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

That loue tends to vnion. CHAPTER IX.

1. THe great Salamon in a delitiously admira∣ble ayre, doth sing our Sauiours loues, and those of the deuote soule, in that diuin worke, which for it's excellent sweetnesse is instyled the Canticle of Canticles. And to rayse our selues in a more easie flight, to the consideration of this spirituall loue, which is exercised betwixt God and vs, by the correspondance which the motions of our hearts haue with the inspirations of his di∣uine Maiestie, he makes vse of a perpetuall repre∣sentation of the loues of a chaste Shepheard, and shamefast Shepheardesse. Now (making the Spou∣se or Bride first begin the parlie by manner of a certaine surprise of loue) he makes her at the first onset lance out her heart in these words; let him deigne me a kisse of his mouth. Doe you marke THEOTIME how the soule personated by this She∣pheardesse, doth pretēd no other thing by the first expression of her desire, thē a chast vnion with her spouse, protesting that it is the highest ayme of her ambition, and onely thing she breathes after: For I pray you what other thing would this first sigh intimate? Let him deigne me with a Kisse of his mouth.

2. A Kisse, from all ages as by naturall instinct, hath bene imployed as a representation of perfect loue, that is the vnion of hearts; and not without

cause: we send out and muster the passions and motions, which our soule hath common with brute beasts by our eyes, eye-browes, forehead and countenance; in generall by his face a man is knowē saieth the Scripture; and Aristotle giuing a rea∣son why ordinarily great mens faces onely are pourtrated, t'is saieth he, that the countenances teach what they are.

3. Yet doe we not vtter our discourse, nor the thoughts which proceede from the spirituall por∣tion of our soule called reason, (by which we are distinguished from Beasts) but by words; and in consequence by helpe of the mouth: in so much that to poure out ones soule, and scatter ones heart, is nothing else but to speake, Poure out your hearts before God saieth the PSALMIST, that is, expresse and turne the affections of your hearts into words: And SAMVEL'S pious Mother pro∣nouncing her praiers, allthough so softly, that one could hardly discerne the motion of her lips: I haue poured out (saieth she) my heart before God: in this wise, one mouth is applyed to another in kissing, to testifie that they desire to poure our one soule into the other, recipro∣cally to vnite them in a perfect vnion, and for this Reason in all times, and amongst the most saintly men the world had, the kisse hath bene a signe of loue and affection: and such vse was vniuersally made of it amongst the auncient Chri∣stians as the great S. PAVLE testifieth, when writing to the ROMAN'S and CORINTHIANS he saieth, Salute mutually one another in a holy kisse. And as diuerse doe witnesse, IVDAS in be∣traying

our SAVIOVR made vse of a Kisse to dis∣couer him, because this diuine SAVIOVR, was ac∣customed to kisse his Disciples when he met them; and not onely his Disciples, but euen little Chil∣dren whom he tooke louingly in his armes: as he did him, by comparison of whom, he so solemnely inuited his APOSTLES to the loue of their Neigh∣bours, who as IANSENIVS reporteth was thought to haue bene S. MARTIAL.

4. Thus then the Kisse being a liuely marke of of the vnion of hearts, the Spouse who hath no other pretention in all her endeuours, and pur∣suits then to be vnited to her beloued, let him kisse me, saieth she, with a kisse of his mouth; as if she had cryed out, so many sighes and inflamed grones as my heart incessantly sobs out, will they neuer impetrate that, which my heart desires? I runne, alas shall I neuer gaine the prise, for which I lance my selfe out? which is to be vnited heart to heart, spirit to spirit, to my God, my Spouse, my life? when will arriue the happie houre in which I shall poure my soule into his heart, and that he will turne his heart into my soule, that we may liue inseparable in that happie vnion?

5. When the holy Ghost would expresse a per∣fect loue, he alwayes in a manner makes choice of the word Vnion or Coniunction: amongst the multitude of the faithfull saieth S. LVCKE, there was but one heart and one soule: our SAVIOVR praied for all the faithfull that they might be but on same thing: SAINT PAVLE doth aduertise vs to conserue vnitie of minde by the vnion of peace. These Vnities of heart, soule, and spirit doe signifie

the perfection of Loue, which ioynes many soules in one; for so it is saied that IONATHAS his soule was glewed to DAVIDS, that is to saie, as the Scrip∣ture addeth, He loued DAVID as his owne soule. The great APOSTLE of FRANCE as well according to his owne Dictamē, as that of HIEROTHEVS who he citeth; writeth (I thinke a thousand times in one Chapter OF DIVINE NAMES) that Loue is of a Nature, vnifying, vniting, referring, recolle∣cting, and pressing things to an Vnitie. S. GRE∣GORIE of NAZIANZEN, and S. AVGVSTINE saieth; that their friends and they, had but one soule, and ARISTOTLE approuing euen in his time this man∣ner of speach: when saieth he we would expresse how much we loue our friends, we saie, his and my soule is but one. Hatred doth separate vs, and Loue doth assemble vs. The end then of loue, is no other thing, then the vnion of the louer and the beloued.