CHAPTER VIII. A very good meanes to obtayne, humility.
FOr if you consider that these who to day are soe bad, may to morrowe be mo∣re perfect then your selfe: and that if they had recea∣ved
A mirrour for monkes written by Lewis Blosius.
About this Item
- Title
- A mirrour for monkes written by Lewis Blosius.
- Author
- Blois, Louis de, 1506-1566.
- Publication
- Printed at Paris :: [s.n.],
- 1676.
- Rights/Permissions
-
To the extent possible under law, the Text Creation Partnership has waived all copyright and related or neighboring rights to this keyboarded and encoded edition of the work described above, according to the terms of the CC0 1.0 Public Domain Dedication (http://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/). This waiver does not extend to any page images or other supplementary files associated with this work, which may be protected by copyright or other license restrictions. Please go to http://www.textcreationpartnership.org/ for more information.
- Subject terms
- Asceticism -- Catholic Church.
- Monastic and religious life.
- Link to this Item
-
http://name.umdl.umich.edu/A28387.0001.001
- Cite this Item
-
"A mirrour for monkes written by Lewis Blosius." In the digital collection Early English Books Online 2. https://name.umdl.umich.edu/A28387.0001.001. University of Michigan Library Digital Collections. Accessed June 18, 2024.
Pages
Page 155
the gifts, that are gran∣ted you from above, they would leade a farre more holy life then your selfe: and that you would sinne more gre∣viously then they, if you were not prevented by a more abun∣dant grace: I say if you consi∣der these things, you will ea∣sily observe howe fitt it were, that you should preferr every sinner before your selfe: O if you did knowe the secret of God, howe willingly would you give place to others, howe gladly would you take the lo∣west place, howe joyfully would you lay your selfe at the feete of others, with what alacrity would you attend the
Page 156
sicke, howe devoutly would you honour all, howe affectio∣natly obedient would you be without any delay or com∣plaint: But yet I require a mo∣re excellent thing of you, viz that you place your selfe not only belowe all men in your heart for Gods sake, but also belowe each creature, re∣puting your selfe as moste ab∣ject dust, esteeminge your sel∣fe unworthy to tread on the earth, or to enjoy the bene∣fitt of light: looke more ex∣actly into your selfe, howe in∣gratefull, tepid, unstable, mi∣serable, and vile you are: and by that meanes you will attai∣ne to that moste humble sub∣mission
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of mynde: if the old enemy knocke importunatly at the dore of your heart put∣ting into your conceit that you should thinke your selfe some body, that you should vainely glory and compare your selfe with others: repell the subtill villany, locke the dores against him: and al∣though you feele some pesti∣lent immissions, beware al∣wayes of giving your consent: for if you consent, if you let in the impostour and incline your mynde to his unlawfull allurements, you have broken your faith and vow, which you have made to the bride∣groome of your soule: you ha∣ve
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polluted the bed of your beloved, which before flouri∣shed: neyther can you be ad∣mitted to his most blessed fa∣miliarity, unlesse you cast out the adulterer, and humble your selfe exceedingly. And peradventure you shall not be receaved to favour, unlesse you be first punished and affli∣cted for a while, and that the filthy kisses which the impure spirit hath imprinted on your soule, be rased out by the scour¦ge of God. But enough hath bin spoken of this.