Miscellanea spiritualia: or, Devout essaies: composed by the Honourable Walter Montagu Esq.

§. I.

The nature of Love, and of Devotion, compared.

LOve in humane nature, is both the sourge and center of all passions, for not only Hope, Feare and Joy, but e∣ven * 1.1 Anger and Hatred, rise first out of the spring of Love; and the courses of these passions which seem to runne away from it, do by a winding revolution returne backe to rest again in Love; for there could be no aversion if the last end of it were not some affection which our Love pursueth through opposition, with which our Anger and Hate combate, but in order to the conquest of our first Love; so that all the powers of a rationall Nature seeme to be ministeriall to this soveraigne power of Love, since even in Grace also, Love is both the way and the end of Beatitude, For God himselfe is Love, and none * 1.2 end in God that do not go by Love: Therefore S. Augustine saith excellently, that a short definition of all Vertue is the order * 1.3 of Love; for since Love is the first impulse and motion of our intellectuall appetite, (which is the Will) towards an union

with what it apprehends under the notion of good; if God be rightly apprehended as the supreame good, and our Loves primarily directed to that union, then all our affections descend from that due elevation, upon the lower stations of the crea∣tures, as upon stepps set in order by God, for our affections to passe down upon his workes, and repasse again upon the same gradations up to the Creator: Therefore we must examine whether that state of mind which the world termeth (being in Love) admit of this order, wherein consisteth the vertue of all Devotion.

I have before treated and defined what it is to be Devout, so I conceive it expedient now to determine what it is to be in Love; for as there are many antipathy's, which while they are out of the presence of one another, discover not their repug∣nancies, but being set together do quickly declare their aversi∣ons, so if we state prophane and sacred love by one another, we shall the easilier discerne whether there be any incompatibility between them, for he who transfigureth himselfe into an Angell of light, doth more artificially disguise this passion then any o∣ther, and presenteth it to our minds under the fairest notion he can utter it, knowing that Love is the best colour he can use in his own transfiguration.

I have already described Devotion to you in these familiar termes of (a being in love with Heaven,) whereby I conclude, that being in Love is the most intensive appropriation of all the powers of our mind to one designe; now how such an assignment * 1.4 of our Soule to the love and service of the creature, (which is to be in love with one) can consist with the precept of loving the Creator with all our heart and all our mind, is a question too hard for even the Devill to resolve; therefore to reconcile Passion with Devotion, he doth commonly detract somewhat from them both, in his definitions of them to us, representing it as a lesse alienation and transaction of the mind to be in love, and a lesse exaction on the soule to be devout.

Thus mans first supplanting Counsellor offereth himselfe for a reconciler of this inconsistency, and pretendeth to accord

these two loves, as we use to compose civill differences, where likely each party doth remit some of his interest to facilitate the agreement; and thus many taking off somewhat from the nature of humane passion, and abating some of the rights of divine Love, think they may both concurre in the soule by this arbitration; as who should say, when God is allowed the su∣preamest part in formall adoration, the creature may share in the inferiour portion of the mind, which is the seate of Passion, and be allowed a love to a degree of Passion: Many are decei∣ved by this, as with an equall composition, which truly exami∣ned, is to conclude, that if the Arke be set in the quire, Dagon may stand in the body of the Church; but he whose Temple our heart is, alloweth no independent love to the creature to stand by his at any distance; all our affections must rest invol∣ved in his Love, and must issue from thence upon the creature, but as by commission and delegation from that master Love: So I may say of such compounders, that pretend there may be some of the heart allotted to support humane Passion, as was said of the inhabitants of Samaria after the captivity, wherein were mixed the Jewes and Babilonians, These feare the Lord, but serve their Idols; for indeed they who give not God all their * 1.5 Love, give what they do, chiefly to his feare, and so may be said to feare God, not to love him, but to serve and love their passions.

Yet it may be there are some who being frighted with the precisenesse and amplitude of the precept of loving God, dis∣avow me in my definition of being in Love, saying I have done an ill office to humane Passion in this exaltation of it, putting it upon a claime of so great rights, as must needs make a quar∣rell between it and Devotion, when they pretend they do co∣venant between their eyes and their affections, in the admirati∣on of beauty, for the preserving the prerogative of divine Love; alleadging that all the vehemency of their affections, is in order to the estimation of the excellency and perfection of Gods workes, and disclaime any infringing the rights of Religion.

This is commonly answered by some when they are before

grave and pious examiners, when they find themselves fallen, as I may say among Gods party, then they have his word rea∣dy to passe with, but when they come off to their own side, when they are giving account of their passions to those persons they serve under, then commonly they take all occasions to do all ill offices to divine Love, and study to affront Devotion, as if it were a Rivall that pretended to that affection for which they are in suite, and then the entirenes of the oblation of their minds is what they most insist upon; and God knoweth Reli∣gion is not so much as thought upon, unlesse it be to take from it some divine tearmes, to set out the offering of their passion.

Notes

• * 1.1

  Love desined.
• * 1.2

  1•• Ep. Ioh. 4.
• * 1.3

  Vertue defi∣ned.
• * 1.4

  A description of being in Love.
• * 1.5

  Kin. 4. 17. 41.