A treatise of the loue of God. Written in french by B. Francis de Sales Bishope and Prince of Geneua, translated into English by Miles Car priest of the English Colledge of Doway

How the will gouerns the sen∣suall appetite. CHAPTER. III.

1. THe Will then THEOTIME beares rule ouer the Memorie, Vnderstanding, and Fanta∣sie, not by force, but by authoritie, so that she is not infallibly obayed, like as the Maister of the Familie is nor alwayes obayed by his children, and

seruants. The like is touching the sensatiue ap∣petite, which as S. AVGVSTINE saieth, is called in vs sinners concupiscence, and remaines sub∣iect to the will, and Vnderstanding, as the wife to her Husband, because as it was saied to the woman; Thou shalt returne to thy Husband, who shall gouerne thee; so was it saied to Cain, that his appetite should returne home to him, and that he should maister it: And no other thing is ment by, Returne to man, then to submit, and subiect it selfe vnto him. O man saieth S. BER∣NARD, it is in thy power if thou wilt, to bring thine enemy so to be thy seruant, that all things should succeede well with thee: Thy appetite is vnder thee, and thou shalt dominere ouer it. Thy enemy can moue in thee, the feeling of tempta∣tion; but it is in thy power, to giue or refuse consent; In case thou permit thy appetite to car∣rie thee away to sinne, then thou shalt be vn∣der it, and it shall dominere ouer thee; for who∣soeuer sinneth is made slaue to sinne; but be∣fore thou sinne, so long as sinne getteth not en∣trie into thy consent, but onely into thy sense, that is to saie, so long as it staies in the appe∣tite, not goeing so farre as thy will, thy appe∣tite is subiect vnto thee, and thou Lord ouer it. While an Emperour is not yet created, he is sub∣iect to the Electors Dominion, in whose hands it is to reiect, or elect him to the Imperiall digni∣tie: but being once elected and eleuated by their meanes, from thence they begin to be his sub∣iects, and he their Lord. So long as the will denies consent, she presides: but hauing once gi∣uen

consent; she becomes slaue to her owne ap∣petite.

2. To conclude, this sensuall appetite in plaine truth, is a rebellious subiect, seditious and stir∣ring; and we must confesse we cannot so defeate it, that it doth not rise againe, encounter and as∣sault the reason: yet hath the will such a strong hand ouer it, that she is able if she please, to bridle it, breake it's designes, and repulse it, syth that not to consent to the suggestions therof, is a sufficient repulse. One cannot hin∣der concupiscence to conceiue; yet well may we staie it, from bringing foorth and accomplishing sinne.

3. Now this concupiscence or sensuall appe∣petite, hath 12. motions, by which as by so ma∣ny mutinous Captaines it raiseth sedition in man. And because ordinarily they trouble the soule, and disquiet the bodie: in so much as they trou∣ble the soule, they are called perturbations: in so much as they disquiete the bodie, they are named passions, as witnesseth S. AVGVSTINE. All place before them selues, Good, or Euill, that, to atchiue it, this, to auoyde it. If Good be con∣sidered in it selfe according to it's naturall good∣nesse, it excites Loue, the prime and principall passion: If Good be represented as absent, it prouokes a desire of it selfe: it being desired, we apprehend it possible, it enters in vs a Hope; if impossible, Dispaire begins to sease vs. But when we enioie it as present, it moues vs to ioie. Contrariwise as soone as we discouer Euill, we Hate it: if it be absent, we flie it: if we

propose it as ineuitable, we Feare it; if we think we can eschew it, we doe emboulden, and encou∣rage our selues: But if we feele it as present, we Greeue; and thē Anger, and Indignation, sodaine∣ly runnes out to resist, and repulse the Euill, or at least to be reuenged of it. Which if it succeede not according to our mind, we remaine in Griefe. But if we repell, or be reuenged of it, we feele satisfa∣ction and content, which is a Pleasure of Triūphe, for as the possessiō of Good, doth glad the heart, so the victorie ouer Euill, doth satiate the cou∣rage. And ouer all this multitude of sēsuall passiōs, the will beares Empire, reiecting their suggestiōs, repulsing their embracements, hindring their ef∣fects: or at the very least stifly denying them con∣sent, without the which, they can neuer endamage vs, and by refusall of which, they remaine van∣quished; yea euen a farre off weakned, deiected, defeated, repressed, and if not altogether slaine, at least mortified and brought lowe.

4. And THEOTIME, this multitude of passions is permitted to reside in our soule for the exercise of our will in vertue, and spirituall vallour. In so much that the STOIKES who denied that passions, were found in wise men, did greatly erre, and so much the more; for that they shewed in effect, that which in words they denied, as S. AVGVSTINE shewes, recounting this pleasant historie. AVLVS GELIVS hauing embarked himselfe with a famous STOIKE, a great tempest takes them, whereat, the STOIKE being affrighted begun to waxe white, and Pale, and sensibly to Tremble, so that all in the boate perceiued it, and tooke precise notice

of him, albeit they did runne the same hazard with him. In the interim the sea waxed calme, the dan∣ger passed, and assurance did restore to eche of them Libertie to blame, yea euen to raile at him: A certaine voluptuous ASIATIKE gybed at the STOIKE and reproched vnto him his Feare, which had made him become white, and Pale by appre∣hension of danger, whilst he for his part remained firme without Feare, to which the STOIKE replyed, by relation of that which ARISTIPPVS a SOCRATI∣CAL Philosopher had answeared one, who for the same reason had quipped him with the like re∣proch: saying vnto him, for thee, thou hadst no reason to be troubled for the death of a wicked Rascall: but I should haue wronged my selfe not to haue feared to loose the life of an ARISTIPPVS. And the best of it is, that AVLVS GELIVS an eye wit∣nesse recites the storie: but touching the STOIKES reply contained therin, it did more commend his wit, then his Cause, sythens, alleaging a compa∣nion of his Feares, he left two proofes, by two re∣prochlesse witnesses, that STOIKES were touched with Feare, and with Feare which doth leaue it's effects in the Eyes, Face, and Countenance, and is consequently a Passion.

5. Ah greate follie! to wish to be wise, by a wisdome which is not possible. Truely the Church hath cōdemned the Follie of this wisdome, which certaine presumptuous ANCORITS would haue long agoe introduced, against which the whole Scripture, but especially the great APOSTLE crieth out: That we haue a law in our bodie, which resi∣steth the law of our mind. Amongst vs Christians

saieth that great S. AVGVSTINE, according to holy Scripture, and Sound doctrine, the Citizens of the sacred Citie of God, whose liues are agreea∣ble to Gods owne heart, in the pilgrimage of this world doe Feare, Desire, Greeue, Reioice: Yea e∣uen the soueraigne King of this Citie, did Feare, Desire, Greeue, Reioice, euen to teares, palenesse, trembling, sweating of blood; though in him these were not the motions of Passions like to ours; whence the great S. HIEROME, and after him the Schoole, durst not there vsurpe the name, Pas∣sions, for reuerence of the person in whome they were, but the respectfull name, PRO-PASSIONS, to testifie that sensible motions in our Sauiour held the place of Passions, though they were not such indeede, seeing that he suffered, or sustained nothing by them, saue that, which was thought good to him, and in manner which liked him best, gouerning and guiding them at his pleasure; which we sinners cannot doe, who suffer, and endure these Motions with disorder, against our wills, to the great preiudice of the good estate and pol∣licie of our soule.