature
and a mere sorceress, who envying her master's happi
ness, should give him a potion, so to pervert all his senses,
that despising his wife, and shutting her up in some
corner of the house, he should give himself over to this
lewd servant of his, make her the companion of his bed,
and of all his pleasures, should consult her on the manage
ment of his affairs and family, and follow her advice in all
things: nay, to please her, should, at her command, squan
der away his whole estate in entertainments, feasting,
revelling, and such kind of delights, and should, besides
all this, come to such a pitch of madness, as to oblige his
wife to wait on this wicked woman, and to obey all her
commands. Can any one persuade himself a man should
ever be guilty of such folly ? Who would not be asto
nished at such madness ? What indignation would he be
in against this wicked woman, what pity would he take on
this poor injured lady, and how would he cry out against
this blind and senseless husband? We should look on this
I

182

THE SINNERS GUIDE.

action as base and infamous, and yet it is nothing in com
parison of what we are now treating of; for you are to un-
destand, that we ourselves have these two different women,
to wit, the spirit and the flesh, within our own souls, which
the divines, in other terms, call the superior and the inferior
parts ; the superior part of our soul is that in which reside the
will and reason, which is that natural light God bestowed on
us at our creation. This reason is so beautiful and noble,
that it makes man, like God, capable of enjoying him, and
unites him by a brotherly love to the very angels. It is the
noble woman, to whom God has married man, that they
may live together, and that he may follow its counsel and
actions in all things ; that is to say, that he may let himself
be guided by thatcelestial light, which is reason. But as for
the inferior part of the soul, it is taken up by the sensual
appetite, which we have already spoken of, and which has
been given us for no other end, but the desiring of things
necessary for the support of our lives, and for the preserva
tion of mankind. But this is to be done according to the
rule, which reason prescribes, as a good steward would do,
who makes no provision at all but what his master bids him.
This appetite, therefore, is the slave of which we have all this
while been treating ; nor is it fit to be a guide, because it
wants the light of reason, and, on that account must itself
be directed by another. But man, on the contrary, has been
so unhappy as to place such an immoderate affection on,
and to give himself over entirely to, the satisfying of this
wicked woman's lusts, that he has taken no notice of the
suggestions of reason, by which he should have guided
himself, but has in all things followed the directions of his
appetite, and made it his whole business to satisfy every
irregular desire. For we see there are some men so sensual,
so unruly, and so abandoned to the desires of their own
hearts, that there is scarcely any thing they propose, but
immediately they, like beasts, pursue it, without any re
spect either to the laws of justice, or of reason. And what
is this, but giving themselves up to the flesh, which is the
deformed loathsome slave, and following all those sensual
pleasures she has an inclination to, and despising the advice
of that noble and lawful wife, which is our reason.
7- But what is still more intolerable, they are not satis
fied with using this lady so basely, but will force her to
serve this wretched slave, and to make it her whole busi-

THE SINNER'S GUIDE. 183
ness day and night to think of, and to procure whatever
may serve for satisfying of her base desire. For when
a man employs all his wit and senses about nothing in the
world, but inventing new fashions in his dress, in his
buildings, and in his table and diet for pleasing his
palate, in the furniture of his house, and in continually
thinking of new means and devices for raising up money
to compass these things, what does he else but take the
soul off from those spiritual exercises, which are more suit
able to the excellence of her nature, and make her a mere
drudge to that creature, who ought to have done the same
offices for her? When a man, that is passionately in love
with a woman, uses all the wit he has in writing love-
letters, and in composing songs and poems, and such other
practices as are usual in those cases; what does he in all this
but make the mistress wait on the maid, by employing this
divine light in contriving means to satisfy the impure
desires of the flesh ? When King David used so many
slights to cover the sin he had committed in gecret with
Bethsabee ; sending for her husband out of the camp, in
viting him to supper, making him drunk, and afterwards
giving him letters to the camp, with private orders to Joab
to put him in the very heat of the engagement, that so the
innocent man might be taken out of the way: (2 Kings,
xi.) who was contriver of this chain of wickedness, but
reason and the understanding ? And who was it that
tempted them to it, but the wicked flesh, to cloak her fault,
and to enjoy her delights with more security? Seneca,
though a heathen and a philosopher too, blushed at these
things; and therefore used to say: "It is beneath me, who
have been born to something that is great, to be a slave, to
my own flesh." Sen. Epist. 65 . If we should be astonished
at the stupidity of that man so bewitched, how much more
occasion have we to be concerned at this disorder, which is
the occasion of our being deprived of much greater benefits,
and of our falling into more deplorable misfortunes ?
8. Now though this be so frequent and so monstrous a
disorder, we take little notice of it, and no one is surprised
at it, because the world is so disorderly. " For, (as St.
Bernard says,) we are not sensible of the stench of our
crimes, because the number of them is too great." Bern.
Ep. ad Fratres de Monte Dei. For as no one is affronted
to be called a Moor, in those countries where every one is

184 the sinner's guide.
as black as himself; and as no one thinks it a disgrace to
be drunk, notwithstanding the filthiness of the sin, where
drunkenness is in fashion ; so this disorder being general,
there is scarcely any one that looks on it as he ought to do.
From what has been said, we may see how unhappy a
slavery this is, and not only that, but what dreadful tor
ments man must expect in punishment of his sins, which
have delivered up so noble a creature into the hands of so
cruel a tyrant. The author of Ecclesiasticus looked on it
as such, when he prayed to God, "that he would deliver
him from the inordinate desires of sensuality, and from
the concupiscence of the flesh : and that he would not
give him over to a shameless and unbridled soul." As if
he begged not to be delivered up into the hands of some
cruel tyrant or executioner, looking on this irregular
appetite as such.
Section II.— 9- If you would now be acquainted with
the power of this tyrant, you may easily gather it, by
observing what effects he has wrought in the world in all
ages. I will not to this purpose represent to you, the
fictions of the poets, or set before you the example of their
famous Hercules, who, after having killed or tamed all the
monsters in the world, was himself at last so subdued by
the unchaste love of a woman, as to lay down his club
for a distaff, and to leave his adventures to sit and spin
amongst a company of maids, in compliance to his haughty
mistress's commands. It is a pretty invention of the
poets, to shew what arbitrary power this passion exercises
over us. Nor will I allege the authority of the Holy
Scripture, in proof of this truth ; nor bring the example
of Solomon, a man of such extraordinary wisdom and
sanctity at one time, whilst, at another, he was prostrating
himself before his idols, and building temples to them, in
complaisance to his concubines. 3 Kings xi. It is an ex
ample, indeed, that comes very home to our present pur
pose, but we will only take notice of those instances that
occur to us daily. Consider, therefore, what dangers an
adultress exposes herself to, for satisfying of an inordi
nate appetite. I choose this passion before any of the rest,
that by this you may discover the force of the other. She
knows, that should her husband surprise her in the crime,
she is a dead woman, and that she shall in one moment lose
her life, her honour, her riches, and her soul, nay, and

THE SINNER'S GUIDE. 185
whatever else she is capable of losing, either in this world
or in the next, which is the greatest loss can be sustained.
She knows, that besides all this, she shall disgrace her
children and her whole family, and that she shall herself
find subject of eternal sorrow; and yet such is the force of
this passion, or rather such is the tyrant, that it makes
her break through all these difficulties, and swallows down
so many bitter draughts so easily, for executing all it
commands her. Was there ever any master so cruel as
to expose even his slave to so much danger for the perT
formance of his orders ? Can you think of any slavery
more hard and miserable than this ?
10. This is the state the wicked generally live in, ac
cording to the royal Prophet's remark, when he says,
" They are seated in darkness and in the shadow of death ;
they suffer hunger and are bound down with chains of
iron." Ps. cvi. 1 0. What can the Prophet mean by this
darkness, but the dark blindness the wicked live in, who
neither know themselves nor God as they ought, nor
understand what it is they live for, or what is the end of
their creation ? They are unacquainted with the vanity of
what they love, and are not sensible of the slavery with
which they are oppressed. And what are the chains that
bind them down, but the force of those irregular affections,
by which their hearts are so closely linked to all things they
have such an unlawful love for ? And what can this hun
ger signify, but the insatiable desire they have of many
things, which there is no possibility of obtaining ? Is there
any slavery so galling as this ?
1 1. Let us take another example yet of this same pas
sion. Cast your eyes on David's eldest son Ammon, who,
as soon as ever he beheld his sister Thamor with a wanton
eye, was so blinded, so fettered, and so tormented with
this hunger, that he could not eat, drink, nor take any
rest ; and this passion cast him into such a dangerous sick
ness, that he had like to have lost his life. Judge now,
how strong those chains of love and fear, with which his
heart was tied down, must needs have been, since they
made so great an impression on all the parts of his
body, as to throw him into so violent a distemper ; and
that you may not imagine him to be cured by the enjoy
ment of his desire, consider that he had no sooner satisfied
his wish, but his distemper grew more violent, " so that,"

186 the sinner's guide.
as the scripture says, he hated his sister much worse than
he had ever loved her before." 2 Kings xiii. 15. Thus the
accomplishing of his wicked desire could not free him from
his passion, but only turned one into another much worse.
Now what tyrant in the world has so many ways of treat
ing his slaves as sin has ?
1 2. Such is the condition of all those who are under the
tyrannical government of this vice; for we can scarcely say
they are their own masters, since they can neither eat nor
drink but when it pleases ; they discourse and think of no
thing else; it is the subject of their dreams, whilst, at the
same time neither the fear of God, nor the interest of their
own souls, nor heaven, hell, death or judgment, nay very
often neither life itself, nor their honour, which they have
such a tender concern for, is able to turn them out of
the road, or to break the chain. What shall I say of the
jealousies, suspicions, fears and sudden passions, these un
happy wretches are perpetually racked with? What dan
gers do they expose themselves to ? And what continual
hazards do they run of losing both their lives and souls,
for enjoying their filthy pleasures ? Can any tyrant
exercise so much cruelty on the bodies of his slaves, as
this vice does on the very hearts of those who give them
selves over to it? For no slave is so much taken up with his
master's business, but he has some time, either in day or
night, to take a little ease or rest. But such is the nature
of this vice, and others like it, that as soon as ever they
take possession of a heart, they grow so sovereign and ar
bitrary, that man has scarcely either power, means, time or
wit, to do any thing else. So that Ecclesiasticus had a
great deal of reason to say: " That wine and women make
wise men fall off, and shall rebuke the prudent." Eccl. xix. 2.
Because, let a man be ever so wise, he is as much besotted
with this vice as he is with wine, and is as little his own
master, so that he can do nothing that becomes a rational
creature. The prince of poets to convince us of this truth,
gives us a character of the famous queen Dido, who at the
very moment that she fell in love with JEneas, laid aside
all her public employments, and went no further in the
building of her city ; the walls and fortifications were
carried up no higher; there was no training up youth in
military discipline, no care about securing the heaven,
or furnishing the arsenal for the defence of their country

THE SINNER'S GUIDE. 187
Virg. _33n. Lib. 4. And the reason the poet gives for
it is, because this tyrant had seized on all the thoughts
of this woman, so as to leave her unfit for any thing else
but the indulging of this passion, a passion so uncon-
trolable, and so arbitrary, that when it has once possession
of a heart, it takes the power of doing any thing else away
from it. 0 cruel and barbarous vice! the very disturber
and destroyer of whole states and kingdoms, the ruin of
all that is good and honourable, the plague of virtue, the
cloud that hangs over and darkens the wits of ingenious
men, the enchantress of the soul, that makes fools of wise
meD, and makes sots and dotards of old men, that inflames
and excites the boiling passions of youth, and that, in fine,
is the common bane and destruction of mankind !
13. Nor is it this vice alone that is so tyrannical; all
the rest are in their different ways as cruel and as arbitrary.
Consider but the proud and ambitious man, who aims at
nothing but respect, and walks blindly and darkly in the
smoke of honours. See how this passion tyrannizes over
him ; with what greediness he catches at glory, what pains
he takes to acquire it, directing every action of his life to
this end : his servants, his retinue, his dress, his table, his
chamber, his furniture, his attendants, his posture, his
gate, his mein, his discourse, his looks, in fine, all he does
tends this way, because it is done so as it may gain him
most esteem, and procure him the empty puff and blast of
honour; so that if you look narrowly into him, you will find
that what he does or says is a bait for popular applause,
and commendation. If we wonder at the folly of Domitian
the emperor, for hunting after flies with a bodkin in his hand,
when he had nothing else to do, how much more should
we admire the folly of the wretched ambitious man, who
not only spends some spare time, but runs out his whole
life in hunting after the smoke of worldly vanity ? It is
this makes the unhappy man do nothing he has a mind to
do : he neither dresses himself according to his own fancy,
nor goes where he himself would go ; since he very often
neglects even going to church, and does not care to converse
with virtuous persons, for fear the world, whose slave he is,
should reflect upon him. And what is yet worse, this vice
makes him live above what he has, and by that means re
duces him to a thousand necessities, which ruin his souL
and are very often the eternal destruction of his posterity,

188 the sinner's guide,
who have no other inheritance left them by him, but his
debts to discharge, and his follies to imitate. Can such
persons as these deserve any easier punishment than what,
they say, a certain king used to inflict on ambitious men,
which was, to stifle them with smoke, saying, it was no
more than justice that they should be condemned to die
by smoke, for having spent all their lives in seeking smoke
and wind. What misery can be greater than this?
14. What shall I say of the greedy covetous man, who is
not only a slave to, but even an idolator, of his money ?
While he serves, adores and obeys in every thing it com
mands him ; for this he feasts so rigorously, as scarcely to
allow himself a morsel of bread ; this treasure, in fine, he
loves more than he loves God, whom he makes no scruple
to offend for the least profit. This is his comfort, his
glory, his hope, the continual subject of all his thoughts,
and the object of his love ; with it he goes to sleep, with it
he rises, employs his whole life about it, and is continually
finding out new ways to improve it, neglecting at the
same time and forgetting himself and every thing else. Can
we call such a man the master of his money, to dispose of
it as he has a mind, or ought we not rather to say, that in
stead of his money being a slave to him, he becomes a
slave to his money, considering himself, as it were made
for his money, and not his money for him ? Neglecting
his belly and his very soul, to give himself entirely to it ?
15. Can there be a harder slavery than this ? For if we
call that man a prisoner, who is confined in a dungeon, or
loaded with chains and irons, what better name can we
give him, who has his soul oppressed and charged with the
disorderly affection of what he loves ? For when a man has
once come to this degree, he has not any one power of his
soul that enjoys a perfect liberty, he is not his own master,
but his slave, whom he has so passionate a love for. For
wheresoever his love is, there his heart will be, though still
he does not lose his free-will. Nor does it signify any
thing what chains you are tied down with, if the nobler
part of you is made a prisoner ; nor does your consenting
to your imprisonment make your confinement less, nay,
on the contrary, if it be a true prison, the more voluntary
it is, the more dangerous it will be, as we see in poison,
which, if pure, is no less hurtful because it is sweet : cer
tainly there can be no straiter prison than that you are

the sinner's guide. 189
thus confined to, which makes, you turn your eyes away
from God, truth, honesty, and the laws of justice, and
lords it over you at such a rate, that, as a drunken man is
not his own master but a slave to his liquor, so he that is
oppressed with this slavery is no longer in his own power,
but at the command of his passion, though his free will is
yet remaining. Now, if imprisonment be a torment, what
greater torment can there be, than that which one of
these miserable men endures, by continually desiring what
he knows he can never obtain, and yet he cannot for
bear or curb his desires, so that he is reduced to such
circumstances, that he knows not which way to turn
himself. And being in this perplexity and trouble, he is
forced to make use of the words of a certain poet to an ill
natured lewd woman : " I love you, and I hate you at the
same time ; and if you ask me the reason of it, it is because I
can neither live with you nor without you." But if at any
time he endeavours to break these chains, and to overcome
his passions, he immediately finds such resistance, that he
very often despairs of obtaining the victory, and returns
to his chains and slavery again. Do not you think, after
all this, that we may very well be allowed to call this state,
a torment and captivity ?
16. If these prisoners had but one chain to hold them,
their misery would be much less, for there were some hope
of breaking a single bond, or overcoming one enemy alone.
But how miserable must we imagine their condition to be,
when we consider what a great number of passions, like
so many fetters, keep down these unhappy creatures ? For
man's life lying open to so many necessities, and every
necessity exciting some new desire, and adding as it were
another link to the chain, it follows, that he who has a
great many passions must have but very little command of
his own heart; but still this is more in some persons than
in others ; for some men's apprehension is naturally so te
nacious that they can scarcely ever put from any thing that
has once taken possession of their imagination ; others are
of a melancholy temper, which makes them strong and
violent in their desires ; and others are mean-spirited, who
look on all things, though ever so inconsiderable, as great
and worthy to be coveted, for every little thing seems
great to a poor soul; others are naturally violent in what
ever they desire, as generally women are : " Who," as a
I 2

190 the sinner's guide.
philosopher observes, " passionately love or hate, because
there is no medium in their affections." All these pas
sions exercise continual cruelties on those who are subject
to them ; and now if the misery of being bound but with
one chain, and of serving only one master, be so great, how
miserably must that man's condition be, who is held by so
many chains, and has such a great number of masters to
command him as the wicked man has, for every passion
and vice he is subject to, is a distinct master, and requires
his obedience and submission ?
Can there be any greater misery than this ? For if the
dignity of man, as man, depends on two things — reason
and free-will — what can be more opposite, either to the
one or the other, than passions, which at the same time
blind the reason, and drag away the free-will along with
them? By which you may perceive what prejudice we are
apt to receive from the least irregular affection, since it
turns a man out of the throne of his majesty, obscures his
reason, and perverts his free-will, without which two,
man is no longer a reasonable creature, but a mere brute.
See here the unhappy slavery the wicked are reduced to,
as men that will neither take notice of the laws or inspir
ations of God, nor the dictates of their own reason, but are
hurried away by the impulse of their own passions and
appetites. Section III. Of the liberty virtuous men enjoy.
17. This is the cruel slavery the Son of God came down
from heaven to deliver us from; and it is this liberty and
victory Isaias so highly commends, when he says: " Those
whom thou hast redeemed shall rejoice before thee, O
Lord, as they that rejoice in the harvest, rejoice as con-
querers after taking a prey, and when they divide the
spoils. For the yoke of their burden, and the rod of their
shoulder, and the sceptre of their oppressor thou hast over
come." Is. iv. 3, 4. All these names of yoke, of rod, and
sceptre, agree very well with the tyrannical power of our
passions and appetites, because the devil, who is the prince
of this world, makes use of them as very proper instruments
to work us into an allegiance to his tyranny, and into a
subjection to sin. From this tyranny and subjection the
Son of God has delivered us by the superabundance of his
grace, which the sacrifice he made of himself on the cross

the sinner's guide. 191
has purchased for us. For which reason the Apostle says,
" That our old man is crucified with him," (Rom. vi. 6.)
meaning here, by " the old man," our sensual appetite
which became disorderly by the sin of our first parents.
And the reason why the old man has been crucified with
him is, because he, by the merits of his passion, has ob
tained grace for us, whereby we may subdue this tyrant,
and make him suffer the same punishment he has made us
to suffer, thus crucifying him who before crucified us, and
bringing him into slavery, under whose slavery we have
been so long groaning. Thus, what the prophet Isaias
foretold in another place, has come to pass : " They shall
take those who took them before, and shall bring those that
have oppressed them under their subjection." Isa. xiv.
For our sensual appetite, before the reign of grace tyran
nized over our understanding, and made it a slave to all
its unlawful desires ; but as soon as ever grace came to its
succour, it grew so strong as to prevail against this tyrant
and make it submit to what reason prescribed.
18. This subduing of the appetite to reason, has been
in a particular manner represented to us, by the death of
Adonibezech, king of Jerusalem, who was put to death by
the children of Israel, after they had first cut off his fingers
and toes. This unhappy prince seeing himself in this con
dition, and calling to mind the cruelties he had before ex
ercised on others, was heard to say : " Three score and ten
kings, whose fingers and toes I have cut off, have picked
up the scraps that have fallen under my table, and now I
see that God deals with me just as I have dealt with them."
Jud. i. After which the scripture adds, that he was carried
in this condition to Jerusalem, and died there. This cruel
tyrant is the figure of this world, which before the Son
of God came down from heaven, cut off the hands and
feet of almost all men in general, by this means, maiming and
putting them out of the capacity of serving God, cutting off
their hands to hinder them from doing any good, and their
feet to prevent them from so much as desiring it ; and besides
all this reducing them to the necessity of living on the poor
scraps that fell under his table, that is, the sensual plea
sures of the world, wherewith this wicked prince maintains
his servants. There is much reason for calling them scraps,
and not pieces of bread, because this tyrant is so nigardly
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192 the sinner's guide.
gives enough to satisfy their appetite. But after our Sa
viour came into the world, he made this tyrant undergo
the same torments he had put others to before, cutting off
his hands and feet, that is defeating all his forces. The
scripture expressly declares, that Adonibezech died in Je
rusalem, because this was the place where our Saviour,
by death, destroyed the prince of this world, and where
dying on the cross, he crucified this tyrant, binding him
hand and foot, and taking all his power from him. And
therefore, immediately after his most sacred passion, men
began to triumph and insult over this tyrant, and so to
lord it over the world, the devil, and the flesh, with all
its concupiscences, that neither all the tortures they could
be threatened with on the one side, nor all the pleasures
that could be proposed to them on the other, were able to
make them commit a mortal sin.
Section IV. Of the causes whence this liberty proceeds.
19- You will ask, perhaps, whence this great victory
and liberty proceed ? To which I answer, that next to
God it proceeds immediately, as I have said already, from
his grace, which, by the means of those virtues it inspires,
so moderates the heat of our passions, as not to let them
get the better of reason. So that as sorcerers can by
certain spells enchant snakes, that they should do no hurt,
without killing them or taking away their venom, so the
grace of God charms all the venemous serpents of our
passions ; and though it still leaves them their natural being
in perfect vigour, yet they can do us no hurt with their
poison, because they are not capable as they were before
to infect our lives. This was meant by the prophet Isaias,
when he said : " The sucking child shall play on the hole
of the asp, and the weaned shall trust his hand into the
den of the basilisk. They shall not hurt nor shall they
kill in all my holy mountain, for the earth is filled with
the knowledge of the Lord, as the covering waters of the
sea." Isa. xi. 8, 9- It is plain the prophet does not speak
here of visible but of invisible serpents, which are nothing
but our own passions and bad inclinations, which when
once they break out are enough to corrupt the whole world;
nor does he speak of corporal children, but of the spiritual :
and those he calls " sucking children," are such as are but
just beginning to serve God, and, therefore, must be fed

the sinner's guide. 193
with milk ; but those, who are weaned, are such as
have made a greater progress, and can go alone, and eat
bread and stronger meats. The prophet, therefore, speak
ing of both, says of the former, that they shall be glad
to see, notwithstanding they are perpetually in the very
midst of these invisible serpents, that the grace of God
will secure them from receiving any considerable hurt, by
not permitting them to consent in any manner to sin. As
for the latter, those I mean that are already weaned, and
have advanced farther in the way of God, he says they shall
put their hands into the very dens of basilisks, which is as
much as to say, that God will preserve them even in their
greatest dangers; so that we see these words of the Psal
mist verified in them : " Thou shalt walk upon the asp and
the basilisk, and thou shall trample under foot the lion and
the dragon." Ps. xc. 13. These are they who shall receive
no harm, though they put their hands in a basilisk's
den, because these serpents shall be so charmed by the
abundance of God's grace, spreading itself over the whole
face of the earth, that they would not do any hurt to the
children of God.
20. St. Paul explains this much more clearly, and with
out any kind of metaphor ; for after having discoursed
very fully of the tyranny our irregular affections and our
flesh exercise over us, he cries out at last : " Unhappy
man that I am, who shall deliver me from the body of this
death ?" Rom. vii. 25. But he himself immediately
answers his own question briefly, and says: " The grace of
God, by Jesus Christ our Lord." ver. 25. What he means
here, by " the body of death," is not this body of ours, that
is subject to a natural death, which all of us look for,
but what he himself, in another place, calls the body of
sin, (Rom. vi. 6.) that is, our depraved appetite, from
which proceed all inordinate affections, which are con
tinually enticing to sin, just as the members do from the
body ; and this is the body the apostle says, the grace
that is given us through Jesus Christ delivers us from, as
from a cruel tyrant.
2 1 . The second, and that a main cause of this liberty,
is the greatness of that joy, and of those spiritual conso
lations, which the virtuous enjoy, as we have proved al
ready. By the6e all their desires are so fully satisfied, that

194 the sinner's guide.
they easily overcome and dismiss all their irregular appe
tites ; and having found out this source of all that is good
and pleasant, they covet no other happiness as our Saviour
himself declared to the Samaritan woman, when he told
her : " Whosoever shall drink of the water that I shall give
him," which is the grace of God, " shall not thirst for
ever." John iv. 13. St. Gregory assures us of the same
thing, in one of his Homilies, in these words : " He who
is once thoroughly acquainted with the sweetness of a
heavenly life, immediately bids adieu to all those things he
had a sensual love for before. He forsakes all he is in pos
session of, he distributes liberally all his treasures, his heart
is inflamed with the desire of heaven, there is nothing on
earth can please him, and whatever he before thought beau
tiful and lovely, he now accounts deformed and hidious,
because this precious jewel is the only thing that shines and
glitters to the eyes of his soul." For when the vessel of
our heart is full of this liquor, and the thirst of our soul
is quenched with the same, it has no occasion to run after
the fleeting and vain pleasures of this life ; but lives free
from the slavery of all those affections, which base earthly
pleasures excited in her : because where there is no love
there can be no slavery : and thus the heart that has found
him, who is the Lord of all things, finds itself to be in some
measure Lord of all things, there being no other solid good,
which it does not meet with in this one good.
22. Add to these two divine favours, which assist us so
much in the regaining of our liberty, the pains virtuous
men take to subdue the flesh to the spirit, and to make the
passions submit to reason. By this means they gradually
mortify their passions, obtain a habit of virtue, and lay
aside that hate and violence which used to disturb them
before. " For if," as St. Chrysostom says : " the wildest
beasts that by living amongst men, come in time to lose
their natural fierceness, and to grow tame and gentle, by
observing the same qualities in men;" which gave a poet
occasion to say, that time and custom brings lions under
obedience; what wonder is it, that our passions, if we but
accustom them to submit to reason, should by degrees be
come tame and rational, that is, should in some manner
partake of the quality of the spirit and of reason, and love
nothing more than to do as they do ? Now if this may

the sinner's guide. 195
be done only by use and custom, how much sooner and
more efficaciously must it of necessity be effected, when
use and custom are backed by grace ?
23. Hence, it is, that those who serve God feel very
often a more sensible pleasure and satisfaction, if I may so
term it, in their recollection, silence, reading, prayers,
meditations, and in such other exercises, than they could
find in hunting, gaming, and conversation, or in any other
worldly recreations and diversion, which they look on as
mere torments, insomuch, that the flesh itself begins now
to hate what it loved before, and to be pleased with what it
formerly loathed. All this is so true "that the inferior
part of our souls," as St. Bonaventure observes, in the ¦
Preface of his Incentive to the love of God, " is very often
so delighted- in prayer and in conversing with God, that
it is no small torment to it, when there is any, though ever
so just a cause, that it obliges it to break off these exer
cises." And this is what the royal prophet meant, when
he said: " I will bless the Lord, who hath given me un
derstanding, moreover my reins also have corrected me,"
(Ps. xv. 7.) or as another translation has it, " have in
structed me all the night long." This is without doubt a
particular favour of the Almighty's grace, because the ex
positors of the holy scriptures understand in this place, by
the reins all the inward affections and motions of man ;
which, as we have said already, are the general incentives
to sin. But yet by virtue of this grace they are very often
so far from stirring us up to sin, as they used to do, or
from fighting for the devil, whose service they were en
gaged in before, that, on the contrary, they forward us in
virtue, and aspiring to Jesus Christ, turn their arms against
the common enemy: though this may be seen in all the
exercises of a spiritual life, it appears much more plainly
in our sorrow and contrition for our sins, wherein the in
ferior part of the soul has its share, afflicting itself and
shedding tears for them. This is the reason of David's say
ing: " That his reins corrected him in the night time;"
because then the day being ended, the just are used to ex
amine their consciences, and to bewail whatever they have
offended in ; and then it was, that he himself, as he says
in another place, swept his spirit by this exercise. It was
in the night, I say, that his reins reproved him, because
the sorrow, which he felt in this part of his soul, for hav-

196 THE SINNER'S GUIDE.
ing offended God, was a continual correction, to keep him
from falling into those sins again, which had troubled him
so much. On which account he, with a great deal of jus-'
tice, thanks God, because not only the superior part of his
soul, which is the seat of reason, invited him to good, but
even the inferior part too, which is used for the most part
to encourage us to evil : though all this be really true, and
one of the greatest benefits we receive from Christ's re
demption, who redeemed us most fully and gave us perfect
liberty, yet we ought not to take occasion from hence to
be negligent, nor trust too much to our flesh, be it ever so
mortified, during the course of this mortal life.
24. These, therefore, are the chief causes of this ex
traordinary liberty. And, amongst several other effects it
produces, one is the new knowledge we have of God, andthe
confirming us in the faith and religion we profess; and, as
God himself openly declares to us, by the prophet Ezekiel,
(ch. xxxiv. 27.) saying: "All men shall know that I am the
Lord, when I shall have broken the bonds of their yoke,
and shall have delivered them out of the hands of those
that rule over them." We have said already, that this yoke
was our sensuality, or our inordinate affection for sin,
which dwells within our flesh, and which oppresses us and
makes us subject to sin. The chains of this yoke, are all
those bad inclinations by which the devil catches hold of
us and draws us after him ; now these bad inclinations are
so much the more efficacious, as they have been fortified
by a longer habit. St. Augustine, in his Confessions, had
sufficient experience of this, for he says : " I was bound
not with another's fetters, but those of my own hard will
and iron, which the enemy had in his power, and of
which he made a chain for me, and tied me down with the
same. For my perverse will has been the cause of my
vicious desires, I contracted a vicious habit, which for
want of being resisted grew into a necessity; with all
which, as with so many links that have gone towards the
making up of the chain, I have been tied down, and re
duced to the utmost hardship." Conf. L. 8. c. 5. When a
man finds himself, as this saint did, to have been groaning
for some time under slavery, and after having made seve
ral attempts to get out of it, perceives his escape so difficult,
yet when he addresses himself to God, sees all his chains
broken, 'his passions mortified, himself at liberty and mas-

the sinner's guide. 197
ter of his own appetites, with the yoke that he pressed so
heavily on his shoulders, lying now under his feet, who
but God can he imagine has broken his fetters, and eased
him of the weight that had so long galled his neck ? What
has he to do but to praise God with the royal prophet, and
cry out with him : " 0 Lord thou hast broken my bonds :
I will sacrifice to thee the sacrifice of praise, and I will
call upon the name of the Lord." Ps. cxv, 17.

CHAPTER IX.
Of the eighth privilege of Virtue. The inward peace and calm
the virtuous enjoy, and of the miserable restlessness and disturb
ance the wicked feel within themselves.
1. From this privilege just mentioned, which is, the li
berty of the sons of God, flows another, nothing inferior
to it, which is, the inward peace and tranquillity they en
joy. For the better understanding whereof, it is to be ob
served, there are three sorts of peace, one with our neigh
bour, another with God, and the third with ourselves.
Peace with our neighbours consists in such a friendly and
civil correspondence with them, as banishes all design or
desire of doing any man a prejudice. This peace David
had, when he says : " With them that hated peace I was
peaceable: when I spoke to them, they fought against me
without cause." Ps. cxix. 7- St. Paul recommends this
same peace to us, when he advises us to " use our utmost
endeavours, as far as is possible, to live in peace with all
men." Rom. xii. 18. The second peace, which is that
with God, consists in the friendship and favour of God : it
is to be obtained by the means of justification, which re
conciles man to God, and makes them both love one an
other without any disturbance or contradiction on either
side. The Apostle, speaking of this peace, says : " Since
we are already justified by faith through Jesus Christ our
Lord, who has procured us this grace, let us live in peace
with God." Rom. v. 1 . The last peace is that which a
man has with himself, nor ought any one to wonder at this
kind of peace, since we know very well, that there are in
the very self-same man, two men so opposite to one an
other, as are the outward and the inward, the flesh and
the spirit, the passions and the reason. For the flesh and

198

THE sinners guide.

passions are not only always at variance with the spirit,
but besides disturb the whole man with their irregular
appetites, and trouble his inward peace, which consists in
tranquillity of mind.
Section I. Of the inward restlessness and disquiet of the wicked.
2. Wicked men, and such as hearken to the persuasions
of the flesh, are never free from such disturbances as these.
For being on the one hand, deprived of God's grace, which
is the curb to keep their passions in awe, and on the
other their desires being so active and unruly, that they
are scarcely able to resist them in the least thing imaginable,
it necessarily follows, that they must be carried away by
an infinite number of opposite desires, some by that of
honour, others of great employments, others of conver
sation and friendship, others of great and honourable titles,
others of riches, others again of success in marriage, and
others of recreations and pleasures. For this appetite is
like a devouring fire that consumes whatever it catches
hold of, or like a ravenous beast that is never satisfied, or
like the leech that is perpetually thirsting after blood ;
and which, as Solomon says: "has two daughters that are
always crying out, Bring, bring." Prov. xxx. 15. This
leech is nothing but the insatiable desire of the heart, and
her two children are necessity and concupiscence. The first
of them seems to be a true thirst, but the last is only a
false one, though they are both of them equally trouble
some, notwithstanding our supposing one to be a real, the
other but a pretended necessity. This is the reason why
no wicked man, whether he be rich or poor, can ever en
joy content : for if he be poor when want is continually dis
turbing his heart, and crying out : " More yet, more yet ;"
whilst concupiscence never ceases to break the rich man's
rest with the same noise. How then can man enjoy any
ease that has two such importunate beggars always making
a noise at his door, and craving many things he is not able
to give them ? What trouble can a poor mother be in,
who has ten or a dozen of children around her continually
crying for bread, if she has not a morsel to give them ?
This is one of the greatest miseries the wicked endure :
" They perish, (says the Psalmist,) with hunger and thirst,
and their souls fail within them." For self-love, the cause

THE SINNER'S GUIDE. 199
of all these desires, having got so much power over them,
and they placing all their happiness in earthly riches and
pleasures, it is impossible they should not, witrugreedi-
ness, hunger and thirst after those things on which they
imagine all their happiness depends. And because they
cannot always obtain what they long for, being prevented
by others more covetous and powerful, they disturb them
selves like a froward child that longs for every thing that
it sees, and grows sullen if denied it. For as the obtain
ing of our wish is, according to the wise man, " the tree
of life," so there is nothing in the world torments us worse
than to be disappointed of what we have a mind for. It
is just like being ready to die for hunger, and having no
thing to eat. But what is worst of all, the more they are
hindered from obtaining their desires, the more they in
crease, and as they find they have less hopes left, they
are more vexed and troubled ; so they are continually
turned about like a wheel that is in perpetual motion.
3. This is the miserable condition our Saviour expresses
so much to the life, by the parable of the prodigal son,
(Luke xv.) of whom he says : That leaving his father's
house, he travelled into a far country, and there squan
dered away his estate in riot and debauchery ; and when
he had spent all, there happened to be a great famine in those
parts, during which he was reduced to that extremity as to
be obliged to look after swine ; and what is still more, he was
put to such straights as to desire to fill his belly with what
the hogs themselves lived on, and yet no body would give
him even that. Could any one lay out the whole course of
a wicked man's life, with all the miseries that attend it, in
more lively colours than these ? Who can this prodigal
son be, that leaves his father's house, but the unhappy
sinner, who separates himself from Almighty God, gives
himself over to all sorts of vices, and abuses all God's fa
vours and mercies ? What is this country, where there is
so great a famine, but this miserable world, where worldly
men are so insatiable in their desires as never to be satis
fied with what they have, but are perpetually running up
and down like ravenous wolves, still seeking after more?
And what can you imagine is the employment of their
whole lives, but feeding of hogs, that is, labouring how
to content their own swinish appetites ? If you are not
convinced of this truth, observe a very young man, who is

200 THE SINNER'S GUIDE.
wholly intent on the world from morning till night and
you will see that all his business is, beast-like, to find out
new ways to please and delight some one or more of his
senses, as the sight, the taste, the hearing, or the rest, as
if he were one of Epicurus's followers, and not a disciple
of Jesus Christ; as if he had nothing else to look after
but a body like a beast, and as if he believed that sensual
pleasures were his only end. Thus his whole entertain
ment is to run from place to place, here to-day, and there
to-morrow, in pursuit of fresh delights for the indulging
of his senses. What other end can he have in his gal
lantry, in his feasting and banqueting, in his soft beds, in
his music, in his conversations, in his visits, in his walks,
but to look after meat for this sort of swine ? You may
give all this what name you please, call it grandeur or
good breeding, if you will, but know that in the language
of God and of the gospel, it is nothing but feeding of
swine; because as hogs love to be wallowing in the dirt
and mire, so the hearts of such men love nothing but the
filth of carnal pleasures.
4. But the greatest misery is, to see that the son of
such a noble father, born to be fed with the bread of an
gels at God's own table, cannot satisfy his hunger with
such vile food, so great is the scarcity of it. Because
there being so many buyers of this commodity, they
hinder one another, and so they all go away unsatisfied.
My meaning is, that whilst so many are catching at it, there
must need be much strife, as it is impossible for swine
to feed under an oak, without grunting and biting one
another to get the better share of the acorns that fall.
This is the dreadful hunger holy David describes, where
he says : " They have wandered up and down in the wil
derness in a place without water ; they were hungry and
thirsty, their soul fainted in them !" Ps. cvi. 4, 5. What
can this extreme hunger and thirst be, but the inordinate
desire of the things of this world the wicked are inflamed
with ? This appetite of theirs is such, that the more they
give it the greedier it grows, the more it drinks the drier
it is, and the more wood they lay on the more violent it
burns. 0 unhappy creatures, what can be the cause of
your being parched up with such a burning thirst as
this, " They have forsaken me, the fountain of living
water, and have digged to themselves cisterns, that can

THE SINNER'S GUIDE. 201
hold no water." Jer. ii. 1 3. You have mistaken the stream
of true happiness, and for this reason you run up and
down, till you lose yourselves, through wild and desert
places, in search of the muddy-pond and lakes of the pe
rishable goods of this world, in hopes they will quench
your thirst. This was cruel Holofernes's policy, when he
besieged Bethulia; for as soon as ever, he sat down before
the city, he commanded his men to cut off all the pipes
and channels that conveyed water to the town, so that the
poor besieged had but a few little springs left, just by the
walls, where they used to drink now and then by stealth,
rather wetting their lips than quenching their thirst. Is
not this your case, you who are always seeking after plea
sure, you who are perpetually in pursuit of honour, and
who are such friends to every thing that pleases the appe
tite, for having missed the fountain of living waters ?
What else do you but run to the little springs of creatures,
that come in your way, and rather serve to wet your lips
and increase your thirst than to quench it ? O unfortunate
man ! " Why will you go into Egypt to drink the troubled
water?" Jer. ii. 11. -What water can be more troubled
than sensual pleasure, which is not to be drank without
perceiving an ungrateful taste and smell ? For what
worse smell than the stench of sin, and what more unpa-
lateable than the remorse of conscience occasioned by it,
which, as we are told, even by a philosopher, are both the
inseparable companions of carnal pleasures ?
5. Beside this appetite being blind, and unable to dis
tinguish between what it can obtain and what it can
not, and the eagerness of desire making that appear very
easy, which is in itself most difficult, those things are often
coveted, that cannot be obtained ; for there is nothing
worth coveting, but what is much sought after and de
fended by many lovers. Now the appetite being depraved
of what it longs for, being hungry and wanting whereon
to feed, often stretching out its arms, and yet grasping no
thing but the air, and using all endeavours without any
success, therefore, it frets inwardly, wastes and consumes
to see itself so far from what it desires. For these two chief
faculties of our souls, the irascible and concupiscible, be
ing so closely united together as never to be wanting to
one another, it is certain that whatever the concupiscible
is frustrated of its desire, the irascible comes in imme-

202 the sinner's guide.
diately to relieve it, raging and exposing itself to all acci
dents and dangers, that it may give the other satisfaction.
From this confusion of desires proceeds the inward distur
bance we are now speaking of, which St. James calls a war,
when he says: From whence are wars and contentions among
you? Are they not hence, from your concupiscences, which
war in your members? You covet and have not. Jam. iv.i, 2.
The natural contradiction that is between the flesh and
spirit, and between the desire of each, has given the apostle
a great deal of reason to call it a war.
6. There is still another thing of this nature much to be
lamented, which is, that very often men obtain all that
seemed to suffice to put them into the state of satisfaction
they aimed at, and when they are in such a condition, that
if they pleased they might live happy, they then conceit
they ought to aspire to some other honour, perferment,
dignity, or the like, which, if they fail of they are more
perplexed for the miss of that nothing they want, than
pleased with the enjoyment of all they possess. Thus they
pass their lives with this thorn perpetually pricking, or
rather with this scourge continually c%astising them, which
palls all their happiness, and turns theirpleasure into smoke
and vapour. This is what I call nailing up the cannon, as
enemies do in time of war; for a little nail driven into
the biggest piece of artillery, is enough to make it unfit
for service. The cannon is still as big and as sound as it
was before, and yet such a little thing makes it lose all its
force. God deals after the same manner with the wicked.
They might see plainly if they would but open their eyes,
that joy of heart is a free gift of Almighty God, who bestows
it on whom he pleases and when he pleases, without making
any preparation beforehand as we do, and that he can take it
away again whenever he thinks fit, only by nailing up the
cannon, that is, by permitting some unhappy turn or change
of their prosperity and fortune. And then this single
misfortune, though unknown to any one, is sufficient to
make them uneasy and melancholy as if they had nothing
in this world to live on, though at the same time they may
be very rich and happy in all appearance. God himself
tells us as'much, when, speaking by the prophet Isaias,
against the pride and power of the ki ng of Assyria , he says :
That he will iveaken his greatest force, and put fire under his
glory, to bum it up, to show us, that God can sink a

the sinner's guide. 203
vessel when it saib with the fairest wind, can weaken the
greatest strength, and make a man miserable in the midst
of his prosperity. The same is signified to us again in
the book of Job, (xxvi. 5,) where it is said: The giants
groan under the waters, to let us know that God has his
deep places and his punishments for the great as well as
for the little ones, though these seem to lie more open to
the misfortunes and injuries of the world. But Solomon
has expressed the same thing much plainer : when counting
up all the notable miseries in the world, he reckons this
one of the greatest of them. There is also another evil, says
he, which I have seen under the sun, and that frequent among
men. A man to whom God hath given riches, and substance,
and honour, and his soul wanted nothing of all that hedesireth,
yet God doth not give him power to eat thereof, but a stranger
shall eat it up." Eccles. vi. 1 , 2. What does he mean by
these words: God doth not give him power to eat thereof,
but that he shall not enjoy even what is his own, nor
take the satisfaction and pleasure, which his possession
might give him, because God has ordained that his hap
piness shall be disturbed and ruined. And here we are
given to understand, that as true wisdom is not to be
learned by dead letters, but that it is God who teaches it,
so neither does true content depend on the goods of this
world, but on God alone.
7. But to come home to our subject, how unhappy must
those poor creatures be, who have nothing, if even those
who enjoy all they can wish are so uneasy, because they
do not enjoy God ? For the want of every one of these
things is a particular hunger and thirst that torments them,
and a thorn that is perpetually pricking their hearts : what
peace, what quiet is it possible for a soul to have, when all
its thoughts and desires are continually so importunate
and rebellious ? The Prophet says very well of suchs ort
of people, " That the heart of the wicked is like a raging
sea, which cannot rest. Isa. lvii. 20. And indeed what
sea, what waves, or what winds can be more boisterous and
stormy than the passions and desires of the wicked, which
very often disturb not only the sea but all the world But
there often start up contrary winds in this sea, which, is
another most violent sort of storm. For the same desires,
like opposite winds, frequently resist one another, so that
what pleases the flesh does not please honour, what honour

204 the sinner's guide.
loves, riches do not care for; reputation does not covet
that, which is agreeable to wealth, nor does sloth or luxury
desire what reputation does. So that by this means it
often happens, that the wicked, whilst they desire all
things, do not know what they would have, and so are
ignorant what to take and what to leave, because their
desires contradict one another: just as bad humours do in
distempers, which proceed from different causes, where
the physicians are puzzled what remedy to prescribe, be
cause that which is good for the expelling of one humour,
may be apt to nourish another. Such was the confusion
of languages at Babel, and such was that, for the prevent
ing of which the royal Prophet prayed to God, saying:
" Cast down, O Lord, and divide their tongues, for I have
seen iniquity and contradiction in the city." Ps. liv. 10.
What, therefore, can this division of tongues, this ini
quity, and this contradiction be, but the disturbance
which different passions make in the hearts of worldly
minded men when they oppose one another, and one de
sires that which is against the inclination and desire of
another.

Section II. Of the inward peace and satisfaction good men enjoy.
8. Thus you see what the condition of the wicked is,
whilst the just, on the contrary, because they know how
without prejudice to moderate their desires, how to mortify
their passions, how to make God, and not the perishable
goods of this life, the only object of their happiness, and
the centre of their repose; how to aim at nothing but the
acquiring of those eternal goods, which no one can deprive
them of, how to be in perpetual war with self-love, with
their own Jesh, and with the whole train of their irregu
lar appetites ; and because, in fine, they know how to
resign their will to God's, to conform theirs to his, and
throw themselves entirely into b;s arms, are never molested
by any such cares, so as to have their inward peace lost
or so much as interrupted.
This, amongst several others, is one of the chief rewards
Almighty God promises to those who love him, as we may
see almost everywhere in the holy scriptures. Holy David
says : "Those that love thy law, O Lord, enjoy a perfect
peace, and to them there is no stumbling block." Ps. cxviii.

THE SINNER'S GUIDE, 205
165. God himself says by the prophet Isaias, " I wish you
had observed my commandments, your peace should have
been like a river, and your justice like the waves of the
sea." Isa. xlviii. 1 8. The reason of his calling this peace a
river is, because it is able to extinguish the flames of our
desires, to appease the burning heat of our lusts, to water
the dry and barren veins of our hearts, and to comfort and
refresh our souls. Solomon assures us of the same truth in a
divine manner, though in a few words, saying: "When the
ways of man shall please the Lord, he will convert even his
enemies to peace." Prov. xvi. 7. What enemies are these
that are at war with man but his own passions, and the
evil inclinations of his flesh, which are perpetually fighting
with the spirit. The Almighty therefore, says, that he
will make the flesh and the spirit live peaceably together,
when by virtue of this grace and of good habits, the flesh,
with all its desires shall accustom itself to the works of the
spirit, and by that means live quietly with it, whereas be
fore it was in continual opposition. For though virtue at
the beginning meets with a great deal of opposition from
the passions, yet when it comes to its perfection, it acts
with a deal of sweetness and ease, and with much less con
tradiction. It is this peace, in fine, which holy David, by
another name, calls the enlarging of the heart, when he says
" Thou hast enlarged my steps under me, (0 Lord,) and
my feet are not weakened." Ps. xvii. 37- The Prophet
by these words intend to show, how different the way of
the virtuous is from that of the wicked, because whilst the
one walk with their hearts oppressed and streightened by
continual fears, solitudes and apprehensions, like a travel
ler that is going through a narrow path, with steep rocks
and precipices on both sides of him, the others, on the
contrary, walk with a deal of security and joy, like a man
in a plain and open way, that is in no apprehension of
falling. The just understand this better by the practice
than by theory, as being sensible by their own experience,
and the alteration they find in their own hearts, of the
vast difference there is between the time they employed
in the service of the world ; and what they spend now in
the service of God ; for whilst they served in the world
they were on all occasions full of troubles, solicitudes,
jealousies, fears and narrowness of heart ; but now they
have forsaken the world, and fixed their affections on
K

206 the sinner's guide.
eternal goods, and placed all their happiness and confidence
in God, they are out of the reach of all these things, with
hearts so open, so free, and so resigned to the will of God,
that they are so often astonished at the change, and, can
not think themselves the same they were before, or at
least they imagine they have new hearts, because they
find such changes in them. And we may with,truth af
firm, that they are, and are not, the same persons, for
though they be the same in nature, they are not the same as
to grace, which works this change, though no man can be
assured of it.
9. This is what God himself promised by his prophet
Isaias, when he said : "When thou shall pass through the
waters I will be with thee, and the rivers shall not cover
thee : when thou shall walk in the fire, thou shall not be
burned, and the flames shall not burn in thee." Isa. xliii. 2-
Now what are these waters but the rivers of tribulations
we suffer in this life, and the deluge of innumerable mise
ries we meet with here every day ? And what is this fire
but the heat of our flesh, which is the fiery furnance of Ba
bylon, heated by Nabuchodonosor's servants, that is, by
the devils, from whence the flames of inordinate passions
and appetites are continually breaking out ? How can any
man live in the midst of this fire and water, which the
whole world is perpetually in danger of, without receiving
hurt, and not be sensible at the same time, that it was the
presence of the Holy Ghost, and the assistance of God's
grace, that preserved him ? This is the peace which, as
the Apostle says, exceeds all imagination, (Philip, iv. 6.)
because it is so noble, and so supernatural a gift of God,
that it is impossible for man's weak understanding to con
ceive of itself, by what means a heart of flesh should come
to enjoy such content, such quiet and such a calm, amidst
the storms and tempests of the world.
10. But he who enjoys this favour, acknowledges and
praises the author of these wonders, crying out with the
Prophet : " Come and see the works of the Lord, what
wonders he hath done upon earth, making war to cease
even to the end of the earth. He shall destroy the bow
and break the weapons, and the shield he shall burn in the
fire, saying : " Throw down your arms, and live in peace
and quiet, that so you may know that I am God, and will
be exalted in heaven and in earth." Ps. xiv. 9, &c. This

the sinner's guide. 207
being so, what can there be in the world more rich, more
delightful, and more desirable, than this rest, this repose,
this effusion and extension of heart, and this most happy
peace ?
11. But if you will go a little farther, and would know
from what cause this heaven gift proceeds, I answer, it
proceeds from all those other privileges and advantages of
virtue we have before mentioned ; for as, in the chain of
vice, the links are all one within another, so in the ladder
of virtue they have all a dependence on, and connection
with one another, in such a manner, that the highest, as it
produces most fruit, so it has most roots to spring from.
And thus this happy peace, which is one of the twelve
fruits of the Holy Ghost, takes its rise from those other
privileges we have before spoken of, but particularly from
virtue itself, whose inseparable companion it is. For as an
outward reverence is naturally due to virtue, so is an in
ward tranquillity, being at the same time its effect and its
reward. For since inward war, according to what we
have already said, is begun by the pride and disturbance
of the passions ; as soon as ever they are weakened by those
virtues, whose duty it is to subdue them, the very occa
sions of these tumults and seditions are removed. And
this is one of the three things, by means whereof we par
take of the happiness of the kingdom of heaven, even
here on earth. The Apostle, speaking of them, says : " The
kingdom of God is not meat and drink, but justice and
peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost." Rom. xiv. 17. Where
by justice, according to the hebrew way of speaking, is to
be understood, the very same virtue we are talking of; in
which, together with these two admirable fruits, peace and
joy in the Holy Ghost, consists the felicity, which virtuous
men enjoy by anticipation in this life. And to prove that
this peace is an effect of virtue, the Almighty himself says
expressly, by Isaias: " And the work of justice shall be
peace, and the service of justice quietness, and security
for ever ; and my people shall sit in the beauty of peace.
and in the tabernacles of confidence, and in wealthy rest."
Isa. xxxii. 17, 18. What he calls here silence, is nothing
else but this same inward peace ; that is, the repose of
the passions, which disturb the silence of the soul, by the
perpetual clamours of their irregular lusts.
12. The second cause this peace proceeds from is, the

208 the sinner's guide.
liberty of the soul, and the dominion it has over the pas
sions above spoken of. For just as when any country is
brought under a foreign subjection, as soon as ever the in
habitants surrender themselves, there is a general peace
immediately, and every one sits under his own fig-tree and
under his own vine, without any fear of the enemy : so
after the passions of the soul, which are the causes of all
its disquiets, are subjected to reason, there immediately
follows in the soul an inward silence and peace, which
makes it live free from all disturbances imaginable. So
that man being now free from their tyranny, and what is
more, keeping them in subjection to him, there is nothing
left to disturb the peace he enjoys, though, on the contrary,
whilst the passions had the rule and power, every thing was
tossed up and down, and the whole man in general confu
sion and disorder.
13. The third cause of this peace is the greatness of
these spiritual consolations, that lull asleep all the affec
tions of our appetites, which during that time are content
with what the superior part of the soul is pleased to give
them, because the concupiscible appetite, after having
tasted how sovereignly sweet and delightful God is, makes
him the object of all his wishes, and the irascible is quiet,
because its companion is satisfied ; and the whole man
enjoys an entire peace and happiness, on account of his
tasting the sovereign good.
14. In the fourth place, this peace proceeds from the testi
mony and inward joy of a good conscience, which makes the
soul of a just man easy and quiet, though it does not give
him any perfect assurance, for fear of making him negli
gent, and putting him in danger of losing that holy fear,
which puts him forward,
15. Lastly, this peace proceeds from the confidence just
men have in Almighty God. It is this, particularly, that
gives them the greatest joy and comfort imaginable, even
amidst the miseries of this life, because it is the very anchor
they trust to, that is to say, because they assure themselves,
thfit they have God for their father, their deliverer, their
defender, and their shield, under whose protection they live
to sing with the prophet : " I will lay me down and sleep in
peace, because thou, O Lord, hast secured me in a parti
cular manner, by the hope which I have in thy mercy."

the sinner's guide. 209
Ps. iv. It is from this hope, that the peace of the just
springs, and in this they find a remedy for all their evils.
How then can any man be troubled, who has so powerful
a protector as his God.

CHAPTER X.
Of the ninth privilege of Virtue, viz. that God hears the prayers
of the Just, and rejects those of the Wicked.
1. Another extraordinary privilege virtuous men enjoy
is, that God hears their prayers, which is a sovereign re
medy against all the necessities and miseries of this life.
To make this the plainer we are to understand, that there
have been two universal deluges in the world, the one ma
terial, the other spiritual, hut both of them caused by sin.
The material deluge, which happened in Noe's time, de
stroyed every thing in the world but the ark, and what
was within it, for every thing else was consumed by the
waters, so that all the labours and riches of mankind, to
gether with the whole earth itself, was swallowed up by
the sea. But the other deluge, which was before this, and
which arose from the first sin that was committed, was
much more terrible and much greater than this was, be
cause it was the ruin not only of those persons who were
alive at that time, but even of all ages past, present and to
come. Nor is the hurt it does to the body to be compared
with what it does to the soul, which it strips and robs of
those graces, that were bestowed on the whole world in
the person of our first parent, as we may see in an infant
newly born, who comes into the world as bare of all these
goods as it is of clothes to cover it.
2. From this first deluge flowed all those miseries and
wants this mortal life is exposed to, which are so many
and so great, that they have furnished a famous Pope and
Doctor with matter to compose a book solely on this sub
ject : Innocentius de Vilitate conditionis humanat. And
several eminent philosophers, considering on one side, the
excellence of man above all other creatures, and on the
other, the infinite number of miseries and vices he is sub
ject to, could not but wonder to see so much disorder in
the world, though they were not capable of finding out the
cause of all these miseries, which is nothing else but sin.
For they saw that man was the only creature in the world,

210 THE SINNER'S GUIDE.
that had such an infinite variety of carnal delights and
pleasures, that none but he was oppressed with avarice,
with ambition, an insatiable desire of life, care and solici
tude about a funeral, but most of all, with a concern for
that which must follow. They observed, that no other
creature had a more frail and uncertain life, than man has ;
that none had a more inflamed lust, none more subject to
fear, and that without any ground, nor any more cruelly
angry or enraged than he. They took notice, that other
creatures spent the greatest part of their lives without
sicknesses, or without being troubled with the physicians
and medicines. They saw them provided with all the ne
cessaries, without taking any pains or care. But as for un
happy miserable man, they saw him exposed to a thousand
sorts of infirmities, accidents, necessities, and misfortunes
and pains, not only of the body, but of the soul, and as
much disturbed at the miseries of his friends as at his own.
They saw him sorry for what was past, afflicted with the
present, and painfully solicitous about what was to come,
nay, very often toiling and sweating all his lifetime for the
poor sustenance of a little bread and water.
3. If we were to count all the miseries of human life
we should never have done. Holy Job says : " The life of
man upon earth is a perpetual warfare, and his days are
like the days of an hireling, that looketh for the end of his
work." Job vii. 1, 2. Several of the old philosophers had
such a lively sense of this truth, that some of them said,
that they could not tell whether to call nature a mother or
a step-mother, because she has subjected us to so many
miseries. Others again used to say, it were better never
to be born, or at least to die as soon as we are born : nay,
some of them have gone so far as to say, there are but few
persons, that would accept of life after having made an
experiment of it, that is, if it were possible to make a trial
of it beforehand.
4. since, therefore, life has been reduced to this miser
able condition by sin, and since we have lost our whole
stock and substance in this first deluge, what remedy can
we expect he has left us, who has punished us so severely?
If a man that is sick and wounded were to be at sea in a
great storm, and there lose all he is worth, what could he
look for afterwards, having lost both his goods and his
health, but beggary and want ? Every man must make

THE SINNERS GUIDE, 211
this case his own ; for since there is no one but hast lost all
he is worth in this universal deluge, and is left so poor and
naked, how can he help himself, but by crying like a poor
beggar at the gates of God for relief and assistance ? The
holy king Josaphat taught us this resource when he said :
" Since we do not know what we ought to do, we have
one remedy left us at least, which is to lift up our eyes, O
Lord, towards thee." 2 Paral. xx. 12. The good king
Ezechias has instructed us fully on the same point, when
he said: " In one day thou wilt put an end to my life, O
Lord; but as for me, I will cry like the young swallow,
and meditate like the dove." Isa. xxxviii. 13, 14. As if
he said, I am so poor, O Lord, and have such a dependence
on your mercy and providence, that I cannot give myself
any assurance of one day's life, and, therefore, all I have to
trust in is, to be always moaning before you like a dove,
and to cry out to you as the young swallow does to its dam.
Thus said the holy man, though he was a great king ; and
David, though much greater, made use of this same
remedy in all his necessities ; and, therefore, inspired by
the same spirit, and enlightened by the same knowledge
says: "I cried to the Lord with my voice; to God with my
voice, and he gave ear to me. In the day of my trouble I
sought God, with my hands lifted up to him in the night,
and I was not deceived. My soul refused to be comforted,
and my spirit swooned away," (Ps. lxxvi. 1, 2, 3,) that is
to say, when I look round about me, and see all the pas
sages of hope shut up, when nothing on earth can give me
any ease, I immediately seek for a remedy from heaven
by the help of prayer, which is the sovereign cure God
has given me for all my ills.
5. You will ask me, perhaps, whether this is a certain
and universal cure for all the necessities of life or not ?
This being a secret, which depends entirely on the will of
God, there is no one can answer it but those whom he has
made choice of to discover his will, which are the apostles
and prophets ; one of them says : " Neither is there any
other nation so great, that hath gods so nigh them, as
our God is present to all our petitions." Deut. iv. 7. They
are the words of God himself, though delivered by the
mouth of a man, and they assure us, with all the certainty
imaginable, that as often as we pray, though we see no
one, and though no one answers us, that we do not speak

212 the sinner's guide.
to the walls, or talk to the air, but that God is present
with us and hears all we say, that he assists us in our
prayers, that he pities our miseries, and prepares the
remedy we ask for, in case it be proper for us. What
greater comfort can a man have when he is at his prayers
than such a certain pledge of Almighty God's assistance?
And if this alone is sufficient to encourage and comfort
us, how much more will the words of our Saviour, and
those assurances he has given us in his gospel, when he
says : "Ask, and it shall be given you, seek and you shall
find, knock and it shall be opened to you." Matt, vii, 7.
Can we have a richer token than this? Can any man
doubt of the truth of these words? Who is there that as
often as he goes to his prayers, is not comforted with the
hope of this sacred promise ?
6. This, therefore, is one of the greatest privileges the
virtuous enjoy in this life, to know that these promises are
made particularly for them. For one of the greatest favours
God bestows on them, in reward for their obedience and
piety, is, that he will be near them and hear the prayers
they address to him. David assures us of it, when he
says, " The eyes of the Lord are upon the just, and his
ears are open to their prayers." Ps. xxxvi. And God him
self promises us the same by Isaias, saying : " Then," that is
to say, "when you shall have kept my commandments, thou
shalt call and the Lord shalt hear: thou shall cry, and he
shalt say, Here I am," (Is. lviii. 9,) that is, I am ready to
grant whatever you shall desire. Nay, more than this, he
promises them by the same prophet to hear them, not only
when they call on him, but even long before. And yet
after all, none of these promises come any (hing near that
which we read in St. John, where our Saviour says : " If
you abide in me, and my words abide in you, you shall
ask whatever you will, and it shall be done unto you."
John, xv. 7. But for fear this promise, as being so great,
should be more than any man could believe, he repeats it a
second time, and affirms it more positively, saying "Amen,
amen, I say to you, if you ask the Father any thing in my
name he will give it you." xvi. 24. Can there be any
greater favour, any greater riches, or any more sovereign
command than this is ? You shall ask me, says he, for
whatever you please, and it shall be granted you. Could
any expression better become the person that promises than

the sinner's guide. 213
this does ? Who but God could ever have made such a
promise ? Is there any one besides God, that is able to
do such great things as these are ? Or is there any one
but him, who has so much goodness as to oblige himself
to grant such favours ? What else is this but to make
man in some measure lord of all things, and to entrust
him with the keys of the divine treasuries ? All the other
favours of God, have their bounds set them, but this,
above all the rest, as being the royal gift of an infinite
Lord, carries some degree of infinity along with it. For
our Saviour does not determine either this or that, or any
particular thing, but whatever you ask (provided it be for
your eternal good) shall be granted you. Could men but
set a just value on things, and give them their true esti
mate how great a rate would they esteem this at ? How
happy would a man think himself to have so great an
interest with his king as to obtain his grant for every
thing he should desire ? Now if a man would look on it
as so great a happiness to be so much in favour with an
earthly king, what must he think it is to have so much
interest with the King of heaven ?
7- And that you may not think these are only bare pro
mises without performance, do but look into the lives of
the saints, and consider what great things they have done
by the virtue of prayer. What did Moses in Egypt, and
during all the time of his travels through the wilderness ?
What did not Elias and Eliseus his disciple ? What mi
racles were not wrought by the apostles, and all by prayer?
This was the weapon the saints fought with, with this
they overcome the devil, with this they triumphed over
the world, with this they subdued nature, with this they
turned the most violent flames into a gentle dew, with this,
in fine, they appeased and quieted the wrath of God, and
obtained of him whatever they asked. It is written of the
holy father Si . Dominick, that he told a certain friend of
his he was never in his life denied any thing he had begged
of the Almighty ; his friend desired him to pray, that one
Doctor Reginald, a man famous at that time, might become
a religious man of his order : the holy man spent the next
night in prayer for him, and the next day early in the
morning, as he was beginning the hymn of the first hour,
Jam lucis orto sidere, this new morning-star came into the
choir, and there prostrating himself at the saint's feet,
K. 2

214 the sinner's guide.
desired, with a deal of humanity, that he would give him
the habit of his order. This, therefore, is the reward that
is promised to the obedience of the just, and it is their
faithful observing the voice of God, that makes him in
some manner obedient to their prayers ; and because they
answer to the call of God, he pays them again, according
to the Proverb, in the same coin, by answering them when
ever they call on him. And for this reason Solomon says:
" That the obedient man shall speak of victory." Prov. xxi.
28. For it is but just, that God complies with the will
of man, when man complies with the will of God.
8. But it happens quite otherwise in the prayers of the
wicked : for the Almighty tells them by Isaias, " When
you stretch forth your hands, I will turn away my eyes
from you ; and when you multiply prayer, I will not
hear." Isa. i. 15. He threatens them in like manner by
his prophet Jeremias, saying, in the time of their afflic
tion they will say, arise, (O Lord,) and deliver us." And
he will ask them, " Where are the gods whom thou hast
made ? Let them arise and deliver thee in the time of
this affliction." Jer. ii. 27, 28. In the book of Job we
read these words : " What hopes can the hypocrite have
if through covetousness he takes by violence and God
delivers not his soul ? Will God hear his cry, when dis
tress shall come upon him ?" Job, xxvii. 8, 9. And St.
John in his Epistle says: "Dearly beloved, if our heart
do not reprehend us, we have confidence towards God,
and whatsoever we shall ask -we shall receive of him,
because we keep his commandments, and do those things
which are pleasing in his sight." John, iii. 21, 22. What
the holy Psalmist says is to the same effect ; " If I have
looked at iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear
me ; but because I have not done wickedly, therefore he
has heard my prayer." Ps. lxv. 18.
9. There are numberless examples of this sort in holy
writ, to show what vast difference there is between the
prayers of the just and those of the wicked, and con
sequently the extraordinary advantages which the one
have over the other ; because the just are heard and
dealt with as true children of God, whilst the wicked are
treated as enemies. And what wonder is it that their
prayers should not be heard since there are no good
works, no devotion, no fervour of spirit, no humility to

the sinner's guide. 215
accompany them ? For according to St. Cyprian : " It is
impossible that a petition should be efficacious when
prayer is barren." St. Bypr. Orat. Dominica. Though
this is generally true, the Almighty's goodness is yet so
great, that he sometimes vouchsafes to hear the prayers
of the wicked, which, notwithstanding their want of merit
do not cease to obtain their end ; because as St. Thomas
says : " Merit proceeds from charity, but the grant of the
petition comes from the infinite goodness and mercy of
God, who sometimes hears the prayers of such persons."
St. Thomas, 2. 2. q. 83. art. 15, 16.
CHAPTER XL
Of the tenth privilege of Virtue, which is the assistance good men
receive from God in their afflictions ; and of the impatience on
the contrary, with which the Wicked suffer their's.
1. Another extraordinary privilege granted to virtue
is, its encouraging its followers to bear up against the tri
bulations they cannot but meet with in this life. For we
know there is no sea so tempestuous and inconstant as this
life is. Because a man is never so secure of the felicity
he enjoys, as not to be exposed to an infinite number of
such accidents and misfortunes as he never thought of,
and which he is nevertheless every moment in danger of
falling into. It is therefore a matter of great consequence
to observe with what difference the wicked and the good
conduct themselves in all these changes ; for the good,
considering they have God for their father, that it is he
who sends them this cup as a portion prescribed them by
a most experienced physician for their cure, and tribula
tion is like a file which takes off the rust of sin the cleaner,
and polishes it the brighter the rougher it is ; they consider,
it is this affliction that makes man more humble in thoughts,
more devout in his prayers, and gives him a purer con
science. These considerations make them bow down their
heads, and humble themselves with cheerfulness in the time
of their tribulation ; they put water in the chalice of the
cross, or to speak plainer, the Almighty himself puts it in;
" For he," as the holy Psalmist says, " gives them tears to
drink by measure." And there is no physician so careful
in the mixture of his drugs, according to the constitution
of his patient, as this heavenly physician is, in the temper-

216 THE SINNER'S GUIDE.
ing of tribulations, which he sends the just, according to
the strength every one has to bear them : and if at any
time the burden should be encreased, he increases the
assistance he gives them for bearing it, that so the tribula
tion any man lies under may make him so much the richer,
as it is the more painful and troublesome ; nay, when his
afflictions are tempered thus, he is so far from endeavour
ing to get rid of them as (hings prejudicial, that he, on the
contrary, longs for them as advantageous and profitable.
So that by the help of all these considerations good men
often bear their necessities, not only with patience, but
with pleasure, because they look on the reward, and not
the labour, on the crown, and not the suffering, on the
health their physic will restore them to, and not on the
potion itself, not on the smart of the stroke, but on the
love of him that lays it on, who has already said : " that
he loves those that he chastises." Heb. iii.
2. To all these eonsiderations must be added the A'r
mighty's grace, which, as we have shewn already, is neve;\
wanting to a just man in the time of his tribulation. For
God being so true a friend to those who love him, he is
never nearer to them than when they are in affliction,
though he seems then to be farthest from them. If you
doubt of the truth hereof, do but look into the Holy
Scriptures, and you will see nothing so frequently repeated
or so often promised. Who does the Royal Prophet mean
but God, when he says : " that he is the helper in their
necessities and tribulation." Ps. ix. 10. Has not he
himself commanded all persons to call on him during the
time of their affliction, saying : " Call upon me in the day
of trouble and I will deliver thee, and thou shalt glorify
me ? Ps. xlix. 15. Has not the prophet testified this on
his own experience, when he says : " When I called, the
God of my justice heard me, when I was in distress, thou
hast enlarged me." Ps. iv. 1 . Is not this the Lord in whom
the prophet placed all his trust, saying : " I waited for
him that hath saved me from pusillanimity of spirit, and
a storm." Ps. liv. 9- It is certain, that he does not speak
here of any storm at sea, but of that storm, which the
heart of a negligent and weak man that is in tribulation
is tossed with, and the more a man's heart is confined, the
more boisterously this storm rages, which the prophet
often repeats, for the greater confirmation of this truth,

THE SINNER'S GUIDE. 217
and for the strengthening of our weakness. " The sal
vation of the just," says he, " comes from Ihe Lord, and
he is their protector in the time of trouble : and he will
help them and deliver them, and he will rescue them from
the wicked, and save them, because they have hoped in
him. Ps. xxxvi. 39, 40.
3. In another place the same prophet speaks yet plainer
thus : " How great, 0 Lord, and how many are the joys
thou hast hidden for them that fear thee, and put their
trust in thee in the presence of the children of men ?
Thou wilt hide them in the secret of thy face from the
disturbance of men : thou shalt protect them in thy
tabernacle from the contradiction of tongues. Blessed
be the Lord, who has showed his mercy towards me in so
wonderful a manner, by defending and securing me as if
I had been in a fortified town. But the afflictions which
I have been overwhelmed with, have made me cry out, O
Lord, I am turned out of thy sight." Ps. xxx. 20, 21, 22,
23. See here how plainly this holy prophet has taught us
hfw God assists the just in their most pressing necessities.
But you must here take particular notice of these words,
" Thou wilt hide them in the secret of thy face :" for by
this, according to a certain interpreter, we are given to un
derstand, that as the kings of the earth when they have a
mind to protect any person with a more than ordinary care,
keep him within their own palaces, that so not only the
royal walls may secure him from his enemies, but that the
king's continual presence, and the watchful eye he has over
him, may be his security, than which none can be greater:
in like manner, this sovereign King uses the same care for
the security of those he loves. In confirmation of this we
both see and read, that holy men, even in the midst of the
greatest dangers and temptations, still keep the same calm
ness and evenness of spirit as they had before, without
showing the least concern or trouble in their looks, because
they knew for certain, that he who protected them would
be so faithful as not to forsake them, nay, on the contrary,
that he would stand the nearer to them if he should see
them in any great danger. Just as he did to the three
young men whom Nabuchodonosor commanded to be flung
into the fiery furnace of Babylon. Dan. iii. For the
angel of the Lord was seen walking in the midst of them,
and changed the violent flames into a cool refreshing air.

218 THE sinner's guide.
At which the tyrant being astonished began to say, " Were
they not three men that we bound and flung into the
middle of the fire ? Behold I see four untied and walking
together without having received any hurt, and the fourth
of them is as beautiful as the Son of God." Ibid. Do you
not see now by this how certain it is, that Almighty God
is with the just, whenever they are in any tribulation ?
Nor is the care he took of young Joseph, after his brethren
had sold him, a less argument of this truth. For as we
may read in the Book of Wisdom : " He went down with
him into the prison, and never left him when he was in
his fetters, till he gave him the sceptre of Egypt, and
power over those persons who had oppressed him : and he
proved those to be liars that defamed him, and he gave
him eternal glory. Sap. x. 13, 14. These examples evince
the truth of God's promises made to us by the Psalmist,
when he says, " 1 am with him in tribulation ; I will
deliver him and I will glorify him." Ps. xc. 15. 0 how
truly happy must affliction be that makes us worthy of
the company of our God ! Let us all cry out with St.
Bernard, " If these are the effects of tribulations, grant,
O God, that I may never be free from them, that so you
may be always with me." Serm. 17, in Ps. xc.
4. Add to this, the relief and assistance of all virtues
which, upon such occasions, come in ready armed to suc
cour the afflicted heart. For whenever the soul is strait
ened, or in any kind of danger from tribulation, all the
virtues immediately run into her, and with what forces
they can make, just as the blood does towards the heart
whenever it is oppressed. In the first place comes faith,
with a certain knowledge of the happiness and miseries of
the next life, compared to which all we can possibly suffer
is but a mere trifle. Next comes hope, which makes man
bear all his troubles with patience, in expectation of the
reward that is to follow. After her comes charity, which
makes them even desire to be afflicted in this world, that
they may thereby express their affection for God. Then
follows obedience and conformity to the divine will, which
helps them to receive whatever God sends them, with
cheerfulness and without grumbling. Patience, repairs
thither, and it is her business to keep their shoulders up,
lest they should bend beneath the weight. Then humility
bows down their hearts, like young trees, by the stormy

THE sinner's guide. 219
wind of affliction, teaching them to humble themselves
under the powerful hand of God, and to acknowledge that
what they suffer is infinitely less than their sins deserve.
Another virtue that assists them is, the consideration of
what Jesus Christ suffered on the cross, and of what all
the saints have endured, which is far more severe and
painful than what they sustain.
5. Thus all virtues officiously assist us in such danger
ous encounters ; nor do they assist us in their service only,
but with their words, if I may be allowed to term it so.
For, first of all, faith tells us, " That the sufferings of this
time are not worthy to be compared with the glory to
come that shall be revealed in us." Rom. viii. 1 8. Cha
rity comforts us, saying, it is but reasonable we should
suffer something for his sake who had so much love for
us. Gratitude tells us with holy Job, " If we have re
ceived good things from the hand of God, why should we
not receive bad ones too?" Job, ii. 10. Penance says, it
is no more than justice that he who has done so much
against God's will should undergo something now against
his own. Loyalty says, that it is requisite we should,
once at least in our life, give some token of our fidelity
to him, who has been bestowing his favours on us ever
since we were born. Patience tells us, " That tribulation
worketh patience, and patience trial, and trial hope ; and
hope confoundeth not." Rom. v. 3, 4, 5. Obedience says,
the highest degree of sanctity a man can arrive to, and
the most pleasing sacrifice he can offer to God, is to con
form in all his sufferings to his will.
6. But that which of all these virtues helps us most on
such occasions, and which makes us most resolute in the
very midst of tribulation is, a lively hope. It is what St.
Paul himself teaches us, for he had no sooner said, "rejoic
ing in hope," than he adds, "being patient in tribulation."
He knew very well that one is the consequence of the
other, that is to say, that the strength we get by patience
proceeds from the joy hope gives us. For which reason the
apostle very elegantly calls this hope, " an anchor," (Heb.
vi. 19,) because this lively hope being fastened strongly to
the promises of heaven, it keeps the soul of the just man
firm and constant in the midst of the waves and storms of
this world, and makes it slight the violence of its winds
and tempests, just as an anchor, when it is stuck into the

220

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ground, makes the ship ride securely on the water, and
keeps it steady, though the winds and waves are continu
ally beating against it. This, they say, was the practice
of a certain saint, who, whenever he was in any kind of
affliction, used to say, " The happiness I hope for is so
great, that all I can suffer is delightful to me."
7. Thus it is that all virtues meet and agree together
for fortifying a just man's heart, whenever he is in any
tribulation. And if at any time he should lose courage,
they come up to him again with much more vigour, and
upbraid him after this manner: How now, what is become
of that lively faith and confidence you ought to have in
Almighty God, if you begin to shrink at the very time he
is going to make a trial of you, and to see what you are ?
Where is your charity, your courage, your obedience,
your patience, your loyalty, and the fervour of your hope ?
Is it for this you have so often prepared yourself, and
made so many resolutions ? Is this all you have desired
so earnestly of God, and prayed so often to him for?
Consider a little, that the duty and perfection of a good
christian does not consist in saying a few prayers, in fast
ing, in hearing of mass ; it is necessary besides all this,
that God should find you as faithful as another Job, or
Abraham, in the time of tribulation. Such considerations
as these, and the virtues a just man is endowed with, to
gether with the Almighty God's never-failing grace, make
him strong enough to bear those burthens, not only with
patience, but oftentimes with thankfulness and pleasure.
Holy Tobias's example will suffice at present to prove this :
we read of him, that God having permitted that he should
lose his sight, after having suffered many other afflictions,
for an example of patience to men in after ages, he was
not troubled at all, nor did he lose the least part of that
fidelity and obedience he paid to God before these misfor
tunes happened to him. Whereupon the scripture imme
diately gives the reason of it, saying : " He had always
feared God from his infancy, and kept his commandments,
he repined not against God, because the evil of blindness
had befallen him ; but he continued immoveable in the fear
of God, giving thanks to God all the days of his life."
Tob. ii. 13, 14. You see now by this, how plainly the
Holy Ghost attributes the patience, with which a man
suffers afflictions, to virtue and the fear of God, which, as

the sinner's guide. 221
the scripture has declared, this holy man was so renowned
for. I could bring several remarkable instances of holy
men and women, even in our days, who have undergone
all the troubles God has sent them with a deal of cheer
fulness and love, who have found out honey even in gall,
who in a storm had a calm, and have been refreshed and
cooled in the very midst of the flames of Babylon.
Section I. Of the impatience and rage of the Wicked in their
afflictions.
8. But, on the contrary, how dreadful a thing it is to
see the wicked in any trouble ! to see them without cha
rity, patience, courage, hope, or any such virtue! to see
how all their miseries come on them, unarmed and unpre
pared ? to see how blind they are, and unable to behold,
that which they just see by a steady faith ; to consider
they have no lively hope to embrace what God sends
them, nor have ever had any experience of his fatherly
providence towards those who serve him ? It is a lament
able thing to see how they are swallowed up in this gulf,
without finding any place to rest on, or to lay hold of.
What better hopes can a man have of them, than that they
should perish in the storm, or be killed in the battle, since
they have no kind of assistance to trust to : because they
sail without a rudder, and fight without weapons ? What
can a man expect, but that the fury of the winds, and the
tempest of their afflictions, should dash them against the
rocks of anger, pride, dejection, impatience, blasphemy
and despair ? Some there are, who, through the excess of
their miseries, have lost either their senses, their health,
or their life, or at least their sight, by their continual
tears. So that the just remain sound and entire in the fire
of adversity, like fine silver ; whilst the wicked, like lead,
melt and are dissolved as soon as they feel the heat.
Thus whilst the one cry, the others sing ; whilst the one
are sinking, the others pass over dry-shod ; the one, like
frail earthen vessels, crack in the fire, whilst the others,
like pure gold, are the more refined. So that " the voice
of rejoicing and of salvation is in the tabernacles of the
just," (Ps. cxvii. 15.) whilst there is nothing to be heard
in the habitations of the wicked, but the cries of sorrow
and confusion.
9. If you would more fully comprehend what I say, do

222 the sinner's guide.
but observe what extravagancies several females commit
on the death of their children or husbands, and you will
find some of them, out of madness, and rage, and the horror
they have of their life, precipitate their death ; others,
that soon end their days with impatience and fury, caused
by their grief; and thus a family is ruined and destroyed
in a moment. And what is worst of all, they are not only
in a passion with, and cruel to themselves, but pour out
horrible execrations against Almighty God, accusing his
providence, condemning his justice, blaspheming his mer
cy, and opening their sacrilegious mouths against heaven,
nay, against God himself, till at length all their curses fall
on their own heads, with many other calamities much more
dreadful, wherewith Almighty God, punishes them for such
horrible blasphemies. This is the reward he deserves, who
is so impudent as to spit at heaven itself, and to kick
against the spur. Sometimes this proves a complete cure,
wrought by the hand of God, who thus diverts their hearts
from some extraordinary afflictions, by sending them
others that are greater.
10. Thus, these miserable creatures, wanting the rudder
of virtue to steer their vessels, are cast away in the storm,
for blaspheming and cursing him, they ought to praise
and bless, for being puffed up with pride, when they ought
to humble themselves, for being stubborn when they are
chastised, and growing worse on those remedies which
were applied to make them better, which seems to be a
beginning of their hell, and a resemblance of what they are
to endure in the next world. For if hell be nothing but
a place of sin and punishment, why should we not look on
this state as an hell, since it has so great a share of both.
1 1 . But what a pity that still these troubles must be en
dured, and that if they were borne with patience, they
would become more tolerable, and at the same time more
meritorious ; and yet, in spite of all this, wretched man is
resolved to deprive himself of the inestimable fruit of pa
tience, and to increase the weight of his burden, by
adding the burden of impatience, which alone is much
heavier than all the rest of the load. It is a great trouble
to labour and toil, to receive no reward, nor know whose
account to place it to ; but it is much worse to lose all that
is got, and after travelling all night, to be further from the
journey's end in the morning.

THE SINNER'S GUIDE. 223
12. By what has been said, we may perceive the dif
ference there is between the use the good and the bad
make of their afflictions. With what peace, what joy, and
what courage do the good bear their's, whilst the wicked
are quite overwhelmed with grief and trouble ? This was
represented to the life, by the great lamentations and
complaints which were heard throughout the land of
Egypt, when God destroyed all their first born in one
night, (Exod. xii.) for there was not a house free from grief
and sorrow ; and yet there was no cry heard in the land
of Jessen, where the children of Israel lived.
13. Besides this peace, what shall I say of the advan
tages the just make of tribulations, which are so prejudicial
to the wicked ? St. Chrysostom says, " that as gold is re
fined by the same fire which consumes wood, so the just
man, like gold, becomes more pure in the fire of tribulation,
whilst the wicked, like dry wood, is burned to ashes." St.
Chrysostom, 1 4, in Matt. 1 . St. Cyprian has something to
the same purpose : he says, " that as the wind in harvest
time blows away the light chaff, but cleanses the corn, so
the wind of tribulation blows away the wicked like light
straw, but purges the just, and gathers them together like
good wheat." Cypr. de unitate Ecclesia?. The same is re
presented to us by the waters of the Red Sea, which were
so far from drowning the children of Israel, as they passed
through them, that on the contrary, they served them for
a wall on the right hand and on the left : whereas they
broke down on, and drowned the Egyptian chariots and
all Pharao's army. The waters of tribulation, after the
same manner, are a greater security to virtuous men, and
serve as the preservative and trial of their humility and
patience ; but are like a tempestuous sea to the wicked,
which drowns and buries them in the abyss of impatience,
blasphemy and despair.
14. This, therefore, is another very considerable advan
tage virtue has over vice ; and it was on this account that
the philosophers extolled philosophy so much, imagining
that the making of a man constant and resolute in all kind
of adversities belonged to it. But they deceived them
selves in this point, as they did in many others, for neither
true virtue, nor true resolution and constancy, are to be
found among the philosophers, but in the school of that

224 the sinner's guide.
Master, who, being nailed to a cross, comforted us by his
example, and reigning now in heaven strengthens us by his
spirit, and encourages us with the hopes of the glory he has
promised us; of all which, human philosophy is incapable.
CHAPTER XII.
The eleventh privilege of Virtue, which consists in the care God
takes to supply the temporal necessities of the Just.
1. Ale we have hitherto treated of are the spiritual fa
vours which are bestowed on the followers of virtue in this
life, besides the everlasting glory which is laid up for them
in the next. These benefits were all promised them at our
Saviour's coming into the world, as all the prophesies in
the holy scriptures testify ; for which reason he is justly
stiled the Saviour of the World, because it is by him we
obtain true salvation, which is, grace, wisdom, peace, vic
tory, and dominion over our passions, the consolations of
the Holy Ghost, the riches of hope, and in fine, all other
benefits requisite for obtaining this salvation, of which the
Prophet has said, " Israel has been saved by the Lord with
an eternal salvation." Isa. xiv.
But, if there be any person so carnal as to have a
greater love for the goods of the flesh, than for those of
the spirit, as the Jews had, we will not differ on this ac
count, for he shall herein find more satisfaction as to this
part, than he can ppssiby wish. For what else could the
wise man mean, when speaking of true wisdom, in which
the perfection of virtue consists, he says, " Length of days
is in her right hand, and in her left hand riches and glory."
Prov. iii. 16. So that she holds these two sorts of goods
in her hands, inviting men with one of them to the enjoy
ment of eternal blessings, and with the other to search after
temporal. Do not imagine that God starves thosewho serve
him, or that he is so careless as to feed the very ant, and
worms of the earth, and suffer them to want. If you will
not believe me, read the sixth chapter of St. Matthew, and
there you will see what earnest and security he has given
you. Behold the birds of the air, (says our Saviour) for
they neither sow, nor do they reap, nor gather into barns,
and your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are not you of
much more value than they ?" Matt. vi. 26. A little after

the sinner's guide. 225
he concludes thus: " Do not therefore be solicitous, say
ing, what shall we eat or what shall we drink, or what
clothes shall we put on ? for the heathens trouble them
selves about all these things. Do you therefore seek first
the kingdom of God, and these things shall be added unto
you." It is for this reason particularly that the holy
Psalmist, observing that this alone was a sufficient motive
to make men submit to one another, invites us to serve
God, saying, " Fear the Lord, all ye his saints ; for there
is no want to them that fear him. The rich have wanted
and have suffered hunger, but they that seek the Lord
shall not be deprived of any good. Ps. xxxiii. 10, 11.
This is so certain, that the same Prophet adds in another
Psalm, " I have been young, and now am old ; and I have
not seen the just forsaken, nor his seed seeking bread."
Ps. xxxvi. 25.
2. If you would be better informed of the share the
just have in this promise, hear what God himself says, in
the book of Deuteronomy, (ch. xxviii,l — 12,) to those that
keep his commandments, " If thou will hear the voice of
the Lord thy God, to do and keep all his commandments,
which I command thee this day, the Lord thy God will
make thee higher than all the nations that are on the earth.
And all these blessings shall come upon thee and overtake
thee ; yet so if thou hear his precepts. Blessed shalt thou
be in the city, and blessed in the field. Blessed shall be
the fruit of thy womb, and the fruit of thy ground, and
the fruit of thy cattle, the droves of thy herds, and the
folds of thy sheep. Blessed shall be thy barns, and blessed
thy stores. Blessed shalt thou be coming in and going out,
The Lord shall cause thy enemies that rise up against thee
to fall down before thy face ; one way shall they come out
against thee, and seven ways shall they flee before thee.
The Lord will send forth a blessing upon thy storehouses,
and upon all the works of thy hands: and will bless thee
in the land that thou shalt receive. The Lord will raise
thee up to be a holy people to himself, as he swore to thee,
if thou keep the commandments of the Lord thy God, and
walk in his ways. And all the people of the earth shall
see that the name of the Lord is invocated upon thee, and
they shall fear thee. The Lord will make thee abound
with all goods, with the fruit of thy womb, and the fruit
of thy cattle, with the fruit of thy land, which the Lord

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swore to the fathers that he would give thee. The Lord
will open his excellent treasure, the heaven, that it may
give rain in due season : and he will bless all the works
of thy hands." These are the words of God himself,
delivered by his Prophet. Tell me now, after all this, are
the treasures of both the Indies to be compared with such
infinite blessings as these are ?
3. But suppose the promise of temporal blessings was
made to the Jews, rather than christians, because the Al
mighty, by Ezekiel, (ch. xxxiv. xxxvi.) promises to enrich
these with other kind of goods of greater value, to wit,
those of grace and glory; yet as God in the carnal law did
not cease to give spiritual goods to those Jews that were
virtuous, so neither will he refuse to give temporal bless
ings to good christians in the spiritual law, and that with
the addition of two extraordinary advantages, of which the
wicked have not the least knowledge. The one is, that
he gives them these sort of blessings like an experienced
physician, according to their several necessities, that they
may serve to support and not to puff them up. The wicked
know nothing at all of this, for they heap up all they can,
without considering that superfluity of temporal goods is
no less prejudicial to the welfare of our soul, than super
fluity of meats is to the health of the body. For, though
a man cannot naturally live without eating, yet to eat too
much impairs the health, and though man's life is in his
blood, yet too much of it quite choaks him up. The other
advantage is, that with less noise he gives them much more
content and satisfaction, which is the end of men's seeking
after temporal riches, than the others can purchase with
all their labour ; because whatsoever God can do by the
means of second causes, he can do by himself much more
perfectly. It is what he has done to all the saints, in whose
name St. Paul spoke, when he said, "As having nothing,
and possessing all things," (2 Cor. vi. 10.) because we are
as content with the little we have, as if we were lords of
all the world. Travellers endeavour to carry what money
they have in gold, because they can carry much more, and
with less burden ; so the Almighty provides for those who
love him, by giving them a lighter burden, but much more
of joy, ease and satisfaction. Thus the just travel in this
life naked and contented, poor and rich, whilst the wicked
wallow in their riches, and yet die for hunger. And though,

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like Tantalus, they are up to their very chin in water, yet
they cannot quench their thirst.
4. For this and such like reasons Moses so earnestly
recommended the keeping of the law of God, desiring it
should be our whole study and care, as well knowing that
all happiness consists in the fulfilling thereof. " Lay up
these words of mine," says he, " in thy heart ; teach them
to thy children, and meditate upon them as thou sittest in
thy house, and as thou art upon journies, when thou goest
to bed, and when thou risest again. And thou shalt bind
them as a sign on thy hand, and keep them always before
thy eyes, and write them over thy porch, and over the
doors of thy house, that by this means the days may be
multiplied, and those of thy posterity, in the land which
God shall give thee." Deut. vi. 6, 7, 8, &c. What was it,
0 holy prophet, that you saw, what did you find in the
keeping of God's commandments, that should make you
recommend them so earnestly to others ? You, without
doubt, understood the inestimable value of this good, as
being so great a prophet, and privy to the divine counsels :
you knew that all kinds of goods whatever, present and to
come, temporal and eternal, spiritual and corporal, were
contained in and depended on this, and that if we complied
with this obligation, we should satisfy all the rest : you
knew very well that he, who made it his business to do
the will of God, should never lose his labour, because the
doing of this was pruning his vine, watering his garden,
increasing his estate, and looking after all his affairs, much
better than he could do it himself, because it laid an ob
ligation on God to do it for him. For the condition of the
treaty, which God has made with man is, that whilst man
is busy about keeping God's law, God should be busy
about looking after man's concerns. And there is no fear
of the contract being broken on God's side. On the con
trary, if man prove a faithful servant, God will still show
himself a better master. This is that one thing, which our
Saviour said was necessary, to wit, the knowing and the
loving of God. For he that knows how to please God, is
secure of all the rest. " Piety," says St. Paul, " is profit
able for all things, because all the promises both of this life
and the life to come are for it." Tim. iv. 8. You see here
how plainly the Apostle promises to piety, which is the
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228 the sinner's guide.
of this life too, as far as they contribute to the gaining of
eternal happiness, and yet man is not excused on this ac
count from labour, or from complying with the obligations
of his state or calling as far as he is able.
Section I. Of the poverty of the wicked.
5. If any one desires to know what poverty, what afflic
tions and calamities are laid up for the wicked., let him but
read the twenty-eight chapter of Deuteronomy, and he will
there see such things as will astonish and affright him :
where amongst, many other dreadful threats, Moses deli
vers these most terrifying words from the mouth of God:
" If thou wilt not hear the voice of the Lord thy God, to
keep, and to do all his commandments and ceremonies,
which I have commanded thee this day, all these curses
shall come upon thee, and overtake thee. Cursed shalt
thou be in the city, cursed in the field. Cursed shall be
thy barn, and cursed thy stores. Cursed shall be the fruit
of thy womb, and the fruit of thy ground, the herds of thy
oxen, and the flocks of thy sheep. Cursed shalt thou be
coming in, and cursed going out. The Lord shall send
upon thee famine and hunger, and a rebuke upon all the
works which thou shalt do : until he consume and destroy
thee quickly, for thy most wickedinventions, by which thou
hast forsaken me. May the Lord set the pestilence upon
thee, until he consume thee out of the land which thou
shall go in to possess. May the Lord afflict thee with
miserable want, with the fever and with cold, with burning
and with heat, and with corrupted air, and with blasting,
and pursue thee till thou ^perish. Be the heaven, that is
over thee, of brass ; and the ground thou treadest on, of
iron. The Lord give thee dust for rain upon thy land, and
let ashes come down from heaven upon thee, till thou be
consumed. The Lord make thee to fall down before thy
enemies ; one way mayest thou go out against them, and
flee seven ways, and be scattered throughout all the king
doms of the earth. And be thy carcass meat for all the fowls
of the air, and the beasts of the earth, and be there noDe
to drive them away. The Lord strike thee with the ulcer
of Egypt, and the part of thy body, by which the dung is
cast out, with the scab and with the itch; so that thou canst
not be healed. The Lord strike thee with madness, and
blindness, and fury of mind, and mayest thou grope at

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mid-day as the blind is wont to grope in the dark, and not
make' straight thy ways. And mayest thou at all times
suffer wrong, and be oppressed with violence, and mayest
thou have no 6ne to deliver thee. Mayest thou take a wife,
and another sleep with her. Mayest thou build a house,
and not dwell therein. Mayest thou plant a vineyard, and
not gather the vintage thereof May thy ox be slain before
thee, and thou not eat thereof. May thy ass be taken away
in thy sight, and not restored to, thee. May the sheep be
given to thy enemies, and may there be none to help thee.
May thy sons and thy daughters be given to another
people, thy eyes looking on, and languishing at the sight
of them all the day, and may there be no strength in thy
hand. May a people, which thou knowest not, eat the fruits
of thy land, and all thy labours; and mayest thou always
suffer oppression, and be crushed at all times, and be
astonished at the terror of those things which thy eyes
shall see. May the Lord strike thee with a very sore ulcer
in the knees and in the legs, and thou be incurable from the
sole of thy foot to the top of thy head. The Lord shall
bring thee, and thy king, whom thou shalt have appointed
over thee, into a nation which thou and thy fathers know
not ; and there thou shalt serve strange gods, wood and
stone. And thou shalt be lost as a proverb and a by-word
to all people among whom the Lord shall bring thee in."
Deut. xxviii. 35 — 37. In fine, after a great many other
curses, and those very dreadful ones, he acids farther: "All
these curses shall come upon thee, and shall pursue and
overtake thee till thou perish : because thou heardst not the
voice of the Lord thy God, and didst not keep his com
mandments and ceremonies which he commanded thee.
And they shall be as signs and wonders on thee, and on
thy seed for ever. Because thou didst not serve the Lord
thy God with joy and gladness of heart, for the abundance
of all things. Thou shalt serve thy enemy, whom the
Lord will send upon thee, in hunger, and thirst, and na
kedness, and in want of all things ; and he shall put an
iron yoke upon thy neck, till he consume thee. The Lord
will bring upon thee a nation from afar, and from the utter
most ends of the earth like an eagle that flieth swiftly, whose
tongue thou canst not understand : a most insolent nation,
that will show no regard to the ancient, nor have pity on
the infant, and will devour the fruit of thy cattle, and the
I.

230 THE sinner's guide.
fruits of thy land, until thou be destroyed, and will leave
thee no wheat, nor wine, nor oil, nor herds of oxen, nor
flocks of sheep : until he destroy thee, and consume thee
in all thy cities, and thy strong and high walls be brought
down, wherein thou trustedst in all thy land. Thou shalt
be besieged within thy gates, in all thy land, which the
Lord thy God will give thee ; and thou shalt eat the fruit
of thy womb, and the flesh of thy sons and of thy daughters,
which the Lord thy God shall give thee, in the distress and
extremity wherewith thy enemy shall oppress thee." Ibid.
ver. 45 — 53. These threats and curses are all taken out
of the holy scriptures, where you may find many more
which I here omit to relate ; but whoever reads them with
attention, he will meet with such dreadful things as cannot
but astonish him. Then, perhaps, he will open his eyes,
and begin to have some knowledge of the rigour of God's,
justice and of the malice of sin, together with the extreme
hatred he bears it, as appears by the terrible punishments
he inflicts on it in this life, by which men may conjecture
what a sinner may expect in the next. Besides he will
pity the insensibility and misery of the wicked, who are
so blind as not to see the dreadful, punishments that are
reserved for them.
6. Do not persuade yourself, that these threats are only
empty words, but consider that they are rather a prophecy
of those misfortunes, which have since happened to that
people : for during the reign of Acham, king of Israel, the
king of Syria's army having besieged them in Samaria, we
read that men were forced to eat pigeon's dung, which was
sold at a great price. Nay, they were reduced at last to
such extremities, that mothers devoured their own children.
4 Kings vi. And Josephus tells us they were brought to
the same misery again in the siege of Jerusalem. Jos. L. 7-
There is scarce any body but has heard of the captivity
of this people, with the utter subversion of the whole
kingdom ; for ten tribes of them were carried away into
perpetual captivity by the king of Assyria, and never
returned home again ; and the two which remained, were
quite destroyed a great while after by the Roman army,
who took many of them prisoners ; but the number of
these that were slain or died during the siege was far
greater according to the relation of the same historian.
7. Let no man deceive himself by imagining, that all

the sinner's guide. 231
these calamities concerned none but the people ; for they
belonged to all those in general, who professing to serve
God, nevertheless contemn and violate his law ; it is what
he himself assures us of by his prophet Amos, saying :
" Was it not I that brought the children of Israel out of
the land of Egypt, and the Palestines out of Cappadocia,
and the Syrians out of Cyrene ? Behold the eyes of the
Lord God upon the sinful kingdom, and I will destroy it
from the face of the earth." Amos ix. 7, 8. By this he
gives us to understand, that all these changes of the king
doms and states, as the destroying of some and the estab
lishing of others, are the effects of sin. And if any one
doubts whether this concerns us or no, let him search
into the histories of past ages, and he'will find, that God
Almighty deals after the same manner with all the wicked,
but particularly with those who have known the true law,
and yet have not observed it. He will there see that a
great part of Europe, Africa and Asia, which was for
merly full of christian churches, is now in the hands of
heathens and barbarians ; he will see what calamities the
church has suffered from the Goths, the Huns, and the
Vandals, who in St. Augustine's time laid all the countries
of Africa waste, sparing neither man, woman, nor child,
old or young. And at the same time, all the country of
Dalmatia and the neighbouring towns were so ruined by
those barbarians, that, as St. Jerome, who himself was of
that country, says: "Whosoever passed through it could
see nothing but heaven and earth, so universal was the
desolation." S. Hier. in c. 1. Sophon. All this serve to
inform us, that virtue and true devotion not only assists
us, in order to obtain the eternal goods, but also to settle
us in the possession of the temporal. Wherefore, let the
consideration of this, and all those other advantages
virtue has, serve to make an impression on our hearts,
and excite them to the love of that which delivers us
from so great evils, and procures us such mighty benefits.
CHAPTER XIII.
The twelfth privilege of Virtue, which is the quiet and happy
death of the Virtuous : and on the contrary, the deplorable end
of the Wicked.
1. Add to these privileges, the glorious death of good
men, to which all the others are directed. For if, as we

232 the sinner's guide.
commonly say, it is the end that crowns the work, what
can better deserve a crown, or what can be more glorious
than the end of good men, and what more miserable than
that of. the wicked ? " The death of the saints, (says the
Psalmist,) is precious in the sight of the Lord, but the
death of the wicked is very evil," (Ps. cxv. 1 5, xxxiii. 22.)
because it is the greatest of all miseries either of the body
or soul. And, therefore, St. Bernard writing upon these
words, the death of the wicked is very evil, says : " That
first of all it is bad, because it takes them away from the
world; worse yet, because it separates the soul from the
body ; but worst of all, because of those two eternal tor
ments, fire everlasting, and the worm that never dies, which
immediately follow it." S. Bern. Serm. inter parvos. It
cannot but be a great affliction to such persons to leave
the world, a much greater to forsake their own flesh, but
the greatest of all, will be hell torments, which they are to
be for ever condemned to. These, therefore, and several
other miseries put together, will disturb the wicked at this
time ; because then they will first be sensible of the symp
toms and accidents of their distemper, the racking pains
they endure all over their bodies, the frights and terrors
of their souls, the anguish their present condition causes,
their apprehensions of what must follow, the remembrance
of what is past, the reflection on the accounts they are
going to give in, the dread they have of the sentence to be
passed against them, the horror of the grave, their being
separated from all they had an inordinate affection for,
that is, from their riches, their friends, their wives, their
children, nay from the very light and common air, which
they enjoy, and even from life itself. The greater love
they have had for any of these things, the more unwilling
will they be to leave it : for, according to the great St.
Augustine, " What we possess with love, we can never
lose without grief." De Civit. Dei. Conformable to which
was this saying of a philosopher : " The fewer pleasures
a man has enjoyed, the less he is afraid of death."
2. But the greatest torment they suffer at this time, is
that of an evil conscience, with the consideration and dread
of those pains, which are prepared for them ; because man
being then alarmed at the approach of death, begins to
open his eyes, and to consider what he never thought of
in all his life before. Eusebius Emissenus gives us a very

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good reason for this in one of his Homilies, where he
says : "Because at this time man lays aside all the solici
tude with which he used to seek for and procure all that
is necessary for life, and does not trouble his head any
more, either about working orfighting, or any other employ
whatever, it follows from hence, that the soul being free
from everything else, thinks of nothing but the account
she must make, and all her powers are overcharged with
the weight of the divine justice and of God Almighty's
judgments. Man, therefore, lying in this miserable con
dition, with life behind his back and death before his eyes,
he easily forgets the present, which he is going to leave,
and begins to think of the future, which he is in continual
expectation of. There he sees that his pleasures and de
lights are now at an end, and that he has nothing left him
but his sins to appear against him, before the tribunal of
God." S. Euseb. flomil. 1. 2d Monachos. The same doctor
discoursing again upon this subject in another Homily,
says : " Let us consider what complaints a negligent soul
will make at its departure out of this life, what tribulation
and anguish will she be filled with ? What clouds and
darkness will she lie under, when among those enemies
that surround her, she shall see her own conscience, at
tended by a multitude of sins, the forwardest to appear
against her ? For she alone, without any other witness,
will appear before us, to convince us by her evidence, and
confound us by her knowledge. It will be impossible to
hide any thing from her, or to deny any thing she shall
charge us with, since there will be no need of going any
farther than ourselves for a witness."
3. Peter Damianus handles this matter much better and
more at large, Pet. Damian. c. 6. in Institut. Moniol. ad
Blancam Commitissam. " Let us consider (says he,) with
attention, what dreadful fears and apprehensions the soul
of a sinner will be oppressed with, when she is on the
point of leaving the prison of the flesh, and how the stings
of a guilty conscience will prick and torment her. Then
she calls to mind the sins she has committed, and sees how
she has despised and broken the commandments of God ;
then she is troubled to have lost so much time, in which
she might have done penance, and with affliction sees
that the accounts she must unavoidably give, arid the
time of divine vengeance is just at hand. She would will-

234

THE SINNER S GUIDE.

ingly stay, but is forced to go ; she would fain recover
what she has lost, but cannot obtain leave to do it. If she
casts her eyes behind her, and considers the whole course
of her life, it seems no more to her than a short moment :
if she' looks forward, she sees there the space of an infinite
eternity, that expects her. She weeps when she considers
the everlasting happiness she has lost, which she might
have gained in the short time of this life ; and to be de
prived of this unspeakable sweetness of eternal delight
for a fleeting carnal satisfaction, is a greater affliction to
her. She is filled with confusion to consider, that for the
pleasing this miserable body, which must be the food of
worms, she has neglected herself, who ought to have taken
her place amongst the choirs of angels. When she reflects
upon the brightness and glory of immortal riches, she is
ashamed to see herself deprived of them, for having sought
after such as were base and perishable. But when she
has done looking upward, and cast her eyes down upon
the dark and frightful valley of this world, and at the
same time sees the glory of the eternal light above her,
she is fully convinced, that all she loved in this world was
nothing but night and darkness. 0 ! if she could but
then obtain a little time to do penance in, what austeri
ties and mortifications would she not undergo ? What is
it she would not do ? What vows would she not make,
and what prayers would she not be continually offering
up ? But whilst man is revolving these things in his
mind, behold the messenger and forerunners of death are
just at hand, his eyes become dark and hollow, his breast
heaves, his voice grows hoarse, he rattles in his throat,
his limbs wax cold, his teeth turn black, he foams at the
mouth, and his face grows wan and pale ; whilst these
things which serve as so many preparatives to approach
ing death, orderly fall out, the miserable soul sees before
her all the works, words and thoughts of her late wicked
life, which give a lamentable testimony against her, as
being the author of them all : and though she would
willingly turn her eyes away from them, she cannot, but is
forced to see them. Let us add to all this, the horrible
presence of the devils on the one side, and that of virtue
and of the blessed angels on the other : and we may soon
guess which of the two parties this prey is like to fall to ;
because if the dying man carries any works of piety and

the sinner's guide. 235
virtue with him, he is immediately comforted by the
invitations and caresses of the angels ; but if the foulness
of his sins, and of his wicked life past, require that he
should be treated in another manner, immediately he
trembles every joint of him, from fear he falls into de
spair ; and in this condition is snatched, rent, and torn
away from this miserable flesh, and thrown headlong into
everlasting torments." Thus far Peter Damianus.
4. If all this be true, and must happen accordingly,
what need any more, if a man has not lost his senses to
make him see how miserable the condition of the wicked
is, and how carefully to be avoided, since their end is like
to be so wretched and deplorable.
5. If the goods of this world could do any service at
that time, as they do all the other part of life, their misery
would be much easier, but there is none of them that
give the least assistance. For neither can" honours profit
a man, nor friends help him ; he can have no servants to
attend him ; he must expect no favour, because of his
quality, no succour from his estate, nor any service from
anything whatever, but from virtue and innocence of life.
For as the wise man says, Riches shall not profit in the day
of vengeance, but justice alone, that is, virtue will deliver
from death. Prov. xi. How, therefore, can the wicked
man, finding himself so poor and destitute of all kind of
help, forbear trembling to see himself thus forsaken and
neglected at the judgment-seat of Almighty God ?
Section I. Of the death of the Just.
6. But on the contrary, how secure are the just against
all these miseries when they come to die ? For as the
wicked at this time receive the punishment of their sins,
the just receive the reward of their deserts, according to
Ecclesiasticus, who says : It shall be well with him that
feareth the Lord, and in the days of his end he shall be blessed,
(Eccles. i. 19,) that is, he shall have the rich reward of
his labours. St. John in his Revelation, declares the same
thing to us more expressly, when he tells us, That he heard
a voice from heaven which commanded him to write, (and the
words which it dictated were these :) Blessed are the dead
who die in the Lord, because the Holy Ghost tells them the time
is come that they shall rest from their labours, for their works
follow them. Apoc. xiv. 13. How is it possible then for a

236 the sinner's guide.
just man, that has received such a promise as this from
the Almighty God himself to be frightened at the hour
of his death, when he sees himself just. on the point of
receiving what he has been labouring for all his lifetime?
For this reason, one of holy Job's pretended friends tells
him, If thou wilt put away from thee the iniquity that is in
thy hand, and let not injustice remain in thy tabernacle, and
brightness like that of the noon day shall arise to thee at even
ing ; and when thou shall think thyself consumed thou shalt
arise as the day star. Job xi. 14, 17- St. Gregory, writing
upon these words, says : that " The reason why this
morning-brightness shines upon the just in the evening,
is, because he perceives some glimmerings at the hour of
his death of that glory which God has prepared for him ;
and, therefore, when others are the most dejected, he is
then most cheerful." St. Greg. 10. Moral, c. 1. Solomon,
in his Proverbs, testifies the same, when he says : The
wicked man shall be driven out in his wickedness, but the just
hath hope in his death. Prov. xiv. 32.
7- To prove this by an example ; could any man have
better hopes, or more courage, than the glorious St. Martin
had on his death-bed, who, seeing the devil by him, asked
him, " What dost thou do here, cruel beast ; thou shalt
find no mortal sin in me to glut thyself with, and there
fore, I shall be received into Abraham's bosom in peace."
Again, what greater confidence can be, than that St.
Dominick had, when he was in the same circumstances ?
for seeing the religious brothers all about him, bemoan
ing themselves for his departure, and the want they should
find in the loss of him, he comforted them with these
words : " Let nothing trouble or afflict you, children, for
I shall do you much more service where I am going, than
I should be able to do you here." How can a man lose
courage in this combat, or be afraid of death, who looked
on eternal glory to be so much his own, as to be in hopes of
obtaining it, not only for himself, but for his children too?
8. It is on this account the just have so little reason to
be afraid of death, that they praise God when they are
dying, and thank him for having brought them to their
end, looking on death as a cessation from their labours,
and the beginning of their happiness and glory. Whereon
St. Augustine, on St. John's Epistle, says : " It is not to
be said of him that dies in peace, but of him that lives in

[the sinner's guide. 237
peace, and dies with joy, that he desires to be dissolved
and be with Christ." St. Aug. 9- in Ep. Joan. Thus we
see the just man has no reason to be troubled at death,
but we may with justice say of him, that, like the swan,
he goes singing out of the world, praising and glorifying
God for calling him to himself. He is not afraid of death,
because he has feared God, and whosoever has done that,
has nothing else to be afraid of. He is not aff aid of death,
because he has been afraid of life ; the fear a man has of
death, being only the effects of a bad life. He is not
afraid of death, because he has spent all his life in learn
ing how to die, and in preparing himself against death ;
and he that stands always on his guard has no need to
fear his enemies. He is not afraid of death, because the
whole employment of his life has been to seek after those
that might assist and stand by him at this hour, that is,
virtue and good works. He is not afraid of death, be
cause the many services he has done his judge, will make
him kind and favourable at that time. He is not, in fine,
afraid of death, because death is no death, but only a
slumber to a just man ; it is no death, it is but a change :
it is no death, it is but the last day of his toils and
labours ; it is no death, but only the way that leads to
life, and the step by which he must mount to immorta
lity ; for he knows that when death has passed through
the veins of life, it loses the bitterness it had before, and
takes up the sweetness of life.
9. Nor can any other of those accidents which usually
happen at this time terrify him ; for he knows they are
nothing but child-bed pangs, which gave him birth to that
eternity, that love of which has made him continually long
for death, and suffer life, with patience. He is not fright
ened with the remembrance of his sins, because he has
Jesus Christ for his Redeemer, whom he has always been
acceptable to ; nor does the rigour of God's judgments
dishearten him, because his Reedeemer is his advocate ;
neither does he shrink at the sight of the devils, because
Jesus Christ is his captain; nor can the horror of the grave
make any impression upon him, because he knows " that
he must sow a fleshly and corruptible body in the earth,
that it may afterwards spring up incorruptible and spiri
tual." 1. Cor. xv. If it be true that the end crowns the
work ; and if, as Seneca says : " we must judge of all the
l 2

238 the sinner's guide.
rest by the last day, and accordingly pass sentence on the
whole life past, because all that is past is condemned or
justified by it." Senec. Ep. 12. And if the death of good
men be so peaceable and quiet, and that of the wicked,
on the contrary, so disturbed and painful, what need have
we of any other motive, than barely this difference, which
is between the death of the one and of 'the other, make
us resolve against a bad life, and to commence a good
one? 10. Where is the benefit of all these pleasures, all this
prosperity, and all these riches, all the titles and honours
in the world, if after all I should be plunged headlong
into hell-fire ? And, on the other side, what hurt can all
the miseries of this life do me, if by means of them I can
make an happy end, and bring with me the pledges of
eternal glory. Let the wicked man manage his point in
the world with as much cunning as he pleases, what will
he get by all his craft, but just to know how to acquire
such things as will serve to make him more proud, more
vain, more sensual, more able to sin, more unable to do
good, and to make death so much the more bitter and
unwelcome, as life was the more pleasant and delightful ?
If there is any sense and wit in the world, certainly there
is none greater than to know how to order life well
against this last hour, since a wise man's chief business
is to understand what means are the most proper for him
to use, in order to arrive at this end. If, therefore, we
look on him as a skilful physician, who knows what reme
dies to prescribe for the recovery of health, which is the
end of his science, we must of necessity think him truly
wise who knows how to govern his life, in order to death ;
that is, in order to the making up of his accounts well,
when death, to which he is to direct all his life, shall come.
Section II. The foregoing section proved by some examples.
11. For the better explaining and confirming of what
I have said, and to give the reader a little spiritual recre
ation, I think fit to add here a few famous examples of the
glorious deaths of some saints, taken out of the holy Pope
Gregory's book of Dialogues, (Greg. L. 4. Dial. c. 13.)
by which we may plainly perceive how pleasant and how
happy a thing death is to the just. If I enlarge a little
on this point, I shall not think my time ill spent, because

the sinner's guide. 239
the saint at the same time that he relates these passages
gives a great deal of wholesome advice and instruction.
1 2. " He tells us, that, during the time the Goths were
in Italy, there was a certain lady called Gala, of very con
siderable quality, in Rome, daughter of one Symmachus,
a consul. She was married very young, and became both
wife and widow in one year. She had all the invitations
imaginable from the world, her youth, and her fortune, to
the taking of a second husband, but she chose to be the
spouse of Christ, and to celebrate a marriage with him,
that begins with sorrow but ends with joy, rather than
with the world, where it begins with joy, but ends in
sorrow, because one of the two must unavoidably see the
death of the other. The lady was of a warm constitution,
and therefore the physicians told her that if she did not
marry again, she would certainly have a beard like a
man, which accordingly happened. Yet the holy woman,
charmed with the inward beauty of her new bridegroom,
was not troubled at her outward deformity, well knowing
it would not be offensive to her heavenly spouse. There
fore laying aside her worldly dress, she gave herself
entirely up to the service of God, and entered into a
monastery, near St. Peter's Church, where she lived for
several years in great simplicity of heart, and in the fre
quent exercise of prayer and charity to the poor. The
Almighty being resolved at length to reward the labours
of his servant with eternal glory, she was troubled with
a cancer in the breast, which grew to such a height that
she was forced to keep her bed, where, as she lay, she had
always two lamps burning by her, being so great a lover
of light, as to have a horror, not only of spiritual but also
corporal darkness. Finding herself one night very much
out of order, she saw the blessed Apostle St. Peter, stand
ing between the two lamps ; not at all disturbed at the
vision, nay, her love on the contrary embolding and
encouraging her, she with a deal of cheerfulness and joy,
asked him : Great Apostle, are my sins pardoned me yet ?
To -which he answered, with a smiling countenance,
bowing down his head, yes, they are pardoned you, come
along with me. But the holy woman having contracted
a strict friendship with another religious woman of the
same monastery, called Benedicta, replied immediately,
I beg that sister Benedicta may go alone with me;

240 the sinner's guide.
the Apostle told her she was not to come yet, but that
another sister whom he named should bear her com
pany, and that sister Benedicta should follow her within
thirty days. After which he vanished, and the sick lady
sending for the prioress, gave her an account of all that
happened, and both she and the other, whom St. Peter
named, died within three days after, and at the .end of
thirty days, the other she had asked for. The memory
of this passage is still preserved in that monastery, and
the younger religious women, who received it from their
mothers, recount it with as much fervour and devotion
as if they themselves had been eye-witness to it." This
is St. Gregory's own relation ; the reader may observe
how glorious an end this was. ,
13. After this the Saint gives us an account of another
example, no less wonderful, chap. 14. " There was a cer
tain man, says he, at Rome, called Servulus, very poor as
to the world, but very rich in merits. His usual station
was under a porch before St. Clement's Church, where he
begged, being so crippled by the palsy that he could not
rise, nor sit in his bed, nor so much as lift his hand to his
mouth, or turn from one side to the other. His mother
and brother always kept him company and assisted him,
and all the alms he could conveniently spare he desired his
mother or his brother to distribute among the poor. He
could not read, yet he bought some books of scripture,
and when any devout persons came to see him, would
desire them to read to him,' by this means he got some
insight into holy writ. Besides, he always used to bless
God in the midst of his torments, and to employ himself
day and night in singing of hymns. But the time draw
ing nigh when the Lord intended to reward his great
patience, the holy man fell extremely sick, and when he
perceived he was j ust going out of the world, he called
together all the strangers thereabout, desiring them to join
with him in praising God, for the hopes he had giving
him of his being at the end of his labours.
14. " But as he was singing amongst the rest, he inter
rupted them on a sudden, crying out with a loud voice : —
Silence, do you not hear the songs and hymns of praises
and thanksgiving which fill the heavens ? And listening
thus with the ear of his heart to the voices he heard within
himself, he died. As soon as he had given up the ghost,

the sinner's guide. 241
such an extraordinary fragrancy was smelled all over the
place, that all those present were delighted with its
sweetness, by which they understood he really heard the
songs of praise and joy with which he was received into
heaven. A religious man of our convent, who is still
living, and who was present when this happened, often
with tears tells me, that those who were there when he
died never lost the sweet smell till the body was buried.
15. I will add another memorable example out of the
same Saint, where he gives a faithful testimony, as being
himself nearly concerned in it, chap. 16," My father, (says
he,) had three sisters, who all consecrated their virginity
to God ; the eldest was called Tarsilla, the second Gor-
diana, the youngest Emiliana. They all three offered
themselves to God at the same time with an equal fervour,
devotion and resignation, living together in their own
house, under the religious observance of a very rigorous
rule. After they had lived thus for a very considerable
time, Tarsilla and Emiliana began to encrease every day
more and more in the love of their Creator, and arrived
to such a degree, that though their bodies remained on
earth their souls were continually conversant in heaven.
But Gordiana, on the contrary, growing every day more
and more cold in her affection for God, was proportion
ably inflamed with the love of the world. All this while
Tarsilla used frequently to tell her sister Emiliana, with
a deal of sorrow, I see that our sister Gordiana is not well
pleased with our way of living ; I perceive she is wholly
bent upon outward things, and that she observes not in
her heart her religious vows. Whereupon the other two
sisters made it their whole business to advise her, with all.
the sweetness and tenderness they could, to lay aside her
light behaviour, and be modest and grave as became her
habit. She received this admonition with a very serious
countenance, but as soon as it was over laid aside that
counterfeit gravity. Thus she spent her time in idle dis
course, delighting in the company of worldly women, nor
could she endure to converse with any other. One night
my great-grandfather Felix, who had been pope, appeared
to Tarsilla, who had made a much greater progress than
her sisters in continual prayer, corporal austerities, and
fasting, in modesty, in gravity, and in all kinds of piety,

242 the sinner's guide.
and shewing her a habitation of eternal brightness, said
to her : ' Come hither to me, for I am to receive you into
this habitation of light.' Within a few days after Tarsilla
fell sick of a burning fever, and was past all recovery ;
and as it is customary for much company to visit a person
of quality that lies a dying, to comfort the kindred of a
party that is expiring, so that several persons of note were
there, and amongst the rest my mother. Then the sick
lady, lifting up her eyes towards heaven, saw her Saviour
coming to her ; and struck with admiration, began to cry
out, ' Stand aside, for Jesus Christ is coming.' And
having fixed her eyes steadfastly on her Saviour, whom
she saw, she soon after breathed out her blessed soul ; and
immediately such a fragrancy was smelled by all there
present, as sufficiently evinced the author of all sweetness
had really been among them. When they uncovered her
to wash her body, as is usually done with the dead, they
found her knees and elbows as hard as a camel's with con
tinual prostrating at her prayers ; so her dead flesh gave
a testimony of the employment of her spirit during life.
All this happened before Christmas, and as soon as Christ
mas-day was over Tarsilla appeared to her sister Emiliana
in the night time, and said to her, ' Come my dear sister,
let us keep the feast of the Epiphany together, since I
have kept that of Christmas without you.' But Emiliana
being concerned at the danger her sister Gordiana would
be exposed to if she were left alone, answered, ' If I go
along with you, to whose care shall I recommend^ our
sister Gordiana ?' Tarsilla with a heavy countenance
replied, ' Do you come with me, as for Gordiana she is
reckoned amongst the people of the world.' Immediately
after this vision, Emiliana fell sick, and growing every
hour worse and worse, died before the day her sister had
named. Gordiana seeing herself now left alone, became
more and more wicked every day, and by degrees quite
losing the fear of God, and neglecting her modesty, her
devotion, and the vows by which she had consecrated
herself to God, went and married a man that had farmed
her estate of her." This is all taken out of St. Gregory,
who, by the examples of those of his own family and
blood, shows us how happy and prosperous the end of
virtue is, and how sorrowful and mean, that of light and

THE SINNER'S GUIDE. 243
inconstant persons. I will conclude with one example
more on this subject, out of the same saint, which hap
pened in his time, and which he delivers in this manner.
16. " About the time when I entered into a monastery, .
there was an ancient woman at Rome, called Redempta,
who wore a religious habit, and lived just by our Blessed
Lady's. She had been formerly under the care of a cer
tain holy virgin, called Hirundina, who they say was in
great esteem for her virtue, having led a solitary life on
the Prenestin mountains. This same Redempta had two
other young virgins, that came to her to be her disciples,
the name of one of them was Romula, as for the other,
who is still living, I know her by sight, but cannot tell
her name. These three virgins led a very poor but holy
life, all in the same house. But Romula outstripped her
other companion in all kinds of virtues and graces, as being
a woman of wonderful patience, of most perfect obedience,
of an extraordinary recollection, a very strict observer of
silence, and very much given to prayer and contemplation.
But sometimes those who appear perfect in the eyes of
men, are not without some imperfections before God, as
we often see unskilful persons commend a statue, before
it is finished, as a complete work, and yet the master, who
knows there is much more to be done to it, does not lay
it aside, because of their extolling it, nor neglect to finish
it, because of their commendation. Almighty God dealt
after the same manner with Romula, whom he thought fit
to refine and perfect, by afflicting her severely with the
palsy, which obliged her to keep her bed for several years
without any use of her limbs. All her pains and sufferings
could never move her to the least impatience, nay, on the
contrary, the want of the use of her limbs made her in
crease more and more in virtue ; so that the less able she
was to do any thing else, the more she exercised herself
in her devotions and prayers. At length she called her
mother Redempta to her, who had brought up these two
disciples of hers as if they had been her own children, and
said to her: "Come hither, my dear mother, come hither;"
Redempta immediately went to her with her other dis
ciple, according to the relation which they have both of
them since made to several persons, so that the thing is
now become public, and I myself had an account of it at
the time it happened. As they were sitting about mid-

244 THE SINNER'S GUIDE.
night, by her bed-side, there appeared a light from heaven
on a sudden, which filled the whole chamber. The bright
ness of it was so great, that they were astonished at it.
. Afterwards they heard a noise, as if a great many persons
were coming into the cell, so that the door cracked as if
it was pressed by the throng. Then they heard many
come in, but through fear and the extraordinary bright
ness, could see nothing, for their hearts were no less
damped with fear than their eyes were dazzled by the
light. After this there followed a sweet smell, which
comforted and refreshed them as much as the light had'
frightened them before. They being no longer able to
bear with the extraordinary brightness of that light, the
sick woman began to comfort her mother, who sat there
trembling and shaking, and said : " Be not afraid, my
mother, for I am not dying yet." And as she often
repeated these words the light lessened by degrees, till it
was quite gone, but the sweet smell continued still for the
space of three days as fresh as when they first smelled it.
The third day being over she called her mother again,
and desired the viaticum, that is, the blessed sacrament ;
which, after she had received, Redempta and her other
companion were no sooner gone from her bed-side, than
they began to hear two choirs of musicians at the en
trance of the door, which, as near as they could judge by
the voices, consisted of men and women. The men sung
psalms, and the women answered them. And whilst they
were thus performing the rites of this celestial funeral,
this holy soul, leaving the prison of her body, began her
journey heaven-ward, the divine music and fragrancy
going away with her, so that the higher she mounted the
less they were perceived here below, till such time as
they were both quite lost." Hitherto the words of St.
Gregory. 17. Many more examples might be brought to this
purpose, but these will suffice to show us how quiet, how
sweet, and how easy the death of the just generally is.
For though such evident tokens as these are do not always
appear, yet in as much as they are all the children of God,
and since death is the end of all their miseries, and the
beginning of that happiness they expect to be rewarded
with, they are always in this extremity strengthened and
encouraged by the help of the Almighty's grace, and by

THE SINNER'S GUIDE. 245
the evidence their own good consciences give in favour
of them. Thus the glorious St. Ambrose comforted him
self on his beath-bed, saying, " I have not lived so as to
have any reason to be sorry, that I was ever born ; nor
am I afraid to die, because I know I have a favourable
master." In vita D. Ambrosi. But if any man imagines
these favours and graces are incredible, let him reflect on
the incomprehensible immensity of God's goodness, the
effect of which is, to love, honour, and favour the good,
and he will acknowledge, that all I have here asserted is
but little in comparison with what the thing itself is.
For if the infinite goodness has stooped so low as to take
our flesh, and to die on a cross for the salvatiop of man ;
what great matter is it to comfort and honour the good
when they are dying, since their redemption has cost
him so dear ? And what wonder is it, that he should
bestow such graces on those persons when they are
dying, whom he is to receive into his own house, and to
make partakers of his glory when they are dead.
Section III. The conclusion , of the second part.
18. Those we have mentioned are the twelve privileges
granted to virtue in this life, and are like the twelve fruits
of that most beautiful tree St. John, in his Apocalypse,
saw planted by a river-side, which brought forth twelve
fruits every year, according to the number of the months.
For, next to the Son of God, what other tree could bear
such fruit but virtue, which is the tree that brings forth
fruits of life and holiness? And what fruits can be more
precious than those we have here given an account of?
What more delicious fruit than the fatherly care and pro
vidence, which God has over those who serve him?
What more pleasant than his divine grace, than the light
of wisdom, the consolation of the Holy Ghost, the joy of
a good conscience, the help of a secure confidence in him,
the true liberty of the soul, the inward peace of the heart,
the being heard by him in our prayers, the being consoled
by him in our tribulations, the having of our temporal
necessities supplied, and, in fine, the comfort of a sweet
and quiet death at last ? Any one of these privileges
is doubtless so great in itself, that, were a man but
thoroughly acquainted with it, he would need no other
motive to embrace virtue and make a change of lifr.

246 THE SINNEft's GUlDEi
This alone would sufficiently convince him of the truth
of that saying of our Saviour: " That whosoever should
leave the world for the love of him, should receive even
in this life a hundred fold, and hereafter life everlasting,"
(Mark, x.) as has been shown above.
19- Consider what good this is we invite you to. Think
whether you would have any cause to repent, should you
quit all the things of the world for it. The only reason
why it is not valued by the wicked is, because they know
not its value. Therefore, the Saviour of the world said :
" That the kingdom of heaven is like unto a treasure
hidden in a field," (Matt. xiii. 44.) for it is a real treasure,
but hidden from others, not from the owner. The prophet
understood the value of this treasure, when he said : "My
secret to myself, my secret to myself." Isa. xxiv. He
did not much, care whether others knew of his happiness.
For this is not like other goods, which are not goods
unless they are known ; because being in themselves no
longer goods than whilst the opinion of the world makes
them such, it is requisite the world should know them, or
else they will never have so much as the names of goods.
But this good, on the contrary, makes him good and happy
that possesses it ; and though none but himself know of
it, yet he has as much true comfort and satisfaction with
it, as if all the world knew it.
20. But neither my tongue, nor all that has hitherto
been said, is sufficient to unfold this secret ; because all
that the tongue of man is able to express falls far short
of what it truly is. The only key, therefore, to explain
it, is the divine light, and the long experience and use of
virtue. Beg this light of our Lord, and you will soon find
this treasure and God himself, in whom you will find all
things ; and you will see with how much reason the pro
phet said : " Blessed is the people that have God for their
Lord," (Ps. cxliii.) for what can he want, that is in pos
session of this good ? We read in the first book of Kings,
that Halcanah, Samuel's father, seeing his wife Anne
troubled, because she had no children, said to her: "Anne,
what makes you weep? Why is your heart troubled?
Am I not worth more to you than ten children ?" 1 Kings i.
Now if a loving husband, who to-day is, and to-morrow
is not, be worth more to his wife than ten children, how
much more must God be worth, do you think, to the soul

THE SINNER'S GUIDE. 247
that really possesses him ? Blind and senseless men, what
is it you do ? What is it you are about? What is it you
seek after ? Why do you leave the fountain of paradise
for the muddy lakes of this world ? Why do you not
take the advice of the prophet along with you, when he
says : " Taste and see that the Lord is sweet." Ps. xxxiii. 9.
Why will you not once at least try this food ? Why will
you not taste this meat ? Do you believe what God has
said, do but once begin, and you will find yourselves un
deceived of all your errors, as soon as ever you enter into
this path, as soon as ever you take this business in hand.
The serpent Moses's rod was turned into, looked frightful
at a distance ; but as soon as he touched it with his hand,
became a harmless rod again. Exod. vii. It was not with
out reason that Solomon said : " It is naught, it is naught,
saith every buyer ; but when he is gone away, then he
will boast." Prov. xx. 14. This happens every day to
men in this sort of purchase, for they through their want
of skill in spiritual affairs, are at first ignorant of the
value of this commodity, and therefore think it is set at
too great a price, because they are carnal. But when
once they have tasted how sweet the Lord is, they are
immediately pleased with their purchase, and confess a
man can never give too much for so great a treasure.
How glad was the man in the gospel that he sold all his
estate to purchase that piece of ground, in which he found
a treasure ? Matt. xiii. 24. Can the christian then, who
has heard of the name of this good, not so much as try
what it is ? It is strange, that if a merry companion
should affirm to you, that a great treasure was hid in
some part of the house, you would not fail to dig there
to discover the truth, and yet, when you are assured by
the infallible word of Almighty God himself, that you
may find an inestimable treasure within your own breast,
you have not the courage or will to take the pains to
look for it. O that you did but know how much truer
this news is, and how much greater this treasure ! 0 that
you did but know with how little trouble you might find
it! O that you did but see, " How near the Lord is to
those that call upon him, if they call upon him in truth ?"
Ps. cxliv. 1 8. How many men have there been in the
world, who, by a true sorrow for their sins, and begging
pardon for them, have in less than a week's time dis-

248 THE SINNER'S GUIDE.
covered land, or rather have found out a new heaven and
a new earth, and have begun to perceive the kingdom
of God within themselves ? And what wonder is it,
that the Lord, who has said : " In whatsoever hour the
sinner shall be sorry for his sin, I will remember it no
longer," (Luke xv.) should work such an effect as this is ?
What wonder is it to see him do this, who scarce gave'
the prodigal son leave to make an end of the short prayer
he had studied, before he fell about his neck, embraced,
and received him with so much joy and welcome return ?
Return, therefore, to this tender father : rise a little in
the morning, and continue for some days to beg and cry
at the gates of his mercy, and assure yourself, that if you
persevere with humility, he will answer you at last, and
discover the hidden treasure of his love to you ; and after
having had some proof of it, you will immediately cry
out, with the Spouse in the Canticles, " If a man should
give all that he is worth for love alone, he would think
what he has given as worth nothing." Cant. viii.

THE SINNER'S GUIDE;

BOOK I.
PART THE THIRD.
WHEREIN ARE ANSWERED ALL THOSE EXCUSES
MEN GENERALLY MAKE FOR NOT FOLLOWING
VIRTUE. CHAPTER I.
Against the first excuse of those who defer changing their lives,
and advancing in virtue, till another time.
1. There is no doubt., that what we have hitherto said
should be more than enough for the obtaining the chief
end we have proposed to ourselves, which is to excite men
to a sincere love of virtue, Almighty God's assisting grace
co-operating ; but though all this be true, yet the malice
of man is not without its excuses and apparent reasons,
either to defend or comfort itself when it does amiss. As
Ecclesiasticus affirms in these words : " A sinful man
will flee reproof, and will find an excuse, according to hi*
will." Eccl. xxxii. 21. And Solomon says to the same
purpose ; " That he who has a mind to forsake his friend,
is seeking out for occasions to do it," (Prov. xviii.) so the
wicked that desire to separate themselves from God have
always some excuse or other ready. For some there are
we see, that defer this business of salvation to another
time ; others again defer it till their death ; others say,
they are afraid of setting on an undertaking so hard and
laborious ; some again there are, that comfort themselves
with the hope of God's mercy, whilst they persuade them-

250 the sinner's guide.
selves, that/ without charity they may be saved by faith
and hope / and others, in fine, enamoured with the world,
cannot qviit the happiness they have in it, even for obtain
ing of that which God has promised them. These are
the most frequent deceits and amusements the enemy of
mankind makes use of to infatuate men, that he may
keep /them all their lifetime under the slavery of sin, that
death may surprise them in that miserable state. We
shall now expose those frauds in this last part of the book,
ar/d first answer those who put off this grand concern till
another time, which is their most frequent practice.
2. Some, therefore, there are, who own all that has
been said to be true, and that there is no way so secure
as that of virtue, which they design to follow, though
they cannot do it at present, but they shall have time
enough hereafter to do it better, and with more ease.
St. Augustine tells us, it was thus he answered God
before his conversion : " stay but a little longer, O Lord";
just now, just now, I will leave the world." St. Aug. L
8. Conf. c. 5. Thus the wicked deal continually with
God, first appointing one day and then another, still
shifting the time of their conversion.
3. It will be no hard matter to prove, that this is a
manifest artifice of the old serpent, who has been very
well used to lying and deceiving of men, and this once
made out and granted, all the controversy ceases. For
we are already convinced there is nothing in this world
which every christian ought to desire more than his sal
vation, and that for the obtaining of it, a sincere conver
sion and a perfect amendment of life is absolutely neces-
cessary ; for without these there is not salvation to be
expected. What we have therefore to do is, to see when
this conversion ought to be. All the business at present
is the appointing of the time, as to the rest it is what
every body is agreed on. You say you will begin your
conversion very shortly : I say you are to begin it at this
very moment. You say it will be easier to do it here
after ; I say, it will be easier to do it now. Let us see
which of the two is in the right.
4. But before we speak of the easiness of conversion, I
desire you will tell me, who is it that has given you secu
rity for an after conversion ? How many do you think
have been deceived by this hope ? St. Gregory tells us :

the sinner's guide. 251
" That God, who has promised to pardon a sinner if he
does penance, has not promised that he shall live till to
morrow." Homil. 12. in Evang. St. Caasarius has some
thing to the same purpose : " Somebody perhaps will say,
when I come to be old, then I will make use of the physic
of penance. How can human weakness have the impu
dence to presume so far of itself, when it has not so much
as the promise of one day?" St. Cassar. Homil. 13.
Tom. 2. Biblioth. Patr. As for my part, I cannot but
think that the number of those souls that have been lost
by this means is infinite. It was thus the rich man in the
gospel was damned for ever. St. Luke says of him, that
seeing he had so good a crop one year as he could have
desired, he began to consider with himself, and to say :
"What shall I do because I' have no room where to
bestow my fruits ? and he said, this will I do ; I will pull
down my barns, and will build greater : and into them I
will gather all things that are grown to me, and my goods.
And I will say to my soul : Soul, thou hast much goods
laid up for many years, take the rest, eat, drink, make
good cheer. Luke xii. 17, 18, 19- But, as this unfortu
nate wretch was computing what he was worth, he heard
a voice which said to him, " Thou fool, this night do they
require thy soul of thee ; and whose shall those things be
which thou hast provided ?" Ibid. 20. What greater
folly then can there be, than for a man to dispose of here
after, with as much authority as if he had time itself in
his own hands, whereas there is none but God that can
dispose of it ? St. John says of God, " He has the keys
of death and life," to open and to shut then when and on
whom he thought fit : with what face then, can a vile
worm dare to usurp such a power ? This insolence alone
deserves for its punishment, never to have an opportunity
of doing penance for the future, that so the fool may pay
for his folly, in not taking the advantage of the time God
gave him.
5. And since the number of persons who meet with this
kind of punishment is so great, that it will be but prudent
to learn to be wise at other men's expence, and to let their
misfortunes teach us how to secure ourselves pursuant to
this wholesome advice of Ecclesiasticus : " Delay not to
be converted to the Lord, and defer it not from day to

252 the sinner's guide.
day. For his wrath shall come on a sudden, and in the
time of vengeance he will destroy thee."" Eccles. v. 8, 9-
Section I. But after all, put the case that you shall
live as long as you imagine ; whether do you think it will
be easier to begin from this very moment to amend your
life, or to defer it till another time ? For the clearer un
derstanding of this point, we will sum up in short, the chief
reasons which make a present conversion seem so difficult.
The difficulty does not proceed from those obstacles which
men fancy, but from the bad habit of their wicked lives
past, which they had rather die than change. For this
reason St. Jerome said : " that which makes the way of
virtue so hard and narrow, is the long custom of sinning,
because custom, being a second nature, there is no over
coming it, without overcoming nature herself, which is
the greatest victory a man can possible gain." Epist. 14.
ad Celentian. And therefore St. Bernard tells us : " That
when once any vice is well rooted by a custom of many
years standing, there is no overcoming it without a very
extraordinary, nay, even miraculous assistance of the
Almighty's." St. Bern. c. 47. De Modo Bene Vivendi.
So that a christian ought, on this consideration, to be
afraid of nothing more than a bad habit in any vice ;
because vices, in some manner claim prescription, as well
as the affairs of the world ; and when once they have got
so far as this, you will find it no easy matter to overcome
them, unless as St. Bernard says : " God assists ypu by
his particular grace."
7. Another cause of this difficulty is, the power of the
devil, who has an absolute command over a soul in sin. He
is the strong man in arms the gospel speaks of, that keeps
all he has in his power with such care and security. Luke
xv. This difficulty also proceeds from the Almighty's
withdrawing himself from the soul polluted with sin. For
though he stands sentinel on the walls of Jerusalem, yet he
retires still farther from a soul in sin, as the number of its
sins increases. And what miseries and afflictions a soul
is oppressed with, on account of this separation, we may
learn from God himself, who has declared by the mouth
of one of his prophets : " Woe to them, for they have de
parted from me." Osee vii. 13. And in another chapter,
he says : " Woe be to them, when I shall depart from them,"'

THE sinner's guide. 253
ix. 12,) which is the second wo St. John speaks of in his
Apocalypse, (xi.)
8. The last cause of this difficulty is, the corruption of the
faculties of our soul, which are very much impaired by sin,
not indeed in themselves, but in their operations and effects.
For as vinegar corrupts and sours wine, as worms rot the
fruit, and, in fine, one contrary spoils another, just so is sin
the greatest enemy the soul has, and the thing which is most
directly opposite to her spoils and ruins all her powers and
faculties; for sin darkens the understanding, weakens the
will, disorders the appetite, and makes the free-will more
infirm, and less able to govern itself, and the operations that
belong to it, though it can never entirely lose either its being
or its liberty. Now, these faculties of the soul, being the
instruments our soul makes use of for the doing any good,
and the wheels of the clock, which is a virtuous and regular
life ; if these wheels and instruments are out of order, what
can be expected from them but disorder and trouble ? These,
therefore, are the chief causes of this difficulty, and they all
of them originally spring from sin, and increase in proportion
to the crimes we commit.
9. The case being thus, how can you possibly imagine
that your conversion, and the reformation of your life, will
be easier to you, when the continual increase of your sins
shall have increased the occasion of these difficulties? It is
certain, the greater the number your sins shall bej the less
you will be disposed to leave them ; nay, your deferring will
but give the devil a greater power over you, and oblige God
to withdraw himself so much the farther from you. Hereafter
your soul will be the more deprived of all its powers and
faculties. Now, if this difficulty arise from these causes,
what man of sound judgment will ever fancy, that when the
causes of it increase on all sides, it will be less troublesome
to remove them than when they were fewer?
10. For it is evident, that if you continue every day to
commit new sins, you will, in time, add other knots to those
you were tied down by before ; you will increase the chains
that bound you, by adding other new ones to them, and
make the weight you groaned under before much more heavy ;
hereafter, the habit of sin will blind the understanding, make
the will less able to do anything that is good, strengthen the
appetite in its desire of evil, and render the free-will more
weak in defending itself. Since, therefore, things stand thus,
M

254 ^he sinner's guide.
how can you persuade yourself you shall find less trouble in
this business hereafter? If you say you cannot pass over
this ford till it grows deeper, how will you be able to get
over when it has swelled into a rapid stream? If you find
it so hard a matter to pluck up the plants of your vices when
they are but newly set, how much more troublesome will it
be to remove them when they shall have taken deep root?
that is, if now, whilst your vices have but little force, you
say you cannot overcome them, how shall you be able to get
the better of them when they are more fixed and strength
ened? You have now, perhaps, a hundred vices to fight
with, and some time hence you may have a thousand ; now,
perhaps, you resist bad habits of a year or two standing;
hereafter, perhaps, they will be often. Who tells you that
you may, with more ease, carry your burden hereafter, when.
you have added a deal more weight to it, since you are not
able to carry it without stooping now? How can you be so
blind as not to see that all these are the artifices and de
ceits of a bad paymaster, who puts you off from time to time,
because he has no mind to discharge the debt? How can
you choose but see that these are the impostures of the old
serpent, who, by his lies, seduced our first parent, and is
continually endeavouring to play the same trick on us?
.11. If this be true, how can you imagine that these dif
ficulties, which seem impossible to break through now, should
become inuch easier when their strength and number is in
creased? How can a man think that the more his crimes
are, the easier it will be to get pardon, or that the cure will be
the easier when the disease is grown more desperate? Have
you never read in Ecclesiasticus, "that an old disease puzzles
the physician, whereas, that which is taken in the beginning
is soon cured. (Eccl. x. 11, 12.) This kind of cheat was
discovered by an angel to one of the holy fathers of the de
sert, as we read in their lives ; for, taking him by the hand,
he led him into a field, and there showed him a man that
was gathering faggots: after he had made up a great bundle,
he endeavoured to carry it away on his shoulders, and finding
it too heavy for him, he fell to cutting again, to make his
bundle still bigger ; hut perceiving himself less able to carry
it, now than he was before, he went on, nevertheless, a third
time to increase his former bundle, imagining that adding
more to it was the way to make it lighter. The holy man
wondering at what he saw, the angel told him that those

the sinner's guide. 255
men we:.-e guilty of no less folly who, finding themselves
unable to bear up under the weight of their sins, which press
so heavily on them, yet increase their load every day, by
heaping sin on sin, supposing that they shall be better able
to carry the load hereafter, when it shall be much bigger,
though they cannot cany it now.
12. Amongst all these things, which are such hindrance
to our conversion, what shall I say of the force of ill custom
in particular, and of the power it has to keep us in our sins?
For it is certain, that as a man, when he is striking in a nail,
drives it the farther every stroke he gives, and that the
deeper it goes the harder it is to be plucked out again ; in
the same manner, every bad action we do is like a fresh
stroke with a hammer, that drives our vices deeper into our
souls, and, by degrees, fixes them so fast there, that it is as
much as man can do to get them out again. This is the
reason why so many persons, who spent their youth in de
bauchery and vice, are frequently subject to the same sins
even in their old age, though their years and the weakness
of nature itself has cast them off. So that, when nature is
quite tired and worn out with sin, custom still runs in the
same track, and makes this sort of men seek after pleasures
which they are out of all possibility of enjoying, so tyrannical
and arbitrary is the power which evil custom alone exercises
over those that are carried away by it. For this reason, we
read in the book of Job, " That the bones of the wicked man
shall be filled with the vices of his youth, and they shall sleep
with him in the dust." Job, xx. 1 1 ." By this we may see
that such kind of vices as these have no other end but death,
the common end of all things ; nor do they end here, but
continue for all eternity, and therefore it is said — they sleep
with him in the dust. For an old custom, which is changed
into nature, imprints the very inclinations to vice so deep
into the bones and marrow, that, like a slow fever in a
phthisical man, it sets the very bowels into aflame, and makes
him quite despair of any ease or comfort. This is what our
Saviour himself has taught us by his raising of Lazarus to
life again, after he had been dead four days : it was with
cries and a great many tears that he raised him, notwith
standing that he had, with much ease, restored several dead
to Mfe before. This was to give us to understand what a
miraculous work it was for God to raise a man to life that
had been four days dead and almost corrupted, that is, who

256 the sinner's guide. i
had been a long time accustomed to sin, and habituated in
it. For, according to St. Augustine's exposition, the first of
these four days is the pleasure of the sin, the second is the
consent given to it, the committing of it the third, and the
fourth is the custom of sinning, and he that has once arrived
to this degree, is the Lazarus that has been four days dead,
that cannot be restored to life again but by our Saviour's
sighs and tears.
13. This plainly demonstrates how difficult that man makes
his conversion, who always puts it off from time to time, and
how the longer he defers the more painful he makes it. It
is, therefore, a folly and deceit in those men who say, it will
be much easier for them to amend their lives hereafter than
it is at present.
Section II. — 14. But let us put the case now, that all
fall out as you imagine, and that your hopes meet with no
disappointment, yet what will you say to all the time you lose
before your conversion, in which you might merit such mighty
treasures? What folly would it be, to speak according to the
world, for a man, when the town was taken by storm, and the
soldiers plundering up and down, and loading themselves
with wealth, to be playing in the market among the children ;
your folly is much greater, for whilst the just are busying
themselves on good works, that they may, by virtue of them,
purchase the kingdom of heaven, you lose this opportunity,
and spend your time in the follies and trifles of the world.
15. And what will you say, not only to those goods you
lose, but to the evils you commit in the mean time? Is it
not certain, as St. Augustine says, " That a man ought not,
for the world, to commit one venial sin." Lib. 4; Samen-
daciud. c. 1. How can you, then, consent so easily to com-
mit so many mortal sins during all this time, when you ought
not to commit any one sin whatsoever, though it were for the
salvation of a thousand worlds ? How can you dare to sin
against, and provoke Him to wrath, at whose gates you must
knock, at whose feet you are to fall, from whose hands you
are to expect your eternal lot, whose mercy you pretend to
obtain at last by your sighs and tears ? How can you dare,
with so much treachery, to offend Him whom you will one
day stand so much in need of, and whom you must expect to
find so much the less favourable to you, as you shall have
offended him the more? Against such persons as these St.
Bernard reasons excellently well, when he says : " Tell me now,

the sinner's guide. 257
you who reckon so falsely, continuing still in your evil courses,
whether you think that God will pardon you your sins or not ?
If you imagine he will not, what greater folly than to sin on
without hopes of pardon ? And if you persuade yourself he
is so good and merciful as to pardon you, notwithstanding
you have so frequently offended him, tell me what greater
ingratitude and malice can there be, than to make that the
occasion of offending, which ought to excite you the more
strongly to love him ?" How can a man answer this argu
ment ?
What will you say of the tears, the sins you now commit
will cost you hereafter? For if God should call and visit
you hereafter (and your condition will be very miserable if
he does not), be assured that every mouthful you eat now
will be more bitter to you than gall, that every sin you have
committed will cost you continual tears, and that you will, one
day, wish you had suffered a thousand deaths rather than
have offended so good a God. The time King David spent
in unlawful pleasures was but short, and yet his grief and
sorrow for it were such, that he himself tells us, " Every
night % will wash my bed, and water my couch with tears."
Ps. vi. 7, His tears flowed from him with such excess, that
St. Jerome's translation, instead of saying, " I will wash my
bed," renders it, "I will make my bed swim in my tears;"
to give us a lively representation of those streams that flowed
from his eyes, because he had not observed the law of God.
Why, then, will you spend your time in sowing such seed as
can never bring you any other fruit but tears?
16. You ought farther to consider, that you do not only
sow tears for the future, but raise difficulties to obstruct, a
good life, through the settled habit of living ill. For as a
lingering, distemper is scarce ever so perfectly cured, but that
it leaves some of all its symptoms behind, even so does the
habit of sin, which is of long continuance, weaken a man on
that side, and expose him the more to the attacks of his
mortal enemy. Moses made the children of Israel drink the
very ashes of the calf they had adored, in punishment of
their crime. Exod. xxxii. 20. The ordinary punishment
Almighty God inflicts for some kind of sins is, to permit
them, by a just judgment, to remain in our very bones, as if
we had drank them up, and to let them become our execu
tioners, which were the idols we adored before.
17. Add to all this, the bad choice and distribution you

258 THE SINNER'S GUIDE.
make in setting apart old age to do penance, and suffering
the prime and flower of your years to slip away without
making any advantage of iU What folly would it be for a
man, who has many beasts of burden, and several loads to
put on them, to lay all on the weakest beast, and to let the
rest go light? Such is the folly of those who leave the
whole burden of penance for their old age to carry, and let
their youth and vigorous days pass away without iaying any
weight on them; whereas youth is fitter to bear this load
than old age, which is scarce able to support itself. It wag
a good saying of the great philosopher Seneca, " That who
ever defers his being virtuous till he comes to be old, does as
good as tell us, he will spend no other time on virtue but
that which is good for nothing else." Sen. lib. de Brevitate
Vitse, c. 15. Consider farther, how great this satisfaction
is, which the Divine Majesty requires for those offences com
mitted against him. This satisfaction is so great, as St.
John Climachus tells us, " That man can scarce satisfy to
day for the sins of to-day, and so balance his daily account."
Why, then, will you be all your life-time increasing your
debts, and defer the payment of them to old age, which
will have enough to do to wipe off its own scores. This
crime is so heinous, that St. Gregory looks on it as a sort
of treason. " That man (says he) comes very short of the
allegiance he owes to God, who expects old age to do penance
in. Nay, he has much reason to fear his falling into the
hands of justice, for having presumed so rashly on mercy."
Grad. 5.
Section III. — 18. But let us put the case now, that no
thing of what we have said happens ; yet, if there be any
honesty, and reason, or justice in the world, is not the great
ness of the benefits you have received, and of the glory you
have a promise of, a sufficient motive to make you less
sparing of the time you spend in the service of him, who has
been so liberal in rewarding you? It was with a deal of
reason Ecclesiasticus said: "Let nothing hinder you from
praying always, and be not afraid to be justified even to
death, for the reward of God continueth for ever." Eccles.
xviii. 22. If, therefore, the continuance of the reward be so
long, why should you desire your service to end so soon?
If the reward is to remain as long as God shall remain in
heaven, why should not your service continue as long as you
live on earth? Your whole life, at best, is but one small

the sinner's guide. 259
point, and yet yon will cut off the two-thirds of it, and leave
God no more than a mere puff or breath.
19- Besides all this, if you have any hopes of your salva
tion, you are to suppose that God has predestinated you
from all eternity for this salvation. If, then, God has been
so forward as to love you from all eternity, to make you a
Christian, to adopt you for one of his children, and to make
you an heir of his kingdom, how can you neglect to love
him till the end of your days, who has loved you from all
eternity, which has no beginning? How can you resolve to
do him so little service, who has resolved to confer so many
favours on you ? It is but reasonable that, since the reward
is to last for ever, the service should do so too, if it be pos
sible. But since it can last no longer than life, why will
you, out of so short a space, take so much time, which would
have been spent in God's service, leaving him so little, and
that the worst part of it. For, as Seneca says, " The little
that is left at the bottom of a vessel is nothing but dregs."
Thus you see how small a share you have for God : " Cursed
is the deceitful man," says God to his prophet Malachius,
" that hath a male in his flock, and making a vow offering
in sacrifice that which is feeble to the Lord, for I am a great
king, says the Lord of hosts, and my name is dreadful amongst
the Gentiles." Mai. i. 14. As if he had said more plainly,
there are none but great services due to so great a Lord as I
am, and it is an affront to such a majesty to offer it the refuse
of anything. Why, therefore, do you reserve the better
and more beautiful part of your life for the service of the
devil, and are willing to give God no other part but what
the world will not accept of? God has said, " There shall
not be in your house a greater bushel and a less, but your
bushel shall be equal and true." Deut. xxv. 14, 15. And
yet, in contradiction to this law, you will keep two unequal
measures, a great one for the devil, whom you treat as your
friend, and another very little one for God, whom you deal
with as an enemy.
20. Above all this, I earnestly desire that, if these benefits
cannot move, you would at least reflect on the inestimable
favour the Eternal Father has conferred on you, in giving
you his only begotten Son to redeem your soul, by laying
down that life which was worth infinitely more than all the
lives of men and angels together; so that, had you all those
lives in yourself, and an infinite number more, you ought to

260 the sinner's guide.
give them all to him who has given his life; and yet all this
would be too small a return for it. On what account, with
what face, and by what privilege, can you refuse him, who
has laid down so precious a life for you, such a poor and
miserable one as yours is ? What is worse, you take away
the best and most noble part of it, and leave him nothing but
the lees and dregs.
2 1 . We will conclude this chapter as Solomon ends his
Ecclesiastes, where he exhorts man to be mindful of his Cre
ator in his youth, and not to put off a business of such con
cern till old age comes on, which is unfit for any kind of
corporal labours; and whose infirmities and inabilities he
describes under obscure and wonderful parables: " Remem
ber," says he, " thy Creator in the days of thy youth, before
the time of affliction come, and the years draw nigh of which
thou shalt say, they please me not before the sun and the
light, and the moon and stars be darkened, when the keepers
of the house," that is to say, the hand, "shall tremble;
when the stoutest person shall stagger," that is to say, the
legs which bore all the weight of this building; "when
there shall be but few teeth left, and those quite useless ; and
when those faculties which see through the windows of the
eyes shall grow dark ; when they shall shut the gates in the
street," because the organs and instruments of all the other
senses will fail too ; " and when a man shall awake at the
crowing of the cock," by reason of the little sleep men gene
rally take when they are at this age ; " when all the daugh
ters of music shall become deaf," because all the vessels,
which form the voice, shrink up and grow narrower; "when
there is no strength left for to go upright, nor to walk in a
rugged or slippery way;" when, on the contrary, "a man is
apt to stumble upon smooth and even ground ; when the
almond tree shall be blossomed," that is, when the head
shall be covered with grey hairs ; " when there shall be no
body left to carry the burden, be it ever so light and easy ;
when man shall be deprived of all things," because the faculties
of the soul, where the seat of the appetites is, grow weaker
and weaker every day: for, " man shall go to the house of
his eternity," which is the grave, " and his friends shall go
up and down in the streets, to bewail him ; when," in fine,
" the dust shall return to its earth, from whence he came,
and the spirit shall go towards God that gave it."' Thus far
Solomon.

the sinner's GUIDE. 261
22. Follow, therefore, this advice ; remember your Crea
tor whilst you are yet young, and do not put off doing pen
ance to those heavy years when nature itself fails, and the
vigour of all the senses weakens and decays, and man is fitter
to supply the defects of nature, by making much of himself,
than to embrace the toils and hardships of penance, when
virtue seems rather a necessity than a choice, and when vices
gain a reputation by us, because they quit us sooner than we
quit them ; though, for the most part, we are the same when
we grow old as we were when young, according to the say
ing of Ecclesiasticus : " How shall you find in your old age
what you never laid up in your youth ?" Eccles. xxv. 5.
23. This is the wholesome advice we have from Solomon;
and Ecclesiasticus gives us the same, when he says, " Yon
shall confess and praise God whilst you are alive ; whilst
you are alive and in good health you shall praise God, and
you shall be glorified in his mercies." Eccl. xvii. 27. It is
a very mysterious thing, that of all the sick that were near
the pool, be who first went in after the motion of the waters,
found a most certain cure (John, v. 4), to give us to under
stand, that all our salvation depends on our ready compli
ance with, and submission to, the Almighty's inward motions.
Run, therefore, and make all the haste you can; "And if,"
as the prophet says, " you should hear the voice of God to
day" (Ps. xciv. 8), do not put off your answer till to-morrow,
but begin from this very moment the work of your salvation,
which you will find so much the easier to finish, as you shall
begin the sooner.

CHAPTER II.
Against those Persons who defer their Penance to the Hour of Death.
1. There is another sort of men, who pot off their pe
nances to the hour of their death ; but what we have said in
the foregoing chapter might seem to make them ashamed of
their folly. For if it be so dangerous to defer it but for a
short time, what must be the consequence of deferring it till
the very moment that man is going to leave the world?
This being so universal an error, and many souls being lost
by it, it is necessary we should speak of it in a more parti
cular manner. And though it is to be feared, that the treat-
m 2

262 the sinner's guide.
ing of this subject may be an occasion to some weak persons
of despair and discouragement, yet the consequence is much
worse if men should remain ignorant of the danger they
expose themselves to, by deferring their conversion to the
hour of their death : so that if we weigh these two dangers
together, we shall find the latter far the greater, because there
are many more souls which perish through an indiscreet con
fidence than an immoderate fear. It is, therefore, requisite
that we, who are placed on Ezechiel's watch-tower, should
forewarn them of these dangers, that so they, who will follow
our advice, may not be drawn headlong into this error, and
that they who are resolved to destroy themselves may not
lay their blood at our doors. But because all the light and
truth we are capable of in this life can be no other than
what we receive from Scripture, the holy fathers, and doc
tors, let us see what they say on this point, for I do not
think that any man will be so rash as to prefer his opinion
before theirs. To proceed then, in this method, we will first
deliver what the saints of ancient times, and then what the
Scripture teaches on this subject.
Sectton I. — The Opinions of the ancient Fathers concerning Death-bed
Repentance.
2. Before we enter into this dispute we must presuppose
what St. Augustine and all the other doctors say, that as true
penance is the work of God, so it is in his power to inspire
it whenever he pleases ; and, therefore, whensoever we are
touched with ^ a true sorrow for our sins, it has force and
power enough for the working out of salvation, though we
were lying on our death-bed. But to let you see how rarely
we have any examples hereof, there is no need of believing
either yourself or me ; do but believe the saints, for it is by
their mouths that the Holy Ghost has spoken, and it is
highly reasonable we should give credit to their words and
testimony. In the first place, then, hear what St. Augustine
says to this purpose, in his Book of True and False Penance:
" Let no one defer his doing penance till such time as he is
able to sin no longer, because God requires we should perform
this action with cheerfulness and freedom, not with restraint
and of necessity ; and, therefore, he that lets his sins leave
him before he will get rid of them, does not seem to leave
them so much out of choice and freely, as out of mere neces
sity. This is the reason why those persons, who would not
return to God, when they had the power of doing it, and yet

THE SINNER'S GUIDE. 263
confess their sins When they are out of the capacity of sinning
any more, will not so easily obtain their desires as they
imagine they shall." Aug. de falsa et vera Penit. And a little
lower, speaking of the nature of this conversion he says,
" That man is truly converted to God, that returns to him
with his whole heart, who is not only afraid of punishment,
but uses his utmost endeavours to obtain Almighty God's
graces and favours. Should any one, though at the end of
his life, be converted to God after this manner, we should
have no reason to despair of his pardon. But because we
scarce ever, or at least but very seldom, meet with such a
perfect conversion as this is in these days, we have a deal of
reason to fear for him, who stays so long before he returns to
God ; because it is hard for a man to make true satisfaction,
when he finds himself overcharged with the pains his sickness
put him to, and frighted with the apprehensions of punishment,
and this especially if he sees his friends before him, for whom
he has such ardent love, and reflects on the world, which he
is just going to be taken out of. Now, because there are
many things which hinder a man from doing penance at this
time, it is certain there can be nothing more dangerous, nor
which exposes him more to ruin, than his deferring till death
the seeking of proper remedies to cure him. What is more
yet, I will make bold to say, that in case such a man should
obtain pardon for his sins, he would not, therefore, be ac
quitted from the punishment due to them, for he must be
purged and cleansed, first by the fire of purgatory, for having
reserved the fruits of satisfaction for the next world ; and
though this fire is not to last for ever, as that of hell is, it is,
notwithstanding, extremely great, and far beyond all the
torments one can possibly suffer in this world, since never
did man endure so much in this life; no not even the martyrs
themselves, notwithstanding the exquisite pains they have
undergone; nor any criminals whatsoever, that have been put
to the greatest tortures, that either human wit or cruelty
could invent. Let him, therefore, omit no opportunity of
returning from this wicked life, that he may, by this means,
escape those dreadful torments, which he must otherwise ex
pect to suffer after death."
3. These are St. Augustine's own words ; by which you may
see what danger that man exposes himself to, who defers de
liberately doing penance till his dying day.
4. St. Ambrose, also, in his Book of Penance, which some

264 the sinner's guide.
attribute to St. Augustine, is very copious on this matter,
and, amongst many other things, has these words: "If any
man desire the sacrament of penance as he lies on bis death
bed, and receives it and dies, I own we do not refuse him
what he asks, but I dare not give you any assurance of his
going the right way. I tell you again, it is more than I dare
affirm, nor will I give you any promise of it, because I will
not deceive you. Will you then have this doubt cleared ?
Do you desire to avoid such an uncertainty as this? Do
penance for your sins whilst you are in good health and able
to do it, and then I will give you my word for it, that you are
in a good way, because you have done penance for your sins
when you might have increased the number and quality of
them: but if, on the contrary, you defer your penance till
such time as you are able to sin no longer, it is not you that
leave your sins, but your sins leave yon." St. Aug. 50.
Horn. 4. 52.
5. St. Isidore has almost the same thing, though in other
words: '' Let that man, that has a mind at his death to be
certain of having his sins pardoned him, do penance for them
whilst he is well and able ; let him bewail and deplore his
offences ; but if, having lived wickedly all his life-time, he
expects to obtain his pardon when he is dying, he runs a great
hazard ; because, though he is not sure he shall be damned,
he has a deal of reason to doubt of his being saved." St. Isid.
L. 2. sent. c. 13.
6. These authorities of the saints are sufficient subjects
of our fear; but whatEusebius tells us St. Jerome, his master,
said, a little before he died, as he lay prostrate on the ground
and covered with sackcloth, will put us into greater fright
aud apprehension. But, because it is so terrible that I dare
not relate it with all the rigour and severity that the saint
spoke, for fear of giving those souls that are but weak an oc
casion of despair, I will refer such as desire to read it to an
epistle of Eusebius's to Damascus, a bishop, on the death of
this glorious doctor ; they will find it in the fourth volume
of the saint's works ; after many other things he says : " He
that has persevered all his life-time in his sin, may say, When
I am ready to die I will do penance and be converted. Oh I
what a melancholy comfort is thisl For he that has spent
his whole life wickedly, without so much as ever thinking of
penance, unless, as it were, in a dream, will be very uncertain
of its success at that time. For, being at this time entangled
with worldly affairs, afflicted with the pains of his distemper,

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and distracted with the thought of his friends he must part
with, and with the love he has for the goods of this life, which
he has no hopes to enjoy any longer, how is it possible he
should be in a disposition to raise up his heart towards God,
and to true penance, when he is surrounded by so many af?
flictions and troubles ? It is what he never did as long as he
had any hopes of living, nor would he do it now, if he thought
he should recover again. Besides, what kind of penance
must that be which a man performs when life itself is going
to leave him ? I know some of the rich men of this world
who have recovered the health of their bodies after dangerous
sicknesses, but have grown worse and worse in that of their
souls. I believe, therefore, and am of opinion (for it is what I
havehadsufficieutexperienceof), that for a man thathas always
led a vicious life, that has never been afraid of committing
any sin whatever, and that has always been a slave to pride
and vanity ; after all this, to make a happy end, it is no less
than an extraordinary miracle." You may see, by these
words of Kusebius, how this holy doctor feared and doubted
of the penance which a man, that had never done any all his
life-time before, began to do ou his death-bed.
7. Nor was St. Gregory less afraid of what generally hap
pens in this conjuncture; for, writing on these words of Job,
" What hope can the hypocrite have, if he takes away what
belongs to another? Will God hear his cry when distress
shall come upon him? Job, xxvii. 8, 9. He speaks thus:
" If a man does not hear God's voice when he is in prosperity,
God will not hear him in the time of his adversity." For it
is written: " He that turneth away his ears from hearing the
law, his prayer shall be an abomination." Prov. xxviii. 9.
Holy Job, considering how all those that neglect now to do
good, when they are ready to die, turn themselves towards
God, and beg pardon of him for their crimes, says: " Whatlv
will God hear the cries of such a people?" Which words of
his come very near those of our Saviour; the foolish virgins
are come at last, and cry out, " Lord, Lord, open to us"
(Matt. xxv. 11), but immediately answer was given,
" Amen, I say to you, I know you not" — ver. 12. Because
the greater mercy God shews now, the greater severity he
will exercise then ; and the rigour with which he will punish
then, will be so much the heavier as his goodness is the
sweeter and more merciful now. Thus much, St. Gregory.
And Hugh of St. Victor shews us he is of the same opinion
with these saints, when he tells us, in his second book of the

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Sacraments, "it is very hard for that penance to be true
which comes late, and we have a deal of reason to suspect
it when it is forced." Lib. 2. De Sacr. Part. 14. c. 5. Every
man can witness for himself, that he has no desire to do that
which is out of his power to do ; for, we may easily judge of
the will by the power ; so that if you do not do penance
while you are able, it is a sign you have no mind to do it.
8. This is the opinion of the Master of the Sentences, when
he says, " Since true penance is the work of God, he can
inspire it when he shall think fit, and reward out of his mercy
those whom he might have condemned by his justice. But,
because there are many things at that time which divert men
from this business it is very dangerous, nay, even sinful to
defer the applying of the remedy of penance till the very ut
most extremity. Nevertheless, it is an extraordinary grace
of God to inspire a man with these dispositions as he lies on
his death-bed, if there be any so inspired. Lib. 4. dist. 20.
Observe how dreadful these words are. What madness is it
then to expose the greatest treasure to the most imminent
dangers ? Is there anything in the world of greater conse
quence to you than your salvation? What madness, then,
to hazard so precious a jewel?
9. This is the sentiment of all these great doctors; by
which you may judge what madness it is to be so secure,
where so many skilful pilots have shewn so much concern.
The art of dying well ought to be the study of our whole
life, for at the hour of death we have so much to do to die
that we have scarce any time left to learn to die well.
Section II. The Opinions of the Schoolmen on the same Matter.
1 0. For the farther confirmation of this truth, we must
see what have been the opinions of the shoolmen on this
matter. But, above all the rest, Scotus, in his fourth book
of Sentences, treats this question the most to our present
purpose, which he concludes thns: "The great difficulty a
man has to do penance at the hour of death makes the pe
nance he does then to be hardly a true penance.'1 — Scot.
9. 4. dist. 20. art. 1. This he proves by four reasons.
11. The first is, the pains his distemper brings on, and
the presence of death to him, are obstacles to the lifting up
his heart to God, and to the exercising himself in the duties
and obligations of sincere penance. To make this the
plainer, you are to understand that all the passions of our

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soul have a deal of force to draw a man's reason and free
will which way they please. And according to the maxims
of the philosophers, the passions that excite sorrow are
much stronger than those that are the causes of joy; so that
the passions and affections of a man ready to die are strongest ;
because, as Aristotle says, " Death is of all terrible things
the most terrible," by reason of the pains and torments the
body is in, of the disquiets and troubles of the soul, which
are numerous, of the grief and sorrow which the thoughts
of leaving children, wife, and the world, then rack a man
with. Now, whilst the passions are so strong and turbulent,
where must the dying man's thoughts and reasons be, but
where such violent griefs and passions as these convey them?
1 2. We see by experience, that even a virtuous man, if
he be but troubled with a violent fit of the cholic, or with
any other sharp pain whatever, whilst he is in this condition;
can scarcely have his thoughts fixed entirely on God, but,
generally speaking, lets them go wheresoever his pains carry
them. If it be thus with a good and just man, what will
become of him that never knew what it was to think of God,
and who, being always accustomed to love his body better
than his soul, is the more easily inclined to run to his greater
friend than to his less, for help and succour, when he is in
any danger ? One of those four things, which St. Bernard
says are impediments to contemplation, is the indisposition
of the body, because the soul is at that time so taken up
with the thoughts of what the flesh suffers, that she can
hardly think of anything else. Serm. 5. de Assam. If this
be true, what folly is it to expect the greatest indisposition
of the body, in order to treat of the greatest affairs of the
soul? 13. I knew a person myself, who, being ready to die,
and advised to prepare himself as well as he could for
death, was so surprised and troubled at the nearness of it,
that all his business was to desire, with the more eagerness
and solicitude, such remedies as were the most proper for
keeping off the stroke, if it were possible, as if he had imagined
he could have pushed death away with his hands, when it
was so near him. A priest that was by, seeing him so
forgetful of what ought to have been, at that time, his chief
concern, advised him to lay aside those cares and solicitudes;
and to call on God. The sick man, looking on this good
advice as troublesome, answered the priest after such a

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manner, as least of all became one in that condition, and at
such a time; immediately after which he died ; and yet this
same person had passed for a man of virtue all his life-time.
From hence you may see, how troublesome the nearness of
death will be to men, who have loved this life too well,
since it has been so unwelcome to those who, whilst they
lived, seemed not to have any extraordinary affection for it,
14. I heard of another person, who, being very ill, and
imagining he had not long to live, desired to entertain him
self before he died with none but God, and to prevent his
judge by the fervour of his devotion ; but the violent and
continual pain he was in gave him no kind of ease or res
pite for the accomplishing of his desire. What man, then,
will be so mad as to defer the reform of his whole life till
such a time, when he shall find himself so ill disposed for
this business?
15. The second reason this doctor brings is, that true
penance ought to be voluntary j-tfta'fTis, to proceed from a
free motion of the will, and not to be done purely out of
necessity. And, therefore, St. Augustine says, " That a
man should not only fear his judge, but love him too, and
do what he has to do freely and willingly, not out of neces
sity." — De Civjt. Dei, L. 14. c. 10. So that, according to
this, he That never did true penance all his life, but has de
ferred doing it till he is ready to die, seems to do it only out
of necessity, not freely and willingly. And if this be the
only reason of his doing it, it is certain his penance is not
purely voluntary.
16. It was such a penance as this that Semei did for the
offence he had committed against David, when he fled from
his son Absolom (2 Kingjs,_xvi,.19), for seeing him return
home with victory, after his flight, and being sensible of the
misfortune that might befall him on that account, he went
out at the head of a great many men to receive the king,
and with submission to beg pardon for what he had done.
Whereon Abisai, one of David's relations, seeing him, cried
out, " Shall Semei, for these words, not be put to death,
because he cursed the Lord's anointed?" 2 Kings, xix. 21.
But David, who knew better than Abisai, that this sub
mission would do Semei but little good, prudently dissem
bling his displeasure for that time, did not let the crime
go unpunished ; for, as he lay on his death bed, out of the
zeal he had for justice, not out of revenge, he commanded

THE SINNER'S GUIDE. 269
his son Solomon, as if it had been his last will, to deal
with the traitor according to his deserts — 3 Kings, ii. 8, 9.
It is such a penance as this, several Christians may be said
to perform, who, after having, without any interruption,
offended the majesty of God during their whole lives, when
the time of giving up their accounts comes, seeing death
just before them, with the grave open, and themselves just
ready to appear before their judge, and, at the same time,
that there is no force that can resist this supreme power,
and that the moment is just come, which is to determine
nothing less than eternity, they prostrate themselves before
their judge, begging and entreating him with all kind of
humility, and making all the protestations imaginable,
which, supposing them to be sincere, would be profitahle,
but we may guess what they are, by the success . they com
monly meet with. For we have seen, by experience, that
several of these persons, after having escaped the danger
they were in, have immediately neglected all their former
promises, have taken up all their ill-courses again, and put
themselves a second time under the yoke, which they
seemed before to have been freed from, as if they did
nothing out of a motive of virtue, and for the love of God,
but only because they saw themselves in danger, which was
no sooner over, than the good effects, which were caused by
it, ceased. 17. By which it appears, that this kind of penance is just
like that of seamen, when they are in a storm, for every
one then makes many promises and purposes of a change
of life, and for labouring for the acquisition of solid virtue ;
but as soon as ever the storm is past, and they out of danger,
they fall to cursing and blaspheming again, just as they did
before, and trouble their heads no more about what is past,
as if all their promises had been nothing but mere talk and
words of course.
1 8. The third reason is, because the evil custom of sin
ning, which a wicked man has lived in all his days, gene
rally speaking, is his constant companion till death, as the
shadow is that of the body ; for custom is like a second
nature which it is very hard to conquer. Thus we see,
though with grief, several persons so entirely forgetful of
their souls at that time, so covetous, notwithstanding they
are dying, so charmed with the love of life, that they
would give anything in the world to recover it again, as

270 THE SINNER'S GUIDE.
much slaves to the world, and everything in it they had
any affection for, as if they were not reduced to the mise
rable extremity they unhappily find themselves in. Have
you never seen even old men, sometimes as greedy and as
covetous, as busy about the securing of every little insigni
ficant trifle, and as much proof against charity, as ever they
were before? Nay, have they not as great a desire of these
things they know they cannot carry with them ?
This is a sort of punishment which God frequently in
flicts on sin, permitting it to go along with its author to
the very grave, as St. Gregory expresses thus: " God
punishes a sinner after this manner, permitting him to forget
himself at his death, because he never thought of God during
his whole life; so that one forgetfulness is punished by
another; that which has all along been a sin is punished
by that which is, at the same time, both a punishment and
a sin." — Homil. 2. in Evang. and in Ezech. Item. Lib. 20.
Morel, c. 15. This is what we have daily proofs of; and
we have often heard of persons who have died in the very
arms of lewd women, whom they have loved to their own
ruin, and would not quit the company of them, not even
at the very moment of their death, because, by a just judg
ment of God, they have neither been mindful of themselves
nor of their souls.
1 9. The fourth reason is grounded on the worth of those
actions that are done at this time, for it is plain, at least to
one that has any knowledge of God, that he is much less
pleased with the service done him at this time, than with
that we do him at another: " Because it is no great matter,"
as the holy virgin and martyr, St. Lucy, said, " to be pro
fuse of that which you will be forced to leave behind." —
Surius Dec. 1 3. What is it for a man to forgive an affront,
when it would be a dishonour not to pardon it? What is it
to turn away his mistress, when a man can keep her no
longer? 20. From these reasons, this doctor concludes, that it is
very hard to perform a sincere penance at that time ; nay,
he adds more yet, and says, that the Christian, who designedly
defers his penance till he is ready to die, commits a mortal
sin, because he does a great injustice to his own soul, and
exposes himself to the danger of losing his salvation. Is there
anything, then, in the world, we have more reason to be
afraid of than this ?

THE sinner's guide. 271
Section III. The same Thing proved by the Authority of the Holy
Scripture.
21. But, because the decision of this question depends
chiefly on the Word of God, which there is no appealing
from, nor any exception to be brought against, hear now
what it says on this point. Solomon, in the first chapter of
his Proverbs, after setting down the words the Eternal Wis
dom makes use of for calling men to repentance, immediately
adds those, which it will pronounce against such persons as
shut their ears to this call, thus: " Because I have called,
and you have refused to come, I have stretched out my hand,
and there was no one that would take any notice; because
you have despised all my counsel, and have neglected my re
prehensions, I also will laugh at your destruction, and mock
you when that, which you were afraid of, shall befall you.
When a sudden calamity shall rush upon you, and death
shall come upon you like a storm, when you least expect it;
when tribulation, as miseiy, shall encompass you, then they
shall call upon me, and I will not hear them, they shall rise
up in the morning, but shall not find me, because they have
hated correction, and have not had the fear of God before
them, nor followed my advice, but have resisted all my re
proof." These are Solomon's words, or rather the words of
God himself, which St. Gregory, in his Book of Morals, cited
before, turns to our present matter. What answer can you
make to all this ? Will not these threats, as coming from
God himself, be of force to make you afraid of falling into such
a danger, and prepare yourself in time against this dreadful
moment? 22. If this will not suffice, give ear to another authority,
no less clear than this. Our Saviour, in the Gospel, speak
ing of his coming at the day of judgment, with much earnest
ness advises his disciples to be ready against that day, and
to this purpose brings several comparisons to make them un
derstand how important this concern was. " Blessed (says
he) is that servant whom his master, when he comes, shall
find watching. But if the bad servant shall say in his heart,
it will be a great while before my master will come, and shall
begin to beat his fellow-servant, and shall eat and drink with
drunkards, the master of that servant shall come at a day
when he does not expect him, and at an hour that he is
ignorant of; and he will separate him, and he will give him

272 THE SINNER'S GUIDE.
a share amongst the hypocrites. There shall be weeping and
gnashing of teeth." Matt. xxiv. By this we may see, that
our Saviour was acquainted with the designs of the wicked,
and the ways they use to cloak their crimes. And for this
reason he meets them, as it were, and tells them what shall
befall them, and what are like to be the effects of their vain
confidence. Now, what is it we are treating of but this very
business, and what do I say but what our Saviour himself
said? You are this bad servant, who are conceiving the
same designs in your heart, and have a mind to take hold of
this delay of your master, as an opportunity of spending your
time in eating and drinking, and of continuing still in your
sins. How comes it you do not dread this threat, which is
made by God, who is as able to put everything he says in
execution as he is to say it. It is to you he speaks, it is you
he treats with, it is to you he directs his voice ; awake then,
unhappy man, and amend your life while you have time, for
fear of being torn to pieces when the hour of this dreadful
judgment shall come.
23. Methinks I spend too much time about a thing so
clear; but what shall I do when, notwithstanding all this, I
see the greatest part of the world make use of this unhappy
pretence ? That you may, therefore, have a clear sight of
the greatness of this danger, hear what our Saviour says to
this purpose in another place. He had no sooner made an
end of the above-mentioned words, but he adds these which
follow: "Then shall the kingdom of heaven be like to ten
virgins, five of which were wise, and five were foolish ones."
Matt. xxv. 1 . He says then, and when will this then be ?
When the judge comes, when the hour of judgment shall draw
nigh, and not only the general, but each particular judgment,
as St. Augustine explains this passage: because the same
sentence that shall be passed at the particular judgment will
stand good at the general. — Aug. Ep. 80, ad iEsychinni.
This is the time when what happened to the virgins, says
our Lord, shall happen to you. '' There were five wise and
five foolish virgins, that were waiting for the bridegroom ; the
wise ones furnished their lamps with oil betimes, to go out
to receive him, but the foolish ones neglected to do it. At
midnight," the time of the deepest sleep, that is, when men
are not at all solicitous and think least of death, " a noise was
heard. The bridegroom is coming, let us go out and receive
him. Immediately these virgins all rose up, and they that had

THE SINNERS GUIDE. 273
prepared their lamps entered with him to the marriage, and
the door was shut; but those that had not got their lamps
ready, began then to dress and to fill them, and to call
upon the bridegroom, saying, " Lord, Lord, open to us. But
he answered them, Amen, I know you not." With these
words, the Evangelist ends the parable, and immediately
after tells us the meaning of it, saying, " Watch, therefore,
because you know not the day nor the hour?" as if he had
said, you have seen how these virgins prospered who had got
all things ready, and how unhappy, on the contrary, they
were that had not. Therefore, since you neither know the
day nor the hour of his coming, and since the business of
your salvation depends on your being ready, watch and be
always prepared, for fear of being taken before you are aware,
like these foolish virgins, and of perishing as they did.
This is the literal sense of the parable, according to Cajetan,
on this place, when he says, " That from this example alone
we may draw this consequence, that the penance which is
deferred to the very hour of a man's death, when he hears
these words, Behold the bridegroom is coming, is not sure.
On the contrary, it is looked on in this parable as false, be
cause, generally speaking, it is so." And at the end he
makes this the result of the whole parable, saying, " The
moral of this doctrine is, to let us know, that the five foolish
virgins were rejected, because they were not prepared when
the bridegroom came, whilst the others, being ready, were
admitted. And, therefore, it is requisite we should be al
ways so, since we are ignorant both of the day and hour
when he will come. What could be better expressed than
this ? I wonder, therefore, that after so plain a proof of
this truth, men dare comfort themselves with so vain a hope.
Were not this truth so clear, I should not wonder if they
believed the contrary, or endeavoured to deceive themselves ;
but after our great Master has decided this business, after
the Judge himself has explained his laws and judgments by
so many examples, and has told us how we are to be judged,
who can be so senseless as to think this business will fall out
quite otherwise than as he, who is to pronounce the sen
tence, has declared it shall.
Section IV. — Some Objections answered.
24. But, perhaps, in answer to all this you will say,
What I was not the good thief saved by one sentence at the

274 THE SINNER'S GUIDE.
hour of death? St. Augustine answers this question in the
book above cited, where he says, " That the confession the
good thief made was, all at once, the hour of his conversion,
of hi3 baptism, and of his death ; whence it follows, that as
he who dies immediately after being baptized goes directly
to heaven, as has happened to several persons, so it fared
with this happy thief, because the hour of his death was the
same to him as that of his baptism." De vera et falsa Poenit.
25. We may answer this query another way, which is,
that so wonderful an action as this, like all other miracles of
the same nature, was reserved to the coming of the Son of
God into the world, for a testimony of his glory ; and, there
fore, it was requisite, that, at the time of our Saviour's
passion, the heavens should be darkened, the earth quake,
the graves be opened, and the dead arise, because these pro
digies were all kept against this time, as so many proofs of
the glory of him who suffered — and amongst them we may
reckon the salvation of the good thief; but we must here
take notice, that this man's confession was no less wonderful
than his salvation; for he confessed the kingdom of heaven
even on the cross ; he publicly preached the faith of Christ
present, when the apostles had almost lost theirs, and praised
and glorified our Saviour, when all the world was cursing
and blaspheming him. Since, therefore, this miracle, as
well as the rest, was for the manifesting of our Saviour's
dignity and glory at his death, it is folly to expect that
should generally be done at all times which was particu
larly reserved for that.
26. Besides, we see in all governments there are ordinary
and extraordinary methods and ways of proceeding; the
ordinary are common to all, the extraordinary for some par
ticular persons. The same is practised in the divine govern
ment of God's Church ; for that is a regular and common
method, which the apostle speaks of, that the end of the
wicked shall be answerable to their works, to signify that
generally a good death follows a good life, and an ill death
an ill. life. — 2 Cor. xi. The ordinary way of proceeding is,
that those who have done works shall go into life everlast-"
ing, and those who have done evil shall be condemned to
eternal flames. This is what we find frequently repeated
in the Holy Scriptures ; it is sung by the psalmist, declared
by the prophets, published by the apostles, and preached by
the evangelist. This is what David has explained in a few

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words, when he said, " God has spoken once, these two
things I have heard, that power belongeth to God, and mercy
to thee, 0 Lord, for thou wilt render to every man accord
ing to his works." — Ps. Ixi. 12, 13. This is the sum of
all Christian philosophy. Now, according to this, we say it
is usual for the wicked, as well as for the just, to be re
warded at the end of this life according to their deserts,
which are to be measured by their works. Not that this
law is so universal, but that God can show a particular
favour to some persons for his own glory, and grant those
the happiness of dying the death of the just, who have lived
the lives of sinners; as it can, on the contrary, happen, that
a man may, by a secret judgment of God, die the death of a
sinner, that has lived all his life-time like a just man ; as a
merchant after a prosperous voyage may be lost as he is
entering port. For which reason Solomon said, " Who
knoweth if the spirit of the children of Adam ascend
upward, and if that of beasts goes downwards?" — Eccl. iii.
21. Because, though it generally happens, that the souls of
those men who live like beasts go down to hell, and that
the souls of those who live like rational creatures mount up
to heaven, yet, by some special judgment of God, the con
trary may fall out in both respects ; but, notwithstanding all
this, the secure and general doctrine is, that whosoever lives
well, shall die happily. For this reason, no one ought to
rely on the examples of particular graces, since they do not
make any general rule, nor belong to all indifferently, but to
a very few indeed, and those unknown ; so that you can
have no assurance of your being of this number.
27. Others make use of another pretence, and say, the
sacraments of the new law make contrition of attrition, and
that they shall be in this disposition, at least when they are
dying, which, joined to the virtue of the sacraments, will
suffice for the obtaining of their salvation. My answer is,
that it is not any sort of sorrow that will suffice for that kind
of attrition, which, joined to sacraments, produces grace in
those persons that receive them. For it is certain there are
several sorts of attrition and sorrow, and that it is not any
kind of it that changes a man's attrition into contrition, but
only that which is known by no one but by him who is the
giver of all grace.
28. The holy doctors have not been unacquainted with
this truth, and, therefore, it is that they have spoken of

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penance with so much fear and apprehension, as we have
shown already. And St. Augustine, in the first authority
cited in confirmation of this doctrine, speaking of him that
receives penance, and is reconciled by the sacraments of
the Church, says expressly, " We administer the sacrament
of penance to the sinner, but we give him no assurance."
De 50. Horn. 42.
29. But if, after this, you should urge farther, and object
the penance of the Ninevites to me, which proceeded from
the apprehension they were in of being destroyed within
forty days, I would have you reflect not only on the rigorous
penance they performed, but the change of their lives; and
do you change your life as they did theire, and you will not
fail of finding the same mercy they did. But when I see
you have no sooner recovered your health than you return to
your former evil courses, and neglect all the good resolutions
you made during your sickness, what would you have me
think of such penance as this is ?
The Conclusion of this Chapter.
30. All we have said here has not been to shut the gates,
either of salvation or hope, on any one ; which the saints
have not done, nor ought any of us do it. Our only design
is to turn the wicked out of this stronghold, in which they
always take shelter, that they may continue in their sins
with the more security. Tell me now, I beseech you, by the
love of God, how dare you expose yourself to so imminent a
ruin, when you have all the doctors and saints of the Church,
when you have reason itself, nay, and the Holy Scriptures,
continually admonishing you of the danger of this penance ?
What is it you have to trust to at the last hour? Is it to
the legacies you bequeath in your will for pious uses ? Is it
to the prayers and masses you order to be said for you?
Alas I you have seen how solicitous the foolish virgins were
to supply themselves with what was requisite, and what
entreaties they used at the door with the bridegroom, but
all to no purpose, because nothing of all this proceeded from
a true penance. Do you trust to the tears you shall shed
then? Tears, it is true, have great force at all times, and
happy is the man that weeps without hypocrisy and con
straint; but consider what floods of tears it cost him, who
sold his birthright to satisfy his gluttony, and yet the apostle
tells us, " That he had no place for penance, though it was

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what he sought after with so many tears" (Heb. xii. 17);
for it was not for God's sake that he wept, but for the loss
he had suffered. You, perhaps, rely on the good resolutions
you shall make at that time. These go a great way when
they are sincere; but call to mind the good designs which
King Antiochus proposed to himself, as he lay on his death
bed ; he made such great promises to God, that we cannot
so much as read them without admiration and astonishment,
and yet, after all, the Scripture says, " That this wicked
man prayed to the Lord, of whom he was not to obtain
mercy." 2 Macch. ix. 13. And why, but because all he
promised was not out of a motive of love, but of servile fear;
which, though it is good, is not yet sufficient of itself for the
gaining of the kingdom of heaven ; for a dread of hell's tor
ments is what may proceed from the natural love and
affection every man has for himself ; but for a man to love
himself, is not a means whereby he can possibly arrive at
this kingdom. So that as no person had admittance into
King Ahasuerus's palace that was clothed in sackcloth, so no
one can enter into the kingdom of heaven in the dress of a
slave ; that is, by the means of this servile fear alone, unless
he be clothed with his wedding garment, which is love.
Esther, iv. 2.
31. Consider, therefore, seriously, now whilst you have
time before you, that you must, without doubt, be one day
or other in this condition; nay, the time cannot be far off,
for you see what haste the heavens make to finish their
courses. This mortal life of ours, which is no more than
a small flock of wool, will be soon spun out, whilst the
wheel is perpetually turning round with so swift a motion.
For this reason Moses says, " That the day of perdition is
nigh, and that the seasons come upon us very fast." Deut.
xxxii. 35. When you have run this short course, will follow
the fulfilling of these prophecies, and then you will see how
true a prophet I have been in all I have foretold you; you
will find yourself surrounded with pains, disturbed by cares,
tormented by the presence of death, and in continual ex
pectation of the lot which is immediately to befall you. 0
doubtful lot I 0 dreadful passage ! 0 terrible trial, in which
is to be passed the sentence, either of eternal life or of eternal
death! Who will be able then to change their lot? who
will put a stop to this sentence? It is at present in your
own power to do it, do not neglect the opportunity. You
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have now a convenient time to make your Judge merciful,
now you may gain his favour. Take, therefore, the advice
of the prophet Isaiah along with you, who says, " Seek the
Lord whilst he is to be found ; call upon him while he is
near." He is now near to hear us, though we cannot see
him; when we are to be judged we shall see him, but he
will not hearken to us, unless we now do something to de
serve it. CHAPTER III.
Against those who continue in their Sins, confiding in the Mercy of God.
1. There are others who continue in their wicked lives,
confiding in God's mercies, and in the merits of our Saviour's
passion, whom it is requisite to undeceive, as well as the
rest. You say the mercy of God is great, since he died on
the cross for the salvation of sinners : I confess it is very
great, since it bears with so great a blasphemy as in making
his goodness the motive of your wickedness, and turning the
cross, which he made use of as his instrument for the
destroying the kingdom of sin, into an instrument for estab
lishing and promoting it ; and whereas you are obliged to
lay down a thousand lives, if you had them, in return for
that which he laid down for you, you take occasion from
thence to deny him that single life you have received from
him. This crime was a greater affliction to our Saviour
than the death he suffered ; for though he never complained
of his sufferings, yet he does of this injury by the prophet,
saying, " The wicked have wrought upon my back, they
have lengthened their iniquity." Ps. cxxviii. 3. Who is
it that taught you to deduce this consequence, that because
God is good you will take the liberty of sinning, and escape
without being punished? The Holy Ghost does not teach
us to argue after that manner, but thus: Because God is
good he deserves to be honoured, obeyed, and loved above
all things; because God is good, it is just I should be so
too, and that I should hope in his mercy for the pardon of
sins, though they be ever so great, if I do but return to him
with my whole heart; because God is good, and infinitely
good, it will be the greater crime in me to offend so much
goodness ; and for this reason, the greater you suppose this
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heinous is every sin you commit against it. Nor is it just,
that such a crime should go unpunished ; nay, it belongs to
divine justice to take care it should not; neither is this jus
tice, as you falsely persuade yourself, opposite to the divine
goodness, but is its sister and protectress, and cannot, by any
means, consent that such a crime should pass unpunished.
2. This sort of excuse is not new, but has been long used
in the world. This was the dispute between the true and
false prophets ; for those coming from Almighty God threat
ened the people with the execution of his justice; these
speaking of their own head, promised them a false peace and
mercy; and as soon as ever God's heavy judgments had dis
covered the truth of the one, and the lies of the others, the
true prophets said, " Where are now your prophets who
prophesied to you, and said, the King of Babylon (that is,
Nabuchodonoser) shall not come upon you?" Jer. xxxvii.
3. You say God is very merciful, but believe me, who
soever you are that say so, he has not opened your eyes yet
to let you see how great his justice is ; for if he had you
would cry out with the prophet, " Who is there, 0 Lord !
that knows the power of thy wrath, and who can measure the
greatness of thy indignation for fear? Ps. Ixxxix. 11.
4. That you may the more clearly perceive the danger of
this mistake, let us go hand in hand together awhile. Neither
you nor I have ever seen God's justice, as it is in itself, to
know how far it reaches, nor have we any other way of
knowing God in this world but by his works. Let us, then,
go now into this spiritual world of the holy Scriptures, and
when we have been there awhile we will come into this
terrestrial world we live in, to take a view in each of them
of the effects of the divine justice, that we may be the better
able to know what it is.
5. This journey will be very advantageous to us; for be
sides the end we propose to ourselves, we shall receive
another very considerable benefit, which is, the exciting and
nourishing of the fear of God in our hearts, which the saints
tell us is the treasure, the defence, the ballast of our soul.
So that a vessel is not safe unless it will be poised and bal
lasted, because any gust of wind may overset her; so neither
can the soul be secure if it wants the weight of this fear.
It is fear keeps her from being carried away and overturned
by the winds either of human or divine favours; whereas,
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of being cast away, whilst she wants this ballast. It is
necessary, then, that not only those who are just entered
into God's service, but even those who have been a long
time in his family, should live continually in fear ; nor is this
virtue required in sinners only who have motives enough to
excite them to it, but also in the just, who have not done
so much as the others have to be afraid of; the subject of
those persons' fear is, because they have fallen already; the
motive these have is, lest they should fall ; the one ought to
be afraid because of their past sins, and the other upon the
account of the dangers they may probably be exposed
to. 6. If you would know how this holy fear is to be pro
duced within you, I tell you that when it is once infused
into your soul by grace, it is preserved and increased there
by frequent reflections on the effects of God's justice, which
we are now going to treat of. Let these be the frequent
entertainment of your thoughts, and you will find this fear
will by degrees be formed in you.
Section I. — Of the Effects of the Divine Justice mentioned in the Holy
Scriptures.
7. The first effect of God's justice, which the Holy Scrip
ture speaks of, is the reprobation of the angels. The be
ginning of the ways of God was first shown on the prince
of devils, as we find in the book of Job, xl. 14; " For
since all the ways of the Lord are mercy and justice
(Ps. xxiv. 10), his justice, till this first crime, had never
manifested itself. It was shut up in the bosom of God
like a sword in a scabbard, which the prophet Ezekiel was
frighted at, when he considered what destruction it would
make. (Ezec. xxi.) This first sin it was that made God draw
the sword ; and consider what a terrible blow the first was.
Do but look up, and you will see what a deal of hurt it
did; you will see one of the richest jewels of God's house,
one of the greatest ornaments of heaven, a draft which gives
so lively a representation of the divine splendour and beauty,
" fall down from heaven, like a flash of lightning," for one
proud thought. Luke, x. 18. He that was before the
prince of angels, was made the chief of devils ; he that was
before so very beautiful and glorious, became as oppositely
deformed and ugly ; he that was crowned before with the
greatest glory, was condemned to the severest torments ; he

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that was before God's greatest favourite, was changed into
his greatest enemy, and so will continue for all eternity.
What a subject of admiration must this be to those heavenly
spirits, who well know from whence and whither that so
noble a creature fell! With what astonishment will they
repeat these words of Isaias (xiv. 12), "How art thou
fallen from heaven, 0 Lucifer, who didst rise in the morn
ing!" 8. Descend from heaven to the terrestrial paradise, and
you will there see another fall, no less terrible than the
former, had it not been retrieved. Gen. iii. For, if the
angels fell, every one of them had committed an actual sin,
which was the occasion of his fall. But what actual sin has
an infant been guilty of, to deserve to be sent into the world
a child of wrath and indignation? There is no need of any
actual sin for this ; it is enough to be descended from one
who sinned, and by sinning infected the very root of all
human nature which was in him, that so the child is born
with that sin ; so great is the glory and majesty of God,
that a creature, for one offence committed against it, deserves
no less a punishment than this is. If Aman, Ahasuerus's
creature (Esther, iii.), did not look on himself as satisfied,
when he was revenged of Mardocheus, whom he imagined to
be the man that had injured and abused him; but, on
the contrary, thought his greatness obliged him to destroy all
the Jews, for the affront which one single man had offered
him, what greater matter then is it for Almighty God's
glory and infinite greatness to exact such a punishment?
Consider, then, the first man turned out of paradise for
eating of one morsel, for which the whole world has ever
since been condemned to hunger and want. After the revo
lution of so many ages, the infant child carries the mark of
his father's wound along with him, and is made a child of
wrath, not only before he is capable of committing any sin,
but even before he is born. This injury is not put up yet,
though it is so long since it was done — though it has been
divided amongst so many millions of men, and has been so
often and so severely punished. On the contrary, all those
torments that have been suffered in the world to this day,
all the deaths that have been hitherto, and all the souls that
have been burning in hell-fire since the fall of the angels, or
that shall burn there for all eternity, are nothing but so
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divine justice. Nay, what is still more astonishing, it con
tinues, notwithstanding the redemption of the world by the
blood of Christ. And yet, if man had not had this remedy
applied to him, there would have been no difference at all
between him and the devil, because the one would have had
as great a probability of obtaining his salvation as the other.
Are not these proofs of the divine justice strong enough to
convince you?
9. But, as if this yoke, which the sons of Adam have so
long groaned under, were not heavy enough, there have been
from that time downward, new additions of punishments on
punishments, for new sins, which have taken their rise from
this first sin. The whole world was drowned by the deluge.
Gen. vii. God rained down fire and brimstone from
heaven on five lewd cities. Gen. xiv. The earth opened
and swallowed up Dathan and Abiron alive, for contending
with Moses. Num. xvi. Aaron's two sons, Nadab and
Abiu, for omitting one single ceremony in their sacrifice,
were burnt on a sudden by the fire of the sanctuary, with
out finding any mercy, either on the consideration of their
own dignity, as priests, or their father's sanctity, or the fa
miliarity which Moses, their uncle, had with God. Lev. x.
We read, in the New Testament, that Ananias and Sapphira,
for lying to St. Peter, in a matter which did not seem to be
of any very great moment, both of them fell down dead on
the spot. Acts, v.
10. What shall I say of God's dreadful judgments?
Solomon, the wisest among the children of men, for whom
God had such a tender love, that he commanded him to be
called the " beloved of the Lord," came at last, by God's
unsearchable judgments, to fall into the worst and greatest
of all sins, viz., the adoring of idols. 2 Kings, xii. 24; 3
Kings, xi. Can there be anything more dreadful than this
is ? And yet, if you did but know how many judgments
of the same nature happen every day in the Church, you
would, perhaps, be no less surprised at them than at all
that has been said. For, you would see a great many stars
fallen from heaven, you would see several persons who have
been invited to God's table, and have been fed with the
bread of angels, brought iuto such a miserable condition, as
to long after the food of swine to satisfy their hunger (Luke,
xv.) ; you would see a great number of chaste souls, more
beautiful and more glorious than the sun, sullied all over and

THE SINNERS GUIDE. 283
darker than the midnight sky ; all which was occasioned by
the sins and offences they fell into ; for God's decrees and
judgments lay no necessity on men's actions, nor deprive them
of their free will.
11. But what is still more: could there be a greater proof
of this justice, than that God should not be satisfied with any
less satisfaction than the death of his only begotten Son, to
purchase pardon for mankind? Can any words be more
moving than those of our Saviour to the women who followed
him when he went to be crucified ; " Daughters of Jerusalem,
weep not over me, but weep for yourselves and for your
children ; for behold, the days shall come, wherein they shall
say, blessed are the barren, and the wombs that have not
borne, and the paps that have not given suck. Then shall
they begin to say to the mountains, fall upon us, and to the
hills, cover us. For if in the green woods they do these
things, what shall be done in the dry?" Luke, xxiii. 28-31.
As if he had said more clearly, if this tree of life and of in
nocence, on which there has never been any worm or rust of
sin, burns thus, by the flames of the divine justice, for the sins
of other persons, what will become of the barren and dry tree,
which not charity, but malice, has overloaded with its own
crimes? How rigorous, therefore, must God's justice be in
those other works of his, in which mercy does not exert itself,
since it is so severe in this, which is the effect of his infinite
goodness ? •
12. But if you are so dull as not to see the force of these
arguments, reflect on the eternity of hell torments, and con
sider how terrible this justice is, which, for a sin of but one
moment, condemns the soul to nothing less than pains ever
lasting. This dreadful justice suits very well with the mercy
you so highly commend. Can anything be so dreadful as to
see how this great God, seated on the throne of his glory,
will from thence look down on a soul after it has been tor
mented millions of years in such a terrible manner, without
being moved to the least pity and compassion ? On the con
trary, he will take pleasure in such a soul's sufferings, and
will never put an end or limit to them, nor give it any hopes
of ever finding ease! 0 wonders of the divine justice! 0
subject of our astonishment and admiration! 0 the un
fathomable depth of this abyss! Who is there so unreason
able and senseless, as not to tremble at the thoughts of so
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Section II. — Of the Effects of the Divine Justice which are to be seen
in this World.
13. Let us now leave the Holy Scripture, and come to
this visible world, and we shall there find other effects of a
most terrible and most severe justice. They who are ever so
little enlightened with the knowledge of God live, whilst they
are in this world, in such fear and apprehension of these
effects of justice, that though they are able to conceive all
the rest of God's works, yet they cannot do so in respect of
this, but are forced to content themselves with a sincere and
humble act of faith. Who is there that is not surprised to
see the whole face of the earth covered over with infidelity?
To see what a nursery the devil has here to people hell ? To
see that the greatest part of the world has been as much
overshadowed with the darkness of its errors, even since our
Saviour's death, as it was before? What is all the Christian
world in comparison to what the infidels possess, and to what
is discovered every day ? All the rest is under the tyranny
of the prince of darkness, without the least glimmering of
the sun of justice. There the light of truth has never shone
out; there no more rain or dew falls down from heaven than
used to do upon the mountains of Gelboe. 2 Kings, iii.
From thence the devils still continue to carry off a great
number of souls every day to everlasting flames, as they have
done since the beginning of the world. For as in the time of
the deluge, no one escaped that was not in Noe's ark (Gen.
vii.), as none of the inhabitants of Jericho were saved but
Rahab and her family, so neither can any one be saved but
those of the house of God, that is, the Church. Jos. vii. 2 ;
Pet. iii.
14. Consider again, in this little spot of the world, which
the Christians possess, how each one behaves himself, and you
will see that in all this mystical body there is scarce one sound
part, from the sole of the feet to the crown of the head. Isa. i.
Lay aside but a very few of the chief cities, where you may
see some marks of the sound doctrine, and run over all the
other towns and countries where they have no notion of the
true worship, and you will find many places in which we may
truly say, what God said once of Jerusalem : " Go round
about the ways of Jerusalem, and look in the streets, to see
if you can find a man that is truly just, and I will show
mercy towards him." Jer. v. I do not desire you to rnn

the sinner's guide. 285
up and down the market-places, or to public houses, which
are, for the most part, full of nothing but lying and deceit:
Do but consider what passes in your neighbours' families, and
as Jeremias saya, " Do but give an ear to what they say, and
you will scarce hear any one good word amongst them."
Jer. viii. Go where you will, and you will hear nothing but
murmuring, detracting, swearing, blaspheming, quarrelling,
coveting, and fighting. In fine, the tongue and the heart en
tertain themselves everywhere with the things of this world,
and with the ways of promoting their interests, while, at the
same time, God and heavenly things are what they trouble
themselves about but little, unless it be in blaspheming and
swearing by his holy name. Such a remembrance as this
God himself complained of by his prophet, saying, "They re
member me, but not in truth and justice, but only in swearing
falsely by my name." Isa. xlviii. 1 ; Zach. v. So that a man
can hardly tell, at least by what he sees, whether these per
sons are Christians or heathens, except, perhaps, by the high
towers and steeples he sees at a distance, and by the oaths
and perjuries he hears when he comes nearer. What pretence,
then, have such persons to reckon themselves in the number
of those, of whom Isaias said, " All that shall see them shall
know them, that those are the seed which the Lord hath
blessed. Isa. Ixi. 9. If, therefore, the life of a Christian
ought to be such, that every one that sees shall acknowledge
him to be the child of God, what rank shall we put those in,
who rather seem to despise and laugh at Jesus Christ, than
to live as become Christians?
15. How can you choose but see by this the effects of
God's justice, since the crimes of the world are so many and
so great? For that the permitting men to fall into sin is one
of the greatest punishments, and one of the most manifest
signs of God's anger, is a truth as undeniable, as that the pre
serving a soul from sin is one of the greatest favours he is
capable of receiving from God. Thus we read in the book of
Kings, that God's anger was kindled against the children of
Israel, and, therefore, he permitted David to fall into the sin
of pride, by ordering Joab to go number the people. 2 Kings,
xxiv. We read in Ecclesiasticus, " That God will preserve
the merciful men from all evil, and will not permit them to
wallow in sins.'' Eccles. xxiii. 16. For as one part of the
reward due to virtue is the increase of virtue itself, so it
frequently happens, that the punishment of one sin is the
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permission to fall into another. Thus we see the severest
punishments inflicted for the most heinous sin that ever was
committed in the world, to wit, the putting of the Son of God
to death, was that which the prophet threatened the authors
of this crime with, when he said, " Add iniquity, 0 Lord, to
their iniquity, and let them not come into thy justice" (Ps.
lxviii. 28) ; that is to say, permit them not to keep and obey
thy commandments. And what follows from all this? The
same prophet tells us himself in the next verse, where he
says, " Let them be blotted out of the book of the living, and
with the just let them not be written." Ibid. ver. 20.
16. If, therefore, God's punishing of one sin by permitting
another be so severe a punishment, and so great a proof
of his anger, how is it possible you should not see the marks
of the divine justice amongst such a number of sins, as
are even in fame and reputation in the world ? Turn your
eyes which way you please, and you shall scarce see anything
but sin, like men in the midst of the sea, who have no other
object but sky and water. And can you see all these sins,
without seeing justice too? Can you be in the middle of the
ocean, and see no water? And if all this world is nothing but
an ocean of sins, it must needs be an ocean of justice. There
is no need of going down into hell to see how the divine jus
tice manifests itself there; we may see it plainly enough in
this world. ^
17. But if you can see nothing beyond yourself, at least
look into yourself: consider, that if you are in the state of sin,
you are under the stroke of this justice, and are then most
exposed to it, when you think you are most secure. St.
Augustine was once in this condition, as he himself acknow
ledges, when he says, '' I was drowned in the depth of sin,
your anger was provoked against me, and I knew nothing of
it. I was quite deaf to the noise which the chains of my
mortality made, and this ignorance of your anger and my
fault was a punishment of the pride of my soul." Conf. L. 2.
c. 2. Now, if God has inflicted this kind of punishment on
you, and has permitted you to remain blind for so long a time,
and to be drowned in your iniquities, how can you falsely
imagine yourself to be in so happy a condition when all things
go so ill with you? Let him, who is in favour with God,
talk of his graces and mercies; but he who suffers the rigour
of his justice should talk of nothing but his justice. Will
God, out of his mercy, permit you to live so long in your sins,

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and not permit you to run headlong into hell, out of his
justice ? Oh, that you did but know how small the distance is
between sin and the punishment, and between grace and
glory. When a man is in the state of grace, what great mat
ter is it to make him partaker of glory, or to punish him when
he has committed any sin? Grace is the beginning and pur
chase of glory, so sin is an introduction and highway to hell.
1 8. Besides, what can be more terrible than to see, that
though the pains of hell are so dreadful, as we have de
scribed them, God should permit so great a number to be
damned, and so few to be saved. But that you may not
think I design to impose on you, when I say that this num
ber is so very small, " He that counts the stars in the
heavens, and calleth them all by their names" (Ps. cxlvi. 3),
will tell you the same. Can any man, without astonish
ment and fright, hear these words of our Saviour, which are
so well known, and yet so little understood and regarded?
they are in his words to his disciples, when he answered
them the question, whether the number of the elect was small
or not: "Enter (says he) in at the narrow gate, for wide
is the gate and broad is the way that leadeth to destruction,
and many there are that go in thereat; how narrow is
the gate and how straight is the way, that leadeth to life,
and few there are that find it." Matt. vii. 13, 14. Who
can imagine how our Saviour was moved, when he cried out,
not in a cold and indifferent manner, but with such emphatic
exclamation, " How narrow is the gate, and how straight is
the way?"
19. All the world was destroyed by the waters of the
deluge, and only eight souls were preserved in Noah's ark
(Gen. vii.), which, according to St. Peter, represents the small
number of the elect, in comparison of the reproved. 2 Pet.
ii. 5. God brought six hundred thousand men out of Egypt,
without counting their wives and children, to lead them into
the Land of Promise : and for this end he assisted and fa
voured them in several respects, in a peculiar manner
(Exod. xii): yet, after all, they, by their own fault, lost
the land which God of his grace had offered them, and
only two men of this great number had the happiness to
go into it. Num. xiv. 30. From whence all the holy
fathers unanimously conclude, that this is a figure of , the
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288 the sinner's guide.
that are saved; which is the meaning of these words, " For
many are called but few chosen." Matt. xx. 16. For this
reason, the just, in several places of Holy Scripture, are
called precious stones; to give us to understand, that just
men are as rarely to be found in the world as precious stones,
and that the number of the wicked as far exceeds that of
the good, as the number of the ordinary stones does that of
the precious: as Solomon declared to us, when he said,
" The number of fools is infinite." Eccles. i. 15. If, there
fore, the number of the elect is so small, and so soon counted
up, as the figure represents it to us, and as truth itself tells
us ; for you see how many persons were, by a just judgment
of God, deprived of the happiness they were called to; how
can you stand so unconcerned in this common danger and
universal deluge? If the number of the elect were equal to
that of the damned, you would still have sufficient reason to
fear for yourself; but what do I talk of being equal? for to
be damned to hell for all eternity is a misery so great, that
though there were but one person out of the whole race of
mankind to be sent thither, each particular man ought to
tremble for himself. When our Saviour told his disciples,
as he was at supper with them, that " one of you shall be
tray me" (John, xiii. 21), they all began to be afraid,
though their consciences told them they were innocent;
because, when a crime is very heinous, though it touch but
few, every one is afraid lest he should have some share in it.
If a great army of men were standing in a field, and should
understand by divine revelation, that a thunderbolt was to
fall and take one of them off, none knowing who it was to
be, every one would be afraid lest he should be the person,
and look on the danger as his own. What then would their
apprehension be, if half the army, or the greater part, were
to be destroyed by this thunderbolt? Tell me now, you that
are so wise in worldly affairs, but senseless to what regards
your salvation, since God here reveals to you that the thun
derbolt of his divine justice will fall ou so great a number of
persons, and so few shall escape it, how can you live so un
concerned and fearless, when you know not which of the
parties you belong to? Is hell to be dreaded less than
thunder? Has God given you any security for your salva
tion ? There is nothing that can give you any certainty of
it. Your own works condemn you, and as the case now

the sinner's guide. 289
stands, unless you turn over a new leaf, you are one of the
reprobates, and can you still be unconcerned at your
danger? 20. You say God's mercy encourages you: that is no
answer to what has been said ; on the contrary, if the per
mitting of so many persons to be damned be not incompa
tible with his mercy, why may it not as well suffer you to
be one of that number, if you live as they have done? Do
not you perceive, unhappy creature, that self-love deludes
you, making you think better of yourself than of all the
world besides? What privilege have you above the rest of
the children of Adam, not to go where all those whose works
you imitate have been sent before you?
21. If, as I proved already, God is to be known by his
works, I may safely say, that though we may make a great
many comparisons between his mercy and his justice, in
which his mercy will be always superior, yet we shall find
at last, that there are more vessels of wrath in the race of
Adam, from which you descend, than there are of mercy ;
because the number of the damned is so far greater than
that of the elect. 2 Tim. ii. 20; Rom. ix. 22, 23. Now,
this does not happen for want of God's grace and assistance
(for he, as the Apostle tells us, would have all men saved,
and come to the knowledge of the truth), but through the
fault of the wicked, who will not make their advantage of
God's mercies.
22. All I have hitherto said has been to convince you,
that if it is not incompatible with that infinite mercy of God
you talk of, to permit so many infidels in the world, and so
many bad Christians in the Church, and to suffer all these
infidels, and so great a number of these Christians, to be lost
for ever, it will be no less agreeable to it that you should
perish with them, if you behave yourself like them. Did
the heavens smile at your birth, or were the decrees of God,
and the laws of the Gospel, changed in favour of you, that
you should expect to be singular in the world ? If it be no
prejudice to this great mercy, that hell should enlarge its
womb, and that so many thousands of souls should be swal
lowed up in it every day, what greater prejudice will it re
ceive, if you, who live as they did, should be swallowed up
amongst them ? And lest you should say, that God was
severe and rigorous then, but is mild and merciful now, con
sider, that notwithstanding all his mildness, there is nothing

290/ THE SINNER'S GUIDE.
of what you have heard which he does not permit to this
very day ; so that you may have just cause to fear punish
ment, though you be a Christian, if you are a bad one.
23. Will it be any lessening to God's glory, if you alone
should fail of being admitted to it? Have you any extra
ordinary qualities, which God stands particularly in need of,
to make him bear with you and all your faults? Or have
yon any particular privilege, above all other men, which
secures you from being damned, as well as they, if you are
wicked ? Since David's children, who were favoured in
consideration of their father's deserts, were punished by God
according to their crimes, whenever they did wickedly, and
several of them came to unfortunate ends, can you be puffed
up with a vain confidence, and imagine yourself to be secure ?
3 Kings, ii. ; 4 Kings, xiv. Absalom, Ammon, Adonias.
You deceive yourself, unhappy man, you deceive yourself, if
you think this is hoping in God : this is not hope, but pre
sumption; for hope is a confidence that God will forgive all
your sins, though ever so many or so great, if you repent
and amend. But it is presumption to believe, that though
you persist in a wicked life, your salvation is secure. And
do not think this is an indifferent sort of sin, for it is ac
counted one of those against the Holy Ghost, because it is
an abuse and affront to the goodness of God, which is parti
cularly attributed to the Holy Ghost, which sins, our Saviour
has told us, are not forgiven in this world, nor in the next;
to signify that it is very hard to be forgiven, because they,
as much as in them lies, shut up the gate of grace, and offend
the physician that is to heal us.
The Conclusion.
24. We will conclude this matter with the discovery of
which the author of Ecclesiasticus makes use of this error,
in these words : " Do not lose the fear which you ought
to be in, on account of your sins being pardoned you ; and
do not say, the mercy of the Lord is great, he will not re
member the multitude of my sins. For his anger and his
mercy are very near to one another, and his wrath looketh
upon sinners." Eccl. v. If we are commanded to be
afraid, even for those sins which have been pardoned
already, tell me how is it possible you should be free from
fear who daily increase the number of yom- sins ? Reflect
well on these words : " The wrath of the Lord looketh upon

THE SINNER'S GUIDE. 291
sinners," because the understanding of this whole discourse
depends on it. To this end, you are to know, that though
the mercy of God extends itself to sinners as well as to the
just, and that every man partakes of it, either by being pre
served by it, as some are, from falling into sin, or by being
reclaimed from sin, as others are, and expected to do
penance; notwithstanding all this, those extraordinary fa
vours which God promises in his Scriptures belong particu
larly to the just, to whom he is, in every point, as good as
his word ; because they have not failed in their promise to
him, which was, to observe his commandments with all the
exactness and fidelity imaginable; and because they have
been obedient and dutiful children to him, therefore he shews
himself a loving and tender Father to them. But as for all
those threats and curses which you may read in the Holy
Scripture, and all those rigours and severities of the divine
justice, persuade yourself that they are aimed at you, and all
such as are like you. How great, then, must your blind
ness be, if yon are not afraid of those threats, which are
addressed immediately to you ; but, on the contrary, feed
yourself up with the hopes of those favours which were not
promised to you. Take you what falls to your share, and
let the just have what belongs to him. Anger is for you,
therefore fear; love and friendship are for the just, let him
therefore rejoice. Would you have this made plain to you?
Consider what David says, " The eyes of the Lord are upon
the just, and his ears unto their prayers. But the counte
nance of the Lord is against them that do evil things, to cut
off the remembrance of them from the earth." Ps. xxxviii.
16, 17. And in the book of Esdras you will find these
words: " The hand of our God (that is, his fatherly provi
dence) is upon all those that seek him in goodness; and his
power, and strength, and wrath upon all them that forsake
him." Esdras, viii. 22.
25. If all we have said here be true, how can you go on
thus deceiving yourself, unhappy wretch, who continue still
in your sins? How can you stand idly thus, with your
arms across ? Why do you change and confound the order
of things? Those words are not directed to you. Is it
to you that the sweetness of the divine love and friendship
is promised, whilst you continue thus in the state of anger and
enmity? This belongs to Jacob, not to Esau. This inheri
tance is for the good: what pretence, therefore, canyon,

292 THE sinner's guide.
who are wicked, have to it ? Cease to be so, and it is yours.
Cease to be so, and God will direct his love and his paternal
providence to you; but hitherto you have only usurped
what is another man's right, and desire to enter into the
possession of what you have nothing to do with. "Trust
in the Lord," says David, " and do good." Ps. xxxyi. 3.
And in another psalm, " offer up a sacrifice of justice, and
trust in the Lord." Ps. iv. 6. This is the right way of
hoping, and not to continue in your sins, and think of gain
ing heaven by jesting with the Almighty's mercy. The
true hope is to forsake your sins, and to have recourse to
God. But if you remain obstinately in them, it is then no
longer hope, but presumption. This is not to hope, it is
rather to offend mercy, and thereby render yourself unworthy
of ever obtaining it. Nor as being a member of the Church
is any advantage to him who, relying on her, takes no notice
of her precepts, but lives wickedly, so it is but just that he
should reap no benefit of God's mercy, who lays hold of it to
do evil.
26. This ought to be duly considered by the ministers of
the word of God, who very often, not regarding to whom
their discourse is directed, give wicked men encouragement
to continue in their sins. They ought to consider that the
more you let a sick man eat the more hurt you do him, so
the more you encourage and exhort those persons that are
obstinate in their sins, to this kind of confidence, the more
you encourage them to continue in their evil courses.
27. I will end this discourse with an excellent sentence
out of St. Augustine, who says, " That men go to hell by
hope as well as by despair ; by hoping ill whilst they lived,
and by despairing worse at their death." Serm. 147. De
Verb. Dom. I advise you, therefore, 0 sinner ! whosoever
you are, to lay aside this presumptuous confidence, and to
remember that God has his justice as well as his mercy; so
that as you consider his mercy to encourage your hope, you
are likewise to reflect on his justice for the exciting of your
fear. For, as St. Bernard says, " God has two feet, the
one of mercy and the other of justice, and no one ought to
embrace either of them without taking hold of both ; that so
justice alone, without mercy, may not fright us into despair,
nor mercy, without justice, flatter us into presumption." —
Serm. 80. in Cantic.

THE sinner's guide. 293

CHAPTER IV.
Of those Persons who excuse themselves from following Virtue, by
saying the Way to it is rough and uneasy.
1 . There is another excuse worldly men make use of for
not following virtue, which is, that she is difficult and uneasy,
though they know this does not proceed from virtue itself,
because, being a friend to reason, she is suitable to the
nature of a rational creature, but from the evil inclination of
our flesh and appetite, derived from sin. This it was that
made the Apostle say, The flesh covets in opposition to the
spirit, and the spirit in opposition to the flesh; for these are
contrary to one another. Galat. v. 17. And in another
place he says, / am delighted with the law of God according
to the inward man; but I see another law in my members
figliting against the law of my mind, and captivating me in
the law of sin. Rom. vii. 22, 23. The Apostle, by these
words, gives us to understand, that virtue and the law of
God agree well with, and are conformable to the superior
part, or the soul, which is all spiritual, as being the place
where the understanding and the will reside; but we are
hindered from observing this law by the law of our members,
that is, by the evil inclination and corruption of our appetite,
with all its passions, which rebelled against the superior
part, or the soul, at the same time that it rebelled against
God, which rebellion is the cause of all this difficulty. There
fore it is, that so many persons reject virtue, though they
have a great esteem for it, like sick men who, though they
desire to recover their health, yet hate the medicines because
they are unpleasant. If we could disabuse men of this mis
take, it would be a great work ; for it is this that chiefly
drives them from virtue, in which everything is to be
esteemed and valued.
Section I. — That the Grace which is given us through Jesus Christ,
makes the Way of Virtue smooth and easy.
2. You must understand that the chief cause of this mis
take is, men considering nothing but the difficulty that is in
virtue, without so much as ever reflecting on the assistance
God gives us for the overcoming of it. It was such an
error as this the prophet Eliseus's servant was in ; for, see-

294 the sinner's guide.
ing his master's house beset with the Syrian army, but not
perceiving the forces which God had prepared to succour the
prophet, he was quite dismayed till such time as God, at
the prophet's intercession, opened his eyes, and let him see
that there were more forces on his side than on the enemy's.
Those we here treat of are deceived after the same manner;
for, finding in themselves the difficulty there is in virtue,
without having had any proof of the favours and assistance
they may receive from God, in order to acquire the same,
they look on the enterprise as very hard, and, therefore, lay
it quite aside.
3. But if the way of virtue be so difficult, what can the
?prophet mean when he says, " I have been delighted in the
way of thy testimonies, as in all riches." Ps. cxviii. 14.
And in another place: "Thy commandments, 0 Lord, are
more desirable than gold and many precious stones, and
sweeter than honey and the honey-comb." Ps. xviii. 11.
So that he not only allows virtue what we all grant it, that
• is, extraordinary worth and excellence, but that which almost
all the world denies it, pleasure and sweetness ; whence you
may conclude, that they who represent this as a heavy
load, though they be Christians, and live under the law of
grace, have not so much as tasted of this mystery. Un
happy creature that you are, who talk so much of being a
Christian! For what did Christ come into the world?
What was the end of the shedding of his blood ? What
did he design by instituting the sacraments? Why did he
send down the Holy Ghost? What signifies the Gospel?
What signifies the word grace? What means the name of
Jesus? What cau this most holy name of that Lord whom
you adore signify? If you are ignorant of this ask the
Evangelist, who says, " You shall call his name Jesus, for
he shall save his people from their sins." Matt. i. 21.
What is it then to deliver us from our sins, but to deserve
pardon for us for past sins, and to obtain grace for us,
Svhereby we may be able to avoid sin for the future ? What,
therefore, was the end of our Saviour's coming into the
world, but to help us in the work of our salvation ? For
what reason did he die on the cross, but that he might
thereby destroy sin ? Why did he rise again afterwards
from the dead, but only to make you rise again to this new
kind of life ? What did he pour out his blood for, but to
make a medicine of the same, for the healing of your wounds ?

the sinner's guide. 295
Why did he ordain the sacraments ? It was for a remedy
and assistance against your sins. What is one of the chief
advantages of his passion and of his coming, but the making
that way, which before was rough and difficult, smooth and
easy for us ? Isaias told us as much when he said: " That
at the coming of the Messias the crooked ways shall become
straight and the rough ways plain." Isa. xl. 4. For what
reason, in fine, did he send down the Holy Ghost, but to
change you from flesh into spirit ; and why did he come in
the form of fire, but to kindle, enlighten, and enliven you, to
transform you into himself, and to make you mount up to
wards heaven from this earth of ours ? What is the use of
grace, with the infused virtues that proceed from it, but to
make the yoke of Christ sweet and delightful, to make
the practice of virtue easy, to make you joyful in your
afflictions, to make you hope in your dangers, and to give
you a victory over all your temptations ? This is the whole
design of the Gospel, viz.: that as an earthly and sinful
man, to wit, Adam, made us earthly and sinners, so another
man, that was heavenly and just, to wit, Christ Jesus, has
made us become so too. What else do the evangelists treat
of? What else have the prophets promised us? What
else have the apostles preached to us ? This is the sum of
all Christian divinity; this is the word which God spoke, on
earth ; this is the accomplishment and abridgment, which
the prophet Isaias says " he had from the mouth of God,"
from whence such vast treasures, so many virtues, and so
much justice immediately flowed into the world.
4. To make this the plainer, I ask you, what is the cause
of that difficulty which we meet with in virtue ? You will
tell me, the evil inclinations of our hearts, and the flesh that
is conceived in sin ; because the flesh resists the spirit, and
the spirit the flesh, as things contrary to one another. Gal.
v. 1 7 ; Rom. vii. Let us put the case that God says to
you: Come hither, 0 manl I will take away this wicked
heart of yours, and will give you another new heart, and
with all strength to mortify your evil inclinations and appe
tites. Should God make you that promise, would the way
of virtue be then difficult to you ? It is certain it would
not. What is it less than this, that God has so often pro
mised in his holy Scripture ? Hear what he says by the
prophet Ezechiel, addressing himself particularly to those
who live under the law of grace: "I will give you," says

296 the sinner's guide.
he, " a new heart, and I will put a new spirit into your
bowels ; and I will take away your heart of stone, and I will
give you a heart of flesh. That you may walk in my pre
cepts, and observe my laws, and comply with them ; and
that you may be my people, and that I may be your God."
These are the words of the prophet. What can you doubt
of after such a promise ? Can you be afraid that God will
not be as good as his word ; or can you doubt of your being
able to observe his law, if he stands to his promise of assist
ing you? If you affirm the first, you make God a liar,
which is one of the greatest blasphemies you can be guilty
of. If you say you cannot observe his law, even with his
assistance, you make him unable to provide for us as our
necessities require, because, having intended to cure man, he
has applied such a remedy as was not fit to do it.
5. Besides all this, God will give you power to mortify
these evil inclinations which rise up against you, and make
this way so hard. This is one of the chief effects of the tree
of life, which our Saviour has sanctified by his blood, accord
ing to the apostle's confession, when he says, " Our old man
has been crucified with Jesus Christ, that the body of sin
may be destroyed, to the end that we may serve sin no
longer." Rom. vi. 6. The Apostle calls here the old man,
and the body of sin, our sensual appetite, with all the vicious
inclinations that proceed from it. He says that he was
crucified on the cross with Jesus Christ, because our Saviour
has, by this most august sacrifice, obtained for us such grace
and strength as may enable us to overcome this tyrant, and
free ourselves from our own evil inclinations, and from the
slavery of sin, as we have said elsewhere. This is the vic
tory and the extraordinary favour which the same Lord
promised us by Isaias, saying, " Fear not, for I am with
thee ; turn not aside, for I am thy God : I have strengthened
thee, and have helped thee, and the right hand of my just
One hath upheld thee. Behold, all that fight against thee
shall be confounded and ashamed, they shall be as nothing,
and the men shall perish that strive against thee. Thou
shalt seek them, ands shalt not find the men that resist thee;
they shall be as nothing ; and as a thing consumed the men
that war against thee. For I am the Lord thy God, who
take thee by the hand, and say to thee, Fear not, I have
helped thee." Isa. xii. 10, 11, 12, 13. These are God's
words by the prophet Isaias. Will any man, therefore, be

the sinner's guide. 297
discouraged when he is strong? Will any man now sink ¦
under the fear of his own vicious inclinations, when grace
gets such a glorious victory over him ?
Section II. — Some Objections answered.
6. You will tell me, perhaps, that after all this, the just
are never without their private failings, " which are the
wrinkles, that (as Job says) accuse and bear witness against
them." Job, xvi. 9. The same prophet, whose authority
we have just cited, answers this in short, saying, " that they
shall be as nothing." Isa. xii. 12. Because, if they remain,
it is only to keep us in continual exercise, and to prove us,
not to hinder or to shock us; they remain to excite and rouse
us, not to lord it over us ; they remain to give us perpetual
occasions of merit, not to draw us into the snares of sin ;
they remain for us to triumph over them, not that they may
overcome us ; they remain, in fine, for those ends that are
most proper and convenient for our trial, for our humiliation,
for the knowledge of our own weakness, for God's glory and
the honour of his grace, so that their continuing thus turns
to our interest. For, as wild beasts, let them be ever so
fierce, and of their nature so great enemies to man, when
once they have been tamed, are serviceable to him ; so our
passions, after having been moderated and subdued, assist us
very much in our improvement in virtue.
7. Tell me now, if God supports, who will be able to
overturn you? " If God be for us, who is against us?"
Rom. viii. 31. " The Lord (says David) is my light and
my salvation, whom shall I fear?" The Lord is the pro
tector of my life, of whom shall I be afraid ? If armies
should stand together in camp against me, my heart shall not
fear." Ps. xxvi. 13. You must needs be a great coward
if such promises do not encourage you to serve God, if you
will not rely on those words, it is a sign you are very faith
less. It is God that says, he will give a new being, " that
he will change your heart of stone, and give you another of
flesh for it" (Ezech. xi. 19), that he will mortify your pas
sions, and bring you to such a pass that you shall not know
yourself, that you shall look for your evil inclinations and
shall not find them, because he will weaken all their forces.
What can you desire more? What do you want but a lively
faith and hope, that you may place your confidence in God,
and cast yourself entirely into his arms?

298 the sinner's guide.
8. All the objection I imagine you can make to this is,
that your sins are very great, and, therefore, it is likely they
will be the occasion of God's refusing you this grace. To
which I answer, that this is one of the greatest affronts you
can offer to God, because, by this you persuade yourself
either that God cannot or will not assist his creatures when
they return to him and beg his help. I do not desire you
should believe me in this particular, do but believe the holy
prophet, who seems to have thought on you, and, as it were,
to have prevented you, when he wrote these words: " If,"
says he, " all these curses which I have reckoned up should
light upon you for your sins, and you should be afterwards
touched with a sorrow for them, and should return to him
with your whole heart and with all your soul, the Lord your
God will bring you out of your captivity, and will have com
passion ou you, and though you should be carried away to
the farthest parts of the world, he will bring you back again,
and will lead you into the land which your fathers possessed,
and you shall inherit the same." He adds farther: "The
Lord thy God will circumcise your hearts and the hearts of
your posterity, to the end that you may love the Lord your
God with all your heart and with all your soul." Deut. xxx.
Oh, that this Lord would at present circumcise your eyes, and
remove the mist that is before them, that you might see
plainly what kind of a circumcision this is! You cannot be
so dull as to take it for a circumcision of the body, because
the heart is not capable of it; what sort of circumcision is it,
then, that the Lord promises in this place ? It is without
doubt the retrenching of that superfluity of passions and evil
inclinations which flows from the heart, and which hinders it
from placing its love where it ought. These are the super
fluous and hurtful branches, which he promises to lop off with
the knife of his grace, that the heart, being thus pruned and
circumcised, may shoot forth all its virtue by this only branch
of the love of God. John, i. 47. Then it is that you will
be an Israelite indeed; it is then you will be truly circumcised,
when he shall see the love of the world cut off from your soul,
and no other love remaining in it but the love of him.
9. I could wish you would consider with attention how
God, in another place, commands you to do that yourself
which he promises here he will do for you, if you will but
return to him. His words are these: " Circumcise yourselves
to the Lord, and take away the foreskins of your hearts."

the sinner's guide. 299
Jer. iv. 4. Why, 0 Lord ! do you command me to do what you
yourself promised to do for me ? If I must do it why do you
promise that you will? The glorious Augustine clears this
difficulty by these words: "Give me grace (says he), 0
Lord ! to do whatever you command me, and command me to
do whatever you please." Conf. L. 10. c. 31. So that it is he
who commands me all that I am obliged to do, and assists me
with his grace to do it. Thus the command and the promise
meet here both together, and God and man produce the same
effect; God as the principal cause, and man as the less prin
cipal. Thus it is that God deals with men, as a painter should
guide the pencil in his scholar's hand, and he, by this means,
comes to draw a fine piece: that they both made it, is clear;
but it would not, therefore, follow that they both deserve
the same honour, or the one had as good a hand as the other.
It is just so God does in our present case, and that without
prejudice to the liberty of free will, that man may have no
thing to take a pride in when the work is done, but may give
all the glory of it to the Lord, and say with the prophet,
" Thon, 0 Lord, hast wrought all our works for us." Isa.
xxvi. 12.
1 0. Reflect, therefore, on this sentence, and by the means
of it you will come to have a perfect understanding of the
commandments of God, because he promises to be with you
in doing all he commands you. And thus, as he says, when he
bids you circumcise your heart, that he will circumcise it for
you; so, when he bids you love him above all things, he
will give you grace to do it. This is the reason why it is
said, that "God's yoke is sweet" (Matt. xi. 30), because
there are two to carry it, that is, God and man ; so that by
this means God's grace makes that easy, which nature
by itself made very difficult. And, therefore, Moses, imme
diately after the words above cited, goes on thus: "This
commandment, that I command thee this day, is not above
thee, nor far off from thee: Nor is it in heaven, that thou
shouldst say : Which of us can go up to heaven to bring it
unto us, and we may hear and fulfil it in work? Nor is it
beyond the sea: that thou mayest excuse thyself, and say:
Which of us can cross the sea, and bring it unto us, that we
nfay hear, and do that which is commanded ? But the word
is very nigh unto thee, in thy mouth and in thy heart, that
thou mayest do it." Deut. xxx. 11, &c. By which words the
holy prophet designed to remove those difficulties and impedi-

300 the sinner's guide.
ments, which sensual men find in the law of God ; because,
considering the law barely without the gospel, that is to say,
looking on what is commanded, without regarding the grace
which is given to enable them to perform it, they reflect on
the law of God as hard and unpleasant, without considering
they flatly contradict St. John in this point, who says, " True
charity consists in our keeping of God's commandments, and
his commandments are not heavy; for, whatsoever is born of
God overcometh the world" (1 John, v. 3, 4), meaning, that
they who have received the spirit of God in their souls, by
the means of which they have been regenerated, and made the
children of him whose spirit they have received, have God
within them, who dwells in them by grace, and enables them
to do much more than all the world could besides; so that
neither the world, nor the devil, nor all the powers of hell
can prevail against them. Whence follows, that though God's
commandments were very heavy, the new force, furnished by
grace, would make them light.
Section III. — That the Love of God makes the Way to Heaven easy
and pleasant.
11. If, to all that has been said, we add the assistance we
receive from charity, how light and easy will virtue be then ?
For, it is evident, that one of the chief qualities of charity is,
to make the yoke of God's laws very delightful ; because, as
St. Augustine says, " They who love think no labours painful,
nay, they delight in them, as men that love fishing, hunting,
or hawking, do in the toils or fatigues of those sports, St.
Aug. Trac. 48. injoan. What is it that makes a mother
not regard the pains she takes in bringing up her children,
but love? What is it that makes a virtuous wife attend her
sick husband day and night without any intermission ? What is
it that makes even beasts and birds take so much pains for the
nourishing of the young ones, so as almost to starve^themselves
to feed them, to labour hard, that they may take their rest,
and to expose themselves to danger, with a great deal of
courage, to defend and secure them ? It is nothing else but
love. What else was it that made the Apostle St. Paul
speak these generous words, which we read in his Epistle to
the Romans: "Who, then, shall separate us from the loVe
of Christ ? Shall tribulation ? or distress ? or famine ? or
nakedness? or danger? or persecution? or the sword? I
am sure that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor princi-

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palities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come,
nor might, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature
shall be able to separate us from the love of God." Rom.
viii. 35, &c. What was it else, but the force of this love,
that made the holy father St. Dominick thirst so ardently
after martyrdom? What was it that made St. Laurence so
cheerful, whilst he was broiliug upon the gridiron, as to cry
out, that the very flames refreshed him, but the excessive
desire he had of martyrdom kindled in him by this love ?
" For the true love of God," as St. Chrysologus says,
" thinks nothing hard, nothing bitter, nothing heavy. What
iron, what wounds, what pains, what death is there, which
true love cannot overcome ? Love is an armour of proof, it
turns the arrows, repels the darts, despises dangers, and
laughs at death. In fine, love carries all before it." St.
Chrysologus, Serm. 147. de Incarnat.
12. Nor is perfect love satisfied with overcoming such
labours and difficulties as occur, but desires to meet with
more for his sake that is beloved. Hence proceeds that
eager thirst of perfect men after martyrdom ! that is, to shed
their blood for him who first shed his for them. And be
cause they cannot obtain their desires, they are enraged
against themselves, and become their own executioners.
Therefore they martyr their bodies, and torment them with
hunger, thirst, cold, heat, aud with many other mortifica
tions, and thus they find a great deal of comfort in their
sufferings, because they, in some measure, obtain what they
desired. 13. This language they that love the world do not un
derstand, nor can they conceive how any man can love what
they so much abhor, or have a horror for what they so pas
sionately love. We read in the holy Scriptures, that the
Egyptians had beasts for their gods, and such as adored and
worshipped them; but the children of Israel called these
things abominations, which the Egyptians called gods, and
sacrificed such creatures, as they adored for gods, in honour
of the true God. Exod. vii. 26, 28. The just, in the same
manner, like true Israelites, call those abominations which
the world worships as its gods, such are honours, pleasures,
and riches, which it adores and offers sacrifice to: they
despise and make a sacrifice of those false gods, as of so
many abominations to the glory of the true God. So let
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him who would offer an acceptable sacrifice to God, observe
what the world adores, and offer that; on the contrary, let
him embrace, for the love of God, whatsoever he sees the
world detest and abhor. Did not they do so, who, after
receiving the first fruits of the Holy Ghost, were glad to
have been carried before the council, and to have suffered
injuries for the name of Christ? Acts, v. Is it possible,
then, that what made prisons, scourges, gridirons, and flames
delightful, shall not be able to make the keeping of God's
commandments sweet and pleasant to you? Can that,
which is every day powerful enough to make the just bear,
not only the burden of the law, but the additional weight of
their fasts, their watchings, their hair shirts, their naked
ness, and their poverty, want force to make you carry the
bare burden of the law of God and of his Church? Alas,
how much are you deluded ! How ignorant you are of the
force of charity, and of the grace of God!
Section IV. — -Of some other Things which make the Way of Virtue
pleasant to us.
14. What has been said might suffice to remove this ob
jection so many make use of. But supposing there were
nothing of what we have urged — supposing there were many
hardships in this road — what wonder were it you should, for
the salvation of your soul, do some part of what you do for
the health of your body ; what mighty matter would it be to
do something to escape eternal torments? What do you
think the covetous, rich man, who is now burning in hell-
fire, would not do, if he were to have the liberty of return
ing to the world, to do peuance for his sins? There is no
reason but you should do as much now as he would do,
were it in his power; because if you are wicked, the same
torment is prepared for you, and, therefore, you ought to '
have the same desire.
15. Besides, if you did seriously consider how much God has
done for you, and how much more he promises you, if you did
reflect on the many crimes you have committed against him,
upon the toils and hardships which the saints have undergone
and particularly upon those which the Saint of saints has
endured for your sake, you could not but be ashamed and
blush, not to suffer something for the love of God ; nay, you
would even be afraid and jealous of everything that pleased
you. u

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This it was that made St. Bernard say, " That all the
tribulations and torments we can possibly suffer in this life,
bear no proportion with either the glory we hope for, or the
torments we fear, or the sins we have committed, or the
benefits God has bestowed on us." Any one of these con
siderations ought to suffice to make us undertake this life,
though ever so laborious and troublesome.
16. But to deal ingenuously with you, though there be
troubles and difficulties in all places, and in all sorts of lives,
yet the hardships that occur in the way of the wicked are
incomparably more than in the way of the just. For though
it is troublesome to go a long journey a-foot, pick your way
out as well as you can, because you will be tired before you
get at your journey's end; yet, it is certain that a blind man,
who stumbles every step he takes, will find it much more
troublesome than he that walks with his eyes open, and minds
where he treads. Since, therefore this life of ours is but a
journey, it is impossible to avoid all those troubles that are in
it, till we arrive at our resting place. But the wicked man
not guiding himself by the rules of reason, but according to
the impulse and bent of his passions, it is a plain case, that
he walks on as if he were blind, since there is nothing in nature
so blind as passion. On the contrary, the good and virtuous
man, following in all things the dictates of reason, discovers
these precipices at a distance, and avoids the same, continuing
on his journey, by this means, with less trouble, and much more
security. Solomon the wise was sensible of this, and acknow
ledges it to be so, when he says, " The pnth of the just, as a
shining light, goeth forwards and increaseth even to perfect
day. But the way of the wicked is darksome, and they know
not where they fall." — Prov. iv. 18,19. It is not only dark,
as Solomon says, but slippery too, according to David (Ps.
xxxiv. 6), so that by this you may see, how often that man
must, of necessity, fall, who walks in such a way as this is,
in the dark, and himself quite blind; and by these comparisons
you may perceive, what vast difference there is between the
two ways of the wicked and the just, and between the diffi
culties both parties meet with.
17. And what is yet more, the just have a thousand helps,
that lessen and ease this little trouble they are at, as has been
observed before. For, first, they have the assistance of God's
fatherly providence, which directs and guides them; they have
the grace of the Holy Ghost, that strengthens and encourages
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them : they have the divine consolations, which refresh them ;
they have the examples of good men to excite them ; they have
the writings of the saints to instruct them ; they have the joy
of a good conscience to comfort them; they have the hope of
everlasting glory to nourishthem; withathousandotherfavours
and assistances, which the Almighty gives them : by means of
which this way becomes so pleasant to them, that they come
at last to cry out with the prophet, " How sweet are thy
words, 0 Lord ! to my mouth ; they are sweeter than honey."
18. Whosoever will but reflect on this, will immediately
see how several passages of the Holy Scriptures, some of which
make the way of virtue rough and troublesome, and others
again smooth and easy, are to be reconciled together. For
the Royal Prophet says in one place, " For the sake of the
words of thy lips I have kept hard ways." Ps. xvi. 4.
And in another, " I have been delighted in the way of thy
testimonies, as in all riches." Ps. cxviii. 14. For it is true
to say, that both these things, to wit difficulty and ease, are
in this way; the first comes from nature, and the other from
the virtue of grace ; and thus what was difficult on account of
one, becomes easy by means of the other. Our Saviour him
self signified as much to us, by these words, "My yoke is
sweet and my burden light." Matt. xi. 30. For by giving
it the name of a yoke, he expressed the heavy weight, and by
calling it sweet, he shewed us with how much ease we might
carry it, by the help of grace.
1 9. But if you should ask me, how is it possible this can
be a yoke, and, at the same time, sweet, it being the nature
of a yoke to be heavy, I answer, it is because God makes it
light, according to his promise by the prophet Osee: " I will
be to them as one that supports their burden, and takes it
from their shoulders." Osee, xi. 5. What wonder is it,
then, that this yoke should be easy, when God makes it so,
and when he himself helps us to carry it? If the bush was
a fire without being burned, because God was in it (Exod.
iii. 2), why should we be astonished at a burden's being light,
when God himself is under it ? Would you see them both
in the same person, hear what St. Paul says : " In all things
we suffer tribulation, but are not distressed ; we are strait
ened, but are not destitute ; we suffer persecution, but are
not forsaken ; we are cast down, but we perish not." 2 Cor.
iv. 8, 9- Consider here, on the one side, the weight of these
labours, and, on the other, how light God used to make them.

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20. Isaias signified this more expressly to us, when he
said : " They that hope in the Lord shall change their
strength, they shall take wings like eagles, they shall run and
shall take no pains, they shall walk and shall not faint." You
see here the yoke flung off by the virtue of grace ; you see the
strength of the flesh changed into that of the spirit, or rather
the strength of man turned into that of God; you see the
holy prophet did not pass over in silence either the labour,
the rest, or the advantage which one has over the other,
when he said: " They shall run and shall take no pains, they
shall walk and shall not faint." So that you ought not to
go out of this road, because it is rugged and troublesome,
since there are so many things in it which make it smooth
and easy. Section V. — Some Examples to prove what has been said.
21. If all these reasons cannot convince you, and your
incredulity remains, like that of St. Thomas, who would not
believe anything but what he saw with his own eyes, I will
comply with you in this point too, not fearing that such a
good cause as this is can want a defence. Let us, for ex
ample, take a man that has run through all the courses of
this life, that has been for some time very vicious and worldly,
and has afterwards, through the pure mercy of God, changed
these evil practices, and become quite another thing, such a
man as this is a proper judge, because he has not only heard
but seen, and had the experience of both these conditions.
You may desire this man to tell you which of these two he
found to be the sweeter. Several of those, whose business
it is to examine into the consciences of others, will give you
good testimonies of this truth — " Because they are the men
who descend in ships into the sea, and see the wonderful
works of the Lord in the deep," which are nothing else but
the effects of his grace, and those extraordinary changes
which are wrought every day by virtue thereof, and which
are, without doubt, subjects of more than common wonder.
For it is certain, there is nothing in the world which better
deserves our admiration, if we were but to consider it well,
than to see the effects which grace produces in the soul of a
just man, to see how it transforms him, how it bears him up,
how it strengthens him, how it comforts him, how it com
poses him all over, both within and without, how it makes
him change the customs of the old man, how it alters all his

306 THE sinner's guide.
affections and pleasures, how it makes him love that which
he hated before, and hate that which he had before a love
for: how1 it makes him relish that which before he looked
on as unsavory, whilst, at the same time, he loathes that
which he sought so much after before. Who can conceive
what strength it gives him for fighting, what joy, what peace,
what light for the knowing of the will of God, the vanity of
the world, and the true value of spiritual things, which he
used to despise ? But what is yet more wonderful than all
the rest is, to see in how short a time all these things are
performed; for there is no necessity of spending several years
in the schools of philosophy, nor of staying till we are old
men, that age may help us to recover our senses, and the
mortifying our passions; a man may be changed in the very
heat and vigour of his youth, and in the space of a very few
days, so as to be scarce able to know himself. Therefore it
was St. Cyprian said, " That this is a thing which may
sooner be felt than learned, and that it is not to be gained
by many years' study, but by a turn of grace, which produces
it all in a very little time." — St. Cypr. Ep. ad Donat. We
may, therefore, call grace a kind of spiritual charm, by which
God changes men's hearts, to make them have a passionate
love for those things which before they had a horror of, as
for example, the practice of the several virtues, and the greatest
aversion imaginable to those things they desired so eagerly
before, to wit, the delights and pleasures that are in sin.
22. This is one of the most considerable advantages those
confessors gain by their function, who discharge it with true
spirit and devotion; for they daily see several of these mi
racles, by which God seems to requite the trouble they un
dergo, in rendering him that service. And this return, which
God makes them, is so generous, that wehave known several
confessors changed themselves by seeing such changes in
others; and these frequent examples have been the occasions
of their advancing in the way of virtue. So that these per
sons, whilst they are silent like another Jacob, hear Joseph's
mysterious words, and value the same at their just rate,
whilst the simple infant that relates does not kuow what
price to set upon them.
23. But for the greater confirmation of what I have said,
I will here add the example of two great saints, who lived in
this same error for some time, but afterwards discovered the
deceit. God has thought fit, that they should both of them

the sinner's guide. 307
leave us, in writing, an account of the same, for our instruction
and example. The glorious martyr, St. Cyprian, writing to his
dear friend Donatus, to acquaint him with the beginning and
manner of his conversion, delivers himself thus: —
24. " During the time in which I walked in darkness and
in an obscure night, when I was tossed up and down like one
in a storm, by the inconstant waves of this world, and was
sunk very deep into the mire, knowing nothing at all of my own
course of life, and deprived of the light of truth, I looked on
all that as very hard to be effected, which God had promised
me, in order to ray salvation, which is, that a man could be
born again, and by the virtue of baptism receive a new life,
so as to be changed from what he was before, and be made a
new man within, though the substance without remained
still the same. John iii. How, said I, is it possible that
such a conversion should happen, as that we should imme
diately, and on a sudden, shake off that which has been a
long time rooted in us, either by the corruption of our nature,
or by long use and custom ? How can he live sparingly who
has been used to keep a great table ? When will he wear a
plain dress, who has been always clothed in silks and scarlet?
He that has always carried a great retinue with him, and has
been attended by a train of servants, will never endure to go
by himself. He that has placed all his delight in great em
ployments, can never live like a private man. He cannot but
be always wrought on by those things he used to be charmed
with ; intemperance will solicit him, pride will puff him up,
anger will inflame him, covetousness torment him, cruelty
press him, ambition please him, and lust hurry him blindly
away. I frequently reflected on these things with myself,
for, being engaged in so many different sins of my past life,
which I thought I should never be freed from, I myself en
couraged the vices which stuck fast to me, and despairing of
ever growing better, I favoured my crimes as if they had
been of my own house and family. But as soon as the stains
and filth of my former life were washed off by the water of
baptism, a heavenly light shone down upon my soul, now
cleansed and purged from all its sins. As soon as I had re
ceived the Holy Ghost, I was, by the means of a second birth,
so changed into a new man, that what I before doubted of
I immediately looked on as most certain, what was shut up
against me before was immediately opened, thatwhich was dark
before became light ; I thought those things easy which before

308 the sinner's guide.
seemed to be so hard, and what used to seem impossible I
looked on as quite contrary ; I saw clearly, that what was born
of the flesh, and liable to frequent failings, was earthly,, and
that what the Holy Ghost had animated came from God, and
not from man. You know very well, my dear Donatus, what
this Holy Spirit has taken from me, and what he has be
stowed on me ; he who is the death of sin, and the life of all
kinds of virtues. You know all this, nor do I boast of any
thing now; it is odious to boast of such things, for to get
praise and commendation; though, for a man to talk of what
he has received from the pure mercy of God, and what he
cannot, by any means, ascribe to himself, is so far from boast
ing, that, on the contrary, it is but justice and gratitude; for
it is plain, that tfie forsaking of sin is no less the effect of
divine grace, than the committing of it is the effect of human
frailty." S. Cypr. Ep. 2. L. 2.
25. These are the words of St. Cyprian, which plainly dis
cover the mistake that you and many are under, who, mea
suring the difficulty of virtue by their own strength, look on
the acquiring of it as not only difficult, but impossible, and
never so much as consider, that if they will but cast them
selves into the arms of God, and resolve fully to forsake
their sins, he will receive them into his grace, which makes
this way so smooth, as appears by this example. For it is
certain, there is no falsehood in all this, nor will that grace
be denied you which was granted to this saint, if you will
return to God as sincerely as he did.
26. Hear another example, no less wonderful than the
former: St. Augustine, in the eighth Book of his Confessions,
tells us, that he had no sooner began to think seriously with
himself of leaving the world, but a great many difficulties
offered themselves to him in this change, whilst at the same
time he thought, on the one side, that all his former plea
sures came and stood before him, and said to him, "What!
will you part with us, and shall we, from this moment,
never see yon again for all eternity ?" Conf. L. 8. c. 11.
On the other side, he said, that virtue appeared to him with
a serene and cheerful countenance, accompanied with a great
many good examples of virgins and widows, and of other
persons who had lived chastely in all kinds of states and
ages, and that they said to him, "Cannot you do as much
as these men and women have done? Have they done any
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them ? Whilst you rely on yourself, you must, of neces
sity, fall. Cast yourself on him — be not afraid, he will not
go away from you and let you fall ; cast yourself on him
with confidence, he will receive and cure you." Ibid.
27. This great saint says, that as he was in the heat of
this combat he began to weep bitterly, and going a little
aside laid himself down under a fig-tree, and there, giving
way to his tears, cried out from the bottom of his heart,
saying, "And thou, 0 Lord, how long? How long, 0
Lord, wilt thou be angry at me? Be not mindful of our
past iniquities. How long, 0 Lord, how long will this to
morrow — to-morrow last? Why not now? Why shall
there not be an end of my disorders this very hour?"
Ibid. c. 12; Ps. lxiv. ; xii. 1; Ps. Ixxviii. 8; Isa. lxiv. 9-
28. As soon as the saint had made an end of these and
such complaints, he says his heart was so changed on a
sudden, that from that very moment he never had any farther
affection for the sins of the flesh, nor for the delights and
pleasures of the world. On the contrary, he perceived his
heart entirely freed from all its former irregular desires. And
having recovered his liberty, he begins in his following book
to thank his deliverer, saying, " 0 Lord, I am thy servant —
I am thy servant, and the son of thy hand-maid. Thou
hast broken my bones asunder; I will offer up to thee a sa
crifice of praise. Let my heart and my tongue praise thee,
and let all my bones say, who is like unto thee, 0 Lord ?"
Ps. lxxxi. " Where has my free-will been for so many
years, 0 Jesus Christ, my helper and my Redeemer, since it
has not returned to thee? From what deep abyss hast thou
drawn it in a moment, that I might put my neck under an
easy yoke, and my shoulders under thy light burden? How
am I, on a sudden, delighted with being deprived of the
trifling pleasures I have so long run after, and what a satis-
action is it to me to part with those follies I was afraid of
losing before? Thou, 0 solid and chief delight! hast driven
all those other false ones from me ! thou hast driven them
away, and hast taken up their places ; thou art more delight
ful than all other delights, and more beautiful than all other
beauties together." L. 9. c. 1 ; Ps. cxv. 16, 17. Thus far
St. Augustine.
29. Tell me now, since the case stands thus, and since
the power and efficacy of God's grace is so great, ' what is
there can still enslave and keep you from doing as much as
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310 the sinner's GUIDE.
this glorious saint has done? If you believe that what I
relate is true, that it is in the power of grace to work such
a Change as this of St. Augustine's, and that this grace, is
denied to no man that shall seek after it with his whole
heart, God being the same now that he was then, without
any respect of persons, what hinders you from getting out
of this miserable slavery, and from embracing this sovereign
good which is so freely offered you ? Why had you rather
gain one paradise by another ? Be not dejected nor dis
couraged. Try, once at least, whether this be true or not,
and put your confidence in God, that as soon as ever you
will begin, he will come and meet you to receive you with
open arms, as he did the prodigal son. Luke, xv. It is a
strange thing, that if a notorious cheat should teach you the
art of finding out the philosopher's stone, or of turning
brass into gold, you should endeavour to learn it, whatso
ever it cost you ; and yet Almighty God here gives you his
word, that he will teach you how you may change yourself
from earth into heaven, from flesh into spirit, from a man
into an angel, and you will not so much as try the ex
periment. 30. In fine, since you must of necessity, either sooner or
later, either in this life or in the next, acknowledge this
truth, I beg of you that you would consider seriously how
you will find yourself deceived at the making up of your
accounts, when you shall see yourself damned for all eternity
for leaving the path of virtue, because you falsely imagined
that it was uneven and difficult; you will then, but, alas!
too late, perceive that it was a much more pleasant way
than that of siu, and the only road that led to everlasting
delight.
CHAPTER V.
Against those who refuse to walk in the Way of Virtue, because they
love the World.
1. If we did examine all those who refuse to walk in the
way of virtue, we should, perhaps, find the deceitful love of
this world to be one of the chief causes of their faint-heart-
eduess. Icall that love of the world deceitful, because it is
grounded on a false, imaginary, and apparent good; which
seems to be in the things of the world, and makes ignorant
persons set so great a value on them. For as 'creatures that

THE SINNER'S GUIDE. 3 1 1
are naturally timorous always avoid some particular objects,
imagining there is danger in them, even when they are
farthest from them, so these men, on the contrary, love and
run after the things of the world, because they fancy they
are pleasant and delightful, though, in reality, they are not
so. And, therefore, as those who would break such crea
tures of that imperfection, make them go close by those
things they were afraid of, that they may see they were
frightened at nothing but a shadow, so it is requisite now
we should lead these persons through the mere shadows of
worldly things they so passionately affect, that they may
look on them with other eyes, and perceive how they had
placed all their love on a mere vanity, and acknowledge that
these false goods no more deserve to be beloved, than those
dangers we have spoken of deserve to be feared.
2. If we, therefore, seriously reflect on the world and its
happiness, we shall find these six kinds of evils in it: to wit,
shortness, misery, danger, blindness, sin, and deceit. These
are the inseparable companions of all the world's felicity,
which plainly show what it is. We will speak here briefly
of each of these evils, according to their order.
Section I. — How short the Happiness of this World is.
3. To begin with the shortness, you cannot deny but that
all the happiness of this world, though ever so great, is but
of short continuance; for man's felicity can last no longer
than his life. Now, how long this life is we all know, since
the longest scarce ever arrives to the hundredth year. But
how few are there that ever reach to this? I have seen
bishops that have not lived above two months, popes that
have not outlived one, and new married persons that have
died within a week after their marriage ; we read of a great
many such examples in former times, and see as many at
present, every day. Put the case: your life may be one of
the longest. " Let us grant (says St. Chrysostom) that a
mau may have a hundred years to spend in the pleasures of
the world. To this let us add another hundred, nay, two
hundred more, if you will, what is all this in respect of eter
nity ?" " If," says Solomon, "a mau should have a great
many years, and during all this time should enjoy all kind of
pleasures, he ought to remember the time of darkness and
the days of eternity, which, when they come, all that is past
shall appear to have been vanity." Eccl. xi. 8. For all happi-

312 THE SINNER'S GUIDE.
ness whatever, let it be ever so great, will appear to be vanity,
as it really is, when compared with eternity. This is whateven
the wicked themselves confess, in the book of Wisdom, when
they say, " So we also being born, forthwith cease to be."
v. 13. Consider how short all the time of this life will seem
then to the wicked ; they will imagine they have scarce lived
one day; they will thiuk they were hurried away imme
diately from the womb to the grave. Whence it follows,
that all the pleasures of this world will then seem to be only
imaginary, and which appeared to be pleasure, but were not
so. The prophet Isaias has given us an excellent descrip
tion of this, in these words: "As a man that is hungry
dreams that he eats, but when he awakes finds himself still
empty; and as a man that is thirsty dreams that he drinks,
but after he is awake he still faints with thirst, and is as
empty as he was: so shall be the multitude of all-the Gen
tiles that have fought against Mount Sion." Isa. xxix. 8.
Their prosperity shall be so short, that as soon as ever they
shall open their eyes, and this little time shall pass away,
they shall find that all their joys were nothing but mere
dreams. For what other name will you give to the glory of
as many princes and emperors as have ever lived in the
world?* "Where," says the prophet, "are the princes of
the nations, and they that rule over the beasts that are upon
the earth ? that take their diversion with the birds of the
air?" Bar. iii. 16, 17. Where are those who have piled up
mountains of silver and gold, in which they place their con
fidence? Where are all those who have taken so much pains
in making rich vessels of gold and silver, that it is almost
impossible to count all their different designs and inventions?
What is now become of all these persons ? where is it that
they live? They are now turned out of their palaces, they.
are thrown down into hell, and others have taken their places.
What is become of the wise man ? What is become of the
scholar? What is become of him that used to search into
the secrets of nature? What is become of all Solomon's
glory? Where is now the mighty Alexander and the glo
rious Assnerus ? Where are all the famous Roman Caesars ?
Where are all the other princes and kings of the earth?
What have they got by their vain-glory, by the power they
had in the world, by the great number of their attendants,
by their false riches, by their mighty armies, by those crowds
of buffoons, of fawning parasites and flatterers, which were

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perpetually about them ? All this has been nothing but a
mere shadow, a mere dream, a fleeting happiness of but a
moment's continuation. Consider, then, how short the hap
piness of this world is.
Section II — Of the great Miseries Worldly Delights are mixed with
4. This happiness, besides its being so short, has another
evil, which is, that it is always attended by a thousand
miseries not to be avoided in this life, or, to speak plainer,
in this vale of tears, in this place of banishment, in this tem
pestuous sea. For the miseries which man perpetually lies
open to are' in truth, many more than the days, nay, than
even the hours of his life ; because every day ushers in fresh
cares and solicitudes, and he is every hour threatened with
new miseries, which no tongue can be able to express.
Who can count all the infirmities of our bodies, all the
passions of our souls, all the afflictions caused by our very
friends, with all the other disasters of our lives. One goes
to law with you for your estate, another endeavours to take
away your life, a third robs you of your reputation and
honour; some men pursue yon with hatred, some with
envy, some with fraud, some with designs of revenge, some
with calumnies, some with arms, and others, in fine, wound
you mortally with their tongues, more dangerous and more
hurtful far than even arms are. Besides all these miseries,
there is an infinity of others, for which we have no names,
because they are unexpected accidents. One man has an
eye thrust out, another has an arm cut off, another falls
from a window, another from his horse, another is drowned,
another loses his estate, another is ruined by being bound
for friends. If you would know more of these miseries, ask
the worldly man to give you a true account of the pleasures
and displeasures he had in his way of living. If they were
both put into equal scales, you would see how much the one
would outweigh the other, and how, for one moment of
pleasure, there are a hundred hours of trouble and discon
tent. If, therefore, man's whole life is so short, and so
great a part of it filled with such miseries, what room can
there be for true happiness?
5. But as for these miseries which I have here reckoned
up, they are such as happen to the good as well as to the
bad; for, since tbey are all aboard the same vessel, and
sailing in the same sea, they must needs be exposed to the

314 THE sinner's guide.
same storms. There are other miseries, which are more
sensible than these, and particularly belonging to the
wicked, as being the effect of their sins. The knowledge
of these will be much more to our purpose, inasmuch as it
makes the lives of such men as are exposed to them more
abominable. The wicked themselves inform us of the great
ness of them, in the book of Wisdom, saying, " We wearied
ourselves in the way of iniquity and destruction, and have
walked through hard ways, but the way of the Lord we have
not known." v. 7. So that as the good have a paradise
even in this life, and hope for another in the next, and go
from one sabbath to another, that is, from one joy to
another; so, on the contrary, the wicked have a hell in this
life, and expect another in the next, because they go from
the hell of a bad conscience to that of everlasting tor
ments. 6. These calamities happen to the wicked several ways.
God sends them to some ; for he, as being a just judge, will
not permit the evil of the crime to pass over without the due
punishment, which, though it be generally reserved for the
next life, yet, often begins in this. For, it is certain, that
God's providence, as it is over the world in general, so is it
over each person in particular. And, therefore, we see that,
when there are more than ordinary sins committed in the
world, they are followed by more than ordinaiy punishments,
as famine, wars, plagues, heresies, and such other calamities.
It frequently happens, too, that God punishes man accord
ing to the sins which he is guilty of. For this reason he
said to Cain, " If you do well, you shall receive the reward
of it ; but if you do ill, you shall find your sin at your door"
(Gen. iv.), that is, the punishment which your sins deserve.
And in Deuteronomy Moses told the people of Israel, " You
shall know that the Lord your God is a strong and faithful
God, keeping his covenant and mercy to them that love him
and to them that keep his commaudments, unto a thousand
generations ; and repaying forthwith them that hate him, so
as to destroy them, without further delay, immediately ren
dering to them what they deserve." Deut. vii. 9, 10. Con
sider how many times in this place he repeats the word
immediately; by which we may understand, that, besides the
punishment due to the wicked in the next life, they are often
punished in this, since the Scripture, iu this place, so often
repeats that they shall be punished immediately. This is

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the cause of the many calamities and torments they endure,
still rolling in a perpetual wheel of disquiets, fatigues, neces
sities, and hardships. Now, supposing that they are sensible
of them, yet they do not know from whence they come ; so
that they look on them rather as the necessary conditions of
nature, than as punishments inflicted on them for their
crimes. For as they do not reckon the common benefits of
nature as the effects of God's mercy, and, therefore, do not
thank him for them, so neither do they regard the calamities
he sends them as the strokes of his anger, nor are they the
better for them.
7. Other miseries befall them, which come from God's
vicegerents, the ministers of his justice, who often meet with
the wicked, and punish them with imprisonments, banish
ments, fines, infamies, forfeiture of estates, and other kinds
of torments, which make the pleasure of their sins prove
bitter and dearly bought, even in this life.
8. Other pains and miseries are brought on them by the
inordinate appetites and passions of their hearts: for what
can be expected from an immoderate affection, from a vain
fear, from a doubtful hope, from an irregular desire, from a
solicitous sorrow, but a thousand cares and perplexities,
which deprive them of the peace and liberty of heart, which
make their whole life uneasy, which excite them to sin, which
hinder them from praying, which disturb their rest in the
day. Man himself, that is, the irregularity of his passions, is
the cause of all these miseries. You may judge by this
what he has to hope for from anything else, who has such a
harvest of his own as this is, and with whom he can be at
peace, who is at such war with himself.
Section III. — Of the great Snares and Dangers of the World.
9. If there were none but pains and torments of the body
in the world, there would not be so much reason to fear;
but, alas! there are dangers of the soul much more to be
apprehended, because they touch us more to the quick.
These dangers are so great, that the Royal Prophet says,
"God shall rain down snares upon sinners." Ps. x. 7-
What a vast number of snares must he see in the world, to
compare them to drops of rain. He says expressly " upon
sinners," because, being so little watchful over their hearts
and their thoughts, so unconcerned about avoiding the occa
sions of sin, and thinking so little of providing themselves

316 the sinner's guide.
with spiritual remedies, and, what is worse than all this,
walking continually in the midst of the flames of the world,
how can they choose but walk among infinite dangers? It
is on account of these many dangers the prophet said, " that
God will rain snares upon the wicked." Snares in youth
and snares in old age, snares in riches and snares in poverty,
snares in honour and snares in dishonour, snares in company
and snares when a man is alone, snares in adversity and
snares in prosperity ; in fine, every one of a man's senses, as
the eyes, the ears, the tongue, and the rest, lay snares in his
way. There are so many, in short, of these snares, that the
prophet cries out aloud, saying, " Snares upon you, 0 inha
bitant of the earth." Jer. xlviii. 43. Would God but open
our eyes a little, as he did St. Anthony's, we should see all
the world full of snares, entangled one in another, and should
cry out with him, " Oh, who shall be able to avoid them all !"
It is this that is the destruction of so many souls as perish
every day. And, therefore, St. Bernard says, with tears, "that
there is scarce one ship in ten cast away in the Sea of Mar
seilles;" whilst, on the contrary, there is scarce one soul in
ten that is not lost in the sea of this world. Who, then,
will not fear so dangerous a world ? who will not endeavour
to avoid so many snares? who can, without trembling, go
barefoot among so many serpents? who will run unarmed
among so many enemies, unprovided amongst so many occa
sions of sin, without a medicine amongst so many mortal
diseases? who will not endeavour to get out of this Egypt?
who will not fly from this Babylon ? Exod. xii. Jer. Ii.
Who will not endeavour to be delivered from these flames of
Sodom and Gomorrah, and to save himself in the mountain
of a good life ? Gen. xix. Since this world is so full of so
many snares and precipices, and burns in the flames of so
many vices, who will think himself secure ? " Can any one
(says the wise man) hide fire in his bosom, and his garments
not burn ? Or can he walk upon hot coals and his feet not
be burnt ?" Prov. vi. 27, 28. " He that toucheth pitch
(says Ecclesiasticus) shall be defiled with it, and he that hath
fellowship with the proud, shall put on pride." Eccl. xiii. i.
Section IV. — Of the Blindness and Darkness of the World.
10. To this infinite number of snares and dangers add
another evil, which makes them greater, and is the blindness
and darkness of worldly men, excellently represented to us

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by the Egyptian darkness, which was so thick that they
could feel it with their hands, and during the three days it
continued, no person stirred out of the place he was in, nor
could see his neighbour, though he stood just by him. Exod.
x. Such, and much more if possible, is the darkness that
covers the world. For, what greater blindness than for men
to believe, and yet live as they do ? To make so much ac
count of their fellow-creatures, and to take so little notice of
God ? To be so careful of observing the laws of the world,
and so negligent in keeping God's commandments? To
take so much pains about the body, which is at best but
dust, and to be so little concerned for the soul, which is no
less than the image of the divine Majesty? To lay up so
much store for this life, which will perhaps be at an end to
morrow, and to provide nothing for the next, which must
last for all eternity? To be solicitous about raising a fortune
on earth, and not to move so much as one step for the ac
quiring of heavenly good? What greater blindness than to
live so negligently as if life were never to end, when we
know we are to die, and that moment to decide what shall
be for ever? For, what is it that sinners, who are to die
to-morrow, do less than if they were never to die at all?
What greater blindness than to lose the inheritance of hea
ven for the satisfying of a hungry appetite? To be so care
ful about an estate, and to have so little regard for con
science ? To desire that all things should be good, except
only a man's own life ? You will find the world so full of such
blindness, that you will believe almost all mankind is en
chanted and bewitched, so as not to see, though they have
eyes, nor hear, though they have ears; and though they are
as sharpsightecl as eagles to discover the things of the earth,
yet they are as blind as beetles to those of heaven? Thus
it happened with St. Paul, when he went to persecute the
Church ; for, as soon as ever he fell to the ground, he could
see nothing, though he had his eyes open. This is what hap
pens to all those unhappy wretches who have their eyes
wide open to the things of the world, yet keep them shut to
all that is of God.
Section V. — Of the Multitude of Sins there are in the World.
Since, therefore, there are so many snares in the world,
and so much darkness, what can a man expect here but to
be continually stumbling and falling. Of all the miseries in

318 the sinner's guide.
the world this is the greatest, and that which ought to give
us most aversion to it. This was the only argument St.
Cyprian made use of, to persuade his friend to a contempt
of the world. L. 2, Ep. 2, ad Donat. He supposes to this
end, that they were both of them on the top of a very high
mountain, from whence they had a prospect of all the world;
he pointed out to his friend, as it were, with his finger, all
the seas and all the countries, all the markets and all the
courts of judicature, full of those several sins and injustices
which are to be found in all parts, that so beholding, as it
were, with his eyes, so many and so great evils as there are
in the world, he might understand what a horror and dread he
ought to have of it, and how much he was obliged to almighty
God for having withdrawn him from them all. Do you, in
imitation of this proceeding, get up to the top of this same
mountain, cast your eyes a little on all the market places, all
the palaces, all the courts, and all the assemblies in the world,
you will there see so many sorts of sin, so much corruption, so
many detractions, so many cheats, so many perjuries, so many
robberies, so much envy, so much flattery, so much vanity,
and, above all, such an entire forgetfulness of God, and so great
a neglect of man's salvation, that you cannot but be amazed
at so much disorder. You will see the greater part of men
living like beasts, following the bent and impulse of their
passions, without having any more regard to the laws, either
of justice or of reason, than heathens, who have no know
ledge of God, and who think man has nothing else to do but
to live and die. You will see the innocent oppressed, the
guilty acquitted, the virtuous condemned, and sinners
honoured and promoted. You will see the poor and humble
trampled on, whilst favour and interest get the better in all
things of virtue. You will see justice sold, truth slighted,
shame lost, arts ruined, offices abused, and all sorts of em
ployments, for the most part, corrupted. You will see many
knaves, that deserve to be severely punished for their vil-
lanies, become rich, honoured, and courted, and this is by
their thefts, their cheats, and a thousand other unlawful
means. You will see these and many others, who have
scarce any more than the shape of men, filling the greatest
places and preferred to the most honourable employments.
You will see, in fine, that men love and adore their money
more than they do God, whilst all laws, both divine and
human, are violated; and almost all the world over there is

THE SINNERS GUIDE. 319
nothing of justice to be seen, but the mere name and shadow
of it. When you have seen all these things, you will under
stand how much reason the prophet had for saying, " The
Lord hath looked down from heaven upon the children of
men, to see if there be any that understand and seek God.
They are all gone aside, they are become unprofitable toge
ther; there is none that doth good, no not one." Ps. xiii.
2, 3. Nor does God complain less by his prophet Osee,
when he says, " There is no truth, there is no mercy, and
there is no knowledge of God in the land." But, on the
contrary, " Cursing, and lying, and killing, and theft, and
adultery, have overflowed, and blood hath turned blood."
Osee, iv. 1, 2.
1 1 . In fine, that you may the better see what the world
is, cast your eyes on the head that governs it, and, by that
means, you will perceive the condition of the thing so go
verned. For, if it be true, as Jesus Christ said, that the
devil is the prince of this world, that is, of wicked men, what
must we expect from a body that has such a head, and from
a commonwealth that has such a ruler? This alone is enough
to let you understand that the world itself must be like those
who are lovers of it. What kind of place, then, must it be
but a den of thieves, an army of cut- throats, a sty full of
swine, a galley full of slaves, a lake full of serpents and basi
lisks ? Now, if the world be such a thing as this, why, says
a philosopher, shall we not desire to leave such a filthy place,
so full of treacheries, deceits, and sins, that there is scarce
room left for honesty, piety, or justice; a place where all
kinds of vices reign, where one brother takes up arms against
another, where a son wishes for the death of his father, a
husband for the death of his wife, and the wife for that of
her husband ? Where there are so few persons that do not
either steal or cheat, since great men, as well as little ones,
have their ways of robbing and defrauding, though under
some specious pretences. Where, in short, there are so many
fires of lust, of impurity, of anger, ambition, and many other
vices continually burning. Who will not desire to fly from
such a world ? It was, without doubt, the desire of the
prophet, who cried out: "AVhowill carry me into the de
sert, or into some place that is out of the way of passengers,
and I will forsake my people, and will retire from them, be
cause they are all of them adulterers, an assembly of trea
cherous men ?" All that has been said of this matter hitherto

320 THE SINNER'S GUIDE.
belongs to the wicked in general, though no one can deny
but there are several good men in the world, of all states and
conditions, and it is for their sake that God bears with the rest.
12. When you have weighed all these things, consider
how reasonable it is to abhor and detest so great an evil, in
which, had God but opened your eyes, you might have seen
more devils and more sins than there are atoms in the rays
of the sun, and with this consideration nourish and increase
in your souls the desire of leaving this world, in spirit at
least, sighing with the Royal Prophet, and saying with him :
" Who will give me wings like a dove, and I will fly and be
at rest ?" Ps. liv. 7.
Section IV. — How deceitful the Happiness of the World is.
1 3. These, and many more like them, are the disappoint
ments and crosses that attend the wretched felicities of this
world, by which you may perceive how much more gall there
is than honey, and how much more wormwood than sugar:
I forbear to take notice of several other miseries. This hap
piness and delight, besides being so short and miserable, is
also filthy, because it makes men carnal and impure : it is
brutish, inasmuch as it makes men brutish ; it is foolish, be
cause it makes men fools, and often deprives them of their
sense and reason ; it is inconstant, because it never continues
in the same state ; it is, in fine, treacherous and false, because
when we seem to want it most, it leaves us and vanishes into
air. But I will not omit speaking of one evil that attends
it, which, perhaps, is worse than all the rest, viz. its being
fraudulent and deceitful, for it appears to be what it is not,
and promises what it has not to give ; so that, by this means,
it draws most men after it to their eternal ruin. For as there
is true and false gold, as there are true and counterfeit jewels,
which look as if they were of value and are not, so there are
true and false goods, a true happiuess and a false one, which
are nothing at all of happiness, but the bare appearance.
Such is the happiness of this world, which deceives and
cheats us with its outside gloss and colour. For as, according
to Aristotle, " It often happens that lies, notwithstanding
their falsehood, have a greater appearance of truth than even
truth itself; so it is worth observing, that there are some evils
which, though they are real evils, look more like good than even
some things that are really good." Such is the happiness of
the world, and, therefore, ignorant persons are easily deluded

THE SINNER'S GUIDE. 321
by it, as birds are decoyed, and fishes caught with bait. It
is the nature of worldly things to present themselves to us
under a pleasant appearance, and with a flattering and de
ceitful look, which promises a deal of joy and satisfaction,
but as soon as experience has undeceived us, we perceive the
hook was hid under the bait, and see clearly that all is not gold
that glitters. This, you will find by experience, happens in all
worldly things. Do but consider the pleasures of a new-
married couple, you will see their happiness generally last but
for a few days, then follow discontents, troubles and cares.
They soon find afflictions from children, diseases, absence,
jealousy, discord, miscarriages, misfortunes, grief, and, in fine,
from death itself, which is inevitable, and sometimes surprises
them early and changes their wedding-joys, not yet completed,
into the tears of widowhood. What greater deceit and
hypocrisy than this? How contentedly does a young woman
go to the marriage-bed, because her eyes are only open to
that which appears outwardly ; but, alas I how much more
reason should she have to cry than laugh, if she did but see
the train of miseries that follows? Rebecca desired to have
children, but when she found herself pregnant, and perceived
the conflict that was between the two infants in her womb,
she said, " If this must have happened to me, what need was
there of my conceiving?" Gen. xxv. 22. Oh, how many
have been thus deceived, when, having obtained what they
wished for, they find it to be quite another thing than what
they expected.
14. What shall I say of employments, of honours, prefer
ments, and dignities? How delighful they appear at first
sight, yet when the false lustre is worn off, what trains of
passions and solicitudes, what envy, what hardships then
discover themselves? What shall I say again of those who
are engaged in unlawful love? How pleasant do they find
the entrance into this dark labyrinth at the beginning? but
when once they have got in, what hardships are they to un
dergo ? How many unhappy nights must they endure ? How
many dangers must they expose themselves to? Because
the fruit of this forbidden tree is guarded by the fury of a
venomous dragon, that is, by the cruel sword either of a pa
rent or of a jealous husband, in which action a man often
loses his life, his honour, his estate, and his soul, all in a mo
ment. You may, in like manner, take a view of the lives
of covetous and worldly men, of those who aim at glory,

322 the sinner's guide.
either by their arms, or by favour, and you will find, in all
these, the tragical effects of fortunate and pleasant beginnings,
which have been followed by unhappy ends. For the nature
of this cup of Babylon is to be gilt without, but to be full of
poison within." Apoc. xvii. 4.
15. What then is all the glory of the world but a syren's
song, which lulls us asleep, a sweet poison that carries death
along with it, a viper finely party-coloured without, and full
of venom within ? If it delights, it is only to deceive us; if
it raises us up, it is to ca3t us down again ; if it diverts us,
it is to make us melancholy. It expects au unreasonable
interest for whatever it bestows. If you have a child born,
and it should happen to die, you would be ten times more
troubled at its death, than you were pleased at its birth. Any
loss is always the occasion of much more grief, than gain is of
joy ; sickness is much more afflicting, than health is comfort
ing ; an affront discontents a man more than honour pleases or
charms him: for nature has been so unequal in disposing of
pains and pleasures, that those are more able to tormeut us,
than these are to give us any ease and comfort. A thorough
consideration of all this will make us plainly see how false
and deceitful this happiness is.
Section VII. — The Conclusion of all that has been said.
16. Consider here the true figure of the world, notwith
standing its outward appearing to be what it is not, and con
sider what its happiness is : it is short, miserable, dangerous,
blind, and deceitful. If so, what can the world be but a
magazine of labours, as a philosopher wisely terms it, a schoul
of vanities, a market of deceit, a labyrinth of errors, a prison
of darkness, a highway full of robbers, a muddy lake, and a
sea that is in perpetual storm ? What is this world but a
barren soil, a field full of stones, a wood full of thorns, a green
meadow full of snakes and serpents, a garden that has flowers,
but no fruit, a river of tears, a fountain of cares, a sweet
poison, a serious comedy, and a pleasing frenzy. Are there
any delights in it which are not false, or any miseries which are
not real ? Its ease is full of troubles, its security has grounds
to build on, its fears are without reason, its labours without
any advantage, its tears without any effect, its designs with
out success, its hope vain.itsjoy counterfeit, and its grief true.
17. You see how lively a representation this world is of
hell, for if hell be nothing but a place of torments and of

the sinner's guide. 323
sin, what is there the world abounds in more ? The Royal
Prophet was of this opinion, when he said: " Day and night
shall iniquity surround it upon its walls, and in the midst
thereof are labour and injustice." Ps. liv. 1 1 . This is the
fruit the world produces, this the merchandise that is sold
in it, this the trade that is settled in every corner of it —
viz., labour and injustice, which are the evils of pain and the *
evils of guilt. If, therefore, hell is nothing but a place of
torments and of guilt, why do we not call this world, in some
measure at least, a hell, since we see so much of both in it ?
St. Bernard looked on it as such, when he said : " This world
would appear to be almost as miserable as hell, if it were not
for the hopes we have, whilst we are in this life, of obtaining
a better." — Serm. 4. de Ascens.
Section VIII. — That true Felicity and Content are to be found nowhere
but in God.
18. Having hitherto taken so clear a view of the misery
and deceit of worldly happiness, our next business will be to
consider that the true happiness and rest, which the world
cannot give us, is to be found in God. Were worldly men
but thoroughly convinced of this, they would not, as they do
now, take so much pains in pursuit of worldly pleasures. In
short, my design, therefore, is to prove the importance of this
truth, not by the authorities and testimonies of faith, but
purely by the force of reason.
1 9. For effecting of this, you are to understand that no
creature whatever can enjoy a complete and perfect happi
ness till it obtains its last end, that is, the last perfection
which is proportioned to its being and nature. For as long
as it is without this, it cannot but be unquiet and dissatisfied,
because it is sensible it wants something that is necessary
for it. I put the question now, what man's last end is, on
the possession of which all his felicity depends, and which
divines call "his formal beatitude?" That this is God is
undeniable, who, as he is his first beginning, so is he his last
end. Now, as it is impossible for a man to have two first
beginnings, it is no less so to have two last ends, because
this would be to have two Gods. If, therefore, God alone is
man's last end and ultimate happiness, and if it is impossible
for him to have two last ends, there is, consequently, the
same impossibility of his finding any happiness but in God.
For as the glove is made for the hand, and the scabbard for

324 the sinner's guide.
the sword, so that there is no putting them to any other use,
in like manner man's heart, having been created for God,
cannot find rest but in him. It is with him alone that he is
content and satisfied, and without him poor and miserable.
The reason of it is, because the understanding and the will,
which are the two noblest faculties, being the principal seat
of bliss, whilst they are disturbed and uneasy man cannot
possibly enjoy peace and quiet. And it is a plain case, that
these two faculties cannot be at rest but in the enjoyment of
God. For, as St. Thomas says: "Our understanding can
not know or understand so much as not to be capable and
desirous of knowing more, if there be more to be known ; so
our will can never love or enjoy so many goods as not to be
capable of more, if more be given it." S. Thorn. I, 2, Qu.
2, Art. 8. Therefore these two powers will never be satisfied
till they shall find a universal object in which all things are
contained, and which, as soon as ever it was known and
loved, there remain no more truths to be known, or more
goods to be enjoyed. Hence it follows that no created being
whatsoever, though it were the possession of all the world,
is able to find and satisfy man's heart; there is none but
God, for whom he was created, can do this. Thus Plutarch
writes of a private soldier, who, from one elevation to another,
came to be emperor, and seeing himself raised to this honour
he had so long desired, and yet wanting the satisfaction he
expected, he said, '' I have lived in all states and conditions,
and have found no satisfaction in any of them." By which
we may perceive it is impossible for him to find any rest but
in God, who has been created for none but God.
20. That you may understand this the better, look on the
needle of the compass, and there you will see a lively figure
of this necessary doctrine. The nature of this needle is to
point always to the north, when it has been once touched to
the loadstone : God, who created this stone, gave it such a
natural inclination to turn always that way. And you may
see, by experience, what a violent motion it is in, and how
restless, till it points exactly thither, and then it immediately
stops and remains fixed. . It is not to be doubted, but that
God has created man with the same natural inclination and
tendency toward him, as toward his pole, his centre, and his
last end; and therefore it is, that, like the needle, he is
continually disturbed and unquiet, as long as he is turned
from God, though he should enjoy all the riches iu the

THE SINNER'S GUIDE. 325
world ; but as soon as, like the needle, he returns to him, he
ceases from his violent motion, and enjoys perfect and entire
rest, because it is in God he is to find his peace. Whence
we may infer that he alone is happy who possesses God, and
that the nearer a man is to God the nearer he is to this hap
piness. And, therefore, the just, though the world is unac
quainted with their happiness, are the only happy men, be
cause, whilst they are in this life, they draw as nigh as they
can to Almighty God.
20. The reason is, because true felicity does not consist
in sensible and worldly pleasures, as the Epicurean philoso
phers would have it, and after them the Mahommedans, and
lastly, the followers of both these sects, that is, wicked
Christians who, in words, renounce the law of Mahomet,
but follow it in their actions, and, iu this world, seek no
other paradise than his. For what is it the great and rich
men of the world spend their time in, but in hunting after
all manner of pleasures and amusements ? and what is this
but to make Epicurus's pleasure our last end, aud to look
for Mahomet's paradise in this world ? 0 unhappy scholars
of such masters ! If you detest the names of these men,
why do you not hate their lives and manners? If you will
enjoy Mahomet's paradise in this life, you must expect to
lose our Saviour's in the next. Man's happiness does not
consist either in the body, or in the goodness of it, as the
Turks pretend, but in the spirit, and in spiritual and invisible
goods, as was the opinion of the great philosophers of old,
and it was what Christians still hold, though after quite
another manner.
The Royal Prophet signified the same to us by these
words: "All the glory of the king's daughter is within in
golden borders, clothed round about with vanities" (Ps. xliv.
14, 15), and where she enjoys so much peace and comfort,
as never all the kings of the earth have had, or are ever
like to have, unless we will say that they have more satis
faction than the friends of God, which many of them will
deny, who very cheerfully quitted great kingdoms and riches
as soon as they tasted of God. Pope Gregory the Great
will also deny it, who had sufficient experience of both states,
and was placed by force in St. Peter's chair, on which he
always sighed, and wept for the poor cell he left in his
monastery, as a slave in Barbary sighs for his country and
liberty.

326 the sinner's guide.
Section IX. — Examples to prove all that has been said.
22. But because this mistake is so great, and so uuiversal
I will add one reason more, as convincing as the former, that
the lovers of the world may discover by it how impossible it
is to find that happiness they look for in the world. To this
purpose you are to presuppose that there is much more goes
to the making of a thing perfect than to leave it imperfect;
because, for effecting of the first it must necessarily have all
those conditions which are absolutely requisite for its per
fection ; whilst, on the contrary, any one single imperfection
make3 the whole piece imperfect. It is also to be presup
posed that a man must have all things according to his own
desire to make himself completely happy, and that one thing
contrary to his wish goes a great way farther towards making
him miserable than the enjoyment of all the rest towards
making him happy. I have myself seen several persons, of
very considerable rank and fortune, lead the most unhappy
lives, because the satisfaction they had in what they enjoyed
was nothing comparable to the torment of not being able to
obtain what they desired. For it is certain, that this latter,
which is like a thorn stuck into the very heart, is more
grievous and troublesome than the other is acceptable and
' pleasing, for it is the obtaining of his desire, not the posses
sion of goods, that makes a man happy. St. Augustine, in
his treatise of the Customs of the Church, explained this
point very excellently in these words: "I do not think a
man can be said to be happy who does not enjoy what he
loves, let it be ever so mean and ordinary ; nor do I look on
that man any happier who does not love what he enjoys,
though the thing be ever so good and excellent; nor is he
in a better condition than either of the other two who does
not desire that which is worth his desiring, because he that
cannot get what he desires is in a deal of torment ; he that
has what is not worth his desiring, is notoriously cheated,
and he who does not desire that which is worth desiring,
is a mere fool and madman. From whence we conclude,
that our happiness depends upon the possession of no other
good but the sovereign good, without which there is no such
thing as happiness." — S. Aug. de Morib. Eccl. Cath. c. 3.
So that possession, love, and sovereign good, these three
things put together, make a man completely happy, without
which no man can be so, though he possesses ever so much.

the sinner's guide. 327
23. Though I could bring many examples to prove this,
I will bring only that of Aman, King Assuerus's creature and
favourite. This man being highly offended, that Mardochai,
one of the guards at the palace gate, did not pay him the
respect he looked for, sent for all his friends and his wife,
and made this short discourse to them : " You all know
what a rich man I am, how many children I have, and how
much I am in favour with the king, and to what places and
dignities he has promoted me before any of his courtiers, or
subjects. Besides all this, the queen has invited none but
the king and myself to come and dine with her to-morrow.
And yet, though I have all these things, I seem to have
nothing at all, as long as I see Mardochai, who stands before
the palace-gate, refusing me the respect I look for." Esther, v.
Do but consider how this small affront was the occasion of
much more discontent and trouble, than all his riches and
honours were of happiness and satisfaction. Consider, like
wise, how far man is from being happy, as long as he is in
this world, and how near he is, on the contrary, to misery,
since there are many goods required to the obtaining of the
first, whilst the want of any one is enough to make us fall
into the latter. Now if this be true, who can avoid being
unhappy in this world? Is there any king, any emperor,
so powerful as to have all things according to his own will,
and never to meet with any contrary to his inclinations ?
Let us put the case, should he never receive any contra
diction from men, who can secure bimself against all the
strokes of nature, against all the infirmities of the body, or
all the fears or vain imaginations of the soul, which is fre
quently so apprehensive when there is no reason for it, and
disturbs herself without any cause? Poor, unhappy, mise
rable man, how can you think of finding any content in the
ways of the world, when it is more than what the greatest
princes and monarchs of it have been ever able to do ? If
all goods whatever must necessarily contribute to the acquir
ing of this one good, when shall you, who are at such a dis
tance from God, ever be so happy as to stand in need of
nothing in the world ? There is none but God can give you
this happiness; and if there be any man that does, in some
manner, enjoy it in this life, know it is only he who loves and
enjoys God; because it is a condition of friendship, "that
all things are in common amongst friends."
24. If all these plain and evident reasons cannot convince

328 the sinner's guide.
you, but that you are more easily wrought upon by expe
rience, address yourself to Solomon, so celebrated for his
wisdom, and desire him, since he has sailed in this sea, and
was more successful than any other, in discovering all sorts
of worldly grandeurs and delights, to give you an account of
what he discovered, and whether he could find anything that
could satisfy him; and you shall have no other answer from
him, but " vanity of vanities, vanity of vanities, and all is
vanity." Eccles. i. 2, &c. ; xii. 8. Do not doubt to give
credit to such an experienced man as Solomon was, who
speaks to you not on bare speculation, but from certain
knowledge. And do not think that you, or any one else,
could discover more than he has done. For what prince in
the world was ever wiser, richer, better attended, more
glorious, or more reverenced than he? Who ever tried
more different sorts of debaucheries and pleasures than he ?
And yet, after having tried all, he made no other advantage
of them but what you have heard. Why will you make a
fresh trial of what so many have tried before you ? Do not
fancy you can find what Solomon could not: since you have
no other world to search in, nor any better means to find
what you seek than he had ; and since he could never satisfy
his longings from so plentiful a board, do not persuade your
self you shall ever be able to do it with the bare gleanings.
Seeking pleasure was the employment of his time; and, it is
very probable, as St. Jerome observes, in a letter of his to
Eustochium, " that this was the occasion of his fall." And
will you be so mad as to cast yourself headlong after him ?
But because men rather believe experience than reason,
therefore, God has perhaps permitted this king to try all the
goods and pleasures of this world, that he might, after trying,
give us a character of them; that thus the misery of one
man might be an example to all the rest, and prevent their
falling into the like misfortune.
25. Now, if this be so, I may, with a deal of reason, ex
claim with the prophet: " Sons of men how long will you
have your hearts hardened? Why do you love vanity and
seek after a lie?" He does well in giving it the name of
a vanity and a lie ; because, if there were nothing else in
worldly things but vanity (which signifies no more than to
be nothing), there were no great hurt in them ; but there is
something still much worse than this, which is, a lie and a
false appearance, by which we are persuaded to believe them

the sinner's guide. 329
something, when in effect they are just nothing. For this
reason Solomon says, " Favour is deceitful, and beauty is
vain." Prov. xxxi. 30. To be vain had been no great
matter, had it not bee'n deceitful too ; because vanity, when
once known, could do but little harm ; the greatest danger
is in that, which truly and really is vain, though it does not
appear to be so. By this we may see how great a hypocrite
the world is. For as hypocrites endeavour to hide the
faults they have been guilty of, so the rich men of this world
do all they can to conceal the miseries they continually groan
under. Some, though they are sinners, would pass for
saints, and others for happy men, though they are miserable.
If you call this into question, do but come a little nearer to
one of those who seem outwardly to be so happy; feel his
pulse a little, and then put your hands on his heart, and you
will see what difference there is between that which appears
on the outside, and that which is hid within. There are
some plants in the fields, which look very pretty at a distance,
but when you come and touch them, cast forth such an un
grateful smell, that a man is forced immediately to fling them
away: thus, when the hands touch, they correct the mistake
of the eyes. Such are most of the rich and mighty men of
the world. For if you consider their great estates, their
noble houses, and their retinues, you might take them to be
the only happy men on earth; but if you go a little nearer
and search into the recesses of their souls, and into the secret
corners of their houses, you will find them not the same they
seem to be. So that several of those, who, at first, aimed
at great estates, when they considered them at a distance,
no sooner had a nearer view of them, but they entirely re
fused them, as many heathens (according to several his
tories) have done. And in the lives of the emperors, we
read, that there have not been wanting some, who, not
withstanding their being heathens, have refused to accept of
the empire, though they have been elected by the general
consent of the whole army; and this because they knew that
this flower, which seemed to be so fine and beautiful, had
nothing but thorns and briars underneath it.
26. Why then, 0 ye children of men, who are created
according to the likeness of God, who are redeemed with his
blood, who are designed to be the companions of angels! why
do you love vanity, and seek after a lie, imagining with
yourselves, that you shall receive any comfort from those false

330 the sinner's guide.
goods, which never were, nor ever will be able to give you
the least satisfaction imaginable? Why have you left the
table of angels for the food of beasts? Why have you re
fused the delights and sweet smells of paradise, for the bit
terness and stench of this world? How is it possible that
so many calamities and miseries as you are daily sensible of,
should not suffice to make you deny any farther allegiance
to so cruel a tyrant as this is? We seem herein to be like
certain lewd women, that give themselves entirely up to
some debauched fellow, who devours and spends all they are
worth, and then beats and kicks them every day, and yet
they are fond of their slavery, and doat on him that makes
it. 27- Wherefore, from all that has been said, I conclude,
that if there are so many reasons, so many examples, and so
many experimeuts, to prove that the happiness and ease we
look for in the world is to be found nowhere but in God,
why do we not seek for it in him ? It is what St. Augustine
advises, in these words: " Compass the sea and earth, and
go where you please ; but assure yourself that wheresoever
you go you will be miserable, if you do not go to God."
CHAPTER VI.
The Conclusion of all that is contained in this First Book.
1. We may plainly gather from all that has been hitherto
said, that there is no kind of good whatever which is not
included in virtue; which shows it to be so great and so
universal a good, that there is nothing either in heaven or
earth to which we can better compare it than to God himself.
For, as God is so universal a good, that the perfections of
all other goods are found in him, so are they, in some man
ner, to be found in virtue. We see that, amongst created
things, some are modest, others beautiful ; some honourable,
others profitable; some are agreeable, and others again have
several perfections ; now, those of all are most perfect and
the most worthy of our love, which have the greatest share
of all these different perfections. If this be true, what
esteem — what love ought we to have for virtue, in which
none of all these perfections are wanting? For, if we con
sider modesty, what can be more modest than virtue, which
is the very source and fountain of all modesty ? If we look
for honour, what can deserve honour and respect if virtue

the sinner's guide. 331
does not ? If we have an esteem for beauty, what can be
more beautiful than virtue is? Plato, speaking of its beauty,
says, " That if we could but see it, it would draw the whole
world after it." If we have any concern for profit, what
can we expect any greater profit from than virtue, since it
is by it that we are to acquire the chief good? Length of
days (with the good of eternity) is in her right hand, and in
her left hand riches and glory. ," Prov. iii. 16. If pleasure
be all that you long for, what greater pleasure than that of
a good conscience, of charity, of peace, of the liberty which
the children of God enjoy, and of all the consolations of the
Holy Ghost, who never fails to keep company with virtue?
If credit and reputation be the object of your aim, The just
man shall be remembered for all eternity, but the name of the
wicked shall grow rotten, and vanish away like smoke. If
you seek for knowledge, what deeper knowledge than know
ing God, and understanding the best means for directing of
your life to your last end ? If we have a mind to gain the
love and affection of men, what can be more lovely than
virtue, or more conducible to this end? For, according to
Cicero, as beauty of body, which we so much admire, con
sists in the exact symmetry aud due proportion of limbs and
members, so from the exactness and regularity of life is
formed such a beauty, as is not only agreeable to God and
his angels, but even charms the wicked, and man's greatest
enemies. 2. This is the good which is so absolutely and completely
good, as not to have the least mixture of evil in it. It was
with a deal of reason that God sent this short, but glorious
embassy to the just, which we have mentioned in the begin
ning of this book, and with which we are now going to con
clude the same: Say to the just man, it is well. Isa. iii. 10.
Tell him he was born happily, and shall die happily; tell
him he shall be blessed in his death, and in what is to come
after it, as he has been in his life ; tell him he shall have suc
cess in all things, in his pleasures, in his pains, in his
labours, in his rest, in his credit, and in his disgrace, be
cause all things turn to the advantage of those who love God.
Rom. iii. 28. Tell him he has nothing to fear, for though
the whole world should be disturbed and troubled — though
the elements should be in confusion, and though the heavens
themselves should fall in pieces, he may then lift up his
head, because the day of his redemption is at hand. Tell

332 the sinner's guide.
him it is well, because the greatest of all goods, which is God
himself, is prepared for him, and because he is delivered
from the company of the devil, which is the greatest evil of
all. Tell him it is well, because his name is written in the
book of life, because God the Father has adopted him for
his son, because God the Son has taken him for his brother,
and the Holy Ghost for his living temple. Tell him it is
well, because the way he has taken and the party he has
followed is advantageous to him in all respects, advanta
geous to the body, and advantageous to the 30ul, advanta
geous in consideration of God, advantageous in consideration
of men, advantageous for this life and for the next; because
all good things shall be bestowed upon those who seek the
kingdom of God. Luke, xii. 3 1 . And though, perhaps, his
temporal affairs go not so well with him, yet this will turn
much more to his advantage, if he does but take it patiently;
because, to those that are patient, losses prove gaius, labours
and sufferings are the occasions of merit, and combats bring
crowns and trophies. As often as Laban lessened Jacob's
wages, with au intention to benefit himself thereby, and to
prejudice his son-in-law, his design was thwarted; and
what he thought would benefit him and hurt the other,
proved quite the contrary. Gen. xxxi.
3. Why then will you be so cruel to yourself, and so
much your own enemy, as to refuse to embrace that thing
which is every way so advantageous to you? Can you take
any better advice, or follow any better party than this ?
Blessed are the undefiled in the way, who walk in the law of
the Lord. Blessed are they that search his testimonies, that
seek him with their whole heart. Ps. ex viii. 1, 2.
4. If, therefore, as the philosophers say, good is the ob
ject of our will, and if, of consequence, the better a thing is
the more it deserves our love, who has corrupted your will
so as to make it neither relish nor enjoy so universal and so
great a good ? Oh, how much greater an esteem had King
David of it, when he cried out, Thy law, 0 Lord, is in the
very midst of my heart/ Ps. xxxix. 9- Not in a comer, not
on one side, but in the very middle, the most worthy and
honourable place of all. As if he had said, this is my
greatest treasure, this is the most important business I have,
and the chief of all my concerns. Worldly men proceed in
direct opposition to this, because vanity has the first place in
their heart, and the law of God the last. But this holy man,

the sinner's guide. 333
notwithstanding his being a king, and having much to pre
serve and to lose, trampled all under his feet, and placed no
thing but the law of God in the midst of his heart, as know
ing that if he was but careful in the keeping of this, all the
rest was sufficiently secure.
5. What can hinder you now from making a resolution to
follow this example, and to embrace so great a good ? For,
if you look on the obligation, is there any greater than what
we all of us owe to Almighty God, purely on account of what
he is ? All other obligations of the world do not so much as
deserve to be so called, if compared with this. If you look
for benefits, what greater can there be than those we have
received from him, since, besides his having created and
redeemed us with his own blood, everything either in us
or out of us, as the body, soul, life, health, estate, grace
(if we have it), every hour and moment of our lives, all the
good designs and desires of our soul; whatsoever, in fine,
has the name either of being or of good, proceed originally
from him, who is the fountain of all beings and of all good.
If interest be your aim, let all the angels and all mankind
declare, whether we are capable of any greater interest than
that of receiving eternal glory, and of being delivered from
everlasting pains and torments: for this is the reward of
virtue. If we pretend to the enjoyment of present goods,
what greater goods can we possess than those twelve privi
leges above mentioned, which all good men enjoy in this
life, the least of which is much more able to content and
please us, than all the conditions and treasures of the world!
What more can we put into this balance than what is here
promised us! All the excuses worldly men are used to
bring against us are now quite baffled, and I see no hole for
them to creep out at, unless they wilfully and obstinately
stop their ears, and shut their eyes against so clear and
manifest a truth.
6. What then remains but that, having seen the perfec
tion and beauty of virtue, you repeat these words with the
wise man, speaking of wisdom, virtue's sister and compa
nion. " I have loved her and sought after her from my very
youth, and I desire to have her for my spouse, and I was in
love with her beauty. Her nobility appears by Almighty
God's familiarity with her; and he who is the Lord of all
things has loved her. She it is that teaches the knowledge
of God, and is the chooser of his works. And if riches be
p 2

334 the sinner's guide.
desired in life, what is richer than wisdom, which maketh
all things? But, if wisdom does all things, can there be
anything more ingenious than she is ! And, if any one loves
justice, its works produce great virtues; for it teaches tem
perance and prudence, justice and fortitude, than which there
is nothing profitable to men in this life. I have resolved,
therefore, to take her for the companion of my life, as know
ing she will make me partaker with her in her goods ; and
she shall be my comfort in all my distress and trouble."
These are the words of the wise man. What then remains
but to conclude this matter, as the blessed martyr, St.
Cyprian, concludes a most elegant epistle he writes to a friend
of his, on the contempt of the world, as follows : —
7. " There is (says he) but one quiet and tranquillity, but
one solid and perpetual security, which is, when a man,
being freed from the storms of this world, and laid up in
the secure haven of salvation, lifts up his eyes from earth
to heaven, and being already admitted into the company
and favour of the Lord, is glad to see himself despise and
undervalue, from his heart, whatever the world has such an
esteem for. A man in such a condition cannot desire any
thing in this world, because he is already greater than the
world itself." And a little lower he goes on, saying, " There
is no need of being very rich, or having any honourable em
ployments? for the obtaining of this happiness; it is a pure
gift of Gbd, bestowed on the devout soul: for, God is so liberal
and free, that, as the sun heats, as the day gives light, as the
fountain flows, and as the water falls down from a steep
place, so this divine spirit communicates himself freely to all
persons. For this reason do you, who are already listed in
this heavenly army, use all your endeavours to be faithful in
the observance of the discipline of this warfare, by acts of
piety and devotion; let prayer and holy reading be your
continual companions; sometimes do you speak to God, and
at other times hearken to what God has to say to you. Let
him instruct you in his commandments; let him have the
disposing and ordering of all the concerns of your life; let
nobody look on him as a poor man whom God has once en
riched. It is impossible for the soul to suffer hunger and
thirst, that has been filled with the blessings and abundance
of heavenly things. Then the most stately buildings, crusted
over with marble, and laid over with gold, shall be no more
esteemed by you than dirt and clay; then you will understand

the sinner's guide. 335
that your chief business is to adorn and beautify yourself, and
that this is much the more magnificent and noble structure
wherein God reposes, as in a living temple, and in which the
Holy Ghost has taken up his habitation. Let us paint this
building over, but let it be with innocence: and let the lights
of the painting be no other than those of justice. Time and
age shall never be able to deface these colours ; and when
the paint and gilding of the material wall shall be quite worn
off, these shall look as fresh and lively as ever. Artificial and
mixed things are all frail and perishable, and they, in whose
possession they are, can never assure themselves that they
shall keep them long, because it is no true possession; but
this remains with its colours always lively, with its reputation
untainted, and with a settled love and charity; it cannot
either decay or be blasted, though it may be improved or
made more beautiful at the resurrection. Epist. L. 2. Ep. 1 .
ad Donat. Thus far, St. Cyprian.
If any one, through the grace and inspiration of God,
without which it is impossible for man to do the least good,
is convinced and persuaded, by all the reasons and arguments
we have brought in this book, so as to desire to embrace vir
tue, the following book will instruct him in what is to be
done, for the obtaining of his desire.

END OF THE FIRST BOOK.

THE SINNER'S GUIDE.

BOOK II.
THE DOCTRINE OF VIRTUE; WITH NECESSARY INSTRUC
TIONS AND ADVICE FOR MAKING A MAN VIRTUOUS.

PREFACE.
Forasmuch as it is not sufficient to persuade man to be
virtuous, unless we teach him how to be so; therefore,
having, in the foregoing Book, urged so many and such
weighty reasons to excite our hearts to the love of virtue,
it will be requisite to come now to the use and practice of
it, by giving such instructions as are necessary to make a
man truly virtuous. And because, according to the saying
of a wise man, the first virtue is to avoid all vice, after
which a man may apply himself to the practice of virtue,
we will, therefore, divide this Book into two Parts: in the
first of which we will speak of the most usual or common
vices, and the remedies against them; and in the second,
of the virtues. But before we enter on this point we must
lay down two principles, which must be pre-supposed by
him that resolves to follow this way.
Section I. — Of the First Thing to be pre-supposed by Him that desires
to serve God.
He that resolves to offer himself up to the service of
God and to change his life, must, in the first place, and
above all things, have a good opinion of the design he has
in hand, and put such value on it as it deserves : I mean,
that he should look upou this as the most important busi
ness, the greatest treasure he can have ; as the best and

THE sinner's guide. 337
most prudent action he can undertake. Nay, I would have
him persuade himself there is no treasure, no other business,
no other prudence in the world, but this: it is the advice
the prophet gives us, when he says, " Learn, 0 Israel,
where is wisdom, where is strength, where is understanding,
that thou mayest know also where is length of days and life,
where is the light of the eyes, and peace." Baruch, iii. 14.
God upon the same account says, by the prophet Jeremiah,
" Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom, let not the strong
man glory in his strength, and let not the rich man glory in
his riches; but him that glorieth glory in this, that he under -
standeth and knoweth me''' (Jeremiah, ix. 23, 24), for this
is the sum of all goods. " For if one be perfect among the
children of men, yet if thy wisdom be not with him he shall
be nothing regarded." Wisd. ix. 6.
2. The Holy Scripture, which so seriously recommends
and praises this business to us, excites us to it in a very
peculiar manner. It is this we are invited to by all crea
tures in heaven and earth, by the voice and cries of the
Church, by all kind of laws, both divine and human; by
the example of 'all the saints, who, being enlightened from
heaven, despised the world, and pushed on the design they
had of embracing virtue with such vigour and love, that
many suffered themselves to be torn in pieces, to be
broiled on gridirons, and to undergo a thousand torments,
rather than commit the least offence against God, aud be
out of his favour though but for a moment. It is this, in
fine, that whatever has been treated of in the foregoing
Book invites and obliges us to, because there is nothing
there but what is in favour of virtue, and what shows us of
how, inestimable a value it is. Each of these things, duly
considered, is sufficient to convince us of the importance of
this affair; and if so, what effect should all of them together
have on us? So that he who resolves to follow virtue may
by this perceive how great and glorious a design he under
takes, and how reasonable it is, as we shall show hereafter,
to give himself up entirely to it. Let this, therefore, be the
first thing to be pre-supposed in this affair.
Section II. — Of the Second Thing to be pre-supposed by Him that
desires to serve God.
1. The second thing to be pre-supposed is, that since it
is a business of such worth and merit, you prosecute it with

338 THE SINNERS guide.
all the vigour imaginable, and with a resolution and steadi
ness to bear up against all the contradictions and difficulties
you may probably meet with in pursuit of your design.
You are to look on all these troubles as little or nothing, in
comparison with so glorious an undertaking as that you
have in hand, and to consider that it is the order of nature,
that the acquisition of anything that is honourable should cost
much labour. For no sooner should you resolve on this busi
ness, but hell itself will raise its power and forces against you.
The flesh which loves anything that is delightful and charm
ing, which from its birth is bent upon all kinds of evil, and
has been so ever since it was first infected with the poison
of the old venomous serpent, will continually, and with much
importunity, press and invite you to all its usual delights
and pleasures. Depraved custom, which is as strong as
nature itself, will immediately oppose this change, and re
present it to you as a thing very difficult. Because, as the
turning of a river from its ordinary course and channel is
a laborious work, so the turning a man out of the way,
which evil custom has for a long time led him in, to make
him take another, is, in some manner, as hard and toilsome.
Besides, the world, that most powerful and cruel monster,
armed with the authority of all the bad examples that are
in it, will invite you with its pomps and vanities, tempt yon
with the evil practices of others, and frighten you with the
persecutions and reproaches of the wicked; and, as if all
this were nothing, the devil, that cunning and old deceiver,
will set on you, and, according to his custom with all that
are newly converted, make his utmost efforts upon yon, for
forsaking his party.
2. You are then to pre-suppose and conclude, you shall
meet with all these difficulties and contradictions, that so,
whenever they occur, you may not be surprised, but reflect
on the advice of the wise man, when he says, " Son, when
thou comest to the service of God, stand ia justice and in
fear, and prepare thy soul for temptation." Eccl. ii. 1. And,
therefore, you must not imagine you are invited to enter
tainments, to sports, and pastimes, but that you are called
on to take up the shield and spear, and to arm yourself for
fight. For, notwithstanding the assurance we have of
powerful assistance, it is not to be denied, but that there is
always a great deal of difficulty at the beginning.
He that resolves to serve God, is to pre-suppose and to

the sinner's guide. 339
foresee all this, that so nothing may seem strange or unex
pected to him ; and to be persuaded that the jewel he fights
for is of such a value as to deserve much more than he can
give for the purchase of it. And lest all these enemies
should discourage you, remember there are many more for
you than against you; because, though sin rises up all these
adversaries, yet virtue comes in to your assistance with more
powerful succours. For you have God's grace against
corrupt nature, God himself against the devil, good custom
against bad, many good spirits against many evil ones ; you
have the examples and exhortations of the saints, against
the bad examples and persecutions of the wicked, and against
the delights and pleasures of the world, you have the conso
lations of the Holy Ghost. It is plain, therefore, that each
of those that are for you is stronger than his adversary.
For grace is certainly stronger than nature, God than the
devil, the good angels more powerful than the bad, and spi
ritual delights and pleasures incomparably more charming
and more winning than sinful pleasures.

340 THE SINNER'S GUIDE.

P1ET THE FIKST,
WHICH TREATS OF VICES, AND THE REMEDIES TO BE
APPLIED AGAINST THEM.

CHAPTER I.
Of the Firm Resolution a Good Christian is to make, never to commit
any Mortal Sin.
1 . These two principles being pre-supposed as the main
foundations of this spiritual building, the first and chief thing
which he that is seriously resolved to give himself up to
God's service, and to the study of virtue, ought to do, is, to
fix in his soul a sincere resolution never to commit any mor
tal sin. For by this alone we lose the grace and friendship
of our Lord, and with it many other favours and benefits.
This is the chief basis of a virtuous life ; by this we are to
keep ourselves in God's favour and to preserve his friend
ship, and the right we have to the kingdom of heaven. In
this consists charity, and the spiritual life of the soul depends
on it. It is this makes men the children of God, the tem
ples of the Holy Ghost, and the living members of Jesus
Christ; and consequently, as such, partakers of all the privi
leges of the Church. As long as the soul keeps this resolu
tion, she remains in charity and in the state of grace; but
as soon as ever she falls from it she is immediately blotted
out of the book of life, and put down in that of perdition,
and banished into the kingdom of darkness.
2. This matter being duly considered, it appears that, as
all things, whether natural or artificial, are composed of
substance and accidents, with this difference, that the sub
stance always remains, though the accidents be changed ;
as a house is said to be still standing (when the carved
work and painting is quite defaced), though not so perfect
as it was at first ; but when the bouse falls, all fall : so the
soul, as long as it stands firmly to this resolution, still re
tains the substance of virtue ; but when once this fails, all
the structure falls to the ground; the reason otitis, because
the whole being of a virtuous life consists in charity, that is,
in loving God above all things. And he loves God after

the sinner's guide. 341
this manner, who bates mortal sin above all things; there
being nothing but this that can make a man lose the love
and friendship of God. So that as there is nothing more
injurious than adultery to a marriage bed, there is nothing
more prejudicial to, and more destructive of a virtuous life,
than mortal sin, because it destroys charity, which maintains
and nourishes life.
3. This is the reason why all the martyrs willingly en
dured such dreadful torments ; for this cause they suffered
themselves to be burned, to be impaled alive, to be racked,
to have their flesh pulled off with pincers, aud to be torn in
pieces, rather than commit a mortal sin, which would in a
moment have deprived them of the friendship and the grace
of God. They knew that if they had sinned mortally, they
might have repented of their crime and have obtained par
don, as St. Peter did for denying our Saviour; and yet they
rather chose to undergo all the torments in the world, than
to be ever so short a space out of God's favour.
4. We have three great examples of this sort in three
noble women ; one in the Old Testament, the mother of
seven sons, and two in the New, called Felicitas and Sym-
phorosa, who had also each of them seven sons. These
holy women were all of them present at the sufferings and
martyrdoms of their own children, and were so far from
being frightened at the lamentable sight, when they beheld
them toru in pieces before their faces, that, on the contrary,
they exhorted and encouraged them to die bravely for the
faith and service of God ; and gave up their own lives with
them, with courage and resolution, for the same cause.
5. St. Jerome, in his Life of St. Paul, the first hermit,
gives us an example (I am doubtful whether not preferable
to these) of a young man, whom, after having tried all
other means, the tyrants would have forced to offend God ;
and to 'this purpose they laid him on his naked back on a
soft bed, under a shade of trees, in a very fresh and pleasant
garden, tying down his arms and his hands with silken cords,
that he might neither fly nor defend himself; then they
sent a lewd woman to him, richly dressed, to use all the
arts she could think of, to overcome his resolution and con
stancy. What could the soldier of Christ do iu this dis
tress ? What course could he take to avoid such a disgrace,
when he was naked, and had his hands and feet tied?
Yet the power of heaven, and the presence of the Holy

342 the sinner's guide.
Ghost, did not forsakehim ; for he was immediately inspired to
deliver himself from his present danger, by a stratagem more
strange and heroic than any we read of, either in the Greek or
Roman historians. For out of the greatfear hehad of offending
God, and out of the horror of sin, he bit off his tongue with
his teeth, the only part of him then at liberty, and spit it in
the impudent woman's face: thus by so strange and unheard
of an action, terrifying and obliging her to fly, and, at the
same time, cooling the natural heat of the flesh by the pain
he put it to. This is sufficient to let us briefly see, to what
a degree all the saints have hated and abhorred mortal sin.
I could here give you the examples of some persons, who
rolled themselves quite naked amongst briars and thorns;
and of others who have flung themselves into the snow, in
the very depth of winter, to quench the fire of lust, which
the enemy had kindled in them.
6. He, therefore, that designs to walk in the same path,
must endeavour to fix this resolution deep in his soul, es
teeming the friendship of God more than all the treasures
of the world, and choosing, when occasion offers, to part
freely with things of small value, for those that are of ines
timable worth. Let this be the very basis of his life: it is
to this all his actions are to tend; it is what he ought to beg
earnestly of God, in all his prayers ; it is for this he is to fre
quent the sacraments; this is the fruit he must reap, by hear
ing sermons, and reading good books; it is the lesson he is
to learn from the form and beauty of the world, with all the
creatures that are in it. This is the chief benefit he is to
make of the passion of our Saviour, and of all the rest of the
Almighty's favours and graces; to wit, never to offend him to
whom he is so infinitely indebted, and it is this holy fear and
firm resolution by which he is to measure his progress in virtue,
looking on himself to have advanced so much the more or
less, as he has been the more or less observant of his resolution.
7. And as a man that would drive a nail up to the head,
is not content to give it three or four strokes, but continues
hammering till he has drove it in; so it is not enough to
make this resolution anyhow, but a man must endeavour
every day to apply whatsoever he shall see, hear, read, or
meditate on, to his farther advance in the love of God, and
in detestation of sin; because, the greater progress he makes
in this hatred, the more forward he advances in that love,
and, consequently, in all sorts of virtue.

the sinners guide. 343
8. He is, for his greater confirmation in this design, to be
thoroughly convinced, that if all the ill accidents, and all the
pains that have ever been in the world, from its creation to
this very day, with all the torments that the damned suffer
in hell, were put together in one scale, and mortal sin into
another, this would, without doubt, weigh down all the tor
ments, as being a much greater evil, and by consequence
such a one as deserves more to be avoided than all these
pains and torments ; though the dreadful blindness aud dark
ness of this Egypt make men imagine these things to be quite
different from what they are in effect. But after all, what
wonder is it, that neither the blind should see so great an
evil, nor the dead be sensible of so deep a wound, since it is
impossible for the blind to see anything though ever so great,
or for the dead to feel any wound though it be mortal.
Section I. — 9. The subject of this Second Book being the
doctrine of virtue, to which sin is directly opposite, the First
Part of it shall be spent in treating of the horror we ought to
have of it, and of such particular remedies as may be applied
to it ; because, if we can but once root these bad weeds out
of the soul, it will be no hard matter to set the plauts of
virtues in their places ; whereof we will treat in the Second
Part. We will seek here, not only of mortal but of venial
sins; not that these take away the life of the soul, but because
they weaken and dispose it for death. And for this same
reason we will here speak of the seven capital or deadly sins,
which are the very heads and sources of all others; not that
they always happen to be mortal, but that they very often
are so, when a commandment of God or of the Church is
brokeu, or anything done contrary to charity.
10. In this doctrine, he that finds himself powerfully
tempted by any vice, may find remedies for all his distempers.
Some of them, it is true, are general against all kinds of sin
spoken of in the Memorial of a Christian Life, where I
have given fifteen or sixteen remedies against sin: others are
particular, and applicable only to particular sins, as to pride,
covetousness, anger, and the like. These are what we shall
treat of at present, by applying to every peculiar vice its proper
remedy, aud by furnishing those persons, who are resolved to
fight against sin, with spiritual weapons.
11. But you must here carefully observe, that for fighting
of this battle we have more need of eyes to see what
is done, than of hands to fight, or feet to run away. The

344 the sinner's guide.
eyes are the chief weapons man can use in this war, which is
carried on, not against flesh and blood, but against the evil
angels, which are spiritual creatures. The reason of this
is, because the very first root of all sin is the error and
deceit of the understanding, which councils and directs the
will ; and, therefore, our adversary's chief endeavour is to
pervert the understanding. For if this be perverted, the
will, which is governed by it, must, necessarily, go the same
way. For the better effecting of this, they colour evil over
with the appearance of good, and make vice pass for virtue,
and cover the temptatiou so cunningly, that it appears to be
necessity and reason, not a temptation. So that if, for ex
ample, they have a mind to tempt us by ambition, avarice,
anger, or the desire of revenge, they endeavour to make us
believe it is highly reasonable to desire what we do, and
that to do the contrary would be to act against reason.
Thus they make reason serve as a cloak to the temptation,
that so they may, by this means, the better deceive even
those who follow the dictates of reason. It is necessary,
therefore, on this account, that a man should have eyes to
discover the hook, which lies under the bait, and not to be
deceived by the base form and appearance of good.
12. It is also requisite to have eyes here, to see the
malice, the deformity, the danger, the losses, and all other
inconveniences, which the vice we are tempted to perpetu
ally carries along with it, that so we may keep our appetite
in, and be afraid to taste that, which, if once tasted, will,
infallibly, be death to us. For this reason, the mysterious
animals in Ezechiel, which are the figures of the saints, were
full of eyes all over, though their other members were but
single, to give us to understand how necessary these spiri
tual eyes are to the servants of God, to secure them against
the snares of vice. Ezech. ii. This is the chief remedy we
shall make use of on this occasion ; to which we will join
all others, that may be thought any way necessary, as will
appear hereafter. CHAPTER II.
Remedies against Pride.
1. Having promised, in this First Part, to treat of vices,
and their different remedies, we will begin with these seven,
which are called capital, because they are the heads and

THE sinner's guide. 345
sources of all the rest. For if we can but pluck up these
seven vices (whence all others proceed) by the roots, the
rest, which have sprung up from them, must, of necessity,
perish ; as all the branches of a tree die, when the root,
from which they received the sap that nourished them, is
cut up. This was the occasion of Cassian's taking so much
pains in writing his eight books against these vices (which
has also been done by several other grave authors), because
he was thoroughly convinced, that if these enemies were
defeated, none of the rest would be able to make any re
sistance. 2. The reason of it, as St. Thomas writes, is because all
sins originally proceed from self-love, for they are all com
mitted through a desire of some particular good this self-
love makes us covet. — 1, 2. 9- 77. Part 4. From this love
spring those three branches, which St. John speaks of iu
his canonical epistle, to wit, " the concupiscence of the flesh,
the concupiscence of the eyes, and the pride of life" (1 John,
if. 16), which, to speak plainer, are nothing else but the love
of pleasures, the love of riches, and the love of honour; be
cause from the first love proceed these three, and all others
come from them: for from the love of pleasures arise three
capital vices, luxury, gluttony, and sloth. From the love
of honour comes pride, and covetousness from the love of
riches. And as for the other two, anger and envy, they
serve every one of these unlawful loves. For anger is
caused by meeting with any obstruction in the obtaining of
what we desire: and when another gets that, which self-love
desired for itself, then envy is excited. Since, therefore,
these are the three universal roots of all evils, from which
these seven vices proceed, it follows, of course, that if we
cau but overcome these seven, all the others must be routed.
We ought, for this reason, to employ all our strength in
fighting with these mighty giants, if we have a mind to
subdue all those other enemies, which have taken the land
of promise from us.
3. The first and most considerable of them is pride, which
is an inordinate desire of excelling. It is the common
opinion of holy writers, that this vice is the mother and
queen of all the rest; and for this reason, holy Tobias,
amongst much other good counsel which he gave his son,
advised him particularly against this vice, saying, " Never
suffer pride to reign in thy mind, or in thy words, for from

346 the sinner's guide.
it all perdition took its beginning." Tob. iv. 14. As often,
therefore, as this pestilential vice shall tempt you, you may
defend yourself against it by the following considerations.
4. First of all, consider the dreadful punishment God
inflicted on the bad angels for their pride and insolence ;
they were flung headlong out of heaven in a moment, and
cast into the bottomless pit of hell. Consider how this vice
darkened and obscured him who but just before shone
brighter than all the stars of heaven, and made not only a
devil, but even the worst of devils, of him, who, before,
was not only an angel, but the prince of angels. If the
angels were treated in this manner, what will become of you,
who are nothing but dust and ashes? For neither is God
contrary to himself, nor is there with him any respect of
persons. Pride is as odious to him in a mau as in an angel,
and humility, on the other side, as acceptable. It was this
gave occasion to St. Augustine to say, " That humility
makes angels of men, and that pride makes devils of angels,"
Tom. 12. ad Etras in semo. And St. Bernard, for the same
reason, says, " That pride humbles a person down from the
highest degree to the lowest. The angels, for being proud
in heaven, were cast down into hell; and man, for being
humble on earth, is raised above the stars of heaven,"
Septem. c. 2.
5. With this severe punishment inflicted on crime, con
sider the example which the Son of God has given you of an
inconceivable humility, who has taken on him a nature so
much beneath his own, for the love of you, and has, for the
same reason, been obedient to his Father unto death, nay,
even to the death of the cross. Phil. ii. 8. Base and miserable
man, let the example of your God here teach you obedience;
learn from him, 0 earth! to humble yourself; learn from
him, 0 dust ! to look on yourself as nothing ; learn, 0
Christian ! from your Lord and God who was meek and
humble of heart." Matt. xi. 29. If you think it below you
to imitate the examples of other men, do not think it below
you to imitate that of God, who became man, as well to
humble as to redeem us.
6. Cast your eyes on yourself, and you will there find
motives enough for humility. Do but consider what you
were before you were born, what you are since you have
been born, and what you are like to be after your death.
Before your birth you were a filthy matter unworthy to be

the sinner's GurDE. 347
named, at present you are a dunghill covered with snow, and
in a short time will be meat for worms. What have you
now, 0 man! to be proud of? You whose birth is sin,
whose life is misery, and whose end is rottenness and cor
ruption! If the temporal riches you possess are the subject
of your pride, stay but a moment, death will come and make
us all equal. For as we are all born equal as to our natural
condition, so we shall all die equal according to the common
necessity of mankind, with this only difference, that they who
have had the most here will have the largest accounts to
make up after death. Whereupon St. Chrysostom, speak
ing to the same purpose, says, " Consider seriously the
graves of the dead, and find, if you can, the least marks of
all that splendour and magnificence they lived in, or of the
riches and pleasures they enjoyed. Tell me now what is
become of their rich furniture and costly clothes? where are
all their sports and pastimes? what have they done with all
their servants and attendants ? Their sumptuous entertain
ments, their merriments, their jests and worldly mirth are all
over i do but go near any one of their graves, and you will
find nothing but dust and ashes, with worms and rotten
bones." This, therefore, is the end their bodies are to come
to, how tenderly and nicely soever they have been treated.
And I wish there were no evil beyond or greater than this.
But this is not all, there is something follows that is much
more to be apprehended ; it is the dreadful tribunal of the
divine justice, the sentence which will be passed there, the
weeping and gnashing of teeth, the never-dying worm which
bites and gnaws the consciences, and the fire which shall
never be extinguished.
7. Consider the danger of vainglory, pride's daughter,
of which St. Bernard says, " It flies lightly, it enters lightly,
but it wounds not lightly." Serm. 6. in Psalm. Qui habitat.
For this reason you ought, whenever men commend or
respect you, to consider immediately whether you really
have those qualities they commend you for or not. For if
you have not, you have no reason at all to be proud ; but if
you should, perhaps, have them, say with the apostle, " By
the grace o'f God I am what I am." 1 Cor. xv. 10. So that
you have no reason to be proud on that account, but, on the
contrary, to humble yourself, and to praise God, to whom
you are indebted for all you have, that by this means you

348 the sinner's guide.
make yourself not unworthy of what he has been pleased to
bestow on you ; for it is certain, that the respect which men
pay to you, and the reason for their doing so, comes from
God ; and, therefore, you rob God of as much honour as you
appropriate to yourself. Can any servant be more unfaithful,
than he that steals his master's glory? Consider farther,
what a folly and madness it is to rate your worth and merit
according to the opinion and esteem of men, who have the
liberty of turning the scale which way they please, of taking
away in a short time what they now give you, and of strip
ping you of the honour they at present afford you. If you
build your reputation on what they say of you, to-day, per
haps, you will be a great man, as mean to-morrow, and next
day nothing at all ; just as a company of inconstant and
changeable men shall think fit to talk of you. Your business,
therefore, is, never to value yourself on the commendation
others give you, but only on what you know of yourself. And
though they should cry you up to the very skies, hearken at
the same time to what your conscience says, and be persuaded
that you are better acquainted with yourself than other men
are, who have only a distant view of you, and can judge of
you by nothing else but by what they hear. Take no notice of
what men say or think of you, but commit your honour and
glory into God's hands; he is wise enough to lay it up for
you, and faithful enough to give it you back again.
8. Consider, also, 0 ambitious man! what dangers the de
sire you have of commanding others exposes you to. For
how shall yon be able to command others who have not yet
learned to obey? What account shall you be able to give
Almighty God of many others, when you are scarce able to
answer for yourself? Consider what a hazard you run by
adding to your own those persons' sins who are committed to
your care, for they will be all placed to your account. For
this reason the Scripture says, " That those who are the
ministers of justice shall have severe sentence passed against
them, and that the mighty shall be mightily tormented." —
Sap. vi. 6, 7. Besides, who is able to express the cares and
troubles those persons live in who have many others to look
after ? We have an excellent example hereof in a certain
king, who, just as he was going to be crowned, took the crown
in his hands before they placed it on his head, and having
looked steadfastly on it for awhile, cried out, " 0 crown,
much more thorny than rich ! if a man did but know thee

the sinner's guide. 349
thoroughly, he would never stoop to take thee up, though
he found thee lying on the ground."
9. Consider once again, 0 proud man, that your pride is
acceptable to no person. It is not acceptable to God, be
cause he is your enemy; "for God resisteth the proud, but
to the humble he giveth grace." 1 Pet. v. 5. It cannot
but be odious to the humble, because everybody sees what a
horror they have of anything that is proud and haughty;
nor will those who are themselves as proud as you like it,
because they hate you on the very same account that you
value yourself, and can endure none that is greater than they
are. And what is worst of all, you will never be satisfied
with yourself in this world, if you do not but enter into
yourself, and reflect on your own vanity and folly; and you
will have much less contentment in the next world, when
you shall be condemned, in punishment of your pride, to
eternal torments. God confirms this by the mouth of St.
Bernard, when he says : " 0 man, if you were but thoroughly
acquainted with yourself, you would be disagreeable to your
self, and thereon agreeable to me ; but for want of knowing
yourself, you are puffed up with pride, and therefore it is
that I hate you." The time will come when you will neither
please yourself nor me ; you will not please me, because of
the crimes you have committed, nor yourself, because of the
torments you shall be condemned to for all eternity. There
is none but the devil that approves your pride; it was this
changed him into a most hideous and deformed spirit, from a
most glorious and beautiful angel, and therefore, it is natural
to him to be pleased when he sees others like himself.
1 0. Another motive you may use for humbling of yourself,
is the consideration of the small services you have done God,
such, at least, as are sincere and true, and consequently the
little favour you are to expect from him, for there are many
vices hid under the appearance of virtue, and very often
those actions which are good of themselves, are spoiled by
the pride we take in them ; and what men imagine to be as
bright as noon day, frequently proves to be dark as night
before God. This most just judge makes another judgment
of things than we do, and an humble sinner is not so odious
to him as a proud, just man, though we cannot properly
call him just who is proud. But after all, let us suppose that
you have done some good works; do but call to mind the ill
actions you have been guilty of, and you will find they far
Q

350 the sinner's guide.
outweigh the other; nay, perhaps you will find the good you
have done has been so faulty and imperfect, that there would
be much more reason to ask pardon than to pretend to any
reward for it. And, therefore, St. Augustine said: "Wo to
a virtuous life, if God should lay aside his mercy when he
examines into it." St. Aug. L. 9, Cor. c. 13. Because it
is not at all improbable that he may condemn it for those
very things we thought would please him, for the evil actions
we commit are entirely and purely evil, but the good we do
are not always perfectly and absolutely good, being fre
quently mixed with a great many imperfections. This duly
considered will make you acknowledge that it is far more
reasonable to fear than to value yourself on your good works.
Job, holy as he was, dreaded it, when he said: " I feared all
my works, knowing that thou didst not spare the offender."
Job, ix. 28.
Section I. — Of some other more particular Remedies against Pride.
1 1 . But because the knowledge of man's self is the chief
foundation of humility, so that of pride is man's ignorance
of himself ; whosoever has a mind to be truly humble, must
endeavour to acquire this knowledge, and by this means he
will kuow how to humble himself. For how can he choose
but have a mean opinion of himself, when, looking into his
own breast without partiality, by the light of truth, he_finds
himself full of sins, defiled all over with the dregs of carnal
pleasures, under a thousand mistakes and errors, scared with
a thousand idle frights and fancies, entangled in a thousand
perplexities, pressed down by the weight of a mortal body,
so forward to all kind of evil, and so backward to anything
that is good? So that if you examine yourself with due
care and attention, you will be easily convinced, that you
have nothing in you to be proud of.
12. But there are some who, though on looking into
themselves, are humbled, yet they grow proud by looking on
others, finding themselves, on comparison, better than they.
They who are puffed up on this account ought to consider,
that if they are better than others in some things, there are
many other things in which, did they perfectly understand
themselves, they would see those others are better than they.
Why, therefore, should you have a good opinion of yourself,
and despise your neighbour, for being more abstemious or
-more laborious than he is, when, though you excel him in

THE SINNER'S GUIDE. 351
these virtues, he is, perhaps, more humble, more prudent,
more patient, or more charitable than you? So that it is
your business to look not so much upon what you have, as
upon what you want, and to take more notice of those vir
tues you observe iu others, than of those you see in yourself;
by this means you will preserve your humility, and excite
and increase in your soul a desire of perfection. Whereas,
if you look only on what you have yourself, and what others
want, you will have a better opinion of yourself than of
them, and will grow tepid and idle in the study of virtue.
The reason is plain, because you will imagine, on comparing
yourself with others, that you are something, aud so you
will come by degrees to be pleased with that state you find
yourself in, and will not care for goiDg any farther.
13. If, after any good actions, you discover any inclina
tion to think well of yourself, and to take pride iu what yon
have done, your business then will be to watch more care
fully over yourself, for fear you should spoil and lose all the
merit of it by pride and vainglory, the very bane of all that is
good. You ought to be so far from attributing any good to
your own merits, that you are, on the contrary, to thank
God for all, and suppress your pride with those words of
St. Paul, " What hast thou that thou hast not received ?
And if thou hast received, why dost thou glory as if thou
hadst not received?" 1 Cor. iv. 7. You should endeavour
to conceal all those good works you do, which are not of
duty, but for your farther advance in perfection, unless the
state you are in requires they should be more public; you
should not as much as let your left hand know what your
right hand does, because we are more apt to be proud of the
good works we do openly, that of others. As soon as you
perceive your heart but beginning to swell, you are immediately
to make use of the remedy, that is, to call to mind your sins,
but particularly one or more of the most heinous of them ;
and thus, like the physician, you will expel one poison by
another; follow the example of the peacock, look on that
which is most deformed in you, and you will soon remove
the very occasions of your vanity. The greater you are, the
more humble you ought to be. for it is no great matter to
be humble, if you are a mean person, but if you are a person
of honour and quality, and yet are thus dispossd, you will
acquire a very excellent and great virtue, because humility
in the midst of honour is an honour to honour itself, and one

352 the sinner's guide.
dignity added to another; but if you have no humility, your
honour and dignity will fall to the ground.
14. If you desire to acquire the virtue of humility, follow
the part of humiliation, for you will never be humble if you
cannot endure to be humbled : and though there are several
persons who pretend to be humble, when in reality they are
far from being so, it is certainly true, " that the way to
humility (as St. Bernard says) is humiliation : as patience is
the way to peace, and study to learning." St. Bern, ad
Fratres de Monte Dei. Obey God, therefore, with all hu
mility, and, according to St. Peter's advice, " submit to every
human creature for the love of God." 1 Pet. ii. 13.
15. St. Bernard would have us always keep three sorts
of fears in our hearts ; one when we are in the state of grace,
another when we are out of it, and the third when we re
cover grace again. " Be afraid (says be) when you are in
grace, lest you should do something unworthy of it ; be
afraid when you have lost grace, because without it you are
deprived of the guard that watched over you to secure you ;
be afraid, too, if, after having lost it, you should ever recover
it again, that you may not be so unhappy as to lose it a
second time." St. Bern. Serm. 4. in Cantic. Do but keep
yourself continually in these apprehensions, and you will
never presume on your own strength and virtue, being always
thus full of the fear of God.
16. Suffer all your persecutions with patience, for it is
the bearing of injuries and affronts in this manner that
shows us whether a man be truly humble or not. Never
despise those who are poor and in distress ; our neighbour's
misery should rather excite us to compassion than to a con
tempt of them. Be not too curious and expensive in your
dress, for it is impossible a man's heart should be always
humble when he is perpetually solicitous about costly ap
parel ; nay, he that is so cannot but make it too much his
business and study to please men; for a man would never
take such pains to dress himself, if he thought no one would
take any notice of him. But whilst you endeavour to avoid
this extreme, have a care, at the same time, of running into
the opposite, of going meaner than your state and condition
requires, otherwise you will meet vaingloiy whilst you are
running from it, as several persons do, who then seek most
for commendations when they pretend most to despise it;
thus, cunningly studying to be admired, under the pretence

THE sinners guide. 353
of running from it. You ought not to disdain mean and
base employments, for a man that is truly humble will be so
far from refusing such, as thinking them beneath him, that
he will rather seek after them with all the cheerfulness ima
ginable, because he is base and vile in his own eyes.
CHAPTER III.
Remedies against Covetousness.
1. Covetousness is an inordinate desire of riches; and,
therefore, not only he that steals from others, but he that
passionately covets what is another man's, or is too solici
tous in keeping his own, is properly accounted covetous.
The Apostle condemned this vice, when he said, " They that
will become rich fall into temptation, aud into the snare of
the devil, and into many unprofitable and hurtful desires,
which drown men into destruction and perdition ; for the
desire of money is the root of all evil." 1 Tim. vi. 9, 10.
He could not have exaggerated the malignity of this vice in
more proper terms; for this gives us to understand, that he
who is subject to this vice is a slave to all others.
2. Whenever, therefore, you are attacked by this vice,
you may arm yourself against it with the following conside
ration: — Consider, in the first place, 0 covetous mau! that
your Lord and your God, when he came down from heaven
on earth, did not desire to possess such riches as those you
seek after ; on the contrary, he had such an extraordinary
love for poverty, that he chose to take flesh of a poor and
humble virgin, not of a rich and noble queen. After he
was born, he would not live in great palaces, nor lie in a
chamber well furnished, nor in a soft bed, but in a base and
poor manger, and on a little straw. Luke, ii. 7. Besides
this, he had a particular love for poverty during his whole
life, and despised riches, since he chose poor fishermen for
his ambassadors and apostles, and not princes or persons of
great quality. What greater abuse can there be, than for a
base worm to desire to be rich, when the sovereign Lord of
all creatures became so poor for his sake.
3. Consider again the vileness of your own heart, since you
are willing, for a little interest, to throw away yonr soul, which
was created to the likeness of God, and redeemed by his blood,
in comparison of which all the world is nothing. God would

354 THE SINNER'S GUTDE.
not have given his life for the whole world, and yet he laid
it down for man's soul ; this soul, therefore, must be of a much
greater value than the whole world. It is not silver, nor gold,
nor precious stones, that are the true riches, but virtue the
inseparable companion of a good conscience. Lay aside the
false opinion and judgment of men, and you will see that your
silver and gold is nothing but a little earth, which receives all
it is worth from the erroneous opinion of men. Will you,
who are a Christian, and are called to the enjoyment of greater
goods, set such an esteem upon that which all the heathen
philosophers contemned and slighted, as to make yourself its
slave? for, as St. Jerome says, " He that looks after his riches
like a slave, is a slave to them; but he that shakes off this yoke,
possesses them as lord and master." Hierom. in c. 6. Matt.
4. Consider also, that, as our Saviour says, no one can
serve two masters, God and mammon (Matt. vi. 24), and
that it is impossible for a man to contemplate God whilst he
is running open mouthed after worldly goods ; he that loves
temporal delights and comforts must not expect to possess the
spiritual; nor is there any possibility of joining false and true
things together, high and low, eternal and temporal, spiritual
and carnal, so as to enjoy them both at once. Consider, that
the more success you meet with in your worldly concerns, the
more miserable you are like to be, because of the occasions it
gives you of trusting too much to this false happiness you
enjoy. Oh 1 that you did but know what misery attends this
poor success! The very desire which proceeds from the love
of riches is a much greater torment than the possession of
them can be a delight and pleasure, because it entangles the
soul in many temptations, it engages it in many cares, invites
it with its empty delights, excites it to sin, and disturbs its
rest and quiet; besides all this, there is no getting of riches
without pains and labour, there is no keeping of them without
solicitude and care, and there is no losing of them without
much grief and vexation ; but, what is worst of all, they are
scarce ever to be heaped up without offending God; for it is
a common saying, " that a rich man is either a wicked man,
or else a wicked man's heir."
5. Consider what a folly it is to be continually desiring those
things, which, it is certain, can never satisfy your wish, though
they were all to be joined together; on the contrary, they do
but provoke and raise your desire the more ; as a dropsical
man, the more he drinks still the drier he is ; because, let your

THE SINNER'S GUIDE. 35iy
possessions be ever so large, yon will be always coveting what
you have not, and continually gaping after more. So that
whilst your heart is unhappily running after the things of this
world, it tires itself without being ever satisfied, it drinks,
and yet cannot quench its thirst, because it takes no notice of
what it has, and thinks of nothing but how to get more; and
what is still worse, that, which it is already possessed of
cannot give it so much ease and contentment, as that which
it cannot obtain gives it disturbance and trouble, and whilst
yon are filling your coffers with gold, you fill your heart full
of air and smoke. St. Augustine had a great deal of reason
to be astonished at this kind of proceeding, and, therefore,
he said, " How is it possible that men should be so insatiable
in their desires, when even brute creatures observe a bound
and measure in theirs? For they never seek their prey but
when they are hungry, and as soon as ever they are satisfied
they give over. There is nothing but the covetousness of
rich men that knows no limits ; it is perpetually craving,
and yet never satisfied." St. Aug. Serm. 25. de Verbis
Domini. 6. Consider, again, where there are great riches there
are many to consume them, many to squander or steal them
away. What can the richest man in the world get by all
his riches, more than what is necessary for the support of
life? You may, if you will, put all your trust in God, and
east yourself wholly upon his providence, be free from this
care, because he never forsakes those that rely on him ; for
he that has subjected man to the necessity of eating will
never let him die for want of meat. How can it be, though,
that God should take no notice of man, when he feeds the
birds of the air, and clothes the lilies of the field (Mat. vi.
26, 28), and this especially when so little serves for the
satisfying of nature? Life is short, and death is continually
advancing apace; what need is there, then, of providing so
much for so short a journey? Why will you load yourself
with so much riches, when the less you have the more free
you will be, and the better able to walk? and when you
shall come to your journey's end, you will find no worse
entertainment for being poor, than those that shall come
hither richer fraught, but you will be less troubled for what
you leave, and will have the less to answer for. Whereas
the rich, when they come to their journey's end, will be
grieved to the heart to leave those heaps of gold they so

$56 THE SINNER'S GUIDE.
entirely loved, and will be accountable for what they pos
sessed; to the great danger of their souls.
7. Consider, further, 0 covetous man ! for whom you heap
up all those riches, since it is a plain case, that you are to
go as naked out of the world as you came into it. Job, i.
21. You were born poor in this life, and so you will be
forced to leave it. This is what you are frequently to re
flect on. For, as St. Jerome says, " It is an easy matter
for him that thinks often of death, to despise the goods of
this life." Ad Paulinum, in Prologo Biblise. At the very
moment of your death you must take your leave of all your
temporal goods, and carry nothing away with you but the
good or evil works you have done during your life ; then
you will be deprived of all heavenly goods, if, whilst you
lived, you took but little notice of them, and spent all your
time and pains in procuring the temporal : for then all you
have will be divided into three parts; your body will be
given to the worms, your soul to the devils, and your riches
will fall into the hands of your heirs, who will, perhaps, be
either ungrateful, extravagant, or wicked. It would be
better for you, according to the advice of our Saviour, to
distribute your goods amongst the poor betimes, that you
may have them carried by them before you, as great men
have when they travel. Luke, xvi. For what greater madness
is there, than to leave your goods where you shall never go
back to fetch them, and not to send them where you are to
live for ever?
8. Consider, farther, that the Sovereign Governor of the
world, like a discreet master of a family, disposes of his
goods, and the charges under him, in such a manner, as that
some he constitutes to look after the rest, and others he
appoints to be subject to those whom he sets over them;
some he has ordered to distribute what is necessary, and
others to receive the distributions. And since you are one
of those who are to distribute to others what remains over
and above your own necessary expenses, can you imagine
that you are allowed to keep that for yourself, which has
been given you for several others ? For, as St. Basil says,
"The bread you lock up belongs to the poor; the clothes
you hide are for those who have none to put on; and the
money you hoard up is to be distributed amongst those that
want it." Horn. de. Divcrsis. Therefore, assure yourself,
that you have robbed as mauy persons as you have neglected

THE sinner's guide. 357
to assist with what you had to spare, whenever it was in
your power to do it. Consider, then, that the goods God
has entrusted you with are the remedies of human mise
ries, not the occasion of a bad life. Be sure, then, when
you are in the midst of your prosperity, that you do not
forget the Author of it; nor make the means you have of as
sisting your neighbour in his distress, the subject of your pride
and vanity : do not, therefore, love the place of your banish
ment more than your own country: do not make a burden
of the provisions and necessaries for your journey: do not
prefer the light of the moon before the sun at noon-day: nor
change the succours of this life into the instruments of ever
lasting death. Be content with the condition God has
placed you in, and think of what the Apostle says, Having
enough for to feed and clothe ourselves with, we are content
therewith. 1 Tim. vi. 8. For, as St. Chrysostom says, " A
servant of God ought no tto dress himself out of vanity, or to
indulge or please his flesh, but only to supply necessity and
want." First seek the kingdom of God and his justice, and
all these things shall be added to you. For God will never
deny you such small things as those are, when he is willing
to give you the greatest you are capable of receiving.
9. Remember it is not poverty, but the love of it, that is
a virtue. Those who are voluntarily poor, are like our
Saviour himself, who, as rich as he was, made himself poor
for our sakes. But those who are poor, and cannot help it,
make a virtue of necessity, wheu they bear their poverty
with patience, and contemn those riches which they have
not. And as they, who are poor, conform themselves by
their poverty to Jesus Christ, so they who are rich, reform
themselves by their alms for Jesus Christ. For we see that
not only the poor shepherds, but that wise and great men
came to him, and made him presents of their riches and
treasures. Do you, therefore, who have an estate large
enough to do it, give alms to the poor, for it is God that
receives what you give them, and look on it for certain that
what you bestow on them now, will be laid up for you in
heaven, where you are to live for all eternity; but if yon
should hide your riches in this world, you must not expect
to find anything there, where you have not laid it up.
With what justice, then, can we call those things good,
which man cannot carry along with him, and which he un
willingly parts with. Bnt spiritual goods, on the contrary,
Q.2

358 the sinner's guide.
are what we may truly call such, because they do not leave
their master, even at his death, nor can they be taken from
a man without his own consent.
Section I. — That no Person ought to detain another Man's Goods.
10. A word or two of advice here, on the danger there is
in detaining other men's goods, will not be amiss. To which
purpose you are to understand, that it is not only a sin to
take what belongs to another, but even to detain it against
the owner's will. And it is not enough to have a design of
restoring it hereafter, if a man is able to do it now, because
he is not only obliged to make restitution, but to make it
immediately. It is true, that if he cannot do it presently,
or is so poor that he cannot do it at all, he is not, in such a
case, obliged either to the one or to the other, because God
does not oblige a man to anything that is impossible.
1 1. There is no need of any more words to prove what I
have said than those of St. Gregory, in his letter to a gentle
man of his acquaintance: "Remember, sir (says he), that the
riches gotten by unlawful ways are to remain here, and the
sins you have been guilty of in acquiring them are to go along
with you. What greater folly can you commit than to leave
the gain here, and to carry the loss with you where you are
going? to let another take the pleasure, whilst you undergo
the torment, and to oblige yourself to suffer in the next
world for that which others are to have the benefit of in
this?" 12. " Besides, can there be a greater madness than to look
less to yourself than to your estate? to lose your soul rather
than part with your money, and to expose your body to the
danger of being run through, rather than part with your
coat? This is something like Judas, who, for a little money,
sold justice, grace, and his own soul. If, in fine, it is true,
as without doubt it is, that you must make restitution at the
hour of death, if you design to save your soul, how can you
show yourself a greater fool than to continue here so long in
sin, to sleep in sin, to awake in sin, to confess in sin, to com
municate in sin, and to lose what a man in sin loses, which
is worth much more than all the riches of the world, whilst,
at the same time, you are so strictly obliged to pay off what
ever you owe? We cannot look on him as a man of sound
judgment or reason that will run such hazards as these."
13. Endeavour, therefore, to pay what you owe to the

the sinner's guide. 359
utmost farthing, and let not any one suffer for want of your
doing so. Deut. xxiv; Tob. iv. Let not the labourer's toil
and sweat go unrewarded ; let him not run up and down and
lose his time- seeking after his wages, and to take more pains
in soliciting for them, when due, than he did in earning of
them, as bad paymasters often do. If you be made an
executor, do not defraud the souls departed of the succour
and help that is due to them, lest they should suffer their tor
ments longer on account of your neglect; for all will fall
heavy at last on your own soul. If you. are indebted to your
servants, endeavour to make all clear and even with them,
that so you may disengage yourself; or at least agree with
them on such terms whilst you live, that there may be no
disputes nor differences after your death. Whatsoever you
can perform of your own will, leave not to executors, for how
can you imagine, if you are so careless in your own concerns,
that other persons will be more diligent in concerns which
were none of their own ?
14. Endeavour to be indebted to no man, for by that
means you will sleep quietly, enjoy peace of conscience, an
easy life and a calm death. The means to obtain all this is,
to put a stop to your irregular desires and appetites, not to
do everything you have a mind to do; to see that your ex
penses do not exceed your estate, but to moderate them ac
cording to your ability, and not according to your own de
sires, that so yon may always keep out of debt. For they
are our unruly appetites which make us run into debt; mo
deration is worth more than a great estate, and large revenues.
Look on these as the chief and only true riches, which the
Apostle reckons as such, when he says, " Godliness with
contentment," in what condition God puts us in, " is great
gain." 1 Tim. vi. 6. Men would always live in peace, did
not they desire to be greater and happier iu this world than
God would have them ; but when they aspire to go beyond
this bound, they must, of necessity, lose a great deal of their
peace and quiet, for we must not expect that should prove
successsful, which is not according to the Almighty's will.
CHAPTER IV.
Remedies against Impurity.
1. Impurity is an inordinate desire of unlawful pleasures.
It is one of the most common, the most furious, and most

360 the sinner's guide.
dangerous vices in its attacks, which gave St. Augustine
reason to say, "That of all the encounters a Christian meets
with, those in which chastity is engaged are the most difficult,
for there the engagements are frequent, and the victories
rare." S. Aug. de Honestate Mulierum.
2. As often, therefore, as you perceive yourself set upon by
this filthy vice, you must oppose it with the following con
siderations: — Consider first that this vice not only defiles the
soul, which the Son of God has purified by his blood, but
that it also stains the body, in which Christ's most sacred
body resides as in a holy shrine. Now, if it be so great
a crime to defile any material temple dedicated to God, what
must it be to profane this, in which God himself dwells?
For this reason the Apostle says: " Fly fornication ; every
sin that a man doth is without the body, but he that com
mitteth fornication, sinneth against his own body" (1 Cor.
vi. 18), by profaning and defiling it with the sin of the flesh.
Consider again, that there is no committing of this sin with
out an injury and a scandal to as many others as are ac
complices with you in your crime. Nothing lies so heavy
on the conscience at the hour of death as this sin does. For
if God, in the Old Law, required life for life, and tooth for
tooth, what returns can a man make God for the destroying
so many souls? And what satisfaction can be given for
that which the Almighty purchased at the price of his blood?
Exod. xxi. 24.
3. Consider that this deceitful vice, though it begins in
pleasure, produces nothing but bitterness and sorrow at the
end. It is easy to be drawn into it, but nothing harder than
to get free from it again. For this reason the wise mau said,
" That a harlot is a deep ditch, and a strange woman is a
narrow pit." Prov. xxiii. So that as easy as it is to fall
into it, it is no such easy matter to get out again. For
no vice surprises men more easily, because it appears so
delightful and charming at the beginning ; but after they are
once entangled in it, have knit a sort of friendship, and laid
aside all modesty, what means can serve to reclaim them
from it ? For this reason it is justly compared to a fisher
man's wheel, which has the entrance wide, but the way out
so narrow, that it is almost impossible for the fish, when once
they are in, to get out again. By this you may understand
what a multitude of sins are the consequence of this one, for
it is plain, that during the whole time a man has been en-

the sinner's guide. 361
gaged in it, he cannot but have offended God an infinite
number of times by thoughts, actions, and desires.
4. Consider how many other evils this bewitching plague
brings along with it. For, in the first place, it robs a man
of his reputation, which is the dearest of all things we can
possess in this world, for no vice whatever is so disreputable
and infamous as this is. Nor is this all, for it impairs
strength, decays beauty, destroys the good temper of the
body, is prejudicial to health, and causes many foul, and loath
some distempers; it blasts the gaiety, steals the freshness of
youth before its time, and brings on an infamous old age too
fast on us; it dulls the wit, clogs the understanding, and
makes it in a manner nearly brutal; it takes a man off from
all honourable employs and virtuous exercises, and buries
him in the mud and filth of this base pleasure, so that he
can neither think, nor talk, nor treat of anything but what
is base and filthy; it makes youth foolish and infamous, and
old age unhappy and abominable. Nor is it content with all
this disorder which it causes in a man's own person, it puts
all his affairs and concerns into no less coufusion. For
though a man be ever so rich or wealthy, this one sin of
impurity will run all out in a very short time. The belly
must come in for its share, and help to destroy and devour
what it can. For those men that are given to the sins of
the flesh are for the most part gluttons and drunkards, and
so squander away what they have in feasting and fine clothes.
Besides, women think they have never enough of jewels,
costly apparel, and other expensive toys, which they love
much better thau they do those very gallants that give them.
We have an example of this in the prodigal son, who spent
all his patrimony after this manner. Luke, xv.
5. Consider farther, that the more you indulge yourself in
carnal pleasures, the less satisfaction you will find in them.
For this delight is so far from satiating, that it still creates
an appetite, because the love of man for woman, or woman
for man, never dies, but though it happen to be a little
smothered in embers, will break out into flames again. Con
sider how short and fleeting this pleasure is, whereas the
punishment due to it will last for all eternity. So that it is
a most unequal exchange to give the patience of a good
conscience in this life, and eternal glory in the next, besides
purchasing everlasting torments, for a filthy pleasure of a
moment's lasting. This it was made St. Gregory say:

362 the sinner's guide.
" The delight lasts but for a moment, but the torments last
for ever."
6. Consider the price and value of virginal purity, which
is lost by this vice, because they who are virgins begin, even
in this life, to live like angels, and the brightness of their
souls makes them resemble the heavenly spirits; because,
"to live in the flesh without doing the works of the flesh, is
more an angelical than a human virtue." St. Bern, in Nat.
Virg. St. Jerome says, " It is virginity which resembles
the estate of immortal glory in this place, and during this
time of mortality ; it is it alone which follows the customs of
the heavenly Jerusalem, where is no such thing as betrothing
or marrying, and by this means gives men a proof, whilst
they are upon earth, of the conversation they are to have in
heaven." St. Jer. to 9. & 14. de Virginitatis Laude. For
this reason there is a particular reward in heaven for virgins;
of whom St. John says, in his Apocalypse, " These are they
who were not defiled with women, for they are virgins, and
follow the Lamb whithersoever he goeth." Apoc. xiv. 4.
For since they have had the advantage in this world over
the rest of mankind, of imitating Christ in his virginal
purity, they shall, therefore, have a freer access to him in
the next, and the purity of their bodies shall give them a
particular happiness and joy.
7. Nor is it the only effect of this virtue, to make those
who possess it like Christ himself, but it makes them living
temples of the Holy Ghost; for as this divine lover of purity
abhors nothing so much as the sins of the flesh, so he no
where so willingly makes his abode as in pure and chaste
soul3. Wherefore, the Son of God, who was conceived by
the Holy Ghost, had such an esteem and love for virginity,
as to work the miracle of being born of a virgin mother. Do
you, who have already lost your virginity, after once suffer
ing shipwreck, dread dangers you have run through. And
since you would not preserve that gift of nature entire, en
deavour now, at least, to repair the loss, and turning to God
after sin, employ yourself so much the more in good works,
by how much you are sensible your evil actions have deserved
punishment. For (as St. Gregory says) it often happens,
that a soul which, if it had remained in a state of innocence,
would have been more tepid and careless, becomes after sin
more diligent and fervent." S. Greg, in Pastoral. Par. 1.

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363

And since God, notwithstanding the many sins you have
committed, has yet preserved you, commit not anything
again, which may oblige him to punish you, both for what is
past and for the present, lest your last crime should be much
worse than your former.
8. With these and the like considerations, a man is to
prepare and arm himself against this vice ; and these are the
first remedies we prescribe against it.
Section I. — Of other more particular Remedies against Impurity,
9. Besides these general remedies against this vice, there
are several others, more particular and more sovereign, of
which it is requisite we should speak. The first is, to resist
the very first motions of it ; it is an advice we have frequently
given in other places ; for if we do not beat this enemy off
as soon as ever he sets on us, he immediately grows stronger
and more vigorous; because, according to St. Gregory,
" when once the irregular desire of pleasure gets the better of
the heart, it will not give it time to think of anything else,
but how to enjoy its delights." L. 7. Moral, c. 12. We
must, for this reason, resist the beginning, by not giving ad
mittance to any carnal thoughts; for as fire is nourished and
kept in by wood, so our thoughts increase and inflame our
desires, which, if they are good, kindle the fire of charity,
and if bad, that of impurity. .
10. Besides all this, you must keep a strict guard upon
all your senses; but above all, have a care of looking upon
anything that has the least danger in it: for a man often
looks upon a thing without any ill design, yet the soul is
wounded by a glance of the eye. And because the casting
of a look inconsiderately upon women may either quite bend,
or at least weaken his constancy that casts it, therefore the
author of Ecclesiasticus gives us this advice: "Cast not your
eyes through the corners of the city, nor through the streets
or public places; turn away your eyes from a woman that is
well dressed, and behold not her beauty." Holy Job's ex
ample upon this occasion should suffice, who, notwithstand
ing his extraordinary sanctity, never neglected, as he assures
us himself, to set a watch over his eyes, not relying upon
himself, or his long practice of virtue. Job, xxxi. 1. But
if this example alone will not do, let us set that of David
before us, and we shall find that he, though a very holy man,

364 THE SINNER'S GUIDE.
and after God's own heart, by looking curiously upon a wo
man, fell into three most grievous sins, viz., murder, scandal,
and adultery. 2 Kings, xi.
1 1 . Nor are you to be less careful in keeping your ears
from hearing of anything that is obscene and unchaste; or
if at any time you should hear such kind of discourse, let
your looks show that you are not pleased with it; for if a
man once takes delight in hearing a thing, he will be easily
wrought upon to act it. You must also keep your tongue
from speaking filthy words, because, as St. Paul says, Evil
communications corrupt good manners. I Cor. xv. 33. A
man's discourse discovers his inclinations and affections,
because it is the touchstone of the heart, and it is what this
is full of that the tongue generally speaks out.
12. Endeavour to have your heart always entertained
with good thoughts, and your body always employed in some
good exercise. " For," as St. Bernard says, " the devils
. always put bad thoughts into an idle soul, to keep it in em
ploy, that so it may not cease to think ill, though it ceases
to do ill." S. Bern, de Doct. Demo. c. 40.
13. It will be very proper in all temptations, but espe
cially in this, to represent to yourself your guardian angel
and the devil your accuser, for both of them really take
notice of all you do, and give an account thereof to the same
all-seeing Judge.s If this be true, as there is no doubt to be
made of it, how can you dare to commit so base and so de
testable a crime, which you would blush to do before the
meanest man in the world, in the sight of your guardian, of
your accuser, and of your judge? Reflect also how terrible
the divine judgment is, and how dreadful the flames of ever
lasting torments. For as one nail drives out another, so the
apprehension we have of one punishment is overcome by the
fear of a greater: and so the fire of lust is often extinguished
by reflecting upon that of hell. Besides all this, avoid as
much as possibly you can, the discoursing alone with any
woman, whose age may give the least suspicion; for, ac
cording to St. Chrysostom, "our adversary sets upon men
and women with more boldness and vigour when he sees them
alone; and the tempter will come with much more assurance
when there is no fear of any one's correcting them for their
disorders." S. Chrysost. Serm. contra Concubinarios, torn.
5. It is for this reason very advisable that you would never
converse with a woman without some companion, for, being

THE sinner's guide. 365
alone is a great excitement and temptation to do anything
that is wicked. Do not trust yonr own virtue, no, not after
the practice of many years; for you know how the old
judges were inflamed with the love of Susanna, after having
seen her several times alone iu her garden. Dan. xiii.
Avoid the company of all women whatever that may give
any suspicion ; because the very sight of them is prejudicial
to the heart, their words charm it, their conversation inflames
it, their touch provokes it ; in fine, there is nothing about
them that is not a snare to those that keep them company.
For this reason St. Gregory says, " Those who have conse
crated their bodies to chastity should not venture to live iu
the same house with women ; for a man ought not to think
that the fire of his heart is quite put out, as long as he has
any heat in his body." L. i. Dialog, c. 7.
14. Have a care how you receive any presents, visits, or
letters from women ; for all these are so many chains to en
tangle the poor heart, and so many blasts to blow up the fire
of evil desires, when all the flame is quite out. If you have
any affection for any holy and chaste woman, love her in
your soul, without troubling yourself about visiting or con
versing familiarly with her. Now, because the whole ma
nagement of this business consists particularly in avoiding
these occasions, I will give you two examples, very pertinent
to the matter in hand, related by St. Gregory in his Dialogues.
" There was a certain priest, in the province of Mysia, who
governed a church committed to his care with a great deal of
piety, and in the fear of God. There was iu the same place
a very virtuous woman, who looked to the church furniture
and ornaments. The good priest loved this woman as en
tirely as if she had been his sister, but, at the same time, was
as much afraid of her as if she had been his enemy ; so that
he never permitted her to come near him, on any account
whatever, and removed all occasion of familiarity or conver
sation with her; as it is usual for holy men to separate
themselves even from such things as are lawful, that they
may be at a greater distance from such as are unlawful; and
for this reason he would never let her serve him in any of
his necessities. The holy man being very old, for he had
been a priest above forty years, was taken so violently ill,
that he was just at death's door; as he lay in this condition,
this virtuous woman came to his bed-side, and put her ear
to his nostrils, to know whether he was dead. The dying

366 the sinner's guide.
man perceiving it, was offended, and cried out as loud as he
possibly could, saying, ' Get you hence, woman, get you
hence, for the embers are not quite extinguished yet, there
fore take away the straw.' The woman immediately went
away, and he, recovering as it were fresh strength, began to
say, with a great deal of joy and cheerfulness, 'You are
come, my lords, at a happy time, you are come at a good
hour. How could you vouchsafe to come to so mean a ser
vant as I am? I come, I come, I give you a thousand and
a thousand thanks.' As he repeated the same words over
and over again, those that were standing by asked him whom
he spoke to : he wondered at their question, and made them
this answer: 'What, do you not see the glorious apostles
St. Peter and St. Paul?' And immediately turning himself
towards them he began again to ciy out, ' I come, I come.'
The words were no sooner out of his mouth than he gave up
his soul to God." Lib. 4. Dialog, c. 7. St. Gregory gives us
this example of so holy a man, together with his happy
death, in the fourth book of his Dialogues : for he that was
so much afraid of offending God while he lived, could not
but make a very glorious end.
15. He gives another, in the third book of the same
Dialogues, of a holy bishop, though not so discreet and
cautious, which I will here relate for a warning to those who
are not so much upon their guard as they should be. The
saint assures us, there were almost as many witnesses of it,
as there were people in the town where it happened.
1 6. " There was, in a certain city of Italy, a bishop,
whose name was Andrew, who having always lived a very
virtuous and holy life, permitted a pious and devout woman
to live in the same house with him, as being well assured of
her virtue and chastity. The devil, laying a hold of this
Opportunity, found a way to get into his heart, and began
first to imprint the form of this woman in his mind, and to
excite him to impure and wanton thoughts. It happened
at the same time, that a certain Jew, as he was travelling
from Campania to Rome, was benighted not far from this
bishop's city, and not finding any other place to lodge in,
was obliged to take up in a ruinous temple of idols, where
he laid himself down to sleep. But fearing some ill
neighbourhood, though he had no faith in the cross, yet
having observed that the Christians used to sign themselves
with it, whenever they were in any danger, he did so too.

THE sinner's guide. 367
Not being able to sleep for fear, about midnight he saw a
great troop of devils come into the temple, and one above
the rest setting himself in a chair in the middle of the tem
ple, began -to ask those evil spirits what mischief each of
them had done in the world. Every one of them, in his
turn, having told how he had behaved himself, out stepped
one of them at last and told him, that he had solicited Bishop
Andrew to sin, by representing to him the form of a devout
woman he had with him in his house. As the malicious
devil that presided was listening very attentively to this re
lation, looking upon the gains the greater, the more pious the
person was, the evil one that gave him this account went on
and told him, that the day before, in the evening, he tempted
him so violently, that, coming to the holy woman with a
smiling countenance, he gave her a little stroke on the shoul
ders. Hereupon the old enemy of mankind began to encou
rage this tempter to go through what he had begun, that he
might receive a particular reward for so noble an action.
The Jew stood still during this ceremony, and saw all that
passed, trembling with fear at so dreadful a spectacle. At
last the evil spirit, who was chief of the company, sent some
to see who it was had been so bold as to sleep there. When
they had viewed him very narrowly, they cried out, ' Alas!
alas! it is an empty vessel, but well sealed;' at which the
whole gang of evil spirits vanished immediately. When
they were gone, up rose the Jew, and made what haste he
could into the city, and there, finding the bishop in the
church, took him aside, and asked him, if he was not
troubled with some particular temptation. The bijhop
denying it, for shame, the Jew told him, that at such a
time, naming the day, he cast a wanton eye upon a servant
of God. The bishop continuing still to deny the whole
matter, the Jew said to him, ' Why do you deny what I
ask you, when but yesterday, in the evening, you went so
far as to give her a little blow with your hand over the
shoulders.' The bishop, astonished at what the Jew had
told him, and perceiving himself caught in this fault, freely
confessed what he had denied before; and then the Jew
told him how he came to know it. As soon as the bishop
had heard all, he prostrated himself on the earth, and prayed
very devoutly to Almighty God, and immediately after dis
missed not only the holy woman, but all the maid-servants
he had. He built a chapel in honour of St. Andrew, in this

368 THE SINNER'S GUIDE.
very same temple of Apollo, in which the Jew had heard
this passage, and was never troubled again with any such
temptation. Besides this, he converted the Jew, by whose
vision and admonition he had been cured himself, to the true
knowledge of God, instructed him in the mysteries of our faith,
baptized and received him into the Church. Thus the Jew
happened to find his own salvation, whilst he was procuring
another man's, and our Lord made use of the same means
to bring one to good life, and to preserve another therein."
L. 3. Dial. c. 7. I could instance here a great many other
examples to this purpose, both of past times and of our own,
but these two shall serve at present.
CHAPTER V.
Remedies against Envy.
1 . Envy is a sorrow at other men's goods, and a repining
at their happiness, that is, at great persons, because the
envious man sees he cannot be equal to them; as his in
feriors, because they endeavour to equal him ; and as his
equals, because they vie with him. Thus Saul envied David,
and the Pharisees Christ, to that degree as to procure his
death. 1 Kings, xix. For this passion is so cruel as not to
spare even such persons as these. This sin is mortal in its
kind, because it is as directly opposite to charity as hatred
is ; though it often proves not to be mortal, which, as iu all
other sins, so in this of envy, happens, when the envy is not
consummate. For as there is a downright hatred, and a
sort of an aversion which cannot be called a perfect hatred,
though it is not far from it, there is also a perfect and an
imperfect envy, but the latter leads to the former.
2. This is one of the most powerful and most prejudicial
sins that is, and which, of all others, has the greatest com
mand and rule in the world, but particularly in courts and
great men's houses. Nay, there is no society, community,
or monastery, that can escape it. What man is there, then,
that can defend himself against this monster? Who is there
so happy as neither to envy others, nor to be envied himself?
For when a man considers what envy there has been in
former times; I do not speak of that which was between
the two brothers, Romulus and Remus, the first founders of
Rome, but of that which was between the two brothers who

THE SINNERS GUTDE. 369
first peopled the world, and went so far as to make one
of them kill the other (Gen. iv.), of that which Joseph's
brothers bore him, when they sold him for a slave (Gen.
xxxvii.), of that which was between our Saviour's dis
ciples themselves, before the Holy Ghost's coming down
upon them (Luke, xxii.), and above all, of that which
Aaron and Mary, the chosen of God, bore their brother
Moses. Numb. xii. When a man reflects upon all this,
what must he think of other men in the world, who are
neither so holy as these persons were, nor so nearly related
to one another? This is certainly one of the vices that
most predominates in the world, and does the most mischief
without making any noise. For its proper effect is to per
secute good men, and such as are esteemed for their virtue,
and other commendable qualities. This is its chief aim ;
for this reason Solomon says, "That men's pains and labours
lie all open to the envy of their neighbour." Eccles. iv. 4.
3. You ought, therefore, upon this consideration, to be
very cautious, and to arm yourself well against this enemy,
by continual prayer to God to assist you aganst him, and by
being careful of rejecting it upon all occasions. And if it
should continue still to solicit and disturb you, be you still
constant and vigorous in beating it off ; for it matters not,
though the malicious flesh feels the slight stroke of this weak
motion, so long as the will does not consent to it. So that
if, at any time, you should see your neighbour or friend in a
happier and more thriving condition than yourself, thank
God for it, and persuade yourself either you have not de
served to fare so well as he does, or at least, that it is not
requisite you should ; and never forget that to envy another
man's happiness is no relief to yonr poverty, but rather an
increase and addition to your misery.
4. But if yon would know what weapons you must make
use of against this vice, let them be the following conside
rations. Consider, therefore, in the first place, that envious
persons resemble the devils, who are extremely troubled at the
good works we do, and at the eternal happiness we are ca
pable of; and this not because men losing this happiness can
give them any hopes of obtaining it, for they are out of all
hopes of ever recovering it again, but because men that are
formed out of the dust of the earth enjoy what they have
for ever lost. It was this that made St. Augustine say, in

370 THE sinner's guide.
his book of Christian Doctrine, " God preserve not only the
hearts of Christians, but of all mankind, from ever falling into
this vice ; because it is diabolical, particularly imposed npon
the devil, and for which he will suffer for all eternity, with
out any reprieve, or respite." For the devil is not punished
for committing adultery, or for any robbery or theft he
has been guilty of, but for having envied man, that stood
when he was fallen. So envious men, like the devils,
envy other persons, not so much because they pretend to be
as happy as those others are, as because they would have those
others as miserable as themselves. Consider, therefore, 0
envious man! that you would not be the better for those goods,
for which you envy another, though he whom you envy had
them not; so that, if his having what he has be no prejudice
to you, you have no reason to be troubled at it. If you envy
another man's virtue, consider you are in this point your own
enemy, because there is no good work your neighbour does
which you have not a share in, if you are in but the state of
grace ; and the more he merits, the more you gain for your
self. You have so little reason, therefore, to envy his virtue,
that you ought to rejoice both of his profit and your own,
since you have a share in his good. Consider, therefore,
what a misfortune it is, that your neighbour's growing better
should make you grow worse, whereas those very goods
which you cannot have would be yours through charity, if
you would but love them in your neighbour ; and by this
means you would enjoy the benefit of other men's labours,
without taking any pains yourself.
5. Consider that envy burns up the heart, parches the
flesh, wearies the understandinrr, robs a man of his peace of
conscience, banishes all kinds of joy and pleasure from the
soul, and makes him melancholy and uneasy all his life-time.
It is like a worm that generates in wood, which gnaws away
and consumes the very wood that gave it being. After the
same manner, the first thing that envy preys on is the heart
itself, from whence it receives its rise and origin. When
once it has corrupted the heart, it soon disfigures and changes
the colour of the face; and you may guess by the outward
paleness at the disturbance and trouble there is within. For
there is no judge in the world so severe as this vice is against
itself, for it is perpetually punishing and tormenting its own
author. And, therefore, several learned men very properly

the sinner's guide. 371
call it just, not because it is really so, being a heinous sin,
but because it is itself a punishment to him that has it, and
so far does justice on him.
6. Consider also how opposite it is to charity, which is
God — and how much against the common good, which every
one should promote, as far as he can — to envy another
man's happiness, and to hate those persons whom God had
created and redeemed, and on whom he is continually be
stowing so many favours. What is this but to dislike and
undo what God has done, in will at least and in desire, if not
in effect and actions? But if you would have a more effica
cious remedy against this poison, love humility and abhor sin,
which is the mother of this plague. Because a proud man
not being able to endure any one above, or even equal to him,
is easily wrought on to envy those persons who have any
kind of advantage over him, persuading himself, that the
higher another man rises he must of course fall the lower.
The Apostle was very sensible of this, when he said, " Let
us not be made desirous of vainglory, provoking one another,
envying one another'' (Galat. v. 26), designing by these
words to disarm the envy, aud, therefore, begins with am
bition, which is the very root from whence it springs. For
the same reason you should wean your affections from the
love of worldly riches, and fix it upon none but the spiritual,
and on the inheritance you are to have in heaven; because
this treasure is of such a nature that it will never grow less,
because there are many to enjoy it ; for, on the contrary, the
more there are to possess it, the more it increases ; whereas
worldly riches, the more they are distributed, the sooner they
are diminished. Therefore it is, that envy torments the soul
of him that covets this kind of wealth, because another per
son getting what he covets, either deprives him entirely of
it, or at least diminishes what he would have had. For a
man can scarce forbear being troubled, if another carries
away that which he had set his heart on.
7. Nay, it is not enough for you to be troubled at your
neighbour's prosperity, you must farther endeavour to do him
all the good you can, and pray to God that he would be
pleased to assist him iu what you cannot. Hate no man,
love your friends in God, and your enemies for the sake of
God, who has such a tender and passionate love for you,
though you were first his enemy, as to lay down his life to
deliver you from the power of your enemies. And though

372 the sinner's guide.
your neighbour be a wicked man, yet you are not to hate
him for his being so, but in such a case you must act the
part of a physician who loves his patient, though he hates his
distemper; and this is nothing else but to love what God
has done, and hate that which has been done by man. Never
say within yourself, what have I to do with this man, or
what am I obliged to that man for? I do not know him, he is
no relation of mine, he never did me any good turn, but I am
sure he has done me many a bad one. All you have to do
is, to reflect on those infinite favours you have received from
God, without ever having deserved them. All the return he
requires is, that you would be liberal and kind, not to him,
for he has no need of any of your riches, but to your neigh
bour, whom he has recommmended to you.
CHAPTER VI.
Remedies against Gluttony.
1. Gluttony is an inordinate love of eating and drinking.
Our Saviour gave us a charge against this when he said:
" Take heed to yourselves, lest perhaps your hearts be over
charged with surfeiting and drunkenness, and the cares of
this life." Luke, xxi. 34.
2. Whenever, therefore, you find yourself tempted by this
vice, make use of the following considerations in order to
overcome the temptation : — Consider, in the first place, that
death came into the world by the sin of gluttony (Gen. iii.),
and, therefore, this is to be the first battle you are to win.
For, the less you oppose this vice, the more powerful the rest
will grow, and you, at the same time, the less able to en
counter them. If, therefore, you would come off with victory,
subdue gluttony first, for unless you overcome this vice you
will labour against the others to no purpose. Do but destroy
the enemies that are within, and you will find it no hard
matter to overcome those that are without. It avails little
to fight against enemies abroad, whilst there are others more
dangerous at home. For this reason the devil tempted our
Saviour first with gluttony, to make himself master of the
gate which all other vices enter in at.
3. Cast your eyes on the extraordinary abstinence of our
Saviour Jesus Christ, who dealt very severely with his most
sacred flesh, not only during his fast in the desert, but at
several other times, suffering hunger for our example as well

THE SINNER^S GUIDE. 373
as for our benefit. Matt. iv. Now, if he who maintains the
angels by his presence, and feeds the birds of the air, suffered
hunger for you, it is much more reasonable that you should
endure it for yourself. What pretence have you to value
yourself on being Christ's servant, if, whilst lie is fasting,
you spend your whole life in eating and drinking? if, whilst
he is undergoing all kind of hardships for you, you will suffer
nothing at all for yourself. John, xix. If you imagine this
cross of abstinence is too heavy, reflect on the vinegar and
gall which our Saviour tasted on the cross (Matt, xxvii.),
because, as St. Bernard says: "There is no meat so un
savoury but which may be made palatable if mixed with the
gall and vinegar of Jesus Christ."
4. Consider the abstinence of all the holy fathers of the
desert, who, retiring themselves far from any human con
versation, crucified the flesh, with all its inordinate appetites,
in imitation of Christ, and were able, by the favour of this
same Lord, to live several years on nothing but roots, and
observed such rigorous abstinence as seems incredible to us.
If these men followed Christ so close, and got to heaven this
way, how can you expect to go where they are if you follow
no other path but that of delight and pleasures.
5. Consider how many poor souls there are that would be
glad of a little bread and water to satisfy their hunger, and
by this you will perceive how merciful and liberal God has
been to yon in providing so much better for you than he has
done for them, and how unreasonable it is to make his libe
rality and favours the instruments of your gluttony. Consider,
again, how often you have received the sacred Host in your
mouth, and never consent that death should enter in at the
same gate which life comes in at. Consider that the pleasure
of eating is confined to a very narrow space and a short time.
What, then, can be more unreasonable than that the whole
earth, air, and sea, should not suffice to satisfy so small a
part of man and so short a pleasure ? Yet for this, very
often, the poor are robbed, for this many outrages are com
mitted, that so the hunger of the little ones may become the
delight of great ones. It is a miserable case that the satisfying
of so small a part should cast man headlong into hell, and
that all his members and senses should suffer everlasting tor
ments for the greediness of one of them. Do not you per
ceive how grossly you err in pampering that flesh, which will
soon be food for the worms, and neglect the soul, which shall
R

374 the sinner's guide.
at the same time be brought before the tribunal of God,
where, if it be found empty of virtues, though the belly be
ever so full of its dainties, it shall be condemned to everlast
ing tortures? Nor shall the body escape when the soul is
punished, because it was created for the soul, so it shall be
tormented with it. So that despising that which is the best
part of you, and making much of that which is the worst, you
unhappily lose both, and destroy yourself with your own
food, because you make the flesh, which was given for your
help and assistance, the very snare to catch your soul in,
which shall one day be the companion of your torments, as
it was here of your sins.
6. Remember how poor and hungry Lazarus was, who
desired to feed on the crumbs that fell from the rich man's
table, and could not get them. Luke, xvi. Yet he was
carried after his death by the hands of angels into Abra
ham's bosom: whereas, the rich glutton, who was clothed in
purple, was buried in hell. For, it is impossible that hun
ger and gluttony, pleasure and temperance, should meet with
the same success in the end ; when once death comes,
pleasures will be punished with miseries, and miseries re
warded with pleasures. What advantage have you reaped
by all your former excesses in eating and drinking ? All
you have got is the remorse of conscience, which will per
haps sting and gall you for all eternity. So that you have
quite lost all you have devoured with so mueh lavishness,
and all you have kept for yourself is what you have given
away to the poor ; this is laid up securely for you in heaven.
7. But to prevent your falling into this vice you must
consider, in the first place, that when necessity requires to
be satisfied, the pleasure which lies hid under this cloak
designs to obtain its end, and the more it covers its inordi
nate appetite, under the pretence of a lawful necessity, the
more easily men are deceived by it. For this reason you are
to use a great deal of cautiou and prudence in restraining the
desires of pleasure, and in putting sensuality under the
government of reason. If, then, you have a mind that your
flesh should be subject to and serve the soul, make your soul
submit itself to God ; for it is requisite the soul should be
governed by God, that it may by that means rule and tame
the flesh. By the observance of this order we shall be very
securely conducted, that is, when God shall govern reason,
reason direct the soul, and the soul command the body ; and

THE sinner's guide. 375
thus the whole man will be entirely reformed and changed.
Whilst, on the contrary, if the soul be not governed by rea
son, and if reason does not conform in all things to the will
of God, the body will be always rising up against the soul.
8. When you are tempted by gluttony, fancy you have
already enjoyed that short delight, and that it is already
over ; for the delight of the taste is like a past dream, with
this difference, that the conscience is disturbed after the
pleasure is over. Whereas, if you overcome the pleasure,
your conscience continues quiet and easy. There is an excel
lent sentence of one of the learned ancients, which comes
home to our present purpose. It is this : " If you have had
any trouble in the performance of a virtuous action, the trou
ble soon passes away, and the virtue remains ; but if you
have taken any pleasure in committing an evil action, the
pleasure is soon over, and then there is nothing left but the
filth of it." Aul. Gel. Noct. Attic.
CHAPTER VII.
Remedies against Anger, and the Hatred and Enmities which arise
from it
1. Anger is an inordinate desire of revenge against any
one we imagine has offended us. The Apostle has left us a
good medicine againt this vice, when he says, let all bitter
ness, and anger, and wrath, and noise, and blasphemy, be
removed from you with all kind of malice. Be kind and
merciful to one another, as God has given you in Christ.
Ephes. v. Our Saviour, in St. Matthew, speaking of this
vice, says: " Every one that is angry with his brother, with
out a cause, shall be in danger of the judgment, but he that
shall call him fool, shall be in danger of hell fire." Matt.
v. 22.
2. Whenever you find yourself in danger of running into
this outrageous vice, do not forget to make use of the follow
ing considerations, and to arm yourself as much as you can
against the temptation. Consider, in the first place, that
even beasts live peaceably with those of their own kind.
We see that elephants are friendly to one another, that sheep
and oxen are in their flocks and herds, that the little birds
fly together; that cranes take it by turns to stand sentry in
the night; that storks, stags, dolphins, and many other
creatures, do the same ; everybody knows the friendship there

376 the sinner's guide.
is between the ants and the bees ; nay, even wild beasts, bi
they ever so cruel, are at peace with one another. The lioi
does not vent his fury on lions, bears do not fight with bears
one wolf does not devour another, nor do dragons fall om
amongst themselves. In fine, the very devils, the first
authors of all our discord, have their mutual ties, and exercisi
their tyranny by common consent. Man, whom peace most
becomes, and who stands most in need of it, is the onlj
creature that entertains an inveterate hatred against his own
kind. Nor is it less remarkable, that nature has furnished
all other creatures with arms to fight, as the horse with his
feet, bulls with horns, boars with tusks, bees with stings, birds
with beaks and talons, and even gnats and flies are not with
out the power of biting; but thou, 0 man ! whom she has
designed for peace and concord, she sent into the world
naked and unarmed, that thou mightest have nothing at all
to do harm with. Reflect, then, how unnatural it is for you
to endeavour to be revenged, or to return an injury that has
been offered you, especially with weapons sought without
yourself, which nature denied you.
3. Consider, in the next place, that anger and the desire
of revenge is a vice that becomes none but wild beasts, of
whose savage fury Solomon says, God gave him the know
ledge, and that you consequently degenerate and fall very low
from the generosity and nobleness of your condition, as often
as you imitate the fury of lions, serpents, and other wild
creatures. Sap. vii. iElian relates a passage of a certain lion
that had been wounded once with a lance in a chase. A
twelvemonth after the person that had given him the wound
passed by the same way in company with King Juba, who had
a great train attending him ; the lion knew the man again, and
breaking through the guards, notwithstanding all their endea
vours to beat him off, made no stop till he came to the man
that had hurt him, fell on and tore him to pieces. We see
bulls do the same every day to those that vex them. Men
that are given to anger and revenge imitate these brutal
motions, for when they might quiet their fury with reason and
human discretion, they choose rather to follow the fury and
impulse of beasts, and to make use of that baser part of their
souls, which even brutes have as well as they, neglecting at
the same time that part of them which is more divine, and
which they share in with angels. If you say it is very hard

the sinner's guide. 377
not you consider how much harder that is, which the Son of
God has undergone for your sake? What were you when he
shed his blood for the love of you? Were you not at that
time his enemy? Why do you not consider how patiently
he bears with you, notwithstanding the sins you are hourly
commiting against him, and with what mercy he is ready to
receive you when you return to him ? You will say perhaps
your enemy does not deserve to be pardoned; do you deserve
any better that God should pardon you ? You will have God
shew his mercy to you, whilst you yourself will exercise
nothing but justice upon your neighbour. Consider that if
your enemy does not deserve to be forgiven, you yourself are
unworthy of pardon, and Jesus Christ is most worthy that
you should pardon your enemy for the love of him.
4. Consider that as long as you keep any malice in your
heart, you cannot make God any offering that he will accept
of. Our Saviour, for this reason, says, " If therefore thou
offer thy gift at the altar, and should there remember that
your brother hath anything against thee, leave thou thy
offering before the altar, and go first to be reconciled to thy
brother, and then coming thou shalt offer thy gift." Matt.
v. 23, 24. This sufficiently shows what a grievous crime
brotherly discord is, because as long as it continues you are
one of God's enemies, and do what you will in this state you
will never be able to please him : whereupon St. Gregory says,
"That all our good actions can have no merit, unless we
suffer with patience the injuries that are offered us." L. 21.
Moral, c. 16.
5. You are also to consider what he is whom you look on
as your enemy, for he must of necessity be either a just man
or a sinner. It is certainly a very deplorable thing to wish
any ill to such an one, and to reckon him your enemy,
whom God looks on as your friend ; but if he be a sinner,
it is a case no less lamentable to desire to be revenged of
another man's wickedness, by being wicked yourself, and
by making yourself judge in your own cause, to commit an
injustice yourself, that you may the more easily punish
another man's. If the other person should endeavour to
revenge his injuries as much as you do yours, when will
your quarrels be at an end? The Apostle teaches us a
much more generous way of overcoming our enemies, when
he says, " Overcome evil by good" (Rom. xii. 21), that is
to say, another man's bad actions by your own good ones.

378 the sinner's guide.
For whilst you are endeavouring to return evil for evil, and
are unwilling to yield in any points whatever, you may
often happen to be shamefully foiled, whilst you are carried
away by anger, and overcome by your passions ; whereas,
if you had resisted it, you would have shown yourself much
stronger than him who should have taken a town by force
of arms. For the taking of a city, which is a thing with
out yon, is not half so considerable a victory as is the sub
duing of the passions that are within you, the putting of
yourself under your own equitable laws, and the bridling
and stopping of your anger in its heat and its most vigorous
sallies. For if you do not suppress it in time, it will rise
up against you, and make you do that which you will after
wards be sorry for. And what is worst of all, you will
scarce be able to know what mischief you do, because an
angry man thinks that whatever he does in order to revenge
himself, he has always justice on his side : nay, he is often
deceived so far as to imagine, that the very heat of his anger
is nothing but a zeal for justice, and thus vice hides itself
under the colour of virtue.
Section I. — 6. One, therefore, of the most sovereign re
medies for the better overcoming this vice, is to endeavour
to pluck up this evil root of an inordinate love for yourself,
and of everything else that belongs to you, otherwise the
least word spoken against either you or your's will make you
fly out into a passion ; and, besides, the more naturally you
shall find yourself inclined to anger, you ought to labour so
much the harder for the acquiring of patience, by consider
ing beforehand, and preventing all kinds of grievances
which you are like to meet with in your affairs. For the
foreseeing of any misfortune lessens the influence it would
otherwise have had over us. For this reason you are to
make a strong resolution, as often as you shall perceive
yourself breaking out into a passion, not to say or do any
thing whilst you are in that condition, nor to believe even
your own self, but suspect whatever your heart shall at that
time dictate to you, let it seem ever so just and reasonable;
put off the execution till such time as your passion is over, or
say the Pater Noster once over, or oftener, or some other
devout prayer. Plutarch tells us of a very eminent and
learned philosopher, who, taking his leave of a prince, his
greater friend, advised him never, when he was in a passion,
to order anything to be done till he had first said the letters

the sinner's guide. 379
of the alphabet over, to give him to understand what rash
and inconsiderate actions the heat of anger would excite
him to.
7. And it is very observable, that though this is the worst
time that can be for a man to resolve on anything he has to
do, yet at no time has he a stronger desire to do anything
in than this, which obliges you to be very prudent and
rigorous in the resisting of the temptation. For as a man
that is drunk is incapable of acting according to reason, and
afterwards repents him of what he has done, as it is written
of Alexander the Great; so that he that is drunk with the
wine of anger, and blinded with the vapours of this passion,
cannot follow any advice or counsel to-day, but let it appear
ever so sound and wholesome, he will dislike and condemn
it to-morrow. For it is certain, that the worst counsellors in
the world are anger, wine, and the desires of the flesh. And,
therefore, Solomon says, " That wine and women make wise
men beside themselves." Where by wine, he means not
only real wine, which is wont to blind the reason, but any
violent passion which in some manner blinds the senses ;
and yet whatsoever a man does in such a disposition is
nevertheless a sin.
It is very advisable, whenever you are angry, to employ
yourself about something else, and to put the thing out of
your mind which was the occasion of your passion ; because
if you take away the fuel that nourishes the fire, the flame
must of necessity go out. Endeavour also to love what
necessity obliges you to suffer; for, if suffering and love do
not go together, the patience which appears on the outside is
very often turned into hatred. Whereupon St. Paul having
said, " Charity is patient," immediately adds, "it is kind;"
because true charity never fails to have a kind and tender
love for those persons who suffer patiently. In fine, it is
farther advisable to give your neighbour time to let his
anger work off; for if you will but retire a little when yon
see him in a passion, you will give him room to overcome
it by degrees ; or at least in such a conjecture you must
answer him with a great deal of civility and mildness;
because, as Solomon says, "A mild answer breaketh wrath."
Prov. xv. 1.

380 the sinner's guide.
CHAPTER VIII.
Remedies against Sloth.
1. Sloth is a laziness of mind in performing of anything
that is good, and particularly a loathing and distaste of
spiritual things. Cassian, L. 10. We may guess at the
danger which attends this vice, from the words of our Sa
viour: " Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit shall
be cut down, and shall be cast into the fire." Matt. vii. 19.
And in another place he advises us to live with a great deal
of care and diligence, a virtue directly opposite to this vice :
" Watch and pray, because you do not know when God will
come." Mark. xiii. 35.
2. Whenever, therefore, you perceive yourself tempted to
this sin, defend yourself against it, by the following consi
derations. Consider, in the first place, what toils and hard
ships Christ underwent for your sake, from the very beginning
of his life to the end of it; how often he spent whole nights,
without taking any rest, in continual prayer; how he travelled
up and down, from town to town, instructing and curing
men of their infirmities and corporal ailments ; how his
employ was upon such things as conduced to our salvation ;
and, what is much more than all this, how, at the time of
his passion, he carried the heavy burden of the cross on his
most sacred shoulders, bending under the weight of all those
bitter torments, which he had been put to but just before.
If, therefore, the God of Majesty himself has taken so much
pains to procure yonr salvation, how much more are you
obliged to labour for the same end? It was to free you
from your sins, that this most tender Lamb suffered so much,
and will not you undergo the least trouble in the world to be
discharged from the guilt of them ? Consider what pains
the Apostles took, when they travelled all the world over to
preach the gospel; consider how much the martyrs — how
much the confessors — how much the virgins — how much all
the holy fathers, that retired into deserts from the conversa
tion of men, underwent; how much, in fine, all the saints,
now reigning with God, have suffered ; they who, by their
doctrine, by their labours and sweat, have defended the true
faith of Christ, and increased the holy Catholic Church to
this very day.
3. Consider that there is nothing in nature altogether

THE SINNERS GUIDE. 381
idle; for the blessed troops of saints and angels in heaven
are continually singing God's praises, and adoring him ; the
sun, moon, and stars, with all the heavenly bodies, are in a
perpetual circle of labour to serve us ; the plants and trees
are always increasing, from a small root, till they come to
their just proportion and bigness ; the ants are busy all
summer getting in corn, to maintain them in winter; the
bees employ themselves in making their honeycombs, and
are careful to turn out the drones, and such as will not work;
we find the same in all other creatures whatever. And can
you, 0 man ! who are a rational creature, give yourself up to
laziness and sloth, and not be ashamed of it, when you see
there is not an irrational creature, but has a horror of this
vice, by bare instinct of nature?
4. Again, if merchants and tradesmen take such pains to
gather their perishable riches, the preserving of which wants
as much care and solicitude as the scraping of them together
did, what pains should not you take, who are to trade for
heaven, about the acquisition of eternal treasures, which are
never to be lost when once gained ?
5. Consider that if you are unwilling to labour now,
while you have time and strength, the time may come
hereafter, when you shall have neither the one nor the other.
It is what we have daily examples of in others; the time of
this life is short, and full of a thousand incumbrances, and,
therefore, you ought to have a care of losing the opportunities
you have of doing good, through your own idleness and
sloth: for the night cometh when no man can work." —
John, ix. 4.
6. Consider, that the multitude and grievousness of your
sins require a very rigorous penance, and a great deal of
fervour and devotion to satisfy for them. St. Peter denied
our Saviour three times, and wept all his life after for it,
though he was already pardoned. Matt, xxvii. St. Mary
Magdalen bewailed, to the last moment of her life, the sins
she had committed before her conversion ; and yet, she heard
our Saviour himself, with sweetness and mercy, say, " Thy
sins are forgiven thee." Luke, vii. 48. I omit here, for
fear of being too tedious on this matter, the examples of
several others, who set no shorter bounds to their penance
than those of their life, though they had never offended God
so heinously as you have done. And can you, who every
day heap sins on sins, think any pains or labour too much
r2

382 the sinner's guide,
that is required from you, in satisfaction for your crimes?
Let it, therefore, be your chief employ, during the time of
grace and mercy, to bring forth worthy fruits of penance;
that so you may, by the labours you endure in this life, buy
off the torments you must otherwise suffer in the next; for
though all our endeavours and actions seem mean and incon
siderable, yet they are very meritorious, inasmuch as they
are the effects of grace; and, therefore, though they are but
temporal, if we consider only the labour, they are at the same
time eternal, if we have a regard to the reward ; they are
short, indeed as to their continuance, but the crown they
are rewarded with will last for ever.
Let us not, therefore, suffer the time which is given to
merit in, pass away without reaping any good from it; let
us set before our eyes the example of a certain holy man that
used to cry out every time he heard the clock strike out:
" 0 my Lord and my God! here is another hour gone out of
the number of _ those you intended for the making of my life,
and for which I am to give you an account."
7. As often as we find ourselves surrounded with troubles,
let us remember it is by the way of tribulations that we are
to enter into the kingdom of heaven, " and that none will be
crowned but he that fights courageously." 2 Tim. ii. " But
if you imagine you have taken sufficient pains and fought long
enough already, remember what the Scripture says: "He
that perseveres to the end shall be saved." So that all our
actions will prove unprofitable, and our labours go unre
warded, without this virtue of perseverance ; neither shall he
that runs get the prize, nor he that serves God obtain the
last favour, if he does not persevere. For this reason our
Saviour would not come down from the cross when the Jews
desired it, that the work of our redemption might not be left
imperfect. Matt. xxvi. And the same reason obliges us,
if we intend to tread in the steps our head has marked for
us, to use our utmost diligence, and not leave off our work till
death, because the reward which God will give us is to last
for all eternity. Let us not cease from doing penance, let
us not lay down the cross we have taken up after Christ,
for if we do, what profit shall we get by a long and pros
perous voyage if we be cast away at last in the very haven ?
Eccl. xviii.
8. You are not to be frightened at the difficulty of the
labours, nor at the dangers of the combat, for God, who en-

THE SINNERS UUIUE. 383
courages you to fight, helps you to overcome, sees the battle,
supports you when you faint, and crowns you when you con
quer. But if at any time you should faint under the weight
your labours, you may make use of this remedy to bring you
to yourself again. Do not make any comparison between the
trouble of virtue and the pleasure that is iu its opposite vice,
but between the pain you find in virtue and that which you
must feel if you should commit the sin. Compare the delight
the crime may give you whilst you are committing it, with
the joys you will one day receive in eternal glory ; and by
this you will perceive how much more advantageous it is to
follow virtue than vice. When you have won one battle do
not become negligent, for it often happens that success makes
us careless ; but rather be always on your guard, as if you
expected another alarm every moment, because it is as im
possible for a man to live without temptations, as it is for
the sea to be always in a calm. Besides, a man is always
generally exposed to the most violent temptations at his be
ginning to lead a new life, for the enemy does not think \t
worth his while to tempt those whom he is master of already,
he sets on them that are out of his jurisdiction and power,
so that it is your business to be always on your guard, to be
never unprepared, or without your arms in your hands, as
long as you are posted on the frontiers. Aud if you should
at any time perceive your soul wounded, you must not think
then to stand with your arms across, or fling your shield and
sword away, and deliver yourself up to the enemy; you are
rather to imitate brave soldiers, who, looking on it as a dis
grace to be defeated or forced to fly, set on the enemy again,
and the more they are wounded the more vigorously they re
turn the strokes. And thus recovering new strength by your
fall, you will soon see those persons fly from whom you fled
before, and you yourself will pursue those who before pursued
you. But if, as it often happens in an engagement, you
should be wounded a second time, you are not, therefore, to
be discouraged, but remember that resolute and brave men
do not fight with hopes of never being wounded, but with
a resolution never to surrender themselves up to their enemies,
for we cannot say that a man is overcome when he has re
ceived many wounds, but when, after having been wounded,
he flings his arms away, and loses all his courage. If, there
fore, you should ever receive a wound, endeavour to heal it
as soon as you can, because it is much easier curing one than

384 the sinner's guide.
many, and a green wound is sooner closed up than one that
is old and rankled.
9. Do not think yon have done enough in resisting a temp
tation, but rather endeavour to draw from the temptation
incentives to virtue, and so, by yonr own diligence and God's
graces, you will not be worse, but the better for having been
tempted, and turn all to your own benefit and advantage. If
you should be tempted either by impurity or gluttony, lessen
a little of the good cheer you were used to before, though it
never went beyond what is lawful and allowable, and increase
your fasting and devotion. If avarice should assault you, be
more frequent in alms and good works. If you should be set
on by vainglory, humble yourself so much the more in all
things. If you do so, the devil may, perhaps, be afraid to
solicit you again, for fear of giving you an opportunity of
bettering yourself, and of doing good works, when it is his
desire that every act you do should be evil. Let yonr chief
business be to fly idleness, and never to be so much out of
employment as not to attend to something that may be for
your advantage, nor so much employed as in the midst of your
business not to endeavour to lift up your heart to God, and
to treat sometimes with him.
CHAPTER IX.
Of some other Sins, which every good Christian must endeavour
to avoid.
1. Besides these seven capital sins, there are several
others that spring from them, which every good Christian
ought to avoid as carefully as those we have already spoken
of. One of the chiefest of these is the taking of God's name
iu vain, because this sin points directly at God, and is, in
itself, much more heinous than any we commit against our
neighbour, let it be ever so great. Nor is this true only
when a man swears by God's own name, but when he
swears by the cross, by any of the saints, or by his own sal
vation, because any of these oaths is a mortal sin, if
brought to assert or favour a lie, and severely censured in
Holy Writ as highly injurious to the Divine Majesty. It is
true, that when a man swears to a lie, without reflecting on
it, he does not sin mortally; because where there is no de
termination of the will, and where reason does not pass a
judgment on the matter, there can be no mortal sin. But

the sinner's guide. 385
this is not to be understood of those persons who have a
custom of swearing without any kind of scruple, without
considering either how or what it is they swear, and without
making the least endeavour towards breaking off the bad
habit. Such men as these being accustomed to swear to a
lie, without ever reflecting on it, are by no means free from
sin, because it is what they both might and ought to have
been careful in. Nor can they allege for their excuse, that
they did not think of what they said, or did not design to
swear to a lie ; because, since they will not break off this
habit, it is not their will to avoid the effects of it, and, there
fore, these and such like inconveniences are always looked
on as voluntary sins.
2. For this reason every Christian ought to labour for the
rooting out of this evil custom, that so these inadvertencies
may not be reckoned as mortal sins. The best method for
effecting this is to take the advice given us by our Saviour,
and after him, by his Apostle St. James: "Above all
things, my brethren, do not swear at all, neither by heaven,
for it is the throne of God, nor by the earth, for it is his
footstool ; swear not in any other manner whatever. But
let your speech be yea, yea, no, no; that you may not fall
under the judgment" (Matt. v. 34; Jas. v. 12), which is,
that you may not be wrought on by custom to swear to
what is false, and to be condemned to everlasting death.
Nor is a man only to endeavour to avoid this sin in himself,
he is obliged to excite in his children, his servants, and in
all his family, a horror and detestation of the same vice, and
to reprove his acquaintance and companions for it. And
when he happens himself to be careless in this point, let him,
in punishment of his neglect, give some alms, say a Pater
Noster, or Ave Maria, not so much in penance for this fault,
as for a memorial and advertisement to him never to fall
into it again.
Section I. — Of Detraction, Scoffing, and Judging Rashly.
3. Another sin we are to be very diligent in avoiding is,
that of detraction, as much used in the world as the former;
for there is no house so strong, no society so religious, or
place so sacred, as to escape the lash of a licentious tongue.
But though this vice is familiar to all sorts of persons (for
the world, as it gives good men sufficient reason to weep by
its daily follies, so it supplies the weak with matter of

386 the sinner's guide.
calnmny and slander), yet there are always some persons to
be met with, that are more naturally and more passionately
inclined to this vice than others. For as there are some
palates that can relish nothing that is sweet, and love
nothing but what is bitter or sour, so there are some kinds
of men so corrupt in themselves, and so full of a heavy and
melancholy humour, that no subject of virtue, nor any com
mendation of one's neighbour, savours well with them, but
they only delight in railing, scoffing, and detraction. So
that they are, as it were, asleep and dumb to all other dis
course ; but as soon as any man happens to touch on this
string, they are presently awake again, and ready to lash out
on this subject.
4. That you may, therefore, conceive a great hatred of so
hurtful and execrable a vice as this is, consider three great
evils it draws after it. The first is, that it is not very far
from mortal sin, for there is but a very little distance be
tween censuring and detraction ; and these two vices being
so near neighbours, it is easy to pass from the one to the
other ; as the philosophers say, that those elements which
agree in any one quality, may be easily converted into one
another. Thus we see how often it happens, that men,
when they begin to censure, deseend, without any scruple,
from general imperfections to particular, from public to
private, and from little to great ones. By these means
they blemish their neighbour's reputation, and leave it with
out endeavouring to wipe off the spot. For when the tongue
is once going, and the desire or itch of magnifying things
once prevails, it is as hard a matter to suppress the motion
of the heart, as it is to stop the violence of the flame, when
blown on by the wind, or to keep in a hard-mouthed horse,
when once he has got his head : then the railer has no res
pect for any man, and never stops till he discovers the most
hidden secrets. This was the reason why the author of
Ecclesiasticus desired so earnestly to have a guard set at
this little gate, when he said, " Who will set a guard before
my mouth, and a sure seal upon my lips, that I fall not by
them, and that my tongue destroy me not?" Eccles. xxii.
33. He that said it, very well knew the great consequence
and the difficulty of this affair, because he expected his cure
from none but God, who is the only physician that can cure
this distemper. According to these words of Solomon, " It
is for a man to prepare his soul, but it belongs to God for to

the sinner's guide. 387
govern the tongue." Prov. xvi. 1. So weighty a concern
this is.
5. The second evil which attends this vice is, its being
veiy prejudicial and dangerous; because there are three evils
in it, at least, which cannot be avoided. The first concerns
him that speaks, the second those that hearken and consent
to it, and the third concerns the absent who are talked of.
It is a common saying, that walls have ears, and words have
wings, and men love to seek new friends, and to ingratiate
themselves with others, by carrying tales and stories, under
pretence of being concerned for the honour of those persons
ill spoken of; and so, when these things come to the ears of
the party that has been defamed, he is offended, and falls
into a rage aud passion against the man that defamed him;
whence follows irreconcileable enmity, and sometimes duels
and bloodshed. For this reason the wise man said, " The
tale-bearer and the double-tongued shall be cursed; because
he has disturbed a great many that were at peace." And
all this, as you see, comes from a word spoken out of season :
for, according to the expression of the wise man, "A fire
proceeds from but one spark."
6. This vice, upon account of these great damages, is
compared in the Scripture sometimes to a razor, which
shaves the hair without being felt (Ps. Ii. 2), sometimes
again to bows and arrows, which shoot to a great distance,
and wound those that are absent (Prov. 18); at other times
to serpents, that make no noise wheu they bite, yet leave
their poison in the wound. Ps. vii. The Holy Ghost is
pleased to give us to understand, by these comparisons,
the malice and evil of that vice, which is so great that the
wise man says, " The stroke of a whip maketh a blue mark,
but the stroke of the tongue will break the bones." Eccles.
xxviii. 21.
7. The third evil that attends this vice is, its being most
abominable and infamous against men : because everybody
flies as natural from a detractor, as from a poisonous serpent.
And, therefore, the wise man says, "A man full of tongue is
terrible in his city." Eccl. ix. 25. Are not these evils great
enough to make you abhor a vice, which is at once so hurtful
and so unprofitable? Why will you make yourself odious in
the sight of both God and man, without reaping any advan
tage by it, especially by a sin that is so frequent and usual,
that you can scarce speak one word without exposing yourself

388 the sinner's guide.
to the danger of falling into it ? Look upon your neighbour's
life as a forbidden tree, which you should not so much as
touch. Yon are to be careful in endeavouring never to speak
well of yourself, nor ill of others, because the one is vanity,
and the other detraction. Talk of all persons as if they were
virtuous men, and men of honour, and let all the world believe
there is no wicked man in it by your discourse. Thus you
will avoid many sins, scruples, and remorses of conscience,
you will gain the favour both of God and man, and be res
pected as much by others, as you respect everybody else.
Put a bridle in your mouth, and be always ready to repel and
swallow down those words which you perceive will be too
sharp and biting. Be assured, that it is one of the most
prudent and discreet actions you can do, to curb your tongue,
and that there is scarce any empire so great as that which a
man has, when he knows how to command and govern this
member. 8. Do not think you are free from this vice, when yon use
craft in your detraction by praising a man first, when you
design to decry him. For there are some detractors, like
surgeons, who chafe the vein gently before they open it, that
their lancet may find the easier passage, and the blood spurt
out more freely. The Royal Prophet, speaking of such
persons, says, " Their words are smoother than oil, and the
same are darts." Ps. liv. 22.
9. And as it is a great virtue to forbear all detraction, so
it is a much greater not to rail at those who have done us
any injury. So that the more we find ourselves inclined to
say anything against them, the greater generosity it will be
to say nothing, and to subdue this passion; for where the
danger is greatest, there the most precaution is to be used.
10. Nor is it enough to forbear yourself from murmuring
and detracting, you must also shut your ears against all that
do so, following the advice of Ecclesiasticus: "Hedge in
thy ears (says he) with thorns, and hear not a wicked
tongue." Eccl. xxviii. 28. He thiuks it not sufficient for
you to stop your ears with cotton, or with anything that is
soft, he would have you to do it with thorns, that so the
words, which otherwise you would have heard with pleasure,
may not only make no impression upon your heart, but may
prick the heart of him that delivers them, when he sees by
your looks that you are displeased at what he has told you.
Solomon gives us the same advice in clearer terms, when he

the sinner's guide. 389
says, " The north wind driveth away rain, as doth a sad
countenance a backbiting tongue." Prov. xxv. 23. Because
(as St. Jerome says), an arrow out of a bow cannot enter in
to a hard stone, but, on the contrary, flies back again, and
sometimes returns upon the man that shot it." Epist. 2. ad
Nepotiam. 11. For this reason, you are to impose silence upon any
one that detracts, if he is your inferior, or of such a con
dition and rank that you may do it without offence; if you
cannot do this, you must, at least, use some cunning to divert
the discourse ; or, if that will not do, let the. severity of your
countenance make him ashamed of what he has said. By
this means, being civilly told of his fault, he will turn his dis
course, and talk of something else. But should you, on the
contrary, countenance him in the least, you will encourage
him to go on, and so make yourself as guilty by hearing him,
as he is by talking; for as it is a very criminal action to set
a house on fire, it would be very blameable for another to
stand warming his fingers by it, when charity bids him fetch
water to help to put it out.
12. But of all detractions the greatest is, when a man
speaks ill of virtuous persons, because it is the ready way to
discourage those that are but weak and faint-hearted, and to
give an absolute repulse to such as have no courage at all,
so as to deter them from entering into the way of virtue.
This would be laying a stumbling-block in their way, that
are but just beginning to walk, though those that are quite
grown up know how to pass over it. And that you may
have no reason to say this is but a small and inconsiderable
scandal, reflect upon these words of our Saviour: "But he
that shall scandalize one of these little ones that believe in
me, it were better for him that a mill-stone should be hanged
about his neck, and that he should be drowned in the depth
of the sea." Matt, xviii. 6. You are, therefore, to account
it as a kind of sacrilege, to make scandalous reflections on
the servants of God; for, supposing they are such as the
wicked represents them, yet the character they bear should
make you have a respect for them, especially since God
Almighty, speaking of the love he has for them, says, " He
that toucheth you, toucheth the apple of my eye." Zach.
ii. 8. 13. Whatever we have here said against detractors and
backbiters, may be applied to those that jeer and scoff at

390 the sinner's guide.
others ; and with much more reason, because this vice, be
sides it having all in it that the other has, is never without
a tincture of pride, presumption, and a contempt of others.
So that, upon this consideration, we are more obliged to
avoid this vice than the former. God, in the old law, has
given us a particular caution against it, in these words:
" Be not a detractor, nor a whisperer among the people."
Levit. xix. 16. And, therefore, there is no need of saying
any more of the deformity of it, for what has been said may
snffice. Section II. — Of Rash Judgments, and of the Commandments of the
Church.
1 4. To these two sins we may add, that of rash judg
ment, as coming very near to them, because detractors and
jeerers not only speak ill of things which really are, but
whatever they imagine or fancy.. And that they may never
want something to be biting upon, they furnish themselves
with matter whenever there is occasiou, by rash judgments
and secret suspicions, by turning the worst side of a thing
outwards, when they might as easily turn the best; and this
is in opposition to what our Saviour has commanded us,
saying, " Judge not, that you may not be judged ; for with
what judgment you judge, yon shall be judged." Matt. vii.
1, 2. This may often happen to be a mortal sin, if the
matter a man passes his sentence upon is of concern and
weight, and the judgment grounded on a shallow and weak
foundation. But if it proves to be rather a suspicion than a
judgment, it will not then be a mortal sin, because the act
is not entire and perfect.
15. Besides these sins against God, there are those
which a man commits against the five commandments of the
Church, which oblige us by precept; as hearing Mass on
Sundays and holidays, confessing our sins once a year,
communicating at Easter, fasting all days appointed by the
Church, and paying of tithes. The commandment of fast
ing binds from one-and-twenty years of age and upwards,
more or less, according to the discretion of the confessor or
curate ; if the man is not sick, or very weak, or old labour
ing men, nurses that give suck, or women that are with
child, and such as are not able to afford themselves one
good meal a day, and so there may be other lawful im
pediments.

the sinner's guide. 391
16. As to the hearing of Mass upon Sundays and holi
days, a man must eudeavour to assist there, not only in
body but in spirit, having his mind recollected, and with a
profound silence, with his heart fixed upon God or upon the
mysteries of the Mass, or busied with some other pious
thoughts, or saying some devout prayers.
17. And as for those persons who have servants and
children, and a family to look after, they should be very
careful and diligent in seeing that all under their charge hear
Mass upon holidays: and if they cannot let them go to High
Mass, because of their being employed about necessary busi
ness, at least they must make them go some time in the
morning to hear a private Mass, that so they may comply
with their obligation. There are many masters of families
very blameable and negligent in this point; and they will
answer for it to God. It is true, when there is any just and
pressing necessity that hinders a person from hearing Mass,
as his looking after a sick person or any such employment,
it will not be then imputed to him as a sin, because necessity
excuses a man from this law.
18. These are the most usual sins which man generally
falls into. It is our duty always to endeavour to avoid them
all : some because they are mortal, others because they are
very near to mortal sins, and others again, because they are
more heinous of themselves than other, common venial sins.
This is the way to preserve our innocence, and those white
garments, which Solomon requires of us, when he says, " At
all times let thy garments be white, and let not oil depart
from thy head" (Eccl. ix. 8), that is, the unction of divine
grace, which enlightens and strengthens us upon all occasions,
and which instructs us in and encourages us to all kind of
good.
CHAPTER X.
Of Venial Sins.
1. Though these be the chief sins you are carefully to
avoid, yet do not think you are, therefore, allowed to run
freely into all venial sins. On the contrary, I earnestly
entreat you not to be one of those who make no scruple of
committing a sin when once tbey know it is not mortal.
Consider what the wise man says: "He that contemneth
small things, shall fall by little and little." Eccl. xix. 1.

392 the sinner's guide.
Think of the old proverb, for want of a nail we lose a shoe,
for want of shoe we lose a horse, and for want of a horse a
trooper. Houses that fall with age begin their decay with
some little flaw, which by degrees grows bigger, till the
whole building comes to the ground. Consider, that though
in reality neither seven thousand venial sins, nor seven thou
sand to those can make up one mortal, yet, that which St.
Augustine says is true, viz. " Do not despise venial sins, be
cause they are but little ; but be afraid of committing them
because they are many; we often see that little animals may
kill a man when there is a great number of them : is not a
grain of sand a very small thing ? aud yet if you overload a
vessel with it, it will certainly sink. How small are drops
of water, yet they make the greatest rivers, and bear down
the most stately edifices in the world." Super Joan. Tract. 12.
ad fin. torn. 9. et L. de Decemchordis, c. 11. et L. de Me-
dicina Poenitentium ad fin. torn. 9- c. 2. The meaning of
this sentence of St. Augustine is, not that many venial
amount to a mortal sin, but that they dispose the soul to
mortal sin, and very often make a man fall into it. Nor is
this only true, but that also which St. Gregory says, " That
to fall into small sins is sometimes more dangerous than to
fall into great ones." In Pastoral, p. 3. c. 33. Because the
greater a fault is, the more it discovers itself, and is, by
consequence, the more easy to be remedied ; whereas, little
faults being looked upon as nothing, the more securely a
man commits them, the greater danger he is in of falling
frequently into the same again.
2. In fine, venial sins, though ever so little, are very pre
judicial to the soul, because they take away devotion, disturb
the peace and quiet of conscience, extinguish the heat of
charity, weaken the heart, destroy the vigour of the soul,
impair the strength of the spiritual life, and, in short, resist
in some manner the Holy Ghost himself, and hinder his
operations in us. For this reason we are obliged to use the
utmost diligence for avoiding of these sins, since it is certain
there is no enemy, how mean soever, but may be able to do
us much harm, if we do not secure ourselves against him.
3. Now, if you would know wherein these sins particu
larly consist, I answer, that in a little anger, gluttony, or
vanity, in idle words and thoughts, in immoderate laughing
and jesting, in the loss of time, in sleeping too much, in lies
and flatteries, and the like.

the sinner's guide. 393
4. We have here described three sorts of sins, one which
is generally mortal, another that is commonly venial, and a
third that lies, as it were, between these two extremes, so
that they are sometimes mortal, and sometimes only venial.
It is requisite we shun all these in general, much more than
those which are in the middle, and most of all those that
are mortal; because, by those alone our peace with God is
disturbed, our friendship violated, and by the same we lose
all the goods of grace, and all the infused virtues, though
faith and hope, it is true, cannot be lost but by the contrary
acts.
CHAPTER XI.
Of some other shorter Remedies against all Sorts of Sins, but particularly
those seven, called Capital.
1 . The several considerations we have here set down will
serve to keep the soul in good order, and well armed against
all kinds of sins ; yet, during the engagement itself, that is,
when you are tempted to any of these sins, you make use of
these short sentences, found amongst the writings of a certain
holy man, who used to arm himself thus, upon all occasions,
against every one of these vices.
2. When pride assaulted him, he said; "When I consider
with what an excess of humility the most high and glorious
Son of God has humbled himself, for the love of me, no creature
in the world can despise me so much, as to make me think I
do not deserve to be much more contemned and despised."
3. If covetousness set upon him, his saying was, " Hav
ing once understood, that nothing can satisfy my soul but
God alone, I cannot but persuade myself that it must be a
great folly to seek anything besides him."
4. As often as impurity attacked him, he said: "Being
sensible of the great dignity my body is raised to, when I
receive my Saviour's most sacred body, I should account my
self guilty of a horrible sacrilege, should I defile the temple
he has consecrated to his service with the filth of carnal
sins." 5. If he was tempted to anger, he said: "No man could
ever injure him so far as to disturb and trouble him, when
he reflected upon the injuries he had offered God."
6. His defence against hatred and envy was: "I cannot
wish any hurt to my neighbour, or refuse to pardon any

394 the sinner's guide.
man, knowing with what mercy my God has vouchsafed to
receive such a sinner as I am."
7. Against gluttony, he said: "That if any man would
but call to mind the potion of vinegar and gall which
they gave the Son of God for his last refreshment, in the
midst of all the torments he suffered for us, be would
be ashamed to endeavour to please his palate with dainty
meats, being obliged to undergo something for his own
sins." 8. His saying against sloth was : " Since I have been
taught, that for a little toil and trouble here I may pur
chase for myself everlasting glory, all the pains I can pos
sibly take, for the obtaining of this happiness, seem very
inconsiderable." 9. St. Augustine gives us another sort of short remedies
against all vices, though some persons attribute them to
St. Leo, the Pope: he shows us, in the same, how on the
one side each particular vice tempts us, and what proposals
it makes us; and, on the other side, he supplies us with
such considerations and reasons, as we are to make use of
against it, which I will here set down, looking upon them
as very useful and beneficial.
10. Pride, therefore, begins first to speak to us, after
this manner: Certainly you excel others in knowledge, in
eloquence, in wealth, and in several other good qualities ; it
is therefore reasonable you should have but little esteem for
others as being so far above them. But humility answers:
that you are but dust and ashes, mere rottenness and cor
ruption at present, and designed to be the companion and
food of worms in a very little time. And supposing you are
as great as you imagine, yet the greater you are, if you do
not humble yourself the more, you will soon cease to be what
you were. Are you greater than the angel that fell ? Do
yon shine brighter upon earth than Lucifer did in heaven ?
Now, if this pride was the occasion of his falling from so high
a state of glory, into such an abyss of misery, how can you
think of rising from such an excess of misery to such a height
of glory, when you are in all respects as proud as he was?
11. Vainglory comes next, and says: Do all the good
you can, and let everybody know it, that they may take you
for a good man, and the whole world may reverence and
honour you, and that no one may show you the least dis
respect. The fear of God answers: It is a most notorious

the sinner's guide. 395
folly to fling away the purchase of eternal glory for a little
temporal honour. Endeavour, therefore, to hide all the good
actions you do, at least in desire, because if you have a real
desire to conceal them, it will be no vanity in you if they
should come to be known ; for that cannot be called public
which in your wishes is secret.
12. Hypocrisy says: Since you have nothing in you that
is good, endeavour at least to make a man believe you have
what you have not, that you may not be hated by all the
world. Sincerity answers : It is the proper duty of a true
Christian not to endeavour to pass for a good man, but to
labour to make himself so ; for all that you can get by
imposing on others is your own condemnation and ruin.
13. Contempt and disobedience say: Who are you that
should be subject to others inferior to you? It is but just
you should command and they obey, since they do not come
up to you either iu wit, judgment, or virtue. It is enough
for you to keep the commandments of God, you need not
trouble your head with those of man. Subjection and obe
dience answer: The same reason that obliges you to an
observance of God's commandments, obliges you to submit
to what men decree; because God himself has said, "He
that heareth you heareth me, and he that despiseth you
despiseth me." Luke, x. 16. But if you say that this
stands with reason and justice, when he that commands is
a good mau, and not otherwise, hear what the Apostle says
against this opinion: There is no power but what comes
from God, and all things that come from God are ordained.
Rom. xiii. So that it is none of your business to know
what kind of men your superiors are ; all yon are to do is,
to know what they command, and to put their orders in
execution. 14. Envy says: In what are you less than this or that
man? Why then should not you have as much respect
shown you as they have, or more? How many things can
you do, which they cannot? It is, therefore, unjust that
they should be made equal to you, or set over you.
Brotherly love answers: If you are more virtuous than
others, you will be much securer in a low place than in a
high one ; because the higher the place a man falls from,
the more dangerous will be his fall. Put the case, that
there are many men as rich or richer than you, what are
you the worse for it ? You ought to consider, that whilst

396 the sinner's guide.
you envy another that is in a better station, you make your
self like him of whom it is said: " By the envy of the devil
death came into the world, and they follow him that are of
his side." Wisd. ii. 24, 25.
15. Hatred says: God Almighty can never expect you
should love him that is always contradicting and opposing you
in all things, that is always detracting and backbiting you,
that is always upbraiding you to your face, with all your
failings, that is, in fine, perpetually thwarting you in all your
words and actions; for it is certain he would never thus
trample on you, if he did not hate you. True love answers:
Supposing these things are detestable in a man, must you,
therefore, hate the image of God that is stamped on him?
Did not Jesus Christ, even when he hung on the cross, love
his enemies ? Did he not advise us to the same a little be
fore his departure out of this world? Banish, therefore, all
the bitterness of hatred from your breast, and instead of it
take in the sweetness of love ; for, besides the eternal con
siderations and reasons that oblige us to it, there is nothing
in this life more pleasant, nothing more sweet than love;
and nothing, on the contrary, more bitter, nothing more dis
tasteful than hatred, which, like a canker, is always preying
on the bowels that first gave it being.
16. Detraction is always crying : " Who can endure this,
who can conceal the crime such or such persons have com
mitted, without being accessary to them ? Brotherly cor
rection answers: We are neither to publish nor to consent
to our neighbour's sins (Matt, xviii. 15), but he that has
done amiss is to be corrected with charity, and to be borne
with patience. Besides, it is sometimes convenient to take
no notice of a man when he has committed a fault, that you
may afterwards have a more favourable opportunity of re
proving him.
17. Anger says: How can you have patience to endure
the injuries that are offered you? Nay, it is a sin to bear
any longer; and if you do not resent them, you will have
greater affronts put on you every day. Patience answers:
If you would but reflect on our Saviour's passion, there is
no wrong which you would not be willing to put up with.
For as St. Peter says, Christ has suffered for us, leaving us
an example that we should follow his steps : who, when he
suffered, never was augry with, nor threatened them that
used him ill. 1 Pet. ii. 21. We are, therefore, more par-

the sinner's guide. 397
ticularly obliged to imitate our Saviour on this point, con
sidering that what we suffer is so little in comparison of
what he underwent for us, for he was affronted, despised,
buffeted, scourged, crowned with thorns, and crucified ; and
yet we, sinful and miserable wretches, fly into a passion at
every little word, and the least incivility that is touches us to
the quick.
18. Hardness of heart says : How can you speak kindly
to men that are as stupid, ignorant, and senseless as mere
beasts, and who very often grow proud and saucy the kinder
you are to them? Meekness answers: Your advice is not
to be taken in this point, but the Apostle's, who says: ''It
does not become the servant of God to wrangle, but to carry
himself meekly to all persons." 2 Tim. ii. 24. This fault
of replying and wrangling, it is true, is much more danger
ous in inferiors than it is in superiors; because it often hap
pens that they lose the respect they should have for those
that are put over them, when they are too kindly dealt with,
aud laugh at and ridicule the humility and sweetness their
superiors show them.
19. Presumption and rashness say: God in heaven is
witness of all your actions, aud, therefore, you need not
trouble your head about the opinion men have of you.
Our duty to our neighbour answers : You are not to give
other persons occasion of murmuring, or of revealing all they
think and suspect of you: but if what they find fault with
you for is true, tell them sincerely you have done amiss : if
false, you are with humility to deny it.
20. Sloth and idleness say: You will soon lose your sight,
if you give yourself thus continually to study, prayers, and
tears; if yon spend a good part of the night in performing of
these exercises, you will soon be distracted; if you tire
yourself out with too much labour you will become unfit for
any spiritual exercise. Diligence and labour answer: Why
do you promise yourself many years to undergo these hard
ships and labours? Who has given you security, that you
shall live till to-morrow, nay till this very hour be over?
Have you forgot what our Saviour said : " Watch ye, there
fore, because you know not the day nor the hour." Matt.
xxv. 13. It is your business, therefore, to shake off all idle
ness and sloth, because the kingdom of heaven is not for the
slothful and tepid, but for such only as are diligent and re
solute.

398 the sinner's gutde.
21. Covetousness says: If you give away what you have
to strangers, what will be left to maintain your own family?
Mercy answers: Remember what happened to the rich man
in the gospel, that was clothed in purple and the finest linen,
he was not condemned for taking away another man's goods,
but for not giving away his own. Luke, xvi. For this he
was condemned to hell-fire, and reduced to such extremity
there, as not to be able to obtain one drop of water, though
he begged it with so much earnestness, for not giving the
crumbs that fell from his table to a poor man that was beg
ging at his door.
22. Gluttony says : God created all things for our nourish
ment : if, therefore, you refuse to eat, you slight God Al
mighty's favours. Temperance answers : What you say is
true in one respect, for God created all things, that men might
not die for hunger. But to prevent his committing any ex
cess, he commanded him to be abstemious ; and not being so,
is reckoned one of the chief sins that drew down God's judg
ments on the unhappy city of Sodom, and was the occasion
of its utter ruin. Ezech. xvi. For that reason, a man, though
he be in good health, is to take his meat as a sick man does
his physic, that is, only to supply the present necessity. So
that if he would quite break himself off that vice, he must, be
sides prescribing himself a certain quantity, and no more, de
spise all dainties, unless either want of health or charity
oblige him to the contrary.
23. Empty joy says: Why do you conceal and smother
the joy of your heart? Let everybody be sensible of your
joy, and talk pleasantly and merrily with your companions,
to divert them, and to make them laugh moderate. Gravity
answers : What is the meaning of all this mirth and plea
santry ? Have you overcome the devil ? Is the time of your
banishment expired, and are you called home to your own
country? You have forgot, perhaps, what our Saviour said:
"You shall lament and weep, but the world shall rejoice;
nevertheless your sorrow shall be turned into joy." John, xvi.
20. Put a stop, therefore, I advise you, to this vain delight,
for you have not yet weathered all the storms that are so fre
quent on this dangerous sea.
24. Talkativeness says: There is no hurt in talking much,
if a man talks well ; as, on the contrary, he is not free from
sin, though he speaks but little, if what he says be ill. Dis
creet silence answers: What you say is true; yet it often

THE sinner's guide. 399
happens, that when a man would say many good things, he
makes a bad end of what he began well. And, therefore,
the wise man says: Where there is much talk there will be
sin. Prov. x. 19. And if you should be so fortunate in talk
ing much, not to speak anything that is hurtful, it will be
very hard to avoid all idle words, which you must give an
account of at the day of judgment. You must, therefore,
be moderate in your talk, be it ever so good, lest excess
should make it quite otherwise.
25. Impurity says: Why do you not enjoy pleasures and
delights, .since you do not know what may happen to you?
It is unreasonable to lose such a favourable opportunity,
when you cannot tell how soon it may pass away. For if
God had not designed that men should enjoy these pleasures,
he would never have created men and women at the begin
ning. Chastity answers: I would not have you be ignorant
of what is prepared for you after this life. For if you will
but live purely and chastely here, you will enjoy such plea
sures and delights as shall never have an end; but if, on the
contrary, you live lewdly here, you shall be condemned to
torments for all eternity hereafter, and the more sensible you
are of the short duration of these false pleasures, the more
reason you have to live chastely ; for how wretched an hour's
pleasure is that which is purchased at the expense of a life
that is to last for ever.
26. All that has been hitherto said may serve to furnish
us with such spiritual weapons as are necessary for this
combat. By the help of which we shall obtain the first part
of virtue, which is, to abstain from sin, and to maintain the
post which God puts us in, and in which he himself lives,
that it be not surprised by the enemy. If we defend it
with resolution, we shall have the honour of entertaining
this heavenly guest ; because, as St. John says, " God is
charity, and he that abideth in charity, abideth in God, and
God in him." 1 John, iv. 16. And that man is in charity,
who never does anything contrary to it, and nothing is con
trary to it but mortal sin ; against which, all that we have
said in this Book is to be applied as a remedy and a preserva
tive.

400 the sinner's guide.

BOOK II.
PART THE SECOND.
CONTAINING SUCH RULES AS ARE REQUISITE FOR THE
PRACTICE OF VIRTUE.

CHAPTER I.
Of the Three Kinds of Virtues, wherein consists the Fulness of all
Justice.
1 . Having, in the First Part of this Book, spoken of those
vices which pollute and darken the soul, let us now treat of
such virtues as adorn and beautify it with the spiritual orna
ment of justice. And as it is the property of justice to give
every one his due, whether it be God, our neighbour, or our-
self, so there are three sorts of virtues that compose it, some
are particularly for the performance of the duty man owes to
God, some again for that he owes his neighbour, and others
for that he owes to himself. This is all he has to do, in order
to satisfy the obligations of virtue and justice ; that is, for
the making of himself truly just and virtuous, the only thing
we pretend to here.
2. If you would know, in short, how that is to be done,
and have it made more plain by a few familiar comparisons,
I say a man will comply exactly with these three duties, if
he has but these three things: — the heart of a son towards
God, the heart of a man towards his neighbour, and that of
a judge towards himself. In these three points of justice,
the prophet placed the very perfection of our good, when he
8aid, " I will shew thee, 0 man, what is good, and what the
Lord requireth of thee ; verily, to do judgment, and to love
mercy, and to walk solicitous with thy God." Mich. vi. 8.
The doing of judgment shows a man what he owes to him
self ; mercy, what he owes to his neighbours, and walking

THE sinner's guide. 401
humbly with God, what his obligation is to him, since all our
good depends on these three things. 1 Par. Tra. 4, c. 3.
We will handle them now at large, having only spoke of
them briefly in the Memorial of a Christian Life, with a de
sign to explain them more fully in this place.
CHAPTER II.
Of Man's Duty to himself.
1 . Since charity begins at home, let us now begin as the
prophet did; that is, with the doing of justice or judgment,
which is the part of a judge, and which every man ought to
act towards himself. The duty of a good judge is to see
that the state be orderly and reformed. And because in
this little state or commonwealth of man, there are two
principal parts to reform ; that is, the body with all its mem
bers and senses, and the soul, with all its affections and
powers, it is requisite those things should be all governed
and directed according to the rules of virtue, which we shall
here lay down: and thus man will perform his duty to him
self. Section I. — Of the Reformation of the Body.
2. The first thing to be done, in order to reforming of
the body, is to settle a just decorum, observing what St.
Augustine says, iu his rule, " That there should be nothing
in our gait, our posture, our dress, or in anything else, that
may give offence to our neighbour ; but that everything in
us should be conformable to the sanctity of our profession."
V. Cassian, L. 5. c. 12. To this end, he that serves God
must endeavour to carry himself towards all men with that
modesty, with that humility, with that sweetness and meek
ness, that every one he converses with may profit and be
edified by his good example. The apostle would have us
be like sweet perfume, which immediately communicates its
scent to everything that touches it, and makes the hands it
has once been in smell like itself; for such ought to be the
discourse of those that serve God, such their actions, their
behaviour, and their conversation, that everybody, who has
anything to do with them, may be edified and improved by
their example. 2 Cor. ii. 15. This is one of the greatest
benefits that flows from modesty, and an outward compo
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402 THE sinner's guide.
men by our good example, and without the least noise of
words, to praise God and to love virtue, according to what
our Saviour commanded us, when he said, " So let yonr
light shine before men, that they may see your good works,
and glorify your Father who is in heaven." Matt. v. 16.
What Isaias says, comes to the same purpose: The servants
of God shall be called trees of righteousness, the planting of
the Lord, that he may be glorified. Isa. Ixi. Yet we are
not to think this gives us any privilege to do good works,
on purpose that they may be seen: "We ought rather
(according to St. Gregory's rule) to publish the good we do
in such a manner, that the intention may be still unknown,
that so our good actions may be a pattern for our neigh
bours, and the intention we have of pleasing none but God,
may make us always desire secrecy." Lib. 29. Moral, c. 18.
3. The second advantage reaped by this outward compo
sure of the body is the security of the inward man, and the
preservation of devotion. For the union and tie that is be
tween these two is so close, that what one has, the other
immediately partakes of, and so on the contrary. For this
reason, if the spirit is in good order, the body immediately is
so too, and that naturally; and if, on the other side, the body
is uneasy and irregular, the spirit grows irregular and un
easy. So that one of them is like a glass to the other.
For as you may see all you do in a glass that stands before
you, so all that passes in either of these two is immediately
represented in the other; and this is the reason why an out
ward composure and modesty is so great an assistance to an
inward ; and it would be a matter of wonder to find a recol
lected nimd in a troubled and distracted body. On that
account, the wise man says, "He that is hasty with his feet
will stumble'' (Prov. xix. 2), giving us to understand by
this, that those persons who fall from the gravity and steadi
ness Jhat Christian discipline requires, are frequently subject
to stumble, and cannot but often fall into a great many fail
ings, as those who walk too fast make frequent trips.
4. The third good effect of this virtue is, the maintaining
a man in the authority and greatness that belongs to his
person and employ, if he be a man in any dignity or consi
derable charge, as holy Job kept up his, who tells us himself
in one place, " That the light of his countenance (amidst all
his several accidents) fell not on the earth." Job, xxix. 24.
In another place he says, that his authority was so great,

THE SINNER'S GUIDE. 403
that young men, " when they saw me, hid themselves ; and
the old men rose up and stood ; the princes ceased to speak,
and laid their finger on their mouth," out of the reverence
they had for him. Ibid. ver. 8, 9. The holy man backed
this authority of his, which had not the least appearance of
pride in it, with so much sweetness and mildness, that he
says of himself, " That even when he sat like a king, with
his army standing about him, he was the comforter of them
that mourned." Ibid. ver. 25.
5. You may observe from hence, that the want of this
modesty and composure is not condemned by wise men for
a great fault, so much as it is for a sign of levity ; because the
immoderate looseness of the outward man is a proof of the
lightness and unsettledness of the inward. And, therefore,
the author of Ecclesiasticus says: "The attire of the body,
and the laughter of the teeth, and the gait of the man, show
what he is." Eccl. xix. 26. Solomon affirms the same in
his Proverbs, where he says, "As the faces of them that
look therein shine in the water, so the hearts of men are laid
open to the wise." Prov. xxvii. 19-
6. These are the great benefits that the modesty we have
spoken of bestows on such as endeavour to acquire it. For
which reason I cannot think well of the too great liberty of
some persons, who, to avoid being called hypocrites, laugh
and talk, and give themselves over to a great many things,
which deprive them of all these benefits. " For (as St. John
Climachns says) the monk is not to lay aside his fasts, for
fear of vainglory." Grad. 14. So neither is it reasonable,
that a man should want the fruit of this virtue, out of human
respect and consideration ; for we are not any more to lay
aside any virtue out of respect to others, than we are not to
commit one vice for the overcoming of another.
7. This is what belongs, in general, to the composing of
the outward man at all times, and in all places. But because
it is to be observed more exactly at feasts and public enter
tainments, we shall show, in the following section, how this
is to be done. Section II. — Of the Virtue of Temperance.
8. To proceed with what belongs to the government of the
body: that which serves particularly for this end is the
treating of it with rigour and severity, not caressing and
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404 THE sinner's guide.
indulge it, will soon corrupt and swell with the vicious plea
sures it is allowed, whereas mortification and hard usage
keep it steady and even in virtue, just as dead flesh is pre
served by myrrh, which is very bitter to the taste, but swarms
in a little time with worms, if this be not applied to it. It
is, therefore, requisite, upon this consideration, that we
should say something of abstinence, as being one of the chief
virtues upon which the acquisition of all the rest depends,
though it is very hard to be attained, because of our natural
aversion to it. And though what has been said against
gluttony might suffice to discover the value of temperance,
because the understanding of one contrary makes the other
known ; yet, for the better clearing of this point, it will be
proper to speak of it separately, to show the use and practice
of it, and what means are fittest for obtaining it.
9- To begin, therefore, with that modesty and decency
which ought to be observed at table ; we are instructed
upon that matter by the Holy Ghost himself, in the book of
Ecclesiasticus, in these words : " Use, as a frugal man, the
things that are set before thee : lest, if thou eatest much,
thou be heated. Leave off first, for manners sake, and ex
ceed not, lest thou offend. And if thou sittest amongst
many, reach not thy hand out first of all, and be not the first
to ask for drink." Eccl. xxxi. 19, 20, 21. These are
instructions very necessary for man, and worthy of the
sovereign Lord, that observed so perfect an order and union
in making all things, and it is his pleasure we should do so
too. 10. St. Bernard teaches us the same doctrine in these
words: "When we eat (says he), we ought to consider the
manner, the time, the quantity, and the quality. The
manner is, not to fix all our affections upon those things
that are before ns; the time is to be the usual hour of our
repast ; the quality is, to be satisfied with that which others
eat, and not to seek after dainties, unless in case of neces
sity." Epist. ad Fratres de Monte Dei. This is the rule
the saint prescribes in a few words.
11. St. Gregory, in his Morals, speaks much to the same
effect, thus: " It belongs to abstinence not to anticipate the
ordinary time of meals, as Jonathan did when he eat the
honeycomb; it is its duty not to long for such things as are
most palatable and dainty, as the children of Isreal did in
the desert, when they wished for the fleshpots of Egypt; it is

the sinner's guide. 405
for it not to desire that everything should be nicely drest,
to eat like the Sodomites to satiety ; nor too greedily like
Esau, who sold his birthright for a mess of lentils." Lib. 1.
Moral.; 1 Reg. xiv. 27; Sum. xii. 16; 1 Reg. ii.; Gen. xix.
and xxv. Thus far, St. Gregory, comprising much in a few
words, and those backed by proper examples.
12. But Hugh of St. Victor handles this subject more
fully, who, in his book of Monastioal Discipline, teaches us
how to behave ourselves at meals, in these words: "Two
things (says he) require to be moderated and regulated
whilst we are at table ; the one is the meat, and the other
he that eats. For he that eats should neither talk nor
look too much about him, nor be guilty of any indecency in
the comportment of his body; so that he shall bridle his
tongue, and not let it bolt out everything that comes up
wards ; he shall keep his eyes from gazing about upon every
object, and keep all his other members and senses in a due
decorum and recollection. For it is the nature of some
persons, as soon as ever they are set down to table, to disco
ver their intemperance and the unruliness of their appetite, by
the disturbance of their minds, by a perpetual unsettledness
and disorder of all their members, shaking their heads, tossing
their arms, and stretching out their hands, as if nobody else
was to eat anything there but themselves; and thus, by their looks
and gestures, they expose their gluttony and intemperance;
though they are confined to one place, yet their eyes and
hands seem to be everywhere, so that they call for wine, cut
bread, and lay hold of the dishes all at the same time; and,
like a general that designs to besiege a town, they view every
part, and then stand considering where they shall begin first,
because if they could they would set upon all at once." — Hugo
de St. Vincent de Instit. Novic. c. 18 and 19. He that eats
must avoid all these indecencies in his person ; but as to his
meat, he is to observe what and how he eats, as has been
said already.
13. Though a man should always come to table with such
dispositions as these, yet the hungrier he is the more par
ticularly he ought to be prepared, especially when he finds
his appetite raised by the delicacy of what he sees before him ;
for in such a case, the good disposition of the organs of the
taste, and the excellency of the object itself, are stronger
incentives to gluttony. It would be well, then, to consider,
that he is not to give ear to gluttony, which would make him
S 2

406 the sbtner's guide.
believe he is hungry enough to eat the very plates and dishes.
St. John Climachus has an excellent sentence to this end;
" Gluttony (says he) is a mere hypocrisy of the belly, which,
even when it is too full, is craving for more; and when
it is just ready to burst, fancies it shall die for hunger;
but the cheat is soon discovered, for man is satisfied with
much less." Deg. 14. Par. 2.
14. To put a stop, therefore, to this evil, let him reflect upon
the advice of a heathen philosopher as often as he goes to
table, which is, " That we have two guests to provide for, the
body and the soul; each of .them is to have its particular
nourishment ; the body must have what is necessary, and
the soul its proper food, observing modesty and temperance,
which produce virtue, the proper sustenance of the soul."
15. Another good remedy against intemperance is, to
bring the advantages of temperance into the balance with
the short continuance of the pleasure of gluttony, to convince
man how unreasonable it is to forfeit such mighty advan
tages for so beastly and short a pleasure.
16. It is convenient, for the clearer understanding of this,
to consider that of all the senses of the body those of feeling
and tasting are the meanest. Because there is no creature
in the world, how imperfect soever, but has these two
senses, though there are many that want the other three,
seeing, hearing, and smelling. If, therefore, these two
senses are the meanest and the most brutal, it cannot but
follow, that the pleasures and delights which proceed from
them must be the meanest too, because there is no creature
whatever but is capable of enjoying them ; nor are they the
vilest only, but the shortest ; for the pleasure they afford
lasts no longer than whilst their object is materially joined
with them; so the pleasure of tasting is gone as soon as
ever the meat is out of our mouths. If, then, the satisfac
tion we receive is so base and brutish, and so short and fleeting,
how can any man debase himself so much as to be prevailed
upon by so poor a pleasure to neglect so great and so ad
vantageous a virtue as that of temperance? This alone
ought to be sufficient to overcome this appetite, but much
more if we should urge several other things that oblige us
to the same. Let, therefore, the true servant of God put
the baseness and short continuance of this pleasure into the
scale, against the beauty of abstinence, the benefits it pro
duces, the examples of the saints, the toils and labours of

the sinner's guide. 407
the martyrs, who have made their way to heaven through
fire and water ; the remembrance of his past sins, the tor
ments of hell, with those of purgatory, and he will find upon
balance that every one of these things tells him it is neces
sary to take up the cross, to mortify the flesh, to subdue
the sin of gluttony, and to satisfy God for the pleasure he
has taken in sin, by the pains of penance. He that sits
down to table with these dispositions will find how easy it
is to renounce all manner of delicacy and niceness.
17. But if there be occasion for all this caution in eating,
how much more is requisite in drinking of wine; because
there is nothing so prejudicial and so destructive to chastity
as wine is, nor anything this virtue is more afraid of, looking
upon it as its mortal enemy; since the Apostle tells her,
" There is luxury in wine" (Ephes. v. 18), and it is then
particularly most dangerous, when the blood is boiling with
the heat of youth. This it was made St. Jerome say : " That
wine and youth are two incentives to lust." Ad Eustoch.
de Custodia Virginis. Why, then, will we throw oil into the
fire? Why are we so mad as to lay more wood on, when
the flame is too high already ? For wine, being of its own
nature so hot, it sets all the humours and parts of the body
on fire, but especially the heart, which is the place it goes
directly to, and the seat and residence of all the passions,
which are immediately set in a flame, and heightened by it.
So that when a man has once warmed himself with wine, his
joy, his love, his auger, his hatred, are greater than before,
and all his other passions are raised much higher. It is,
therefore, a plain case, that since one of the chief employs
of the moral virtues is, the subduing of the passions, and the
keeping of them down, wine must have a quite contrary
quality, inasmuch as it kindles and inflames what virtue is to
put quite out. Let every man judge by this, how much he
is obliged to moderation in the use of it.
1 8. Besides all this, wine makes a man very lavish of his
tongue ; it is the cause of excessive laughter, of quarrelling,
of cheating, of wranglings, of revealing secrets, and of many
such disorders ; and all this, not only because the passions
are then much stronger, but because reason itself is clouded
and overeast by the fumes and vapours of wine. Add to
this, the occasion a man takes of running into these ex
cesses, by seeing others do the same. Now, these reasons, put
all together, cannot but occasion such extravagancies. It is

408 the sinner's guide.
therefore, a pretty saying of a philosopher: " That the vine
bears three sorts of grapes ; the first for necessity, the next
for delight, and the other for madness." Giving us by this
to understand, that wine, moderately taken, is to supply the
necessities of nature, that the least excess serves more for the
exciting of pleasure, than for the relief of our necessities; but
to drink without any moderation or bounds, is to become
downright mad. Therefore, a man in this condition ought
to suspect every design he has, and every resolution he
makes ; because, generally speaking, it is not his reason, but
wine that puts him upon them; and what a bad counsellor
wine is, everybody knows. Nor is it less convenient, for the
shunning of all these dangers, to avoid too much talk or
disputes at table ; because a contention, that begins peace
ably, very often ends in quarrelling, and a man in his cups
often bolts out something he would afterwards wish he had
let alone. For, as Solomon says : " There is no secret where
drunkenness reigneth." Prov. xxxi. 4.
19. And though any profusion of the tongue is blameable
at th.is time, yet, the worst of all is, when men talk of nothing
but the meats that are before them, when their discourse is
in praise of the wine, the fruit, the fish, and everything else
that is brought to table; or when they are continually finding
fault with what is served up, or talking of the different meats
of such and such a country, aud the excellent fish of such
arid such rivers. All this discourse is a strong argument of
an intemperate mind, and of a man that would be always
eating, not only with his mouth, but with his heart, his mind,
his memory, and his tongue.
20. But above all things, we ought to be careful not to
devour our neighbour's life and conversation, for there is
nothing so dangerous: "Because," as St. Chrysostom writes,
" this is not eating the flesh of beasts, but of men, which
human nature abhors." It is written of St. Augustin, that
being always afraid of this vice, which very few tables are
free from, he bad two verses written in his dining-room,
which were these: —
Quisquis amat dictis absentuni rodere vitam
I lane mensam vetitam noverit esse sibi. — In Vita Aug. c 22.
21. It is also to be observed, that, as St. Jerome says, it
is much better to eat a little every day, than to fast for se
veral days, and then to eat to excess. " Rain (says he) does

the sinner's guide. 409
the earth a great deal of good if it falls gently in its proper
season, butgreat storms and tempests quite spoil it." S. Hier.
Ep. 7. ad Lsec. de Inst. Filise. Consider as often as you eat,
that you do not live to be a slave to your belly, but that you
are soon after either to read, study, or employ yourself about
some good work or other, which yon render yourself wholly
unfit for, when you eat so much that it is a burden to you.
Let temperance, therefore, and necessity, not appetite, or the
craving of an immoderate stomach, prescribe you how much
you should eat ; nor is pleasure to be regarded in this case. Not
that I would advise you here to starve yourself, but not to
do the business of pleasure under the pretence of necessity.
For you have as much need of something to maintain and
nourish your body as any other creature, but, at the same
time, it is to be kept under by mortification, or otherwise it
will turn on you. And, therefore, St. Bernard says, " a man
should mortify his flesh, but not destroy it ; he must not let
it grow proud, but humble it; he must make a slave of it,
and not let it be mistress." Ep. ad Fratres de Monte Dei.
This may suffice to show us what belongs to this virtue.
He that would inform himself better of the advantages of it,
and how beneficial it is in all respects, not only to the soul
but to the body, that is, to health, life, honour and estate,
may read a treatise I have composed on this subject, at the
end of my book of Prayer and Meditation.
Section III. — Of the Government of the Senses.
22. After subduing and regulating the body, our next bu
siness is to reform the senses, over which the true servant of
God must keep a strict hand, but particular!)' over the eyes,
which are, as it were, the gates at which all vanities enter
into our souls, and the windows of perdition, through which
death itself gets in. Those who are much given to prayer
have great reason to set a strict guard on this sense, both
for the security of their chastity, and for the keeping of their
hearts from distraction ; for without such care, the ideas of
things, which enter into our souls by this way, leave so many
different forms and impressions behind them, that they can
neither pray nor meditate without a thousand distractions and
disturbances, nor think of anything but what is just before
them. For this reason, devout persons endeavour always to
keep their eyes so steady, as that they think it not enough
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410 THE SINNER'S GUIDE.
they will not so much as look on any noble piece of build
ing, any rich suit of hangings, or anything of that nature,
that they may keep the imagination more free and pure against
the time of their converse with Almighty God ; because this
is so nice and ticklish an exercise, that not only sins, but
even the representation of the images and figure of things,
that are not at all bad in themselves, are a hindrance to it.
23. You should be no less careful in the sense of hearing
than in that of seeing; because it is the gate at which many
things get admittance into the soul, that disturb and defile it.
Nor should we only shut out bad discourse, but all kinds of
news and relations of what happens in the world, and every
thing that is beside our own business. Because they, „
who do not watch the passage of the ear so narrowly as
not to entertain such things as these, viiH be sensible of
them afterwards, when they should be more recollected, and
thinking of something else. The images of those things,
which they heard others talk of before, are represented to
their imaginations, and work so powerfully on their mind,
that they do not so much as think of God, without a great
deal of interruption.
24. I need not say anything of the sense of smelling; for
to be in love with perfumes and sweet scents, besides it fa
vouring so much of luxury and sensuality, is a reproach to a
man, because it is effeminate vice, and such as few but ill
women delight in.
25. As to taste, more might be said, but it has been
spoken of above, when we treated of temperance.
Section IV. — Of the Government of the Tongue.
26. There is a great deal to be said concerning the tongue;
for the wise man tells us, " That it has the power of life and
death." Prov. xvii. By these words he gives us to under
stand, that all the happiness and misery of a man depends
on the good or bad management of this member. St. James
looks on it as a thing of very great moment, when he said:
That as great ships are governed by a little helm, and head
strong horses kept in with a small bridle, so he that looks
very narrowly to his tongue shall be able to govern and rule
all the actions of this life. James, iii. It is necessary, then,
for the well governing of this part, as often as we speak, to
remember those four things what, how, when, and to what
end we speak.

THE SINNER'S GUIDE. 411
27. First, then, as to what we speak, or the matter of
our discourse, it is requisite we take the advice of the Apos
tle : " Let not evil speech proceed from your mouth, but that
which is good to the edification of faith, that it may ad
minister grace to the hearers." Ephes. iv. 29. And in
another place, explaining more at large what he means by
evil words, he says, " Let not obscenity or foolish talking,
or scurrility, which is to no purpose, be so much as named
among you." Ephes. v. 3, 4. So that as skilful sailors
have all the shelves that may endanger their ships marked
down in their charts to avoid striking on them, so it is his
business that serves God, to observe all kinds of bad words,
that he may, by this means, be out of all danger of using
them. Nor should a man be less careful in keeping of a
secret he is entrusted with ; nay, he is to look on it as a
rock altogether as dangerous as the former, to discover any
business he has been entrusted with.
28. As to how we are to speak, or the manner, we are
to take care not to speak either too bashfully or profusely,
not too hastily, nor too formally, but with gravity, sweet
ness, simplicity, and care. It also belongs to this method of
speaking not to be obstinate and positive; because very
often this disturbs the peace of conscience, destroys charity,
and makes us lose our patience and our friends. It is the
part of a generous and noble spirit, not to suffer itself to be
overcome in such contentions as these, and of prudent men
to follow the counsel of the wise man, who says, "You should
behave yourself in many things as if thou wert ignorant, and
hear in silence, and withal seeking." Eccles. xxxii. 12.
29. Besides observing the manner, we must be careful to
speak in due time, which is the third condition. For, as the
wise man says, " A parable out of a fool's month shall be
unjust, for he doth not speak it in due season." Eccl. xx. 21.
30. In the last place, it is convenient we consider for
what end and what intention it is to speak, because some do
it only to be looked on as wise men, others to be thought
witty and well discoursed ; in the first, it is no better than
hypocrisy and deceit ; in the latter, it is folly and vanity.
We should, therefore, take care not only that what we say
be good, but that the end of our speaking be so too, by
aiming at nothing else in our discourse but God's honour
and the good of our neighbour.
31. Besides, it is proper to observe the company; for

412 THE SINNER'S GUIDE.
young men ought not to talk before their elders, the ignorant
before the learned, laymen before priests and religious per
sons; nor ought anything to be said where it may be taken
ill, or where it may look like presumption. In all these
cases it is convenient and commendable to be silent.
32. He that speaks is to observe all these rules, that he
may not err. And because all persons cannot judge of all
these conditions, the best remedy is to be silent; that so,
attending to what others say, they may comply with all
these duties. It was on this account the wise man said,
" Even a fool, if he holds his peace, shall be counted wise; and,
if he close his lips, a man of understanding." Prov. xvii. 28.
Section V. — Of the Mortification of the Passions.
33. Having thus regulated the body and all its senses,
the next thing we have to do, which is the main business,
is to regulate the soul with all its faculties. The first thing
we are to begin with is the sensitive appetite, which contains
all our natural affections and inclinations, as love, hatred, joy,
sadness, desire, fear, hope, anger, and the like.
34. This appetite is the meanest part of the soul; and,
consequently, that which makes us like the beasts, which are
governed by these appetites and natural propensities: this it
is that debases aud brings us nearer to the earth, and removes
us the further from heaven. It is the very source of all the
evils in the world, and the cause of our ruin: because, as St.
Bernard says, " Do not take away self-will (that is, the de
sire of this appetite), and there will be no such thing as hell."
Serm. 3. de Resur. S. Tho. 2. 2. 9- 77- P. 4.
This is, as it were, the magaziue of sin, whence it is sup
plied with arms aud ammunition to do us hurt. It is another
Eve, that is, the weakest part of our soul, and most inclined
to sin; by whose means the old serpent tempts our Adam,
that is, the superior part, the seat and residence of the un
derstanding and will, to cast an eye on the forbidden tree.
Here we may more plainly discover the force of origiual sin,
for here it has bestowed all the malignity of its poison : here
are the battles, overthrows, victories and crowns; that is,
here are the overthrows of the weak, the victories of the
strong, and the crowus of the conquerors : it is here, in con
clusion, this virtue is trained up and exercised; since the
chief business of the moral virtues is, the taming and govern
ing of these fierce and cruel beasts.

THE sinner's guide. 413
35. This is the vine we are to be always pruning; this
the garden we must be always cultivating, and these the
weeds we are to pluck by the roots, and to plant all sorts of
virtues in place of them.
36. So that, according to this, the main business of the
true servants of God is, to be always in this garden, hoeing
up weeds ; or, to make use of another comparison, to sit like
him that drives a chariot, with the reins of his passion in his
hand, to loose or check them, not according to their own will,
but as reason directs.
37. This is the chief employment of the children of God,
who follow none but the motions of the Holy Ghost, and will
not permit themselves to be led away, by the inclinations and
desires of flesh and blood. It is this distinguishes spiritual
from carnal men ; for whilst these, like beasts, are hurried
away by their passions, those, like true rational creatures,
are led on by the Holy Ghost, and observe the direction of
reason ; this is the mortificatiou and the myrrh, so much
commended in Holy Writ ; this is the death and the grave
the Apostle so often invites us to ; it is the cross and self-
denial the gospel preaches to us: it is the doing of judgment
and justice, so often repeated in the psalms and the prophets.
And, therefore, it is convenient, that all our labours all our
strength, all our prayers, and all our employs, should be par
ticularly directed this way.
38. To this purpose it is requisite that every man be well
acquainted with his own natural bent and inclination, and
keep the strictest guard where he sees the greatest danger.
And though we are always to war against our appetites, yet
are we more particularly to make our efforts against the de
sires of honours, pleasures, and temporal goods, because these
are the three chief fountains and roots of all that is evil.
39. We must also take care not to be conceited, always
desiring to have our will, and please our appetites, a vice
very apt to bring us into much disturbance and trouble, and
very familiar among great persons, and such as have always
been used to have their pleasure observed in all things. The
best way, then, to break ourselves of it will be, by frequently
forming what we find ourselves least inclined to, and denying
our own will, though it should desire nothing but what is
lawful and allowable ; that we may, by this means, the more
easily and more boldly refuse it what it should not have. Such
trials and exercises as these are as necessary for instructing

414 THE sinner's guide.
us in the ready and dexterous use of our spiritual arms, as
well as of the corporal ; nay, they are as much more requisite,
as a victory over ourselves and over the devil is greater than
a victory over everything besides. We should accustom our
selves to mean and low employs, and not trouble our heads
with what the world shall say of us, because all that it can
either give or take from us is very inconsiderable to him that
has God for his treasure and his inheritance.
Section VI  Of the Reformation of the Will.
40. There is nothing helps so much to the acquiring of
this mortification, as the governing and adorning of the su-
periorwill, which isnothingbuttherationalappetite, and which
we are to adorn with these three holy dispositions, humility
of heart, poverty of spirit, and a holy hatred of ourselves.
For these three things make the business.of mortification the
easier. " Humility (as St. Bernard defines it) is the contempt
of a man's self, arising from a true and deep knowledge of
his own failings." St. Bern. Lib. de Grad. Humilit. c. 2.
The main business of this virtue is to cut down all the branches
of pride, with all desires of honour, and to place itself in the
lowest station below all other creatures, believing that any
other who had received from God the same helps to live well
as he has done, would have made better use of them, and
been more thankful. Nor is it sufficient that a man have
this knowledge and contempt within himself, but he must
endeavour exteriorly to treat himself in the most plain and
humble manner that he possibly can, according to his condi
tion, taking no notice of what the world thinks or says to the
contrary. To this purpose it is convenient, that all things
belonging to us have a tincture of poverty and humility, and
that we subject ourselves, not only to our betters and equals,
but even to our inferiors, for the love of God.
41. The second condition required is poverty of spirit,
which is a voluntary contempt of worldly things, and a
satisfaction in the condition God has placed us in, be it ever
so poor. This virtue, at one stroke, cuts down concupis
cence, the root of all evils, and gives a man such a solid
peace and happiness, that Seneca was not afraid to say,
" He that has shut the door on the desire of concupiscence,
may dispute his happiness with Jupiter himself." To sig
nify, that since the happiness of man consists in fulfilling
his heart's desires, he that has once quieted and calmed

the sinner's guide. 415
them, has attained the height of happiness, or, at least, is
very near it.
42. The third condition is, a holy hatred of ourselves;
our Saviour, speaking of that virtue, says, " He that loveth
his life shall lose it, and he that hateth his life in this world,
keepeth it unto life eternal." John, xii. 25. This is not to
be understood of an evil hatred, such as men have when they
are reduced to a very miserable and desperate state, but of
that aversion which the saints had for their own flesh, as
being the cause of many evils, and the occasion of neglect
ing many good things; and for this reason they dealt with
it according to the rules and prescriptions of reason, not
according to its own inclination and desires. Now, reason
frequently commands us to keep it low, to use it very hardly,
and to make it a slave to the spirit, which is to make such
use of it as is most reasonable : otherwise we must expect
that what the wise man says will happen : " He that
nourisheth his servant delicately from his childhood, after
wards shall find him stubborn." Prov. xxix. 21. To pre
vent this he advises us, in another place, to deal with it as
we would do with a wild beast, to keep it always in, to put
fetters on it, and employ it continually, for fear it should
grow idle, and by that means become proud and malicious.
Now, this holy hatred is of singular use as to the business of
mortification; that is, as to the mortifying and retrenching
all our evil desires, though ever so painful and troublesome
to us. For how will it otherwise be possible to cut to the
quick, to fetch blood, and to strike deep, where we have so
much love? For the arm of mortification borrows its
strength, not from the love of God, but from a holy hatred
of man's self; and these give it the heart, not of a tender,
but of a hardy, surgeon, to cut off from the other members
whatever is corrupted and putrefied, and this without any
kind of mercy or pity. Much more might be said of these
three virtues, of humility, poverty of spirit, and a holy self-
hatred, as likewise of the mortifying of those several passions
we have already spoken of in the Spiritual Life ; but having
treated of them elsewhere, especially in the Memorial of a
Life, more at large, we will say no more of them in this
place. Section VII. — Of the Government of the Imagination.
43. Besides these two faculties that belong to the appetite,

416 the sinner's guide.
there are two more that belong to knowledge, the imagina
tion and the understanding, which answer the two former,
that each of these two appetites may have such a suitable
guide and knowledge. The imagination, then, the meanest
of the two, is, of all the faculties of the soul, that which has
been the most weakened by sin, and left the least subject to
reason. This is the cause of its quitting our service, like a
renegade slave, without our leave, and of its rambling all
the world over before we miss it. It is also a faculty that
is apt to busy itself with everything that comes in its way,
like greedy dogs that smell to, and turn over everything they
meet with, snapping and biting at whatever they see, and
will soon return to it again, though you drive them away
with a cudgel. It is, moreover, a faculty that loves its liberty,
and is very unconfined, always running up and down from
mountain to mountain, like a wild beast, and cannot endure
to be fettered or confined, or to be subject to its own master.
44. Besides these ill qualities it has of its own, some
persons make it much worse through their neglect, by their
treating and pampering it like a child, and leaving it entirely
to its own will, without any restraint or contradiction. So
that when they would fix it to the consideration of heavenly
things, it will not obey, because of the bad habit it has got.
We should, therefore, since we are acquainted with the qua
lities of this wild beast, keep it as short as we can; we should,
therefore, tie it up to the manger, that is, restrain it to the
consideration of such things only as are good or necessary,
and enjoin it to perpetual silence, as to everything else; so
that we are to confine it to such thoughts as are good and
holy, and to keep it shut up from all that are not so, as we
have tied up the tongue from all kinds of words, that are
not either good or necessary.
45. To this purpose, it is requisite we use all the care
and caution imaginable, in examining thoroughly whatsoever
presents itself 10 our thoughts, to see whether it is to be
entertained or not; that if it is, we may receive it as a friend;
if not, we are to look on it as an enemy. Those who are
negligent in this point very often admit of such things into
their minds, as not only destroy devotion and the fervour of
charity, but even charity itself, which is the very life of the
soul. 2 Kings, iv. 5, 6. Isboseth had his head cut off by
two thieves, who entered the house whilst the portress, that
winnowed the corn, was asleep at the door of his ante-

the sinner's guide. 417
chamber. Thus it happens with us whensoever we suffer
prudence to fall asleep, whose office it is to separate the chaff
from the corn, that is, the good thoughts from the bad, for
then bad desires come into the soul, which very often takes
its life away.
46. Nor is this diligence good only for the preserving of
this life of the soul, but for the obtaining of silence and
recollection during the time of prayer; because, as the ima
gination, when it rambles and flies abroad, will not permit
us to pray in quiet, so, on the contrary, when it is restrained
and accustomed to good thoughts, it is no hard matter
to make it continue in them, without being uneasy and
troublesome. Section VIII. — Of the Government of the Understanding.
47. After these powers and faculties of the soul, comes
the understanding, the noblest and greatest of them all,
which, besides many other virtues, is to be adorned with
that which excels them all, that is, prudence and discretion.
This virtue is, in the spiritual life, what the eyes are in the
body, the pilot in the vessel, the king in a kingdom, or the
coachman on the box ; for it is his business to have the reins
always in his hands, and to turn the horses which way he
would have them go. The spiritual life is, without this
virtue, quite blind and helpless, and full of nothing but
confusion and disorder. And, therefore, the glorious St.
Anthony, in a conference he had with several other monks, in
which they discoursed on the excellenceof the different virtues,
gave the first place to this, as the mistress of all the rest.
Cassian. 2. Collet, de Descret. c. 2. It belongs then' to all
those who love virtue, to keep this virtue always in perfect
view, that they may by this means make a greater advance
in every other.
48. This virtue is not limited to any one particular duty,
but extends itself to all employs and exercises ; because it is
not a particular, but a general, virtue; that is, engaged in the
exercises and practices of all the other virtues, ordering and
prescribing what is most requisite to be done iu each of them.
We will consider it, therefore, under this general acceptation,
and speak here of some actions that belong to it as such. In
the first place, then, it is the duty of prudence (faith and
charity being pre-supposed) to direct all our actions, so
as that they refer to God, as to their last end. It is by

418 the sinner's guide.
it that we make a nice scrutiny into the intention with
which we perform all our actions, that we may see whe
ther what we aim at be God or ourselves. For it is the
nature of self-love, according to a certain devout author, to be
very subtle, and to seek all things, even in those that are the
most pious and holy. Imit. Chr. lib. 3. c. 39.
49- It is a point of prudence to know how to behave
ourselves towards our neighbours, so as to benefit and not
offend them by our conversation. In order to this, it is
convenient to observe men's humours and dispositions, and
to feel how every one's pulse beats, that we may, accord
ingly, carry ourselves so as may be most to their advantage.
50. Another piece of prudence is, to know how to bear
with other men's failings, and to take no notice of their
weaknesses; it is not good to search too deep into their
wounds. It would be very well to consider, that all human
things are made up of an act and a power, that is, of perfec
tion and imperfection : so that it is, consequently, impossible
not to find many defects and failings in our lives, especially
since the great fall nature has received by sin ; " Wherefore
(as Aristotle says) he is not a wise man, who looks for an
equal certainty and demonstration in all things, because
some will bear an evident proof, and others will not: so it is
not the part of a prudent person to desire that all things
should be so complete and perfect, as to have nothing amiss
in them ; for some things are capable of this perfection, and
others are not. And he that should endeavour by force to
produce the contrary, would perhaps do more mischief, with
the means he would make use of to compass his design,
than he could do good, though he compassed his end."
51. It is prudence for a man to know himself, and to un
derstand all that is within him, that is, all his failings, his
desires, his evil inclinations, and, in fine, his ignorance and
want of virtue. This keeps him from presuming vainly on
himself, and tells him what sort of enemies he is perpetually
to oppose, till he has driven them quite out of the land of
promise, which is his soul ; and it teaches him how solicitous
and careful he is to be in his business.
52. It is prudence to know how to govern our tongues,
according to the rules and circumstances already spoken of,
and to know what we should say, and what we ought to let
alone, and how to time both the one and the other. Because,
according to Solomon, " there is a time to keep silence, and

the sinner's guide. 419
a time to speak." Eccl. iii. 7. And it is certain, that it is
more commendable for a prudent man to be silent than to
talk at table, at public entertainments, and in such like
places. 53. It is prudence, again, not immediately to make con
fidants of all sorts of persons, nor to discover one's self to
eveiybody when well warmed with talking, or to give one's
opinion of things to everybody that asks it; for, as the wise
man says, " He is a fool that opens all his heart, but a wise
man deferreth it till afterwards." Prov. xxix. And he that
trusts himself with one that he should not, shall be always
in danger, and a slave to him he so rashly confides in.
54. It is prudence to know how to prevent danger, to be
forearmed against what may happen, and be provided against
all the accidents by prayer and meditation. This is what the
author of Ecclesiasticus advises, when he says, " Before sick
ness, take a medicine." Eccl. xviii. 20. So that, whensoever
you go to any feast or entertainment, whensoever you have
any concern with quarrelsome and turbulent men, whensoever
you goto such places as may expose you to any danger, you
should always foresee what is most likely to happen, and,
accordingly, prepare yourself against it.
55. Another part of prudence is, to know how to treat
our body with discretion and moderation, so as neither to
pamper and indulge, nor to ruin and destroy it; so as not to
give it what is superfluous, or to deny it what is necessary;
to keep it under correction, but not so as to kill it; and to
manage it so as that it may not fail us through too much
weakness, nor be strong enough to throw us. S. Thom. 2. 2.
q. 168. a. 2.
56. It is also a great part of prudence, to know how to
behave ourselves with moderation in our employments, be
they ever so good and virtuous, so as not to be so intent
upon them, as never to give ourselves breath and respite.
St. Francis, in his Rules, says, " That all things are to serve
the spirit, and that we should not be so busy upon outward
things as to prejudice the inward, nor apply ourselves so
much to the love of our neighbours, as to lose that we owe
to God." For if the apostles themselves, who had the ca
pacity and ability to do all things, disengaged themselves of
lesser things, that they might not fail in those that were of
greater moment, no man should presume so much of himself,
as to be persuaded he can do all things, since we generally

420 the sinner's guide.
see, that he who undertakes too many things at once, scarce
ever succeeds in any of them. Acts, vi.
57. It is no less a part of prudence to discover the designs
of our enemy, and disappoint his stratagems ; not to believe
every spirit, nor be led away by every shadow of good. I
John, iv. 1. Because the devil very often transforms him
self into an angel of light, and is always endeavouring to de
ceive good men under the pretence of virtue. 2 Cor. xi. 14.
And, therefore, there is no danger we should be more afraid
of, than of that which comes under the appearance of good.
It is certain that the devil chooses this way to attack those
that are eagerly bent upon piety.
58. To conclude, it is prudence to know how to fear and
how to attack, when we get the better by giving ground,
and when we lose by pressing forward ; but, above all, to
know how to slight the opinions and judgments of the world,
the cries of the multitude, and the noise of those who al'e
perpetually barking without any reason, reflecting upon
those words: " If I yet pleased men, I should not be the ser
vant of Christ." Gal. i. 10. It is certain, that the greatest
folly a man can be guilty of is to let himself be governed by
such a many-headed beast as the multitude is, who never re
flect upon anything they say or do. It also concerns us not
to give any scandal, to be afraid when there is no reason to
fear, and not to be whistled about by every wind. It is the
part of true prudence to keep a medium between all these
extremes. Section IX. — Of Prudence in our Business.
59- There is no less need of prudence for succeeding in our
undertakings, and for preventing of mistakes, not to be
rectified without many inconveniences, which often makes
us lose our peace of conscience, and put our whole lives into
confusion and disorder. The following instructions will
serve us as remedies against this evil.
60. The first is, that of the wise man, who says, " Let
thy eyes look straight on, and let eyelids go before thy
steps." Prov. iv. 25. Where he advises us not to under
take anything rashly, but to do everything with deliberation
and good advice. Five things are necessary for this pur
pose ; the first is, to recommend our business to God ; the
next is, to consider what we are going about, and to weigh
with discretion, not only the substance of it, but every cir-

the sinner's guide. 421
cnmstance, because the least failing is enough to undo all
again. For though an action should succeed well, and not
have any ill circumstances in it, yet the doing of it out of
season is sufficient to cast a blemish upon it. The third
thing is, to take the advice of others along with us upon
what is to be done, yet so as to consult with but few, and
those choice and prudent persons. For though it is good to
hear the opinions of others, in order to decide the matter,
yet we are to follow but few in the determination of it, for
fear of failing in the execution. The fourth thing, and that
very necessary, is, to take time enough for deliberation, and
to consider, for some days, upon the advice that shall be
given, before we proceed any farther. For as long as con
versation gives us a better experience of persons, so some
days' consideration makes us see further into advice. A
man very often seems to be of a different temper, after a
little acquaintance with him, than we imagine he was at first
sight; and just so it is with advice, which, though at first
sight it seemed to be advantageous, after a little deliberation
proves to be quite otherwise. The fifth is, to be upon yonr
guard against four great enemies to this virtue of prudence,
which are, precipitation, passion, selfishness, and vanity.
For precipitation will not consider what it has to do, passion
is blind, selfishness will not admit of good advice, and vanity,
wheresover it gains admittance, spoils all.
61. It belongs to this virtue to shun all extremes, and
keep a mean for virtue and truth, to fly excess, and to be
confined to just bounds and measures. So that we should
neither approve of nor reject all, we should neither affirm
nor deny everything, we should neither believe nor disbelieve
all, we are not to condemn a great many for the faults of
some few, nor, because some men are holy, must we think
they are all so. We must, in all things, stand to the deci
sion of reason, and not suffer ourselves to be hurried away
to extreme by the force of prejudice and passion.
62. Another rule of prudence is, not to like or dislike
things for" being new or old, because there are several
things of old standing that are very bad, and others again
that are new, and yet very good. For antiquity is not
sufficient to justify what is bad, nor is novelty to cry down
what is good. We ought, in all things, to consider what
they are worth in themselves, and not how long they have
been in use and practice. It is no advantage at all to vice,

422 THE sinner's guide.
that it has been of long continuance, for this makes it the
more incurable, and all that virtue loses by being new is,
that it is not so well known.
63. There is another rule of prudence, which is, not to
be deceived by the appearance and outside of things, so as
immediately to pass sentence upon them ; because, " all is
not gold that glitters ;" nor is that always good which ap
pears as such. We often find gall covered over with honey,
and frequently run our hands amongst nettles, whilst we are
gathering flowers. Remember what Aristotle says: "That
sometimes falsehood appears more like truth than itself."
Lib. de Anima. So vice may happen to look more like virtue
than virtue itself. Above all, you must be thoroughly con
vinced, that as gravity and the weighing of affairs is the
companion of prudence, so easiness and levity are inseparable
from folly. Therefore, you must take care not to be over
easy in these six things, in believing, in granting, in promis
ing, in resolving, in conversing lightly with men, and in
giving any way to anger. There is manifest danger in all
these things, if a man is too easily prevailed upon to do
them. For to be too forward in believing, is lightness of
heart ; to be too easy in promising, is losing a man's liberty;
to grant without considering, is to do what a man may
afterwards repent; to be too hasty in resolving, is to put
one's self in danger of committing an error, as David did in
Miphiboseth's affair (2 Kings, ix.) ; an over-freeness in con
versation brings contempt ; and to give way to anger is a
plain sign of folly, according to that of the wise man: "He
that is patient is guided by much prudence, but an impatient
man discovers his folly." Prov. xiv. 29.
Section X. — Of some Means necessary for the obtaining of this
Virtue.
64. Amongst other means that contribute towards the
acquiring of this virtue, there is scarce any more successful
than the experience of past failings, and of the proper
methods tried by ourselves or others upon the like occasions,
whence many rules of prudence may be taken. Therefore,
it is a common saying, "That the remembrance of what is past
is the mistress and governess of prudence, and that the pre
sent day learns of that which is gone ; because, as Solomon
says, " What is it that hath been? the same thing that shall
be. What is it that hath been done? the same that shall

the sinner's guide. 423
ie done." Eccl. i. 9. So that we may judge of the present
>y the past, and of the past by the present.
^ 65. But that which most advances the obtaining of this
rirtue is a true and profound humility ; as, on the contrary,
he greatest hindrance it has is pride, because it is written,
'¦' Where humility is, there is also wisdom." Prov. xi. 2.
Besides all the Scripture tells us, "That God instructs the
anmble; that he is the master of the little ones, and that he
liscovers his secrets to them." Not that humility should
submit to every one's opinion neither, or suffer itself to be
carried away by every wind ; for then it would be no longer
humility, but an unstableness, and weakness of heart
(1 Pet. v., James, iv.), against which the wise man has ad
vised us, saying, " Be not humble in your own wisdom"
(Eccl. xiii. 11), to signify that a man should be resolute in
maintaining of those truths, which he knows to be grounded
on a just and universal bottom, and that he should not, as
some weak persons are, be disturbed at the sight of a straw,
nor suffer himself to be wrought on by all sorts of opinions.
66. The last thing that is serviceable for the procuring
of this virtue is humble and devout prayer ; because, since
it is one of the chief graces of the Holy Ghost, to enlighten
the soul with knowledge, wisdom, counsel, and understand
ing, with the greater devotion and humility a man shall
make his address to him, and the more he has of the heart
of a scholar and child, the more plainly he shall be instructed,
and obtain the greater fulness of these heavenly graces and
favours. 67. We have enlarged more than ordinarily on this virtue
of prudence, because, being the mistress of all other virtues,
it will be convenient to endeavour that that which guides
the rest should not be blind itself, lest the whole body of
virtues should be deprived of sight. But because all this
serves for the justifying and governing of man in regard to
himself, which is the first duty of justice we laid down above,
it is necessary we should speak now of the second, which
teaches us how we are to hehave ourselves towards our
neighbour.

424 the sinner's guide.
CHAPTER III.
Of Man's Duty towards his Neighbour.
1. The second point of justice is, for a man to behave
himself as he ought to do towards his neighbour, and to
show him the mercy and charity that God has commanded.
None but he that has read the Holy Scriptures can believe
how great a duty this is, and how earnestly recommended
to us : read the Prophets, the Gospels, the sacred Epistles,
and you will admire to see how strictly this is enjoined.
God, in the prophet Isaias, makes a part of justice to depend
on charity, and on using our neighbours well So that when
the Jews made their complaints, saying, " Why have we
fasted, 0 Lord! and thou hast not regarded? have we hum
bled our souls?" His answer to this was: "Behold, on
the day of your fast your own will is found, and you eat of
all your debtors ; behold, you fast for debates and strife,
and to smite with the fist of wickedness. Is not this the
fast I have chosen: to loose the bands of wickedness, to
undo the heavy burden, to let the oppressed go free, and to
break every yoke. To distribute your bread to the hungry,
and to receive strangers' and the poor into your hoHse.
When you see the naked cover him, and hide not yourself
from your own flesh?" Isa. lviii. Then it is that I will
bestow such favours on you which the prophet reckons up
throughout the remaining part of the chapter. See here,
wherein God places a great part of true justice, and how
much is it his desire we should be charitable to our neigh
bours. 2. What shall I say of St. Paul, who recommends no
virtue more earnestly to us, throughout all his epistles, than
this? 1 Cor. xiii. What is there he does not say in com
mendation of charity? How highly does he cry it up?
How particular is he in giving us all its excellencies? How
far does he carry it beyond all other virtues ? He tells us,
" There is no better way to heaven than this." And not
thinking this enough, he assures us in another place, " That
charity is the bond of perfection." Colos. iii. 14. And
elsewhere, " That it is the end of all the commandments:"
and again, " That he who loves his neighbour, has fulfilled
all the law." Could a man say more in praise of any virtue
than the Apostle has done of this? And can any man, after

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this, who desires to know what kind of works are most
acceptable to God, choose but admire and be enamoured
with this virtue ? Can he any longer choose but to refer
and direct all his actions to the acquiring of it?
3. Besides this we have St. John, the beloved disciple's
canonical epistle, wherein he repeats nothing so often, praises
nothing so much, and recommends nothing so earnestly as he
does this virtue. And the history of his life says, " That
as long as be lived, he made it the perpetual subject of his
discourse, as well as the practice of his actions." And being
asked one day, why he repeated the same thing over and
over again, he made answer, " Because this, duly complied
with, was alone sufficient for salvation." St. Hierom. in
cap. 5. Ep. Galat. Section I. — Of the Duties of Charity.
4. He, therefore, that sincerely desires to serve God per
fectly, ought to understand, that one of the things which
contribute most to this end is the observance of this precept
of love. Yet so that this love is not to be dry and barren,
but have all those effects which proceed from a true love,
for otherwise it will not deserve so much as the name of
love; if we will believe the same evangelist when he says,
" If any man is rich in this world, and should see his brother
in want, and should shut up his bowels against him, how
does the love of God dwell in him? My little children, let
us not love in words and in expressions only, but in deed
and in truth." 1 John, iii. 17- According to this, besides
many other things, there are six particularly comprised under
this name of love, to wit, to love, to advise, to assist, to bear
with, to pardon, and to edify. There is so great a connexion
between these words and charity, that the more or the less
that a man has of those, he has the more or the less of this.
For some say they love, but then this love goes no farther;
others love their neighbours, and give them good advice
and instruction, but will not put their hands into their
pockets to relieve their necessities ; some will do all these
three, yet have not patience enough to suffer an affront or
injury, or to bear with the infirmities of others, not follow
ing the advice of the Apostle, who says, " Take one another's
burdens upon you, and by this means you will fulfil the
law of Christ." Gal. vi. 2. Some persons will make no
difficulty of putting up with an affront patiently, but cannot

426 the sinner's guide.
pardon it freely; and though they have no malice in* their
hearts, yet they cannot give their neighbour so much as a
good look. These, it is true, comply with the first con
dition, but, at the same time, neglect the second, and so
are far enough from perfect charity. There are others, in
fine, that will perform every one of these duties, who yet
cannot edify their neighbours, either by their words or actions ;
and yet this is one of the principal duties of charity. Let
every man, then, examine himself on this, that he may see
how short he comes of the perfection of this virtue, or how
near he reaches to it. For we may say, that he who loves
is in the first degree of charity ; he that loves and advises,
in the second ; he that assists, in the third ; he that can
bear an injury, in the fourth; he that can forgive it, in
the fifth ; and he that, besides all this, edifies his neigh
bour by his good life and conversation, which is the duty
of perfect and apostolic man, is to come to the perfection
of it. 5. These are the positive, or the affirmative acts that are
included in charity; by which we see what we are to do for
our neighbour. There are yet, besides these, others that are
negative, which show us what we should not do ; such, for
example, as not judging anybody, not detracting, not meddling
with another man's goods, his honour, and his wife; giving
nobody scandal, either by abusive or bad words, or by an
uncivil and impertinent behaviour; but most of all, by bad
advice or example. Let a man be careful in avoiding these
things, and he will fulfil the duty of this divine command.
6. If, for the more easy remembering of all this, you
would have me give it to you in short, endeavour to carry
yourself towards your neighbour with the tenderness of a
mother, and you will not fail of complying perfectly with all
I have said above. Consider how a kind and careful mother
loves her child, how she advises him against dangers, how
she assists him in his necessities, how she deals with him in
his failings, sometimes putting up with them with patience,
other times correcting him for them with justice, and as
occasion requires, passing them over, and winking at them
with prudence: for charity, the queen and mother of all the
virtues, makes use of these. Consider how glad she is in
his prosperity, and how concerned for his adversity, how she
looks on his misfortune as her own, how zealous she is for
his honour and interest, with what devotion she prays for

the sinner's guide. 427
him to Almighty God, and, in conclusion, how much more
careful she is of him than of herself, and how hard she is to
herself, that she may be the more tender and kind to him.
If your love of your neighbour is such as this, you are
arrived already to the height of this virtue: but, putting the
case, that you cannot attain this pitch, you must at least aim
at it in desire, and refer all the acfions of your life to it ; for it
is certain that the higher you endeavour to climb, the farther
you will be from being low.
7. But, perhaps, you would ask me, how can I have such
an affection for a stranger? I answer, that you are not to
look upon any man as such, but to esteem him as an image
of God, as the work of his hands, as his child, and as a
living member of Jesus Christ; since St. Paul so often tells
us, " That we are all of us members of Christ Jesus ; and that
to sin against our neighbour is, consequently, the same as to
sin against Christ, and to do good to the one is to do good
to the other." 1 Cor. xii. 28; Ephes. v. 20. So that you
should not consider your neighbour as a man in general, or as
such a man, but as Christ himself, or as a living member of
him ; and though he is not such as to the body, that matters
not, since he is so as to the participation of the spirit, and
the greatness of the reward ; our Saviour himself assuring
us, that he will requite this favour as if it had been done to
him. 8. Consider also what we said above in commendation
of this virtue, and how much Jesus Christ himself recom
mends it to us ; so that if you have any true desire of pleas
ing God, you may omit no care nor pains requisite for the
procuring of a thing that is so acceptable to him. Consider
also what a love relations have for one another, upon no
Other account but the communication of a little flesh and
blood; and blush that grace should not have as much power
over you as nature, or the spiritual alliance as the carnal.
If you should say, that this is an union and participation
from the same root and the same blood, which is common to
both parties, consider how much more noble those alliances
are, which the Apostle has put between the faithful; since
they have all one father and one mother, one Lord, one bap
tism, one faith, one hope, one nourishment, and one spirit
that enlivens them: they have all one father, which is God ;
one mother, which is the Church; one Lord, which is_ Jesus
Christ; one faith, which is a supernatural light, of which we

428 THE sinner's guide.
all partake, and which distinguishes us from the rest of man
kind ; one hope, which is the same inheritance of glory, in
which we shall all have but one heart and but one soul : one
baptism, by which we have been all adopted for the children
of one and the same father, and, consequently, made brothers
to one another ; one nourishment, which is the most adorable
sacrament of the body of Christ, by which we are all united
to, and made one and the same thing with, him ; just as of
several grains of corn is made a loaf, and the same wine of
a great many bunches of grapes. And, besides all this, we
partake of the same spirit, which is the Holy Ghost, who
resides in all the souls of the faithful, either by faith alone,
or by grace and faith joined together, enlivening them and
supporting them in this life. Now, if the members of one
body, notwithstanding the difference of their employments
and of their forms, have such a love for one another, because
the same rational soul animates them all, how more consonant
to reason must it be, to have the faithful to do the same, as
being all animated by this Divine Spirit, who, the more noble
he is, the greater power must he have to unite those things
in which he himself remains ? If, then, the bare union of
flesh and blood be enough to make relations love one another
so entirely, how much more force ought so many and such
straight unions and alliances have over us!
9- But, above all, cast your eyes upon the singular and
unparalleled love Jesus Christ had for us ; he loved us so
passionately, so tenderly, so constantly, so far from any
interest of his own, or any desert of ours, that encouraged by
so great an example, and obliged by such a favour, you
should dispose yourself to love your neighbour as much as
you possibly can, after the same manner, that so you might
faithfully comply with the precept, which he himself, upon
his leaving the world, gave you, with such a particular
caution about the observing of it. His words are, " A new
commandment I give unto you, that you love one another as
I have loved you." John, xiii. 34. He that would, besides
what has been said, know how great a virtue that of alms-
deeds, and of compassion for his neighbour, is, and how ex
cellent and meritorious, may read a Treatise of mine upon
this subject, at the end of my Book of Prayer and Me
ditation.

the sinner's guide. 429
CHAPTER IV.
Of Man's Duty to God.
1 . Having spoken of our obligations to our neighbours
and ourselves, it is convenient we should speak now of what
we owe to God ; it is the principal and most noble part of
justice, and that to which the three theological virtues, Faith,
Hope, and Charity, tend, which have God for their object,
and hither looks that virtue, which the divines call religion,
whose object is the worship of God.
2. The way, therefore, to perform all the duties belonging
to every one of these virtues, is to have such a heart for
Almighty God as a dutiful child has for his father ; so that
as he that hehaves himself like a judge to himself, discharges
the obligations that are due to himself, and as he that looks
upon his> neighbour with the tender heart of a mother,
acquits himself of all that he owes to him ; so he that comes
to God, with the heart of a son, will perform all his duties
to him ; since one of the main duties of the spirit of Christ is,
to give our heart thus entirely to God.
3. Consider then with yourself what kind of a heart it is,
that a son has for his father, what love he bears him, with
what fear and reverence, with what obedience he serves him,
with what zeal for his honour, and with how much disinterest
edness; with what confidence he runs to him in all his neces
sities, with what humility he receives his corrections, how
submissively he bears his reprimands, and how willingly he
embraces all that comes from him. Do but give God such
a heart as this is, and you will perfectly discharge the part
of justice.
4. But to the making of such a heart, there are, in my
opinion, nine virtues necessarily required, which are love,
fear, and reverence, confidence, zeal for God's honour, purity
of intention in the services you do him, prayer and recourse
to him in all your necessities, gratitude for his favours, an
entire submission and conformity to his will, humility and
patience in all the afflictions and mortifications he shall send
you. Section I. — 5. To begin then in order, the first and
principal thing we are to do is to love God as he himself
commends we should ; that is, " with all our heart, with all
t 2

430 the sinner's guide.
our soul, and with all our strength." Deut. vi. 5. So that
there is nothing in man but what must in its way love and
serve this Lord of all things. The understanding, by think
ing of him ; the wilLhy loving him; the passions, by always
tending to what concerns the love of him ; the force of all
our members and senses, by employing themselves in per
forming whatsoever this divine love shall prescribe. But,
because we have treated of this matter expressly in the
Memorial of a Christian Life, I refer the reader thither,
to inform himself more fully in this point.
6. What we are to desire next, after this holy love, is
fear, which is nothing but an effect of this love: because the
greater love we bear another, the more we are afraid, not
only of losing but of offending him, as we see a dutiful son
does with his father, and a loving wife with her husband:
for the more she loves him the more careful she is that nothing
be done to give him the least offence. By this fear inno
cence is secured, and, therefore, it concerns us very much to
imprint it deeply in our souls. This is what David begged
so earnestly, when he said, " Pierce thou my flesh, 0 Lord,
with thy fear, for I am afraid of thy judgments." Ps. cxviii.
120. So that, according to this, the holy king did not think
it enough to have the fear of God engraven in his soul ; he
desired it should be stuck into his very flesh aud bowels, that
the lively sense he had of it might be like a nail driven into
his heart, to put him continually in mind of not failing in
anything that might be grateful to him, whom he had such
a dread of. For this reason it is justly said, " The fear of
the Lord driveth out sin." Eccl. i. 27. Because it is conso
nant both to nature and reason, when a man fears another
much, to be very much afraid of whatsoever may displease
him. 7. From this fear arises another, which is to be afraid not
only of bad actions, but even of good ones, if they happen not
to be so pure, or attended with such good circumstances as in
reason they ought: by which means, those actions, which are
good in themselves, become nought through our faults. And,
on this account, St. Gregory said, " That a good soul would
fear, where there is no fault at all." Holy Job shows he
was possessed with this fear when he said, " I feared all my
works, knowing that thou didst not spare the offender." Job,
ix. 28. Another effect of this fear is, to be afraid when
soever we are assisting at the divine office in the church

the sinner's guide. 431
(above all, if the blessed sacrament is there), to talk or walk
up and down, or to stare and gaze about as many do. We
are to behave ourselves there with an awful and reverential
regard to the Supreme Majesty before whom we stand; and
which is in a more particular manner present in that place.
These, and many more, are the ordinary effects of this holy
fear. 8. Should you ask me how this holy fear is formed in our
souls ?_ I answer that the love of God is the chief root from
which it springs. Next to which servile fear is necessary in
some manner for the acquiring of this other; for it is the be
ginning of a filial fear, and brings it into the soul, as the
needle does the silk into the stuff we are sewing. Another
thing besides this, that goes a great way towards the procur
ing and increasing of this fear, is the consideration of these
four things: — the greatness of God's majesty, the depth of
his judgments, the rigour of his justice, and the multitude of
our sins; to which we may add, the resistance we make
against the divine inspirations. It will, therefore, become us
to employ our minds upon the consideration of these four
things, because they assist us so much for obtaining and
cherishing of this holy effect in our souls, whereof we have
spoken more copiously in the former Book.
Section II. — 9. The third virtue necessary for this end is
confidence ; that is to say, as a child that has a wealthy and
able father assures himself that his father will not fail to as
sist him and provide for him, if he should ever be reduced to
necessity, or fall into any misfortune, so man must, in this re
spect, have the heart of a child towards God ; and consider
ing he has him for his father, who has the power both of
heaven and earth in his hands, he must put such trust in him,
that whatsoever tribulations shall befall him, his Heavenly
Father will, out of his mercy, deliver him from them, if he
does but either address himself to him with an humble con
fidence, or at least will turn them to his greater advantage and
interest. For if a son have such confidence in his father, as
to build all his security and quiet on him, with how much
better assurance should man rely on him, who is more a
father than all the fathers in the world, and richer than all
mankind together ? And if you say that your having done
no service, your want of merit, and the multitude of your
sins, discourage aud deject you, your remedy in this case is,

432 the sinner's guide.
to consider not your own failings and unworthiness, but God
himself and his eternal Son, our only Saviour and Mediator,
that you may be strengthened again by him. So that when
any one, in crossing a rapid river, grows giddy with the
violence of the stream, we call out to him, and bid him not
to look down on the water, that is in such perpetual motion,
but lift up his eyes towards heaven, and so he will pass over
with safety; we are, after the same manner, to advise those
that are weak in this respect, not to reflect on themselves
during that time, nor on their past sins. But then you will
ask me, from whom you are to expect this strength and con
fidence? First, then, my answer is, that you must consider
the infinite goodness and mercy of God, who alone gives a
remedy to all the miseries in the world, and reflect on the
truth of his word, by which he has promised his favour and
assistance to all those who shall call on his holy name with
humility, and put themselves under his protection. Consider,
also, the innumerable benefits you have received from his cha
ritable hand, and learn from his mercy, which you have had
such proofs of, to rely on the same for the future. But above
all things, consider Jesus Christ, with all his labours and
merits, which are the chief rights and titles we have for the
begging any favour from God : because we are sure, on the
one side, that there are no merits which exceed, or even come
up to, his ; and that, on the other side, they are the treasures
of the Church, given for the relief and supply of all her ne
cessities. These are the chief encouragements and supports
of our confidence : and it was by these, that the saints re
mained as strong and as immoveable, in what they hoped for,
as the mountain of Sion." Ps. cxxiv. 1.
10. But it is much to be lamented, that having such mo
tives to confide in, we should be so weak in this particular
as to be out of heart as soon as we see the danger, even to
run to Egypt for help, under the shelter of Pharaoh's chariot.
So that you will find many persons that serve God, who fast
and pray much, aud give considerable alms, and are endowed
with several other virtues ; yet, there are but very few who
have the confidence of the holy Susanna (Dan. xiii. 42),
who, after they had condemned her to death, and as they
were leading her to the place of execution, contiuued still, as
the Scripture observes, to put all her confidence in the Lord.
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the sinner's guide.. 433
particularly the Psalms and the Prophets, for there is scarce
anything so often repeated in them as a confidence in God,
and the certainty of his assisting those that hope in him.
_ Section III — 1 1. Zeal for God's honour is the fourth
virtue, that is, our main business should be to look to the
promoting and advancing of God's honour, to the glorifying
of his holy name, and to see that his will be performed
both in heaven and on earth. And nothing should concern
or touch us more to the life than to behold men not only
neglect his will, but act contrary to it. The saints had all
of them this zeal, and it was in all their names that these
words were spoken : " The zeal of thy house, 0 Lord, has
eaten me up." Ps. lxviii. 10. Because they were so troubled
on this account, that the grief of their souls weakened their
bodies, corrupted their blood, and showed itself in all the
outward man. If we had but the same zeal they had, we
should immediately have the glorious mark which Ezechiel
speaks of, the stamp on our foreheads, by the means of which
we should be free from all the corrections and scourges of the
divine justice. Ezech. ix. 4.
12. The fifth virtue is purity of intention; its office is to
make us not seek ourselves, nor our own interest only, in
whatsoever we do, but God's glory, and the observance of
his pleasure, assuring ourselves that the less we endeavour
to promote our own interest with God, the greater advan
tages we shall reap, and so on the contrary. This is one of
those things we are carefully to examine into in the per
formance of all actions, and it is what becomes us to have a
zealous concern for; we must be very cautious lest our eyes
should fix upon anything but God, because self-love is, of its
own nature, very subtle, and seeks itself and its own ease in
all its actions. There are several persons very rich in good
works, and yet when they come to be weighed in the scale
of God's justice, will find themselves very light for want of
this purity of intention, which is the eye the Gospel speaks
of, and which, if it is light itself, makes the whole body so,
or darkens it all over if it be dark. Matt. vi. 22, 23.
13. There are many, not only laymen, but even ecclesi
astics, who, when they are promoted to any considerable
dignities, and observe how virtue is always taken notice of,
and honoured in such kind of employs, use their utmost
endeavours to make us become virtuous, and to live like
pious and good men, clearing themselves from all kind of

434 the sinner's guide.
defilement, and from everything that may cast the least
stain upon their honour. But their end of doing all this is
only to keep up the reputation they have got, to continue in
favour, that so they may be taken notice of for the exact
discharge of their employs, and be promoted to greater: so
that these actions do not proceed from a lively senti
ment of the love or fear of God; nor is his glory, and the
obedience that is due to him, the end of them ; all they regard
is their own honour and interest. He, therefore, that acts
after this manner, though he appear something in th6 eyes
of the world, is nothing better in the sight of God than the
very smoke and shadow of justice: moral virtues are nothing
before God, as considered in themselves, nor all the corporal
macerations and austerities man can possibly use, not though
he should sacrifice his own children; all that God values is
the spirit of love sent down from heaven, and whatsoever
springs from this root. There was nothing in the temple
but was either- gold or gilt. So it is just there should be
nothing in the living temples of our souls that is not either
charity, or gilt with it. Wherefore, it concerns him that
serves God, to cast his eyes on what he designs to do, and
not upon what he does ; because the meanest actions become
noble, when the intention is so with which they are done, as
the greatest, on the contrary, degenerate into mean ones,
when they have something that is mean for their object.
Because God does not regard the action itself, so much as
the intention of doing it; and this proceeds from love.
14. This is, in some degree, to imitate that most noble
and most generous love, which the Son of God has shown
us, who desires us in the Gospel, " to love him as he loved
us" (John, xiii.), that is, freely and sincerely, and without
mixture of interest. As amongst the several circumstances
of this divine charity, this is the most to be admired in the
Son of God, happy will that man be, who makes it his
business in all his actions to imitate him. And whosoever
shall do so, may assure himself that he is very acceptable to
God, as one that represents him in the height of virtue and
in purity of intention; for resemblance is generally the cause
of love. Man ought, therefore, when he is doing any good,
to turn away his eyes from all kind of human considerations,
and fix them upon God. Let him never consent that an
action, which has God for its reward, should serve for a
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the sinner's guide. 435
noble and beautiful young princess, fit to match with a king,
given away to a man of very mean extraction ; so it is a
much greater subject of tears to see virtue, which is worthy
of God himself, employed in acquiring of worldly goods.
15. But because it is no easy matter to obtain this purity
of intention, it concerns a man very much to beg it of God
earnestly in all his prayers, and particularly in that petition
of the Lord's Prayer, " Thy will be done as it is in heaven."
So that as the whole exercise of the heavenly choirs is the
performing of God's will with a most pure intention only to
please him, so should the inhabitant of the earth, as long as
he lives here, imitate this custom of heaven as far as he pos
sibly can; not that it is not good and just to aspire to the
enjoyment of his kingdom, next to pleasing God, but because
the less self-interest appears in any of our actions, the more
perfect it will be.
Section IV. — 16. The sixth virtue is prayer: by means
whereof, like children, we are to have recourse to our father
when anything troubles or afflicts us, that through it we
may continually remember our Heavenly Father, walk in his
presence, and often discourse with him; because this is the
practice and duty of good children towards their fathers.
But having handled this virtue at large elsewhere, we will
say no more of it here.
17. The seventh virtue is thanksgiving; whose post is to
excite us to gratitude for all God's favours, and to employ
our tongues in perpetual acknowledgments of them. It is
this virtue that makes us cry out with the Royal Prophet,
"I will bless the Lord at all times; his praise shall be
always in my mouth." Ps. xxxiii. 1. And in another
place, " Let my mouth, 0 Lord, be filled with praise, that I
may sing thy glory, thy greatness, all the day long." Ps.
lxx. 8. For if God is always giving us our life, if he is
always preserving us in the being he has given us, and con
tinually pouring down his benefits on us, by the motions of
the heavens, and by the services we perpetually receive
from all creatures, what can we do less than be always
praising him, who is always preserving, maintaining, and de
fending us, and bestowing on us a thousand other graces
and favours ? Let us, then, make this our first and chief
exercise ; and in order to it, let us, as St. Basil advises us,
begin all prayers with this ; let us, morning, noon, and
night, nay, every hour of the day, never cease to thank God

436 the sinner's guide.
for all his mercies and benefits, as well general as particular ;
for those of grace, as well as for those of nature; but above
all, for that benefit of benefits, for that grace of graces, his
becoming man for us, his shedding his blood for our salva
tion, and for his being pleased to let us always enjoy his
company, by means of the most adorable sacrament of the
altar. Let us, amongst so many benefits, reflect particularly
on this last circumstance, that he who has humbled himself
so low for us is the Lord of all creatures, and that all he
has done for us has been the pure effect of his love and
mercy, without the least tincture of advantage or self-inte
rest. Much more might be said on this subject, but having
spoken of it in another place, where we treat of the divine
benefits, this shall suffice at present.
Section V. — Of the Four Degrees of Obedience.
18. The eighth virtue, that recommends us to this Hea
venly Father, is an entire obedience to everything in general,
that he shall command us; and in this consists the perfection
of all justice. There are in this virtue three degrees: the
first is, to obey God's commandments ; the second, to follow
his counsel; and the third, to hearken to his inspirations
and calls. The observance of the commandments is neces
sary to salvation, the following of his counsel helps us much
in the keeping of the commandments, without which we fre
quently fall into danger: for it is a great remedy to prevent
being forsworn, not to swear even to the truth ; to prevent
losing peace and charity, not to contend ; to be safe against
coveting our neighbours' goods, not to possess anything of
our own ; and to be sure not to endeavour to do harm to
those that hate us, to do them all the good we can. So
that the following of the counsels is instead of an outwork
to the precepts; and, therefore, he that would arrive at the
end is not to think it enough to keep the one, unless he
labours to the utmost of his ability, and as much as his state
and condition will permit, to observe the others. For as a
man that is to get over a rapid river will not venture to
cross directly over, but will go up higher to take the tide
along with him, that so he may do it with more security, so
he that serves God should not content himself with the
observing of no more than what is just enough to save him ;
he must take the thing a little higher, that in case he should
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the better, he may, at least, arrive at that indispensably re
quisite to salvation ; I mean that which is sufficient.
19- The third degree, we said, was a submission to the
divine inspirations ; for faithful servants not only obey what
their masters command them by word of mouth, but observe
the least sign they give of their pleasure. But because a
man may be deceived in this point, by taking that for an
inspiration from God, which comes only from man, or per
haps from the devil, we must take St. John's advice along
with us here for our better security: "Believe not every
spirit, but try the spirits if they be of God." 1 John, iv. 1.
And, therefore, besides what you meet with in the holy
Scriptures and the writings of the saints, which are the
standards we must bring these things to, you must follow
this general rule: — That since there are two ways of serving
God, the one of our own choice, the other of obligation,
whensoever they both happen to meet together, be sure let
that which is of obligation take place of the other, though it
be ever so great and meritorious. And thus it is we are to
understand that most excellent saying of Samuel, " Obe
dience is better than sacrifices" (1 Kings, xv. 22), because
God would have men observe his word first, and afterwards
do him all the other services they can, still with the respect
to the obedience they owe to him.
20. By necessary services we mean, first, the keeping of
God's commandments, without which there is no salvation.
Next, the observing of such persons' orders as are placed
over you; because he that resists them, resists God's dis
posal of things. Rom. xiii. In the third place, the observ
ance of all those things that are annexed to each man's
State and condition, as the obligations of a superior in his
situation, of a religious, or a married man in theirs. Then
the observance of such things, as though they are not ne
cessary in themselves, yet contribute very much to the ob
servance of those that are so, because the necessity of the
one makes the others in some manner necessary. As for
example, you have found for a long while, that when you
take some time every day to retire a little, and enter into
yourself to examine your conscience, and to treat with God
about proper means for the remedying of what you find
amiss there, you lead a more regular and orderly life, that
you have a more absolute command over yourself and your
passions, and are much more easily inclined to the embracing

438 the sinner's guide.
of all kinds of virtue; you see, on the other side, that as
soon as ever you neglect this holy exercise, you run imme
diately into a great many failings, and fiud yourself in danger
of contracting your former vicious habits again ; this comes
from the want of a sufficient stock of grace, and of being
not grounded thoroughly in virtue ; and for this reason, as a
poor man that has earned nothing all day has nothing to eat
at night, so you, as often as you want the assistance of this
devotion, grow hungry, and weak, and much more apt to
commit lesser faults, which leads you, by degrees, into
greater. In this case you must suppose, that God calls you
to this exercise, since you find, by experience, that it is the
means by which he generally assists you, and that without
it you always fall back again into your former courses.
What I say here is not to make you believe that this pre
cept is of indispensable necessity, but only to show you how
necessary and convenient a means this is, for your better
complying with the obligations of your state. Besides, if
you are nice and tender, if you are too much a friend to
yourself, and cannot endure anything that is hard and labo
rious, and yet perceive that this lo.*« of your own ease is a
hindrance to your spiritual progress, inasmuch as it is the
cause of your omitting many good works, because of the
labour that is in them, and of your committing many bad
ones, because they seem pleasant and easy ; it is plain, in
such a case, that God would have you use all your force and
strength, and accustom yourself to such exercises as are
most difficult and painful, to the macerating of your body,
and the mortifying of all your senses and appetites ; because
your own experience teaches you of what concern and con
sequence this affair is. You may inquire, after the same
manner, into all those other works, in the practice whereof
you find most benefit, and receive the greatest prejudice by
omitting them, and you will understand by this means, which
of them God requires you should do ; but with submission
yet in this, and all other matters, to the advice and direction
of those that are set over you.
21. You may see by what has been said, that a man is
not always to take hold of that which is best in itself, but of
that which is best and most necessary for him. For there
are many things most noble and perfect which may not be the
best for me, though they are the best in themselves, because
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the sinner's guide. 439
them. It, therefore, concerns every one to do just what he
finds himself called to, to measure himself by his own
strength and abilities, and to make that which is most proper
for him the object of his choice, without aiming at those
things which are out of his reach ; it is the advice of the wise
man when he says, " Lift not up thy eyes to riches, which
thou canst not have, because they shall make themselves
wings like those of an eagle, and shall fly towards heaven."
Prov. xxxiii. 5. And as for those who follow not this coun
sel, the prophet. reproves them very severely, saying, "You
have aspired to that which is greatest, and it has proved the
least; you have sown a great deal, and it has brought you
but little." Agg.
22. This is the rule you are to follow between services of
choice and those of obligation, but as to those that are only
of choice, you may observe the following method: — Among
these services some are public and other private: honour, in
terests, and pleasure are the effects of the one, but not of the
other. Your best way, therefore, not to err in this point,
is to stand more upon your guard in those which are public,
than in those which are not, and to be more suspicious the
more interest and profit there is in the case. Because self-
love is naturally very subtle and always seeking itself, even
in exercises of the utmost piety and devotion. This it was
gave a holy man frequent occasion to say, " Do. you know
where God is ? He is where you are not." Giving us hereby
to understand, that the less advantage and self-interest there
was to be expected, the action was so much the more pure
and divine, because a man then proposes nothing to himself
but the search of God. What I say here is not to oblige
any man to stick so close to this rule, as never to act contrary
to it, for, after all, it may and often does happen, that the
other extreme may be much more meritorious than this, and
a man's obligations may weigh down all that I have said;
my only design is to advise persons against the deceit and
malice of self-love, and not to give any credit to it, let it
look ever so much like virtue.
23. Perfect obedience includes in it these three degrees,
which are in all appearance the same the Apostle meant,
when he said, " Be not imprudent, my brethren, but wise,
that you may know what is the will of God, good, 'accept
able, and perfect. Ephes. v. 17 ; Rom. xii. 2. The Apostle
seems in this sentence to have comprehended these three

440 the sinner's guide.
degrees of obedience ; because the observing of the precept is
good, the following of the counsels is acceptable, and the
hearkening to the divine calls and inspirations is perfect. So
that a man may be truly said to be come to the very perfection
of obedience, when he has performed whatsoever God has
commanded him, whatsoever he has advised, or whatsoever
he has inspired him to.
24. Besides these three degrees, there is a fourth, which
is, a most perfect conformity to the will of God, in all he
shall command us: by being equally disposed to receive
honour or dishonour, a good reputation or a bad, health or
sickness, life or death ; by submitting ourselves with humility
to all his decrees and orders, by preparing ourselves with an
equal affection for chastisements and stripes, or for smiles
and caresses, for favour or disgrace ; not looking on that
which is given us, but on him that gives it, and on the love
with which he gives it. For a father has no less tenderness
and affection for his child, when he corrects and punishes
him, than when he makes much of, and caresses him.
25. He that has obtained these four degrees of obedience
has acquired that resignation so much recommended by
spiritual guides, and by which a man puts himself so entirely
into the hands of God, that he becomes as pliant as a piece
of wax iu the hands of an artist. This virtue is called
resignation ; because, as a clergyman that resigns up a bene
fice lays down, and delivers it entirely into the hands of his
bishop, for him to dispose of it as he pleases, without any
control or contradiction ; so a perfect man delivers himself
up into the hands of God, that he may be his own master no
longer, nor live for himself; that he may neither eat, sleep, nor
work for himself, but for the honour and glory of his Creator,
by conforming in all things to his most holy pleasure and
disposal, and by receiving from his hands, with the same
heart of love, all the difficulties and contradictious he shall
meet with ; by denying and renouncing himself and his own
will for the doing of God's with all exactness, whose slave
he acknowledges himself on a thousand accounts. David
has given us an example in himself of this resignation, when
he said, " I am become like a beast before thee, and am
always with thee." Ps. Because, as a beast neither goes
where it pleases, nor rests where it pleases, nor does what it
pleases, but obeys its keeper in all things, so he that serves
God is to submit himself in all things to him. The prophet

the sinner's guide. 441
Isaias has taught the same lesson in these words: " The Lord
hath opened my ear, and I do not resist. I have not gone
back," by refusing what he has commanded me to do, though
it was ever so hard and painful. Ezekiel has instructed us
in the same, by the figure of those mysterious animals of
which he writes. That which way soever they perceived the
impulse of the spirit, that way they went, nor did they turn
back as they walked. The prophet, by this, shows us with
what readiness and joy a man should do whatsoever be shall
understand to be the will of God. But for the doing of this
there is required, besides a ready will, a discreet understand
ing and spirit, to prevent our being deceived, and mistaking
our own will for God's, and, therefore, for the most part we
ought to suspect everything that is according to our inclina
tion, and look on that as most secure that is most opposite
to it.26. This is the greatest sacrifice man can offer up to God,
because in all other sacrifices he can offer up nothing but his
goods, whereas, in this he offers up himself ; so that this
sacrifice is as much above all others, as man is above the
goods he possesses. Here that saying of St. Augustine is
verified : " That though God is the Lord of all things, yet it
is not for every one to use these words of David, ' 0 Lord,
for I am thy servant ' (Ps. ex v. 16), but for those only, who
having quitted the possession of themselves, have given
themselves wholly up to the service of this Lord, and are by
this means become his." St. Aug. in Ps. 1 18. This is the best
disposition a man can be in, for the obtaining the perfection
of a Christian life ; because God, out of his infinite goodness,
being always ready to enrich and improve man, when he
does not, on his side, resist or put a stop to God's designs,
but, on the contrary, readily and entirely obeys him, he may
easily work him up to what he thinks fit, and make him, like
another David, a man after his own heart. 1 Kings, xiii. 14.
Section VI. — Of Patience in Affliction.
27. The last virtue we proposed at the beginning of this
chapter, as very necessary for acquiring of this last degree
of perfection, is patience in those afflictions which our tender
father often sends us, both as a trial, and for matter of
merit. This it is that Solomon invites us to in his Proverbs,
by these words: " My son, reject not the correction of the
Lord, and do not faitit when thou art chastised by him. For

442 the sinner's guide.
whom the Lord loveth he chastiseth, and as a father in the
son he pleaseth himself." Prov. iii. 11, 12. The Apostle
explains this text in his Epistle to the Hebrews, where, advis
ing them to patience, he says thus: " Persevere under disci
pline, God dealeth with you as with his sons : for what son
is there, whom the father doth not correct? But if you be
without chastisement, whereof all are made partakers; then
are you bastards, and not sons. Moreover we have had
fathers of our flesh, for instructors, and we reverenced them;
shall we not much more obey the Father of Spirits, and live."
Heb. xii. 7, 8, 9.
28. These words show us, that is the duty of a father
to correct and puuish his children; and dutiful children will
submit themselves with humility to the same, and look on
it as a very great favour, and as a token of fatherly love
and care; this the only Son of the Eternal Father has
taught us by the same example, when, on St. Peter's endea
vouring to rescue him from death, he said, " The chalice
which my Father hath given me, shall not I drink it?"
John, xviii. 11. As if he had said, if this chalice had been
presented to me by any one else, you might have had some
reason for being against my drinking it, but since it comes
from my Father's own hands, who knows how to assist
those who are his children, and, at the same time, can and
will do it, why shall I not take it as coming from him?
29. Yet there are some who, in time of prosperity, think
they are subject to this father, and have a perfect confor
mity to his will, but in time of adversity they presently
faint, and make it appear that their resignation and confor
mity were false, and that they were deceived in their sub
mission, since they lost it when they had occasion to make
use of it, like cowards, who boast in time of peace, but in
fight fling down their arms and quit the field. And since
this life is so subject to continual troubles and combats, it
will be well to arm such persons with spiritual weapons,
which they may make use of at such times.
30. For this end you may, in the first place, consider,
that the troubles of this life are nothing, if compared with
the greatness of that glory we may purchase by them. For
the joy this eternal glory gives us is so charming, that, put
ting the case we were to enjoy it but for one single hour,
we should willingly undergo all the pains and torments we
can possibly endure here, and despise all the pleasures this

THE SINNER'S GUIDE. 443
world is able to afford us, for the obtaining of it. Because,
as the Apostle says, our tribulation here, which is so light,
and endures but for a moment, procures for us an inestimable
weight of eternal glory in heaven. 2 Cor.
31. Consider, again, how frequently we are puffed with
prosperity, whilst, on the contrary, the grief caused by adver
sity purifies our hearts ; the first state makes a man proud
and haughty, whereas the other humbles him, though he was
ever so high before; that teaches a man to forget himself,
the ordinary effect of this is to put him in mind of God ;
that frequently makes us lose the merits of our best actions,
by this we often atone for the sins of several years, and secure
ourselves against falling into them again for the future.
32. If you languish under sickness, you are to persuade
yourself, that very often God, foreseeing what ill use we should
make of health, clips, as it were, our wings, by the dis
temper he sends, and so puts us out of the power of commit-
ing any sin ; so that it is much more to our advantage to lan
guish under sickness, than enjoy health, and go on in our
crimes. It is much better, as our Saviour tells, " to go into
life maimed or lame, than, having two hands or two feet, to
be cast into everlasting fire." Matt, xviii. 8. It is a plain
case, that our God, who is so merciful, takes no pleasure in
tormenting us ; his delight is to heal our infirmities, by ap
plying contrary remedies, that so we, who have got our
sickness by the enjoyment of pleasures, may recover our
health by suffering some pain ; and that having been thrown
down, by committing of such things as are unlawful, we
may rise again by depriving ourselves of those that are law
ful. Thus you see how God, by an effect of his infinite
goodness, exercises his indignation on us in this world, that
we may happily avoid the effects of it in the next; how he
uses his severity here with mercy, that he may not " pom-
out his wrath upon us hereafter .without it." For, as St.
Jerome says, " God is most angry when he conceals his
anger against sinners." So that, according to this, he that
is not willing to receive the correction of children now, must
be condemned to the pains of devils hereafter. This gave
St. Augustine a great deal of reason to cry out, " Burn me, 0
Lord, cut, and do not spare me in this life, that thou mayest
spare me for all eternity in the next!" By this you may
perceive how carefully the Creator of all things watches
over you, by holding in the reins, and not letting you follow

444 THE SINNER'S GUIDE.
the track of your own evil inclinations. When once a phy
sician has given his patient over, he allows him to take
whatever he has a mind for ; but for those whose condition
is not so desperate, he prescribes to them their diet, and
will allow them nothing that will do them any prejudice. So
a father keeps his son short when he is given to debauchery
or gaming, and yet leaves him his estate when he dies. God,
who is the Sovereign Physician of our souls, and the best of
all fathers, takes the same course with us.
33. Besides all this, consider what injuries and affronts
our Saviour suffered from his own creatures. Consider how
he was despised, scoffed at and buffeted by them ; with what
patience he exposes his divine face to be spit upon by those
villains, the instruments of the devils; with what mildness
he suffered them to pierce his head with thorns, how willingly
he received the bitter potion they gave him to quench his
thirst, how silent he was whilst they hailed him in sport and
mockery, with what vigour, in fine, and with what patience
he ran to embrace death, that he might deliver us from it.
Can you, then, who are nothing but a vile creature, at best
but dust and ashes, think anything hard that he shall be
pleased to inflict upon you, in punishment of your sins, when
he himself has suffered so much for these same sins of yours,
and would not go out of this life, but with pains and torments,
though he came into it without the least spot of imperfection?
" Ought not Christ to have suffered these things, aud so to
enter into his glory?" Luke, xxiv. 26. And all this to teach
us by his own practice what the Apostle has declared to us:
" That no one is crowned except he strive lawfully." 2 Tim.
ii. 5. So that it is much better to suffer our present afflic
tions with patience, whilst we may make our advantage of
them, by using them as the means of obtaining pardon for
our sins and of increasing our glory, than by bearing them
with impatience, make our trouble greater, and put ourselves
out of all hopes of benefiting by them. For whether you
will or will not undergo them, you must, if God thinks fit,
for there is no resisting his will.
34. To all these considerations I shall add one more, of
great force and efficacy, which is, for the preserving of this
patience, a man must be always fortified and prepared against
all kinds of adversities and afflictions which way soever they
come. For, how can any one expect to be better treated by
a world so full of corruption and vice, by a flesh so weak and

THE SINNER'S GUIDE. 445
frail, by the devils that are so envious, and by his fellow-
creatures that are so malicious? All he is to look for from
them are continual persecutions, and unexpected assaults and
onsets. It is the part of a prudent mau to be always in
readiness against such encounters and accidents as these, as
he would do if he were passing through an enemy's country,
and in so doing he will find two extraordinary conveniences.
The first is, he will undergo all his troubles the better, being
thus fore-armed, because, as Seneca says: "A blow never
falls half so heavy as it would do when we see it coming at
a distance." And Ecclesiasticus gives us the same advice,
when he says : " Before sickness take a medicine." Eccl.
xviii. 20. The other advantage is, that, as often as a man
does so, he is sensible he offers a sacrifice to God, much like
that of the patriarch Abraham, which he was going to make of
his son Isaac. Gen. xxii. For, whensoever a man considers
with himself that he may meet with such or such troubles and
contradictions, either from God or men, whensoever he pre
pares himself for receiving of them with humility and patience,
resigning himself entirely into the hands of God, accepting of
all things from what part soever they come, as if he himself
had sent them, as David did when Simei affronted him, he
cannot but be persuaded, that whilst he does this, he offers
up a most acceptable service to God, and merits as much by
his good will and readiness, though he does nothing at all, as
if he had done all he was prepared to do. 2 Kings, xvi.
35. For this reason it concerns us to remember that this
is one of the most essential obligations of a Christian. St.
Peter assures us of it, when he says: " Be not afraid of their
fear, and be not troubled, for unto this are you called." Pet.
iii. 9-14. Every Christian, then, should consider, that as
long as he lives in the world he is like a rock in the sea,
which is perpetually exposed to the violence of the waves,
and yet still keeps its place, though they are always beating
against it. I have been copious upon this matter, because a
Christian's whole duty, according to what St. Bernard says,
consists in these two things: " To do good, and to suffer iu-
jnries." S. Bern. Serm. 1. Apost. Pet. et Pauli. There is
no doubt but it is easier to comply with the first than with
the second; and, therefore, it is requisite we should give most
caution where there is the greatest danger.
36. But it is observable, by-the-bye, that in this virtue
of patience holy writers tell us there are three degrees,
each of which is more perfect than the other. The first of
u

446 THE SINNER'S GUIDE.
them is, the bearing of afflictions patiently; the second is
the desiring of them for the love of Christ; and the third,
the taking a delight in them upon the same account. So,
that it is not enough for a man, that serves God, to take
up with the first degree only; when he has attained that, he
must aim at the second, and not stop there neither till he
comes to the last. We have a very good example of the
first degree, in the patience of holy Job ; the desire several
of the martyrs had of suffering, furnishes us with an example:
of the second ; and the joy which the Apostles had in being
found worthy to suffer affronts for the name of Christ, is an
evident proof of the last. This is the degree the Apostle
had arrived to, when he said in one place, " That he glo
ries in his tribulations." And in another, "That he will
rejoice in his tribulations, afflictions, stripes, &c, which he
had suffered for Christ," Acts, v.; Rom. v. 3.; 2 Cor. xi.
12. Speaking elsewhere of his imprisonment, he desires
the Philippians to share with him in the joy he has to see
himself in chains for the name of Christ. Phil. ii. And
he tells us the same favour was granted to the faithful of
Macedonia; so that they had a great deal of comfort amidst
the heavy afflictions they were oppressed with. This is the
highest degree of patience, charity, and perfection a creature
can possibly attain to, and which very few arrive at, and,
therefore, God does not lay this obligation upon any one, by
way of precept, any more than he does the former.
37. From what has been said we are not to imagine that
we must rejoice at the deaths, misfortunes, or afflictions of
our neighbours ; much less at those of our friends or re
lations ; and least of all at those of the Church ; because the
same charity, which commands us to rejoice in one case,
obliges us to be sorry and compassionate in the ether. Foj itis
charity that knows how to rejoice with those that rejoice, and
to weep with those that weep ; as we see the holy prophets
did, who spent their whole lives in lamenting and bewailing
the miseries of men, and the punishments they groaned under.
38. Whosoever, therefore, to couclude, shall have obtained
these nine qualities or virtues, shall have the heart of a child
towards God, and cannot but have thoroughly complied with
this last and principal obligation of justice, which is, to give
God whatsoever is due to him.

THE SINNER'S guide. 447
CHAPTER V.
Of the Obligation of particular States and Callings.
1. After having spoken of the duties of all sorts of
persons in general, it would be well to show now what is
most proper for every one in particular, according to his
condition and employment. But because this would be
too tedious, I shall content myself, at present, with a word
or two, in short, to show how highly it concerns' each par
ticular person, over and above what I have said already,
to have a regard to the laws and obligations of the state he
is in. Now, these laws are many and different, according to
their different callings. For some are appointed to command,
and it is the business of others to obey ; some are married,
others are religious, others are masters of families, &c. Now,
every one of these conditions has its particular obligations.
2. As to those that have the charge of government, the
Apostle advises them to be " vigilant, labour in all things,
to do the work of an evangelist, fulfil thy ministry." 2 Tim.
iv. 5. And Solomon gives the same advice, when he says,
" My son, if thou be surety for thy friend, thou hast engaged
fast thy hand to a stranger. Thou art ensnared with the
words of thy mouth, and caught with thy own words. Do,
therefore, my son, what I say', and deliver thyself, because
thou art fallen into the hands of thy neighbour. Run about,
make haste, stir up thy friend ; give not sleep to thy eyes ;
neither let thy eye-lids slumber: deliver thyself as a doe
from the hands of the hunter, and as a bird from the hands
. of the fowler." Prov. vi. 1,5. Do not wonder at the wise
man's requiring so much solicitude in a matter of such con
cern as this. For it is usual for men to take a great deal of
care in those things they are entrusted with, upon two ac
counts, either because of the value of them, or else because
of the danger they are exposed to. Now, both those rea
sons are so strong in the concern of our souls, that there
is nothing can be of greater value, nor in more danger, and,
therefore, much care must be taken in looking after them.
3. The business of a subject or inferior is to look upon
his superior, not as a man but as God himself, so that he
must have the same respect for him as he has for God, and
should do whatsoever he bids him, with the same readiness
he would do it, had God himself commanded it. For if
the master, whose service I am in, should bid me obey his
housekeeper, or his steward, who is it I obey in obeying the

448 THE sinner's guide.
steward, but the master himself? If God, therefore, com
mands me to obey my superior, it is not so much my supe
rior that I obey, as God himself, when I do whatsoever is
ordered me. If St. Paul would have a servant submit to, and
respect his master, not as a man, but as Jesus Christ (Ephes.
viii. 5), how much more reasonable is it for an inferior to
obey his superior, when obedience is the tie of his obligation?
4. There are three degrees in this obedience: the first is
to obey in action only ; the second is to obey both in action
and will; and the third, in action, will, and understanding.
For some do what is commanded them, yet neither do they
like what they do, nor do it with a good will. Others do it
with a good will, but still disapprove of what they do;
others there are, in fine, who, " captivating their understand
ing unto the obedience of Christ" (2 Cor. x. 5), obey their
superiors as they would do God himself, in action, word, and
understanding, doing whatsoever he orders them, with cheer
fulness and readiness, with humility approving of it, without
sitting as judges over those to whom they themselves are
answerable. You must, therefore, make it your business to
obey your superiors all these three different ways, remem
bering that our Saviour says, " He that heareth you heareth
me, and he that despiseth you despiseth me." Luke x. 16.
Never murmur or say anything against them, that they may
never have occasion to tell you, '' It is not against us that
you murmur, but against the Lord." Exod. xvi. 8. Despise
them not, for fear God himself should say to them, " They
have not rejected thee, but me, that I should not reign over
them." 1 Kings, viii. 7. Treat them with all kind of truth
and sincerity, that no one may upbraid you, saying, " Thou
hast not lied to men, but to God" (Acts, v. 4), and lest,
like Ananias and Sappbira, you be punished with sudden
death for your rashness.
5. Let the married woman look to the government of
her house, and take care of her family, please her hus
band, and do all that a wife should do ; when she has
satisfied those obligations, let her spend the rest of her
time in devotion as much as she pleases, but still let her
remember, that the duties of her state call upon her first.
6. Let those that are fathers of children frequently re
flect upon the severe punishment that was inflicted upon
Heli, for his neglect in chastising and instructing his sons.
1 Kings, iv. This omission of his God punished not only
with his own and his children's sudden death, but with the

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loss of the priesthood, which was removed for ever after from
his family. Consider, that the sins of the children are in
some manner imputed to the fathers, and that the ruin of a
son is very often the cause of his father's destruction : nor
does he deserve the bare name of father, who, after having
begotten his son for this world, does not also beget him for
the next. Let him correct him, reprove him, advise him,
keep him out of bad company, aud seek good masters for
him : let him train him up in virtue, and instruct him like
Tobias, from his very infancy to fear God (Tob. iv.); let him
break him off his own will and inclinations ; and since, be
fore his birth, he was his father according to the flesh, he
must, now he is born, be his father according to the spirit.
For it is against reason, that a man should do no more of
the duty of a father than birds and beasts do, whose only
business is to feed and maintain their young ones. Man
must behave himself in this matter like a man, nay, like a
Christian, like a faithful servant of God. He is to bring his
child up so as that he may be the child of God, and an heir of
heaven, not a slave to the devil and an inhabitant of hell.
7. Masters of families, that have servants, should remem
ber what St. Paul says, " If a man have not care of his
own, and especially of those of his house, he hath denied his
faith, and is worse than an infidel." 1 Tim. v. 8. They
are to consider, that those of their family are like sheep of
their flock, and that they are the shepherds and keepers,
especially of those that are their servants. Let them not
forget, that the time will come when they must give an
account of them, when they shall be asked, " Where is the
flock that was committed to your charge, and the noble
herd that you had the care of?" It was properly called
noble, because of the price of its redemption, and the most
sacred humanity of Christ, by which it has been ennobled ;
since there is no slave so mean, that has not received both
his liberty and nobility from the humanity and blood of
Christ. It is, therefore, the duty of a good Christian to be
particularly watchful over those of his family, and to keep
them from all kinds of open sins, as quarrelling, _ gaming,
swearing, cursing, &c, but, above all, from sins of impurity.
He must, besides all this, endeavour to instruct them in the
principles of religion ; he must make them observe the com
mandments of the Church, particularly that of hearing Mass
upon Sundays and holidays ; of fasting upon all the vigils
and other appointed fasting days in the year, unless, as we

450 THE SINNER'S GUIDE.
have said already, there be some lawful excuse for their not
complying with these precepts. CHAPTER VI.
First Advice upon the Esteem we are to have of the different Virtues,
for the better understanding the Rule of a good Life.
1. As, at the beginning of this treatise, I set down some
necessary precognita, by way of advance, so it is convenient
here, now we are drawing to a conclusion, to give some ad
vice for the clearer understanding of all that is contained in
it. First, therefore, it is necessary, after having treated of se
veral kinds of virtues, to show how much one virtue is more
excellent than another, that so we may know what value to
put upon every one, and to esteem it according to its trne
worth. For as it is requisite, that a man who trades in jewels
should know what rate they bear, that he may not be deceived
in the value of them, and as it is convenient for the steward
of a great man's house to know the merits of all in the fa
mily, that each person may be treated according to his de
serts (for otherwise there will be nothing but perpetual con
fusion and disorder), so he that trades in the jewels of virtue,
aud he that, like a faithful steward, is for giving every one
what is his due, should be well acquainted with the value of
them, that whensoever they are set together, he may knpw
which to give the preference to, lest he should gather chaff
and scatter the grain.
2. You are, therefore, to understand, that all those virtues'
we have hitherto treated of may be ranked into two classes;
for some of them are more spiritual and inward, and others
more visible and outward. In the first class are contained
the theological virtues, with all the others which have God
for their object; but charity, as queen of the rest, has the
first place. To these we may add several other very ex
cellent virtues, and which are much like the former, as hu
mility, chastity, mercy, patience, discretion, devotion, poverty
of spirit, contempt of the world, a denying of our own will,
a love of the cross, and of Christ's mortifications, with many
other such virtues, which we call virtue in this place, taking
the word in the largest signification. We call them spiritual
and inward virtues, because it is the spirit they chiefly reside
in, though they extend themselves even to outward works,
as appears particularly iu charity and in the worship of God,
which, notwithstanding their being inward virtues, work out
wardly for the honour and glory of the same God,

THE SINNER'S GUIDE. 451
3. There are other more visible and outward virtues, as
fasting, discipline, silence, retirement, pious reading, prayer,
singing of psalms, pilgrimages, hearing of Mass, assisting at
sermons and at the Divine Office, which are all the outward
observances and ceremonies of a Christian and religions life.
For though these virtues are all of them in the soul, yet their
effects appear more outward than those of other virtues do,
which are often occult and invisible : as to believe, to love, to
hope, to contemplate, to be inwardly humbled, to have sor
row for a man's sins, to judge discreetly, and the like.
4. There is no doubt, but that the first of these two kinds
of virtues are much more excellent and necessary than the
second. For, as our Saviour said to the Samaritan woman,
" Woman, believe me, the hour cometh that those who are
the true adorers shall adore the Father in spirit and in truth,
for the Father also seeketh such to adore him. God is a
spirit, and they that adore him must adore him in spirit and
iu truth." John, iv. 21, 23. This is, in plain terms, no more
than what little children repeat so often at school, in these
two noted verses: —
Si Deus est animus, nobis ut carmina dicunt,
Hie tibl prcecipue sitpura mente coiendus. — Cato.
If God, as poets say, a spirit be,
He must in spirit be adored by thee.
For this reason David, describing the beauty of the Church,
says: "That all her glory is within, in golden borders,
clothed round about with varieties." Ps. xliv. 14, 15.
The Apostle expresses the same thing to us, when he says:
" Exercise thyself unto godliness, for bodily exercise is pro
fitable to little, but godliness is profitable to all things,
having promise of the life that now is, and of that which is
to come." Tim. iv. 7. 8. By piety here we are to under
stand the worship of God, and charity towards our neighbour;
and by the exercise of the body, abstinence and other corpo
ral austerities, according to St. Thomas, upon this place.
5. This is a truth, which the heathen philosophers were
not ignorant of; and Aristotle, though he has not written
much concerning the gods, says, that if the gods take any
notice of our concerns, as it is to be believed they do, it is
very probable they are most pleased with that which is the best,
and comes the nearest to them; which' is man's spirit or un
derstanding. For this reason, they who take care to beautify
and adorn their souls with the knowledge of this truth, and

452 THE SINNER'S GUIDE.
with the reformation of their desires and passions, must,
without doubt, be most acceptable to God. Galen, the great
physician, was of the same opinion; for in his book of the
Composition and Structure of Man's Body, and the Use of
its Parts, coming to a passage, which particularly demon
strated the singular wisdom and providence of God, the
sovereign artist, he was struck with admiration at so many
wonders, and forgetting, as it were, his physic, turned to
divinity, and broke out into these expressions: "Let others
offer up their hecatombs," they were sacrifices used by the
ancients of an hundred oxen, "to the gods: I will honour
them by a profound acknowledgment of the greatness of their
wisdom, by which they have so wonderfully disposed of all
things: I will reverence them by confessing the greatness of
their power, by which they have been able to execute their
own pleasure; I will worship them, by admiring the great
ness of their love, which has refused the creatures nothing,
since they have bestowed upon every one of them in particu
lar whatsoever was necessary, and left them nothing to desire
farther." L. 3. de Usu Partium. These are the words of
a heathen philosopher; and what, I pray, could a Christian
have said beyond this? especially after having read this
expression of the prophet: " I desired mercy, and not sacri
fice ; and the knowledge of God more than holocausts." Osee,vi.
Change but the word hecatombs into holocausts, and you will
find the philosopher and the prophet agree upon this matter.
6. But notwithstanding the excellence of these virtues,
those of the second class are very useful (though not so
noble as the former) for acquiring and preserving of those
that are greater; some of them are necessary, either because
of the precept, or of the vow that goes along with them.
This is made out by reflecting on those virtues we have
mentioned. For retirement and solitude put a man out of
the way of seeing, hearing, and talking of a thousand things,
that will endanger not only his peace and quiet of conscience,
but his chastity and innocence. We are all sensible what a
help silence is for preserving of devotion, and avoiding of
those sins, which men fall into by talking; and the wise man
has told us, that, " Where there is much talk sin will not be
wanting." As for fasting, besides it being an effect of the
virtue of temperance, and a satisfactory and meritorious
work, if it be done with charity, it enervates the body, it
lifts up the spirit, it weakens our enemy, and disposes us for
prayer, pious reading, and contemplations; it keeps us out of

the sinner's guide. 453
those excesses aud debaucheries occasioned by eating and
drinking, and preserves us from all those scurrilous jests and
buffooneries, quarrels and riots, which generally follow mer
riments and revels. As to those other virtues of reading
good books, hearing of sermons, praying, singing and assist
ing at the offices of the Church, it is plain they are all acts of
religion, iuciteraents of devotion, and serve to enlighten our
understandings, and to make our wills more inflamed with the
desire of spiritual things.
7. Experience makes this point so clear, that had our
adversaries considered it, they would never have run into the
contrary extremes ; for we daily see that in those monasteries
where regular discipline is more exact, and where the exte
rior observances are better complied with, there is always
more virtue, more devotion, more charity, more strength and
vigour in the members of them, and the fear of God and
Christianity is better encouraged and promoted. Whereas,
in those houses where these things are less regarded, and
where the exterior discipline their rules oblige to is grown
loose, conscience, good manners, and a holy life follow the
same course, and fall to ruiu ; because where the occasions of
sinning are more, there sins and disorders are more frequent.
So that the observance of a religious state may be properly
compared to a vine, which, if it be well fenced and enclosed,
is out of all danger of being spoiled, but otherwise its fruit
will be exposed to every one that passes by. It is even so
with a religious order, that has once fallen from the rigour
and austerity of its rule. Then, what clearer proof than this,
which is grounded on daily experience of the advantage and
importance of these virtues ?
8. How is it possible for a man, that proposes to himself
for acquiring and preserving of this sovereign virtue of
devotiou, which capacitates and enables him for all other
virtues, and is, as it were, an incentive and spur to all kind
of good, ever to obtain his end, whilst he watches so care
lessly over himself, especially when the virtue he aims at is
so far above his strength as it is, and so pure and perfect?
For it is so nice, and, if I may be allowed the expression, so
volatile, that a man can scarce look back but it is gone. An
excess of laughter, a superfluous word, a greater meal than
ordinary, a little passion, a small dispute, or any other dis
traction whatsoever; the desire of seeing, hearing, or think
ing of things not to our purpose, though not bad, are enough
to spoil the better part of our devotion. So that not only
u 2

454 THE sinner's guide.
our sins, but unnecessary employs, and anything that can
divert us from thinking on God, draw us away from it.
For as iron, to be changed into the substance of fire, must
be always in it, or at least but seldom out of it, for fear of
returning to its natural coldness again ; so this noble virtue
depends so much upon man's being always united to God,
by an actual love and reflection, that if he but thinks of any
thing else, he casts himself back again into his natural
corruption, that is, into the old disposition he had at first.
9. It concerns him, therefore, that has a mind to procure
this virtue, and to keep it when he has it, to watch so care
fully over himself, that is, over his eyes, his ears, his tongue,
and his heart ; it concerns him to be so temperate in his meals,
to be so regular in all his words and notions, to be so much
a friend to silence and solitude, to make it so much his busi
ness to be present at the service of the Church, and to do all
those things which shall excite him to devotion, that he may,
by means of this care and diligence, be able to secure to
himself the possession of so great a treasure as this is. If
he does not do this, let him look on it as most certain he
shall never succeed in this point.
10. All this may sufficiently convince us of the importance
of these virtues, without lessening the value of the nobler.
Whence we may gather the difference there is between them :
for these are, as it were, the end, those the means of attain
ing it; these are like health, those like medicines proper for
procuring of it ; these are in a manner the spirit of religion,
and those the body, which, though it is inferior to the spirit,
is a chief part of the compound, and necessary because of its
operations: these are like the treasure, and those like the
key that secures it; these are, as it were, the fruit of the tree,
and those the leaves that adorn the tree and preserve the fruit.
Though this comparison does not answer exactly, because the
leaves of a tree are no part of the fruit, though they preserve
it ; but these virtues secure justice so as, at the same time,
to make up a part of it, since they are all of them virtuous
actions, and worthy of grace and glory, if done with perfect
charity. 1 1. This is the esteem you are to set upon the virtues we
have been here discoursing of, which is what we proposed
at the begiuning of this chapter. This doctrine will secure
us against two vicious extremes, that is, two notorious errors
there have been in the world, as to this affair: the first, an
alicient one of the Pharisees; the other is a late one, of the

THE SINNER S GUIDE. 455
heretics of our times. For the Pharisees, like carnal and
ambitious men, and brought up in the observance of the law,
which as yet was carnal, made no account of true justice,
which consists in spiritual virtues, as we may see throughout
the whole course of the Gospel; so that as the Apostle says:
" They had the appearance indeed of godliness, but denying
the power thereof" (2 Tim. iii. 5) ; you might have taken
them for good men by the outside, though they were full of
abomination and filth within. But our present heretics, on
the contrary, being sensible of this error, to avoid one
extreme ran into another, which was splitting upon Scylla
to avoid Charybdis. But the true Catholic doctrine shuns
both these extremes, and seeks virtue in the mean, taking
care to give the inward virtues the first and best place,
without suffering the outward to lose the rank that is due to
them. It places some, as it were, in the rank of the nobility,
and others among the gentry and commonalty, which com
pose this commonwealth, that the value of everything may
be known, and each have as much as is its due.
CHAPTER VII.
Of four necessary Instructions that follow upon this Doctrine.
1. From what has been said may be drawn four import
ant instructions for the spiritual life. The first is, that
he who serves God as he ought to do, is not to content
himself with seeking after spiritual virtues only, though
they are the most excellent, but must add the others to
them ; and this as well for the preserving of the first, as for
the arriving at the height and perfection of all justice. To
this purpose he is to consider, that as a man consists not of
either soul alone, or of body alone, but of both together,
because the soul alone without the body is not a complete
mau, and the body without the soul is nothing but a lump of
earth, true and perfect Christianity is neither only interior
nor only exterior, but both at once; because there is no
preserving the interior without something at least, if not a
great deal, of the exterior, according to every one's state
and condition, nor is it enough for the performing of per
fect justice. And as to the exterior without the interior,
it goes no farther towards making a virtuous man, than the
body without the soul does to the making of a natural man.
So that as the body receives its whole life and being from
the soul, so the exterior depends, after the same manner,

456 THE SINNER'S GUIDE.
upon the interior, and most of all upon charity, for all the
esteem and value it has.
2. He, therefore, that would be undeceived, must no more
separate the corporal from the spiritual, in order to make a
perfect Christian, than he is to divide the body from the
soul, for the making a complete man. Let him take the
body and. soul together, the treasure and the chest, the fence
and the vine ; let him take all his supports and props along
with it, for they are all to go together, or he will lose both ;
for he will not be able to obtain the one part, and the other
without it will not avail him. Let him consider, that since
neither nature nor art, which copies after nature, produces
any work without giving it an outside and clothing, and
without giving it a defence and stay, both for its preserva
tion and beauty; it is repugnant to reason to think, that
grace, which is a much more perfect form than the others
are, and which operates much better, should not do as much
as they do. Let him reflect on the sentence, "He that
fears God, despises nothing; and he that contemns little
things, will fall by degrees into great ones." Eccl. vii.
Let him consider the danger he rnns in not taking notice of
small things, because it is the ready way for him not to
mind the greater. Let him but think on the flies that suc
ceeded the gnats in the plagues of Egypt; that this may
teach him how the neglect of lesser things makes way for
that of greater. Exod. viii. For he who does not regard
the stinging of gnats, shall be soon troubled with flies, that
will overrun him with filth and nastiness.
Section I. — The Second Instruction.
3. By this it will appear about what virtues we are to
be most solicitous, and which require less care. For as
men will do more for a piece of gold than for a piece of
silver, and more for an eye than for a finger, so it is con
venient we should take most care to purchase and keep
those virtues that are the most excellent. For if we are
diligent in that which is of least moment, and careless
in that which is of most, all our spiritual affairs will be
disorderly. It is, therefore, a great piece of prudence in
superiors, in their chapters and public assemblies, to recom-
mend to their religious the observance of silence, fasting,
solitude, ceremonies, modesty, and the choir; and to be
much more zealous in advising them to charity, humility,
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THE SINNER'S GUIDE. 457
their neighbours, and the like. And this latter part is so
much the more necessary than the other, by how much
the inward failings are more private than the outward,
and, therefore, the more dangerous. For as men are more
apt to remedy the defects they see than those they do not
see, it is a hazard they may thus come to make no account
of the inward failings, because they are not seen, though
they may take much notice of the outward, because they
appear ; besides, the exterior virtues, as abstinence, watching,
disciplines, corporal austerities, and mortifications, are more
visible to others, and, therefore, more familiar to, and more
esteemed by them ; whilst hope, charity, humility, discretion,
the fear of God, the contempt of the world, and the rest of
the interior virtues, are less in credit with the world, because
they appear less outwardly, though, at the same time, they
are much more acceptable to God, than the others. Our
Saviour himself gave us the reason of this difference of opi
nions, when he said: "You justify yourselves before men,
but God knoweth your hearts." Luke, xvi. 15. And the
Apostle tells us to the same purpose, " He is not a Jew that
is so outwardly, nor is that circumcision which is outward in
the flesh; but he is a Jew that is one inwardly, and the cir
cumcision is that of the heart, in the spirit, not in the letter,
whose praise is not of men but of God" (Rom. ii. 28, 29),
for men have not eyes to see this spiritual circumcision.
Since, then, these outward things are so manifest, and so
much in view, and the desire of honour and praise is one of
the most cunning and most powerful passions a man has,
there is more danger of being carried away by this passion,
to the consideration and pursuit of those virtues which are
most in esteem amongst men, than of being wrought on to
the desire of those that appear less honourable, because it is
the spirit that calls us to the love of these, but the spirit and
flesh together invite us to search after those, and the flesh is
eager and subtle in pursuing all its appetites. This being so,
we have all the reason in the world to fear, that two such
powerful passions as these w*l easily prevail against one,
and force it to quit the field. This disorder may be reme
died by the light of this doctrine, which always pleads for
the juster side, and stands up for maintaining of its right,
notwithstanding all these obstructions, and is most zealous in
recommending that to us, which we cannot but see to be of
the greater importance.

458

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Section II. — The Third Instruction.
4. Another thing to be learned hence is, the obligation we
have of following the rule of God's commandments, in the
concurrence of two virtues, which cannot possibly be both
embraced; for this will happen sometimes, and in such a case
we must give the preference to the most worthy of the two,
to avoid confusion and trouble. This is what St. Bernard
teaches us, in his Book of Dispensation. " There are," says
he, " a great many laws enacted, not because men could not
have lived without them, but because they served much more
for the obtaining and preserving of charity. Therefore, they
are to remain in their force and vigour, without change, as
long as they answer this end ; nor can they themselves,
who have the power to do it, make any innovation in this
kind, without giving offence. But if, at any time, they
should prove destructive to charity, who can think it would
not be consonant to justice, and most for the increase of cha
rity too, to omit, defer, change for the better, or abolish,
with the consent of those persons who have the authority in
their hands, such laws as were instituted for the maintaining
of charity, when once they are perceived to be prejudicial to
it. For it would certainly be a point of injustice to observe
those laws, which were made in the behalf of charity, if ever
they happen to prove otherwise. It is requisite, therefore,
that those who are in command should look on these things
as unchangeable and irrevocable, as long as they are useful
for the keeping up of this virtue, and no longer." Orat. de
Praecepto et Dispens. c. 4. These are St. Bernard's own
words, who produces two decrees, one of Pope Gelasius, and
the other of Pope Leo, in proof of what he here asserts.
Section III. — The Fourth Instruction.
5. We may gather, from what has been said, that there
are two sorts of justice, a true and a false one. The true one
is that which embraces the interior virtues, and with them
the exterior, that are necessary for the keepiug of them. The
false one is that which lays hold of some of the exterior
virtues, without- meddling wilh the interior, that is, without
the love of God, without fear, humility, devotion, and the
like. The pharisees were just as this comes to, and no
more ; and, therefore, our Saviour says to them : " Wo to you,
scribes and pharisees, hypocrites, because you tithe mint,
and anise and cummin, and have left the weightier things of
the law, judgment, and mercy, and faith." Matt, xxiii. 23.

THE SINNER'S GUIDE. 459
He upbraids them again, soon after, with these words: "Wo
to you, scribes and pharisees, hypocrites, because you make
clean the outside of the cup and the dish, but within you
are full of rapine and uncleanliness." Ibid. ver. 25. And
immediately again : " Wo to you, scribes and pharisees,
hypocrites, because you are like to whited sepulchres, which
outward appear to men beautiful, but within are full of dead
men's bones, and of filthiness." Ibid. ver. 27.
6. Such justice as this is we find frequently condemned
by God himself, in the writings of the prophets. In one of
them he says: " This people with their lips glorify me, but
their heart is far from me; and they have feared me, with
the commandment and doctrines of men." Isa. xxix. 13.
And in another place he says : " To what purpose do you
offer me the multitude of your victims, saith the Lord? I am
full, I desire not holocausts of rams, and fat of fatlings, and
blood of calves, and lambs, and buck-goats. Offer sacrifice
no more in vain: incense is an abomination tome. The new
moons, aud the sabbaths, and other festivals I will not abide,
your assemblies are wicked ; they are become troublesome to
me; I am weary of bearing them." Isa. i. 11, 13, 14.
7. What! does God find fault with what he himself so
strictly commanded ; nay, even when they are acts of religion,
which of all virtues is the noblest, since its business is to
worship God with works of adoration and piety? Certainly,
it cannot be the virtue he condemns, but the men that content
themselves with outward obligations, and neglect true justice
and the fear of God. For he himself declares immediately
after, that it is nothing else that displeases him. " Wash
yourselves, be clean, take away the evil of your desires from
my eyes; cease to do perversely; learn to do well; seek
judgment, relieve the oppressed, judge for the fatherless, de
fend the widow, and then come, and accuse me, saith the
Lord; if your sins be as scarlet, they shall be made as white
as snow, and if they be red as crimson, they shall be white
as wool." Ibid. ver. 16, 17, 18.
8. He expresses the same thing again with much more
vehemence elsewhere. " He that sacrificeth an ox, is as if
he slew a man; he that killeth a sheep in sacrifice, as if he
should brain a dog; he that offereth an oblation, as if he
should offer swine's blood ; he that remembereth incense, as
if he should bless an idol." Isa. lxvi. 3. What can be the
meaning of this, 0 Lord? what kind of prodigy is here? Why
are those things, which you yourself have commanded, soabo-

460 THE SINNERS GUIDE.
minable to you? He gives us the reason of it, when hesays, "All
these things have they chosen in their ways, and their soul is
delighted in their abominations." Ibid. Yon see here, then,
what small accountGod makes of exterior things,when they are
not grounded on interior. To give us a proof of this, he says
by another prophet: "Take away from me the tumult of
your songs, and I will not hear the canticles of thy harps."
Amos. v. 23. And, in another place, he says, expressing his
displeasure in more lively terms : " I will fling the dung of
your solemn feast into your faces." Mai. iii. What need is
there, after all this, of saying any more, to shew how little all
exterior things amount to, let them be ever so noble and
great in themselves, if the love and fear of God, and a horror
of sin, which are the foundations of justice, be wanting?
9- Should you ask me, what can be the reason of God's
disliking these kinds of service, of his comparing sacrifice with
manslaughter, and incense with idolatry ; of his calling the
singing of psalms a noise, and solemn feast and meeting,
dung? I answer, because these things, for want of the foun-
s dations we have spoken of, besides their being of no worth or
esteem, give occasion to many to be proud and haughty, to
presume on themselves, and to. contemn everybody else, that
does not do as they do; and, what is worst of all, this false
justice settles them in a false security in the way they are in,
which is one of the greatest dangers they can fall into ; be
cause they are so satisfied with what they have, that they aim
at nothing farther. Do but consider the pharisee's prayer in
the Gospel : " I thank you, 0 God, that I am not as the rest
of men, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, as also is this pub
lican ; I fast twice in a week, I give tithes of all that I pos
sess." Luke, xviii. 11, 12. You may easily discover in this
prayer the three dangerous rocks we have spoken of; you
may plainly see his presumption, when he says, / am not like
other men; his contempt of others in these words, lam not as
this publican ; and his false security, in his thanking Ged
for the life he led, whilst he imagined all was safe, and that
he had nothing to be afraid of.
J 0. Hence springs a dangerous kiud of hypocrisy, which
these false just men run into. For the understanding of
this, you are to know, that there are two sorts of hypo
crisy; the one is base and palpable, and is of those who
know they are wicked, and outwardly appear good, to de
ceive the world. The "other sort is more nice and subtle,
which makes a man even deceive himself as well as others,

THE sinner's guide. 461
like the pharisee, who really cheated himself, and not
others only, under the cover of justice, by imagining him
self to be a holy man, though, at the same time, he was a
very great sinner. This kind of hypocrisy the wise man
points at, in these words, " There is a way which seemeth
just to a man, but the ends thereof lead to death." Prov.
xiv. 1 2. And in another place, speaking of four kinds of
¦evils there are in the world, he reckons this for one of
them : " There is a generation that curseth their father,
and does not bless their mother. A generation that are
pure in their own eyes, and yet are not washed from their
filthiness. A generation whose eyes are lofty, and their
eyelids lifted up on high. A generation that for teeth
hath swords, and grindeth with their jaw teeth, to devour
the needy from off the earth, and the poor from among
men." Prov. xxx. 11, 12, 13, 14. The wise man looks
on these four sorts of persons as the most infamous and
dangerous in the world; and amongst them he puts those
that are hypocrites in regard of themselves, who fancy they
are clean, when they are as far from being so as the pha
risee was.
11. This condition is so dangerous that, to speak the
truth, it is not half so bad for a man to be a sinner, and
to know he is such, as it is to be just after this manner,
and to live in a false security. Because, let a man be ever
so sick, the knowledge of his distemper is a fair way to his
recovery; but when a man fancies himself to be well,
though he is much out of order, there will be no persuad
ing him to take any medicine to cure him. For this reason
our Saviour told the pharisees, " That publicans and harlots
shall go into the kingdom of God before you." Matt, xxi,
31. The Greek translation, instead of " shall go before,"
reads " do go before," which is a stronger proof of what
we affirm. This is what we are told much more plainly by
our Saviour himself, in those obscure, but terrible words,
in the Apocalypse : " I wish you were either cold or hot,
but because you are lukewarm and neither cold nor hot, I
will begin to vomit you out of my mouth." Apoc. iii. 15,
16. How is it possible God should wish a man were cold?
And how is it possible that a man that is cold should be in
a better condition, than one that is lukewarm, since the
latter is nearer being warm than the other? The reason
js this:  He that is hot is the man that has got the fire of
charity, and with it all those virtues, both interior and ex-

462 THE sinner's guide.
terior, that we have spoken of; the cold man is he who
has neither the one sort nor the other, because he has no
charity. And the lukewarm is he that has some of the
exterior virtues, but wants the interior, or at least charity.
Now, our Saviour would have us know, that this man's
condition is more dangerous than his is that is quite cold,
not because he has more sins than the other, but because
his evil is much more incurable ; for the greater security he
imagines himself to be in, the further he is from applying
any remedies, so that this superficial and outside justice
of his makes him believe he is something, whereas, in reality,
he is nothing at all. We need but read what follows to
know it is the genuine and literal sense of the text. For
our Saviour, speaking more clearly to him whom he had
called lukewarm before, says, " You shall say, that you are
rich and wealthy, and want nothing ; and you know not that
you are wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and
naked." Ibid. Is not this the pharisee drawn to life, who
said, " 0 God! I give thee thanks that I am not as the rest
of men?" Luke, xviii. 11. This, without doubt, was he
that thought himself rich in spiritual treasures, because he
thanked God, as if he was so, and yet he was poor, naked,
and blind, because he was empty of all interior justice, full of
pride, and so blind that be could not see his own failings.
1 2. We have made it appear thus far that there are two
sorts of justice, a true and a false one; we have discovered
the dangers of this, and showed the excellence and dignity
of that. And let no one think we have lost our time in
treating of these things so largely; for since the Gospel
itself, which of all Sacred Writ is of most authority, and
which has been left us as the rule to square our lives by,
condemns this kind of justice so often; since the prophets,
as we have proved, do the same, it would have been very
ill done if we should have passed over this matter slightly,
which the Holy Scriptures so often repeat and inculcate. If
the dangers a man is exposed to lay as open to every one
as rocks that appear above the water, in the midst of the
seas, there would be no great need of advising persons
against them ; but when they are quite hid from us, it is
convenient we should have some instructions to kuow how
to avoid them, as mariners have their charts to show them
whereabouts those shelves lie that are quite under water,
that they may steer their course so as not to run upon them.
13. Let no man 'deceive himself, saying, such precepts

THE sinner's guide. 463
were very necessary in former times, when this vice was so
frequent, but that there is not so much need of them now-a-
days. I am of opinion the world is as bad now as it was
then, and that it has almost always been of the same con
dition, because, when men are the same, when human nature
is the same, when there are the same inclinations and the
same original sin, which we have all of us been conceived in,
and from whence all other sins draw their rise, there must
needs be the same offences. For where there is so great a
proportion between the causes of sin, it is impossible there
should not be as great a one between the sins themselves.
So that there are the same crimes now in such and such kind
of persons as there were then; the only difference is, the
names are not the same ; just as Plautus or Terence's come
dies are the same now they were a thousand years ago,
though the players are changed.
14. So that as those ignorant and carnal people thought
God was very much obliged to them for their sacrifices, for
their fasts and solemnities, observed according to the letter
only, not according to the spirit; there are a great many
Christians at present who hear Mass every Sunday, say the
office of our Blessed Lady, or the rosary every day, fast
every Saturday in honour of her, are always present at ser
mons, and assist at the office of the Church ; and yet, after
all, notwithstanding so many actions which are really good,
they are as eager in their pursuit of honours, as fully bent
upon satisfying their lusts, and as subject to anger, as other
men are who never do any of these things. They forget the
obligations of their states, they are not at all concerned
about the salvation of their servants and family, they are full
of hatred and malice, and will abate nothing of their haugh
tiness; they never exercise the least degree of humility or
patience. Nay, some of them go so far, and that upon very
trivial matters, that they will not so much as speak to their
neighbour upon any account whatsoever. Others are very
backward in paying servants their wages, and in discharging
their debts. And if a man should happen to do or say any
thing that touches their honour or their interest, adieu then
to all the virtues they had. You will meet with some that
are very generous and profuse of their prayers, but they will
never put their hands into their pockets to give an alms to
the poor. You may find others that will not for all the
world eat flesh upon Wednesdays, but they will make no
scruple of detracting from their neighbour, and will never

464 the sinner's guide.
stop at any kind of slander or scandal, when a man's repu
tation is at stake ; so that whilst they are scrupulously afraid
of eating the flesh of beasts, they have no horror of preying
upon that of man, which God has so strictly forbid them.
For there is scarce anything that a Christian should be so
much concerned for, as the credit or honour of his neighbour;
and yet it is but what few take any notice of, though there
are many things that are not half so important, which they
are much more solicitous about.
15. That these, and many other such failings, are the
common practice, not only of the worldly men, but even of
those that are retired out of it, is a truth unquestionable.
And, therefore, we thought it necessary, this mistake being
so general, to undeceive such as are fallen into it, especially
when those persons, whose particular business it is to take
notice of it, neglect their duty entirely in this point. What
I have said will, I hope, supply this defect, and serve as a
direction' to those that desire to keep in the right way.
16. And that what we have said may be more profitable
to the reader, and he may not grow worse upon the medi
cine, it is good to advise him, in the first place, to inquire
into his own spiritual state and condition, that he may see
what it is he is most inclined to. For as there are some
general instructions that serve for all sorts of persons, as
those upon charity, humility, patience, obedience, and the
like, there are others again more particular, which are good
for some, but not so for others. As, for example, a
scrupulous person should have his conscience enlarged a
little, whereas his, on the contrary, that is too large already,
is to be confined and straightened. A man that is subject
to diffidence, and apt to be discouraged, must be put in
mind of mercy; whereas the presumptuous should be fright
ened with the remembrance of justice. The same rule is to
be observed proportionably in other cases. This is no more
than the author of Ecclesiasticus advises us to, when he says,
" Talk to the unjust man of justice, of war to the coward,
of gratitude to the ungrateful, of piety to the wicked, and of
labour to the idle." Eccl. xxxviii. 12.
17. Since, according to this, there are two sorts of per
sons, the one that apply themselves wholly to interior vir
tues, and the other that concern themselves about none but
the exterior, it would be well to recommend the exterior
virtues to the first sort, and the interior to the second, that
so every one may be brought to a due measure and proportion.

the sinner's guide. 465
18. The main point of all this business is to ground our
selves so in the fear of God, as to tremble at the very name
of sin. Happy is he that has this virtue deeply rooted in
his soul ; he may build what he pleases upon this foundation ;
but as for him, on the contrary, who is easily wrought upon
by sin, let him have all the appearances that can be, he is
to look npon himself as miserable, blind, and unhappy.
CHAPTER VIII.
A Second Advice upon the different Ways of living there are in the
Church.
1 . Our second advice is to prevent men passing their judg
ment upon one another, on account of the different ways of
living. To this purpose you must understand, that there
being many virtues requisite to a Christian life, some per
sons are more addicted to some of them, and others to
others. For we see some practise those most which have
God for their immediate object, and these persons apply
themselves, for the most part, to a contemplative life ; others
esteem those virtues best, which make them most serviceable
to their neighbour, and those embrace an active life; others,
again, love those best which put a man most in mind of him
self, and these virtues belong particularly to a monastic life.
2. Again, all virtuous actions being so many means for
the obtaining of grace, some men follow one way, and some
another, for the acquiring of it ; so that some endeavour to
obtain it by fasting, disciplines, and other corporal austeri
ties ; some by alms and works of mercy ; some by continual
prayer and meditation; in this last means, the ways are as
many as the methods of praying and meditating are diffe
rent. So that some make use of this method, and some of
that; and as there are many things to be meditated upon,
there are also many sorts of meditations. Now, that sort is
best for each particular person, which he finds most profit
able, and which serves best to excite him to devotion.
3. Virtuous persons are subject to a great mistake as to
this point, which is, that they who have profited by any one
of these means, think there is no other way of arriving at
God but that which they have gone. They would fain
teach all the world the same, and look upon those as out of
the road who do not go their way, because they imagine it
is the only one to get to heaven. He who is much given
to prayer, thinks that without it it is impossible to be saved;

466 the sinner's guide.
he that fasts much, persuades himself that nothing is to the
purpose but fasting; he that leads a contemplative life,
fancies everybody else to run the hazard of his salvation ;
nay, they carry it so far sometimes, as to have no kind of
esteem for an active life. They, on the other side, that have
made choice of an active life, and for want of having expe
rienced what passes betwixt God and the soul, in the most
delightful repose of contemplation, when they see how far
they have advanced by their active way of living, lessen, as
much as they can, the contemplative life, and think there is
no perfection without a composition of both, as if all the
world was to do what they do. A man that makes choice
of mental prayer, thinks all other kinds of prayer unprofit
able; and he that loves vocal prayer best says, that since
it is more laborious than the other, it must needs be more
meritorious. 4. Hence, spring the judgments made on other men's lives,
and the spiritual divisions and schisms among brethren, one
man fancying another is in the wrong, for not taking the
same way he does. It was almost such an error the Corinthians
lived in. 2 Cor. xii. They had received several different
gifts from God, and every one looked upon his own as the
best, and. therefore, they valued themselves above one
another. Some preferring the gift of tongues, others that of
prophecy; some, again, that of interpreting the Scriptures;
others the working of miracles, and so of the rest. The best
remedy that can be given against this mistake is, that which
the Apostle prescribes them in his Epistle against that dis
temper. First, he makes all graces and gifts equal as to their
origin, assuring them they are all streams that flow from the
same spring, which is the Holy Ghost ; and that, as to this
point, they are all of them alike, though they differ among
themselves; the members of a king's body are all a king's
members and of the blood royal, though they are not the
same in respect to one another. The Apostle says to this
purpose: " We have all been baptized in one spirit into one
body." 1 Cor. xii. 13. So that we all thus far partake of
the same honour and glory, as being the members of the same
head. For this reason the Apostle adds immediately after:
"If the foot should say, because I am not the hand, I am
not of the body ; is it not therefore of the body ? And if
the ear should say, because I am not the eye, I am not of
the body; is it not therefore of the body?" 1 Cor. xii. 15,
16. It is plain, then, that as to this we are all equal,

the sinner's guide. 467
because of the unity and fraternity that is in all, notwith
standing the diversity which is in us at the same time.
5. The cause of which is partly nature, and partly grace ;
we say it arises from nature, because though every spiritual
being owes its beginning to grace, yet grace, like water
received into several vessels, takes several shapes agreeable
to the nature and condition of every one. For some persons
are naturally easy and quiet, and, therefore, more fit for a
contemplative life ; others are more choleric and active, and
therefore, an active life is best for them ; others are more
strong and healthful, and less in love with themselves, so
that a laborious penitential life agrees best with them. God's
goodness displays itself in all these particulars much to our
admiration ; for he, designing to communicate himself to all,
has been pleased to propose several ways to us, for our par
taking of this favour, according to the several conditions of
men, so that he that cannot go one way may try another.
6. The second cause of this variety is grace; because the
Holy Ghost, who is the author of it, has thought fit to have
this variety in those that belong to him, for the greater per
fection and beauty of the Church. For as several members
and senses are required to the making of a man's body per
fect and beautiful, so there must be a great many virtues
and graces to make the Church so too. For if the faithful
were all alike in this respect, how could they be called a
body? "If the whole body," says St. Paul, "should be
eyes, where would the hearing be? If it should be hearing,
where would the smelling be?" 1 Cor. xii. 17. God has,
for this reason, thought fit there should be several members
in one body, that so multiplicity and unity meeting together,
there might be proportion between several things in one ;
and hence comes the perfection and beauty we see in the
Church. Thus, we see there must be this same diversity of
voices, yet with concord, that so it may be sweet and har
monious ; for if the voices were all of the same pitch, if they
were all trebles, all bases, or all tenors, how could they make
music and harmony ?
7. The same thing appears to our wonder, even in the
works of nature, in which the sovereign artist has intermixed
so much variety, by giving every creature its particular quali
ties aud perfections, anl has shown so much justice in the
distribution of them, that though each particular creature
has some kind of advantage or other upon all the rest, yet
they do not envy one another, because if any of them is out-

468 the sinner's guide.
done in some things, it excels in others. The peacock is
beautiful to the eye, but not delightful to the ear ; the night
ingale, on the other side, charms the ear, but does not please
the eye; the horse is good for the race and the camp, but
not for the table; the ox is good for thfe table and plough,,
and fit for nothing else; fruit trees produce what is good for
eating, but are not so fit for building as those trees are which
bear no fruit. Thus, in all things together, we find all things;
dispersed, but never all together in any one thing, that by this.
means the beauty and variety of the universe may be preserved,,
and the species of things may continue, and they may all be
linked to one another by a mutual and necessary dependence.
8. The same order and beauty that is in the works of
nature, God has thought fit should be in those of grace; and
for this reason, he has, by his spirit, ordered such a variety
of virtues aud graces in his Church, that all of them might;
make a most harmonious concord, a most perfect world, and
a most beautiful body, composed of different members.. We
may see the effects of this variety in the different states of
men in the Church, where some give themselves up to a.con-
templative life, and others to an active ; some apply them
selves to works of obedience, others to penance; some to
prayer, and others to singing; some to study, that they may
be profitable to others ; some to looking after the sick and,
visiting hospitals; some to relieve the poor and miser
able; some to one kind of good exercise, and some to another,,
9. The same variety is to be found in religions houses.
Though they all take the road that leads to heaven, yet they
do not all go the same way. Some take the way of poverty,
others of penance; some go by the exercises of a contem
plative life, and others by those of an active ; some labour
for the good of the public, whilst others retire as far from
it as they can. Some have revenues by the rules of their
institution, others love poverty better; some run into the de
serts, and others into cities and towns; and all this out of
the motives of religion and charity.
10. We may observe this variety again, not only in the.
orders and monasteries, but in the particular members of the
same, so that some are employed in singing in the choir,
others in manual labour; some are studying in their cells,
others are hearing confessions in the church, and others are
abroad about the affairs of the house. What is all this but.
several members in one body, and several voices in one con
cert, that so there may be an exact proportion and beauty in

THE sinner's guide. 469
the Church? There is no other reason for putting a great
many strings to the same lute, and a great many pipes into
the same organ, but to make the music more pleasant by
the variety of the sounds. This is the coat of several colours,
which the patriarch Jacob made for his son Joseph. And
such were the curtains of the tabernacles which God com
manded Moses to paint and set out with wonderful variety
and beauty. Gen. xxxvii. ; Exod. xxvi., xxxvi.
13. If so, and it is convenient it should be so for the
beauty and order of the Church, why do we not lay aside the
vicious custom we have got of detracting from our neighbours,
of passing sentence on their actions, and making ourselves
judges over other men, because they do not do what we do?
This is destroying the body of the Church, rending Joseph's
coat, disturbing and despoiling the harmony of the heavenly
music; it is like desiring that the members of the Church
should be all feet, or all hands, or all eyes, but if all the
body were eyes, where would the ears be ; and if all were
ears, what would become of the eyes?
1 4. Thus you see how great a mistake it is to blame
another, because he has not what I have, or cannot do what
I do, as it would be in the eyes to despise the feet for not
seeing, or the feet to find fault with the eyes for not walking,
and bearing the whole burden on them. For it is requisite
the feet should take pains, and the eyes should always be
at rest, that the former should be always on the ground,
and the latter above them, free from dust or anything that
may sully them. Nor are the eyes, notwithstanding their
continual repose, less serviceable to the body than the feet
that take so much pains. As the steersman in a vessel, who
stands at the helm, with his compass before him, .does as
much good as they that are always on deck or hauling the
ropes, that look after the sails, or that stand at the pump.
On the contrary, he that we think does least, in reality
does most, because it is not the labour that is taken about a
thing, but the value of the thing itself, together with the
importance of it, that makes it more or less excellent ; unless
we will say, that a laborious plain man, for example, does
the commonwealth more service than a discreet and prudent
statesman, because of the two he works the hardest.
1 5. He that considers this seriously will leave every one
to his calling, that is, he will let the foot be a foot, and the
hand be still a hand, and will never desire that the body
should be all foot or all hand. This is what the Apostle

470 the sinner's guide.
endeavours to persuade us all to in the epistle above cited;
and it is the advice he gives us in these words: " Let not
him that eateth not judge him that eateth ;" because he
that eats may, perhaps, stand in need of what he eats, and
be endowed with some nobler virtue than yours is, and
which you want. So that he is not to be blamed by you for
eating, since, in all appearance, his other virtues may make
him better than you are. For as in music those notes that
are on the lines are as good as those that are between them, so
he that eats disturbs the harmony and concord of the Church
no more than he that abstains, nor he that seems to do
nothing, any more than he that is always employed, if he
spends his leisure time so as to endeavour to make himself
serviceable to his neighbour hereafter. ,
16. St. Bernard advises us against this same fault, when
he says, " that none ought to examine into another man's
way of life, to pass judgment on it, but those that are judges
and rulers in the Church ; much less is a man to put another
person's life in the same scale with his own, for fear it should
happen to him as it did to a certain monk, who being troubled
to have his poverty compared with Gregory's riches, heard a
voice, which told him he was much richer in a cat he had,
than the other with all his wealth." — Serm. 4, in Cantica.
CHAPTER IX.
The Third Advice of the Vigilance and Care every Virtuous Man ought
to live with.
1 . Having proposed, in this rule, so many different virtues,
and given so many instructions on the regulating of our
lives, our next advice is, to endeavour to procure one general
virtue, which may comprehend, and as far as is possible, to
supply the want of the rest: this is the rather advisable,
because our understanding is such that it cannot conceive
many things at once. This virtue is a perpetual solicitude
and vigilance, and a continual attention to whatsoever we
do or say, that so everything may be brought to the rule and
moderation of reason.
2. We are to behave ourselves in this point, like an am
bassador that is to speak to a sovereign prince. He has his
attention fixed on the matter he is to discourse of, he weighs
every word he speaks, he manages the tone of his voice, and
considers every posture and motion of his body, and this all
at the same time. Thus he that serves God should use his

the sinner's guide. 471
utmost endeavours to be always watchful and attentive upon
himself; whether he speaks or holds his tongue, whether he
asks a question, gives an answer, whether at table, in the
street, or in the church, at home or abroad, he is to have
this rule and compass always with him, to measure every
action, every word, nay, every thought, that so all may
square to the law of God, to the judgment of reason and to
decency. For the distance between good and evil being so
great, and God having given our souls a natural knowledge
of both, there is scarce any man so ignorant, but, if he
weighs what he does, will more or less discover what he
ought to do, and, therefore, his attention and solicitude is as
serviceable as all the instructions of this rule, and many
more. 3. This is the care the Holy Ghost' recommended to us,
when he said, " Watch carefully over yourself, 0 man ! and
over your own soul!" and the last of the three advices the
prophet Micah gave us, as we have observed already, was,
" To walk solicitous with thy God " (Mic. vi. 8), which is,
to be solicitous to do nothing in contradiction to his will.
The many eyes Ezechiel's mysterious animals had teach us
what vigilance and care we should use in this battle, where
our enemies are so numerous, and we have so much to attend
to. Ezech. i. The same is represented to us by the posture
of the seventy stout men that guarded Solomon's bed. They
had their swords on their thighs ready to draw, to express
how watchful and ready he must be, who walks in the very
midst of so many enemies. Cant. iii.
4. Besides the many dangers we are exposed to, another
reason for this extraordinary vigilance .is, the niceness and
consequence of this business, especially to those who aspire
to the perfection of a spiritual life. For to behave our
selves, and to live as God would have us, to preserve our
selves from all the stains and spots of this world, to live in
this flesh without the corruptions of it, " To keep ourselves
sincere and without offence till the day of Christ" (Phil. i.
10), as the Apostle says, are things so high and so far
above the reach of nature, that we stand in need of all
these, and many more helps, and even of the assistance of
God's grace.
5. Consider how attentive a man is when he is on any
nice, curious work ; for it is certain this is the nicest work,
aud' requires attention. Observe how cautiously a man
walks that carries a glass, brimful of some precious liquor,

472 the sinner's guide.
for fear of spilling : think of a man that is forced to cross a
river on stones that are not conveniently placed, how care
fully he treads, for fear he should fall in and be drowned.
But above all, consider how cautiously a rope dancer sets
every step, how steadily he keeps his eyes, for fear of totter
ing and falling one way or other. Do you always endeavour
to carry yourself with the same circumspection, especially at
first, till it become habitual, so as not to speak a word, en
tertain the least thought, or make any motion that may, if
possible, deviate from the line of virtue. Seneca advises us
to this by an example as profitable as it is familiar: "A
man (says he) that has a mind to acquire virtue, must ima
gine himself to be always in the presence of some great per
son he has a veneration for, and endeavour to do and say
everything just as he would if that person were really pre
sent." Epis. 25.
6. Another way no less proper than the former, is, to
think we have no longer to live than the present day; and
so to behave ourselves as if we were really persuaded we
should appear that same night before the tribunal of Christ,
to give him an account of our whole life.
7. But the best way of all is, to walk always, as much
as we possibly can, in the presence of Almighty God, to set
him always before our eyes (for he is truly present every
where), and to perform all our actions, as having so great a
Majesty for the witness and judge of whatsoever we do, beg
ging of him grace to carry ourselves so as may best become
his divine presence. This attention which we advise to
hear, should have two ends ; the one of considering God in
teriorly, of walking before him, of adoring him, of praising
and reverencing, loving and thanking him, and of offering a
sacrifice of devotion to him on the altar of our hearts ; the
other is, to reflect on every word or action, and to see that
nothing be done or said to the prejudice of virtue. We
should have one eye always fixed on God, to beg his grace,
and the other always cast down on ourselves to see what it
is becomes us most, and to direct us in employing our lives
to the best advantage. We are to make use of the light
God has given us ; first, to observe those things that refer
to God, and next, to correct and perfect our own actions,
meditating seriously on God, and on the extent of our duties.
And though this is not always practicable, we must endea
vour yet to do it, as often and as long as we can ; for this
kind of attention is no hindrance to our corporal exercises.

the sinner's guide. 473
The heart, on the contrary, will, by this means, have the
frequent opportunity of stealing off, in the very heat of tem
poral engagements and business, and of hiding itself in the
wounds of Jesus Christ. The importance of this instruction
is such, that it has obliged me to repeat it, though I have
given it before in the Memorial of a Christian Life.
CHAPTER X.
The Fourth Advice of the Fortitude requisite to the obtaining of
Virtue.
1. The foregoing advice has furnished us with eyes to
see our duty. This will furnish us arms, that is, fortitude,
to perform it. For since there are in virtue two difficulties,
the first whereof consists in distinguishing between good and
bad, and separating the one from the other: the second is
overcoming of the bad, and in pursuing of the good ; atten
tion and watchfulness are necessary for that, and diligence
and fortitude for this ; aud if either of these two be wanting,
our virtue will be imperfect, for either it will be blind, if
there is no attention, or else impotent, if fortitude be wanting.
2. This fortitude is not the same whose part it is to mo
derate boldness and fear, which is one of the four cardinal
virtues, but a general fortitude necessary for the overcoming
of all those difficulties that may lie in our way to virtue. To
this end it always goes along with it, with sword in hand,
and makes way for it wherever it goes. Because virtue, ac
cording to the philosophers, is a hard and difficult thing;
and, therefore, it is -convenient it should always have this by
it, to assist it in breaking through these difficulties. For, as a
smith is always to have his hammer in his hand, because of
the hardness of the metal he is to work on, so this fortitude
is like a spiritual hammer, which a good man is never to be
without, if he designs to overcome the difficulty he shall meet
with iu virtue. So that a smith, without his hammer, can
do nothing, neither can he who is in pursuit of virtue, if he
has not this fortitude to assist him. To prove this, what
virtue is there that has not some particular labour and hard
ship in it? Take which of them you please, and you will
find it so. Prayer, fasting, obedience, temperance, poverty of
spirit, patience, chastity, humility, all of them, in short, have
ever some difficulty or other joining with them, arising cither
from self-love, from the world, or the devil. If, then, this
fortitude be taken away, what will the love of virtue be
able to do when it is disarmed, and can do nothing for itself.
x2

474 the sinners' guide.
3 . Whosoever, therefore, you are that desire to improve
yourself in virtue, look on these words which the Lord of all
virtues and strength spoke formerly to Moses, though in
another sense, and directed to you: " Take this rod in your
hand, for with it you shall do wonders and miracles, by which
you shall bring my people out of Egypt." Exod. iv. Assure
yourself, that as his rod was the instrument of all those
wonders, and that which put an end to so glorious an enter
prise, so this rod of fortitude is that which must overcome all
the difficulties that either the love of the flesh or the devil
shall lay in their way, and it is by this you are to bring off
your undertaking with success. And, therefore, let it not be
out of your hand, for if you once lay it down, you will not
be able to do auy of these wonders.
4. Therefore I think fit, in this place, to give notice of
a great error those that begin to serve God are apt to fall
into: they, having read in some pious books, how great the
consolations and delights of the Holy Ghost are, and how
sweet and delightful charity is, persuade themselves, imme
diately, that there is nothing but pleasure in the way to
virtue, without any mixture of labour and pains. And, there
fore, they prepare themselves for it, as if it were an easy and
pleasant undertaking, so that they do not think of arming
themselves for a fight, but of dressing for some public enter
tainment. They never consider that, though the love of God
is sweet in itself, there is a great deal of bitterness before a
mau can get to it; for, first of all, self-love must be overcome,
a man must fight against himself, and what war so hard as
this is? Isaias told us of the necessity of both: " Shake thy
self from the dust," says he, " arise, sit up, 0 Jerusalem." Isa.
Iii. 2. There is no trouble, it is true, iu sitting up, but there is
a great deal in shaking off the dust of earthly affections, and
in rising from the sleep of sin. This is what we must do be
fore we are to think of enjoying the rest, which the prophet
means by sitting up.
5. It is likewise true that God has great comforts in store
for those that work hard, and for all such as have parted
with the pleasures of this world for those of heaven. But
unless this exchange be made, and if a man will not let go
what he holds, he may assure himself this refreshment will
not be grauted him. For we know the children of Israel
had not manna given them in the wilderness, till they had
spent all the flour they had carried out of Egypt.
6. But to come home to our subject, those persons who

the sinner s guide. 475
will not arm themselves with this fortitude must account on
what they look for as lost, and never think of finding it, unless
they change their affections, and alter their ways of proceed
ing. ^ They may be assured, that rest is purchased by labour,
the victory by fighting, joy by tears, and the most delightful
love of God by self-hatred. This is the reason why laziness
and sloth are so often condemned in the proverbs, whereas
fortitude and diligence are so highly commended, as we have
shewn elsewhere ; for the Holy Ghost, who is the author of
this doctrine, knew very well that the one was no small hin
drance to virtue, and the other forwarded it as much. Treatise
of Prayer, c. ii. s. 2.
Section I. — Of the Means of acquiring this Fortitude.
7. You will ask me, perhaps, what the means are for
obtaining this fortitude, which is no less difficult than other
virtues. For the wise man had reason to begin his alphabet,
that is so full of divine instructions, with this sentence :
"Who shall find a valiant woman? Far, and from the
uttermost coasts, is the price of her." Prov. xxxi. 10.
What means, then, must we use to find out so inestimable a
thing as this is? We must first consider what this value is,
because that which contributes to the purchasing so immense
a treasure as that of virtue is, must certainly itself be of no
small esteem. For what can be the reason why worldly men
fly so fast from virtue, but the difficulty cowardly and lazy
persons find in it? The slothful man says : " There is a lion
without, I shall be slain in the midst of the streets." Prov.
xxii. 13. And the same wise man says in another place:
" The fool foldeth his hands together, and says, Better his
handful with rest, than both hands full with labour, and vex
ation of mind." Eccl. iv. 5, 6. Since, therefore, there is
nothing that frightens us from virtue but the difficulty of it,
if we can gather strength to overcome this difficulty, the con
quest of the whole kingdom of virtue follows. Is there any
man that will not take courage, and endeavour to acquire
this fortitude, on the acquisition of which depends the making
ourselves masters of the kingdom of virtue, and, consequently,
of that of heaven, which is to be gained by those only that
use violence. This same fortitude overcomes self-love, with
all its assistants; and when once we have routed this enemy,
the love of God, or to speak more properly, God himself,

476 the sinner's guide.
comes in its place ; since, according to St. John, " He that
remains in charity remains in God."
8. Another thing that is a great help to us is, the good
example ©f so many holy men as are in the world, poor,
naked, barefoot, pale, and worn out with watching and
fasting, and deprived of all the conveniences of this life.
Some of whom are so desirous of labours and mortifications,
and so much in love with them, that, as merchants run to great
fairs, and scholars to the most flourishing universities, so they
run up and down from monastery to monastery, from pro
vince to province, in search of great austerities and rigours,
where they find no food, but hunger; no riches, but poverty;
no ease, but the cross and perpetual macerations. What can
be more opposite to the practice of the world, and to the incli
nations of the greater part of mankind, than for a man to go
into strange countries to find out a way to suffer more hun
ger, to be poorer, worse clothed, and more naked than he
was before ? This is certainly repugnant to flesh and blood,
but extremely consonant to the spirit of God.
9. But what condemns our ease most is the example Of so
many martyrs, who have undergone such different and cruel
kinds of deaths, for the purchasing of the kingdom of heaven.
There is not a day passes in the whole year, but we have the
examples of some of them set before us by the Church, not
only to celebrate their memories by the feasts it institutes in
honour of them, but to profit by imitation of those virtues
they were so famous for. One day we have the example of
a martyr that was broiled, another day of one that was
impaled alive ; another day of one that was thrown into the
sea; another of one that was cast down headlong from a
rock; another of one that had his flesh torn off with red hot
pincers; another of one that was pulled limb from limb;
another of one that was shot to death with arrows ; another
of one that was boiled in a cauldron of oil, with an infinity
of other torments they were put to. Nay, several of them
have undergone, not one sort of torment only, but all that
human nature could possibly suffer. How many have beeu
carried from prison to the whipping-post, from the whipping
post to the stake, from thence to be torn with iron hooks,
and after all have died by the sword, which was very often
the only instrument that could take their lives away, but yet
could not hurt their faith, nor daunt their courage.
1 0. What shall I say of the cruel devices and inventions,

the sinner's guide. 477
not of men but of devils, to attack the faith and fortitude of
the spirits, by the torture of the bodies. Some, after having
been barbarously slashed and wounded, were laid on beds
of nettles and sharp pieces of tiles and stones, that whilst
they lay there all the parts of their bodies might be wounded
at once, aud that no member might be free from pain, and
their faith thus assaulted by an army of unheard-of torments.
Others they made walk barefoot over hot coals, and tied
others to wild horses' tails, and so dragged them through briars
and over flint stones. They had a dreadful invention for
others of a wheel that was covered all over with sharp
razors, that so the body that was fastened to it might, on
the motion of the wheel, be cut to pieces by the rows of
razors set in it. Others were stretched out on wooden
horses, and as they lay in this posture, with their bodies tied
fast down, the executioner made great furrows in their flesh
from head to foot with iron hooks. Nor could the cruelty of
those tyrants be satisfied with such barbarous torments;
their fury made them invent another strange one, which
was to bend down the branches of two great trees with all
the force they could, and to tie the martyrs to them bythe
feet, that so, flying up again with more violence, they might
pull the body of the saint into two pieces, and each branch
carry one half along with it. There was a certain martyr
in Nicomedia, and afterwards a great many were put to the
same kind of torments, that had been whipped so barba
rously, that not only his skin but the greatest part of his
flesh was torn off, so that his very bones might be seen
through the holes they had made with their whips ; when
they had done this they washed his wounds with vinegar,
and sprinkled them over with salt, and not thinking this
enough, because they saw the saint was not dead yet, they
laid him on a gridiron over a fire, and there turned him from
one side to the other with iron forks, till the holy body being
scorched and broiled, the soul left it, and went immediately
to God. Thus death itself, which is said to be of all things
the most terrible, has been in some manner outdone by these
barbarous tormentors, because their design was not so much
to kill as to torture, by inflicting the most cruel pains they
could think of, so as to force the soul to leave the body by
the extremity of the sufferings it endured, though they had
received no wounds that were mortal.
1 1 These martyrs had the same kind of bodies that we
have;' the substance was the same— the composition the

478 the sinner's guide.
same ; they had the very same God to assist them that we
have; nor was the glory they expected different from that
which we look for. Now, if these persons underwent such
severe torments, and such cruel deaths, for obtaining of eter
nal life, shall vi e refuse to mortify the irregular desires of our
flesh for the same end ? Shall we grudge to fast one day,
when those holy men have died of hunger? Why shall we
think it much to say a few prayers on our knees with de
votion, when we see these saints have continued to pray
for their enemies, though they were nailed to the cross ?
Why shall we be unwilling to mortify and retrench our de
sires and passions a little, when these persons have so
cheerfully given their limbs to be cut and torn in pieces ?
Why should we be against the taking of a little time every
day, to retire ourselves into our closets, to meditate there,
when these men have been shut up so long in dark prisons
and dungeons? And if these, in fine, have held down their
backs to be ploughed up and furrowed, why shall we grudge to
take a discipline now and then on ours, for the love of Christ?
12. But if these examples cannot move us, let us lift up
our eyes towards the sacred wood of the cross, let ns con
sider who is it that hangs on it, in the greatest pain and
torment imaginable, for the love of us. " Consider him
(says St. Paul) that endured such opposition from sinners,
against himself, that you be not wearied, fainting in yonr
minds." Heb. xii. 3. This is a surprising example take it
which way you will. For if you consider his sufferings, they
could not have possibly been greater; you would find also
that it was for no crime of his own that he suffered, he
being innocence itself; nor for any necessity he was in,
because he is Lord of all created beings. It was only an
effect of pure goodness and love. And notwithstanding his
being so great, he underwent such bitter torments, both
in his body and in his soul, that all the sufferings of the
martyrs, and of the whole together, are not fit to be put
into the balance with them. His torments were such, that
the very heavens were astonished at them, the earth shook,
the rocks were rent asunder, and the most senseless beings
were sensible of them. And can man, then, alone be so
hard as not to be wrought upon by that which moved the
very elements? aud can he be so ungrateful as not to copy
something from him, who came into the world to give him
an example? For this reason, as our Saviour himself said,
" Ought not Christ to have suffered these things, so to enter

THE sinner's guide. 479
into his glory." Luke, xxiv. 26. For after his coming into
the world to conduct us to heaven, which was to be done by
the way of the cross, it was convenient that he himself
should be crucified the first, that so the servant seeing the
master so ill dealt with, might have the better courage to
suffer. 13. Who, then, can be so ungrateful, so delicate, so
proud, or so impudent, as to desire to go to heaven by living
at his ease and pleasure, when he sees the Lord of majesty,
with all his friends and followers, take so much pains to get
thither? King David commanded Urias, after his coming
from the camp, to take his leave and refresh himself at his
own house, and to sup with his wife ; but the loyal subject
replied, " The ark of God, and Israel, and Judah, dwell in
tents ; and my lord Joab and the servants of my lord abide
upon the face of the earth ; and shall I go into my house to
eat and to drink, and to sleep with my wife? By thy wel
fare and by the welfare of thy soul I will not do this thing."
2 Kings, xi. 11. 0 true and faithful servant, who were as
worthy of praise as you were unworthy of death ! How can
you, 0 Christian! choose but have the same respect for your
Lord when you see him stretched out on the cross? The
ark of God, that is made of incorruptible cedar, undergoes
torments and death itself, and do you seek your own ease
and pleasure? This ark, in which the hidden manna was
" kept, which is the bread of angels, drank gall and vinegar
for you, and do you hunt after your sweet morsels and deli
cacies? This ark, in which the tables of the law were
kept, which are all the treasures of the wisdom and know
ledge of God, is despised and esteemed no better than folly,
and do you aim at nothing less than honour and praise ? But
if the example of this mystical ark is not sufficient to confound
you, take with it the patterns and the sufferings of so many
saints, of so many prophets, martyrs, confessors, and virgins,
who have undergone such pains and torments, and have
lived in such rigours and austerities. The Apostle gives us
a short view of their sufferings in these words: " They have
been mocked, they have been scourged, and put into chains
and prisons. They have been stoned, they have been cut
asunder, they have been tempted, they have been slain with
the sword, they have wandered about in sheep-skins and
goat-skins, being destitute, afflicted, and tormented, of whom
the world was not worthy ; they wandering in deserts, over
mountains, in dens, and in caves of the earth" (Heb. xi.

480 the sinner's guide.
36, 37, 38), and yet, amidst all these miseries, they remained
unshaken and constant in their faith.
14. If the saints led such lives, and if, what is much more
yet, the Saint of saints himself lived no otherwise, I cannot
see what privilege they claim, nor what they propose to
themselves, who think of going where these are now, in a road
pf delights and pleasures. If, therefore, you desire to share
with them in their glory, you must, whilst you are here,
partake of their labours ; if you intend to reign with them
hereafter, you must resolve upon nothing less than suffering
with them now.
15. What I have here said is to exhort yon to this noble
virtue of fortitude, that so you may imitate that holy soul,
of whom Solomon has given us this commandment: "She
hath girded her loins with strength, and hath strengthened
her arms." Prov. xxxi. 17.
* I will conclude this chapter, and the doctrine of this second
book, with that excellent sentence of our Saviour: " If any
man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up
his cross daily, and follow me." Luke, ix. 23. Our Divine
Master has here given us an abridgment, in a few words, of
the whole doctrine of the Gospel, the. design of which is, the
forming of a perfect and evangelical man, who, though he
enjoys a kind of paradise within, is, nevertheless, continually
stretched upon a cross without, so that the sweetness of the
one tempers the bitterness of the other, and the pleasure he
finds in the one makes him willingly embrace the toils and
hardships he is to expect from the other.

THE END.

rrinted by J. M. O'T^oui, 13, Hawkins'-street, Dublin.

YALE UNIVERSITY LIBRARY

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