The Ascent of Mount Carmel

8. I will explain my meaning by the following illustration. A person in the state of union is requested to pray for a certain individual. Now he will never ror member to do what is asked of him, by reason of any- * I Cor. vi. 17. thing whatever remaining in his memory ; but if it be right so to pray — which it will be when God shall be pleased to hear that prayer — God will then move the will and excite a desire to pray. On the other hand, if it be not the will of God to hear that prayer : let that person do what he may, he will never pray as he was requested, neither will he have any desire to do so. Sometimes God will make him pray for others, whom he never knew or heard of. This is the effect of a particular influence of God exerted over these souls, whom He directs to perform certain actions according to the disposition of His will. The actions and the prayers of such souls always attain their en<L 9. So it was with the glorious Mother of God. Perfect from the first, there was no impression of created things on her soul, to turn her aside from God, or in any way to influence her; for her every movement ever proceeded from the Holy Ghost.

10. Again. A perfect man has at a given time a certain indispensable business to transact. He has no recollection whatever of it : but in some way he knows not, it will present itself to his mind, through that stirring of his memory of which I speak, at the time and in the way it ought, and that without fail. It is not only in these matters that the Holy Ghost enlightens the soul, but in many others, present, future, and distant — men knowing not how the knowledge thereof comes to them.- But it comes from the divine wisdom, because they exercise themselves in knowing or apprehending nothing, which can obstruct their course. It comes to them in general, as I said in the beginning, while speaking of the Mount, so that they do all things; as it is written, 'Wisdom, which is the worker of all things, taught me.'* 11. You will say, perhaps, that the soul cannot so empty and deprive the memory of all forms and fantasies, as to reach a state so high ; for there are two things to be done which are beyond the forces and abilities of man ; namely, to cast what is natural aside, and touch, and unite with, the supernatural, which is the most difficult, and, in truth, impossible for mere natural strength. God, indeed, must raise it up into this supernatural state ; but the soul, so far as it can, must also be in good dispositions, which it may acquire by the help which God supplies.

And so when the soul rejects these forms and empties itself of them, God causes it to enter into the enjoyment of this union. When God does this, the soul is passive, as I shall explain in speaking of the passive night; and He will then bestow upon it the habit of perfect union, proportional to its good dispositions, when it shall seem to Him good to do so. I do not speak of the divine effects of the perfect union, as they relate to the understanding on the one hand, to the memory and the will on the other, in connection with this night and active purgation, for the divine union is not here complete ; but I will do so in connection with the passive night,t in which the soul is united with God.

12. I speak here only of the necessary means of purifying the memory, so that, so far as itself is concerned, it may enter actively upon this night and purgation. The spiritual man must observe this precaution : never to treasure up or retain in the memory anything he may see, • Wild, vii. ai. t Park Night, Bk. ii ch. hear, taste, touch, or smell ; but to let them pass away, forgetting them, and never reflecting upon them, unless when it may be necessary to do so in order to a good meditation. But this deliberate forgetfulness, and rejection of all knowledge* and of forms, must never be extended to Christ and His Sacred Humanity.* 13. Sometimes, indeed, in the height of contemplation and pure intuition of the divinity, the soul does not remember the Sacred Humanity, because God raises the mind to this, as it were, confused and most supernatural knowledge ; but for all this, studiously to forget it is by no means right, for the contemplation of the Sacred Humanity and loving meditation upon it, will help us up to all good, and it is by It we shall ascend most easily to the highest state of union.

14. It is evident at once that, while all visible and bodily things ought to be forgotten, for they are a hindrance in our way, He, who for our salvation became man, is not to be accounted among them, for He is the truth, the door, and the way, and our guide unto all good. 15. Let the spiritual man, then, take this for granted. Let him aim at complete abstraction and forgetfulness ; so that, as much, as possible, no knowledge or form of created things — as if they existed not — shall remain in his memory, so that the memory thus emptied and free may be wholly for God, lost as it were, in holy oblivion. 16. If, again, doubts are raised and objections made, as beforet with regard to the understanding, to the effect that in this way we shall be doing nothing, losing our * St. Teresa's Life ch. xxii. § u.—ch. xxiii. § x& t Bk. ii. ch. xi. and ch. xv. time and depriving ourselves of those spiritual blessings, of which the memory serves as a channel; I can but answer that I have replied to them here as I did before, and that there is no reason why I should dwell longer upon them at present. Only let us remember, that if for a time this forgetfulness of all knowledge and forms is not felt to be profitable, the spiritual man must not therefore grow wearied ; for God will draw near in His own time, and that for so great a blessing we ought to wait long, and patiently persevere in hope.

17. Though it is true that we shall scarcely meet with anyone who in all things and at all times is under the direct influence of God, whose union with Him, is so continuous that his faculties are divinely directed ; still there are souls, which for the most part in their operations are under the guidance of God, and these are not souls which move themselves in the sense of St. Paul, when he said that the sons of God— those who are transformed, and united in Him — * are led by the Spirit of God/* to accomplish divine actions in their faculties. This is nothing strange, for these operations must be divine, seeing that the union of the soul is divine.

Three kinds of evils to which the soul is liable, when not in darkness, with respect to the knowledge and reflections of the memory. Explanation of the first. The spiritual man is subject to three evils and inconveniences, if he persists in the use of the natural knowledge of the memory, with a view to drawing near unto God, or for any other purpose. Two of them are positive, and the third is negative. The first proceeds from the things of this world ; the second from the devil ; and the third, which is negative, consists in the hindrance and disturbance of the divine union, which this knowledge brings with it. 2. The first, proceeding from the things of this world, is a subjection to many kinds of evils, the result of this knowledge and reflection, such as falsehoods, imperfections, desires, opinions, waste of time, and many other things which greatly defile the soul. It is clear, that in yielding to these notions and reflections, we must fall into many errors ; for very often what is false seems to be true, what is certain, doubtful, and the contrary ; seeing that we can scarcely ever ascertain thoroughly a single truth. From all these we shall escape, if we make the memory blind to these notions and reflections.

3. Imperfections beset the memory at every step in all we hear, see, smell, touch, and taste ; for these touch certain affections, such as grief and fear and hatred, useless hopes, empty joy, or vain glory. All these at least are imperfections, and sometimes undoubted venial sins ; things which disturb perfect purity and simple union with God. Desires also are certainly excited, for the knowledge and reflections in question naturally produce them, and a mere disposition to retain these reflections furnishes food for desire. We are also liable to many a trial through our own opinions, because the memory must err in the recollection of the good and evil of others ; for sometimes evil is taken for good, and good for evil. No man, as I believe, can ever escape these evils, who does not blind his memory as to all such matters. 4. If you say that a man may easily overcome all these trials, when they come upon him, I answer, that it is utterly impossible, if he gives heed to these reflections ; for they involve innumerable follies, and some of them so subtle and minute that they cling to the soul unawares, like pitch to the hand that has touched it. I repeat, then, that the best way to overcome them is to do so at once, banishing them utterly out of the memory.

5. You will further object, and say, that the soul thus deprives itself of many good thoughts and meditations about God, and which are most profitable to it in the blessings they bring with them. I answer, all that is purely God and promotes this pure simple general and confused knowledge, is not to be rejected, but only what detains the memory on images, forms, figures, and similitudes of created things. And in order that God may accomplish this purgation, pureness of soul is most profitable— that pureness which consists in not setting the affections thereof on any created or transitory things,- and in not regarding them ; for in my opinion, tf"e opposite conduct will not fail to make a deep impression because of the imperfection, which cleaves to the powers of the soul in their operation. It is, therefore, much better to impose silence on the faculties, that God may speak. In order to attain to this state, the natural operations must cease. This takes place, as the prophet saith, when the soul comes into solitude with its faculties, and when God speaks to the heart: *I . . . will lead her into the wilderness, and I will speak to her heart.'*

6. But if you still object and say, that the soul will profit nothing, if the memory does not reflect and dwell upon God, and that it will be liable to much lukewarmness and distraction — I answer, it is impossible; for if the memory be entirely withdrawn from the things of this life and of the next, no evil, no distraction, no folly or vice can enter within it— such things insinuate themselves through the wandering of the memory — for then there is no way by which they can enter, nor anything to give occasion to them. This certainly would be the case, it we opened the door to the consideration of earthly things, while it is shut against that of heavenly things : but we shut the door against everything which is prejudicial to union, and out of which distractions may come, bringing the memory into silence, that the Spirit only may be heard; and saying with the prophet, * Speak, Lord, for Thy servant heareth.' t Such also is the state of the bride ; for the bridegroom saith of her, * My sister, my spouse is a garden enclosed, a fountain sealed up/ J so that nothing may enter within.

• Ot. ii 14. f 1 Kings ill 10. t Cant iv. is. 7. Let the soul, therefore, be 'enclosed' without anxiety or alarm ; and He Who, when the doors were shut, entered bodily in among His disciples, and said, 1 Peace be unto you,' * in an unexpected and inconceivable way, will enter spiritually into the soul without its knowledge or co-operation, when it keeps the doors of its powers closed ; the memory, understanding, and will, and fill it with His peace, turning into it the river of peace, as it is written, * O that thou hadst hearkened to My commandments ; thy peace had been as a river.' t And He will take away all misgivings, and suspicions, all uneasiness and darkness, which made the soul afraid that it was already, or on the point of being, lost. Be, therefore, earnest in prayer, and hope in detachment and emptiness ; thy good will not tarry.

Of the second evil, coming from the evil spirit through the natural apprehensions of the memory. The second positive evil, to which the soul is liable from the notions of the memory, comes from the devil, who by these means has great power over it. For he can heap forms upon forms, and thereby infect the soul with pride, . avarice, envy, and hatred. He can also excite unjust enmities, vain love, and delude us in many ways. Besides, he is wont so to impress matters on the fancy, that falsehood seems true, and truth false. Finally, all the greatest delusions of Satan, and the evils of the soul • St. John xx. 19. f Is. xlviii. l& 254 THE ASCENT [BOOK IILj enter in through these notions and forms of the memory. Now if the memory were blind to these things, and annihilated in forgetfulness of them, it would shut the door against the evil spirit, so far as this evil is concerned, and free itself wholly from these things, which would be a great blessing. The evil spirit cannot molest the soul but through the operations of its faculties, and chiefly by the help of forms and fancies : for upon these depend, more or less, all the operations of the other faculties. And, therefore, if the memory annihilates itself as to them, the devil can do nothing ; because he can find nothing to lay hold of, and without something of that kind he can do nothing whatever.

2. Would that spiritual directors could clearly see, how great are the evils, which the wicked spirits inflict upon souls through the memory, when they make use of it ; what sadness and affliction and vain joys they occasion, both with regard to the things of God and the things ot the world; what impurities they leave rooted in the mind, distracting it so profoundly from that supreme self-recollection, which consists in fixing all the powers of the soul on the One Incomprehensible Good, and withdrawing them from all objects of sense. This emptying of the memory, though the advantages of it are not so great as those of the state of union, yet, merely because it delivers souls from much sorrow, grief, and sadness, besides imperfections and sins, is in itself a great good.

Of the third evil, proceeding from the distinct natural knowledge THE third evil, to which the soul is liable from the natural apprehensions of the memory, is negative. These apprehensions can hinder rrioral, and deprive us of spiritual, good. And, first of all, to show how they hinder moral good, we must keep in mind, that moral good consists in curbing the passions, and in restraining our disorderly desires; the result of which is peace, tranquillity, and rest, which appertain unto moral good. But this curbing and restraining of the passions is impossible for any soul, that does not forget and withdraw from all those things, by which its affections are excited ; and no trouble is ever produced in the soul but by the apprehensions of the memory. For if we forget all things, there is then nothing to disturb our peace or to excite our desires ; seeing that, as they say, what the ey« has not seen the heart does not desire. 2. This is a truth of daily experience : whenever the soul broods over anything, it is changed or disturbed, be it much or little, according to the measure of its apprehension. If the subject of its thoughts be serious and disagreeable, it elicits feelings of sadness or dislike ; if, on the other hand, the subject be pleasant, its feelings are those of joy and desire. The inevitable result of these changing apprehensions is interior disorder: joy and grief, hate and love succeed each other, and there is no possibility of preserving a uniform state which is an

256 THE ASCENT <BOOK m.J effect of moral tranquillity — but by the studious oblivion of all these. It is, therefore, quite clear that this knowledge of the memory greatly hinders the good of the moral virtues. 3. A cumbered memory also hinders the mystical or spiritual good ; for the disturbed soul, having no foundation of moral good is, so far, incapable of that which is spiritual, because this enters into no soul, that is not under control and ordered in peace. Besides, if the soul cleaves and gives heed to the apprehensions of the memory— it can attend to but one thing at a time— if it occupies itself with apprehensible things, for such are the notions of the memory, it is impossible that it can be at liberty for the incomprehensible, which is God. For, as I have already said,* the soul that will draw near unto God must do so by not comprehending, rather than by comprehending ; t it must change the changeable and the comprehensible for the unchangeable and incomprehensible.

The profitableness of forgetfulness, and emptiness with regard to all thoughts and knowledge, which naturally occur to the memory. The evils which flow into the soijl, through the apprehensions of the memory, suggest to us the opposite benefits, which result from forgetting them and emptying ourselves of them ; because, as the natural philosophers say, the doctrine of contraries is the same. • Book ii. ch. 8. t St. Teresa, Life, ch. xviii. § 18. 2. In the first place, the soul enjoys tranquillity and peace of mind, because it is delivered from the harassing vexations of thoughts and notions of the memory ; and, in consequence, what is of more importance, the conscience is pure. This state is a preparation for human and divine wisdom, and for the acquisition of virtue. 3. In the second place, it is delivered from many suggestions, temptations, and assaults of Satan, who, through these thoughts, insinuates himself into the soul, and at least causes it to fall into many impurities and, as I have said,* into sin ; as it is written, s They have thought and spoken wickedness/ f So when these thoughts are driven away, the devil has no weapon wherewith to assail the soul.

4. In the third place, while the soul is self-recollected, and forgetful of all things, it is then prepared for the inflowing and teaching of the Holy Ghost, Who * will withdraw Himself from thoughts that are without understanding.'J Even if we derived no greater benefit from this forgetfulness and emptiness of the memory, than our deliverance from pain and trouble, that of itself is a great gain and blessing ; because the pain and troubles, occasioned by the adversities of this life, bring no relief with them, but rather aggravate those adversities in general, and hurt the soul. For this it was that made David say, * Surely man passeth as an image, yea, and he is disquieted in vain.' § And in truth, eveiy man disquieteth himself in vain : for it is clear that disquietude is always vanity, because it serves to no good Yea, even * Ch. iii. t Wisd. i. 5. T Ps. lxxii. & § Ps. xxxviii. if the whole world were thrown into confusion, and all things in it, disquietude on that account is vanity, for it hurts us more than it relieves us. To endure all things, with an equable and peaceful mind, not only brings with it many blessings to the soul ; but it also enables us, in the midst of our difficulties, to have a clear judgment about them, and to minister the fitting remedy for them.

6. Solomon knew wellthe advantage of this disposition. ' I have known/ saith he * that there was no better thing than to rejoice, and to do well in this life that is, in all the events of this life, however adverse they may be, the wiseman bids us rejoice rather than be sad, that we may not lose that greatest good, peace of mind in adversity as well as in prosperity, bearing all things alike. This peace of mind no man will ever lose, if only he will forget these notions and cast aside thoughts, and withdraw from the sight, and hearing, and discussion of matters, so far as it is possible for him. We are naturally so frail and weak, that, in spite of all self-discipline, we can scarcely avoid stumbling on the recollection of many things, which disturb and disquiet our mind ; though it may have been once established in peace and tranquillity, oblivious of all things. This is the meaning of the prophet when he said, * I will be mindful and remember, and my soul shall languish within me.'t • Eccles. Hi. is. t Lam. iil s*

Of the second kind of apprehensions : the imaginary and Though, while treating of the first kind of natural apprehensions, I also sufficiently explained the imaginary, which are also natural, it was necessary to make this division, because of the attachment of the memory to other forms and notions of supernatural things: such are visions and revelations, locutions and impressions, which come upon us in a supernatural way. When these things have happened to the soul, the image, form, or figure of them remains impressed upon it, in the memory or the fancy ; and sometimes that impression i» exceedingly vivid. It is necessary to caution men on this subject : that the memory may not be perplexed by these images, and that they may not prove a hindrance to union with God in pure and perfect hope. 2. I say, then, that in order to attain that blessing, the soul must never reflect upon those objects, which have been clearly and distinctly present to it in a supernatural way, so as to preserve the forms, notions, and figures Of them. We must always keep this principle before our eyes ; the more the soul attends to any clear and distinct apprehension, natural or supernatural, the less will be- its capacity and disposition for entering into the abyss of faith, wherein all things else are absorbed. For, as I said before,* no supernatural forms or knowledge, ot which the memory takes cognisance, are God : they bear

546 THfe ASCENT £book m.j no proportion to Him, neither can they serve as proximate means of union with Him. The soul, if it is to draw near unto God, must empty itself of everything that is not God ; and the memory, therefore, must also get rid of all forms and knowledge, in order to be united to Him in the way of perfect and mystical hope. 3. This must be done; for all possession contradicts hope, which, as the Apostle writes, is of things not in possession: 'Faith is the substance of things to be hoped for, the evidence of things that appear not.'* Consequently^ the more the memory divests itself, the greater its hope; and the greater its hope, the greater its union with God. For with respect to God, the more the soul hopes, the more it obtains, and it then hopes most when it is most divested ; and when it shall be perfectly divested, it will then have the possession of God, such as is possible on earth in the divine union. But there are many souls, who will not deprive themselves of that sweetness and delight, which the memory finds in these things, and who, consequently, never attain to this supreme possession and perfect sweetness; for he 'that doth not renounce all that he possesseth, cannot be a disciple 't of Christ

rbe evils inflicted on the soul by the knowledge of supernatural things if reflected upon. Their number. The spiritual man exposes himself to five kinds of evils, if he attends to, and reflects on, that knowledge, and * Hebr. xi. i« t St. Luke xiv. 33. those forms, which are impressed upon his mind by the things which pass through it in a supernatural way. The first is frequent illusions, mistaking one thing for another. The second is proximate occasions of presumption or vain glory. The third is the opportunities of deceiving, which they furnish to the devil. The fourth is hindrance to union with God in hope. The fifth is low views of God for the most part 2. As to the first evil, it is clear that if the spiritual man attends to, and reflects upon, these notions' and forms, he must be frequently deceived in his judgment about them. For as no man can thoroughly comprehend what passes, in the order of nature, into his imagination, or have a sound and certain opinion about it ; much less will he be able to decide correctly about supernatural things, which are beyond our understanding and of rare occurrence. He will frequently attribute to God what is after all but fancies, and to the evil spirit what is from God, and to God what is from satan. Very frequently, good or evil to others or to himself will be present to him through these forms or figures: and he will consider them most certain and true, and yet they will be nothing else but utter falsehoods. Other impressions made upon him he will consider false, though they are true ; this, however, I consider the safer course of the two, for it usually proceeds out of humility.

8. But if he is not deceived as to their truth, he may be as to their kind and the value to be set upon them ; he may look upon that which is trifling as important, and on what is important as trifling. And as to their nature, he may consider what his imagination presents to him to be of this or that kind, when it is not ; putting ' darkness for light, and light for darkness, bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter/* Finally, if he escapes delusion in one thing, it will be surprising if he does in the next ; for even if he abstains from determining anything in the matter, it is sufficient, if he attends to it at all, to bring some detriment upon himself, if not the precise one of which I am now speaking, yet some one of the others of which I shall immediately speak. 4. The duty, therefore, of the spiritual man is, if he wishes to escape from the delusions of his own judgment, not to decide himself upon his own state or feelings, or what such visions, knowledge, or impressions may mean. He ought not to desire to know anything •bout them, nor give heed to them, except for the purpose of manifesting them to his confessor, that he may learn from him how to empty his memory of these apprehensions, or what in every case may be most expedient for him, in the same spirit of detachment For be these things what they may, they cannot help us to love God so much as the least act of earnest faith and hope done in the emptiness of all things.

[CHAP. Vm.] OF MOUNT CARMEL.

Of the second evil : the danger of self-conceit and presumption. These supernatural apprehensions of the memory, if attended to, or regarded at all, are to spiritual men occasions of vanity or presumption. For as he who has no experience of them, is exceedingly free from this vice, because he sees nothing in himself whereon to presume ; so on the other hand he, to whom they are familiar, has an ever-present reason for thinking himself to be something, seeing that he is the object of these visitations. It is very true that he may attribute all to God and give thanks, looking upon himself as utterly unworthy; nevertheless a certain secret self-satisfaction and conceit, on the subject of these apprehensions, will grow up in the mind, out of which, unawares, great spiritual pride will arise. Men might see this very clearly, if they would but reflect on that feeling of dislike and aversion produced in them by those, who do not commend their spirit, or attribute no value to their experiences, and on that feeling of distress, which they have when they are told that others also have the like or greater gifts. All this is the fruit of secret self-esteem and pride, and they cannot be made to understand that they are steeped in it up to their very eyes.

2. They think that a certain recognition of their own wretchedness is sufficient, while at the same time they are filled with secret self-esteem and personal satisfaction, taking more delight in their own spirit and gifts than in those of another. They are like the Pharisee who thanked God that he was * was not as the rest of men/ and that he practised such and such virtues : he was satisfied with himself, and presumed upon his state. * O God, I give Thee thanks,' said he, * that I am not as the rest of men, extortioners, unjust, adulterers ... I fast twice in a week, I give tithes of all that I possess/* Now these men do not say this in so many words, as the Pharisee did, but they habitually think so ; and some of them even become so proud as to be worse than devils. When they are conscious of certain feelings, and devotional sweetness in the things of God, as they imagine, they become so self-satisfied, that they look upon themselves as most near unto God, and upon others unconscious of the like feelings, as most unworthy, and they despise them as the Pharisee did the publican.

3. To avoid this pestilent evil, abominable in the sight of God, there are two considerations to help us. The first is that virtue does not consist in these apprehensions and feelings about God, however sublime they may be, nor in any personal experiences of this kind, but on the contrary, in that which is not matter of feeling at all, — in great humility, contempt of ourselves and of all that belongs to us, profoundly rooted in the soul ; and in being glad that others have the same opinion of us, and in not wishing to be thought well of by others at all. 4. The second is, that all visions, revelations, and heavenly feelings, and whatever else is greater than these, are not worth the least act of humility bearing the fruits of that charity which neither values nor seeks itself, which * St Luke xviii. 1 1, ia« thinketh no evil except of self, which thinketh well not of self, but of all others. Let men, therefore, cease to regard these supernatural apprehensions, and labour rather to forget them, that they may be free.

Of the third evil : the work of the devil through the imaginary apprehensions of the memory. From what I have already written, we may gather and learn how great is that evil which the devil inflicts on the soul through these supernatural apprehensions. Not only can he represent to the memory and the fancy many false notions and forms which shall seem good and true, impressing them on the mind and senses with great effect and certainty by his suggestions— and this in such a way as to make his representations be taken for what they pretend to be, for as he changes himself into an angel, he will seem to be light to the soul — but also in the very truths of God he can tempt us in divers ways, by communicating unruly motions about them to our desires and affections, whether spiritual or sensual. For if the soul takes pleasure in these apprehensions, it is very easy for satan to increase our affections and desires, and to plunge us into spiritual gluttony and other evils. 2. And that he may succeed the better, he is wont to inspire and fill the senses with delight, sweetness, and pleasure, in the things of God, so that the soul, dazzled And enervated by thaf sweetness, may become blind

through pleasure, and set itself more upon sweetness than upon love — at least not so much upon love— and attach greater importance to these apprehensions than to that detachment and emptiness, which are to be found in faith and hope and the love of God. He doeth all this that, starting from that point, he may, by little and little, delude the soul, and bring it to believe, with great readiness, all his lies. For the soul that is blind considers falsehood to be falsehood no longer, evil not to be evil, because it puts darkness for light, and light for darkness, and falls into endless disorders. That which was once wine is turned into vinegar, as well in the natural as in the moral and spiritual order. All this comes upon the soul, because it did not in the beginning deny itself in the pleasure ministered by supernatural things. And as this pleasure was at first not great or not so hurtful, the soul was not sufficiently afraid of it, but suffered it to remain and grow, as the grain of mustard grows into a great tree. For, as it is said, a slight error in the beginning becomes a great error in the end.

3. The soul that will escape this evil, the work of the devil, must not take any pleasure in these apprehensions* for if it does the result will most certainly be blindness, and then a fall ; for delight and sweetness, of their own proper nature, dull and blind the soul. This is the meaning of David when he said, * Perhaps darkness shall cover me ; and night shall be my light in my pleasures that is, perhaps darkness shall cover me in my pleasures, and I shall take night for my light. * Ps. onxviii. 1 1.

Of the fourth evil of the distinct supernatural apprehensions of the memory : the impediment to union. There is not much to be said here about the fourth evil, because I have been speaking of it throughout this book : I have said that the soul, in order to be united with God in hope, must renounce all possession in the memory ; because nothing that is not God must remain in the memory, if our hope in God is to be perfect. No form, or figure or image, natural or supernatural, of which the memory takes cognisance can be, or resemble, God, as it is written, * There is none among the gods like unto thee, O Lord and therefore if the memory dwells upon any such it hinders the divine union. In the first place, because it perplexes itself; and in the next, because the greater its occupation the less perfect its hope. It is therefore necessary for the soul to forget, and detach itself from, all distinct forms and knowledge of supernatural things, that it may not hinder in the memory, the divine union in perfect hope.

Of the fifth evil, resulting from the imaginary supernatural apprehensions : low and unseemly views of God. The fifth evil is no less hurtful to the soul. It flows from the willing retention, in the imaginative memory, of the forms and images of those things which are supernaturally communicated to the soul, but especially then, # Ps. ixxxv. 8. when we would apply them as means to the divine union. It is a very easy thing for us to form notions about the nature and greatness of God, unworthy of and unbecoming His incomprehensible being. Though our reason and judgment may withhold us from forming any express decision that God is like any one of these similitudes ; still the mere consideration of these apprehensions generates in the soul a certain esteem and sense of God which are not so high as faith teaches ; namely, that He transcends all comparison and all comprehension. For over and above that the soul takes from God that which it gives to the creature, the mere consideration of these apprehensions naturally produces within it a certain comparison of them with God, which will not leave it to judge of God as it ought to do. For, as I have said before,* no creature whatever, in heaven or on earth, no forms or images, natural or supernatural, cognisable by our faculties, however noble they may be, present any comparison or proportion with the being of God;

because neither genus nor species includes Him. And in this life the soul of man is incapable of comprehending clearly and distinctly anything that cannot be classed under genus and species. This is why St. John said, 'No man hath seen God at any time ;'t and Isaias and St. Paul, 'Neither hath it entered into the heart of man.' J Yea, God himself said to Moses, ' Man shall not see Me and live.'§ He, therefore, who shall perplex his memory and the other powers of his soul with matters that they can comprehend, will never think and feel about God as he ought to do.

* Bk ii. ch. viii. f St. John i. i& X Is. lxiv. 4 ; i Cor. ii 9. f Ex. xxxiii. aa " 2. I will explain my meaning by a somewhat low comparison. The more we. fix the eyes of our regard upon the courtiers of a king, and the more we consider them, the less will be our reverence and respect for that king ; for, even if our disesteem of him be not formally and distinctly recognised by the understanding, it is nevertheless visible in our conduct. The more we attribute to the courtiers the more we rob their king ; and we cannot have a high opinion of that king then, because his courtiers are so respected in his presence. This is the soul's treatment of God whenever the soul gives heed to these apprehensions. This illustration is a very mean one ; for God is of another nature than all His creatures, infinitely different from them all. 3. These apprehensions, therefore, must be put out of sight, and the eyes must regard none of them, but be fixed upon God in faith and perfect hope. Hence those who not only give heed to these apprehensions, but also think that God is like unto some of them, and that by their help they may attain unto union with Him, are already fallen into grievous error ; they do not profit by the light of faith in the understanding, which is the means by which this faculty is united with God, neither also will they grow up to the heights of hope, which is the means of union for the memory ; that union must be effected, as I have said,* by the severance of the memory from all imaginations whatever.

The benefits of withdrawing the soul from the apprehensions of the imagination. Answer to an objection. The difference between the natural and supernatural imaginary apprehensions. The benefits that result from emptying the imaginative faculty of these imaginary forms become manifest by the consideration of the five evils which they inflict on the soul, if it would retain them, as I said before of the natural forms.* But, beside these benefits, there are others of perfect rest and tranquillity of mind. For, putting aside that natural rest which the soul enjoys when it has set itself free from the dominion of images and forms, it is also delivered from the anxiety of ascertaining whether they are good or evil, and what conduct it ought to observe with reference to the one and the other. It also escapes from troubling and wasting the time of its confessors, for it does not require them to determine whether these things are good or evil, or the nature of them, — matters, the knowledge of which is not necessary for it, for all it has to do is to reject them in the senpe I have already explained,t and to give no attention whatever to them. The time and strength, thus wasted, will be then employed in a better and more profitable way, in conforming the will to God, in earnestly striving after detachment, poverty of sense and spirit, which consists in a willing real privation of all consoling and tangible support, interior as well as exterior. This we practise well when we seek and strive to separate ourselves from these forms ; the issue

* Book ii. ch. xii. f Bk. ii. ch. xvi. [cttA*. XII.] Ofr MOtJNt CAkMEL. i#l of which will be that inestimable blessing of drawing near unto God, Who has neither image, form, nor figure ; and that blessing will be proportional to our estrangement from all forms, images, and figures. 2. You will here perhaps object, and say, Why, then, do many spiritual directors counsel us to profit by these divine communications and impressions, and to desire the gifts of God that we may have wherewithal to give to Him in return, for if He gives nothing, we too have nothing to give unto Him ? Why does St. Paul say, « Extinguish not the Spirit? * Why does the Bridegroom say to the bride, 'Put Me as a seal upon thy heart, as a seal upon thy arm* ?t This seal signifies some apprehensions. Ancf yet, according to this teaching, we we are not only not to seek them, but, even if God sends them, to reject them. It is also certain that God, when He sends them, sends them for our good> and that their effects will be good. Pearls are not to be thrown away. Yea, it is even a sort of pride not to yield a willing reception to God's communications, as if we could do without them in our owti strength.

3. I refer the reader, for a solution of this difficulty, to the fifteenth and sixteenth chapters of the second book, where the objection has been in great measure replied to. I said there that the benefits of the supernatural apprehensions, when they are from God, are passively wrought in the soul, at the time of their presentation to the senses, without the co-operation of our faculties. An act of the will admitting them is therefore unnecessary, for, as I have said, if the soul * i Thess. v. 19. f Cant. viii. 6. will then exert its own faculties, the effect of that natural and inferior exertion will be to hinder the supernatural effects then wrought by God through their intervention, rather than any profit from that active exertion. Yea, rather, inasmuch as the fruit of these imaginary apprehensions is passively communicated to the soul ; so the soul on its part must be passively disposed in relation to them without any interior or exterior acts, as I have already explained. This is really to preserve the divine impressions, for by this conduct we shall not destroy them by inferior acti6ns of our own. This, too, is the way not to extinguish the Spirit, for we should extinguish Him if we attempted to walk in a way along which God does not lead us. We shoujjd be doing that if, when God communicates His Spirit to us passively, as He does in these apprehensions, we should then actively exert our understanding, or seek anything in them beside and beyond that which God communicates through them.

4. This is evident; for if the soul then exerts itself its action will be only natural, or, at the utmost, if supernatural, far inferior to that which God wills. In its own strength the soul cannot do more, seeing that it neither does, nor can, influence itself supernaturally ; it is God that so influences it, but with its own consent. If, then, the soul will do anything itself, it will, necessarily, so far as itself is concerned, hinder the communication of God, that is, the Spirit ; because it has recourse to its own operations, which are of another kind and far inferior to those of God. This, then, is to extinguish the Spirit. The inferiority of this exertion is clear, for the powers of the soul, in their ordinary and natural course, cannot act or reflect but upon some figure, form, or image ; and these are but the rind and accidents of the substance and of the spirit hidden beneath them. This substance and spirit unite not with the powers of , the soul in true understanding and love, until the reflex and imperfect action of those powers shall have ceased. The end and aim of the soul in this exertion is to receive in itself the substance, understood and loved, which those forms involve. The difference therefore between the active and passive operation, and the superiority of the latter, is the same as that between a work in the course of performance, and the same work already performed ; between the search after an object, and that object sought and found.

5. If the soul, then, will actively exert its faculties on those supernatural apprehensions, in which God, as I have said, communicates passively the spirit of them, it will do nothing else but forsake what is already done, in order to do it anew ; and so will have no enjoyment of it, neither will its own exertions have any other effect than to frustrate what God hath wrought. Because, as I have said,* the powers of the soul can never of themselves attain to the Spirit, which God communicates independently of them. If we were to attach any importance to these imaginary apprehensions, we should directly extinguish the Spirit which God infuses through them into the soul: we must therefore put them aside, and observe a passive conduct in their regard, for God is then lifting up the soul to things above its power and its • Bk. ii. ; ch. xvi 274 THE ASCENT [BOOK m.] knowledge. This is the meaning of the prophet when he said, ' I will stand upon my watch, and fix my foot upon the tower; and I will watch to see what will be said to me.'* That is, I will keep guard over my faculties, and will not suffer them to move a step, and so shall I be able to see what will be said to me ; that is, I shall understand and enjoy what God will communicate to me supernaturally.

6. As to the objection founded on the words of the Bridegroom, those words refer to that love which He demands, the function of which is to make the beloved ones resemble each other. And therefore He saith to her, * Put Me as a seal upon thy heart ' t— where the arrows strike that are shot forth from the quiver of love, that is, the actions and motives of love— so that all the arrows of love might strike Him, being there as a target for them, and that all may thus reach Him, and the soul become like unto Him through the actions and motives of love until it becomes transformed in Him. He says also, 'as a seal upon thy arm.' The arm implies the exercise of love, for it is that which comforts and sustains the beloved. Therefore all we have to do with these apprehensions, which come upon us from above, as well imaginary as of every other kind, whether visions, locutions, impressions, or revelations, is, making no account of the letter or the outward veil— that is, the significative and intelligible fact^to attend only to the preservation of the love of God which they cause interiorly in the soul. It is in this sense that we are to make much of these impressions; not of the sweet-

• Habac. il i. f Cant YiiL 6. ness and delight of them, nor of the figures, but of the impressions of love which they produce. And with this object only in view we may probably at all times call to mind that image and apprehension, which have been the occasion of love, in order to furnish ourselves with motives of love. For though the effect of that apprehension be not so great when recalled to mind as it was when it was first communicated, still at the recollection of it our love is renewed and our minds lifted up unto God ; especially when the recollection is of one of those supernatural images, figures, or impressions which usually so impress themselves on the soul that they continue for some time there, and can scarcely be driven away. 7. These images, thus imprinted on the soul, produce whenever they are adverted to, the divine effects of love, sweetness, and light, sometimes more, sometimes less, for that is the end for which they are impressed. He with whom God thus deals receives a great gift, for he has a mine of blessings within himself. The images which produce such effects as these are vividly grounded in the spiritual memory, and resemble not those which the fancy preserves. It is not therefore necessary when we would remember them to have recourse to the fancy, because we have them in ourselves, as an image seen in a mirror. And whenever a soul has them formally, it may then profitably recall them to that effect of love ; because they will not hinder the union of love in faith, when we do not dwell upon them, but make use of them, towards exciting our love, and, when that is done, instantly dismiss them: in this way they will be of

service to us towards the attainment of the divine union. 8. It is difficult to determine when these images touch directly the spiritual part of the soul, and when they are only in the fancy. Those of the fancy are usually very frequent, for the imagination and the fancy of some people are full of imaginary visions, abundantly present in one form ; whether it be the result of the great vigour of that organ which, after the slightest effort of thought, represents at once and portrays in the fancy the usual forms, whether it be the work of satan, or whether it be the work of God, but not formally impressed on the soul. But, however, we may determine their nature by their effects. Those that are natural or diabolic in their origin, however accurately remembered, produce no good effect, neither do they spiritually renew the soul, and the recollection of them issues only in dryness; while those which are from God produce, whenever remembered, some good effect, as at the first when originally presented to the soul. The formal images, those which are impressed on the soul, almost always when remembered, produce some effect. He who has these will easily distinguish the one from the other, for the difference between them will be most evident after experience. I have one thing, however, to say; those which are formally and durably impressed on the soul are of very rare occurrence. But of whatever kind they may be, the good of the soul consists in not seeking to comprehend anything save God alone by faith in hope.

9. Finally, as to that objection which charges him with pride who rejects these things when they are good, I [CHAP, m] OF MOUNT CARMEL. 277 reply that it is a prudent humility to use them in the best way, as I have shown, and to guide our steps by the road that is safest.

Of spiritual knowledge as it relates to memory. The third kind of apprehensions of the memory is spiritual knowledge: not because it belongs to the bodily sense of the fancy, like the rest, but because it is also cognisable by the spiritual reminiscence and memory. When the soul has once had one of this kind, it may, when it wills, call it to mind, not by reason of the figure and image which the apprehension thereof may have left behind in the bodily sense— for that is incapable of receiving spiritual forms— but because it intelligently and spiritually remembers it by that form of it which remains impressed on the soul- which is also a form, or image, or knowledge spiritual or formal, by which the soul remembers it— or by the effect it has wrought. This is the reason why I place these apprehensions among those of the memory, though not belonging directly to the fancy. 2. The nature of this knowledge, and the conduct to be observed by the soul with reference to it, in order to be united with God, has been sufficiently explained in the twenty-fourth chapter of the second book, where I treated of it as an apprehension of the understanding. You will there find that there are two kinds of them, one of uncreated perfections, another of creatures. I am

now speaking only so far as it touches this part of my subject; namely, the conduct of the memory in the matter. I say again, as I did of the formal impressions in the preceding chapter - for these are of the same kind, being of created things — that they may be remembered when the effect of them is good, not, indeed, for the purpose of dwelling upon them but for quickening our love and knowledge of God. But if the recollection of them produces not this effect, the memory should never busy itself with them. But as to the knowledge of the uncreated perfections, that may be remembered as often as we can, for it will produce great results ; for that is, as I said before, touches and impressions of the divine union towards which I am directing the soul. The memory does not remember these by the help of any form, image, or figure that may have been impressed on the soul — for none such belong to the touches and impressions of union with the Creator— but only by their effects of light, love, joy, and spiritual renewing, some of which, as often as they are remembered, are wrought anew in the souL

General directions for the guidance of the spiritual man in relation to the memory. To conclude, then, this subject of the memory, it may be as well here to furnish the spiritually-minded reader with certain brief directions, of universal application, how he is to unite himself, in the memory, with God. For, notwithstanding that the matter has been sufficiently discussed, it will be more easily grasped, if I repeat it here concisely. Having this in view, then, we must remember, that my object is the union of the soul with God in the memory by hope. Now, that which we hope for is what we possess not, and the less we possess the greater scope we have for hoping, and, consequently, the greater the perfection of hope ; while, on the othei hand, the more we possess the less room is there for hope, and, consequently, the less is the perfection of hope. Accordingly the more the soul strips the memory of forms and reminiscible matters, which are not the divinity 01 God incarnate— the recollection of Him always subserve* our true end, for He is the way, the guide, and the source of all good— the more it will fix the memory on God, and the more empty it will make it, so that it shall hope for Him Who is the fulness of it.

2. What we have to do, then, in order to live in the simple and perfect hope of God, whenever these forms, knowledge, and distinct images occur, is, not to fix our minds upon them but to turn immediately to God, emptying the memory of all such matters, in loving affection, without regarding or considering them more than suffices to enable us to understand and perform our obligations, if they have any reference thereto. We must do this without taking any satisfaction in them, in order that they may leave no disturbing effects behind. And therefore we must not omit to think o£ and remember, those things which it is our duty to do and to know ; for in that case, provided no selfish attachments intrude, these recollections will do no harm. Those sentences of the thirteenth chapter of the first book will be profitable to us in this matter. 3. But, my dear reader, bear in mind that I have nothing, and will have nothing, in common with the opinions of those pestilent men who, full of the pride and hate of satan, labour to destroy among the faithful the holy and necessary use, and noble worship, of the images of God and the saints. My principles are very different from theirs ; for I am not saying that images ought not to be allowed, and worshipped, as they do ; but I only show the difference between them and God, teaching men to make use of the sign in such a way as that it shall not hinder their progress to the reality, by resting upon it more than is sufficient for their spiritual advancement.

4. Means are necessary to the end ; such are images, for they remind us of God and His saints. But when we dwell upon the means more than the nature of such means demands, we are then hindered and perplexed. How much more, then, must this be the case with those interior images and and visions which are formed within the soul ? These are liable to innumerable risks and illusions. But with regard to the memorial, worship, and veneration of those images, which our holy mother the Church sets before us, there can be neither risk nor delusion ; and the recollection of them cannot fail to be profitable, because it is always connected with love of what they represent. And when the memory makes this use of images they will always help it on towards the divine union, if it permits the soul to fly upwards, when God grants this grace, from the image to the reality, in forgetfulness of the creature and all that belongs to it.

Of the dark night of the will Proofs from Deuteronomy and the Psalms. Division of the affections of the will* . We have done nothing by the purification of the understanding towards grounding it in faith, and that of the memory in hope— according to the sense explained in the sixth chapter of the second book—if we have not also purified the will in the order of charity, which is the third virtue, and by which works done in faith are living and meritorious, and without which they are nothing worth. For as St. James saith, * Faith without works is dead.'* That is, without the works of charity faith is dead. 2. And now that I have to treat of the night and active detachment of the will, with a view to its perfect establishment in this virtue of the love of God, I cannot find a better authority than that contained in Deuteronomy : * Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with thy whole heart, and with thy whole soul, and with thy whole strength.' t This is all that the spiritual man ought to do— and all that I am teaching him— that he may truly draw near unto God in the union of the will with God in love. Man is here bidden to employ for God all his faculties and desires, all the functions and affections of the soul, so that all the skill and all the ^strength of the soul may minister to no other end than

* S. James ii. ?a t Deuter. tl 5, this, as the Psalmist says : ' 1 will keep my strength to Thee.,# The strength of the soul consists in its powers, passions, and desires, all of which are governed by the will. But when the will directs these powers, passions, and desires to God, and turns them away from all that is not God, it then keeps the strength of the soul for God, and loves Him with its whole strength. And that the soul may be able to do this, I purpose here to show how the will is to be purified from all unruly affections ; which are the cause why our strength is not wholly kept for God. 3. These affections or passions are four in number :— Joy, hope, grief, and fear. If these passions are excited only according to reason, in the way of God, so that we feel no joy except in that which is simply for the honour and glory of our Lord God, nor hope except in Him, nor grief except in what concerns Him, nor fear but of Him only, it is clear, then, that the strength and skill of the soul are directed to, and kept for, God. For the more the soul rejoices in aught beside Him, the less effectively will it rejoice in God, and the more it hopes in aught else, the less will it hope in God. The same applies to the other passions also.

4. In order to a more complete explanation of this I shall, as usual, speak of each of these passions and desires the will separately, for the whole matter of union with God consists in purging the will of its affections and desires, so that the vile and human will may become the divine will, being made one with the will of God. 5. These four passions domineer over the soul, and * Pi. hriii. ia assail it with the more vigour, the less the will is attached to God, and the more dependant it is on created things ; for it then rejoices easily in those things which do not deserve to be rejoiced in, hopes in that which is valueless, grieves over that for which perhaps it ought to rejoice, and fears where there is nothing to be afraid 5. It is from these affections, when disorderly, that all the vices and imperfections of the soul arise ; and all its virtues also, when they are well governed and restrained. Let us remember that if but one of them be under the control of reason, so will the others be also ; for they are so intimately bound together, that the actual course of one is the virtual course of the rest, and if one of them be actually restrained, the others will be proportionately restrained also. For if the will rejoices in anything, it will consequently hope in the same measure, and there grief and fear are virtually present ; and as that joy ceases, in the same proportion cease also grief and fear and hope.

6. The will with its four passions may be said, in some sense, to be represented by the four living creatures with one body which Ezechiel saw: 1 They had faces and wings on the four sides. And the wings of one were joined to the wings of another. They turned not when they went, but every one went straight forward.'* The wings of each one of these four affections are joined to the wings of the others, and whithersoever one of them goes there also of necessity go virtually the others. When one of them goeth on the earth so do the others, and * Ezech. i. 8, 9. when one is lifted up, so the others also. Where hope is, there also will be joy and fear and grief ; and when one has retired, the others retire also. 8. Remember, therefore, O thou who art spiritual, that the whole soul, with the will and its other powers, will follow in the wake of every one of these passions ; that they will be all captives to it, and that the three other passions also will live in it, afflicting the soul and preventing its flight to the liberty and repose of sweet contemplation and union. And so Boethius says : Wilt thou contemplate truth in clear light ? Drive away joy and hope and fear and grief.* For while these passions have dominion, they will not suffer the soul to enjoy that tranquillity and peace which are necessary for the attainment of wisdom, either natural or supernatural.

Of the first affection of the will. What joy is. Its diverse sources. The first of the passions of the soul and of the affections of the will is joy, which, in the sense I speak of, is nothing else but a certain satisfaction of the will joined to the appreciation of the object it regards ; for the will has no joy except when it appreciates an object and is satisfied with it. This refers to active joy, to that joy which the soul feels when it clearly and distinctly per- • ' Tu quoquc, si ris lumine daro cernere Vcrum, . . . GaudU pelle, pellc timorem, spemque fagato, Ne dolor assit.' Boct. d* dm. Phil. lib. I. metr. ?iL ceives why it rejoices, and when it is in its own power to rejoice or not. For there is another joy, which is passive: when the soul finds itself rejoicing, without clearly perceiving— and sometimes even perceivingwhy it rejoices, it being out of its power at that time to control, or not control, that joy. I shall speak of this hereafter.* I am now speaking of that joy, active and voluntary, which is derived from clear and distinct perceptions of things.

2. Joy arises out of six different sources: temporal, natural, sensual, moral, supernatural, and spiritual good. I shall speak of these successively, for we have so to order the will with regard to them, that, unembarrassed by them, it may not omit to place the strength of its joy in God. And for this end there is one truth which we must take for granted, and lean upon as upon a staff, which must be thoroughly understood, for it is the light by which we are to be guided, in which this doctrine is to be regarded, and by which our joy in all these goods is to be directed unto God. That truth is this: The will ought to rejoice in nothing but in that which tends to the honour and glory of God ; and that to serve Him in evangelical perfection is the greatest honour we can render Him : whatever is beside this is of no value nor of any use to man. •Dark Night Bk. ii., ch. aL

Of joy in temporal goods. How it is to be directed. The first source of joy I mentioned is temporal good ; by which I mean riches, rank, office, and other dignities; children, relations, and alliances. All these are matters in which the will may rejoice. But what vanity to rejoice in riches, rank, titles, offices, and the like, after which men are striving ! If a man's wealth made him a better servant of God, he might rejoice in his riches ; but riches are rather occasions of sin, as the wise man saith : ' My son ... if thou be rich, thou shalt not be free from sin.'* It is very true that temporal goods are not necessarily, in themselves, occasions of sin, yet generally, by reason of our frailty, the heart sets itself upon them, and falls away from God, which is sin. The wise man therefore says, that the rich shall not be free from sin. 2. Our Lord Jesus Christ, in the gospel, calls riches thorns,t that we may learn that he who shall set his will upon riches will be wounded by sin. Those fearful words recorded by St. Matthew, ' Amen, I say to you, that a rich man shall hardly enter into the kingdom of heaven,'J show us plainly that a man ought not to rejoice in his ' riches, because they expose him to so great a danger. David also bids us withdraw ourselves from riches, saying, 'If riches abound, set not your heart upon them/§ I will not allege further proof in a matter so clear, for

• Ecdus. xi. 10. t St. Matt six. 33. f St Matt xiii. 22. 8 Pi. ixi. II. when shall I have said all the evils of them that Solomon hath said ? Solomon was a man full of wisdom and of great riches, and he knew well what they were when he said, 'I have seen all things that are done under the sun, and behold all is vanity and vexation of spirit . . . and a fruitless solicitude of the mind.'# And, 'He that loveth riches shall reap no fruit from them.'t And again, 'Riches kept to the hurt of the owner/ 1 An instance of this we have in the gospel. A rich man, because his harvest was abundant, rejoiced in his expectation of years of comfort : ' But God said to him, thou fool, this night do they require thy soul of thee; and whose shall those things be which thou hast provided ?'§ The Psalmist also teaches us the same truth, saying, ' Be not thou afraid when a man shall be made rich . . • for when he shall die, he shall take nothing away ; nor shall his glory descend with him ;'||— that is, we are not to envy our neighbour because he is grown rich, for his riches will not profit him in the life to come ; yea, rather let us pity him.

3. The sum of the matter is this : let no man rejoice in his own or in his brother's wealth, unless it be that it tends to the better service of God. If rejoicing in riches can be made in any way endurable, it is when we spend and employ them for God ; for there is no other way of making them profitable. The same principle applies to the temporal goods of title, rank, and office ; all rejoicing in which is vanity, unless we feel that these things enable us to serve God better, and that they make the # Eccles. i. 14 ; ii. 26. t Ih, 9. X lb. 12. § St Luke zii. 2a I Ps. xlvuL 17, 18. way to eternal life more secure. And as we ran never be sure that these things enable us to serve God better, it will be vanity to rejoice deliberately in them, because such a joy can never be reasonable. For as our Lord saith : ' For what doth it profit a man if he gain the whole world, and suffer the loss of his own soulr* There cannot be anything worth rejoicing in except that which makes us better servants of our God.

4. Neither are men to rejoice in their children, because they are many, rich, endowed with abilities and natural graces, and prosperous, but only in that they serve God. Neither the beauty, nor the wealth, nor the lineage of Absalom the son of David profited him at all, because he served not God. To rejoice in such a son would have been vanity. It is also vanity to desire children ; as some do who disturb the world with their fretting ; for they know not if their children will be good and servants of God. They know not whether the pleasure they expect from them may not be turned into pain, tranquillity and consolation into trouble and disquietude, honour into disgrace ; and, finally, whether they shall not be to them greater occasions of sinning against God, as is the case with many. Christ has said of these that they compass sea and land to enrich themselves and to make themselves twofold the children of perdition : 'You go round about the sea and the land to make one proselyte : and when he is made, you make him the child of hell twofold more than yourselves.' t 5. If a man's affairs are prosperous, if his undertakings succeed, and all his wishes are gratified, he ought to

* St Matt, xvi 26. t St. Matt, xxiil 15. fear rather than rejoice, for this is a dangerous occasion of forgetting, and offending against, God. It was for this cause that Solomon was cautious, saying: 'Laughter I counted error; and to mirth I said: Why art thou vainly deceived ?** It is as if he said : when all things smiled upon me I counted it error and delusion to rejoice therein ; for, beyond all doubt, it is a great error and folly on the part of man if he rejoices in the sunshine of prosperity, when he does not know for certain that it will lead to any durable good. ' The heart of the wise is where there is mourning,' saith Solomon, ' and the heart of fools where there is mirth.' t Vain rejoicing blinds the heart, makes it inconsiderate and thoughtless, but mourning opens our eyes to the vision of our loss and gain. This is the reason why the wise man saith that 'anger is better than laughter + and that 'it is better to go to the house of mourning than to the house of feasting ; for in that we are put in mind of the end of all, and the living thinketh what is to come/ §

6. It is also vanity for a wife or a husband to rejoice in marriage, for they know not whether they shall serve God the better in that state. Yea, rather they should feel humbled, because, as the Apostle saith, marriage leads them to set their affections upon each other, and not to give their heart whole unto God. This is why he said : ' Art thou loosed from a wife ? seek not a wife.' || He that is married ought to live with freedom of heart, as if he had not been married. The Apostle • Eccles. ii. 2. t Eccles. vii 4. t lb. yii. 5. § lb. vii. 3. y I Cor. vii. 27. teaches the same doctrine with regard to all temporal goods, saying : i This, therefore, I say, brethren, the time is short ; it remaineth that they also who have wives be as if they had none ; and they that weep, as though they wept not ; and they that rejoice, as if they rejoiced not ; and they that buy, as though they possessed not ; and they that use this world, as if they used it not,# The Apostle teaches that to rejoice in anything which tendeth not to the service of God is vanity and without profit, for all joy which is not in God brings no good to the soul.

Of the evils resulting from joy in temporal goods. If I were to describe all the evils that environ the soul when the affections of the will are set upon temporal goods, paper and ink would fail me, and time itself would be too short. Slight beginnings issue in great evils, and in the ruin of great prosperity. A spark, unquenched, kindles a great fire, which may burn up the whole world. All these evils have their root and origin in one principal evil of a negative character involved in this joy, namely, a departure from God. 2. For, as the drawing near of the soul unto God with the affection of the will is the source of all good, so the going away from Him, through love of created things, issues in all. evils and calamities, in proportion to the joy and affection which unite us to the creature. This * I Cor. ?il 30, ja is the departure from God. In proportion, therefore, to our departure from God, more or less, will be the evils resulting from it in greater or less extent and gravity ; and for the most part they are at once most extensive and most grave.

3. There are four degrees, one worse than the other, in this negative evil, from which all the other evils, negative and positive, proceed. And when the fourth degree is reached, all the evils involved in this case will have fallen upon the soul. These four degrees are described in the following words of Moses 'The beloved grew fat and kicked ; he grew fat, and thick, and gross ; he forsook God, who made him, and departed from God his salvation.' * 4. This growing fat of the soul, once beloved, is its absorption in the joy of created things. Hence the first degree of evil, going backwards; it is a certain obtuseness of mind with regard to God, which obscures His blessings, as a cloud darkens the sky, hiding the light of the sun. For the moment the spiritual man rejoices in anything, and gives the reins to his foolish desires, he becomes blind to God, and overshadows with a cloud the pure perceptions of his judgment. ' For the bewitching of vanity,' saith the Holy Ghost, ' obscureth good things, and the wandering of concupiscence overturneth the innocent mind.'f The Holy Spirit teaches here that concupiscence alone, and joy in created things, even when the soul is without previous malice, are sufficient to precipitate it into the first degree of evil ; into that obtuseness of mind and obscurity of judgment

# Deuter. xxxii. 15. t Wisd. iv. 12. which destroy the perception of truth and a right judgment in all things. If a man gives way to concupiscence, or rejoices in temporal things, neither his sanctity nor his prudence can prevent his fall. 5. This explains those words of God: ' Neither shalt thou take bribes, which even blind the wise.'* This is especially addressed unto judges who have need of a clear and vigilant judgment, which cannot coexist with avarice and joy in gifts. Hence God commanded Moses to appoint men for judges who hated avarice : ' Provide out of all the people able men . • . . that hate avarice, who may judge the people at all times,' t men who would not blind their judgment by the lust of possession. God does not say men that avoid avarice, but men that hate avarice. For if we would defend ourselves completely against a particular affection we must hold it in abhorrence, and guard ourselves against it by the contrary feeling. The reason why Samuel was always so upright and enlightened a judge was, as he tells us himself, his abstinence from gifts : ' If I hqye taken a gift at any man's hand.' J

6. The second degree grows out of the first, as the text shows : ' he grew fat, and thick, and gross.' Thus the will becomes gross and distracted, by greater liberty in worldly things. It has no scruples about the pleasure it finds in created things. This state grows out of a previous indulgence in joy, for when the soul of man is engrossed therein it is the result of yielding to it ; and this engrossing of it by joy and desire causes the will to dilate and expend itself on created things. Great evils # Exod. xxiii. 8. t lb. xviii. 21, 22. X I Kings jui. 3 ("CHAP. XVm.] OF MOUNT C ARM EX. result from this, because this second degree leads us away from the things of God, and from holy practices, and robs us of all pleasure in them, because we take pleasure in other matters, and abandon ourselves to many follies, to empty joys and pleasure§. When the second degree is completely reached, it destroys utterly nabitual devotion, and the mind and desire are given up to secularities. Those who have fallen to this second degree, not only have their judgment and understanding blinded as to truth and justice, like those who h^ve fallen into the first ; but they are also remiss and tepid in recognising and doing their duty, according to the words of the prophet : ' They all love bribes, they run after rewards.

They judge not for the fatherless; and the widow's cause cometh not unto them/ • In this they are not without sin, especially if such duties are incumbent upon them, for those who have fallen to this depth are not free from malice, like those of the first degree. These, therefore, withdraw themselves more and more from justice and virtue, because they inflame the will more and more by this their affection for created things. The characteristics of those who are in this second state are great lukewarmness in spiritual things, and a careless observance of them ; they perform their highest duties rather as if they were ceremonies, or from compulsion, or from habit, and not from love.

7. The third degree of this negative evil is the utter forsaking of God, neglect of His law, because men will not deny themselves in the merest trifle of this world, and, finally mortal sin committed through con- cupiscence. This degree is described in the text by the words, ' He forsook God Who made him.' This degree includes all those the faculties of whose souls are so immersed in the things of the world— in riches and the commerce thereof— that they are utterly regardless of the obligations of the divine law. In that which concerns their salvation they are forgetful and dull, but quick and clear in the things of the world, so much so that our Lord calls them ' children of this world,' saying of them, that they * are wiser in their generation than the children of light;'* that is, more prudent in the management of their own affairs than the children of light in their own. Such persons are nothing in the things of God, but everything in the things of the world. These persons are the truly avaricious; they have so profusely wasted their affections and desires upon created things that they can never be satisfied; their desire and thirst increase the more, the more they depart from the fountain which alone can satisfy them, namely, God. It is of these that God speaks by the mouth of the prophet, saying, 'They have forsaken Me, the fountain of living water, and have digged to themselves cisterns, broken cisterns, that can hold no water.' t That is the reason why the covetous man finds in created things, not the assuaging of his thirst, but the increase of it. These persons fall into innumerable sins through tern poral goods; of whom the Psalmist hath said, 'The have passed into the affection of the heart.' $

8. The fourth degree of this negative evil is described in the same' text thus: 'departed from God his salvation/ # St. Luke xyL 8. * t Jerem. ii. 13. % P*. Uxil 7. This is the issue of the third degree, of which I have just spoken. 9. The avaricious man, because he makes light of his want of affection for the law of God, on account of temporal goods, departs from Him in memory, understanding, and will. He forgets Him as if He existed not, because he has made money and temporal prosperity his god ; for avarice is, according to the Apostle, ' the service of idols.'* This fourth degree extends to forgetfulness of God, to the setting of the heart formally on money which ought to be set formally upon God ; as if men had no other god than money. They have fallen into this fourth degree who scruple not to subject divine and supernatural things to temporal, as if the latter were God ; their duty being to act on the contrary rule, subjecting temporal things to God, as reason requires. Such was the impious Balaam, who sold for money the gift of God,t and Simon Magus, who ' thought that the gift of God may be purchased with money,' $ and attempted to buy it. They thought more of money; they seemed to think that others did so too, and that they would sell the gift of God.

10. There are many who, in various ways, have fallen into this fourth degree of evil ; their reason is blinded by avarice, and they are the servants of money and not of God ; they labour for it and not for Him ; they propose to themselves a human and not the divine reward; making money in divers ways their principal end and god, and preferring it to God, their ultimate end. 11. This class, too, comprises all those miserable men * Colosi. iii. 5. f Num. xxii. 7. t Acts viii 2a who so love their earthly goods as to esteem them their god ; and who therefore shrink not from the sacrifice 01 their own lives whenever their god suffers the slightest injury ; they fall into despair, and for wretched objects inflict death upon themselves : thereby showing, in the work of their own hands, the miserable reward which their god bestows upon them. When their expectations fail them they despair and die, and those who escape this final calamity live in the torments of continual anxiety and misery ; no joy enters into their soul, and no temporal happiness attends them; they pay tribute to their god in sorrow of heart, gathering money for the final misery of their just perdition: as it is written, ' Riches kept to the hurt of the owner.' *

12. Those also of whom it is said, ' God delivered them up to a reprobate sense/ 1 are of this class, for joy, when it makes possessions its end, drags men down to this. Those who do not fall so low are objects of deep commiseration, because they turn back from the way ot God. ' Be not thou afraid when a man shall be made rich, and when the glory of his house shall be increased. For when he shall die he shall take nothing away, nor shall his glory descend with him.'J 'Be not afraid when a man shall be made rich that is, be not envious of him, thinking him superior to thyself, for when he shall die he shall take nothing away with him, neither his glory nor his joy shall descend with him. # Eccles. y. 12. t Rom. I 28. J Pfc *Wiii.' 17, 1$.

The benefits resulting from withdrawing our joy from temporal The spiritual man, then, must be very careful of the beginnings of joy in temporal things, lest it should grow from little to be great, and increase from one degree to another. What is small becomes large, out of slight beginnings result great evils, and one spark is enough to set a mountain on fire. However slight his joy may be, let him quench it at once, and not trust that he shall be able to do it later; for if he has not the courage to do so when it is but beginning, how can he presume upon success when it shall have taken root and grown ? Remember especially those words of our Lord, ' He that is faithful in that which is least, is faithful also in that which is greater.'* 2. He who avoids what is slight will not stumble over what is great. Little things involve great evils, because the fences and wall of the heart are broken down when they enter in. And the proverb says, He who has begun his work has accomplished the half of it. It is for this reason that David admonishes us, saying, 'If riches abound, set not your heart upon them.'t If man will not do this for God, and because christian perfection requires it, yet because of the temporal advantages, beside the spiritual ones, which such conduct brings with it, he should keep his heart perfectly free from all Joy of this kind. In this way he not only delivers

• St. Luke xvi. iq. t Ps. lxi 1 1. himself from those pestilent evils enumerated in the preceding chapter, but also, repressing all joy in temporal goods, acquires the virtue of generosity, one of the chief attributes of God; and which cannot possibly coexist with avarice. Moreover, he attains to liberty of spirit, clearness of judgment, repose, tranquillity, and peaceful confidence in God, together with the true worship and obedience of the will. He has greater joy and comfort in creatures if he detaches himself from them ; and he can have no joy in them if he considers them as his own. He acquires also in this detachment from creatures a clear comprehension of them, so as to understand perfectly the truths that relate to them, both naturally and supernaturally. For this reason his joy in them is widely different from his who is attached to them, and far nobler. The former rejoices in their truth, the latter in their deceptiveness ; the former in their best, and the latter in their worst, conditions ; the former in their substantial worth, and the latter in their seeming and accidental nature, through his senses only. For sense cannot grasp or comprehend more than the accidents, but the mind, purified from the clouds and species of the accidents, penetrates to the interior truth of things, for that is its proper object.

3. Now joy as a cloud darkens the judgment, for there can be no rejoicing in created things without the attachment of the will. The negation and purgation of this joy leaves the judgment clear as the sky when the mists are scattered. The former, therefore, has joy in all things, but his joy is not dependent upon them, neither does it arise from their being his own : and the latter, [CHAP. XIX.] OF MOUNT CAJUlEL. in so far as he regards them as his own, loses in general all joy whatever. The former, wjiile his heart is set upon none of them, possesses them all, as the Apostle saith, with great freedom : 1 as having nothing, and possessing all things.'* The latter, while in will attached to them, neither has, nor possesses, anything ; yea, rather created things have possession of his very heart, for which cause he suffers pain as a prisoner. And, therefore, all the joy he will derive from creatures, will necessarily end in as many disquietudes and pains in the heart which is in their possession. 4. He who is detached from creatures, is not molested during prayer or otherwise, and so, without losing his time, he gains easily great spiritual treasures. On the other hand, the covetous man runs to and fro, within the limits of the chain by which his heart is bound, and with all his efforts can scarcely set himself free, even for a moment, from the bondage of his thoughts, running incessantly thither where his heart is fixed. The spiritual man, therefore, must suppress the first motions of this joy, keeping this in mind, that there is nothing in which a man may rejoice except in serving God, in promoting His honour and glory, in directing all things to this end, and in avoiding all vanity in them, not seeking his own pleasure and comfort in them.

5. The absence of joy in created good, brings another great and excellent benefit: it sets the heart free for God: which is a disposition meet for all those graces which He will bestow and without which He will give none. And even in this life, for one joy • a Cor. vi. io. denied through love of Him and for the sake of evangelical perfection, he will give them a hundredfold, according to His promise.* But if it were not so, the spiritual christian ought to suppress all joy in created things because it is offensive in the sight of God. When the rich man, in the gospel, rejoiced, because he had ' much goods laid up for many years,' God was so displeased, that He said unto Him : * Thou fool, this night do they require thy soul of thee/ t 6. It is therefore justly to be feared, whenever we rejoice in vanity, that God is looking on and preparing some chastisement for us, the bitter cup of our deservings; for the punishment of such rejoicing is frequently greater than its pleasures. Though the words recorded by St. John concerning Babylon be true: ' As much as she hath glorified herself and lived in delicacies, so much torment and sorrow give ye to her/ 1 we are not to suppose that the pain will not exceed the joy, because it will be far greater— seeing that for passing pleasures there are infinite and everlasting torments— for the words mean that nothing shall escape its particular punishment, for He Who will punish for every idle word, will not pass over our empty joy.

The joy of the will in natural goods is vanity. How to direct By natural goods I mean beauty, grace, comeliness, bodily constitution, and all other physical endowments * Si. M«tt. xix. 29. f St. Luke xii. 19, 20. $ Apoc xviiL 7.

the will to God therein. and also good understanding, discretion, and other rational qualities. Now, for a man to rejoice, because he himself, of those who belong to him, may be thus gifted, and for that reason only, without giving thanks to God, Who thus endows men in order that they may know Him and love Him the more, is vanity and delusion. * Favour is deceitful,' saith the wise man, i and beauty is vain : the woman that feareth the Lord, she shall be praised.'* He teaches us that man ought rather to be afraid of his natural endowments, because they may so easily withdraw him from the love of God, and cast him down into error and vanity. This is the reason why physical grace is said to be deceitful ; it deceives a man and allures him to that which is unseemly, through empty joy or complacency, either in himself, or in others so endowed. Beauty is vain ; it makes man fall in divers ways, when he values it and rejoices in it, for he ought to rejoice in it only when it enables him or others to serve God. We ought, therefore, rather to fear, lest perhaps our natural gifts and graces should become occasions of offending God, through presuming upon them, or excessive estimation of them, arising out of their continued contemplation. He, therefore, who is thus endowed, ought to be very cautious, and watchful in his conduct, lest he should furnish another with the opportunity of withdrawing his heart from God even for a moment. Fof these natural gifts and graces are so prolific in temptations and in occasions of sin, as well to the owner as to the beholder, that scarcely any one can avoid all entanglement of the heart in them. Many spiritual persons, of

• Prov. xxxi. 3a natural beauty, have, under the influence of this fear, prayed to God for their own disfigurement, that they might not be an occasion of vain affection or joy, either to themselves or to others. 2. The spiritual man, therefore, must purify his will, and render it insensible to this empty rejoicing, remembering that beauty, and all other natural graces, are earth, from the earth, and soon return to it; that comeliness and grace are but smoke and vapour ; and if he would escape falling into vanity, he must esteem them as such, and direct his heart upwards unto God beyond them all, rejoicing and delighted that God is all beauty and all grace in Himself supremely, infinitely above all created things. 'They shall perish,' saith the Psalmist, ' but Thou remainest, and all of them shall grow old like a garment.'* If, therefore, our rejoicing is not in God, it will always be false and delusive. It is to this that those words of Solomon apply which he addressed to that joy which has its sources in created things : ' To mirth, I said, Why art thou vainly deceived ? ' t that is when the heart suffers itself to be attracted by created things.

The evils of the will's rejoicing in natural goods. Though many of these evils and benefits, which I describe under these several divisions of joy, be common to all kinds of joy, nevertheless, because they flow directly from joy and the rejection of it— though com- • Pi. cl 27. f Eccles. U. 2. prised under any one of these divisions— I speak under each head of some evils and benefits, which are also found under another, because connected with that joy which is common to all. But my chief object is to speak of those particular evils and benefits which rejoicing, or not rejoicing, in all things, ministers unto the soul. I call them particular evils, because they flow primarily and immediately from one particular kind of rejoicing, and only secondarily and mediately from another. For instance the evil of lukewarmness flows directly from all and every kind of joy, and is therefore common to the six kinds in general ; but that of sensuality is a particular evil, which flows directly only from joy in the natural goods of which I am speaking. 2. The spiritual and bodily evils, then, which directly and eflFectually flow from rejoicing in natural goods, are, in number, six principal evils.

3. The first is vain glory, presumption, pride, and disesteem of our neighbour; for no man can entertain an excessive esteem of one thing without wanting in respect for some other thing. The result is, at least, that we disesteem and despise all else ; because naturally, by esteeming one thing we withdraw our heart from all besides, and fix it upon that. It is most easy to glide from this real contempt into an intentional and deliberate despising of others; in particular or in general, not in thoughts only, but in words as well, to the extent of saying that such a person is not like such an one. 4. The second evil is complacency and sensual delight. 6. The third evil is flattery and empty praise, wherein there is delusion and vanity, as the prophet saith, cO my people, they that call thee blessed deceive thee.'* For, even if we speak truly when we praise the grace and beauty of another, it will be strange if some evil be not involved, either in causing him to fall into vain complacency and joy, or in ministering food to his imperfect affections and intentions. 6. The fourth evil is a general one : it dulls the reason and the spiritual sense, as the joy of temporal goods does, and in a certain way even more. For, as natural goods are more intimately connected ^with man than temporal goods are, the joy which they minister makes a quicker and deeper impression upon the senses, and more effectually blunts them. Reason and judgment are not free; for the sense of this joy which touches them so nearly, darkens them as a cloud, and hence,

7. The fifth evil, which is the dissipation of the mind by created things. 8. Then the sixth is spiritual sloth and lukewarmness, which grow into weariness and sadness in divine things, so that in the end we come to hate' them. Pure spirituality is inevitably lost in this joy, at least in principle ; for if any spirituality exist, it will be exceedingly sensual and gross, scarcely spiritual, or interior, or recollected— consisting in sensible delight more than in the strength of the spirit. If we are in mind so mean and weak as not to destroy the habit of this joy -an imperfect habit of it even is sufficient to sully the purity of our spirituality, without consenting to the acts which this joy suggests— we are living in the * Is. iiL xx weakness of sense rather than in the power of the soirit. This will become manifest in the matter of perfection and fortitude when the occasion shall arise, though I do not deny that many virtues may coexist with great imperfections, but no pure or healthy interior spirituality can coexist with these unchecked rejoicings ; for here the flesh almost reigns, which wars against the

spirit, and though we may be unconscious of the evil, yet, at least, secret distractions are the result. 9. I now return to the second evil, which involves innumerable others. No pen can describe, no words can express, the nature and extent of the misery that results from rejoicing in natural grace and beauty. These are daily occasions of murders, of honour lost, of insults, of extravagant dissipation, emulations, contentions, adultery and violence, of the ruin of saints, comparable in number to the third part of the stars of heaven, swept down to the earth by the tail of the dragon.* 'How is the gold become dim, the finest colour is changed, the stones of the sanctuary are scattered in the top of every street. The noble sons of Sion, and they that were clothed in the best gold, how are they esteemed as earthen vessels, the work of the potter's hands ! ' t Is any condition secure against the poison of this evil ? Who has not drunk, be it much or little, of the golden cup of the Babylonian woman, that sitteth on the * scarlet-coloured beast, full of names of blasphemy, having seven heads and ten horns?' J

Neither high nor low, neither saint nor sinner lives, to whom she has not given her cup to drink from, suborning • Apoc. xii. 4. t Lam. iv. I, 2. X Apoc. xvii. 3. 306 *Hfc ASCENt [fcOOK. tit.-) the heart in some thing ; for all the kings of the earth have drunk of the wine of her fornication. She seizes upon all conditions of men, the highest and the noblest, the sacred priesthood itself, and puts the cup of her abominations in the holy place : 1 There shall be in the temple the abomination of desolation.'* Even one spiritually strong scarcely escapes the wine of this cup, which is empty rejoicing, 10. This is the reason why it is said that all the kings of the earth have drunk of it; for there are very few, however holy they may be, who have not drunk and been corrupted, in some measure, by the cups of joy which the pleasure of natural grace and beauty supply. Observe, too, that the word is ' drunk,' for if we drink of the wine of this joy, it seizes on the heart and deadens it, obscuring the reason, as in men drunk with wine. And if no antidote be taken at once, and the poison expelled, the life of the soul is in danger. Spiritual weakness having grown upon us, this poison will drag us down to such depths of evil that we shall grind in the mill like Samson,t deprived of sight, with the hair of our first strength cut off, captives in the hands of our enemies ;

and afterwards, perhaps, die the second death, as he did the first : the draughts of this joy producing spiritually in us what they did corporally in him, and in many unto this day. In the end our enemies will surround us and say to our great confusion, Art thou he who broke the cords, tore the lions, killed the Philistines, carried away the gates, and set thyself free from the hands of thine enemies ?

* Dan. ix. 27. t Judges xvi. 21. [CHAP. XX&.] OF MOtfrtt CARMEL. 11. Let me now conclude with the requisite instruction for this poison. If you feel your heart moved by the vain joy of natural goods, remember what vanity it is to rejoice in anything but in the service of God, how dangerous it is and ruinous. Remember the punishment of the angels who rejoiced in their beauty and endowments; they fell deformed into the abyss below. And how great are the evils which vanity brings daily upon men! Resolve, therefore, in time to take the remedy, according to the proverb,* Resist the evil in its beginnings ; remedies are too late when the disease has grown ; for when the evil has grown in the heart, the remedy is too late : * Look not upon the wine,' saith the wise man, ' when it is yellow, when the colour thereof shineth in the glass. It goeth in pleasantly; but in the end it will bite like a snake, and will spread abroad poison like a basilisk.' f

The benefits of not rejoicing in natural goods. Many are the benefits which the soul reaps when it withdraws the heart from this joy. For beside disposing itself for the love of God, and the other virtues, it makes a way for personal humility and universal charity towards our neighbours. When our affections, free from the influence of natural goods, which are deceitful, rest upon no one, the soul is free to love all men reasonably and spiritually, as God wills them to be loved. No • Principiiaobiu, sero medicina paratur. f Prov. xxiii. 31, 32. one deserves to be loved except for his goodness, and when we love in this way, our love is pleasing unto God, and in great liberty, and if there be attachment in it there is greater attachment to God. For then the more this love grows, the more also grows our love ot God, and the deeper our love of Him the more we shall love our neighbour: for the principle of both is the same. 2. Another great benefit is the perfect observance of our Saviour's words : ' If any man will come after Me, let him deny himself.'* Now the soul can never do this, if it has any joy in its natural endowments ; for he who has even the slightest self-esteem, neither denies himself nor follows Christ.

3. Another great benefit of this ^self-denial is, that it makes the soul tranquil, empties it of the sources of distractions, controls the senses, and especially the eyes. The spiritual man, seeking no joy, will neither look upon, nor suffer his other senses to be occupied with, these endowments, that he may not be attracted by them, nor be led to waste time or thought upon them, like the crafty serpent which stops its ears that it may not hear the incantations, so that they make no impression upon it, ' according to the likeness of a serpent, like the deaf asp that stoppeth her ears.' t If we set a guard over our senses, which are the doors of the soul, we shall thereby guard and increase its purity and tranquillity also. 4. Another benefit, of no less importance, which those who have made progress in the mortification of this joy * S. Matt, xvi 24. t Pi . lvii. 5. {CttAP. XXn.] OF MOUNT CARMEL. 30§ obtain, is this : impure objects and the knowledge of them no longer impress, and sully the soul, as in their case to whom this joy is still somewhat pleasurable. This mortification and self-denial grows into a spiritual pureness of soul and body, of mind and sense, which issue in a certain angelical conformity with God, rendering both soul and body a worthy temple of the Holy Ghost. Man cannot be so pure if his heart entertains any joy in these natural gifts and graces. It is not necessary to have given consent to any impure act, for this joy is sufficient to sully the soul and senses with the knowledge of evil, as it is written : ' The Holy Spirit of discipline will withdraw Himself from thoughts that are without understanding,' • that is, from thoughts not directed to God by right reason, r

5. Another general benefit is this : beside our deliverance from the evils already mentioned, we are delivered also from innumerable other follies and evils, spiritual and temporal, especially from that contempt which falls to the lot of all those who value themselves, or rejoice either in their own natural gifts or in those of others. In this way we shall be esteemed as wise and excellent men, as in truth all are who make no account of natural goods, but only of those which are pleasing unto God. 6. These benefits issue in a final one, which is a certain generosity of mind, as necessary in the service of God as liberty of spirit, by which temptations are easily overcome, afflictions endured, and by which virtues grow and thrive. • Wbd. i s.

Of the third kind, sensible goods. Their nature and varieties. The regulation of the will with respect to them. I have now to speak of joy in sensible goods, wherein the will rejoices. By sensible goods I mean all that is xognisable by the senses, of sight, of hearing, of smell, of taste and of touch, and of the interior workingof the imaginative powers ; all of which belong to the interior and exterior bodily senses. In order to render the will blind to, and purified from, all joy in sensible objects, directing it to God, we must take for granted this truth, namely, that the sense of man's lower nature is not, and cannot be, as I have said more than once, • capable of knowing or comprehending God, as He is. The eye cannot see Him, or anything that resembles Him ; the ear cannot hear His voice, nor any sound that resembles it ; the smell cannot perceive any odours so sweet, the palate cannot taste any savour so delicious, nor can the touch feel any contact so exquisite and thrilling, nor anything like unto Him, and the thoughts and imagination also cannot conceive any form or shape which can possibly be any representation of Him. * From the beginning of the world they have not heard, nor perceived with the ears : the eye hath not seen, O God, beside Thee; the eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither hath it entered into the heart of man/ 1

2. Now sweetness and delight enter into the senses in two ways; either from the mind through some interior • See Bk. I ch. vi f Ii. i»v. 4 ; 1 Cor. ii. g> [CHAP. XXm.J OF MOUNT CARMEL. divine communication, or from outward objects represented to them. But according to the text just quoted, our lower nature cannot know God eitherin the way of the spirit or in the way of sense ; for having no capacity for so great a matter, it receives that which is of the mind and spirit in the senses only. Therefore to occupy the will with the joy that has its sources in any of these apprehensions, will be at the least but vanity, and a hindrance in the way of employing the strength of the will upon God, by rejoicing in Him alone. This is what the sou! can never wholly do unless it purifies itself from and makes itself blind to joy in the tilings of sense, for if it should rejoice herein at all, that, as I have said,* will be but vanity. When the soul does not rest here, but instantly, as soon as the will becomes conscious of any joy in any object of sense, raises itself upwards unto God — that joy supplying motives thereto and power— it is well with it, and then it need not suppress such movements, but may profit by them, and even ought to do so, so as to accomplish so holy an act ;

for there are souls whom sensible objects greatly influence in the way of God. Such souls, however, must be very cautious, and watch the issues of this conduct, , for very often many spiritual persons indulge themselves in these sensible recreations, under the pretence of giving themselves to prayer ^nd to God. Now what they do should be called recreation, not prayer, and their pleasure in this is their own rather than God's. Though their intention be directed to God, yet the effect is sensible recreation, and the fruit of it is weakness and imperfection rather than

the quickening of the will, and the surrender of it into the hands of God. 3. I propose here to lay down a rule by which we may know when sensible sweetness is profitable, and when it is not. Whenever, in hearing music, or other agreeable sounds, in smelling sweet odours, in tasting what is delicious, in touching what is soothing, the affections of the will rise consciously in an instant unto God, and that movement gives us more pleasure than the sensible occasion of it, and when we have no pleasure in that cause, but because of its effects, that is a sign of profit, and that the * objects of sense minister unto the spirit. In this way we may use them, for now they subserve that end for which God hath made them ; namely, that He may be the better known and loved on their account. Observe, too, that he, in whom sensible objects produce this purely spiritual effect, does not for that reason seek them, nor make any account of them, though they excite in him this sense of God ; neither is he solicitous about them ; and when they are present, the will passes instantly beyond them and abandons them, fixing itself upon God.

4. The reason why he attaches no importance to these motives, although they keep him in the way of God, is that the mind is so prompt, in and through all, to fly upwards 'to God, so filled, pre-occupied, and satiated with the Spirit of God as to want or desire nothing more : and if it should desire anything for that end, it immediately passes on beyond it, forgets it, and thinks nothing more about it. b. On the other hand, he who is not conscious of this liberty of spirit, amid sensible objects and sweetness, but whose will rests and feeds upon them, ought to make no such usage of them, for they will be hurtful to him. For though such an one may employ his reason about them, and in that way labour to make them subserve his spiritual advancement; still, because the appetite delights in them in the way of sense, and because the effect corresponds always with the pleasure which they minister, it is certain that they are a greater hindrance than help, a greater evil than benefit. And when he sees that the spirit of these recreations reigns over him, he ought to mortify it; for the stronger it grows, the greater will be his imperfections and weakness.

6. Every satisfaction, therefore, whether accidental or designed, which proceeds from the senses, the spiritual man must use only for God, carrying up unto Him that joy of his soul, so that it may be profitable and perfect ; remembering that every joy, which is not founded on the denial and annihilation of all joy whatever, however noble it may seem to be, is vanity and without profit, and a hindrance to the union of the will with God. The evils which befall the soul when the will has joy in In the first place, if the soul does not quench the joy which proceeds from sensible things, by directing it to God, all those evils in general, of which I have spoken, £he fruit of every kind of joy, flow also from this joy in

sensible things: namely, obscuration of reason, lukewarmness, spiritual sloth and the like. But to descend to particulars, many are ths evils, spiritual and bodily, into which men may straightway fall through this joy in sensible things. 1. Joy in visible things, when we do not deny ourselves therein for the sake of God, produces directly a spirit of vanity, distraction of mind, unruly concupiscence, want of modesty, interior and exterior restlessness, impure thoughts and envyings. 2. The joy which the hearing of unprofitable things produces, begets directly distraction of the imagination, gossiping, envy, rash judgments, and changing thoughts, from which many and other ruinous evils flow. 3. Joy in sweet odours begets a loathing of the poor which is contrary to the doctrine of Christ, a dislike of ministering unto others, an unhearty submission to humble deeds, and spiritual insensibility, at least proportional to the appetite for this joy. 4. Joy in meat and drink produces directly gluttony and drunkenness, anger, discord, and uncharitableness towards our neighbour and the poor, and makes us like the rich glutton who neglected Lazarus, while he himself ' feasted sumptuously every day.'* From this arise bodily disorders, sickness, and evil impulses, because the provocations of luxury are increased. It is the source directly of great spiritual torpor, and vitiates the desire for spiritual things, so that the soul has no pleasure in them, cannot even endure them, nor in any way occupy itself about them. This joy, too, dissipates

• St Lake xvL 19. all the other senses and the heart, and creates a feeling of general discontent. 5. Joy in matters of touch occasions much greater and more hurtful evils, which most rapidly immerse the senses and hurt the mind, destroying all energy and vigour. Hence the abominable sin of effeminacy, or the provocations to it, in proportion to this joy. It produces luxuriousness, makes the mind effeminate and timid, the senses delicate and yielding, disposed for sin and wickedness. It fills the heart with empty rejoicing, makes the tongue licentious, and the eyes wanton, and renders the other senses dull and heavy according to the measure of its strength. It confounds the judgment, and buries it in folly and spiritual stupidity, it begets moral cowardice and inconsistency of purpose, and by reason of the soul's darkness and heart's weakness, makes men fear even where no fear is. It creates at times a spirit of confusion, insensibility of mind and conscience, and so enfeebles the reason that a man can neither take good counsel nor give it ; it incapacitates the soul for all moral and spiritual good, rendering it useless as a broken vessel. 6. All these evils flow from this particular joy. In some people more, in others fewer, more or less intense, according to the intenseness of this joy, and according to the weakness and irresolution of him who indulges himself in it. For there are some people who naturally are more hurt on slight, than others on great, occasions.

7. Finally, the evils into which men fall through the joy of the touch are as numerous as those occasioned by that of natural goods. As I have already described them, I shall not repeat them here, nor many others also, such as the diminution of spiritual exercises and of corporal penances, lukewarmness, and indevotion in the use of the sacraments of penance, and of the eucharist. The spiritual and temporal benefits of self-denial in the^joy in Marvellous benefits result from self-denial in the joy which sensible goods supply; some are spiritual and some temporal. 1. The soul, by refraining from joy in sensible objects, recovers itself from the distractions into which it falls through the excessive indulgence of the senses, and recollects itself in God. Spirituality and the acquired virtues are preserved and increased. 2. The second spiritual benefit of not rejoicing in sensible goods is great; and we may say, of a truth, that the sensual becomes spiritual, the animal rational, that man leads an angelical life, that the temporal and the human become heavenly and divine. As the man who seeks for pleasure in sensual things, and founds all his joy upon them, ought not, and deserves not, to be called by any other name than this, namely, sensual and animal ; so the man whose joy is beyond them, deserves the name of spiritual and heavenly. This is most evidently true, for as the energies of the senses, and the power of Bensuality, resist, as the Apostle saith, the energy and power of the spirit, ' the flesh lusteth against the spirit,

and the spirit against the flesh ; '* so when the forces of the flesh diminish and fail, those of the spirit grow and increase ; that which impeded their growth having been taken away. Thus the spirit made perfect — the higher portion of the soul, and that to which the communications of God are made— merits those appellations, because it is made perfect by the spiritual and heavenly gifts and graces of God. We have the authority of St. Paul for this; he calls the sensual man — the man who wastes the energy of his will upon objects of sense —the animal man, and the other, whose will is fixed on God, the spiritual man: 'The animal man perceiveth not these things that are of the spirit of God. But the spiritual man judgeth all things.' t The soul receives in this self-denial an admirable benefit ; a disposition meet to receive the gifts and spiritual graces of 3. The third benefit is the great increase of the joys and pleasures of the will in this life ; for, as our Saviour saith : « They shall receive an hundredfold.'} If thou wilt deny thyself one joy, our Lord will reward thee a hundredfold, spiritually and temporally, in this world ; and for one joy indulged in sensible goods thou shalthave a hundred sorrows and afflictions. As to the eye, now purged from all joy in seeing, the soul receives joy, directed to God, in all that is seen, whether human or divine. As to the ear, purged from all joy in hearing, the soul receives joy a hundredfold, and that most spiritual, directed to God

• GaUt. v. 17. t I Cor. ii 14, 15 Animal is autem homo non percipic* t St. Matt. xix. 29. in all that is heard, whether human or divine. The same observation applies to the other senses. For as all that our first parents said and did in the state of innocence in paradise furnished them with means of sweeter contemplation, because their sensual nature was ordered by, and subject unto, reason, so he also whose senses are subject to the spirit and purged from all sensible objects, in their first motions, elicits delight of sweet knowledge and contemplation of God. 4. To the pure, therefore, high things and low are profitable, and minister to his greater purity ; while both the one and the other are occasions of greater evil to the impure, by reason of his impurity. But he who does not repress the satisfaction of his appetites will never enjoy the ordinary tranquillity of rejoicing in God, through the instrumentality of His creatures and His works. All the functions and powers of his senses, who no longer lives after the flesh, are directed to divine contemplation. For, as it is a philosophical truth that the life of every creature is in harmony with its constitution, so also is it beyond all

* contradiction clear, that he who is spiritually minded — his animal life being mortified— must be wholly tending towards God, for all his actions and affections are those of the spiritual life. Such an one, therefore, pure in heart, finds in all things that knowledge of God which is delicious, sweet, chaste, pure, spiritual, joyous, and loving. 5. From these considerations I come to this conclusion, that, until we have so habituated our senses to this purgation from sensible joy, as to have obtained the benefit of which I have spoken, namely, that instant movement [cUAP. XXV.] OF lioxfsi cArMel. upwards to God, we still need to deny ourselves in all joy, that we may wean our soul from the life of sense. I am afraid, that when not thoroughly spiritualised, we may gratify and invigorate the senses, rather than the spirit under the influence of sensible things ; the powers of sense still ruling over us in our conduct, whereby sensuality is increased, maintained, and nourished. The words of our Saviour are : ' That which is born of the flesh is flesh ; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.'* Lay this to heart, for it is the truth. Let him who has not mortified his senses in sensible things not presume to avail himself of the energy and functions of sense, thinking that they will help him to become spiritual ; for the strength of the soul will increase the more by casting the things of sense aside ; that is, by the quenching of joy and desire, more than by any employment of them that we can make.

6. It is not necessary for me to speak now of the goods of glory attainable in the life to come. For beside that the bodily gifts of mobility and clarity, in glory, will be much grander than in those who have not denied themselves in this joy, there will be an increase of essential glory, corresponding to their love of God, for whom they have left all things ; because every momentary and fleeting joy, which we now deny, will, as St. Paul has said, work in us eternally an infinite weight of glory : ' That which is at present momentary and light of our tribulation, worketh for us above measure exceedingly an eternal weight of glory .'t 7. I do not refer here to the other benefits, moral, * Si. John iii. 6. t 2 Cor. iv. 17. temporal and spiritual, the fruits 6t this night of joy, for they are all those already d^gcribed, and in a higher order, because these joys are more intimately related to our nature, and, therefore, he who denies himself in them acquires a more interior purity thereby.

The fourth kind of goods: moral goods. How the will may lawfully rejoice in them. The fourth kind of goods in which the will rejoices are moral goods. By these I mean virtues, the moral habits of them, the practice of any virtue whatever, works of mercy, keeping the law of God and x>f the state, good dispositions and temper. These moral goods, in possession and in practice deserve, perhaps, more than the other three kinds I have mentioned, that the will should rejoice in them. Man may rejoice in these for one of two reasons, or for both together, either because they are what they are, or because of the benefits which they bring with them, of which they are, as it were, instruments or means. Now the possession of the three other kinds of goods is deserving of no joy whatever for of themselves they do good to no man, neither is it in them, for they are fleeting and frail, yea, rather they are the occasions of pain and grief and sorrow of heart. Even if they deserved to be rejoiced in for the second reason, namely, that man may employ them towards raising his soul up to God, yet this is so uncertain that in general such rejoicing does more harm than good.

2. Moral goods, however, deserve some joy on the part of their possessor, for their intrinsic worth. And as they bring with them in their train peace and tranquillity, the right use of reason, and a consistent conduct, man cannot, humanly speaking, possess anything better in this %world. And as virtues merit love and esteem, for their own sakes, humanly speaking, men may well rejoice in the possession and practice of them, for what they are in themselves, and for the good, human and temporal, of which they are the channels. 3. It was in this sense that the philosophers and wise men and princes of old esteemed and commended virtue, laboured to acquire it and to practise it, though they were heathens, and regarded it only in a worldly light, seeing nothing in it but the temporal, bodily, and natural benefits which resulted from it. They not only obtained those benefits, and the reputation they aimed at, but more than this ; God Himself, Who loves all goodness, even in heathens and barbarians, and Who hinders no good, as it is written, * which nothing hindereth, beneficent,'* increased their substance, honours, dominion, and peace. He thus dealt with the Romans : because they enacted good laws, He made them masters almost of the whole world ; He recompensed, for their good customs in a temporal way, those who, because of their unbelief, were incapable of the everlasting reward. God loves these moral goods : for when Solomon asked for wisdom that he might teach his people, and be able to rule them justly, bringing them up in customs that were good, He was so pleased with his prayer that He said