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 holy loue may be augmented still more and more in euery of vs. CHAPTER. I.

1. THE holy Councell of Trent assures vs, that the friends of God procee∣ding from vertue to vertue, are day by day renewed, that is, encreased by good works, in the iustice, which they receiued by God's grace, and are more and more iustified, according to those heauenly aduer∣tissements; he that is iust, let him be more iusti∣fied; And he who is holy, let him be more sancti∣fied. Feare not but thou maiest be iustified euen vntill death: the path of the iust is aduanced, and

encreaseth as a resplendant light, euen till it be cleare day with charitie doing right, encreasing in all things, in him who is the head of all, IESVS-CHRIST: And I beseech you that your charitie, doe more and more encrease. All these are sacred wordes out of DAVID, S. IOHN, ECCLESIASTES, and S. PAVLE.

2. I neuer heard of any liuing creature whose grouth was not bounded and limited, saue onely the Crocodile who from an extreamly lit∣tle beginning neuer ceaseth to growe till she come to her end, representing equally in this the good, and the wicked; for the arrogance of such as hate God, swells continually saieth the great kind DAVID; and the good doe encrease as the breake of the day, from brightnesse to brightnesse: and to stād long at a staie in one estate is a thing impossible; he that gaines not, looseth in this traficke; he that ascends not, descends vpon this ladder; he that vanquisheth not in this battell, is vanquished: we liue amidst the dangers of the warrs which our enemie doth wage with vs; if we resist not, we perish; and we cannot resist, but we ouercome, nor ouercome without triumphe: for, as saieth the glorious S. BERNARD; it is writ∣ten in particular of man, that he neuer remaines in one state; he doth necessarily either goe forward or returne backward. Euery one runns, but one onely beares away the prize, runne so, as you may obtaine it. Who is the prize, but IESVS-CHRIST? And how can you attaine him, if you follow him not? But if you follow him, you shall march, and runne continually: for he neuer makes staie, but

continues his course of loue and obedience euen vntill death, and death of the crosse.

3. Goe then, saith S. BERNARD, goe I saie with him, goe my deare THEO: and admit no other bounds, then those of life, and as long as it re∣maines, runne after this Sauiour; but runne ar∣dently and louingly: for what better will you be to follow him if you be not so happie as to ouerta him? Let vs heare the Prophete; I haue inclined my heart to doe thy Iustifications eternally, he doth not saie, that he will doe them for a time onely, but euerlastingly; and because he desires e∣ternally to doe well, he shall haue an eternall re∣ward. Blessed are they, who are pure in the way, who walke in the law of our Lord: accursed are they who are defiled, who walke not in the law of our Lord: It is onely a saying of the Diuell, that he will sit vpō the Norh. Vnworthy man wilt thou sit downe? ah! knowest thou not that thou art vpon the way, and that the way is not made to sit downe but to goe in? and so to goe in, that to goe, is to passe on the way. And God speaking to one of his greatest friends: walke saieth he before me and be perfect.

4. True vertue hath no limits she findes still PLVS VLTRA; but especially holy Charitie, which is the vertue of vert es, and hauing an infinite obiect, might be capable to become infinite, if she could meete with a heart capable of infinitie; nothing hī∣dering this loue to be infinite saue the cōdition of the will which receiues it, and is to become actiue by it; which, as it is cause that neuer any shall see God, as much as he is visible, so neuer any shall be

able to loue him, as much as he is amiable. The heart which could loue GOD with a loue equall to the diuine Goodnesse, should haue a will infinitly good, which cānot be but in God. Charitie then in vs may be perfected euē to infinitie, but exclusiuely, that is, Charitie may become more and more and still more excellent, yet neuer infinite. The Holy Ghost, may eleuate our hearts, and apply them to what supernaturall actions it shall please him, so they be not infinite; for betwixt little an great things, though the one exceede the other neuer so much, there is still some proportion, prouided alwaies, that the excesse of the thing which doth exceede be not infinite: but betweene finite and infinite there is no proportiō nor can there be any made, vnlesse either the finite thing be raised to in∣finitie, or the infinite brought downe to finitie, which is impossible.

5. So that euen the Charitie which is in our Re∣deemour, as he is man, though greater then An∣gell or man can comprehend, yet is it not infinite of it selfe, and in its owne being, but onely in the estimation of the dignitie and merite therof, as being the charitie of a diuine Person who i••••e•••• eternall Sonne of the omnipotent Father.

6. Meane while, it is an extreame honour to the soule; that she may still grow more and more in the loue of her God, as long as she shall liue in this miserable life.

And by vertues new ascend, To a life that knowes no end.