Of the Vertues that accompany Mentall Praier, and of their Excellencies. §. 3.

BY what hath beene deliuered in the two precedent paragraphes, it followeth how excellent a thing Mentall Praier is, wherein are exercized so many, * and so heroycall Actes of the most principall Vertues that are in Christian life. For the which S. Iohn Chrysostome saide with very greate reason, That as when a Queene entreth Page  21into a Citty, there enter with her in her Company many Ladyes, & Noblemen of the Courte, beside her Garde, and Innumerable People that followe her: so when Praier entreth into the Soule, there enter with her, all the Vertues accompanying the Spirit of Praier. Some Vertues goe before prepa∣ring the waye, and disposing the Soule to pray as it ought, as are Faithe, Humillitye, Reuerence, and Puritye of Intention, and others which he∣reafter wee shall speake of, according to that say∣ing of the VViseman, * Before Praier prepare thy Soule, and bee not as a man that tempteth God. Other Vertues goe side by side with her, as are Charitye, Religion, and Deuotion, and VVise∣sedome, and those other guiftes of the holy Ghost which illuminate the Vnderstanding, and ayde meruailously to Praier, as in the 27. meditation of the fifth parte of this woorke shall bee seene. Innumerable other Vertues followe after her, as are feruent Desiers, and Purposes of all that is good in matter of Obedience, and Patience, of Temperance, Modestye, Chastitye, and the rest. And aswell the one, as the other inweaue them∣selues with Praier, and among themselues exer∣cize diuerse Actes, that are an Ornament, and De∣cking the one of the other, for Humillitye ioy∣neth herselfe with Confidence, and Charitye: * Charitye with Religion, and Thankesgiuing: Religion with Obedience, and Resignation: and thus with a celestiall, and diuine Consort they make a musicke of many voices. VVhereupon ma∣ny holy Fathers say; That Praier maketh men like Angells, not onely for that it is a VVorke of the superiour faculties, wherein men are like them, but for that it communicateth vnto men an An∣gelicall life full of puritye, and Sanctitye. By Praier when it is perfect, they participate the ar∣dent Page  22Loue of the Seraphins, the fullnesse of kno∣wledge of the Cherubins, the peace, and quiet∣nesse of the Thrones; the rule ouer themselues, of the Dominations; the power against Diuells, of the Povvers; the Magnanimity for meruailous thinges, of the Vertues; the discretion in gouernment, of the Principallities; the Fortitude in difficult and hard things, of the Archangells, and the Obedience in all things of the Angells; and finally the VVisdo∣me, Chastitye, and Cleane-nesse, of the celestiall Spirites. For there can bee nothing (saithe S. Chrysostome) more wise, nor more just, nor more holy, then a man that speaketh to God as it is meete for him, from whome hee receiueth most aboundantly those g••••es, and graces, wherein consisteth true VVisdome, and perfect Iustice, and Sanctitye. The reason hereof is, because as our Lord is very courteous, and gentle, and In∣spireth vs to pray, hee speaketh to vs when wee speake to him; and conuerseth familiarly with those, that enter into theire heart to treate, and conuerse with him; and the conuersation and speache of God is not of wordes alone, but of workes; * for (as S. Bernard saieth) Locutio verbi, est infusio doni. For God to speake, is to commu∣nicate guiftes infusing his Graces, and Vertues vpon them to whome hee speaketh, filling them with that spirituall joy that cannot bee expressed, & with that peace that passeth all Vnderstanding. * And hereupon saide Dauid, I will heare what our Lord God will speake in mee; because hee will speake peace vpon his People & vpon his Saintes, and vpon them that are conuerted to the Heart.

Hereupon it is that in Praier wee are in such sorte to speake vnto God, that wee bee attentiue to hearken, and to heare what hee speaketh vnto vs by his Inspirations, to obey them; and to Page  23dispose ourselues to receiue those guiftes which thereby hee pretendeth to communicate vnto vs; as wee shall see in the second parte in the 26. meditation.

By what hath beene saide appeareth the ex∣cellencye, and necessitye of mentall Praier, of the which Cassianus saith, * That it hath such a conne∣xion with all Vertues, that neither they can bee perfectly obtained, nor conserued without Praier, nor perfect Praier bee obtained without them, for it (saith hee) is the ende of all, and to it are directed all the Labour, and Trauell wee take to gaine them. Forasmuch as Praier, whereof wee here treate, in its perfect degree embraceth vnion with God, by the mean 〈◊〉 actuall knowledge, and Loue, with greate Ioye in possessing him. * From whence it ariseth that God (as S. Iohn Cli∣macus sayeth) in Praier payeth in readye mony a hundreth times double of that which is left, or laboured for his cause, besides greate pledges of the last rewarde that is to bee giuen in the life euerlasting. Many things I might say of this Soueraigne Vertue, which I omitte, because this booke is written for those that desire to exercise it, in respect of the greate estimation they holde of it. And in the Prologues, and Introductions to euery one of the sixe partes of this booke, some thinge shall bee spoken to discouer the ex∣cellencye of this soueraigne exercise, and the good that proceedeth of it.