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 the examples of diuers saints which seemed to exercise their Zeale with An∣ger, make nothing against the aduise of the precedent Chapter. CHAPTER. XVI.

1. IT is true indeede, my deare THEO: that MOYSES, PHINEES, HELIE, MATHATIAS, and diuers great seruāts of God, made vse of choler, to exercise their Zeale in sundrie remarkable occur∣rences; yet note also I praie you, that those were great personages, who could well manage their choler, not vnlike to that braue Captaine of the Ghospell, who saied to his soldiers, goe, and they went; come, and they came: but we, who are in a manner all but a kind of poore people, we haue no such power ouer our motions: our horse is not so well broken, that we cā both spurre, and make him stope at our pleasure: Old and well trayned hounds doe come in, or fall off according to the huntsmans call, but vntrayned younge hounds, doe disordely flie out. The great Saints, that haue trayned vp their passions in a continuall mor∣tification by the exercise of vertue, can

at euery turne of a hād turne and winde their pas∣sions, giuing the scope or gathering thē vp at their pleasure: But we who haue vnbridled passions, young, or at least mistaught, we cannot giue bridle to our anger, but at great perill of disorder, for hauing once gotten head, one cannot re∣strayne, and order them as were fitting.

2. S. DENIS talking with that DEMOPHILVS, who would haue giuen the name of Zeale to his rage, and furie; he that would correct others, quoth he, must first beware, that anger doe not turne reason out of the power and Dominion wherein God hath established it ouer the soule, ād that it doe not stirre vp a reuoult, sedition, and confusion within our selues; so that we doe in no sort approoue your impetuosities, to which you were pricked forward with an vndiscreete Zeale, though you should a thousand times repeate PHINEES and HELIE: for the like words did not please IESVS CHRIST, being spoken to him by his Disciples, who were not yet made partakers of this sweete and benigne spirit. PHINEES, THEOT: seeing, a certaine accursed Israelite offend God with a Moabite, slew them both: HELIE fore∣told the death of OCHOSIAS, who wrothfull at this presage, sent two Captains one after ano∣ther with fiftie men a peece, to take him: and the man of God made fire descend from heauē which deuour'd them. Our Sauiour on a day passing through Samaria, sent into a towne to take vp his lodging, but the inhabitants knowing that our Sauiour was a Iewe by nation, and that he went to Hierusalem, they would not lodge him; which

S. IOHN and S. IAMES seeing they saied vnto our Sauiour, shall we commande the fire to descend, and burne them? And our Sauiour turning to∣wards them, chid them, saying, you know not what spirit moues you to this, the Sonne of man, came not to distroye soules, but to saue them: This it is then, THEOT: that S. DENIS would saie to DEMOPHILVS, who alleaged the example of PHINEES and HELIE: for S. IOHN and S. IAMES, who would haue imitated PHINEES and HELIE in making sire descend from Heauen vpon men, were reprehended by our Sauiour, who gaue them to know, that his Spirit and Zeale was sweete, milde, and gracious, which rarely made vse of wroth or indignation, but onely in some circum∣stāces, where there was no other hope left to pre∣uaile. S. THOMAS of Aquine that great Starre of Diuinitie, being sicke of the desease whereof he died at the Monasterie of Fossanoua, of S. BER∣NARDS order, the Religious besought him to make them some short expositiō vpon the CANTICLE OF CANTICLES to the imitation of S. BERNARD, and he answered them: Deare Fathers, giue me a S. BER∣NARDS Spirit and I will interprete this diuine Can∣ticle as did S. BERNARD; so verily, if one should saie to one of vs small, miserable, imperfect and wretched Christians, serue your selues of Anger and indignation in your Zeale, as did PHINEES, HELIE, MATHATHIAS, S. PETER and S. PAVLE: we ought to replie, giue vs the Spirit of perfectiō, and pure Zeale, with the interiour light which those great Saints had, and we will arme our selues with choler as they did; It is not a common performāce

to discerne when and in what measure we are to be angrie.

3. Those great Saints were immediatly inspi∣red by God, and therefore might boldly imploye their anger without perill; for the same Spirit, which did embolden them to this exploite, did also gouerne the raynes of their iust wroth, least they might out raye their prefixed bounds. An Anger that is inspired or excited by the holy Ghost, is not now the anger of a mā, and it is mans wroth that we are to be ••ware of, because, as S. IAMES saieth, it worketh not God's Iustice. And indeede when those worthy seruants of God made vse of anger, it was in so sollemne occurrences, and vpon so inordinate crimes, that there was no dan∣ger that the punishment should passe the fault.

4. Are we, thinke you, to take libertie to in∣iurie sinners, to blame nations, to controll and censure our Conductors and Prelats; because S. PAVLE once cals the Galatians senslesse; repre∣sents to the Candiots their lewde inclinations, and resisted the glorious S. PETER his Superiour in his face? Certes euery one is not a S. PAVLE, to know how to doe those things in the nicke: But hot, harsh, presumptuous and reprochfull spirits, following their owne inclinations, humours, a∣uersions, and the high conceits they haue of their owne sufficiencie, draw the vaile of Zeale ouer their iniquitie; and vnder the name of this sacred fire, permit themselues to be burnt vp with their proper passions. It is the Zeale of the health of soules, that makes the Prelatshipe be sought after, if you will beleeue the ambitious man; that makes

the Monke ordained for the Quire, course about; if you will giue credit to his disquieted spirit; that causeth all those censures and murmuratiōs against the Prelates of the Church, and tēporall Princes, if you will giue eare to the arrogant. You shall heare nothing frō him but Zeale; nor yet see any Zeale in hī, but onely opprobrious and rayling speaches hatred ād rācore, disquiete of the heart and tōgue.

5. Zeale may be practised three wayes: first in exercising high actions of Iustice to repell euill; and this belongs onely to publike officers, to correct, censure, and reprehend in the nature of a Superiour, as Princes, Prelates, Magistrats, Preachers: but whereas this office is worshipfull, euery one will vndertake it, euery one will haue a fingar in it. Secondly, one may vse Zeale in actions of great vertue, for the good example of others, by suggesting the remedies of euill, and exhorting men to applie them, by working the good that is opposite to the euill which we desire to banish, which is a thing that belongs to euery one, and yet it hath but few vndertakers. Finally the most excellent vse of Zeale is placed in suffering and enduring much to hinder or diuert euill, and scarce will any admit this Zeale. A spe∣cious Zeale is all our ambition: vpon that, each one willingly spends his talant, neuer taking no∣tice, that it is not Zeale indeede which is there sought for, but glorie, ambition's satisfaction, choler, churlishnesse and other passions.

6. Certainly our Sauiours Zeale did princi∣pally appeare in his death vpon the Crosse, to di∣stroy death and sinne in men: wherein he was soue∣raignly

imitated by that admirable vessell of ele∣ction and dilection, as the great S. GREGORIE Na∣zianzen in golden words represents him: for speaking of this holy Apostle, he fights for all, saieth he, he poures out praiers for all, he is Zea∣lously passionat towards all, he is inflamed for all, yea he dared yet more for his brethren accor∣ding to flesh, so that if I may dare also to saie it, he desires through charitie, that they might haue euen his owne place, nere our Sauiour. O excellencie of an incredible courage and feruour of Spirit? He imitats IESVS CHRIST, who became a curse for our Loue, who put on our infirmities, and bore our deseases. Or that I may speake a lit∣tle more soberly, he was the first after our Sauiour that refused not to suffer and to be reputed wicked in their behalfe. Euē so then, THEO: as our Sauiour was whip't, condemned, crucified as man, deuo∣ted, bequeathed, and dedicated to beare and sup∣port all the reproches, ignominies and punish∣ments due to all the offenders in the world, and to be a generall sacrifice for sinne being made as an ANATHEMA, forsaken and left of his eternall Fa∣ther; so according to the true doctrine of this great Nazianzen, the glorious Apostle S. PAVLE desired to be loden with ignominie, to be cruci∣fied, left abandoned and sacrificed for the sinnes of the Iewes, that the curse and paine which they me∣rited might fall vpon him. And as our Sauiour did so take vpon him the sinnes of the world and be∣came a curse, was sacrificed for sinne, and forsaken of his Father, that he ceased not continually to be the well-beloued Sonne in which his Father plea∣sed

himselfe: So the holy Apostle desired in∣deede to be a curse, and to be separated from his Maister, to be left alone to the mercy of the re∣proches and punishments due vnto the Iewes; yet did he neuer desire to be depriued of Charitie and the grace of God, from which nothing could se∣parate him, that is, he desired to be vsed as one separated, from God, but he desired not in effect to be separated▪ or depriued of his Grace; for this cannot be piously desired. So the heauenly Spouse confesseth that though loue be strong as death, which makes a separation betwixt the bodie and the soule. Yet Zeale which is an ardent loue, is yet stronger; for it resembles Hell, which separats the soule from our Sauiours sight; but it was neuer saied, nor can euer be saied, that Loue or Zeale was Like to sinne, which alone separats from the grace of God. And indeede how could the ardour of Loue possibly make one desire to be separated from grace, since Loue is grace it selfe, or at least cannot consist without grace? Now the Zeale of the great S. PAVLE was in some sort practised by the little S. PAVLE, I meane S. PAVLINE, who to de∣liuer a slaue out of bondage became himselfe a slaue, sacrificing his owne libertie, to bestow it vpon his neighbour.

6. Happie is he, saieth S. AMBROSE, who knowes the gouernment of Zeale! The Deuil will easily scofe at thy Zeale, if it be not according to science, let therefore thy Zeale be inflamed with Charitie, adorned with science, established in cō∣stancie. True Zeale is the child of Charitie, as being the ardour of it: Wherefore, like to Chari∣tie,

it is patient, benigne, not troublesome nor contentious, not enuious or spightfull, but re∣ioycing in Truth. The ardour of true Zeale re∣sembles that of the huntsman, being diligēt, care∣full, actiue, industrious and eager in the pursuit, but without choler, anger, or trouble: for if the huntsman's labour were cholerike, harsh and wayward, it would not be so earnestly loued and affected. Zeale in like manner hath extreame fer∣uours, but such as are constant, solide, sweete, la∣borious, equally amiable and infatigable; whereas contrariwise, false Zeale is turbulent, confused, insolent, arrogant, cholericke, wauering, no lesse impetuous then inconstant.