The characteristics of true devotion

LIBRARY OF CONGRESS.

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Shelf ._...ll.^ 5

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA.

THE COMPLETE ASCETIC WORKS

Rev. J. N. GROU,

Of the Society of Jesus.
TRANSLATED FROM THE FRENCH.

EDITED BV

Rev. SAMUEL H. FRISBEE, S.J.

THE CHARACTERISTICS

OF

TRUE DEVOTION.

CHARACTERISTICS

OF

TRUE DEVOTION.

TRANSLATED FROM THE FRENCH OF

THE REV. j; n: GROU,

Oy the Society of Jesus ^

By the Rev. Alexander Clinton, S.J.
A NEIV EDITION.

REVISED AND EDITED AFTER COMPARISON WITH ALL EXISTING
EDITIONS IN FRENCH AND ENGLISH BY

REV. SAMUEL H. FRISBEE, S.J.,

spiritual Director of Woodstock College.

Mir

NEW YORK, CINCINNATI, CHICAGO:

BEN^^IGER BROTHERS,

Printers to the Holy Apostolic See.
1895.

THE U^^ -^^^

GULIELMUS PARDOW

Praepositus Provinciae Marylandiae Neo-Eboracensis
Soc, Jesu.

Quum librum cui titulus " Characteristics of True Devo-
tion " a J. N. Grou nostrae Societatis conscriptum. et a S. H.
Frisbee, ejusdem Societatis sacerdote recensitum, aliqui
ejusdem Societatis revisores, quibus id commissum fuit, recog-
noverint et in lucera edi posse probaverint ; facultatem con-
cedimus ut typis mandeiur, si ita iis ad quos pertinet videbitur.

In cujus rei fidem has litteras manu nostra subscriptas, et
sigillé officii munitas dedimus.

Woodstock College,
die Sept. 28, 1894.

GULIELMUS PARDOW, S.J.
Praepositus Provinciae Neo-Eboracensis.

irmprlmatur.

4- MICHAEL AUGUSTINE,

Archbishop 0/ New York.

New York, October i, 1894.

Copyright, 1894, by Benziger Brothers.

CONTENTS.

PAGE

A Word to the Reader 9

A Short Sketch of the Author and
HIS Works 15

CHAPTER

I. Introductory ; the Object of this Book. 19
IL True Devotion defined 23

III. What we owe to God ; the Motives for

Devotedness 27

IV. That every other Devotedness should

be subordinate to that which we owe

to God 31

V. That the First Object of our Devoted-
ness should be the Glory of God and

the Accomplishment of his Will 33

VI. That the Second Object of Man's De-
votion should be his own Sanctifi-
cation. The Reasons why he should

seek it 36

VII. The Third Object of our Devotion,

our Happiness , . . . , 39

CONTENTS.

CHAPTER PAGE

VIII. Qualities of True Devotedness

to God. The Spirit of Prayer 43
IX. That Devotion to be True must

be Interior 47

X. That Devotion should appear in
our External Actions. Reasons

which prove this 53

XI. The Error of those who exclude

Mental Prayer from Devotion.. 57
XII. That it is an Abuse to Multiply
too much the Practices of De-
votion 63

XIII. That we must give ourselves up

to God without Restriction and *
without Reserve 66

XIV. That True Devotion admits of

no Division 72

XV. That Devotion is for Persons of

every Age 81

XVI. That Devotion extends to all

Conditions of Life Zj

XVII. That Love is the only Founda-
tion of Devotion 93

XVIII. That to be Truly Devoted we
must forget our own Interests
and seek God only ... 97

CONTENTS. 7

CHAPTER PAGE

XIX. The Fatal Effects of Self-love on

Devotion loi

XX. That Devotion gives Birth to
Confidence. The Good Effects
and the Necessity of this Con-
fidence 105

XXI. That Devotion begets Self-
knowledge and consequently

Humility no

XXII. Simplicity and the Fear of being
noticed are the Characteristics
of True Devotion. How few
possess them 114

XXIII. Mortification of the Senses is

another Quality of Devotion. . 121

XXIV. That Mortification of the Will is

Essential to Devotion 125

XXV. Various Qualities of Devotion. . . 131
XXVI. Some other Qualities of Devotion 135
XXVII. That Devotion Perfects and Cor-
rects the Character 140

XXVIII. That Devotion, far from con-
tracting the Mind, aids its

Development 144

XXIX. That Devotion elevates the Heart

of Man above all that is not God. 152

8 CONTENTS.

CHAPTER PAGE

XXX. The Man Truly Devout regards
everything in Relation to Eter-
nity and to the Will of God ... 158
XXXI. Conduct of the Truly Devout

Man in regard to his Neighbor. 163
XXXII. The Difference between the Po-
liteness of the World and the
Cordiality of True Devotion . . 171

XXXIII. The Truly Devout Man possesses

all Civil Qualities 177

XXXIV. The Truly Devout Man possesses

the only true Happiness that

can be enjoyed on Earth 180

XXXV. That Jesus Christ is the Grand

Model of Perfect Devotedness. 185
XXXVI. Three Efficacious Means to ac-
quire True Devotion 190

XXXVII. Reflections on the Characteristics

of True Devotion 196

A WORD TO THE READER.

nnms little book has been the most
widely circulated of all Father Groups
writings. Forty editions in French, and,
including the present version, four trans-
lations into English, show that it, indeed,
has been well known ; yet to-day there is
no reliable edition in print, so that some
of those who take it up will meet with it
for the first time. A few words about it
and its author may not, therefore, be amiss.
It was published for the first time at Paris
in 1788, and is the second in order of time
of Father Grou's ascetic writings, being
preceded in 1786 by Morale tirée des Con-
fessions de Saint Augustin, It was trans-
lated into English by Father Alexander
Clinton, S.J., who was chaplain at Lull-
worth Castle, where Father Grou spent the

lO A WORD TO THE READER.

last years of his life in exile, and was pub-
lished at London, in 1791, under the title
" The Characters of Real Devotion/' A
second edition was issued at Dublin in
1795, a third in 1801, and a fourth in 1838.
An entirely new translation was published
at Baltimore in 1832 by Fielding Lucas,
Jr., entitled *' Portraiture of True Devo-
tion/' By whom this translation was
made we have been unable to ascertain.
A third translation into English was pub-
lished by Thomas Whittaker, New York,
1882. The preface is signed by Ellen M.
Fogg, who, we presume, is the translator.
Of these different versions the one by
Father Clinton is by far the most reliable.
Though the English is antiquated and the
version at times too literal, he evidently
understood French well and has caught
the meaning and the spirit of the author.
The same cannot be said of the other two
translations. '' The Portraiture of True
Devotion " does not aim at a literal ren-

A WORD TO THE READER. ii

dering of the French, and manifests
throughout a lack of simpHcity and a
search after long words and an exuberant
style, entirely unsuited to the character
of the work. The translation published
by Whittaker is in better style, but there
are many phrases which show that the
translator did not understand well the
French idiom. There are also some omis-
sions, in one case of a whole chapter,
which we are told in the preface that the
translator '^ has taken the liberty to omit
since they seemed only adapted to the
rehgious, and in no way to the secular."
Though this edition was gotten out for
the members of the Anglican Church, it
does not bear explicit evidence of '^ being
adapted so as to bring it into harmony
with the Book of Common Prayer and
Anglican Divinity,'* yet it contains ex-
pressions which no Catholic would use,
and which Father Grou would certainly
never have approved. More frequent.

t2 A WORD TO THE READER.

however, are the errors arising from a mis-
understanding of the language in which
Father Grou wrote. For these reasons this
translation cannot be recommended.

The editor of the present edition has
taken Father Clinton's version as a basis,
and ha? compared it diligently with the
revised French edition of Father Cadres
and with the other two English versions.
In correcting the translation of Father
Clinton, his aim has been to give in mod-
ern E::g":sl: 'ust what Father Grou wrote.
preferrir.g a literal rendering, even some-
times at the sacrifice of smoothness, to an
equivalent paraphrase. In regard to the
title of the book. ** The Characteristics of
True Devotion " has been chosen rather
than Father Clinton's • The Characters of
Real Devotion," as the use of the word
*' Characters '' in the sense employed is to-
day unusual. Since Father Grou uses the
word " devotion " in the sense of devoted-
ness, *' The Characteristics of True Devot-

A WORD TO THE READER. 13

edness " would be a more exact title ; but
as the work is already known by the name
of ^^ True Devotion/' and as Father Grou
explains at the beginning of Chapter II.
that all true devotion means a devotedness
or a consecration, it has been judged bet-
ter to keep the name '*The Characteristics
of True Devotion,"

As to the matter of which the book
treats and its importance, the judgment
of the censor appointed to examine the
first edition leaves nothing to be added.
It is prefixed to the best French editions,
and we add it here in English for the ben-
efit of our readers. '* This excellent book
reveals in its pious author a profound
knowledge of the inner life of those souls
which are working earnestly at their sanc-
tification. He explains, first, what is to
be understood by the word *' devotion,"
then he gives the motives for practising
it, points out its real object, and indicates
the means of acquiring it. From all these

14 A WORD TO THE READER,

characteristics, which constitute a faithful
portrait of devotion, those who make it
their aim to lead a pious life, even though
in the world, can draw the greatest profit
for their advancement in Christian perfec-
tion. Those, on the contrary, who make
their whole life of devotion to consist in
delusive practices, will find here infallible
rules to reform their ideas and to unde-
ceive them in regard to what, under the
appearance of piety, is only hypocrisy,
and to instruct them in a true devotion,
which has for its foundation the most
complete devotedness of the heart to all
which can procure the glory of God, the
edification of the neighbor, and their own
sanctification.'*

Woodstock College,
Woodstock, Maryland,
October J 1894.

A SHORT SKETCH OF THE
AUTHOR AND HIS WORKS.*

JEAN Nicolas Grou was born at Ca-
lais on the 23d of November, 1 751, and
at the age of fifteen he entered the Society
of Jesus. According to all accounts, he
made his first studies in the college of
Louis-Le-Grand, at that time under the
direction of the Jesuits. He had scarcely
finished his course of teaching and his
theological studies, when an excellent
translation of Plato gave him a distin-
guished rank among the writers of that
epoch. The decree suppressing the So-

* For fuller details, both of the life of Father Grou
and his Works, see the Sketch of his Life and Works
at the beginning of Vol. I ot **The Interior of Jesus
and Mary/* This Short Sketch is only added for
those who may not have that work.
15

l6 SKETCH OF THE AUTHOR.

ciety in France obliged him to seek refuge
in Lorraine, where he made his last vows,
at Pont-à-Mousson, in 1765 or 1766. Later
on, a change of circumstances led him to
Holland and gave him leisure to continue
his labors on Greek philosophy.

Some years after, having returned to
Paris at the invitation of the Archbishop,
he was charged with the direction of a
religious Community. In 1792 Provi-
dence offered him a secure refuge in Eng-
land from the persecutions of the French
Revolution. He was received into the
family of Mr. Weld at Lullworth Castle,
dear to American Catholics as being the
place where our first bishop, the Right
Reverend John Carroll, was consecrated
Bishop of Baltimore. Here his merits and
his well-tried virtue won him the venera-
tion and the esteem of all who had the
advantage of knowing him.

He died in 1803, at Lullworth Castle,
where the Weld family had so nobly and

SKETCH OF THE AUTHOR. 17

generously offered him hospitality — a hos-
pitality which he richly repaid by his ex-
cellent counsels, and by writing for Mr.
Weld and his children some of his most
valuable ascetic works.

During the last years preceding his de-
parture from France, Father Grou, obhged
to keep in seclusion on account of the
Revolution, spent much time in writing
on pious subjects. It is to this pro-
nounced taste for retirement and labor
that we are indebted for several excellent
works that he published before leaving
Paris. There appeared successively in the
space of six or seven years : ^^ Moral In-
structions Extracted from the Confessions
/of St. Augustin," *^ Characteristics of True
Devotion," ''Spiritual Maxims, with Ex-
planations,"''The Science of the Cruci-
fix," and " The Practical Science of the
Crucifix." These were followed, when he
had taken refuge in England, by " Medi-
tations on the Love of God," "The Chris-

l8 SKETCH OF THE AUTHOR.

tian Sanctified by the Lord's Prayer/*
''The Interior of Jesus and Mary," ''The
Gift of One's Self to God," "The School
of Jesus Christ." All these works, in-
spired by an ardent zeal for the greater
glory of God and the salvation of souls,
have already borne abundant fruit, and
may be read with great profit by every
Christian desirous of perfection. Several
of these works have been at various times
translated into English, but are now out
of print ; others have never been trans-
lated. That so valuable works may be
rendered available for all who read Eng-
lish, the editor, supported by the publish-
ers, is engaged in bringing out a complete
edition in English of all the works men-
tioned above. " The Interior of Jesus and
Mary" has already appeared; " The Char^
acteristics of True Devotion " is the sec-
ond of the series. The others will follow,
three being already translated and await-
ing revision.

THE CHARACTERISTICS

OF

TRUE DEVOTION.

CHAPTER I.

INTRODUCTORY. OBJECT OF THIS BOOK.

TV T OTWITHSTANDING the general decay
of piety, there are many who still
profess devotion. Few, however, have a
just idea of it, almost all following in its
regard their prejudices, their imagination,
their inclination, or their self-love. Hence
arises that infinite number of defects to
which the devout of both sexes, of every
age, rank, and condition, are subject, and
which are wrongfully ascribed to devotion

20 OBJECT OF THIS BOOK.

itself. These defects are not always hurt-
ful to salvation, but they hinder perfection
and are obstacles to holiness. To the
worldly they are an occasion of raillery
and of blasphemy; to the weak, a subject
of scandal ; to ordinary Christians, a pre-
text which keeps them in their state of
tepidity and deters them from embracing
the devout life. What powerful reasons
these are to induce pious souls, zealous
for the glory of God and for their own
and their neighbors* interests, to conceive
in the sense of the Gospel an exact notion
of devotion, and then to express it in their
conduct !

In this little book I purpose to set be-
fore my readers a faithful picture of devo-
tion. I invite them to observe all its feat-
ures wâth an attentive eye, and then to
cast a look on themselves. Self- love is so
blind, the human will is so weak, that I
dare not hope that they will draw from
this comparative view all the advantage

OBJECT OF THIS BOOK. ±l

which naturally might be expected. For
people in general do not see themselves as
they really are, or a long habit, become
almost a second nature, takes from many
the courage and even the desire of becom-
ing better, while others find the model to
be too perfect, and, in the despair of attain-
ing to it, do not even try to approach it.

Be that as it may, I shall think myself
happy if a few reap benefit from this book.
Besides, I do not write for devout people
only. Many Christians hesitate between
an ordinary life and an open profession of
solid piety. This work is perhaps the
means which God chooses to make use of
to determine them, and to fix them un-
alterably in virtue. Sinners daily return
to God. They have hitherto been igno-
rant of the manner of serving him ; they
will be glad to find a little book to instruct
them, the reading of which will require but
a few hours. Finally, young people who
begin to give themselves to God need to

22 OBJECT OF THIS BOOK.

be enlightened and taught the right road
that leads to him. As they have no prej-
udices to fight against, no bad habits to
correct, it will suffice to point out to them
the path, to engage them to walk in it,
and thus preserve themselves from the
errors and imperfections of a devotion
misunderstood.

To our youth in particular, then, do
I recommend this book. Those who are
charged with their education may put it
into their hands when they judge them
fit to understand and profit by it; that is,
at the age in which their minds and their
hearts are sufficiently expanded. I do
not think it advisable for them to read it
sooner. The first impression is always the
most decisive for the good or bad effect of
a work of piety ; if once it fails, its credit
will hardly ever be established. It is,
therefore, better to wait until this im-
pression can be solid and well-grounded.

CHAPTER IL

TRUE DEVOTION DEFINED.

T T THAT is devotion? Each one defines
it in his own way. To a worldling,
devotion consists in believing in God and
in holding some principles of religion.
To a saint, it consists in being absorbed
and lost *in God. Between these two ex-
tremes there is almost an endless number
of definitions, which are more or less
exact as they approach one or recede
from the other.

To define it exactly, I adhere to the
word itself and to the idea which it ex-
presses. The word " devotion ** comes
from the Latin, and in our language it
precisely signifies the state of being de-
voted or a consecration. Therefore, to
23

24 TRUE DEVOTION DEFINED.

be devout is the same thing as to be de-
voted or consecrated to God. It is upon
the idea which the term of "being de-
voted " offers to the mind that I shall
ground whatever I have to say on de-
votion, after having premised that, when
God and our duties towards him are in
question, the word should be taken in its
most serious and broadest sense.

Now, in English as well as in Latin, we
know no expression that is stronger than
that of " being devoted,*' in order to ex-
press intimate attachment, absolute and
voluntary dependence, affectionate zeal, —
in a word, a disposition of the mind and
heart of wholly submitting one*s self to
the will of another, of anticipating his
wishes, of embracing his interests, and of
sacrificing everything for his sake. Thus
we say of a child, a servant, a subject,
that he is devoted to his father, to his
master, to his prince. We also say that a
man is devoted to ambition, or to any

TRUE DEVOTION DEFINED. 25

other passion, when he only thinks of
satisfying it ; when he seeks every means,
directs all his views and enterprises to
that purpose, and when it so absorbs him
that he hardly can pay attention to any
other object.

The being devoted to God comprises
all this in the very highest degree ; and it
adds, besides, a consecration, in virtue of
which he who is consecrated belongs no
longer to himself, — has no longer a right
over himself; but belongs by an act of
religion, the most sacred and the most
irrevocable, to the Supreme Being to
whom he has devoted himself.

Such is the idea which I form to my-
self of devotion, by explaining the word
according to its precise signification. The
practice of it, I own, has its beginning, its
progress, and its perfection ; but the act
of consecration should be full, entire, and
perfect in the will at the very moment in
which it is formed. Without going fur-

26

TRUE DEVOTION DEFINED.

ther, and from this simple definition, we
may already judge how rare devotion is
among Christians, and whether we our-
selves be devout.

CHAPTER III.

WHAT WE OWE GOD ; THE MOTIVES FOR
DEVOTEDNESS.

'T^HE devotedness which we owe to God
is singular in its kind ; it is founded on
titles which appertain to him alone, and
which he cannot share with any one else.
God is our first beginning and our last
end. He has created us, and he preserves
us every moment. We are indebted to
him for all the advantages we possess
both of soul and body : the heavens, the
earth, and all the good things we enjoy
are the work of his hands and the gifts
of his liberal beneficence. He disposes
at pleasure of every event, and his provi-
dence has only our welfare in view in all
its designs and arrangements.

He has made us to know him, to love

28 WHAT WE OWE TO GOD ;

him, to serve him, and thereby to merit
to possess him through all eternity. En-
riched, from our very origin, with all the
benefits of nature and of grace, a never-
ending happiness was attached to the ob-
servance of a precept, the most simple, the
most just, and the most easy. But having
fallen from that supernatural state through
the disobedience of our first parents, God
has reinstated us in it by an admirable in-
vention of his love : giving us his own
Son, and taking vengeance on him for
our sins, that he might have only mercy
for us.

To the general benefit of redemption,
add those blessings which are particular —
birth in the bosom of the Catholic Church,
the true religion, a good education, so
many graces of preservation, so many sins
forgiven, the tender reproaches and secret
invitations to return to him, the many
marks, in short, of a special love.

God is our sovereign good, and, to speak

THE MOTIVES FOR 13EVOTEDNESS. 29

justly, he is our only good. As we have
received all from him, so also do we ex-
pect all from him in future, as we can be
happy only through him. He is our King,
our Lawgiver, our Rewarder, the Supreme
Arbiter of our destiny. Add to this what
he is in himself, the eternity and the infin-
ity of his being and of his perfections.
Crown all this with what he is to us in
the person of Jesus Christ.

Pause now for a moment ; reflect on
each one of these titles, which I have
barely mentioned ; weigh the force of
each ; estimate its full value ; appreciate
the claims it has upon you, the senti-
ments it demands from you, and the obli-
gations it imposes upon you. After hav-
ing considered each separately, reunite
them, and conceive, if you can, the im-
mense extent of the duties which they
entail upon you. Measure the capacity
of your heart; see if it could discharge
the debts which it owes to God, although

30 WHAT WE OWE TO GOD.

it were to exhaust itself in respect, love,
gratitude, and submission ; judge whether
your devotedness, how far soever you
may carry it, will ever bear any propor-
tion to so many claims upon it.

I

CHAPTER IV.

THAT EVERY OTHER DEVOTEDNESS
SHOULD BE SUBORDINATE TO THAT
WHICH WE OWE TO GOD.

'T^ HAT every other act of devotedness,
even the most lawful, cannot enter
into comparison with this is most evident.
But besides, every act of devotedness that
should stand in opposition to it, that
should in the least trench upon it, or
even that were not entirely subordinate
to it, would be an outrage which God
necessarily must condemn and punish.
The homage, the respect, the love, the
obedience, which we pay to any crea-
ture whatever, are no farther just and
pleasing to God than he himself com-
mands and authorizes them ; no far-
ther than when they keep within the
31

32 ALL OTHER DEVOTEDNESS SUBORDINATE.

bounds which he has prescribed; no
farther than when they are referred to
him, and are the expression of the su-
preme homage, of the infinite respect, of
the unparalleled love, and of the absolute
obedience which are due to him alone.
The true Christian knows but one de-
votedness, of which all the others are only
an extension and an application, namely,
that which is due to God. He conse-
crates to him alone his mind, his heart,
and his body ; for him alone does he
breathe, think, and act ; God is the prin-
ciple, the motive, and the end of all the
duties he fulfils towards his fellow-beings.

À

CHAPTER V.

THAT THE FIRST OBJECT OF OUR DEVO-
TION SHOULD BE THE GLORY OF GOD
AND THE ACCOMPLISHMENT OF HIS
WILL.

'TpHE first and grand object of devotion
or devotedness (for I shall make use of
these two terms indifferently) is, then, the
glory of God and the accomplishment of
his will. God himself, in all his works,
can have no other motive, and he does
not allow a Christian to do so ; rather, he
absolutely forbids him to substitute any
other. We exist only to glorify God, and
we can glorify him only by loving and
obeying him. This glory of God must
hold the first place in our thoughts and in
our desires ; it must be the spring of all
our actions. Every other intention, how-

33

34 FIRST OBJECT OF OUR DEVOTION:

ever good, however holy, should have
in our hearts only the second place.

This it is which our Lord teaches in the
prayer he has given us. The first peti-
tions relate only to God and to the inter-
ests of his glory. Our Father^ who art
in heaven, hallowed be thy name : let all
rational creatures praise thee, adore
thee, and emulously celebrate thy holi-
ness ; let them imitate thee, in becoming
holy themselves because thou art holy,
and perfect as thou art perfect ; and be
thou hallowed in them and by them.
Thy kmgdom come: may all creatures ac-
knowledge thee for their only Sovereign ;
may they establish thee the absolute
Master of their hearts, and may they in-
vite thee to exercise over them that su-
preme dominion of which thou art so
jealous ! Thy will be done on earth as it
is in heaven. The angels and the blessed
know no other law than thy will ; it is
the principle of the order, of the peace,

THE GLORY OF GOD.

35

and of the charity which reigns amongst
them, and they place all their happiness
in accomplishing it. May it be the same
here below among men ; may they use
their liberty solely in submitting it, not
only to thy orders, but also to thy good
pleasure, and to the appointments of thy
adorable providence ! Such ought to be
the most intimate and the most ardent
aspirations of true devotion. Are they
ours? Does the heart accompany the
lips that utter them daily? Do our in-
tentions and actions bespeak the sincerity
of our prayer ?

CHAPTER VI.

THAT THE SECOND OBJECT OF MAN*S
DEVOTION SHOULD BE HIS OWN SANC-
TIFICATION. THE REASONS WHY HE
SHOULD SEEK IT.

'T^HE second object of the truly devoted
man is his own sanctification. He
wishes it effectually, not as an embellish-
ment and as a perfection of his soul, but
as something which God has commanded,
which is pleasing to him, and which con-
tributes to his glory. It is not to please
himself in his virtues that he endeavors to
acquire them, but to please God. Indeed,
he is not anxious to know even if he is
pleasing God ; but acting with uprightness
and simplicity, he looks not for any testi-
mony to be given him of the worth of

his actions.

36

OUR OWN SANCTIFICATION. 37

In like manner, if he carefully shuns
every sin and every imperfection, it is not
merely because it is a stain and a deform-
ity of the soul, but because it is an of-
fence against God ; a disorder that dis-
pleases the infinite holiness and purity of
his looks; an object that is odious to him,
and which provokes his indignation. Thus,
while he is sorry with respect to God for
a fault committed, he is well pleased with
the feeling of shame and humiliation
which this fault occasions in him.

He aims at holiness, not to appropriate
it to himself nor to possess it as his own
property, but to offer it in homage to
God, to give to him all the glory of it as
to the only source of holiness.

He wishes to become a saint, not in his
own way and according to his own ideas,
but according to the views and the ideas
of God. He is not ignorant that his sanc-
tification is much more the work of God
than his own ; that far from being able of

38 SECOND OBJECT OF OUR DEVOTION.

himself to do anything towards it, he
would only spoil the work were he to
attempt to begin it. He knows that God
must begin, continue, and finish the work ;
that his part is only to leave the whole to
the great Artificer, to put no obstacle in
the way, and to second the design of the
First Mover by his consent and co-opera-
tion.

Finally, he is not led to aspire to a
sublime holiness by a false elevation of
sentiment, or by a jealous emulation of
certain privileged souls ; but he only
wishes to fill up the measure of holiness
to which God calls him ; to correspond
with the graces which he has received,
and to be faithful according to the extent
of the degree he is in : as well pleased at
having received but one talent, provided
he makes good use of it, as if he had
received two or even five.

CHAPTER VII.

THE THIRD OBJECT OF DEVOTION : OUR
HAPPINESS.

'T^HE third object of devotion, that
which interests us the most, is our
own happiness. It is inseparably annexed
to our being devoted to God. To be happy
is to be united to the Sovereign Good ;
and devotion commences this union here
below, in order to consummate it in eter-
nity. Our happiness is also a necessary
consequence of our sanctification ; for it
is a fixed principle, that what tends to
render the soul better tends on that very
account to render it happier. Perfection
and happiness are linked together as cause
and effect. This is true even with regard
to God, in whom happiness is not so much
a perfection as it is the result of his in-

39

40 THIRD OBJECT OF DEVOTION!

finite perfections. It is, therefore, incon-
testable that devotion, rightly understood
and rightly practised, is the source, and
the only source, of the solid happiness
that man can enjoy on earth.

But this transient happiness is but a
mere shadow when compared to the eter-
nal beatitude promised by God to those
who have been devoted to him. In pro-
viding for his own glory he has not neg-
lected our welfare; on the contrary, he
will have our interest to depend on his
glory, and that, in our submission to his
will, we should find all the advantages of
both this and the life to come. If devo-
tion does not always produce such an
effect here below, the fault is not to be
attributed to it, but to those who miscon-
ceive its nature and err in its practice.

In the all-just and the infinitely simple
ideas of the divine mind, our sanctifica-
tion and happiness are reduced to God's
glory, and are blended with it. Where

OUR HAPPINESS. 41

God sees the glory which he expects
from us, there he sees our hoHness, there
our happiness. For this reason the truly
devoted man considers his sanctification
as only a means of glorifying God, and his
own happiness as included in that glory of
God of which it is the consequence. Thus
he makes this glory his principal object and
the chief end of his actions from this convic-
tion that, even without thinking of it espe-
cially, he will become holy and happy in
proportion as he promotes God's glory.
He does not exclude the other two ob-
jects— God forbid ! He even thinks of
them often ; but the first prevails and
overshadows, as it were, the other two.

It is not so with the ordinary devout
man. The object to which he gives the
preference and his greatest attention is
his salvation. He has only this view in
mind ; he does what he thinks proper to
assure it; he shuns what he judges may
expose it to danger. This is the measure

42 THIRD OBJECT OF DEVOTION.

of his holiness, and be\'ond it he hardly
proceeds. As to the glory of God, he
seldom acts directly for that end, though
he will admit of nothing that may be
opposed to it. Thus does the love of
his own interest, which he considers
above everything else, induce him to
invert the order in which God wishes
him to put these three objects. From
thence arise all the defects of his devo-
tion.

CHAPTER VIII.

QUALITIES OF TRUE DEVOTION TO GOD.
OF THE SPIRIT OF PRAYER.

T ET US come to the detail of the quaH-
^^ ties which characterize devotedness to
God. No one is ignorant that devotion
is supernatural, in what Hght soever we
may view it : supernatural in its object,
which is God, known, not merely by
reason, but by faith ; supernatural in its
motives, in its means, and in its end ;
supernatural inasmuch as it is impossible
for man to conceive the idea of it by the
mere light of his reason, or to embrace
it by the power of his will alone, or to
put it in practice by his own strength
only; supernatural because far from
being favorable in any thing to corrupt

44 QUALITIES OF TRUE DEVOTION!

nature, it combats it, and aims at reform-
ing it.

We can only, therefore, be drawn to
devotion by the action of grace, which
enHghtens the mind, sohcits the will, and
strengthens the free-will. We can only
maintain ourselves in it, advance in it,
or attain to the perfection of it, by the
help of grace.

And as, exclusive of certain graces
which entirely precede the action of the
soul, God grants others only by means
of prayer ; it follows, that the first thing
that devotion inspires is an attraction for
prayer; or, rather, it is itself that *' spirit
of grace and of prayer '' which God
promises by his prophet * ^' to pour out
upon** his people. It is a *^ spirit of
prayer, ** that is to say, a disposition, an
habitual tendency of the soul, to rise up
towards God and to unite itself to him,

* Zach. xii. lo.

THE SPIRIT OF PRAYER. 45

by adoring his supreme majesty, by giv-
ing thanks for his blessings, by asking
pardon for past offences, by soHciting the
helps which are needful to our weakness.
It is a ^^ spirit of grace," because this dis-
position and this tendency are the effect
of grace.

I say an habitual disposition which
always subsists in the depth of the will,
which constantly keeps it bent towards
God, and which, as occasion or need re-
quires, forms positive and formal acts,
that are expressed by word of mouth or
by the heart. These positive acts can-
not be continual ; but the interior affec-
tion, which produces and animates them,
may and ought to be so. And it is this
habitual elevation of the soul to God
which is meant by the precept of Jesus
Christ, **that we ought always to pray,
and not to faint." ^

* Luke xviii. i.

46 QUALITIES OF TRUE DEVOTION.

If you have this spirit of prayer, Chris-
tian reader, you have true devotion. But
you have it not yet if you are led to
pray only by duty or necessity, and not
by relish and desire. You do not possess
it if the exercise of it be painful and re-
pugnant to you ; if it cost you a great
effort ; if you find it irksome, and are
listless, tepid, and w^ilfully distracted in
it ; if you count the moments ; if you
curtail it as much as you can ; in short,
if you pay God as a bad debtor pays his
debts. We may in this manner say many
prayers, through habit, human respect,
and by rote — because the rule or our
state of life demands it — without having
the spirit of prayer ; nothing is more
common.

CHAPTER IX.

THAT DEVOTION TO BE TRUE MUST BE
INTERIOR.

'T^HE spirit of prayer is evidently an in-
terior spirit, because it is a spirit of
grace ; the *^ Spirit which asketh for us
with unspeakable groanings ; the Spirit
of the Son, which God has sent into
our hearts, crying Abba, Father ;''^ that is
to say, implanting in us a filial affection,
which is like a continual cry of the heart
towards God our Father. This divine
Spirit dwells in the inmost recesses of the
soul, deeper than all else ; and it is upon
the noblest faculties of the soul — on our
understanding, our will, and our liberty —
that it exercises its power. True devo-
tion, therefore, is essentially interior: it

* Rom. viii. 26 ; Gal. iv, 6.
47

48

DEVOTION MUST BE INTERIOR.

resides in the very depths of the heart,
whence it inspires good thoughts and sen-
timents. From within it diffuses itself
without, and gives Hfe to all the exterior
works of piety.

What, indeed, would be a devotion
merely exterior which consisted only in
words and vain protestations or, at most,
in actions that did not proceed from the
heart ? It would be but a phantom of
devotion, which might deceive men who
judge only from appearances, but which
could not deceive God, whose eye pene-
trates the heart. Provided one renders
useful services, men pay little attention to
the good-will of him who serves them.
But what need has God of our homage ?
It is only pleasing to him inasmuch as it
tends to his glory, and it alone conduces
to his glory when it is sincere and springs
from the heart.

Devotion is also interior because it
withdraws the soul from the exterior ob-

DEVOTION MUST BE INTERIOR. 49

jects that cause distraction, bringing it
back to itself and concentrating it in God,
who causes his presence to be felt with-
in. Hence, devotion teaches the soul to
restrain the senses, to regulate the imagi-
nation, to suppress vain thoughts, to quiet
emotions, to restrict its desires and to col-
lect all its strength, in order to keep itself
united to the object to which it is de-
voted. By this interior union with God,
the soul sanctifies not only its vocal and
mental prayers, not only the practice of
its duties and good works, but also all
animal actions, such as eating, drinking,
sleeping, and such as seem to be the most
indifferent, as conversations and proper
recreation, all of which it refers to the
glory of God, according to the advice of
the Apostle.^

Devotion gives an experimental knowl-
edge of that saying of Christ, '' The king-
dom of God is within you,''f words of

* I Cor. X. 31. f Luke xvii. 21.

50 DEVOTION MUST BE INTERIOR.

which no one can comprehend the mean-
ing but he who is truly devout. God, by
the operation of his grace, exercises this
dominion over the soul which is devoted
to him, and renders it attentive to his
voice, by which, at ever}' instant, he
makes known to it his will. And as this
voice is infinitely delicate, and as it can-
not be heard in the distraction, the tumult,
and the excitement of the passions, the
soul that has once felt its charms, and
knows how beneficial it is to be docile to
it, studies to keep itself in recollection, in
calmness, in certain interior solitude, and
in the greatest attention, that it may lose
none of the instructions and admonitions
which God may give. Thus a servant de-
voted to his master, and who is always
ready to do his will, never permits himself
to be distracted by other matters ; he is
attentive to the master's words, tries to
understand them, observes his looks, his

DEVOTION MUST BE INTERIOR. 51

gestures, and the smallest sign of his
wishes.

This attention should be continual, since
the action of grace on the soul is contin-
ual. It is a thread that directs the soul and
which it must constantly keep in hand,
and which it cannot let go for a moment
without going astray. Thus whosoever
has seriously given himself to God experi-
ences that his interior admonitions are
continual and are very sensibly felt until
he has acquired a habit of acting in all by
the spirit of grace. Then this spirit hav-
ing become familiar, and as it were nat-
ural, he follows it almost without being
conscious of it, but its influence on all his
actions is only greater.

Should it be objected, that so close and
continued an attention must be very pain-
ful, I answer, in the first place, that a truly
devout man will never make such an ob-
jection,— it would never even occur to
him. This is clear to every one who un-

52 DEVOTION MUST BE INTERIOR.

derstands the meaning of being devoted
to God. I answer, in the second place,
that if it be painful, it is sweetened by
love, and that habit makes easy that which
cost much in the beginning.

CHAPTER X.

THAT DEVOTION SHOULD APPEAR IN
EXTERNAL ACTIONS. — REASONS WHICH
PROVE THIS.

XT would, however, be a gross illusion to
imagine that devotion should be
wholly interior, and, under pretence that
God looks within, to suppress vocal prayer
and other external marks of piety. We
are men, not pure spirits. It is proper that
the body should share in the homage of
the soul, and that our chief organs should
be employed in the praises of God. We
have received them for this purpose, and
it is the noblest use we can make of them.
The whole man should adore and pray.

Besides, the soul itself stands in need of
being roused and supported in its piety by
what affects the senses. Hence the ex-

53

54

DEVOTION SHOULD APPEAR

ternal accessories of worship, the order
and the majesty of the ceremonies, thé
variations and harmony of music, the
sight of pictures and of other pious ob-
jects, are necessary means to entertain
devotion. The respectful and humble
posture of the body, the bended knee,
the folded hands, the eyes modestly cast
down or raised up towards Heaven, are so
many expressions of reverence and atten-
tion of the soul in prayer, which naturally
and imperceptibly lead it to accompany
its feelings with these external signs.

Add to this the edification which we
owe to our neighbor, who can only judge
of our piety from what appears externally.
Again, as religion is the first bond of
society, it exacts a common, public, and
consequently an external worship, in
which men address the same supplications
and offer the same prayers to God, and
animate one another to sing his praises.
The ecclesiastical ministry, which is of

i

I

IN OUR EXTERNAL ACTIONS. 55

divine institution, is also an evident proof
of the necessity of an external worship.

There was never one truly devout, even
in the greatest solitude, who had not
stated times in the day for vocal prayer.
The interior spirit itself inspires even
those who are the most contemplative to
make use of such prayers.

Whether, therefore, we pray to God in
public or in private, we should so attend
to mental prayer as not to omit that
which is vocal. The former could not
long be kept up without the latter, and
would infallibly degenerate into a proud
and dangerous idleness. It is as difficult
to discharge properly the duty of vocal
prayer, unless it be joined to the practice
of mental prayer, — which is the source
from whence the interior spirit flows, — as
it is difficult for the soul to support itself
in pure contemplation without the occa-
sional aid of vocal prayer. Even in con-
templation, the soul frequently expresses

56 DEVOTION IN OUR EXTERNAL ACTIONS.

its affections and transports by words,
looks, sighs, tears, and other motions
which are almost forced from it ; and this
proceeds from the union of soul and body
and from theii? mutual correspondence.

V

CHAPTER XL

THE ERROR OF THOSE WHO EXCLUDE
MENTAL PRAYER FROM DEVOTION.

TF ît be an abuse to exclude vocal
prayer from devotion, it is a much
more common fault to banish from it
mental prayen This may be excusable in
coarse and ignorant people, who hardly
make use of their reason, as also in the
first heat of youth, in whom the extreme
levity of the imagination needs to be
fixed by some sensible object. But is it
pardonable in persons of riper years, and
who are better informed, not to know
how to pray but with a book in hand ?
to imagine that they are idle unless they
move their lips, and that God does not
hear them unless they articulate their

57

58 MENTAL PRAYER.

petitions, often loud enough, too, to dis-
turb those who are praying by them?
How many pious women go to church,
loaded with books, in which all their
devotion is contained I You see them
take up one after the other to seek a
method of hearing mass, or for confes-
sion and communion. The acts and the
formulas are ready drawn up, they have
only to pronounce them : and provided
they have omitted none, they think they
have properly discharged their duty, and
that God demands no more. Neverthe-
less, the least act formed by the heart,
the slightest feeling of their own, would
be more pleasing to God, and more bene-
ficial to themselves. But their heart is
cold, dry, and empty; it says nothing
amidst this rapid flow of words.

In vain do they allege that prayers
ready made move them and nourish their
devotion. I can hardly believe it of those
methodical acts, in which are expressed

MENTAL PRAYER. 59

in fine language sentiments that are for-
eign to those who recite them, and per-
haps to him who composed them. I
admit that they move at first on account
of their novelty, and that the imagination
is affected by them much more than the
heart. People tire after a time of forms
that recur daily ; they cease to make an
impression, and they are repeated me-
chanically and by rote ; then others are
sought for which have no better effect.
Soon all methods are exhausted and the
poor soul knows not where to turn.

Why not begin early the habit of recol-
lection— of seeking in the heart, as David
did, the prayer which we wish to make to
God,"^ of complaining to him of our cold-
ness and insensibility, and of conjuring
him to supply our spiritual poverty?
Would it be praying wrongly humbly
to acknowledge in God's presence our
misery, to implore the assistance of his

* Ps. xviii. 15.

6o MENTAL PRAYER.

grace ? and if, at intervals, we feel some
good sentiments, to ascribe them with
gratitude to the Author of all good ?

When the source of devotion is in the
heart, it is inexhaustible ; the affections
which flow from it continually vary, and
produce each time a fresh delight. In
order to express them there is no need of
studied speeches ; the simplest, the most
natural, and the most lively expressions
immediately present themselves. Even
the silence of a heart touched and soft-
ened is more eloquent than words; and
frequently it has no other resource than
silence to show God all it feels.

Is it not clear that these methodical
formulas of prayer encourage idleness
and dispense with the preparation for
prayer which the wise man enjoins?*
The opening and reading of the book is
all the preparation.

You must not speak to such people of
*Ecclus. xviii. 23.

MENTAL PRAYER. 6l

meditation. They cannot meditate, they
say ; their head will not bear it. I own
that meditation is painful to those who
are not used to reflect ; that lively imag-
inations are little suited for it, and that
few are capable of continuing it for a
great length of time. Should they be
advised to drop all reflections once they
are in the presence of God, and to pass
quickly to the affections, they will answer
that their will is not easily moved ; that
if they have a good thought it soon
vanishes, and on this account they make
use of books.

If you tell them to keep themselves at
rest, and gently to draw down the dew
from heaven by fervid and short acts, re-
peated from time to time, they condemn
this rest as a state of idleness, and express
their aversion to this manner of prayer ;
yet this is the prayer of interior souls.
Hence, they are not interior, and they
dread to be so. Still, they flatter them-

62 MENTAL PRAYER.

selves that they are devout, because they
speak much and for a long time with
God ; but this only serves to fatigue their
lungs without inflaming the heart.

Let them say what they will, self-love
guides their prayers ; they pray more to
please themselves than to please God.
Their object is to bear witness to them-
selves that they have prayed ; and they
think they have a palpable proof of it
when they have recited so many forms of
prayer that they lose their breath. For
the same reason many speak aloud, that
the ear may be an additional witness. St.
Anthony, who doubtless was truly devout,
was not of this way of thinking ; for be-
ing asked which was the best manner of
praying, he answered, '' It is when we
pray without being aware of it."

CHAPTER XII.

THAT IT IS AN ABUSE TO MULTIPLY TOO
MUCH THE PRACTICES OF DEVOTION.

A NOTHER abuse of external devotion is

that of multiplying its practices so

much that the day is hardly long enough

to finish them. The old methods are

kept and new ones daily assumed. This

constrains the mind and encroaches on its

liberty ; it often trenches on the duties of

one's state of life, as action is left for

prayer ; or if both are tried at once, the

attention is so divided that neither is done

as it should be. It is certainly good to

intermix some ejaculatory prayers with

our occupations, and now and then to

suspend our work, in order to recollect

one's self in God. But such prayers should
63

64 TO MULTIPLY DEVOTIONS

be short, and come rather from the heart
than the Hps.

Some persons whom I have seen here*
place all their devotion in remaining a
long time in church, in running to hear
sermons, in being present at every Bene-
diction, and in not missing any indulgence.
They have a calendar where all the feasts
celebrated in different Communities are
marked, and they consider it a sacrifice
when they are not present at each and
every one. They join every possible so-
dality and all the different associations,
and hence they are burdened with so
many practices and prayers, that they
need a confessor to relieve them, if they
are not so much attached to them that
they will not consent to give up a single
one.

Their intention is good. Each of these
practices of itself is good, but there is

* [The author speaks of Paris, where he was living
when he wrote this book. — The Editor.]

TOO MUCH IS AN ABUSE. 65

need of moderation in everything, and in
pious exercises and practices more than
in anything else. Neither the mind nor
the heart is kept busy by such an accu-
mulation of practices. The imagination
alone is exercised, and how lively, ardent,
and unstable it is, especially among de-
vout persons, is well known. If the inte-
rior spirit did nothing else but regulate
this excess, and give rise to a devotion
which is orderly, moderate, and reason-
able, it would be a sufficient reason to en-
gage pious souls to embrace it.

CHAPTER XIII.

THAT WE MUST GIVE OURSELVES UP
TO GOD WITHOUT RESTRICTION AND
WITHOUT RESERVE.

'T^RUE devotion admits of no reserve.
"^ It consists in surrendering ourselves
wholly to grace, and in being resolved to
go as far as it will lead us. This absolute
surrender to grace consists in removing all
the obstacles which are a hindrance to its
action as soon as we know them ; in fol-
lowing it step by step with an exact fidel-
ity, and never anticipating it, nor rushing
into any of the excesses of an indiscreet
fervor. People are liable to this fault in
the first transports of their ardor. Sev-
eral saints have blamed themselves for it,
and in particular St. Bernard, who ruined
his stomach at an early period by exces-
sive abstinence. There is also often in

66

to GIVE OURSELVES TO GOD. 67

thîs temptation of the devil, who, on our
entering the spiritual career, endeavors to
exhaust our strength, that he may prevent
us from finishing it, and even make us turn
back. We shall, however, be in no danger
of falling if, in regard to fasting, vigils,
and especially corporal penance, we con-
sult a wise director and follow his advice.
But in every other respect, it is clear
that to make terms with God, to be un-
willing to use violence with ourselves only
up to a certain point, to set bounds to our
spiritual course, and to resolve not to ex-
ceed them, is not to devote ourselves to
God, but to give ourselves to him with
measure and restriction. In our devoted-
ness to man, it is necessary that there
should always be reserve ; for at least the
rights of God must always be excepted.
But as God is infinitely superior to all that
exists, and as nothing can limit the exer-
cise of his dominion over his creatures,
his service is not, of itself, susceptible of

68 TO GIVE OURSELVES TO GOD

any reserve ; and whosoever embraces it
should embrace it without exception or
condition. For to devote ourselves to
him is to engage ourselves to acknowl-
edge no other law than his supreme will,
and to conform ourselves to it, how pain-
ful soever it may be to nature.

Neither must we allege our weakness,
and say, I never could do this or that,
even though grace should demand it of
me. The will of God renders possible
whatever it commands, because it always
joins to the command the means of ac-
complishing it. God would be unjust if,
when wishing us to do something, he did
not give us sufficient assistance to do it,
since of ourselves we can do nothing.
You read of certain heroic deeds in the
lives of the saints ; and whilst you admire
them, you despair of imitating them. But
how do you know that God will demand
such things of you ? and if he should,
why could you not do with his grace

r

WITHOUT RESERVE. 69

what this one and that one did ? Be not,
therefore, dismayed ; what appears to you
to-day absolutely impracticable will seem
to you, if not easy, at least very possible,
when the time for action comes.

It is not always a bad will that prompts
us to make these secret reserves when we
engage in the path of devotion. If it
were, I would not hesitate to say that
such a devotion would be false and
illusive ; that we should evidently expose
ourselves to fail in our engagements, as
God owes us no graces for serving him
in our own way; and that we should
hazard even our salvation, howsoever de-
sirous we might be of securing it. The
usual cause of these reserves is, that, see-
ing before us the vast career of sanctity,
and consulting only our present strength,
we judge ourselves incapable of continuing
to the end. We, therefore, enter upon it
because we are of good will ; but we form
a plan to ourselves, conformable to our

70 TO GIVE OURSELVES TO GOD

actual weakness, to which we mean to
confine ourselves without going farther.

This is a gross error which proceeds
partly from ignorance, partly from self-
love desirous to spare itself, and partly
also from the devil, who is jealous of our
progress. We ought to bear in mind that
grace is the only source of our strength ;
that it will increase in proportion as we
are faithful; that God always measures
the greatness of his helps by the great-
ness of the difficulties : so that, the more
we advance, the greater is our ardor to
run, and the more easily we surmount
obstacles. What should we say of a child
who, not reflecting that his strength will
insensibly increase with age, should meas-
ure, according to his present weakness,
the burden which he is to carry when he
becomes a man, and would not believe that
he then could carry twenty times more?

Whosoever you may be, then, who
mean to give yourself to God, give your-

WITHOUT RESERVE. 71

self to him wholly and entirely. Do not
make terms with him. Fear but one
thing, — that of not being generous enough.
Be persuaded that the least reserve will
weaken you, even in those things which
you freely consent to do; and, on the
contrary, your burden will be the lighter
the less you seek to diminish it. This
will seem a paradox only to him who does
not consider that God displays all the
power of his grace in favor of a noble
and generous soul, who spares no pains to
please him ; and that a narrow and con-
tracted heart constrains him, in spite of
himself, to use reserve on his part.

It is not my purpose to explain, in de-
tail, what it is to have no reserve with
God, nor what kinds of reserve are openly
or secretly blended wdth most devotions :
this would exceed the narrow limits of
this work. Practice will teach souls of
good will more than it would be possible
for me to say.

CHAPTER XIV.

THAT TRUE DEVOTION ADMITS OF NO
DIVISION.

np RUE devotion admits of no division —
''The Lord thy God shalt thou adore,
and him only shalt thou serve. *'^ Such is
the law of devotedness. Adoration, which
comprises the homage of the mind and of
the heart, excludes all reserve ; and the
service which belongs to God alone ex-
cludes all division. Every other service
besides his is only lawful inasmuch as it
flows from and depends upon his service.
Christ has declared that no one can serve
two masters, + such as God and the world,
whose wills are contrary, whose laws are
opposed to one another, and consequently
whose service is incompatible. God wants

* Matt. iv. 10. f Matt. vi. 24.

DEVOTION ADMITS OF NO DIVISION.

73

all for himself ; the world also wants all
for itself. There is no possibility of rec-
onciling their pretensions, which are mu-
tually destructive of each other. I, there-
fore, must make a choice, and if I love
the one, I must hate the other ; if I obey
one, I must despise the orders of the
other.

How is it possible to misapprehend so
obvious a truth ? And yet almost all who
aim at devotion undertake to reconcile
the interests of God with those of the
world ; they pretend to unite in the same
heart the love of God and the love of the
world, and by wishing to belong to both
they belong to neither. We might say of
all such what the prophet Ehas said to the
Israelites : '' How long do you halt be-
tween two sides ? If the Lord be God, fol-
low him ; but if Baal, then follow him."^

People think that they no longer side
with the world because they have re-

*3 Kings xviii. 21.

74 DEVOTION ADMITS OF NO DIVISION. ^

nounced what is criminal and evidently
dangerous in it. They are no longer
slaves to voluptuousness, which is the
chief divinity of the world ; but they are
still slaves to interest and false honor.
They follow in regard to these two ob-
jects the maxims which are reproved by
the Gospel, making a great account of
riches, of nobility, of dignities, of w^hat-
ever elevates and distinguishes them ; lov-
ing or desiring these things, either for
themselves or for those dear to them ;
envying them in others and using every
endeavor to preserve them or to acquire
them. On a thousand occasions they
adopt the judgment of the world and con-
form their conduct to it. They are jeal-
ous of its esteem and are afraid of losing
it by declaring themselves too openly in
favor of piety, and they retain it at the ex-
pense of virtue in spite of the reproaches
of their conscience. They dread its cen-
sure and ridicule, and they manage to

DEVOTION ADMITS OF NO DIVISION.

75

shield themselves from it ; thereby the
service of God suffers. They are tor-
mented and violently drawn on both
sides ; human respect enslaves them and
keeps them continually in mortal agonies.
They wish to belong to God, and blush at
being thought to belong to him ; they
pray to him by stealth, and as carefully
conceal themselves in the discharge of
their duties of piety as if they were doing
some bad action. What slavery ! What
torment ! But, at the same time, what
infidelity, what cowardice, what perfidy!
Is this being devoted to God? Does
he then deserve to be served only in se-
cret ? Is it a shame to acknowledge him
for our Master ? They do not wish to at-
tract notice, they say. If by this they
mean making parade of their devotion,
displaying it with pomp and ostentation,
seeking to be seen and applauded in the
good works they do, they are right, and

76 DEVOTION ADMITS OF NO DIVISION.

they observe the precept of the Gospel.^
But between such display and trembHng
through fear of being looked upon as a
servant of God — as one devoted to the
glory and the interests of so great and so
good a Master — there is a middle way.
This consists in going on freely and
frankly in our duties, without taking heed
whether we be noticed or not ; in follow-
ing the dictates of our conscience up-
rightly ; in paying to God, without affec-
tation, but always openly, the homage
which he expects from us for his own
glory and for the edification of our neigh-
bor, and in doing in secret only that
which he himself wishes that we should
conceal from others.f

The truly devout man well knows how
to keep this middle path. He is not
afraid to have it known that he serves
God with all his heart, and that he holds

*Matt. vi. i8, flbid.

DEVOTION ADMITS OF NO DIVISION. 77

the world in contempt and abhorrence.
He plainly expresses this when and where
it is necessary, and when he ought to
trample under foot all human respect.
But he is not less careful to conceal cer-
tain practices of piety, certain good
works, of which he wishes that God alone
should be witness. Thus does he recon-
cile what Jesus Christ says : " So let
your light shine before men, that they
may see your good works, and glorify
your Father who is in heaven,'' * and
what he says in another place : ^^ When
you pray you shall not be as the hypo-
crites, that love to stand and pray in the
synagogues and corners of the streets,
that they may be seen by men. But
enter into thy chamber, and, having shut
the door, pray to thy Father in secret.*' f
He has always in his mind the sentence
pronounced by our Saviour : ^* Every one

*Matt. V. îO, f Matt. vi. 5,

78 DEVOTION ADMITS OF NO DIVISION.

that shall confess me before men, I will
also confess him before my Father ; but
he that shall deny me before men, I will
also deny him before my Father/'"^

I know that there are cases in which
prudence authorizes caution. A feeble
virtue should not be exposed too openly,
or brave human respect too boldly, at the
hazard of yielding to the assaults that
may be made upon it. There are cases
where the deference which is due to a
father, to a husband, to a master, who
may be unfavorable to piety, requires
that we should carefully hide from them
what might ofïend or irritate them. This
was the practice among the early Chris-
tians in their domestic persecutions. For
the sake of peace they did not declare
themselves to their parents, their masters,
or their pagan friends ; the brother
shunned the look of his brother who was

*Matt. X. 32.

DEVOTION ADMITS OF NO DIVISION. 79

watching him, the wife that of her hus-
band, and, in general, the faithful that of
the unbeHever. To-day, more than ever,
there are occasions in which we ought to
observe the same line of conduct. About
this we should consult a prudent con-
fessor and follow his advice.

But when we are not responsible to
any one for our actions, and the most we
have to fear is the powerless censure of
the worldly, we should not hesitate to bid
it defiance, boldly to stand up, and openly
to declare what we are, and what we
mean to be. Are the partisans of the
world afraid to show themselves ? Were
we ourselves afraid when we were of that
number? The shortest way is to break
with the world absolutely, heart and will ;
to assume a manner of seeing, judging,
speaking, and of acting entirely opposed
to it ; to have no other relations with it
than those which are indispensable and
compatible with the most delicate piety,

8o DEVOTION ADMITS OF NO DIVISION.

and in other respects to renounce its
commerce, its pleasures, its esteem ; to
be above its censures, and to rejoice like
the Apostles "^ and all the true disciples
of Jesus Christ, that it should criticise,
blame, despise, calumniate, and persecute
us.

Our devotedness to God demands these
dispositions of us, and it will produce them
in us if it be sincere. When one has
taken this part with resolution, he is soon
rewarded, even in this life. He is loosed
from many chains, outwardly free and in-
wardly at peace. God is satisfied, con-
science makes no reproaches, and the
world itself admires and approves the
contempt he has for it.

Acts V. 41.

CHAPTER XV.

THAT DEVOTION IS FOR PERSONS OF
EVERY AGE.

'T^RUE devotion belongs to every age
^ and to every condition ; it extends
to every situation and to every action in
life.

As soon as the Christian comes to the
first use of reason, he is bound to conse-
crate to God his earliest thoughts and his
budding affections. It is of these first-fruits
God is the most jealous, as right order
demands that the devotedness of our
childhood to God should be the first-fruit
of the development of the soul. In that
happy age when all is candor and inno-
cence, the more the mind is disengaged
from prejudices, the more the heart is free

8z

82 DEVOTION IS FOR ALL PERSONS.

from passion, the purer is the conscience,
the more also is the child susceptible of
a sincere, tender, simple, and ingenuous
piety. "Suffer the little children to come
unto me,"^ said Christ. They are uncon-
scious of malice ; the world has not se-
duced nor perverted them ; they are free
from all stain ; their newly-created soul is
flexible to all the movements of grace.
The kingdom of heaven is so adapted to
them that, in a more advanced age, in
order to enter into it, we must become as
much as possible little children.

Ye young hearts, give yourselves, there-
fore, to God, and respond to his sweet
invitations. You are affected by the ca-
resses of a father and of a mother ; make
trial of the caresses of your heavenly
Father. It is to you particularly that it
is said : '' Taste and see how sweet the
Lord is." + Let yourselves be early in-

* Mark x. 14. f Ps. xxxiii. 9.

DEVOTION IS FOR ALL PERSONS. 83

ebriated with his divine love. This will
preserve you from the flattering but
poisoned liquor which the world will one
day put before you.

And you parents, and you who have
the charge of children or direct their con-
sciences, hasten to bend them under the
yoke of the Lord. It is good to have
carried it from the earliest years ; the
soul then is easily fashioned to it, and
should it in future unfortunately shake it
off, it will more readily take it upon itself
again.

The more we advance in the light of
reason, the less excusable we are in re-
fusing to devote ourselves to God. The
passions, it is true, begin to solicit indul-
gence, and their tumultuous clamors tend
to drown the voice of grace ; but in their
first uprisings they are easily silenced,
or, at least, it is easy to preserve the
heart from their seduction : pious prac-
tices, good books, good instructions

84 DEVOTION IS FOR ALL PERSONS.

and examples, and a frequent use of
the sacraments, will baffle all their at-
tempts.

The age of manhood, when reason is in
its vigor, the heart more consistent and
the character more settled, would be the
fittest time for grace to act upon the soul
and incline it to devotion, if the cares of
life, the thorns of ambition, and bad habits
formerly contracted, were not obstacles.
But there is no obstacle which an upright
mind and a resolute will may not over-
come. Upon what plausible pretext can
a Christian dispense with devoting himself
to God, in that period of life in which he
sees more clearly than ever the necessity
and the advantages of so doing? If he
be then more seriously taken up with his
temporal concerns, is it not just that he
should think of that permanent settlement
which his labor ought to procure for him
in heaven ? that he should direct to that
object, which is the only one of real ina-

DEVOTION IS FOR ALL PERSONS. 85

portance, all his projects and all his
designs?

In old age, when the passions, having
become extinct, leave the mind in pos-
session of its lights, and no longer thwart
the determinations of the will; when ex-
perience has dispelled the charms and
illusions of the world ; when objects make
but a faint impression on the enfeebled
senses ; when infirmities and decay warn
us of an approaching dissolution, and
that we are on the brink of eternity, —
everything invites, everything urges us to
give to God the last moments at least of
life, and repair, as far as can be, by a fer-
vent and solid piety, the loss of so many
years of which we have robbed him by a
shameful and perhaps criminal course.
There is no more time for delay, death is
rapidly approaching; it will be too late
when the last sickness surprises us.

The levity of childhood, the impetuosity
of youth, the private and public occupa-

S6 DEVOTION is FOR ALL PERSONS.

tions of riper years, the debility of old
age cannot, then, be considered as reasons
for dispensation, or any excuse. Hence
we cannot but conclude that every age
has its ov^n difficulties, and that, in every
stage of life, if we mean to belong to God,
we must do violence to ourselves.

i

CHAPTER XVI.

THAT DEVOTION EXTENDS TO ALL CON-
DITIONS OF LIFE.

'T^HE same judgment must be formed of
"*■ the various states in society. Each
one offers a favorable and unfavorable side
to devotion, and none has any just cause
for exemption. Greatness has its dangers
for salvation, from which no one can be
preserved without God's special protec-
tion,— a protection we have no right to
expect but in proportion to our devoted-
ness to his service. Offices of public trust
bring great obligations, and expose us to
great temptations. How can we expect
to discharge these duties and overcome
these temptations without solid devotion ?

Cares and occupations multiply and hardly
87

88 DEVOTION IS FOR ALL STATES.

leave us time to breathe; but, if the heart
be with God, we shall find ourselves free
in the midst of all these troubles, they
will even become so many occasions of
testifying our obedience and our love.

How many have sanctified themselves
in military life, where the obstacles seem
insurmountable ! How many in the mag-
istracy ! How many even whilst intrusted
with the public funds! I except, indeed,
some states in themselves opposed to
salvation and proscribed by the Gospel,
in which no one is obliged to engage, and
which are only tolerated in well-regulated
governments. But, such excepted, I
boldly advance that there is no state
of life in which saints have not been
formed, and actually are formed to-day.
Would God, the Author of the different
states of society, have established one in
which it were morally impossible to be
saved? If in some there are greater diffi-
culties, there he has given greater help,

«

DEVOTION IS FOR ALL STATES. 89

as all those who have abandoned them-
selves to his guidance have happily ex-
perienced.

Devotion is also suited to every situa-
tion. It is equally beneficial and equally
necessary in health and in sickness, in
prosperity and in adversity, in wealth and
inp overty, in joy and in sadness, amid
the good things of this life and when over-
whelmed with its evils ; — amid the good
things that we may guard against their
abuse, amid evils that we may be enabled
to support them. As these evils are in-
comparably more common here below
than the good things, and as all human re-
sources are ofttimes insufficient, it follows
that devotedness and submission to the
holy will of God are the only solid com-
fort which remain to a Christian amidst
afflictions and crosses, whatsoever may be
their nature.

Finally, devotion, by its very nature,
extends to every action ; and there is not

90 DEVOTION IS FOR ALL STATES.

one which it is not calculated to sanctify.
It would not be a perfect devotedness,
did it not subject to God's dominion what-
ever can be subjected to it. Now, such
are all our free actions called by mor-
alists '' human actions." It is God's in-
tention that they all be referred to him,
and that they be done for his glory.
Therefore, the truly devoted man conse-
crates them all to him without exception,
and by this consecration sanctifies them.
He knows that w^here a rational being
should act according to reason, a Christian
should act according to religion ; that it
is not sufificient to act in the state of
grace, but that he moreover ought to act
in addition through a principle of grace ;
just as, in order to act reasonably, it is
not enough for a man to have the use of
reason, but he must apply it to what he
actually does. This principle, which is
unquestionably true, will lead us a great
way, if we take pains to examine it.

DEVOTION IS FOR ALL STATES. 9*

It therefore is a mistake to fancy our-
selves devoted because we daily acquit
ourselves, almost by routine, of a certain
number of pious exercises, whilst in other
respects we live at our ease, indulging
without restraint all kinds of thoughts,
actions, and desires, provided they have
nothing criminal in them. God, in this
way, would only be attended to at certain
times in the day, and the rest would be at
our own disposal. But this is not as it
should be. Every moment belongs to
him ; and he will have us employ all
our time in a manner worthy of him
and of our Christian profession. We are
not at Hberty to dispose of time at our
own pleasure ; to waste it, for instance, in
visits, in frivolous conversations, in books
of mere amusement, or in a slothful indo-
lence. The duties of our state in life, our
work, and some short relaxation that may
be allowed to nature, ought to fill up the
vacant hours of the day; but nothing

92 DEVOTION IS FOR ALL STATES.

ought to interrupt that incessant prayer
of the heart, which Jesus Christ and the
Apostle have recommended to us. The
object of prescribed prayers is to draw
down the blessing of God upon our ac-
tions, in which his grace is the more
necessary the more we are exposed to
dissipation, to act from merely human
impulse, and to commit many faults which
often escape our notice.

CHAPTER XVII.

THAT LOVE IS THE ONLY FOUNDATION
OF DEVOTION.

T OVE alone can produce devotedness.
It is love that gives it birth, growth,
and perfection ; and the practice of devot-
edness in turn nourishes and strengthens
love. We may define devotion, '' the love
of God reduced to practice.'' What would
that devotedness be that did not have as
its principal cause the love of the object
to which we devote ourselves ? And if a
man can only be devoted to his fellow-
man inasmuch as he gives him his affec-
tion, warmly espouses his interest, eagerly
seeks every occasion of obliging and pleas-
ing him, not sparing for his sake rest,
health, property, nor even life ; how much

93

94 LOVE THE FOUNDATION OF DEVOTION.

more affectionate, more eager, more ar-
dent and generous ought the sentiments
of a soul be that is devoted to God !

When He commands us to love him
with all our heart, vs^ith all our soul, v^ith
all our strength, does he not equivalently
command us to be entirely devoted to
him? Devotion is literally the practice
of the great precept of the love of God ;
a failure in devotion is a failure in the ob-
servance of this precept ; and we may
apply to devotion what is said of love of
God, that it is '' the fulfilHng of the law/'*

Hence perfect devotion, like "perfect
charity, casteth out fear." f Devotion is
characteristic of children, as fear is of
slaves. Fear sees in God a Master, a
Judge, an Avenger, and serves him in this
character ; devotion sees in him a Father
whom it fears, respects, and obeys, be-
cause it loves him. Fear may dispose a

^Rom. xiii. lO, f i John iv. i8.

LOVE THE FOUNDATION OF DEVOTION. 95

soul to become devoted, but ît does not
make it such ; and as soon as it is devoted,
love, not fear, prevails. Now love, where-
ever it prevails, aims at absolute empire,
and banishes fear, which is totally op-
posed to it. For fear springs from self-
love, which is the enemy of the love of
God and the bane of devotion.

What, then, is to be thought of those
who serve God through the fear of being
lost, who are only struck with the terrible
truths of religion, and who are continually
chilled with gloomy apprehensions ? To
whom are they devoted ? to God ? No ;
to themselves and to their own interest.
Why do they dread sin ? because it
ofïends God ? By no means ; it is be-
cause God punishes it. Why do they
fear hell ? on account of the pain of loss
or the eternal privation of God ? Not at
all ; the pain of sense, the eternal flames,
is that alone which terrifies them.

Let us not, however, confound the

go LOVE THE FOUNDATION OF DEVOTION.

terror which springs from a lively and
weak imagination, and which the heart
disowns, with the fear which proceeds
from mean and servile sentiments. Many
truly devoted souls are subject to this
terror, which is their torment, and which
they find great difficulty in overcoming ;
but it lessens as they advance in devotion,
and at last it wholly disappears. It is
not uncommon that, after having been
terrified all their lifetime at the judg-
ments of God, they die in peace, confi-
dence, and security.

CHAPTER XVIII.

THAT TO BE TRULY DEVOTED WE MUST
FORGET OUR OWN INTERESTS, AND
SEEK GOD ALONE.

T70R the same reason, true devotion is
not mercenary nor interested. At
first, indeed, when God lavishes upon the
soul his consolations, it becomes too much
attached to them ; it seeks them, and this
is one of the motives of its fidelity. But
it soon lifts itself above these caresses;
and when God has weaned it from them,
it does not serve him with less zeal and
exactness. The devoted Christian on
entering this career becomes a Httle
child ; God treats him as such , it would
not be fair to ascribe to him mercenary
views, because in that state consolations

are his attraction and delight.

97

98 WE MUST FORGET OUR INTERESTS

With regard to salvation, whatever prog-
ress the soul may have made in devotion,
it always desires it, and it rejects with
horror any indifference to this essential
end ; but it desires it less on its own
account than on account of God. It
wishes its own happiness, — how could it
not wish it ? But it wishes still more the
glory of God and the accomplishment of
his holy will. It serves him, like David,
''for the reward;""^ but that is only a
secondary motive ; the first and the prin-
cipal motive is love. He who loves
purely views the object he loves with a
direct regard which does not fall back
upon its ovv'n interest. He does not ex-
clude it, and he even cannot exclude it,
because he places his happiness in the
possession of what he loves. But he does
not establish his end in this possession
because it renders him happy ; he estab-

*Ps. cxviii. 112.

AND SEEK ONLY GOD. 99

lishes it in the glory which results from it
to God, and in the fulfilling of his will.

I shall not enlarge further on the deli-
cacy and the extreme purity of the divine
love ; but if we attentively reflect on the
qualities of the devotedness which has
God for its object, we shall understand
how free it ought to be from every inter-
ested view. I know not to what heights
it reaches upon earth in some privileged
souls — they only can tell — but it is certain
that no interested views nor self-satisfac-
tion can dwell in the abode of the blessed ;
and it is this which completes their happi-
ness. This is a truth incomprehensible
to self-love, — a truth which throws it into
desolation and despair, because it cannot
form an idea of a happiness in which it
has no share, and from which it is totally
excluded.

All devotion, if it be solid, and if love
be its principle, aims at this admirable
purity which characterizes the citizens of

100 WE MUST FORGET OUR INTERESTS.

heaven, and if it cannot attain to it, it
strives at least to approach it. Let us ex-
amine if our devotion be such. Let us
not be afraid of sounding its motives, and
with the help of grace let us labor to
purify them. For the fear of being lost,
let us substitute the fear of losing God ;
for the interested desire of saving our-
selves, let us substitute that of possessing
God and of beingr eternallv united to him.
Substantially, it is the same thing. The
object is not changed, but the manner of
regarding it is very different ; and it is this
difference of view and of motive which
gives to devotion various degrees of
excellency and perfection.

CHAPTER XIX.

FATAL EFFECTS OF SELF-LOVE ON
, DEVOTION.

A FTER what has just been said, what
becomes of all those devotions of
which self-love is the basis? How false
they are ! How deceitful and yet how
common ! I do not speak of that gross
self-love which is the parent of passions
and vices. I speak of a spiritual self-love
which glides artfully into pious practices,
— of a self-love which has also its capital
vices ; which is proud, avaricious, envious,
voluptuous, greedy, vindictive, and sloth-
ful ; which is blind also, and the more
dangerous as the objects to which it is
attached are holy.

In fact, are those devoted people rare

102 FATAL EFFECTS OF SELF-LOVE.

who nourish a secret pride, and who, like
the Pharisee in the Gospel, are full of self-
esteem and contempt for their neighbor ?
who appropriate to themselves the graces
and the gifts of God and dread nothing
so much as to be stripped of them ; who
envy those whom they think to be more
favored or more advanced ; who relish
with passion heavenly consolations; who
are greedy of them and insatiable ; who
are passionate, full of hatred, gall, and
malice, and all, as they imagine, through
a zeal for God's cause ; in short, who are
given to remissness, effeminacy, idleness,
and to all that is flattering to nature ?

I own that in the beginning, and even in
the progress of the spiritual life, we are
more or less liable to these excesses on
account of our natural imperfection. Self-
love finding itself deprived of temporal
comforts on entering into the path of
piety, has recourse to those which are
spiritual. It seizes them and desires to

FATAL EFFECTS OF SELF-LOVE. 103

make them its prey, attaching itself to
them all the more strongly as they are of
a more excellent nature. But the man
truly devoted constantly labors to oppose
self-love, to pursue it from place to place
and to dislodge it from every quarter
where it may take refuge. This warfare
is his main object, and he thinks that he
fails if he relaxes ever so little or grows
faint in his attacks. As the spirit of re-
ligion detaches a man from temporal
things, the spirit of devotion detaches
him from spiritual things, for it does not
allow him to take complacency in them,
nor to ascribe them to himself, nor to
claim any right to them, but it leads him
by degrees to renunciation — to divest him-
self of these objects and to be in perfect
poverty with regard to them. He has
everything and is attached to nothing.
God gives and takes when and as he
pleases ; and he is neither afïlicted nor
elated.

104 FATAL EFFECTS OF SELF-LOVE.

The opposite vices do not show them-
selves at first on account of their sub-
tlety ; but in proportion as we advance,
divine Hght teaches us to distinguish them,
and all our fidelity consists in drawing
down upon us this light, in receiving it
with gratitude, and in using it for our
amendment. Before we can entirely up
root these delicate views, it will cost us
long and painful efforts. We will stand
in need of great courage ; we must use
extreme violence to ourselves, — it will be
the work of our whole life. But at last,
if we correspond with grace, we shall
effect it, and we shall free ourselves as
much as possible from the tyranny of self-
love. God, who sees our good-will, by
sending us merciful trials, will accomplish
what of ourselves we could not do.

CHAPTER XX.

THAT DEVOTION GIVES BIRTH TO CON-
FIDENCE. THE GOOD EFFECTS AND
NECESSITY OF THIS CONFIDENCE.

T~^EV0TI0N, being the daughter of love,
is the mother of confidence ; for the
more we love God, the more we confide in
him ; the one is the rule and the measure of
the other. The love of God is not a blind
love, but a love founded on the knowl-
edge of his infinite goodness towards his
creatures. It is this knowledge which
leads us to commit to him all our inter-
ests, never to mistrust him, to believe,
in spite of his apparent rigor, that he
means to save us, and that, in fact, he
will save us if we preserve our confidence.
'' Throw yourself into his arms," says St.

Augustin ; *' he will not withdraw and

105

I06 CONFIDENCE IN GOD.

let you fall." I add to this thought of
the holy Doctor, that, should he seem
sometimes to withdraw himself from you,
it is because he means to try you and to
see how far your confidence will extend,
in order to increase your reward. As this
virtue is that which honors him the most,
it is also that which he exercises the
most, and in strong and generous souls
he pushes the trial to the last extremity.
Confidence is a mean between two oppo-
site vices — presumption and pusillanimity,
both of which proceed from the same
source — self-love. We are presumptuous
when we rely too much on ourselves. We
are pusillanimous when, relying only on
ourselves, we realize how weak is our sup-
port. The presumptuous man says:
'' Nothing will ever shake me.'* The
pusillanimous says, on the contrary:
'' The slightest breath will upset me."
The man possessing confidence, consid-
ering himself, admits with the pusillanî-

CONFIDENCE IN GOD. 107

mous that a trifle can upset him ; but,
looking up to God, he adds that nothing
is capable of shaking him. He thus unites
both sentiments, which, being separately
vicious, become a virtue when joined
together.

Nothing is more necessary or more fre-
quently in demand in the career of devo-
tion than confidence. God delights in
exercising our faith. He constrains us to
shut our eyes and to walk in the dark.
He apparently bewilders us, so that we
no longer know where we are nor whither
we are going. He makes us lose our foot-
hold, takes from us all knowledge of our
interior state, forbids us all reflection on
ourselves ; and, if we look out for any as-
surance, he leaves us a prey to the keenest
anxiety. Why does he thus deal with
us? To force us to renounce the conduct
of ourselves and to abandon ourselves
entirely to him.

What would become of faith, and of

I08 CONFIDENCE IN GOD.

what use would it be, were we always clear-
ly to see the state of our soul ; were we in-
formed of the reasons for which God wills
or permits the events which befall us from
time to time, and were we able to trace
step by step the way and the progress of
his operations? The confidence of the
blind man in his guide is grounded on the
fact that he himself is not able to see.
The more unknown to him the road
through which he is led, and the more
dangerous and surrounded with preci-
pices, the greater is the confidence shown ;
and thus he shows no solicitude, he makes
no inquiries, as he is confident of not be-
ing misled and of being safely conducted
to his journey's end.

On our devoting ourselves to God, our
confidence in him should be boundless.
To withdraw it, under any pretence what-
ever, is to take ourselves back and to be-
come our own leaders. To fix it within
certain limits, which we are determined

CONFIDENCE IN GOD. 109

not to exceed, is to put a restriction to
our devotedness. Now nothing is more
injurious to God, or more prejudicial to
our spiritual profit. Is it not to doubt
the goodness of God or his infinite power
to believe either that he will not or can-
not rescue us from all the difificulties, and
from the greatest dangers in which we
engage ourselves upon his word and
through a blind submission to his guid-
ance ? It is absolutely impossible that
God should fail such a soul, and that he
should not succor it opportunely ; that
would be to fail to himself. But it be-
longs to him alone to judge how far the
trial is to go, and to mark the precise
moment in which he will afford relief.
Let us, therefore, abandon ourselves to
him, and let us say with Job, "Although
he should kill me, I will trust in him,"^

* Job xiii. 51.

CHAPTER XXI.

THAT DF.VOTION BEGETS SELF-KNOWL-
EDGE, AND CONSEQUENTLY HUMILITY.

T^EVOTION does not lead less to self-
knowledge than to the knowledge of
God ; and as confidence is the fruit of
the knowledge of God, humility is like-
wise the fruit of the knowledge of one's
self.

Man does not and cannot know himself
well by the light of nature alone ; and it
is through the want of this knowledge
that he is proud. But the moment he
devotes himself to God a heavenly light
shines upon him and opens his eyes ; he
begins to see himself such as he is, — full
of miseries, weak, repugnant to all good,
and prone to all evil. Recollection ren-

SELF-KNOWLEDGE AND HUMILITY. m

dering him attentive to himself, he soon
learns that he has two natures, one the
enemy of the other, and that the spiritual
life is but a series of combats in which he
must engage and do violence to himself.
Experience instructs him still better.
On trial he finds how difficult it is to
overcome himself and to struggle against
his evil inclinations ; how much time and
labor it costs him to correct the smallest
of the faults into which he frequently
falls ; how painful the practice of virtue
is, however much be the love which he
has conceived for it ; what resistance he
makes to grace ; into what slothfulness,
negligences, infidelities he falls daily; how
frail his will is, how weak his resolutions,
how fruitless his best desires ; what power
the world, the flesh, and the devil have
over him ; and how, without a special
and continual assistance from God, he
would fall at every instant.

This experimental knowledge of him-

112 SELF-KNOWLEDGE AND HUMILITY.

self, joined to the lights he receives from
above, inspires him with humility, which
is nothing else but the consciousness and
the intimate conviction of that unhappy-
fund of corruption which each one of us
brings into the world, which age and
occasions unfold, and which is the germ
of our passions and vices. The more he
advances the deeper becomes this convic-
tion, and the more deeply is humility
rooted in his heart.

Hence springs his contempt of himself,
his salutary distrust of his own strength,
the sincere preference which he gives to
others over himself, believing them to be
better than himself, or, at least, persuaded
that if they had received the same graces
they would have made a better use of
them. Hence, also, arises that confusion
which he feels at the sight of the favors
God bestows on him, of the esteem and
respect which are show^n him, and of the
praises which are given him. All this.

SELF-KNOWLEDGE AND HUMILITY. 113

instead of exalting him, abases and hum-
bles him in his own eyes. If he reflects
on himself, it is only to humble himself
the more ; he sees not his virtues, he is
ignorant of his progress ; to God alone he
attributes his victories, and his failures to
himself.

CHAPTER XXII.

SIMPLICITY AND THE FEAR OF BEING
NOTICED ARE THE CHARACTERISTICS
OF TRUE DEVOTION. HOW FEW POS-
SESS THEM.

'T^RUE devotion, when left to itself,
walks in the simplest and most com-
mon path ; it follows the beaten track, and
shuns the by-ways. It abhors singularity,
dreading to be observed and noticed ; its
disposition is to hide itself, and to be lost
with the crowd. A friend to those virtues
and practices which have the least show,
and which upon that account are the
more solid, it prefers them to all others.
It is the lowly and timid violet, which
dares not lift its head up to the light, but
suffers itself to be trodden under foot in

FEAR OF BEING NOTICED. 115

the grass that covers it. Except what is
due to example and edification, it carefully
conceals its conduct from the knowledge
of others.

Devotion is perfectly natural ; nothing
indicates show nor affectation. Far from
wishing for extraordinary gifts, it thinks
itself unworthy of them, and constantly
asks God to do nothing for it that may
attract the attention of men, or give to it
the slightest consideration. It is not en-
vious of those saints who have signalized
themselves by miracles, who have had
visions, revelations, the gift of prophecy,
and other singular graces, and who have
been the wonder of their age. It admires
and it reveres those in whom such gifts
were conspicuous ; but for its own part it
chooses obscurity, contempt, ignominy, to
be set at naught, to be known only from
its failings, or to be altogether ignored and
forgotten.

The good works which make a noise in

Il6 SIMPLICITY AND

the world are not to its taste ; it prefers
those which have God alone for witness.
It enjoins secrecy on those whom it be-
friends, and hides from them, as much
as it can, the source of their benefits. It
would hide it from itself, and not allow
that its left hand knew what the right
hand did ; it loses the remembrance of its
gifts, and would think it criminal to recall
them or dwell on them with complacency.
Devoted people of this character are so
rare, that one might think that I have
been drawing a picture from fancy. Some,
however, are to be found, and, because
they have nothing to distinguish them,
they are thought to be more rare than
they really are. In many others you see
only singularity, affectation, and ostenta-
tion. They have their own air, manner,
and style of dressing, their language and
conduct. Some of them aim at extraor-
dinary kinds of prayer ; they use vain
efforts for that purpose ; their imagination

FEAR OF BEING NOTICED. 117

seduces them, the devil deceives them,
and pride takes possession of them. They
must have practices and prayers for them-
selves alone ; they even disdain to unite
their voices with those of the people to
sing the praises of the Lord.

How many persons given to devotion
there are who have fixed places at the
church, as if in perspective, which favor
their desire of distinction as well as of
convenience ! Observe how they pray,
how much their exterior is studied,
cramped, and forced. The solid and or-
dinary books of devotion are not those
which they read ; they seek mystical
works which treat of the most elevated
states ; they satiate their curiosity with
them, flattering themselves that they ap-
preciate them, while in reality they do not
understand them. All the profit they
draw from such books is to retain certain
singular phrases, which they glory in on

uS

SIMPLICITY AND

certain occasions, giving themselves out
as souls of the highest spirituality.

Who would imagine that so refined a
pride could thus insinuate itself into
piety? Who could imagine that people
devoted themselves to God only to seek
themselves ; that they aimed at sanctity
only to have the reputation of it ; and that
they placed all the fruit of virtue in ap-
proving themselves, and in winning the
applause of others.

I do not say that all persons of this sort
are hypocrites, or that these characteris-
tics are applicable to each one of them in
their full force. But I do say, wdth all
truth, that very few ground their devo-
tion on humility ; that pride, the most
subtle and most dangerous of all vices, is
that against which we are the least on our
guard ; that it is incomparably the most
dangerous ; that no other vice is so apt to
blind us ; that it is the most deeply rooted
in the heart of man, the most difficult to

FEAR OF BEING NOTICED. 119

combat, and the last to be extirpated. I
say that it is more to be apprehended by
those who make profession of an exalted
piety than by others, because it especially
fastens on virtue. Indeed, it is the moth
which corrodes and corrupts it, and we
cannot guard too much against it. If we
expel it from one place, it immediately
enters into another.

Would you know what is the touch-
stone of true devotion ? It is the love of
humiliations. He who sincerely desires
humiliations ; who makes them the great
object of his prayers ; who accepts them
with an interior joy, notwithstanding the
repugnance of nature ; who thanks God
for them ; who looks upon them as
a most precious blessing ; who does
nothing to be freed from them ; who
is well pleased that his faults be made
known, that he is reproached for his de-
fects, that his virtues be traduced, his
reputation sullied ; and who, contrary to

I20 FEAR OF BEING NOTICED.

the will of God, will not allow a single
word in his justification, — such a one is
truly devoted, and the perfect disciple of
Jesus Christ. Now I ask, are there many
truly devoted ? Are we of the number?
Let each one answ^er to himself — and let
him rest assured, that he is as little ad-
vanced in devotion as he feels himself
remote from this perfection.

CHAPTER XXIII.

MORTIFICATION OF THE SENSES AN-
OTHER QUALITY OF DEVOTION.

T^EVOTION is no less the friend of mor-
tification than of humility; indeed,
humility is really the main branch of mor-
tification, its object being to make us die to
self-esteem and the love of our own excel-
lence. The other two branches are the
death (i) of the inordinate afîection which
we have for our bodies, and (2) of the
natural propensity which leads us to do
our own will in all things, and to refer
everything to ourselves.

He who is truly devoted spares himself
no more in these latter two objects than
in the first. He knows that mortification
is what God especially demands of him ;
for prayer is more the work of God than
his own. Now all devotion is comprised

122 MORTIFICATION OF THE SENSES.

în the practice of prayer and of mortifica-
tion. The more progress we make in
both, the more devoted we become, and
vice versa. There is then a division of
offices made between God and the soul
which is devoted to him ; God, ordinarily,
takes care of prayer, and the soul takes
care of mortification ; not that God does
not interfere in mortification, or that the
soul does not co-operate with him in
prayer; but prayer is principally the
work of grace, and mortification that of
the will.

Mortification of the flesh is indispen-
sable for two principal reasons : first, be-
cause the inordinate love of our body, the
inclination to sensual pleasures, and the
aversion to pain are the source of innu-
merable sins; and, second, because "the
sensual man perceiveth not these things
that are of the spirit of God/* ^ and has
no reUsh for them.

* I Cor. ii. 14.

MORTIFICATION OF THE SENSES. 123

Hence, when a soul gives itself to God,
an attraction for exterior mortification is
the first thing with which he inspires it.
Those who are indifferent or remiss on
this point are not truly devoted. In the
first fervor one is apt to exceed in this
particular, and will go too far, unless re-
strained by the advice of a prudent direc-
tor.

What is essential is, never to allow our-
selves anything merely with the view of
gratifying our senses ; never to go in
search of any pleasure, even innocent, be-
cause it ceases to be innocent the moment
we attach ourselves to it and relish it for
its own sake ; finally, so to regulate that
which it is proper to grant to the wants of
our body as not to exceed the bounds of
what is sufficient. As these bounds have
no determined measure, to avoid perplex-
ity and uneasiness on that head, we should
earnestly pray God that he himself would
direct us, and follow with great docility

124 MORTIFICATION OF THE SENSES.

the lights he will give us. In this point,
as well as in all others of a similar nature,
God grants the spirit of wisdom and of
discretion to all those who ask for it and
w^ho are of good will.

From this kind of mortification, which
should rather be termed temperance and
sobriety, nothing can dispense. But it is
not so with regard to austerities. Age,
or delicacy of constitution, are just motives
for dispensation ; great labor of mind or
body may supply their place. There are
even times in the spiritual life in which
God — to deprive the soul of every support
— permits hardly any. He who is truly
devoted is resolved to do, in this respect,
whatever he shall know to be the will of
God ; and, to avoid mistake, he will take
advice. There are whole treatises on this
matter, where may be found the details
which I here omit.

CHAPTER XXIV.

THAT MORTIFICATION OF THE WILL IS
ESSENTIAL TO DEVOTION.

'T^HE mortification of the will is by far
more important, more extensive, and,
in practice, more difficult than that of the
flesh. It knows no bounds nor excep-
tions ; it never should be suspended, and
there is no danger of carrying it too far.
Were I to expose here all the kinds of
death to self through which the will must
pass, in order to be absolutely lost in the
will of God and to be made one and the
self-same thing with his will, it would be
the matter of a long treatise. Suffice it to
say, that such immolation is different ac-
cording to God*s designs on the soul, and
such that an idea can hardly be formed of

it until it is personally experienced.
125

126 MORTIFICATION OF THE WILL.

Remember, that to be truly devout is
to be devoted to God, and consequently
in all things to have no will but his. I say
in all things ; and God only knows how
far this devotedness should extend, since
man, by devoting himself, gives back his
will, that God may dispose of it accord-
ing to His own good pleasure. For this
purpose, therefore, man must resolve to
die to his will, and to second God, in all
that He shall do or permit with the view
of destroying it.

Do not, however, be alarmed before-
hand, nor give reins to your imagination
about things that perhaps will never hap-
pen. Wait calmly till God manifests his
designs. Anticipate nothing, fear nothing,
reject nothing, neither offer yourself for
anything in particular. Leave all to him.
He is infinitely wise ; he knows the most
secret recesses of your will, and he knows
how to bring it round to his own purposes.
He will begin with the easiest things, and

d

MORTIFICATION OF THE WILL. 127

will gradually lead you to others that will
cost you more ; and, in this manner, he
will lead you, if he thinks proper, to the
greatest sacrifices. But he will dispose
of all with so much force and sweetness,
and will prepare your will in such a way,
that it will resist less and less, till at last it
will almost lose the power of resistance.
All you can give him through your free
consent, he will surely incline you to give ;
and what will not be in your power to
give, he will induce you to let him take, in
virtue of the absolute offering you have
already made of yourself.

Such is the plan which God ordinarily
follows. He solicits the soul to give a
general and indistinct consent to all that
he may be pleased to ordain. This con-
sent once given, he unfolds his particular
intentions, either by the events of his
providence and the unforeseen circum-
stances in which he places the soul, or by
the temptations and trials to which he

128 MORTIFICATION OF THE WILL.

exposes it. He proportions his graces
and helps to each situation, and the soul
has nothing else to do but to yield accord-
ingly to the will of God, as the occasion
may require. At first it submits with
reluctance and after many struggles, then
with promptness, and at last with joy
It reaches such a height as no longer to
feel interior resistance to anything what-
soever, no longer to desire anything, no
longer to fear anything, to have a holy
indifference to everything, provided the
good pleasure of God be accomplished in
its regard. It has then reached the
highest degree of conformity, because its
will is not only united to God*s will, but
it is one and the same thing with his.

This is the Hmit of interior mortifica-
tion, and at the same time that of devo-
tion. If it do not tend thither, it is no
longer devotedness, or it is very imperfect
devotedness. Let us humble ourselves
and be confounded. Perhaps we fancy

MORTIFICATION OF THE WILL. 129

ourselves devoted, and we have not as yet
a true idea of devotion. ** Those who
belong to Jesus Christ," says St. Paul,
** have crucified their flesh ; '' ^ they have
fastened it to the cross, after the example
of their Master. Is our flesh crucified as
that of Christ was, — -I do not say during
his passion, but throughout the whole
course of his life ? '^ Those who belong
to him,** says the same Apostle, *Mive not
now to themselves, but unto him who
died for them, and rose again.'* f Have
we reached this state ? Do we labor to
attain it ? Is Jesus Christ our life ? Is
his will our will ? Do we conceive what
it is to Hve no longer for self, but for
Christ ?

St. Ignatius on going to his martyrdom
said : " I begin to be a disciple of Jesus
Christ.** The love of his Master was con-
suming him ; he was burning with the

^Galat. V. 24. f 2 Cor. v. 15.

I30 MORTIFICATION OF THE WILL.

desire of being crushed by the teeth of
the wild beasts, yet he dared not say, " I
am a disciple of Jesus Christ/' but, " I
begin to be so; I am only in the first
stage ; '' and what he said he sincerely
believed. But we imagine that we do
enough, that we even do more than we
ought for Jesus Christ ; we fancy that
we have almost attained perfection !
Once more let us humble ourselves. The
saints thought very differently of devo-
tion from what we do. They did not
flatter themselves that they were de-
voted ; such a title w^ould have shocked
their humility; they used to say that
they were in constant exercise to become
so ; they considered themselves as serving
an apprenticeship, and this even at the
end of their career.

CHAPTER XXV.

VARIOUS QUALITIES OF DEVOTION.

'jpvEVOTlON is uniform and invariable.
It is a permanent adherence of the
heart to God, independent of all the vicissi-
tudes of the spiritual life. It is always
the same, in aridity as well as in consola-
tion, in privation as in abundance, in the
storm of temptation as in the calm of
peace, when abandoned by God as when
enriched with the favors of a most inti-
mate union. " Whatever way God deals
with me,** says the devoted soul, "he
is always the same, and deserves at all
times faithfully to be served alike." My
devotedness should never vary, because

he who is its object is immutable.
131

132 VARIOUS QUALITIES OF DEVOTION.

Devotion îs simple and has only one in-
tention. '' God alone '' is its motto. It
studies to purify its motives, raising itself
above everything that it may see only
God and his will. It has no double look
to God and to self ; it sees itself only in
God and in his good pleasure, which is
everything to it.

It is fervent — that is to say, it is always
determined to do and to suffer what
pleases God, cost what it will. For fer-
vor does not consist in those passing emo-
tions which a sensible grace produces in
the soul. Beginners are apt to be de-
ceived by this ; at such times they think
themselves capable of everything, and
they invite God to put them to the test.
But let this sensible effect of grace cease,
they soon change their notions and their
language and they feel all their weakness.
True fervor resides in the depths of the
will, and it endures as long as the will
does not yield to tepidity, to remissness.

VARIOUS QUALITIES OF DEVOTION. 133

to sloth ; as long as it preserves the same
ardor, the same courage, the same activity.

Devotion is faithful, carrying its atten-
tion and exactness to an extreme deli-
cacy, yet without scruple or anxiety. It
is faithful in little as in great things, — faith-
ful in what is of perfection as in what is
of obhgation,— faithful to the smallest sign
as to the most express commandment.
The principle from which it never swerves
is, that nothing is little in the service of
so great a Master, whose will alone sets
a value on things, and that we cannot
better testify our love than by anticipat-
ing his wishes without waiting for a
precise command.

Devotion is discreet, always attentive
to guide itself according to the spirit of
God ; no ways inconsiderate, imprudent,
nor excessive ; a friend to order, doing
everything in the proper time and place,
knowing when to be firm or when it
should condescend to the weakness of

134 VARIOUS QUALITIES OF DEVOTION'.

Others : exact in its pious practices, or at
times relaxing its regularity in behalf of
charity.

Devotion does not listen to the imagi-
nation, which is the stumbling-block of
most pious people, which troubles and
disconcerts them ; forges for them a thou-
sand \-ain phantoms, and is alv/ays be-
guiling them to undertake something and
then to abandon it : leading them into ex-
travagance, caprice, much levity, and
inconstancy. Devotion particularly aims
at conquering and despising these freaks.
By so doing, it secures great peace of
mind, an evenness of temper which noth-
ing disturbs, a serenity of soul which is
reflected externally, and shows a placid
countenance in the most trying situations.

CHAPTER XXVI.

SOME OTHER QUALITIES OF DEVOTION.

T^EVOTION is docile, is not attached to
its own ideas, and readily submits
them to those who have authority over it,
sacrificing to them even that which may
seem a conviction and a persuasion ; obey-
ing them in spite of the greatest repug-
nance ; adhering to no practice against
their will, and making no change in its
conduct without their advice.

It does not judge itself either adversely,
lest it be discouraged, nor favorably, lest
it become presumptuous ; equally on its
guard against a false humility, which is
never satisfied with its progress and finds
fault with all its actions, and against a

false confidence, which applauds itself for
135

136 OTHER QUALITIES OF DEVOTION.

whatever it does and easily presumes on
its advancement. It thinks that it is more
humble and more safe not to examine
itself, nor to pronounce on its state, but
to allow those to judge who are charged
with its conduct, and to believe them with
the same simplicity, whether they approve
or condemn.

Severe towards itself, true devotion is
indulgent to others ; prudently consulting
their weaknesses ; taking for its own share
what is most painful and difficult ; and
carrying itself at all times a greater bur-
den than it imposes.

It is active without haste, deliberate
without slowness, grave without affecta-
tion, cheerful without levity. It is not
trifling nor scrupulous, nor restless, nor
rigid, nor remiss, but keeps in everything
the just mean, incHning rather to mercy
than to a too exacting justice.

Although zealous for virtue, and always
ready to undertake those good works

OTHER QUALITIES OF DEVOTION. 137

which Providence may throw in its way,
it does not go in search of them, but
waits. It does not propose, nor inter-
meddle, nor intrigue ; it does not inter-
fere in everything, and take part in
everything, as if nothing could be well
done unless it direct and assume the
charge. It has nothing to do with the
affairs of others ; it does not inquire
about them, nor look curiously upon
them, nor pass judgment upon them ;
it is with the greatest circumspection
that it engages in them, when induced
by charity, and then it is indefatigable in
procuring their success, sparing, for that
purpose, neither endeavor nor credit, yet
ready at any moment to withdraw, pre-
ferring that good deeds of this kind
should be done by others than by itself.
Its zeal does not consist in incessantly
inveigling bitterly against abuses even the
most real. It bewails them before God,
and beseeches him to put things in order;

138 OTHER QUALITIES OF DEVOTION.

but for itself it bears with them, if it be
not charged to correct them ; and if it be,
it does it with as much meekness and
patience as efficacy, — without hurry, pre-
cipitancy, or violence. Attentive to its
own reformation, it does not set itself up
as a reformer. It is too much taken up
with its own failings to pay attention to
those of others; either it does not see
them, or it excuses them ; or, if it cannot
excuse them, it is silent, unless it speaks
of them through a motive of charity and
for the good of the persons interested.

It is a declared enemy of what are
called coteries^ of parties, cabals, and ex-
clusive associations. Not but what it
makes choice of some persons with whom
it may form a holy intercourse, and with
whom it may confidentially converse on
holy things ; but these unions are the
work of grace. There is nothing affected
nor mysterious in them, nor anything
which shows a contempt of others, as if

OTHER QUALITIES OF DEVOTION. 13g

they were unworthy to be admitted into
its society. Much less does it form
parties to give popularity to a certain
preacher, or to a particular director, and
to raise them by depressing others. This
party-spirit characterizes false devotion,
and true piety holds it in abhorrence.

CHAPTER XXVII.

THAT DEVOTION CORRECTS AND PER-
FECTS THE CHARACTER.

T^ROM what has been said, it is evident
that one of the great objects of devo-
tion is to reform the character. To this it
at first appHes us, opening our eyes to our
defects, to which we are but too bHnd, —
awakening a desire of overcoming them,
a courage to attack them, and a hope of
conquering them with the help of grace.
Every one knows that there is no char-
acter so perfect that it is not subject to
some defect ; and that even the best
natural qualities are akin to some vice.
Meekness degenerates into weakness, into
a soft complacence, into indolence. Reso-
lution exposes us to stiffness, harshness,
1 40

DEVOTION PERFECTS THE CHARACTER. 141

obstinacy. Prudence is often cowardly
distrustful, suspicious. Zeal, on the con-
trary, is bold, presumptuous, rash. It is
the same with all other qualities ; they
are seldom pure, but almost always a
mixture of good and bad.

Reason alone will never effect a perfect
discrimination. It is not subtle enough
to discern the delicate shades which sepa-
ate good and bad qualities, nor just,
enough to hit upon the mean between
two extremes, nor has it a sufficient com-
mand over itself to maintain it with
steadiness. Much less can it reconcile
two good qualities which seem opposed
to each other. This can be only the work
of grace, the light of which is infinitely
more penetrating and sure, and which,
while enlightening the mind, animates and
supports the will in an undertaking where
there is question of remoulding nature.

When I speak of remoulding nature, it
is not to be understood that the character

1

142 DEVOTION PERFECTS THE CHARACTER,

is changed into an opposite one. The
foundation of every character is good ;
why, then, should grace change it ? The
foundation indeed remains, but whatever
self-love has added to it that is vicious
disappears, and that which is good is per-
fected. Each moral quality loses what is
in excess and acquires what is wanting to
it. They blend together and from their
happy union perfect virtue results. More-
over, devotion supernaturalizes the moral
qualities and communicates to them some-
thing divine which ennobles and sanctifies
them.

However, it must be acknowledged that
the industry of man, though assisted by
grace, seldom brings the work to the
highest perfection, and that in the most
holy persons there generally remains some
defect or excess which flows from the origi-
nal character, as m.ay be seen in the writ-
ings and conduct of a St. Cyprian, a St.
Jerome, and of many others,

DEVOTION PERFECTS THE CHARACTER. 143

But when God himself undertakes the
work, and when with this view he takes
possession of a soul and puts it into the
interior Hfe, if this soul be faithful, habit-
ual recollection, prayer, and severe trials
radically purify it and pass its character
through the crucible till it is without
alloy. Such a soul becomes like wax in
the hands of the great Artificer, who
handles and fashions it as he pleases and
makes alterations as profound as they are
delicate. In such characters everything
seems supernatural ; nothing merely
human is to be seen ; no good quality
exceeds or trenches on another, but they
are all in perfect harmony. Such were
St. Augustin and St. Francis de Sales.
How amiable was their devotion ! What
charity, what uniformity, what admirable
evenness of soul in their life and in their
conversation, as well as in their writings !

CHAPTER XXVIII.

THAT DEVOTION, FAR FROM CON-
TRACTING THE MIND, AIDS TO ITS
DEVELOPMENT.

"T^EVOTION is accused of contracting the
mind, but those who make this re-
proach know nothing of devotion. They
confine their reflections to the Httleness
and minutiae of certain people who affect
to be devoted, and they ascribe to devo-
tion the defects of those who conceive it
wrongly and practise it badly.

Let us single out any man or woman
you wish who regards and practises devo-
tion in the manner I have defined and ex-
plained, and see if it has contracted their
mind. But what need to do this? Is
there necessity for much reflection and

DEVOTION DEVELOPS THE MIND. 145

argument to convince us that devotion is
the only source whence we can draw true,
great, and right ideas on the objects the
most important to man ; which, to the
knowledge furnished by pure and sound
reason, adds the more solid, surer, and
more sublime lights of revelation ? Noth-
ing is great but truth ; and truth is God ;
it is whatever emanates from God, what-
ever tends to God and terminates in him.
How, then, can that mind be contracted
which, in matters that are within its reach
and that relate to its duties, makes it
a rule to consult God and to con-
form its ideas and judgments to the
ideas and judgments of God ? Is not God
''the Father of lights"?^ Is not the
eternal Word, " the true light that en-
lighteneth every man that cometh into
this world "? f And some people will
have it, that a mind that takes this light

* James i. 17. f John i. 9.

146 DEVOTION DEVELOPS THE MIND.

for its rule and guide becomes narrow
and little ! There is no absurdity, no
contradiction equal to this.

It has already been observed that de-
votion instructs us in what is within our
reach, and in what relates to our duties ;
for it is not necessary that it should go
farther. It adapts itself to the capacity
of the simple and ignorant, and gives
them all that is sufficient for them to con-
duct themselves as they ought. The
truly devout man, whatever be the natural
extent of his mind and of his education,
has always more reason, more good sense,
more penetration and exactness, than if
he were not devoted. This is incontesta-
ble, and it is all that is necessary to prove
what has been asserted. But if a man of
great genius, cultivated by an excellent
education, give himself to devotion, if in
his meditations and studies he preserves
a serenity of mind free from prejudice
and passion, seeking but the truth, and

DEVOTION DEVELOPS THE MIND. 147

seeking it only in God, — I maintain that
in his researches he will penetrate as far
as the bounds of his understanding per-
mit, that he will judge of things the most
intricate and the most deHcate, as cer-
tainly as can be expected from a reason
which is not infallible, and that his talents
v/ill acquire all the development of which
they are susceptible.

St. Augustin was devout. He under-
stood religion and practised it devotedly.
Was his mind contracted? Do we know
of any mind more extensive, more ele-
vated, and more profound ? Would he
have had so great, so just, so penetrating
views, had he confined himself to the
study of eloquence and of profane phi-
losophy? Let us judge from what he
himself relates in his "Confessions."
Until the age of thirty he applied himself
to all kinds of science, and with an inde-
fatigable ardor fought for truth every-
where but in religion ! Did he find it ?

148 DEVOTION DEVELOPS THE MIND.

1

Did his restless mind find repose ? Did
he examine truth to the bottom, and
develop it as he did afterwards, when he
gave himself totally to God and hardly
knew any other book besides the Holy
Scriptures, and when, to understand them
better, he implored the divine assistance
by continual prayer ?

St. John Chrysostom was devout. Did
his devotion do injury to his brilliant
genius, or to his great gift of eloquence.^
Did it not add that nobleness of con-
ception, that exact good sense, that pro-
found philosophy which we admire in his
works, and for which he certainly was not
indebted to the lessons of Libanius, his
master ? Would he have been so great a
man had he adhered to that sophist, who
had designed him for his successor, and
had not been torn from him by the
Christians, as Libanius complains? Com-
pare the writings of each, and then judge.
As much could be said of all the Fathers

DEVOTION DEVELOPS THE MIND. 149

of the Church, who owe it to devotion
that they became the luminaries of their
age.

Devotion, therefore, is so far from con-
tracting the mind that, on the contrary, it
gives to it all the breadth, all the soHdity,
all the sagacity of which it is capable.
This will appear evident if we consider the
nature of the objects proper to devotion,
the light which it throws upon other
objects, the rules it lays down to judge
them, the means it employs, and the ob-
stacles it removes. I except the frivolous
arts and acquisitions of mere amusement,
which it teaches us to despise, or at least
forbids us to give ourselves up to them.
This presupposed, is there a single science
truly worthy of man, to which devotion,
as I have defined it, is not useful, or even
necessary, in order to penetrate its true
principles, and to trace and to develop its
consequences? I leave this to the re-
flection of my reader. Let him run over

150 DEVOTION DEVELOPS THE MIND.

philosophy and all its branches, — logic,
physics, metaphysics, ethics, political
economy, politics, jurisprudence ; and then
tell me if there be a single one of them
which can be possessed and thoroughly
discussed without the science of religion,
which is their common basis. What is
history more than an object of curiosity,
and a mere exercise of the memory, if it
is separated from Providence, which pre-
pares the events long beforehand, and
permits and designs them for wise and
worthy ends? And what other mind but
one enlightened by solid devotion will be
able to view history in the intimate re-
lation which it has always had, and ever
will have, to religion ? If the great Bossuet
had not viewed it in this manner, would
his celebrated ** Discourse on Universal
History " have been so sublime, so elo-
quent, so instructive? Would it be the
masterpiece of the human mind, both in
its plan and execution ?

DEVOTION DEVELOPS THE MIND. 151

If the man truly devoted is to be
deemed narrow-minded (petit esprit) be-
cause he is devoted ; because he loves
God, and fears to offend Him ; because
he respects the Church, its ministers, its
commandments, and its decisions ; because
he is exact and conscientious in the
management of his affairs, and about the
way of making a fortune; because he
cultivates piety, virtue, and probity, — I
have nothing more to say. I cannot hin-
der those who have a personal interest in
doing so from calling black white, and
white black.

CHAPTER XXIX.

THAT DEVOTION ELEVATES THE HEART
OF MAN ABOVE ALL THAT IS NOT GOD.

npHE same devotion which enlarges and
rectifies the mind expands the heart
and ennobles the affections. This assertion
needs no more proof than the one preced-
ing. That which contracts and debases
the heart is self-love, the passions, the
esteem and the love of earthly things.
Look no farther for the cause of haid-
heartedness, of meanness, of injustice, and
cruelty, than the egotism which wants all
for self, refers all to self, and strives to
concentrate all in self. You cannot name
me a single vice nor a single defect which
does not spring from this root.

Now, w^hat is the aim of devotion, what
152

DEVOTION ELEVATES THE HEART. 153

its motive ? To attack self-love at its foun-
dation, and pursue it to its entire extinc-
tion, substituting in its place the love of
God, the love of our neighbor, and the
well-regulated love of self. Thus devotion
re-establishes in man his primitive recti-
tude, restores order in his affections, for-
bids every sentiment that proceeds not
from God and which tends not to God.
It communicates to him a Christian sym-
pathy, which, raising him above himself,
extends his benevolence to all mankind ;
it interests him, by views superior to
human nature, in the happiness or misery
of his fellow-creatures ; it prompts him to
relieve them in distress and to rejoice at
their prosperity, as if it were his own ; it
inspires him with a noble disinterested-
ness, with a modest and compassionate
generosity, unknown to that pompous
beneficence, which is ever preceded, ac-
companied, and followed by a glance on
self, — in short, it restores to him all the

154 DEVOTION ELEVATES THE HEART.

capacity he received from the Creator, and
which only can be filled with the divine
immensity.

What further aim has devotion ? To
turn the human passions, which wrangle
and contend together to snatch from one
another the frivolous and contemptible
goods of this w^orld> the enjoyment of
which cannot be divided ; — to turn them, I
say, to their real object, which alone can
satisfy them, and which they all may pos-
sess in common ; to teach them to love,
hate, desire, and fear only what God and
right reason require man to love, hate,
fear, and desire, — a moral principle which,
if faithfully practised, would banish from
the world all manner of crimes, and would
dry up their very source in the human
heart.

What is the final end of devotion ? To
inspire us with disgust and contempt for
earthly things ; to point out to us their
true end, which is to supply the transitory

DEVOTION ELEVATES THE HEART. 155

wants of this mortal life ; to convince us
that they are made for us, but only for
the lowest part of our being, and that our
soul is not made for them ; to set before
the soul solid, eternal, immutable objects
worthy of its nature, and proportioned to
its desires ; to give it a relish for them, to
make it ardently long for their possession,
and to teach it the surest means of attain-
ing them.

How grand, how noble, how sublime
are the sentiments of a man, in whatever
condition or state of life, who, through his
devotedness to God, is penetrated with
these truths ! For, in this respect, devo-
tion brings to a level every condition ; and
the peasant in his hut is greater than the
monarch in his palace, if he has the greater
piety. Honors and dignities do not puff
him up, obscurity and dependence do not
degrade him. He is not insolent in pros-
perit}/, nor dejected in adversity, nor
proud and scornful like the philosopher in

156 DEVOTION ELEVATES THE HEART.

mediocrity. If his surroundings raise him
above other men, he only sees in them his
equals, to whom he owes either assistance
or protection. He looks upon himself as
inferior to every one who serves God bet-
ter than he does ; and, because there is
not one who is not or may not be greater
than he before God, he puts himself, in
his heart, in the last place. Should he be
in an obscure condition, far from envying
those who are conspicuous, he rejoices
thereat and thanks God for it. Yes, he
thanks God for being born in indigence ;
and if grace spurs him on, he reduces him-
self to poverty, and even to voluntary beg-
gary. We have seen this in our days ;
and this grandeur of soul, to him who
knows how to prize it, is not one of the
least triumphs of devotion. If he has
masters, it is God whom he respects, whom
he loves, and whom he obeys in them ;
and there is nothing in serving them that
debases him in the sight of God. In a

DEVOTION ELEVATES THE HEART. 157

word (for I do not mean to exhaust this
subject), he v^ho has really a great heart,
which soars above all that is created and
knows no superior but God alone, is truly
devoted.

CHAPTER XXX.

THE MAN TRULY DEVOUT REGARDS
EVERYTHING IN RELATION TO ETER-
NITY AND TO THE WILL OF GOD.

TT might seem that nothing more is
wanting to this portrait of devotion ;
that even now it greatly surpasses the idea
which is generally formed of it. A few
more features, however, must be added.

The truly devoted man is one who no
longer belongs to time. From the mo-
ment that he consecrates himself to God,
he is transported, as it were, into the re-
gion of eternity ; he thinks only on eter-
nity, not with fear, but with joy, as his
ultimate destination. He regards every-
thing with reference to eternity, and he

has constantly in his thoughts these words
158

THE DEVOUT AND ETERNITY. 159

of a saint, "What is this to eternity?*'
What importance is anything to me
which passes away with time ? I am in
this world only as in a place of trial. I am
here to serve my apprenticeship in that
which I am to do eternally. I am des-
tined to love God, and to be forever
happy in the possession of him. This is
my end. That uncertain and very small
number of days which is allotted me upon
earth, is only given me that I may love
God through choice, in order to merit as
a reward to love him forever. Every-
thing here below should be for me an
exercise of love. But love aspires only to
give, to sacrifice, to suffer for the object
which it loves, to immolate itself at its
own good pleasure. This, therefore, is
all I have to do ; this is the employment
of every moment of my life. He whom I
love deserves all, and expects all from me.
He has loved me with an eternal love,
with a love wholly gratuitous and disin-

l6o THE DEVOUT REGARD EVERYTHING

terested ; with a love to which mine, how
ardent soever it may be. can never ap-
proach. As the price of his love, he asks
for mine : and if he had not been the
first to love me, though he had promised
me nothing, I should still have a thou-
sand motives for loving him.

The will of God is the only rule of the
truly devoted man. In all that happens
to him, he sees only that ; he attaches
himself to that : he blesses it for everj'
thing : he is always contented, provided it
be accomplished. He is intimately per-
suaded that God wills nothing and per-
mits nothing that does not turn to the
advantage of those who love him. What-
ever comes from his hand — and everj^-
thing comes from it, except sin — is a bless-
ing to him ; and crosses, more than any-
thing else, afford him joy, on account of
the resemblance they give to Jesus Christ,
the chief and model of souls devoted to
God.

IN RELATION TO ETERNITY. i6l

Everything helps him to unite himself
more and more to him whom he loves ;
obstacles turn into means. Nothing stops
him ; he overcomes and breaks down all
impediments ; he removes every medium
that hinders him from joining himself im-
mediately to God, mind to mind, and
heart to heart. This holy union is the
motive of all his actions and the centre of
all his desires. And therefore whatever
he loves, he loves it only in God and for
God.

Let no one believe, as some falsely im-
agine, that on account of this his heart is
indifferent and insensible. There is no
heart more affectionate, more tender, more
compassionate, more generous, more grate-
ful, than that of the man truly devoted.
His love for his neighbor is modelled after
the infinite love of God; indeed, it is
but an extension of that which he has for
God. Love for his neighbor is a substan-
tial love, a delicate love, an obliging love,

l62 THE DEVOUT AND ETERNITY.

which nothing can weaken, and which, on
the contrary, is increased by that which
seemingly should extinguish it. This,
however, does not hinder it being true,
in a very just sense, that God is all to
the truly devoted man, and that every-
thing else is nothing ; because God is his
only good and the term of all his affec-
tions, which only pass through creatures
to fasten themselves on him.

CHAPTER XXXI.

CONDUCT OF THE TRULY DEVOUT MAN
IN REGARD TO HIS NEIGHBOR.

T)UT let US look more particularly at
the conduct devotion inspires towards
our neighbor ; for it is upon this point it is
most unjustly attacked, and therefore it
is necessary to vindicate it from the ma-
lignity of its accusers.

I say, then, that since devotion is noth-
ing else but the practice of the purest
charity in what regards our neighbor, it
has all the characteristics which St. Paul
attributes to charity."^ Follow me now in
the development of these characteristics,
applying them to the devoted people with
whom we may be acquainted, do justice
to those in whom they shine, notwith-

* I Cor. xiii. 4-9.
163

l64 CONDUCT TOWARDS OUR NEIGHBOR.

standing the shadows scattered here and
there from human frailty.

The man truly devoted, then, is " pa-
tient ; beareth all things, endureth all
things from his neighbor/* This endur-
ance is one of the most necessary
things in the intercourse of life, and that
in which one is most exercised, because
the practice of it is continual, and con-
tributes more than anything to the main-
tenance of domestic peace. It is most
needed in the home circle, and with
those with whom we habitually live ; as
the husband and wife with regard to each
other, the master with regard to his ser-
vants, parents with regard to their chil-
dren. In general, those who live to-
gether, or have frequent intercourse with
one another, are constantly exposed to
show their natural character such as it is,
their whims and a thousand little natural
defects. I venture to say that it is easier
to be patient on great occasions, when

CONDUCT TOWARDS OUR NEIGHBOR. 165

motives of religion sustain us and the fear
of offending God puts us on our guard,
than to refrain in many trivial circum-
stances from sallies of ill-humor in words
or conduct, which are overlooked or
deemed of no consequence. Neverthe-
less, the want of endurance has sometimes
sad consequences. The imagination is
enkindled and magnifies the smallest
faults ; the temper is exasperated ; simple
repugnance grows into an aversion ; we can
no longer see nor bear each other ; offence
is taken at whatever happens ; from
words we proceed to malicious acts, open
animosity, and declared hostility. The
matter in the beginning was nothing;
it has ended in an incurable hatred. It
is just here that the practice of devotion
is of great advantage, teaching us to bear
with the failings of others as we wish that
they should bear with ours.

The devoted man is ** full of kindness **
■ — always disposed to oblige. His prop-

l66 CONDUCT TOWARDS OUR NEIGHBOR.

erty, his time, his talents, his credit, be-
long less to himself than to others. At
what moment soever you apply to him,
whatsoever you may ask, if it be in his
power, he is ready to grant it ; he leaves
everything, he sacrifices even his exer-
cises of piety, when the interest of his
neighbor requires it. He is a stranger to
those vain offers, those excuses and eva-
sions which are so common in the world,
where, provided that it cost nothing, a
great show of good will is set forth, and
it is sought to impose on men by the
appearance of sincerity. His offers are
sincere ; he is a slave to his promises ;
and, when he excuses himself, it is in
such manner as to make it felt that it is
really painful to him to be unable to
grant what is asked.

It is of him alone that it can be said,
that '^ he envieth not ; " that he beholds
the prosperity of another with as much
and more pleasure than his own ; that hç

CONDUCT TOWARDS OUR NEIGHBOR. 167

envies neither the talents nor the success
of others, neither the applauses nor the
rewards they receive. How should he
envy them that which he desires not?
He is the first to acknowledge their
merit ; to praise it, to commend and to
set it forth to the best advantage. He is
not even jealous of their virtue, of their
holiness, or of the graces which God be-
stows on them, though these are the
only treasures he aspires to ; indeed,
whatever be his desire of loving God, he
wishes that others may surpass him in
love. How rare a thing is it to be wholly
exempt from this base sentiment, yet so
natural to man, from which devotion
alone can set him free.

The devout man '' dealeth not per-
versely," with levity or with indiscretion :
a disposition so important, and of such
consequence in society. Much superior
is this point to politeness, which only
saves the appearances ; devotion extends

I68 CONDUCT TOWARDS OUR NEIGHBOR.

this rule to the judgments and the affec-
tions, whence flow all external demon-
strations, of which we do not always have
control unless w^e are attentive to what
passes within.

Far from being '' puffed up '' with the
temporal or spiritual advantages which he
has over others, the truly devoted man
disregards them ; or, if he thinks of them,
he only finds in them motives of humilia-
tion ; whereas, he who is not truly de-
voted is always secretly comparing him-
self with his neighbor, to give himself the
preference and congratulate himself at
being *' not as the rest of men/'"^ The
truly devoted man tries all he can to for-
get himself, and the judgments which he
forms of himself tend only to make him
despise himself. This is the most intimate
conviction of his heart. *

No one is less '' ambitious *' than he.

*Luke xviii. ii.

CONDUCT TOWARDS OUR NEIGHBOR. 169

As much as others are flattered with dis-
tinctions and preferments, so much is he
averse to them. He thinks so Httle of
elevating himself, of being above others
and of commanding, that, on the con-
trary, he prefers to be abased, to seek the
last place, and to obey. He is still more
exempt from spiritual ambition, well
knowing that it is more dangerous and
more odious to God and man. He stifles
the smallest germ of it in his heart and
never sufïers anything to appear exteri-
orly that might make an impression in his
favor.

The devout man "seeketh not his own
interest,*' but is always ready to sacrifice
it for the sake of peace and to pre-
serve charity. His great, his only inter-
est, is on account of God to live in peace
with all mankind.

He is a stranger to anger, harsh ex-
pressions, and to the spirit of contradic-
tion. Meekness accompanies all his words

170 CONDUCT TOWARDS OUR NEIGHBOR.

and rules all his proceedings. He chooses
rather to yield, when he is in the right,
than to maintain his opinion with warmth.
Nothing wounds him, nothing offends
him, nothing irritates him. One would
think that he is insensible, and that he
observes nothing, yet his feelings are ex-
tremely delicate and nothing out of the
way escapes him.

Whilst the man of false devotion is
scandalized at everything, and miscon-
strues everything, '* he thinketh no evil,''
and interprets everything in good part,
endeavoring as far as he can to see and
represent things in a favorable light, to
extenuate real wrongs, and to justify the
intention when the action cannot be ex-
cused. As he has no malice, he suspects
none in others, and, to give credit to an evil
report, he must be compelled by evidence.

CHAPTER XXXII.

THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE POLITE-
NESS OF THE WORLD AND THE COR-
DIALITY OF TRUE DEVOTION.

npHE politeness of the world is nothing
but dissimulation.'^' It manifests es-
teem and friendship only the better to
conceal its coolness and contempt, — in-
different to those whom it affects the
most to caress, often even wishing evil to
those whose interests it seems to espouse
the most warmly. The truly devout man
** loves without dissimulation ;" he shows
in his face what he has in his soul ; his lips
express only what he feels. His character-
istic is cordiality — that precious virtue
which the world has banished from its
commerce to retain but its semblance.

*Rom. xii. 9, etc.
171

172 THE POLITENESS OF THE WORLD

He does not wait till he is prevented
by others, but "with honor he prevents
them/' He forgets the attention that is
due to himself, and thinks only of that
which charity prompts him to pay to his
neighbor. Not that he cannot assert his
dignity and maintain the privileges of his
station when propriety demands it ; but
on these occasions he is free from all
haughtiness and over-delicate pretension,
and on this account his right is the less
contested.

Politeness gives only that it may re-
ceive ; it makes advances on one occasion
only that they may be returned to it on
another. It measures and graduates its
civilities, and exacts at least as much at-
tention as it bestows, and is always appre-
hensive of being slighted or undervalued.
It is not so with devotion. Without
derogating from what belongs to place
and condition, it knows how to be affable,
gracious, obliging ; it banishes constraint

AND THE CORDIALITY OF DEVOTION. 173

from social intercourse and it puts itself
on a level with those with whom it con-
verses ; its advances are frank, natural,
disinterested, without any thought of
return.

Human compassion has often but bare
words, or, at most, barren sentiments. It
is partial, inconstant, and, after the first
effusion, is soon spent. Sometimes the
evils it beholds by their very excess in-
spire it with more horror than pity, and if
it relieve them, it is only with an uprising
of the heart and averted look. It but too
frequently happens that the humanity
on which it prides itself is affected and
blended with ostentation ; that it does
good only for the sake of show, and, while
revealing the hidden misery of others,
causes them to repent of giving their
confidence.

Devotion does not fall into any of these
faults. Its commiseration extends to all
the unfortunate : '' communicating,** frorn

174 'fHE POLITENESS OF THE WORLD

the heart, in their evils and in their ''ne-
cessities," as if they were its own. It re-
lieves them effectually by taking not only
from its superfluity, but even from its
necessity. No sort of misery disgusts it ;
and the greater the misery is, the more
eager it is to succor it. It accompanies
its charities with an air of interest, of sen-
sibility, of tenderness that moves, con-
soles, and gladdens the afflicted. Partic-
ularly attentive to degraded indigence, it
discovers it and spares it the confusion of
an explanation ; it often conceals the hand
that gives assistance, or does it so secretly
that no one ever surmises it or hears a
whisper of it.

Charity often gives to the man truly
devout the interior dispositions of his
neighbor. ''He rejoices with them that
rejoice and weeps with them that weep."*
His soul enters into the sentiments of

* Rom. xii. 15.

AND THE CORDIALITY OF DEVOTION. 175

those who approach him, and is affected
with all which touches them. ' This is not
flattery nor mere politeness ; it is the true
and profound interest of a brother, who
shares the good and the evil of his brethren
and considers them as his own.

Lastly, if we consider, on the one hand,
how far humanity, education, and polite-
ness contribute to the utility, security,
comfort, and enjoyment of social life, and,
on the other, the happiness which results
from devotion well understood and prac-
tised, and what would further result were
it more generally diffused, — we shall be
forced to acknowledge that all the advan-
tage is on the side of devotion, and that
there is no comparison between them.
To the devout man belongs the encomium
bestowed in Scripture on Moses, ** of being
beloved of God and men ; ''"^ because he
serves God in God, and does to man all

* Ecclus. xlv. I.

176 THE POLITENESS OF THE WORLD.

the good he can. If he be not at all
times loved by men, it is because they are
wicked, envious, and ungrateful ; because
they despise virtue, and refuse to do it
justice.

CHAPTER XXXIII.

THE MAN TRULY DEVOUT POSSESSES
ALL CIVIL QUALITIES.

TF the devoted man is what he ought
to be, he is a good husband, a good
father, a good master, a good friend,
a good citizen, a good subject ; be-
cause the essence of devotion con-
sists in a faithful discharge of all the
duties which are annexed to these several
spheres, and to others of a similar nature.
There is no case in which it authorizes a
neglect of the least of the natural or civil
obligations of society, or in which it does
not severely condemn those who fail in
such obligations. This is not all ; devo-
tion alone displays to us the full extent of
these duties, it binds us in conscience to

178 THE DEVOUT MAN

study them, and makes us take interest
and pleasure in fulfilling them, at all times
and in every circumstance.

All things else being equal, compare in
each state, in each profession, the devout
man with him who is not so. See which
is the more learned, the more assiduous,
the more honest, the more exact, the
more delicate, and the more disinterested ;
which it is who succeeds the better, of
whom the public complains the less, and
with whom it is more pleased. Glance
over the most elevated stations ; ex-
amine by whom they have been the
better filled, — by the friends or by the
enemies of devotion. One may be de-
vout and want talents, — but he neither
wants zeal, nor probity, nor love for the
right. The faults occasioned through
want of genius should not be imputed to
devotion, since it never prompts us to
engage in a charge, an office, a profession
for which we are not fitted ; since it re-

POSSESSES ALL CIVIL QUALITIES. 179

quires us to omit nothing that may fit us
for them ; and even to resign them and
lay them down, if the public and individ-
uals suffer by our retaining them. It is
never from devotion that frauds, misde-
meanors, injustices, violence, and the
abuse of authority proceed, no more than
negligence, the want of application, and all
the other consequences of a culpable igno-
rance. All good is to be set down to its
account ; to all evil it is a stranger, and
to make it responsible for anything of the
kind is the height of injustice. This is, in
general, what a real devout man is in his
relations to his fellow-man and to society.

CHAPTER XXXIV.

THE TRULY DEVOUT MAN POSSESSES
THE ONLY TRUE HAPPINESS THAT
CAN BE ENJOYED ON EARTH.

QO far as what personally regards the
devout man, devotion procures him
the only true happiness to be enjoyed upon
earth. It never has happened that one
truly devout had reason to repent his be-
ing so, and it never will happen. It will
be said that he hates and despises him-
self, combats and renounces himself. I
grant it ; and it is precisely in this that
he finds peace, equanimity of soul, and
joy. It is certain, both from reason and
the principles of faith, and demonstrated
by constant and universal experience,
that the good things of this world, riches,

d

THE DEVOUT POSSESS HAPPINESS. lâl

honors, and pleasures, cannot satisfy the
soul, but only provoke its hunger, without
appeasing it ; that the passions are the
principal source of the misfortunes which
oppress mankind ; and that, for the inevi-
table evils of this life, no other philosophy
than that of religion can help us to bear
them, or teach us the proper use of them.
It is also certain and demonstrated by
experience that, God being man's only
good, devotion which brings him to God
— which tends to unite him to God — is
the true and the only principle of his
happiness ; that it preserves him from
sin, which is his sovereign evil ; that it
secures him from the misfortunes which
are the fruit of his own passions ; that in
regard to the other evils, whether natural
or occasioned by the injustice and the
malice of man, it teaches him to over-
come them with patience, and to draw
from them wonderful advantages ; while
in regard to temptations, trials, and other

THE DEVOUT POSSESS HAPPINESS.

3

spiritual sufferings, it persuades him that
they are not evils, but real blessings ; that
they are remedies which expiate sin, or
preserve him from it,— -occasions to prac-
tise virtue, as well as means to sanctify
him and to dispose him to divine union.
Thus it lifts him above all human acci-
dents, above the vicissitudes of the spirit-
ual life, even above himself, and estab-
lishes him in an unalterable peace.

On the other hand, God, who is rich in
mercy and who never suffers himself to
be outdone in generosity, devotes himself,
if I may be allowed to say so, to the man
who is devoted to him ; he treats him as
his child, he takes care of him as ** the
apple of his eye " (it is the expression
which he himself makes use of) ; "^ he
lavishes upon him his aid, his consola-
tions, his favors ; in short, he is eager to
convince him, by the strongest and most

*Zach. ii. 8.

I

THE DEVOUT POSSESS HAPPINESS. 183

assured proofs, that he gains all in sacri-
ficing all to him, and that the highest
happiness of the creature is only to be
found in the privation of everything else,
and even of itself, in order to secure the
possession of the infinite good.

Let not the reader accuse me of false-
hood or exaggeration. On the contrary,
let him be assured that all that has been
said falls far short of the reality. We
have on this subject the unanimous testi-
mony of the saints ; I refer you to them.
You have their writings ; consult them,
and see if they say less than I do. There
is not one amongst them who has not
borne witness that he was happy in God's
service, that he had never been happy be-
fore, and that it is the only way of being
happy. Should you say that you have
not experienced this happiness, although
you have served God for many years, that
must proceed from your not serving him
with the same devotedness as the saints ;

l84 THE DEVOUT POSSESS HAPPINESS.

from your blending, with your devotion,
much negh'gence, much laxity, and much
reserve r from your seeking yourself in-
stead of seeking God, and from your self-
love, which tyrannizes over your soul by
fear, by desire, by vain regrets, and idle
forebodings, by murmurs, interior rebel-
lions, and by the resistance it opposes to
the reign of the love of God.

CHAPTER XXXV.

THAT JESUS CHRIST IS THE GRAND MODEL
OF PERFECT DEVOTEDNESS.

TF the reader ask for a model of perfect
devotion, what other can be proposed
than that which has been given to us all
in the person of Jesus Christ? Listen to
this Divine Master, and study his conduct.
He came upon earth only to teach us in
what true devotion consists. All the les-
sons of his heavenly doctrine are reduci-
ble to that of devotedness. His whole
life was nothing else but the most abso-
lute devotedness practised in the most
excellent manner.

The moment he came into the world
he devoted himself to God his Father

as a victim to repair the outrages done to

185

l86 CHRIST THE GRAND MODEL

his glory, and to effect the reconciliation
of man. From that instant the great
cross which he was to carry was offered
to him ; that cross comprised the whole
course of his life, and was to become
every day harder and heavier from the
manger to his last gasp. It united to
an incomprehensible degree every kind
of suffering and opprobrium which could
be borne by a soul sustained by all
the power of the divinity. It was to
exhaust on him the scourge of divine
justice. It was to equal and surpass all
the pains due to man's enormous and
innumerable iniquities. His soul, infi-
nitely illuminated with the divine light,
measured the extent of this cross, dis-
tinctly knew all its rigors, foresaw and
felt beforehand its unutterable torments.
He accepted it with all the submission,
all the love, all the generosity that a God-
Man was capable of. It was always
present to his thoughts ; it was always

OF TRUE DEVOTION. 187

dear to his heart. He continually hast-
ened by his desires the consummation
of his sacrifice ; and the extreme vehe-
mence of these desires was perhaps the
greatest of his torments. For, how great
soever the excess of it may have been, his
love went incomparably beyond, and
made him wish to suffer still more, if it
could be, for the glory of his Father and
for our salvation.

This is the sublime, the divine model of
devotedness : this the most faithful and
the only true expression of that which
God deserves on our part, and of the
service we owe to him. It is only in
view of this wonderful devotedness that
God is pleased to be satisfied with ours,
weak, imperfect, and unworthy as it is of
his sovereign majesty. Our devotedness,
how far soever it may reach, how great
soever it may be conceived to be, is of no
value in itself. It is insufficient to expiate
the smallest of our offences and to merit

lS8 CHRIST THE GRAND MODEL

for US the least degree of glory. There
never was but one devotedness in itself
pleasing to God, — that of Jesus Christ.
He accepts only that ; he regards only
that, and from it ours derives all its value.

Let us, therefore, cast our eyes upon
this perfect and unique Model, and let us,
at the very beginning, imprint deeply in
our minds this grand truth, that God is
so much above us, or, to speak more
properly, that God is so much all, and we
so much nothing, that it is impossible for
us, by the highest and most generous de-
votedness that can be imagined, I do not
say to attain to what he has a right to
expect from us, but even to do anything
that may draw down upon us his least
regard, or may render us worthy of the
shghtest mark of his benevolence.

After this, having profoundly humbled
and annihilated ourselves, let us entreat
him to inspire us himself with an act of
devotedness that he will deign to accept,

OF TRUE DEVOTION. 189

and implore him to make us produce this
act with all the love that can enter into
the human heart, and to support us by the
power of his grace in the faithful and
constant accomplishment of all the sacri-
fices which such an act implies.

Finally, because we are nothing of our-
selves, and prone to sin from the per-
versity of our will, because there is nothing
that is good in us which is not a gift of
God, — let us unite our devotedness to
that of Jesus Christ, conjuring this divine
Saviour to communicate to it some
share of the merits of his devotedness, to
offer it to his Father with his own, and
to prevail on him, through his all-power-
ful mediation, graciously to accept it.

CHAPTER XXXVI.

THREE EFFICACIOUS MEANS TO ACQUIRE
TRUE DEVOTION.

TAOUBTLESS the essential point is rightly
to apprehend the act of devotedness,
and to form it in the heart with a full and
entire will ; for all depends upon knowing
the nature and the qualities of our en-
gagement with God, and on generously
embracing all its obligations. We may
well say here that the beginning is half of
the whole.

But it is only the half ; we must come
to the practice. Perhaps you will wish to
know by what means. I will not answer
this question in full here. It will be the
subject of another book to follow this, un-
der thç title of ''Spiritual Maxims/' in
190

MEANS TO ACQUIRE DEVOTION. 191

which I hope to say enough to put beghi-
ners on the way. I will, however, propose
here three general means which will lead
those who observe them very far.

In the first place, the fact of our being
devoted should be constantly present to
our mind, according to the example of
Jesus Christ. The moment when we de-
vote ourselves, whether in prayer or at
communion, is a moment of fervor and of
a strong and sensible grace. Then the
soul is, as it were, lifted above itself and
transported to God. But this moment
soon passes ; the fervor declines ; the sen-
sible impression of grace vanishes. The
soul comes back to itself and returns to its
former state. A thousand unavoidable
cares which distract it will cause it to lose
sight of the engagement which it has
contracted, if it be not careful to re-
call it often, and to render the recollec-
tion habitual. This recollection rouses
and supports it, animates its languor and

192 MEANS TO ACQUIRE DEVOTION.

excites its courage, and is at once a curb
to check it and a spur to urge it on.

The second means consists in conform-
ing ourselves in all respects to the ex-
ample of Jesus Christ, as persons devoted
to God — that is to say, to no longer dis-
pose of our ourselves, to no longer form
views and projects of any kind whatever,
but to leave ourselves in the hands of
God, and to undertake nothing but by the
inspiration of his grace ; for, indeed, he
never fails to manifest his will to a soul
determined to accomplish it. We must
admit neither fear nor desire concerning
any other objects than those which be-
long to our devotedness ; but we must
ever fear whatever may make us swerve
from it, ardently desiring to be faithful.
We must consider ourselves henceforward
as being under the special guidance of
Providence, and leave the care of our in-
terior to God without solicitude, without
too much reflection on our state, without

MEANS TO ACQUIRE DEVOTIÔISr. 193

curiously inquiring into the reasons of
what happens to us. We must accept
with equal thankfulness what comforts us
and what afflicts us, what troubles us and
what composes us, what contradicts us
and what gratifies us, what depresses us
and what lifts us up. We must believe
without hesitation that God has in view
only our welfare, and that, provided we
adhere to his will, things in appearance
the most adverse will turn out to our
advantage.

Thus to exercise ourselves in submit-
ting to every event, whether temporal or
spiritual, is not the work of one day, but
the business of our whole life. We must
be a long while apprentices in this science
before we become masters ; and then we
only become skilful after repeated faults
by which we are humiliated and corrected.
But it is indispensable to enter from the
beginning into this general disposition.

194 MEANS TO ACQUIRE DEVOTION.

without which there is no practice of
devotedness.

The third means is to have Jesus Christ
always before our eyes in order to copy
him, and express him in our interior and
exterior conduct. We must entreat him
to form in us his ow^n image, and to hold
us under his hand, like an immovable and
well-stretched canvas, ready to receive all
the traits of this adorable original. For
it is Christ himself who works upon our
souls and sketches his own portrait, to
which he afterwards adds colors and the
finest strokes of the pencil when we put
no obstacle in his way.

As God made the material world by
his Son, it is also by him that he makes
the spiritual and supernatural world ; and
this world only becomes what it ought to
be by its resemblance to Jesus Christ.
The saints of the Old Testament were
figures of him, and those of the New
Testament have no other model ; and

MEANS TO ACQUIRE DEVOTION. 195

when all the traits of the God-Man shall
have been imprinted upon the elect, ac-
cording to the designs of the eternal
Father, the universe will come to an end.
** For,*' says St. Paul, ^' whom God fore-
knew, he also predestinated to be made
conformable to the image of his Son.""^

* Rom. viii. 29.

CHAPTER XXXVII.

REFLECTIONS ON THE CHARACTERISTICS
OF TRUE DEVOTION.

TF devotedness to God, after the ex-
ample of Jesus Christ, be the first
duty of every one who bears the name
of Christian, with much greater reason is
it the duty of those whose office it is to
preach it to others, to teach them its
practice, and to set them the example of
it. None the less is it the duty of those
whom God has withdrawn from the
troubles of life, that they may devote
themselves to his service in a more special
manner. And yet, are there many truly
devoted in the sacerdotal or in the re-
ligious state ? I say it with sorrow —

they are almost as few in number as the

196

REFLECTIONS ON TRUE DEVOTION. 197

gleanings after the reapers and the grapes
after the vintage.

What, then, is the good soil in which
this seed being sown will fructify? God
knows it, and it is for that soil he has led
me to write. These souls will relish, will
understand, will practice devotion.

As to others, I already hear them ex-
claim and complain that I carry things
too far ; that I demand too much, and
that there is no possibility of being de-
vout in the manner which I point out.
But is it I who will have it so ? Is it not
the very nature of the matter? Reason
as much as you please on devotion,
modify it, temper and soften it as much
as you can, you never will be able to har-
monize grace and nature, God and the
world, the love of God and self-love ; and
as long as this union will be impossible,
so long shall I be in the right, and so
long shall I have demanded nothing but
what is just and even necessary.

iqS reflections on true devotion.

I have pushed things too far ! In
what? In styling devotion devotedness
or a consecration? But it is the meaning
of the word. Is it in adhering to the
idea of devotedness? On what other
idea was my whole book to rest ? Am
I wrong in asserting that the devotedness
which has God for its object should be
interior, without reserve and division ;
that it should proceed from love, that it
should inspire confidence, that it should
dispose us to abandon ourselves to God ;
that it should be humble, mortified, and
the like, as may be remembered ? Have I
said too much? Have I even said all
that could be said on each of these char-
acteristics ? And if by a culpable caution
I had lessened the truth, would not those
who accuse me of going to extremes have
been the first to charge me with remiss-
ness?

Would I have said less if I had given
for title to this work, ** The Characteristics

REFLECTIONS ON TRUE DEVOTION. 199

of True Charity " ? and if, in unfolding the
two grand precepts of the love of God
and the love of our neighbor, on which
hang the law and the prophets, I had ap-
plied to them all that I have ascribed to
devotion ?

Would I have said less if, speaking to
the disciples of Jesus Christ, and address-
ing to them the very words of their Mas-
ter, I had interpreted to them his lessons
and his doctrine according to the sense
of the Apostles and the Fathers of the
Church? or if, in proposing to them
Christ as a model, I had strongly repre-
sented to them the indispensable neces-
sity of imitating his interior dispositions
towards God, his Father, and towards
man, and the virtues which shone through-
out his whole life from the manger to the
cross ?

Would I have said less if I had placed
before them the example of the primitive
Christians, our fathers in the faith, and

200 REFLECTIONS ON tRUÈ DEVOtlON.

had asked them if, having the same duties
and the same obh'gations, they were not
bound to have the same sentiments, the
same conduct, and the same devotion ?
Let it not be said that the circumstances
are not the same. I could easily prove
that the present circumstances are more
delicate and more dangerous to salvation.
I conclude that I could not have said
less without betraying the cause of my
great Master, and that we cannot do less
without injuring the dearest interests of
our soul. The glory of God, for which
we are created, the eternal happiness to
which we are called, as well as our present
happiness, are concerned. The matter
well deserves mature deliberation, and a
prudent decision.

FINIS.

PRINTED BY BENZIGER BROTHERS, NEW YORK.

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