who was in affliction, "how is it that our hearts, which aspire to Heaven, should yet be so moved by all the events of this life?" In truth the mere sight of our Dear Crucified Jesus has power to still all our agonies, which are but as flowers compared to the thorns with which He was pierced. And, moreover, we have a glorious prospect in eternity, which cannot be touched by these things, which have their end in time.

Go on, my child, uniting yourself more and more closely to that Saviour; plunge your heart into the depths of His Love, and say always with sincerity, "May I die, and may He live." Ours will be a blessed death, if we die in Him.

"I live," the

Apostle said, but then he retracted his words, and said, "Yet not I, but Christ liveth in me." 1

May you be blessed, my dear daughter, with that blessing which His Goodness has prepared for all those hearts which give themselves up to His Holy Love. Be of good cheer. God is very Good-if all else be against us, what does it matter? Be cheerful and happy in this thought. The years go by, and Eternity draws near. May we so spend these years in His Love, as to spend Eternity in His Glory. Amen.

* Gal. ii. 20.

[720.]

CXIII.

TO A RELIGIOUS.

ANOTHER time you must open your heart fully, and without any sort of fear. It would be much more useful to you to confess what you have to say face to face, than in writing.

Those inclinations of which you speak are precious opportunities given you by God for exercising your faith by carefully repressing them. Let your prayers take the shape of the opposite affections, and directly that you find yourself falling, repair the fault by some act of gentleness, humility, or charity towards those people who excited it; it may be reluctance to obey, to submit yourself, to do them good, or to love them. As you know the side on which your enemies press you the hardest, you must that side of the fortress.

keep special watch over Make your pride stoop, contrary to your habits

and force yourself to act and inclinations, commending the effort to our Lord, and striving everywhere, and in everything, to soften. your disposition, scarcely heeding anything save the achievement of this victory. I, for my part, will pray our Dear Lord that He would grant it you, and give you a triumphant entrance into Paradise. Be sure, my dear daughter, that He will do so, if you persevere in

seeking His Holy Love, striving to live humbly before Him, kindly towards your neighbour, and patiently towards yourself. I am ever heartily yours, &c.

[723.]

CXIV.

TO THE ABBESSE ANGÉLIQUE ARNAUD,

OF PORT ROYAL,

I SEE plainly what swarming ant-heaps of inclinations self-love fosters in your heart, my dearest daughter, and I know very well that the state of your subtle mind, so sensitive and fertile, contributes to increase this. But after all, my dear daughter, these are but inclinations; and, as you are conscious of their importunity, and are sorry for it, it would seem that your will does not consent to them-at all events, not with a deliberate consent. No, my dear daughter, your soul has accepted the earnest desire with which God has filled it, to be His only; so do not be ready to fancy that you are consenting to these opposing influences. Your heart may be shaken by the action of passions within, but I think it rarely sins by deliberately consenting to them. "O miserable man that I am," the great Apostle exclaimed, "who will deliver me from the body of this death?" He felt himself encompassed by a whole army of tempers,

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natural likings and dislikings, which warred against him, seeking his spiritual destruction: fearing them, he expresses his hatred; hating them, he suffers pain; and that pain draws forth this exclamation, to which he makes answer himself; "I thank God through Christ Jesus our Lord." God's Grace will deliver him, not from fear, not from terror and alarm, not from the strife, but from defeat—he will not be conquered.

My daughter, to be alive in this world, and not to feel the movement of such passions within us, are two incompatible things.

I

Our glorious S. Bernard calls it a heresy to say that here below we can persevere in one condition, quoting what the Holy Spirit spoke by the mouth of Job, "He fleeth as a shadow, and continueth not."2 say this in answer to your complaints of the levity and inconstancy of your soul. I believe truly that it is perpetually tossed about with its own passionate feelings, and that consequently it often totters; but I believe as truly, that God's Grace, and the resolution with which it inspires you, will continue to guard your mind, to maintain the standard of the Cross, and to enable you in firm faith, hope, and charity, to cry out aloud, "Hail Jesus!"

Indeed, my daughter, these tendencies to pride, vanity, and self-love, mingle with everything; they 2 Job, xiv. 2.

Rom. vii. 24, 25.

slip in visibly or invisibly, and take part in all we do; but all the same, they are not the mainspring of our actions. One day, some such thoughts harassed S. Bernard while he was preaching. "Get thee hence, Satan," he exclaimed; "I did not begin to please thee, nor will I make an end for thy pleasure!"

There is one thing I would say, my dear daughter, in reply to what you tell me about fostering your pride by affectation in conversation, and in letters. Sometimes, in conversation, this glides in so imperceptibly that one scarcely finds it out; but directly you do become aware of it, you should change your manner. In letters, affectation is rather more-I should say a great deal more—insupportable, because one can see better what one is about; and if you are conscious of any notable piece of affectation, you must punish the hand which wrote it, by writing a fresh letter in a different tone.

Altogether, my dear daughter, I have no doubt but that among all these numerous ups and downs of your mind, some venial faults make their way in, but being mere fleeting frailties, they do not deprive you of all the benefit of your good resolutions, though perhaps they may deprive you of the pleasant sense of being free from such infirmities.

Now, be fair; do not either accuse or excuse your poor soul without deliberate consideration; lest, if