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

Of the melting and liquifaction of the soule in God. CHAPTER. XIII.

1. HVmide and liquide things doe easily re∣ceiue the impressions, and limits which one would put vpon them, because they haue no firmenesse or soliditie, which may staie or limite them. Put liquour into a glasse, and you shall see it remaine bounded and limited therein, which being round, or square the liquour shall be the like, hauing no other limite nor shape then that of the glasse which contains it. With the soule it faires not so in nature, for she hath her proper shapes and limits; she takes her shape from her habits and inclinations, her limits from her will; and when she is set vpō her owne inclinations and

will, we saie she is hard, that is willfull and obsti∣nate. I will take from you, saieth God, your heart of stone, that is, your obstinacie. To chang the forme of stones, Iron, or woode: the axe, ham∣mer, and fire is required. We call such, hearts of Iron, woode, or stone, as doe not easily receiue the diuine impressions, but linger in their owne will amid'st the inclinations which doe accom∣panie our depraued nature: contrariwise a suple, pliable, and tractiue heart, is termed a melting, and liquifying heart. My heart, saieth DAVID speaking in the person of our Sauiour vpon the crosse, is made as melted waxe in the midst of my bellie. CLEOPATRA that infamous Queene of Egipt, striuing to outuie Marke ANTONIE in all the excesses and dissolutions of his banquets, in the end of one of them she made in her turne called for a viall of fine vineger, and dropt into it, one of the pearles which she wore in her eares, va∣lued at two hūdred fiftie crownes, which being dis∣solued, melted and liquified, she tooke it downe, and had yet buried the pearle she bore in her other eare, in the sinke of her villanous stomake, if Lucius Plautus had not hindred her. Our Sa∣uiours heart, the true Orientall pearle, singularly singular, and priselesse, throwen into the midest of an incomparably bitter sea, in the day of his passion, melted in it selfe, dissolued, liquified, and flowed in griefe vnder the presse of so many mor∣tall anguishes, but loue, stronger then death, did mollifie, soften, and melt the heart, sooner then the other passions.

2. My heart saied the holy Spoufe was wholy

dissolued at my well-beloued his voice, and what is it to saie, it is dissolued, but that it is not contai∣ned with in it selfe, but is runne out toward it's heauenly Louer? God gaue order to Moyses to speake to the ROCKE, and it should produce wa∣ter; it is no maruell then if he himselfe, with his honie words can melt the heart of his Spouse. Balme is so thicke by nature, that it is not flo∣wing or liquide, but the more it is kept, the more stife it growes, and in the end becomes hard redde and transparant, yet heat doth resolue, and make it flowe: Loue had liquified and melted the Spouse his soule, whence the Spouse cals him oile pou∣red-out. And behold how now her selfe assures vs, she is melted with loue; my soule saieth she melted as soone as my well-beloued spoke. The loue of her Spouse was in her heart, and breast, as a strong new wine, which cannot be contained within the peece; For it ouerflowed one euery side, and the soule being led by her loue, after the Spouse had saied thy breastes are better then wine, streaming out precious ointments, she addes; Thy name is, oile poured-out: and as the Spouse had poured out his loue and soule, into the heart of the Spouse; so she againe turnes her soule, into the Spouse his heart: and as we see a honie-combe touched with a hote sunne-beame, goe out of it selfe, forsaking its forme, doe also flowe on that side where the sunne toucheth it; so the soule of this louer runns that ward where her well-beloued is heard, going out of her selfe, and passing the limits of her naturall beeing, to follow him that spoke vnto her.

3. But how is this sacred liquifaction of the soule into the well-beloued practised? An ex∣treame complacence of the Louer in the thing be∣loued begets a certaine spirituall impotencie, which makes the soule not finde any more power to remaine in her selfe; And therefore as dissolued Baulme that hath no more firmenesse or soliditie, she permits her selfe to slide and runne into the thing beloued: for she neither casteth her selfe by way of iaculation, nor locks her selfe by way of vnion, but lets her selfe gently glide, as a liquide and fluent thing, into the Diuinitie which she loues. And as we see cloudes which thickned by the winde at Noonetide, resoluing ād turning into raine, cannot containe themselues, but doe fall and showre downe, and mixe themselues so inly with the earth which they moisten, that they be∣come one thing with it: so the soule which, though otherwise in loue, remained before in her selfe, goes out by this sacred liquifaction, and saintly flowing, and forsakes her selfe, not onely to be vnited to the well-beloued, but to be entirely mingled and moistened with him.

4. You see then deare, THEOT: that the li∣quifaction of a soule into her God, is a true exta∣sie, by which the soule trenscendes the limits of her naturall behauiour, being wholy mixed, ab∣sorpt, and engulfed in God. Hence it happens, that such as attaine to these holy excesses of hea∣uenly loue, afterward being come to themselues, can finde nothing in the earth, that can content them, and liuing in an extreame annihilation of themselues remaine much weakned in that which

toucheth sense; ād haue perpetually in their hearts the B. Mother Teresa her Maxime. ALL THAT IS NOT GOD, IS NOTHING. And it seemes that such was the louing passion of the great friend of the well-beloued, who saied. I liue, now not I, but IESVS-CHRIST in me, and our life is hid with IESVS-CHRIST in God. For tell me I praie you, THEOT: if a drope of Elementarie water, throwne into an Ocean of liue water were liuing, could speake, and declare it's condition, would it not crie out with ioye. O mortalls I liue indeede, but I liue not I, but this Ocean liues in me, and my life is hidden in this Abisse.

5. The soule, that runnes into God dies not: For how can she die by being shut vp in life? but she liues, without liuing in her selfe; because, as the starrs without loosing their light, shine not in the presence of the Sunne, but the Sunne shines in thē, and they are hid in the light of the Sunne, so the soule without loosing her life, liues not being mixed with God, but God liues in her. Such, as I thinke, were the feelings of the great S. PHILIPPVS NERIVS and S. FRANCIS ZAVERIVS, when ouer∣cloied with heauenly consolations, they petitio∣ned to God that he would withdrawe himselfe for a space from them, sith his will was that their life should a little longer appeare vnto the world, which could not be, while it was wholy hidden and absort in God.