A heavenly treasure of confortable meditations and prayers written by S. Augustin, Bishop of Hyppon in three seuerall treatises of his meditations, soliloquies, and manual. Faithfully translated into English by the R. F. Antony Batt monke, of the holy order of S Bennet of the Congregation of England

Of the vnspeakeable sweetnes of God. CHAPT. I.

O Lord the strength of my soule, graunt me grace (I beseech thee) that like as thou knowest me▪ I may knowe thee. O my comforter, manifest thy selfe vnto me. O light of mine eies, graunt that I may see thee. Come o ioy of my spirit. Let me see thee, o delight of my harte. O life of my soule, giue me grace to loue thee. O Lord my God my cheife de∣light, and sweetest solace, vouchsafe to appeare vnto me, for thou art my life, and all the glorie of my soule. O desire of my harte, lett me finde thee.

O loue of my soule, let me touche thee, O heauenly bridegroome my cheife delight both without and within me, let me em∣brace thee. Let me possesse thee, o euer∣lasting blisse, lett me possesse thee in the middst of my hatte, blessed life, and soue∣raigne sweetnes of my soule. Let me loue thee, o Lord my fortitude, my force, my refuge and my deliuerer Let me loue thee o my God, my helper▪ my stronge for∣tresse▪ and my sw••ete hope in all time of distresse. Let me embrace thee the onely true good▪ let me ••nioy thee the onely best thinge.

Open mine eares by vertue of thy wor∣de, more peircing thē a two edged sworde, to the end I may heare thy voyce Let the greatnes of thy voyce be hearde as a thun∣der from aboue; Let the sea roare and the fulnes thereof▪ let the earth be moued, and all thinges in them contained. Enligh∣ten mine eies▪ o incomprehensible light, sende forth thy lightning, and dazell thē, that they may not beholde vanitie. Encre∣••se thy lightning▪ and dazell and trouble them in that manner, as that fountaines of water may appeare, and the founda∣tions of the whole worlde may be dis∣couered.

O light inuisible, giue me that sight, that may see thee. O sauoure of life, create

in me a newe smell, which may make me runne after thee, in the odoure of thy oyntments. Cure my taste, that it may taste, knowe and discerne, how grea••e the multitude of thy sweetnes is, o Lord, which thou hast kept in store for thē that are replenished with thy loue. Giue me a harte (o Lord) that may thinke on thee: a minde, that may loue thee: a memorie, that may muse on thee: an vnderstanding that may knowe thee: a will, that may al∣waies be strongly vnited to thee, the chei∣fest and most delightfull good. Graunt that I may alwaies wisely and discreetely loue thee.

O life, to whom all thinges liue, that life which giueth me life: that life which is my life: that life, by which I liue, without which I die; that life, by which I am raysed and reuiued, without which I perishe and am consumed: that life, by which I am cō∣forted, without which I am afflicted O li∣uing life, sweete, and worthy to be belo∣ued, alwaies to be remembred, tell me (I pray thee) where art thou? Where may I finde thee, to the end I may leaue my selfe, and liue in thee? Be neere vnto me in my minde, neere in my harte, neere i•• my mouthe, neere in my hearing▪ neere to succoure me in time of affliction: because I languishe through thy loue: because I

die, whensoeuer I am without thee, and am raysed againe to life by thinking on thee. Thy smell recreateth me, thy remem∣brance healeth me. Then shall I be satis∣fied and neuer before, when thy glorie (o life of my soule) shall appeare.

My soule greatelie desireth, and almost fainteth, throughe the remembrance of thee, when shall I come (o my delight) and be presented before thee? Why dost thou hide away thy face, o my ioy, by which I reioyce? Where art thou hidden o beauti∣full Lord, Whom I soe much desire? I smell the sweete sauoure of thee; I liue, and am delighted in thee, and yet I doe not see thee. I heare thy voyce and am reuiued. But why dost thou hide thy face from me?

Peraduenture thou wilt say: Man can∣not see me and liue. Let me therefore die o Lord, that I may see thee, let me see thee that I may die to the worlde. I doe not de∣sire to liue, but to die, for that my desire is to be dissolued, and to be with Christ. I desire to die, that I may see Christ; I refuse to liu••, to the end I may liue with Christ. O Lord Iesu receiue my spirit, o my life re∣ceiue my soule. O my delight drawe my harte vnto thee. O my delightfull foode, let me feede on thee. O my heade, vou∣chsafe to direct me, o light of mine eies,

enlighten me. O my melodious musique, tune and order me. O my sweete smell, reuiue me. O diuine Worde, recreate me. O my praise, make gladde the soule of thy seruant Enter into it, o my ioy, that it may reioyce in thee. Enter into it, o soueraigne sweetnes, that it may taste and sauoure those thinges, that are sweete. O eternall light, shine vppon it▪ that it may vnder∣stande, knowe and loue thee. For this i•• the cause, why it doth not loue thee (if it doth not loue thee) because it doth not knowe thee: and the cause why it doth not knowe thee, is for that it doth not vnderstande thee▪ And the cause, why it doth not vnderstande thee, is for that it doth not comprehende thy light, and the light shineth in darknes, and the darkn••s comprehendeth it not.

O light of my m••nde, o bright truthe, o true charitie, who enlightnest euery man comminge into this wor••d••e, com∣minge I say into the wor'd, but not lo∣uinge the worlde, because he that loueth the worlde, becommeth the ennimy of God. Expell the darkenes which couereth the face of the depth of my minde, that by vnderstanding, it may see thee; that by seinge, it may knowe thee, and by kno∣wing, may loue thee▪ For whosoeuer kno∣weth thee, loueth thee, and forgetteth

himselfe: he loueth thee more then him∣selfe: he leaueth himselfe and commeth to thee, that he may be delighted in thee.

Hence it proceedeth o Lord, that I doe not loue thee soe much as I ought, be∣cause I doe not perfectlie knowe thee, but because I knowe thee but a little, I loue thee but a little, and because I loue thee but a little▪ I am but a little delighted in thee. Leauing thee therfore the true in∣ternall ioy by louing thinges externall, aslong as I wante thee onely, I seeke after false freindshipps in those thinges that are without me. And by this meanes I haue applied my harte to thinges that are vaine, which with all affection and loue I ought to haue bestowed on thee alone. And soe by louing vanitie, I my selfe am become vaine.

Hence it proceedeth likewise o Lord, that I doe not reioyce in thee, neither doe I adhere to thee. Because I delight in thin∣ges temporall, thou in thinges spirituall, my whole minde, thoughtes and wordes are entangled in thinges transitorie, but thou o Lord, dwellest in thinges that en∣dure for all eternitie, thou thy selfe being eternitie. Thy habitation is in heauen, mine on the earthe. Thou louest those thinges that are aboue, I those that are heere beneathe. Thou those that are hea∣uenly▪

I those that are earthly▪ And when will these thinges agree together, that are soe opposite one to an other?