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

A continuation of the precedent discourse: how euery one ought to loue, though not to practise the Euangelicall Counsells, and yet how euery one is to practise what he is able. CHAPTER. IX.

1. Allthough all the Euangelicall Counsells cannot, nor ought not to be practised by euery Christian in particular; yet is euery one ob∣liged to loue them all, they being all very good. If you haue the Megrim, and the smell of muke doe anoie you, will you therefore disauowe that this smell is good and delightsome? If a Robe of gold be not fit for you, will you thence saie, that it is worth nothing? or will you throw a ring into the ••urt, because it fits not your finger? Praise, there∣fore THEOT: and dearely affect all the Counsells, that God hath giuen vnto men. O blessed be the Angell of the high Coūsell for euer, together with the Coun••ell he giues, and exhortations he makes to man! The heart is cheared vp with oyntments and good smells, saieth Salomon: and by the good Counsell of a friend, the soule is calmed. But of what friend, and of what Counsells doe we speake? ô God, it is of the friend of friends: and his Coū∣sells are more delight••ull then honie. Our friend is our Sauiour, his Counsells are to saue vs.

2. Let vs reioyce, THEO: when we see others vndertake the Counsells, which either we cannot, or ought not to obserue: Lets praie for them, blesse, fauour, and assist them. For Charitie doth oblige vs not onely to loue our owne good, but that also, which is good for our neighbour.

3. We may sufficiently testifie our loue to all the Counsells, if we deuotely obserue such as are sutable to our calling, for euen as he that beleeues an Article of Faith, before God reuealed it in his word, published and declared it by the Church, cannot misbeleeue the others: and he that ob∣serues one Commandement, for the pure Loue of God, is readie to obserue the others, when occa∣sion shall be offered. So he that doth loue and prize one Euangelicall Counsell, because it came from God, he cannot but loue all the others con∣sequently, being they are also from God. Now we may with ease practise many of them, though not all of them together; for God deliuered many, to the end euery one might obserue some of them: nor doth there passe a day, wherein we haue not some occasion thereof.

4. Doth Charitie require, that to assist thy Fa∣ther or mother, thou shouldst liue with them? conserue notwithstanding a loue and affection to your recollection, let your heart liue at your Fa∣thers house, so farre forth as is requisit, to acquit your selfe of that which Charitie doth order. Is it not expedient, your qualitie considered, that you should conserue perfect chastitie? keepe it at least in such sort as you may, without violating charitie. Who cannot doe all, at least let him doe a part: you

are not obliged to looke after him that hath of∣fended you; for it is his part to come to himselfe and to you to giue you satisfaction, since he began the iniurie and outrage: yet goe, THEO: follow our Sauiours Counsell, preuent him in good, render him good for euill, cast vpon his head and heart burning coales, proofes of Charitie, that may wholy burne him, and force him to a reconcilia∣tion. You are not bound by rigour of law, to giue almes to all the poore you meete, but onely to such as are in extreamitie. Yet following our Sauiours Counsell, cease not to giue to euery poore bodie that you light on, hauing still a respect to your owne condition, and to the true exigent of your affaires. You haue no obligation to make any vow at all; yet bouldly make some, such as shall be iud∣ged fit by your Ghostly Father for your aduance∣ment in Diuine Loue. You haue free libertie to vse wine within the termes of decencie; yet follo∣wing S. PAVLES Counsell to Timothie, take onely so much; as is requisit to comfort your sto∣make

5. In Counsells there are diuers degrees of per∣fections; To lend to such poore people as are not in extreame want, is the first degree of the Coun∣sell of Almes-deedes, to giue them some what, is a higher; a higher yet to giue them all: but the hi∣ghest of all to dedicate ones owne person to their seruice. Hospitalitie out of the termes of extreame necessitie is a Counsell. To entertaine strangers, is the first degree of it; but to stand in cōmon pas∣sages with Abraham, to inuite them, is a degree higher; and yet higher then that, to seate one selfe

in a place of danger to harbour, aide and waire vpon passengers. Herein the great S. BERNARD of Menthon borne in this diocese did excell, who being extracted from a noble house, did for di∣uers yeares inhabit the shelues and topes of our Alpes, established there a cōpanie to serue, lodge, assist and preserue pilgrims and passingers from the danger of tempests, who might often perish amidst the stormes, snow, and thunder-clapes, were it not for the Hospitalls which this great friend of God erected and founded vpon two moun∣tains, which taking their names from him, are called, GREAT S. BERNARD, in the Bishopricke of Sion, and LITTLE S. BERNARD, in the Bishoptike of Tharētise. To visite the sicke, which are not in extreame necessitie, is a laudible Charitie, to serue thē, is yet better: but to consecrate a mans selfe to their seruice, is the excellēcie of that Coūsell, which the Clarks of the visitatiō of the sicke doe exercise by their proper institute, ād many Ladies in diuers places, imitating the great S. SANSON, a gentleman and Phisition of Rome, who at Constantinople, where he was made Priest, with a wonderfull charitie deuoted hīselfe to the seruice of the sicke in a hospitall which he began, and which the Em∣perour Iustinian did raise and accomplish, by the imitation of S. CATHARINE of Sienna, and Genua, of S. ELIZABETH of Hungarie, and of the glorious friends of God S. FRANCIS, and the B. IGNATIVS of Loyola, who in the beginning of their Orders, performed this exercise, with an incomparable spirituall feruour and profit.

6. Vertues haue then a certaine extent of per∣fection,

and commonly we are not obliged to pra∣ctise them in the hight of their excellencie. It is sufficient to goe so farre in the practise of thē, that we doe indeede practise them▪ But to make a fur∣ther passage, and gaine ground in perfection, is a Counsell, the acts of heroicall vertues not being ordinarily commanded, but counselled onely. And if vpon some occasion we find our selues obliged to exercise them, it is by reason of some rare and extraordinarie exigent, which makes them neces∣sarie to the conseruation of Gods grace. The hap∣pie Porter of the Prison of Sebastia, seeing one of the fortie which were thē martyred, loose courage and the crowne of Martyrdome, tooke his place, without being pursued, and made the 40. of those glorious and Triumphant Souldiers of Christ. S. ADAVCTVS seeing S. FELIX led to Martyrdome, and I, quoth he, (none at all vrging him) I am also a Christian as well as he whō you haue in your hāds, ād worshipe the same Sauiour; ād with that kissing S. FELIX he marched with him to martyrdome, and was beheaded. Thousands of the auncient Martyrs did the like; and hauing it equally in their power to auoyd or vndergoe martyrdome without offēce they choosed rather generously to vndergoe it, then lawfully to auoyd it. In these, Martyrdome was an heroicall act of force and constancie, giuen them by a holy excesse of Loue. But when it is necessarie to endure Martyrdome or to renounce Faith, Martyrdome it doth not cease to be Martyr∣dome, and an excellent act of loue and vallour: yet doe I scarcely thinke it is to be termed an he∣roicall act, not being elected by any excesse of

Loue, but by force of the law, which in that case commands it. Now in the practise of heroicall acts of vertue, is placed the perfect Imitation of our Sauiour, who as the great S. THOMAS saieth, had all the vertues in an heroicall manner, from the first instant of his conception, yea I would wil∣lingly adde more then heroicall, since he was not simply more then man, but infinitly more then man, that is, true God.