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 second Species of Rapture. CHAPTER. V.

1. GOd drawes mens minds vnto him, by his soueraigne Beautie, and incomprehensible GOODNESSE, which two excellences are but one Supreame Diuinitie, most singularly faire and good together. Euery thing aimes at GOOD and FAIRE, euery thing lookes that way, and are stir∣red and staied by it; GOOD and FAIRE, is desirable, amiable, and deare vnto all; for it, all things doe and will, whatsoeuer they will or doe. And FAIRE because it doth attract, and recall all things to it selfe, the Grecians giues it a name which signifies to recall. In like manner, light is the true picture of GOOD especially in that, light doth recollect, reduce and turne all things towards it selfe, whēce the Sunne amongst the Grecians is named from a word, which shewes that his effect is to gather to∣gether, vnite, and assemble things dispersed; as GOODNESSE doth turne all things vnto it selfe, being not onely the soueraigne vnion, but soue∣raignely vniting, since all things desire it, as their Principall conseruation, and last end; so that in conclusion GOOD and FAIRE are but one and the same thing, because all things doe couet GOOD and FAIRE.

2. This discourse THEO: is almost entirely composed of the words of the Diuine S. D••NIS of Areopagite: and verily it is certaine that the Sūne,

Source of corporall light, is the true picture of GOOD and FAIRE: for amongst purely corporall creaturs, there is neither Goodnesse, nor Beautie equall to that of the Sunne. Now the BEAVTIE and GOODNESSE of the Sunne consisteth in his light, without which nothing would be FAIRE, nothing GOOD in this corporall world: as FAIRE, he lighteneth all, as GOOD he heateth and quick∣neth all: in so much as he is FAIRE and cleare, he drawes vnto him all the eyes of the world that haue sight; In so much as he is good, and doth heate, he gaines vnto himselfe all the appetits and inclina∣tions of this corporall world: for he doth extract and drawe vp the exhalations and vapours, he tou∣cheth and makes rise from their originalls, Plantes and liuing creatures; nor is there any generation to which the vitall heate of this great light doth not contribute. So God, Father of light, souerai∣gnely GOOD and FAIRE, by his beautie drawes our Vnderstanding to contemplate him, and by his GOODNESSE our wills to loue him; as Faire, re∣plenishing our vnderstanding with delight, he poures his loue into our wills; as Good, filling our wills with his loue he excits our vnderstanding to contemplate him; Loue prouoking vs to Con∣templation, and Contemplation to loue: whence it followes that Extasies and Raptures depend wholy of loue, for it is loue that carries the vnder∣standing to Contemplation, and the will to vnion so that finally we must conclud with the great S. DENIS, that Diuine Loue is extaticall, not leauing Louers to liue to themselues, but to the thing be∣loued: for which cause the admirable Apostle S.

PAVLE, being possessed of this diuine Loue, and participating the extaticall force thereof, with a diuinely inspired mouth, I liue, saied he, not I, but IESVS-CHRIST liues in me, as a true Louer gone out of himselfe into God; he liued now not his owne life, but the life of his beloued, as being soueraignely amiable

3. Now these Raptures of loue, are exercised vpon the will in this sort, God toucheth it with the touches of his sweetenesse, and thē, as a needle touched with an Adamant, doth turne and tend towards the Pole forgetfull of its insensible condi∣tion; so the will touched with heauenly loue, doth lanche out, and aduāce it selfe towards God, lea∣uing all earthly pretentions, and by that meanes fals into a Rapture, not of knowledge, but of fruition; not of admiration, but of affe∣ction; not of science, but of experience; not of sight, but of taste and feeling. It is true as I haue already signified, the vnderstanding enters some times into admiration, seeing the sacred delight which the will takes in her Extasie, as the will of∣ten takes pleasure to perceiue the vnderstanding in admiration, so that these two faculties doe en∣terchang their rauishments: the view of Beautie making vs loue it, and the loue thereof making vs view it. Rarely is a man made hote by the sunne beames, that he is not also lightened; or lightened and not made hote. Loue doth easily make vs ad∣mire; and admiration, loue.

3. Howbeit the two Extasies of the vnderstan∣ding and will, are not so mutuall but that the one is often found without the other; for as the Phi∣losophers

did better know, then loue their Crea∣tour; so ordinarily good Christians doe more loue then know him, and consequently the abundance of knowledge, is not alwayes followed with the abundance of loue, like as the abundance of loue is not still accompaned with the abundance of knowledge, as elsewhere I haue noted. Now if the Extasie of admiration be alone, we are not made better by it, following that which he saied, who was drawen vp in Extasie into the third heauen: If I knew, quoth he, all the Mysteries and Sciences, and should wāt Charitie, I am nothing; and there∣fore the euill Spirit can put into an Extasie, if we may so saie, and rauish the vnderstanding, by pro∣posing vnto it wonders which holds it in suspence eleuated aboue its naturall forces, and by such lightes he can afford the will a kind of vaine, daintie, nice, and imperfect loue, by way of com∣placence, satisfaction, and sensible consolation. But to put the will into a true Extasie, wherby it is entirely and powerfully ioyned vnto the diuine Goodnesse, appertaines onely to that soueraigne Spirit, by whom the Charitie of God is diffused into our hearts