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 digression vpon the imperfection of the Pagans vertues. CHAPTER. X.

1. THe auncient SAGES of the world, made of old, glorious discourses in the honour of morall vertues, yea euen in the behalfe of Reli∣gion; but that which Plutarke obserued in the Stoicks, is yet more proper for the rest of the Pa∣gans. We see ships, quoth he, which beare famous inscriptions. Some are called VICTORIE, others THE VALOVROVS, others THE SVNNE, yet are they not for all that, exempt from their subiection to the winds and waues: So the Stoicks bragged that they were exempt from passions; that they were without Feare, Griefe or Anger; being people im∣moueable, and vnuariable, yet are they in effect subiect to troubles, disquiets, boisterousnesse and other impertinences.

2. I beseech you for Gods loue THEO: what vertues could those people haue, who voluntarily, and of set purpose ouerthrew all the lawes of Religiō. SENECA wrote a booke against Superstitiō, wherein he reprehēds the Pagā impietie with a great deale of libertie: But this libertie saieth S. AVGVSTINE was foūd in his writings, not in his life, since he adui∣sed that in affection one should reiect superstition,

yet practise it in action, for marke his words: Which superstitions the Sage shall obserue, as commanded by the law, not as gratefull to the Gods. How could they be vertuous, who, as S. AVGVSTINE relates, were of opinion that the wise∣man was to kill himselfe, when he could not, or ought not longer to endure the calamities of this life, and yet would not professe that calamities were miserable, nor miseries full of calamities, but maintained that the wiseman was continually hap∣pie, and his life blessed? ô what a blessed life, saith S. AVGVSTINE, which to flie, we flie to death? If it be blessed, why doe you not remaine in it? So that Captaine of the Stoicks (who was so greartly ex∣tolled amongst those cruell and profane people, for hauing slaine himselfe in Vtica, to auoyd a cala∣mitie which he reputed vnworthy of his life) per∣formed it with so little true vertue, that, as S. AVGVSTINE saieth, he did not testifie that he had a courage that would eschew dishonour, but a weake soule, which had not the heart, to expect aduersitie. For if he reputed it a dishonorable thinge to liue vnder Caesars cōmand, why had he commanded to hope in Caesars mercy? why did he not aduise his sonne to die with him, if death were better ād more honorable then life? He killed him∣selfe then, because he either enuyed Caesar the glo∣rie to haue power to pardō him, or for that he ap∣prehended it a disgrace to liue vnder a Conquerour that he hated: wherein he may be commended for a stout and bigge heart, yet not for a wise, vertuous and stayed Spirit. The crueltie which is exercised out of choler in cold blood, is the most cruell of

all: it is the like in despaire; for the most slow, de∣liberate, and resolute, is the lest excusable, and the most desperate. And as for LVCRECIA (that we may not forget the vallour of the lesse vallourous Sexe) Either she was chast, when TARQVINIVS did force and violate her, or she was not: If LVCRECIA was not chast, why is the chastitie of Lucrecia commended? If Lucrecia were chast and vnspot∣ted in that occurrence, was it not an vnworthy fact in Lucrecia, to murther the innocent Lucrecia? If she were adulterious, why so much extolled? If honest, why was she slaine I But she dreaded dishonour and reproch from such as might haue thought that the dishonour which she suffered by force, while yet she liued had bene willingly suf∣fered, if she had after daigned to liue. She was afraied the world would iudge that she complied with the sinne, if that which was villanously cō∣mitted against her, had bene patiently supported by her. And must we then to auoyd shame and re∣proch, which depends vpon the opinion of men, oppresse the innocent, and kill the iust? must we maintaine honour at vertues ••ost and reputation, with hazard of iniustice? Such were the vertues of the most vertuous Pagans towards God, and to∣wards themselues.

3. Touching the vertues that belong to our neighbours, euen by their lawes they trod them shamefully vnder foote, yea the principall of them, Pietie: For Aristotle the greatest wit a∣mongst them, doth pronounce this most hor∣rible and violent sentence. Touching the expo∣sing, that is, the abandoning of children, or their

education, let this be the law: that nothing is to be kept, that is depriued of any member; touching other children, if they be prohibited by the lawes and customes of the Citie to forsake their chil∣dren, and that the numbers of any ones children doe so encrease on him, that he hath more by halfe then his meanes will keepe, he is to preuēt, and to procure an aborsement. Seneca, that so re∣nowned a wise man, we kill monsters, saieth he, and such of our children, as are manke, weaklings, imperfect, or mōstrous we reiect and abandone. So that it is not without cause, that Tertullian doth reproch the Romans with the exposing of their children to the mercy of the waters, to the cold, to famine, to dogs, and this also not by the extreamitie of want: for as he saieth, the Presi∣dents and Magistrats themselues practised this vn∣naturall crueltie. ô good God, THEO: what kind of vertuous men were these? And what was their wisdome, who taught a wisdome so cruell and bru∣tall? Alas, saied the great Apostle, thinking themselues wise, they became senselesse, and their foolish heart hath bene darkened, and deliuered vp into a reprobate sense. Ah what a horrour it is, that so great a Philosopher should aduise aborse∣ment! It is a forerunning of manslaughter, saieth Tertullian, to hinder a child conceiued to be borne, and S. Ambrose reprehending the Pagans for this barbarousnesse, they depriue by this meanes, saieth he, their children of life, before they are yet possessed of it.

4. And if the Pagās haue at any time practised any vertues, it was most ordinarily, in regard of word∣ly

glorie, and consequently they had onely ver∣tue in action, but neither the motiues nor intētion thereof; nor is vertue true vertue, vnlesse it haue a right intention. The Pagans force was built vpon humane auarice, saieth the Councell of Aur: but the strength of Christians is established by hea∣uenly charitie: The Pagans vertues, saieth S. AV∣GVSTINE, were not true, but onely resembled Truth; as not hauing bene practised to their true end, but for pretentions that vanish away. FA∣BRITIVS shall be lesse punished then CATAZINE, not that he was good, but because this was worse; Not that FABRITIVS had any true vertues, but be∣cause he was not so farre distant from them. So that the Pagans vertues at the day of Iudgment will be a kind of defence to them, not that they can be saued thereby, but that they may be lesse dāned: one vice was blotted out by another amongst the Pa∣gans, one vice making place to another, without leauing any place at all to vertue. And out of vaine glorie onely, they repressed auarice, and many other vices, yea sometimes through vanitie, they despised vanitie; wherevpon one of them who see∣med to be least vaine, trampled with his feete Plato's finely made bed▪ what dost thou DIOGENES, saied PLATO vnto him? I tread vnder foote Plato's pride, quoth he; It is true, replyed PLATO, thou treadst vpon it, but with another pride. Whether SENECA was vaine, may be gathered out of his last words: for the end crownes the worke, and the last houre iudgeth all: ô what vanitie! being at the point of death, he saied vnto his friends, that be could not till now sufficiently thanke them, a••••

that therefore he would leaue them a Legacie, part of that which was most gracious and excellent in him, and which, if they carefully kept, they should receiue great honour by it; adding, that this magnificent Legacie, was no other thinge, then the picture of his life. Doe not you marke, THEO: how his last breathing stinke of vanitie? It was not the loue of honestie, but the loue of honour which pricked forward those wise worldlings to the exercise of vertue, and indeede their vertues were as different from true vertues, as the honour of honestie, and the loue of merite is different from the Loue of reward. Those that serue their Prince for their owne interest, doe ordinarily per∣forme their dutie with more solicitude, ardour, and feeling; but such as serue out of Loue, doe it more nobly, generously, and therefore more worthily.

4. Carbunckles and Rubies are called by the grecians by two contrarie names, to wit 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉, and 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉, that is, of fire ād without fire, or else, inflamed, and without flame. They call them fi∣rie, of fire, burning coles, or Carbunkles, because in light and splendour they resemble fire; but they are called without flame, or if we may so saie, vn∣flamie, because their light is not onely no wayes hote, but they are not euen capable of heate, there being ••o fire that can heate them. So did our old F••rthers terme the Pagan vertues, VERTVES, and ••OT-VERTVES both together; Vertues, because they carried the luster and apparence of vertues, NOT-VERTVES, because they wanted not onely the vitall ••eate of the Loue of God, which alone could per∣fect

them, but they were not euen capable of it, because they were in subiects wanting faith; there being in those times, saieth S. AVGVSTINE, two Romans famous for their vertue, CAESAR and CA∣TO; Cato's vertue came much neerer to the true vertue, then Caesars did: and hauing saied in some passage, that the Philosophers who were destitute of true pietie, had yet shined in the light of vertue, he doth vnsaie it in the first booke of his Retrac∣tations, esteeming that, too great a praise to be giuen to imperfect vertues, as those of the Pagans were: which in truth, are like vnto shining night wormes, that shine onely by night, and the day being come, loose their light. For euen so those Pagan vertues are onely vertues in comparison of vice, but in respect of true Christian vertues, doe not at all deserue the name of vertue.

6. Yet whereas they containe some good, they may be compared to greene Aples; for both their colour, and that substance which is left them, is as good as that of entire vertues, but the worme of of vanitie which is in the midst of them, spoyles all; and therefore he that would make profit of them, must culle out the good from the bad. I will easily grant, THEO: that CATO had a resolute courage, and that this resolutnesse was laudable in it selfe, but he that would make profit of his example, it must be in a iust and laudable subiect, not by slaughtering himselfe but by suffering death, when true vertue shall exact it: not by the vanitie of glorie, but by the glorie of veritie: as it happened to our Martyrs, who with inuincible courages, did so many miracles of constancie and

resolution, that those CATO'S, HORACES, SENE∣CA'S, and LVCRECE'S, are in comparison, worthy of no consideration, witnesse those LAVRENCES, VINCENTS, VITALISES, ERASMVSSES, EVGENIASE'S, SEBASTIANS, AGATHAS, AGNESES, CATHARINS, PERPETVAS, FELICITES, SYMPHOROSAS, NA∣TALESES, and a thousand thousand others, who make me dayly admire the Admirours of Pagan vertues: not so much in that they doe inordinatly admire the imperfect vertues of the Pagans, as for that they doe not admire the most perfect vertues of the Christians: vertues a thousand times worthy of admiration, and they alone are worthy of imitation.