The rule of penance of the seraphicall father S. Francis: approued and confirmed by Leo the X. for religious persons of the 3. order of S. Francis : together with a declaration of each point of the Rule, profitable not only to the religous of this order, but also to all religious women / by Br. Angelus Francis, friar minour.

THE 26. CHAPTER. Whether the third order be actiue or contemplatiue.

THe angelicall Doctour S. Thomas deuides the life of a christian into actiue and con∣templatiue, because some men doe principally attend to con∣templation, others to exteriour actions, alledging the authoritie of S. Gregory. hom 14. super Ezech: who saith, Duae sunt vitae in quibus nos omnipotens Deus per sacrum eloquium erudit, actiua vi∣delicet & contemplatiua. There be two liues saith he, wherein allmightly God doth instruct vs

by his word, to wit actiue and contemplatiue.

This last in it selfe and of its owne nature farre exceeds the other, which the foresaid S. Tho∣mas proues by many reasons, as that because the contemplatiue life belongs to man according to his best part, to wit according to his vnderstanding and will, for it principally consists in the ope∣rations of the soule, but the a∣ctiue life is occupied about exte∣riour things. Secondly, there is more delight in the contempla∣tiue than in the actiue, whence S. Aug: ser 26. de verbis Domini. Martha turbabatur, Maria Epu∣labatur, Martha was troubled, Marie feasted. Thirdly the con∣templatiue is to be loued for it selfe, but the actiue is ordained to some other end. Fourthly the

contemplatlue life is according to diuine things, but the actiue ac∣cording to humaine. Whence. our Sauiour said to Marie Luc. 10. Optimam partē elegit Maria, quae non auferetur ab ea. Marie hath chosen the best part which shall not be taken away from her. Which S. August ser 27. in the place aboue cited, thus expoundeth; Thou Martha hast not chosen an euill part, but she a better, because it shall not be taken away frō her, but from thee sometime shal be taken away the burden of ne∣cessitie, the sweetnesse of truth or contemplation being eternall. And S. Basill affirmeth, that by these two woemen are set before our eies two sorts of life, the one of which is of inferiour note or esteeme, because occupied in the more grosse operations of this

life, and yet maruellously pro∣fitable: wherfore if thou wilt serue with Martha, doe in the name of God, for Christ hath said, what you shall doe to one of my little ones, that you doe to mee, whether you lodge stran∣gers, feed the poore, or be moued to compassion on the afflicted, our lord will repute all these of∣fices as if they were done to his owne person. But in another place the same Father doth high∣ly extoll the contemplatiue life, saying that it is the schoole of celestiall doctrine, the disci∣pline of diuine sciences, where God is all that is learned, where God is the way by which we must goe, by him alone we must come to the knowledge of the soueraigne truth. So that the contemplatiue life is a continuall

adhesion to God in spirit, whe∣reby man becomes lord of the whole world hauing his conuer∣sation in heauen, & there fixeing and placing his mind doth des∣pise all earthly things, whiles he esteemes nothing good or great but God and diuine things, and here is his continuall pradise vnlesse the law of charitie other∣wise require.

Hence there be found amongst religious orders three states, some that giue themselues to the a∣ctiue life, others that apply their minds wholy to the contempla∣tiue, and lastly others that are partly contemplatiue and partly actiue, more or lesse according to their seuerall constitutions. Of the first sort are all those orders of knights, who make profession of seuerall exteriour acts, as to

defend the poore, or to fight a∣gainst the Turkes: as also all those that giue themselues to keepe hospitalls, redeeme captiues, and such like▪ Of the second sort, be all those ancient hermits, Ana∣chorits, and monkes, and gene∣rally all religious woemen who vow enclosure. For they lead a life truely angelicall, night and day seruing God in the quire, and applying their minds to their God in all their actions. Of the third and last are those religious orders which are commonly called mendicants, who apply themselues aswell to the contem∣platiue life, as to the actiue which proceeds from the contemplatiue, in preaching, teaching, and con∣uerting of Nations.

In this our third order of our holy Father S. Francis be found

of all sorts. For as it hath beene before declared, there be some of them that leade a pious kind of life in the world addicting them∣selues to godly excercises of de∣uotion, principally of penance whereof they make profession, and some others doe liue in con∣munities, and giue themselues to serue the sicke, keepe hospitalls, lodge the poore, and such like, all which no doubt doe follow the actiue way, others there be that giue themselues purely to the contemplatiue way, and such are those religious woemen of this order as make vow of Enclosure, for their whole life hath no other end but to serue and loue God, as shall more amply be declared in the exposition of their rule. Lastly there are some that enioy a mixt life (which cannot be

proper for woemen) and such be those Friars of the third order in Spaine and France, who preach and teach in the same manner as other mendicants doe, and not without fruit, no other wise diffe∣ring from the Friar minors who are of the first order, than the re∣ligious woemen enclosed doe differ frō the poore Clares, to wit that their rule and manner of life is not so austere and hard, the reason wherof I haue declared before, to wit that in this holy and seraphicall order might be foode for all pallats.