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 indifferencie is extended to all things. CHAPTER. V.

1. Indifferencie is to be practised in things be∣longing to the naturall life, as in health, sick∣nesse, beautie, deformitie, weacknesse and strēgth: in the affaires of the spirituall life as in honours, place, riches; In the varietie of the spirituall life, as in drinesses, consolations, gusts, aridities: In actions, in sufferances, and finally in all sorts of e∣uents. Iob, in his naturall life, was wounded with a most horrible soare that euer eye beheld. In his ciuile life, he was scorned, baffled, contemned, and that by his nerest allie: In his spirituall life, he was oppressed with languors, gripings, conuulsions, andguishes, darknesse, and with all kinds of in∣tollerable interiour aggreeuāces, as his cōplaints and Lamentations doe witenesse. The great Apo∣stle doth denounce vnto vs a generall indifferencie to shew our selues the true seruants of God, in wants, anguishes, wounds, in prisons, seditions, trauailles, in watchings, fastings, in chastitie, in knowledge, in longanimitie, and sweetenesse, in vertue of the holy Ghost, in vnfained Charitie, in the word of truth, in the vertue of God, by the armes of Iustice, to the right and left hand, by glo∣rie

and abiection, by infamie and good name; as seductours and yet iust, as men vnknowen, and yet acknowledged, as men dying and yet aliue, as cha∣stised and yet not slaine, as sorrowfull, and yet still continually ioyefull, as needie and yet enriching many, as hauing nothing and yet possessing all things.

2. Note I pray you, THEO: how the life of the Apostles, in their bodies, was afflicted with woūds: in their hearts with anguishes: in their ciuile life, by infamie and prisons; and in all these ô God what indifferencie they had! Their sorrows are ioyfull, their pouertie rich, their death liuely, their dishonours honorable: that is, they are ioy∣full to be sad, content to be poore, reenforced to liue amongst the dangers of death, and glorious to be disesteemed; for such was the will of God.

3. And whereas the will of God was better knowen in sufferances, then in the acts of other vertues, he rankes the exercise of patience in the front, saying, let vs appeare in all things the seruāts of God, by great patience in tribulations, in wāts in anguishes: and then towards th'end, in chasti∣tie, in Prudence, in longanimitie.

4. In like manner our heauenly Sauiour was incomparably afflicted in his ciuile life, being con∣demned as guiltie of Treason against God and mā, bet, buffetted, scourged; and in his naturall life tormēted with an extraordinarie ignominie, dying in the most cruell and sensible torments that heart could thinke. In his spirituall life, enduring sor∣rowes, feares, amazements, anguishes, succour∣lesnesse,

interiour oppressions, such as neuer was or shall be. For though the supreame portion of his soule did soueraignely enioye eternall glorie, yet would not Loue let glorie spred its delightes, neither in his sense, imagination or inferiour rea∣son, but left the whole heart exposed in this sort, to the mercy of sorrow and distresse.

5. Ezechiel had a vision of a picture of a hād, which tooke him by an onely locke of his head-haire, and hoist him vp into the aire. In like man∣ner our Sauiour reared vp into the aire vpon the Crosse, seemed to be held in his Fathers hand, by the very extreamitie of the Spirit, and as it were, by one haire of his head, which being touched by the sweete hand of his eternall Father, receiued a soueraigne abundāce of Felicitie, all the rest being drunke vp in sorrow and griefe. Wherevpon he cries out, My God, why hast thou forsaken me?

6. They saie, that the fish termed the Lanterne of the Sea, in the midst of the tempest, thrusts her tongue out of the water, which is so bright, shi∣ning and cleare that she serue the marriners for light-houses, or Beacons; so in the midst of pas∣sions wherewith our Sauiour was beset, all the fa∣culties of the soule were swallowed vp, and buried in the torment of such a number of paines, excep∣ting onely the point of his Spirit, which being free from all paine, remained bright and light with glorie and felicitie. O how blessed is the Loue which raignes in the top of a faithfull soule, while it is tossed vpon the billowes and waues of interiour tribulations.