Thomas à Kempis: DE IMITATIONE CHRISTI

1.Qui sequitur me non ambulat in tenebris dicit Dominus. Hæc sunt verba Christi, quibus admonemur quatenus vitam eius et mores imitemur, si volumus veraciter illuminari, et ab omni cæcitate cordis liberari. Summum igitur studium nostrum, sit in vita Jesu meditari.

1.He who follows me does not walk in darkness, says the Lord. These are the words of Christ, by which we are admonished that we should imitate his life and morals, if we wish to be truly illuminated and to be freed from all blindness of heart. Therefore let our highest study be to meditate upon the life of Jesus.

2. Doctrina Ejus omnes doctrinas Sanctorum præcellit, et qui spiritum haberetabsconditum ibi manna inveniret. Sed contingit quod multi ex frequenti auditu Evangelii parvum desiderium sentiunt, quia spiritum Chrisi non habent. Qui autem vult plene et sapide verba Christi intelligere, oportet ut totam vitam suam illi studeat conformare.

2. His Doctrine excels all the doctrines of the Saints, and whoever would have the Spirit would findthe manna hidden there. But it happens that many, from the frequent hearing of the Gospel, feel little desire, because they do not have the Spirit of Christ. But whoever wishes to understand the words of Christ fully and with savor, must strive to conform his whole life to Him.

3. Quid prodest tibi alta de Trinitate disputare, si careas humilitate unde displiceas Trinitati? Vere alta verba non faciunt sanctum et justum, sed virtuosa vita efficit Deo carum. Opto magis sentire compunctionem quam scire definitionem.

3. What does it profit you to dispute lofty things about the Trinity, if you lack humility, whereby you displease the Trinity? Truly, lofty words do not make one holy and just, but a virtuous life makes one dear to God. I opt rather to feel compunction than to know a definition.

Si scires totam Bibliam, et omnium philosophorum dicta quid totum prodesset, sine charitate et gratia? Vanitas vanitatum et omnia vanitas præter amare Deum et illi soli fervire. Ista est summa sapientia per contemptum mundi tendere ad regna cælestia.

If you knew the whole Bible, and the dicta of all philosophers, what would the whole profit, without charity and grace? Vanity of vanities and all is vanity except to love God and to serve Him alone. This is the highest wisdom: through contempt of the world to tend toward the celestial kingdoms.

4. Vanitas igitur est divitias perituras quærere, et in illis sperare. Vanitas quoque est honores ambire, et in altum se extollere. Vanitas est carnis desideria sequi, et illud desiderare unde postmodum graviter oportet puniri.

4. Vanity therefore is to seek perishable riches, and to hope in them. Vanity likewise is to court honors, and to exalt oneself on high. Vanity is to follow the desires of the flesh, and to desire that whence afterward it is needful to be grievously punished.

Vanitas est longam vitam optare, et de bona vita modicum curare. Vanitas est præsentem vitam solum attendere, et quæ futura sunt non prævidere. Vanitas est diligere quod cum omni celeritate transit, et illuc non festinare ubi sempiternum manet gaudium.

Vanity it is to wish for a long life, and to care little for a good life. Vanity it is to attend only to the present life, and not to foresee the things that are to come. Vanity it is to love that which passes with all celerity, and not to hasten thither where sempiternal joy abides.

5. Stude ergo cor tuum ab amore visibilium abstrahere, et ad invisiblia te transferre. Nam sequentes suam sensualitatem maculant conscientiam, et perdunt Dei gratiam.

5. Therefore strive to abstract your heart from love of visible things, and to transfer yourself to invisible things. For those following their own sensuality stain their conscience, and lose the grace of God.

Cap. 2. De humili scire sui ipsius.

CHAPTER 2. On the humble knowing of oneself.

1. Omnis homo naturaliter scire desiderat. Sed scientia sine timore Dei quid importat? Melior est profecto Rusticus humilis, qui Deo fervit, quam superbus Philosophus, qui se neglecto cursum cæli confiderat.

1. Every man naturally desires to know. But knowledge without the fear of God, what does it import? Better indeed is a humble Rustic who serves God than a proud Philosopher who, with himself neglected, considers the course of heaven.

Qui bene se ipsum cognoscit sibi ipsi vilescit, nec laudibus delectatur humanis. Si scirem omnia quæ in mundo sunt, et non essem in charitate, quid me juavert coram Deo, qui me judicaturus est ex facto?

He who well knows himself grows vile to himself, nor is he delighted by human praises. If I knew all things that are in the world, and were not in charity, what would it have profited me before God, who is about to judge me by deed?

2. Quiesce a nimio discendi desiderio, quia ibi magna incitatur distractio et deceptio. Scientes volunt libenter docti videri et sapientes dici. Multa sunt quæ scire animæ parum vel nihil prodest.

2. Rest from an excessive desire of learning, for therein great distraction and deception are incited. The knowing wish readily to seem learned and to be called wise. There are many things the knowing of which profits the soul little or nothing.

Et valde insipiens est, qui aliquibus magis intendit, quam his quæ saluti suæ deserviunt. Multa verba non satiant animam, sed bona vita refrigerat mentem, et pura conscientia magnam ad Deum præstat confidentiam.

And he is very foolish who attends more to certain things than to those which serve his own salvation. Many words do not satiate the soul, but a good life refreshes the mind, and a pure conscience affords great confidence toward God.

3. Quanto plus et melius scis, tanto gravius judicaberis inde nisi sancte vixeris. Noli ergo extolli de ulla arte vel scientia, sed potius time de data tibi notitia. Si tibi videtur quod multa scias et satis bene intelligas, scito tamen quia sunt multo plura quæ nesci.

3. The more and the better you know, the more gravely you will be judged therefrom unless you have lived in holiness. Therefore do not be exalted by any art or science, but rather fear on account of the knowledge given to you. If it seems to you that you know many things and understand well enough, know, nevertheless, that there are far more things which you do not know.

Noli sapere altum, sed ignorantiam tuam magis fatere. Quid te vis alicui præferre, cum plures doctiores te inveniantur, et magis in lege periti. Si vis aliquid utiliter scire, et discere, ama nesciri, et pro nihilo reputari.

Do not be high‑minded, but rather confess your ignorance. Why do you wish to prefer yourself to anyone, when many are found more learned than you, and more expert in the law. If you wish to know something usefully, and to learn, love to be unknown, and to be reckoned as nothing.

4. Hæc est altissima et utilissima lectio, sui ipius vera cognitio, et despectio. De se ipso nihil tenere, et de aliis semper bene et alte sentire magna sapientia est, et perfectio. Si videres aliquem aperte peccare, vel aliqua gravia perpetrare, non deberes te meliorem exstimare, quia nescis quamdiu possis in bono stare.

4. This is the most lofty and the most useful lesson: the true cognition of oneself, and despising. To hold oneself as nothing, and to think well and highly of others always, is great wisdom and perfection. If you should see someone sinning openly, or perpetrating some grave things, you ought not to esteem yourself better, because you do not know how long you may be able to stand in the good.

Omnes fragiles sumus, sed tu neminem fragiliorem te ipso tenebis.

We are all fragile, but you will hold no one more fragile than yourself.

Cap. 3. De doctrina veritatis.

CHAPTER 3. On the doctrine of truth.

1. Felix quem Veritas per se ipsam docet, non per figuras et voces transeuntes, sed sicuti se habet. Nostra opinion, et noster sensus sæpe nos fallit, et modicum videt. Quid prodest magna cavillatio de occultis, et obscuris rebus de quibus nec argueur in judicio, quia ignoravimus?

1. Happy is he whom Truth teaches through herself, not through figures and passing voices, but as she is. Our opinion, and our sense, often deceives us, and sees but little. What profit is there in great cavillation about occult and obscure matters, about which we are not even arraigned in judgment, because we were ignorant?

Grandis insipientia quod neglectis utilibus, et necessariis, ultro intendimus curiosis, et damnosis. Oculos habentes, non videmus.

It is great insipience that, with the useful and the necessary neglected, we of our own accord apply ourselves to curiosities and to damaging things. Having eyes, we do not see.

2. Et quid nobis de generibus et speciebus, cui æternum Verbum loquitur a multis opinionibus expeditur. Ex uno Verbo omnia, et unum loquuntur omnia et hoc estPrincipium quod et loquitur nobis. Nemo sine illo intelligit, aut recte judicat. Cuit omnia unam sunt, et qui omnia ad unum trahit, et omnia in uno videt, potest stabilis esse, et in Deo pacificus permanere.

2. And what to us are genera and species? He to whom the Eternal Word speaks is freed from many opinions. From the one Word are all things, and all things speak one thing, and this is thePrinciple which also speaks to us. No one without it understands, or judges rightly. To whom all things are one, and who draws all things to one, and sees all things in one, can be stable, and remain peaceful in God.

O veritas Deus, fac me unum tecum in charitate perpetua. Tædet mihi sæpe multa legere, t audire: in te toum est, quod volo et desidero. Taceant omnes doctores, sileant universæ creaturæ in conspectu tuo, tu mihi loquere solus.

O Truth, God, make me one with you in perpetual charity. It wearies me often to read many things, and to hear: in you is the whole of what I will and desire. Let all doctors be silent, let all creatures be silent in your sight, you, speak to me alone.

3. Quanto magis aliquis unitus, et interius implicatus fuerit, tanto plura et altiora sine labore intelligit quia desuper lumen intelligentiæ accipit. Purus simplex et stabilis in multis operibus non dissipatur, quia omnia ad Dei honorem operatur, et in se otiose ab omni propria exquisitione esse nititur. Quis te magis impedit, et molestat quam tua immortificata cordis affectio?

3. The more someone is united and interiorly implicated, by so much the more numerous and loftier things he understands without labor, because from above he receives the light of intelligence. The pure, simple, and stable person is not dissipated in many works, because he operates all things for the honor of God, and strives to be at leisure in himself, away from all self-seeking. Who hinders and vexes you more than your unmortified affection of heart?

Bonus et devotus homo, opera sua intus prius disponit, quæ foris agere debet, nec illa trahunt ad desideria vitiosæ inclinationis, sed ipse inflectat ea ad arbitrium rectæ intentionis rationis. Quis habet fortius certamen, quam qui nititur vincere se ipsum? Et hoc deberet esse negotium nostrum, vincere scilicet se ipsum, et quotidie se fortiorem ipso fieri, atque in melius proficere.

The good and devout man first arranges inwardly the works that he ought to do outwardly, and they are not dragged toward the desires of a vicious inclination, but he himself bends them to the arbitrament of reason’s right intention. Who has a stronger contest than he who strives to conquer himself? And this ought to be our business: namely, to conquer oneself, and each day to become stronger than oneself, and to make progress for the better.

4. Omnis perfectio in hac vita quamdam imperfectionem sibi habet annexam. Et omnis speculatio nostra quadam caligine non caret. Humilis tui cognitio certior via est ad Deum, quam profundæ scientiæ inquisitio.

4. Every perfection in this life has to itself a certain imperfection annexed. And all our speculation does not lack a certain obscurity. Humble knowledge of yourself is a surer way to God than the inquiry of profound science.

Non est culpanda scientia, aut quælibet rei notitia quæ bona est, in se confiderata, eet a Deo ordinata, sed præferenda est, semper bona conscientia, et vita, quia student magis plures scire quam bene vivere, ideo sæpe errant, et nullum vel modicum fructum ferunt.

Science is not to be blamed, nor whatever knowledge of a thing which is good, considered in itself and ordered by God; but a good conscience, and life, are always to be preferred, because more people strive to know than to live well; therefore they often err, and bear no fruit or only a little.

5. O, si tantam adhiberent diligentiam ad extirpanda vitia, et virtutes inferendas, sicuti movendi quæstiones, non fierent tanta mala et scandala in populo nec tanta dissolutio in cænobiis. Certe adveniente e judicii, non quæretur a nobis quid legimus, sed quid fecimus; nec quam bene diximus, sed quam religiose visimus. Dic mihi, ubi sunt modo illi omnes Domini, et Magistri quos bene nosti dum adhuc bene viverent, et in studiis florerent?

5. O, if they would apply such diligence to extirpating vices, and to instilling virtues, just as to stirring up questions, there would not be such great evils and scandals among the people nor such great dissolution in the coenobia. Surely, with the day of judgment arriving, it will not be inquired of us what we have read, but what we have done; nor how well we have spoken, but how religiously we have lived. Tell me, where now are all those Lords, and Masters whom you knew well while they still lived well, and flourished in studies?

Jam eorum præbendas alii possident, et nescio utrum de eis recogitent. In vita sua aliquid videbantur et modo de illis tacetur.

Already others possess their prebends, and I do not know whether they recollect them. In their life they seemed to be something, and now about them there is silence.

6. O quam cito transit gloria mundi. Utinam vita eorum scientiæ concordasset eorum, tunc bene legissent et studuissent. Quam multi pereunt per vanam scientiam in hoc sæculo, qui parum curant de Dei fervitio.

6. O how quickly the glory of the world passes. Would that their life had concorded with their knowledge; then they would have read and studied well. How many perish through vain science/knowledge in this age, who care little about the service of God.

Et quia magis diligunt magni esse quam humiles, ideo evanuerunt in cognitationibus suis. Vere magnus est qui in si parvus est et pro nihilo omne culmen honoris ducit. Vere prudens est qui omnia terrena arbitratur uti stercora ut Christum lucrifaciat. Et vere bene doctus est qui Dei voluntatem facit et suam voluntatem relinquit.

And because they love more to be great than humble, therefore they became vain in their cogitations. Truly great is he who is small in himself and counts every summit of honor as nothing. Truly prudent is he who esteems all earthly things as dung, that he may gain Christ. And truly well learned is he who does the will of God and relinquishes his own will.

Cap. 4. De prudentia in agendis.

Chapter 4. On prudence in things to be done.

1. Non est credendum omni verbo nec instinctui sed caute et longanimiter, res est fecundum Deum ponderanda. Proh dolor sæpe malum facilius quam bonum de alio creditur et dicitur ita infirmi sumus. Sed perfecti viri non facile credunt omni enarrant, quia sciunt humanam fragilitatem imo infirmitatem ad malum proclivem et in verbis fatis labilem.

1. One must not give credence to every word nor to instinct, but cautiously and with longanimity; matters are to be pondered according to God. Alas, often evil is more readily than good believed and spoken about another—thus infirm we are. But perfect men do not easily credit every report, because they know human fragility—nay rather infirmity—prone to evil and, in words, very labile.

2. Magna sapientia est non esse præcipitem in agendis, nec pertinaciter in sensibus stare. Ad hanc etiam non pertinet quibuslibet hominum verbis credere nec audita vel credita mox ad aliorum aures effundere.

2. Great wisdom is not to be precipitate in doings, nor to stand pertinaciously in one’s senses; to this also it does not pertain to credit the words of just any men, nor to pour forth to the ears of others things heard or believed straightway.

3. Cum sapiente et sententioso viro consilium habe, et quære potius a melioribus instrui, quam tuas adinventiones sequi. Bona vita facit hominem sapientem secundum Deum, et expertum in multis. Quanto quis in se humilior fuerit, et Deo subjectior, tanto in omnibus erit sapientior et pacatior.

3. Have counsel with a wise and sententiously-judicious man, and seek rather to be instructed by the better, than to follow your own inventions. A good life makes a man wise according to God, and expert in many things. The more anyone is humble in himself and more subject to God, by so much he will be wiser and more peaceable in all things.

Cap. 5. De lectione scripturarum.

Chapter 5. On the reading of the Scriptures.

1. Veritas est in Scripturis sanctis quærenda, non eloquenda. Omnis Scriptura sacra eo spiritu debet legi, quo facta est. Quærere debemus potius utilitatem in Scripturis, quam subtilitatem sermonis.

1. Truth is to be sought in the holy Scriptures, not eloquently spoken. Every sacred Scripture ought to be read in that spirit in which it was made. We ought to seek rather utility in the Scriptures than subtlety of speech.

Ita libenter devotos et simplices libros legere debemus, sicut altos et profundos. Non te defendat auctoritas Scribentis utrum parvæ vel magnæ litteraturæ fuerit, sed amor puræ veritatis te trahat ad legendum. Non quæras quis hoc dixerit, sed quid dicatur attende.

Thus we ought gladly to read devout and simple books, just as also lofty and profound ones. Let not the authority of the Writer be your defense, whether he was of small or great learning, but let the love of pure truth draw you to reading. Do not seek who said this, but attend to what is said.

2. Homines transeunt, sedveritas Domini manet in æternum. Sine personarum acceptione variis modis nobis loquitur Deus. Curiositas nostra sæpe nos impedit in lectione Scripturarum, cum volumus intelligere et discutere ubi simpliciter est transeundum. Si vis profectum haurire lege humiliter, simpliciter, et fideliter nec unquam velis habere nomen scientiæ. Interroga libenter, et audi tacens Sanctorum verba, nec displiceant tibi parabolæ Seniorum sine cause enim non proferuntur.

2. Men pass away, butthe truth of the Lord remains unto eternity. Without respect of persons God speaks to us in various modes. Our curiosity often hinders us in the reading of the Scriptures, when we wish to understand and to dissect where one should simply pass over. If you wish to draw in progress, read humbly, simply, and faithfully, and never desire to have the name of science. Ask gladly, and listen in silence to the words of the Saints, nor let the parables of the Elders displease you; for they are not brought forth without cause.

Cap. 6. De inordinatis affectibus.

Chapter 6. On inordinate affections.

1. Quandocumque homo inordinate aliquid appetit statim in se inquietus sit. Superbus et avarus nunquam quiescunt. Pauper et humilis spiritu in multitudine pacis conversatur.

1. Whenever a man inordinately desires something, he is at once unquiet within himself. The proud and the avaricious never rest. The poor and humble in spirit dwell in the multitude of peace.

Homo qui necdum in se perfecte mortuus est, cito tentatur et vincitur in parvis et vilibus rebus. Infirmus in spiritu, et quodammodo adhuc carnalis ad sensibilia inclinatus, difficulter potest se a terrenis desideriis ex toto extrahere. Et ideo sæpe habet tristitiam cum se subtrahit.

The man who is not yet perfectly dead in himself is quickly tempted and conquered in small and vile things. Weak in spirit, and in a certain manner still carnal, inclined toward sensible things, he can with difficulty wholly draw himself away from earthly desires. And therefore he often has sadness when he withdraws himself.

Leviter etiam dedignatur, si quis ei resistit.

He readily also disdains it, if anyone resists him.

2. Si autem profecutus fuerit quod concupiscitur, statim ex reatu conscientiæ gravatur, quia secutus est passionem suam, quæ nihil juvat ad pacem, quam quæsivit. Resistendo igitur passionibus invenitur vera pax cordis non autem serviendo eis. Non est ergo pax in corde hominis carnalis, non in homine in exterioribus dedito, sed in fervido spirituali.

2. If, however, he has obtained that which is concupisced, straightway he is weighed down by the guilt of conscience, because he has followed his passion, which helps nothing toward the peace that he sought. By resisting, therefore, the passions the true peace of the heart is found, not by serving them. There is, therefore, no peace in the heart of the carnal man, nor in the man devoted to exterior things, but in the fervid spiritual.

Cap. 7. De vana spe et elatione fugienda.

Chapter 7. On vain hope and elation to be shunned.

1. Vanus est qui spem suam ponit in hominibus aut in creaturis. Non pudeat te aliis servire amore Domini nostri Jesu Christi, et pauperem in hoc sæculo videri. Non stes super teipsum, sed in Deo spem tuam constitue.

1. Vain is he who places his hope in men or in creatures. Let it not shame you to serve others for the love of our Lord Jesus Christ, and to seem poor in this age. Do not rely upon yourself, but establish your hope in God.

Fac quod in te est, et Deus aderit bonæ voluntati tuæ. Non confidas in tua scientia, vel cujuscumque astutia viventi, sed magis in Dei gratia, qui humiles adjuvat, et de se præsumentes humiliat.

Do what is within you, and God will be present to your good will. Do not trust in your own knowledge, or in the astuteness of anyone living, but rather in the grace of God, who aids the humble, and humbles those who presume upon themselves.

2. Non glorieris in divitiis si adsint, nec in amicis quia potentes sunt, sed in Deo qui omnia præstat, et se ipsum super omnia dare desiderat. Non te extollas de magnitudine vel pulchritudine corporis, quæ modica etiam infirmitate corrumpitur et foedatur. Non placeas tibi ipsi, de humilitate aut ingenio ne displiceas Deo, cujus est totum quidquid boni naturaliter habemus.

2. Do not glory in riches if they are present, nor in friends because they are powerful, but in God who bestows all things, and desires to give himself above all things. Do not exalt yourself on account of the magnitude or beauty of the body, which even by a slight infirmity is corrupted and defiled. Do not be pleased with yourself, on account of humility or ingenuity, lest you displease God, to whom belongs the whole of whatever good we naturally have.

3. Non te reputes aliis meliorem, ne forte coram Deo deterior habearis qui scit quid est in homine. Non superbias de operibus bonis, quia aliter sunt judicia Dei quam hominum, cui sæpe displicet, quod hominibus placet. Si aliquid boni habueris, crede de aliis meliora, ut humilitatem conserves.

3. Do not reckon yourself better than others, lest perhaps before God you be held worse, who knows what is in man. Do not grow proud because of good works, for the judgments of God are otherwise than those of men—what pleases men often displeases Him. If you have anything good, believe better things of others, so that you may conserve humility.

Non nocet ut te hominibus supponas, nocet autem plurimum, si vel uni te præponas. Jugis pax cum humili, in corde autem superbi zelus et indignatio frequens.

It does not harm that you subordinate yourself to men; but it harms very much if you prefer yourself to even one. Continual peace is with the humble, but in the heart of the proud there is zeal and frequent indignation.

Cap. 8. De cavenda nimia familiaritate.

Chapter 8. On avoiding excessive familiarity.

1. Nonomni homini reveles cor tuum, sed cum sapiente, et timente Deum age causam tuam? Cum juvenibus et extraneis rarus esto, cum divitibus noli blandiri, et coram magnatis non libenter appareas. Cum humilibus et simplicibus, cum devotis et morigeratis sociare, et quæ ædificationis sunt pertracta.

1. Do notreveal your heart to every man, but with the wise and the God-fearing plead your cause? With youths and strangers be seldom, with the rich do not flatter, and before magnates do not willingly appear. With the humble and the simple, with the devout and the obedient, associate; and thoroughly discuss the things that are for edification.

Non sis familiaris alicui mulieri, sed in communi omnes bonas mulieres Deo commenda. Soli Deo et Angelis ejus opta familiaris esse, et hominum notitiam devita.

Do not be familiar with any woman, but in common commend all good women to God. Desire to be familiar only with God and His Angels, and avoid the notice of men.

2. Charitas est habenda ad omnes, sed familiaritas non expedit. Quandoque accidit ut persona ignota ex bona fama lucescit, tum præsentia oculos intuentium offuscat. Putamus aliis placere ex convictione nostra, et incipimus magis displicere morum improbitate in nobis considerata.

2. Charity is to be had toward all, but familiarity is not expedient. Sometimes it happens that an unknown person shines forth from good fame, yet his presence clouds the eyes of the onlookers. We think we please others out of our own conviction, and we begin to displease the more, when the depravity of morals, considered in us, is observed.

Cap. 9. De obedientia et subjectione.

Chapter 9. On obedience and subjection.

1. Valde magnum est in obedientia stare, sub Prælato se vivere, et sui juris non esse. Multo tutius est stare in subjectione, quam in prælatura. Multi sunt sub obedientia magis ex necessitate, quam ex charitate, et illi poenam habent, et leviter murmurant, nec libertatem mentis acquirent, nisi ex toto corde propter Deum se subjiciant.

1. It is very great to stand in obedience, to live under a Prelate, and not to be of one’s own right. Much safer is it to stand in subjection than in prelature. Many are under obedience more from necessity than from charity, and they have punishment and lightly murmur, nor will they acquire liberty of mind unless they subject themselves from their whole heart for God.

Curre hic vel ibi non invenies requiem, nisi in humili subjectione sub Prælati regimine. Imaginatio locorum, et mutatio multos fefellit.

Run here or there, you will not find rest, unless in humble subjection under the Prelate’s governance. The imagination of places, and change, has deceived many.

2. Verum est quod unusquisque libenter agit pro sensu suo et inclinatur ad eos magis qui secum sentiunt. Sed si Christus est inter nos, tunc necesse est, ut relinquamus etiam nostrum sentire propter bonum pacis. Quis est ita sapiens, qui omnia plene scire possit?

2. It is true that each person gladly acts according to his own sense, and is inclined more to those who are of the same sense with him. But if Christ is among us, then it is necessary that we relinquish even our own sense for the good of peace. Who is so wise as to be able to know all things fully?

Ergo noli nimis in sensu tuo confidere, sed velis etiam aliorum sensum audire. Si bonum est tuum sentire, et hoc ipsum propter Deum dimittis, et alium sequeris, magis inde proficies.

Therefore do not confide too much in your own sense, but be willing also to hear the sense of others. If your own sense is good, and you for God’s sake dismiss this very thing and follow another, you will profit the more from it.

3. Audivi enim sæpe, securius esse audire, et accipere consilium quam dare. Potest enim contingere ut bonum fit uniuscujusque sentire, sed nolle aliis acquiescere, cum id ratio aut causa postulat, signum est superbiæ aut pertinaciæ.

3. For I have often heard that it is safer to listen and to receive counsel than to give it. For it can happen that it is good for each one to have his own sense; but to be unwilling to acquiesce to others, when reason or cause demands it, is a sign of pride or pertinacity.

Cap. 10. De superfluitate verborum.

CHAPTER 10. On the superfluity of words.

1. Caveas tumultum hominum, quantum potes. Multum nam impedit tractatus fæcularium gestorum, etiamsi simplici intentione proferantur. Cito enim inquinamur vanitate et captivamur.

1. Beware the tumult of men, as much as you can. For the handling of secular doings impedes much, even if they are put forward with a simple intention. For we are quickly polluted by vanity and taken captive.

Vellem me pluries tacuisse, et inter homines non fuisse. Sed quare tam frequenter loquimur, et invicem fabulamur, cum tamen sine læsione conscientiæ raro ad silentium redimus? Ideo tam frequenter loquimur, quia per multas locutiones ad invicem consolari quærimus, et cor diversis cogitationibus fatigatum optamus relevare, et multum libenter, de his quæ diligimus, seu cupimus, vel quæ nobis sentimus contraria, libet loqui et cogitare.

I would that I had more often kept silent, and had not been among men. But why do we so frequently speak and converse with one another, when yet we rarely return to silence without harm to conscience? Therefore we speak so frequently, because through many locutions we seek to console one another, and we desire to relieve the heart fatigued by diverse cogitations; and very willingly, about the things that we love, or desire, or which we feel to be contrary to us, we take pleasure to speak and to cogitate.

2. Sed proh dolor sæpe inaniter, et frustra. Nam hæc exterior consolatio interioris et divinæ consolationis non modicum detrimentum est. Ideo vigilandum est et orandum ne tempus otiose transeat.

2. But alas, often vainly and in vain. For this exterior consolation is no small detriment to interior and divine consolation. Therefore one must keep watch and pray that time not pass idly.

Si loqui licet et expedit, quæ ædificabilia sunt loquere. Malus usus et negligentia profectus nostri multum facit ad incustodiam oris nostri. Juvat tamen non parum ad profectum spiritualem devota spiritualium rerum collatio, maxime ubi pares animo et spiritu in Deo sibi sociantur.

If it is permitted and it is expedient to speak, speak the things that are edifying. Bad custom and negligence of our progress contribute much to the lack of custody over our mouth. Nevertheless, a devout collation of spiritual matters helps not a little toward spiritual progress, especially where equals in mind and spirit are associated together in God.

Cap. 11. De pace quærenda, et zelo proficiendi.

Chapter 11. On peace to be sought, and the zeal of making progress.

1. Multam possumus pacem habere, si volumus nos cum aliorum dictis et factis quæ ad nostram curam non spectant non occupare. Quomodo potest ille in pace die permanere, qui alienis curis se intermiscet, qui occasiones forinsecus quærit, qui parum vel raro se intrinsecur colligit? Beati simplices, quoniam multam pacem habebunt.

1. We can have much peace, if we are willing not to occupy ourselves with the sayings and doings of others which do not pertain to our concern. How can he remain in peace through the day, who intermixes himself with others’ cares, who seeks occasions outside, who gathers himself inwardly little or rarely? Blessed are the simple, for they will have much peace.

2. Quare quidam Sanctorum tam perfecti et contemplativi fuerunt? quia mortificari omnino ab omnibus terrenis desideriis studuerunt, et ideo totis medullis cordis Deo inhærere, atque sibi libere vacare potuerunt. Nos nimium propriis occupamur passionibus, et de transitoriis nimis sollicitamur.

2. Why were certain of the Saints so perfect and contemplative? because they strove utterly to be mortified from all earthly desires, and therefore were able to adhere to God with all the marrow of the heart, and to be freely at leisure for themselves. We are too much occupied with our own passions, and are too solicitous about transitory things.

Raro nam vitium unum perfecte vincimus, et ad quotidianum profectum non attendimus, ideo frigidi et tepidi remanemus.

For rarely do we conquer even a single vice perfectly, and we do not attend to daily progress; therefore we remain cold and tepid.

3. Si essemus nobismetipsis perfecte intenti, et exterius minime implicati, tunc possemus etiam divina sapere, et de cælesti contemplatione aliquid experiri. Totum et maximum impedimentum est, quia non sumus a passionibus, et concupiscentiis liberi, nec perfectam viam Sanctorum conamur ingredi. Quando etiam modicum adversitatis occurit, nimis cito dijicimur, et ad humanas consolationes convertimur.

3. If we were perfectly intent upon ourselves, and in no way entangled outwardly, then we could also savor things divine and experience something of heavenly contemplation. The whole and greatest impediment is that we are not free from passions and concupiscences, nor do we strive to enter upon the perfect way of the Saints. Whenever even a little of adversity occurs, we are too quickly cast down, and we turn to human consolations.

4. Si niteremur sicut viri fortes stare in proelio, profecto auxilium Dominii super nos videremus de cælo. Ipse nam certantes, et de sua gratia sperantes paratus est adjuvare, qui nobis certandi occasiones procurat, ut vincamus. Si tantum in istis exterioribus observantiis profectum religionis ponimus, cito finem habebit devotio nostra. Sed ad radicem securim ponamus, ut purgati a passionibus pacificam mentem possideamus.

4. If we strove, like strong men, to stand in battle, surely we would see the help of the Lord over us from heaven. For he himself, those contending and hoping in his grace, is prepared to aid, who procures for us occasions for contending, that we may conquer. If we place the progress of religion only in these exterior observances, our devotion will quickly have an end. But let us lay the axe to the root, that, purged from passions, we may possess a pacific mind.

5. Si omni anno unum vitium extirparemus, cito viri perfecti efficeremur. Sed modo contrario sæpe sentimus ut meliores, et puriores in initio conversionis nos fuisse inveniamus quam post multos annos prosessionis. Fervor et profectus noster quotidie deberet crescere, sed nunc pro magno videtur si quis primi fervoris partem possit retinere.

5. If in every year we extirpated one vice, we would quickly be made perfect men. But contrariwise we often perceive that we were found to have been better and purer at the beginning of our conversion than after many years of profession. Our fervor and progress ought to grow daily; but now it seems a great thing if anyone can retain a part of the first fervor.

Si modicam violentiam faceremus in principio, tunc omnia possemus facere cum levitate et gaudio.

If we were to do a little violence to ourselves at the beginning, then we could do all things with lightness and joy.

6. Grave est assueta dimittere, et gravius est contra propriam voluntatem ire. Sed si non vincis parva et levia, quando superabis difficiliora? Resiste in principio inclinatini tuæ, et malum defere consuetudinem, ne forte paulatim ad majorem te ducat difficultatem.

6. It is grave to dismiss things accustomed, and graver to go against your own will. But if you do not conquer small and light things, when will you overcome the more difficult? Resist your inclination at the beginning, and put off the evil habit, lest perhaps little by little it lead you to greater difficulty.

O si adverteres quantum tibi pacem et aliis lætitiam faceres, temetipsum bene habendo, puto quod sollicitior esses ad spiritualem profectum.

O, if you would take note how much peace you would make for yourself and joy for others by keeping yourself well in hand, I think you would be more solicitous for spiritual progress.

Cap. 12. De utilitate adversitatis.

Chapter 12. On the Utility of Adversity.

1. Bonum nobis est, quod aliquando habeamus aliquas gravitates et contrarietates, quia sæpe hominem ad cor revocant, quatenus se in exilio esse cognoscat, nec spem suam in aliqua mundi re ponat. Bonum est quod patiamur quandoque contradictiones, et male et imperfecte de nobis sentiatur, etiamsi bene agimus, et intendimus. Ista sæpe juvant ad humilitatem, et a vana gloria nos defendunt.

1. It is good for us that we should sometimes have certain gravities and contrarieties, because they often call a man back to his heart, so that he may recognize that he is in exile, and may not place his hope in anything of the world. It is good that we sometimes suffer contradictions, and that it be thought ill and imperfectly of us, even if we act well and intend well. These things often aid toward humility, and defend us from vain-glory.

Tunc enim melius interiorem testem Deum quærimus, quando foris vilipendimur ab hominibus, et non bene de nobis creditur.

Then indeed we seek the interior witness, God, more rightly, when outwardly we are held in contempt by men, and good is not credited to us.

2. Ideo deberet se homo totaliter firmare, et non esset ei necesse multas consolationes quærere. Quando homo bonæ voluntatis tribulatur vel tentatur aut malis cogitationibus affligitur, tunc Deum magis sibi necessarium intelligit, sine quo nihil omnino se posse testatur. Gemit et orat pro miseriis quas patitur.

2. Therefore a man ought to make himself wholly firm, and it would not be necessary for him to seek many consolations. When a man of good will is tribulated or tempted, or is afflicted by evil cogitations, then he understands God to be more necessary to himself, without whom he attests that he can do absolutely nothing. He groans and prays for the miseries which he suffers.

Tunc tædet eum diutius vivere, mortem optat venire, ut possit dissolvi, et esse cum Christi. Tunc etiam bene advertit securitatem et plenam pacem in mundo non posse stare.

Then he is weary of living longer; he desires death to come, that he may be dissolved, and be with Christ. Then too he plainly observes that security and full peace cannot stand in the world.

Cap. 13. De resistendis tentationibus.

Chapter 13. On resisting temptations.

1. Quamdiu in mundo vivimus sine tribulatione et tentatione esse non possumus. Unde in Job scriptum est:Tentatio est vita hominis super terram. Ideo unusquisque sollicitus esse deberet circa tentationes suas, et vigilare in orationibus, ne Diabolus inveniret locum decipiendi, qui nunquam dormitat, sed circuit quærens quem devoret. Nemo tam sanctus et perfectus est, qui non habeat aliquando tentationes, et plene eis carere non possimus.

1. As long as we live in the world, we cannot be without tribulation and temptation. Whence in Job it is written:Temptation is the life of man upon the earth. Therefore each person ought to be solicitous about his temptations, and be vigilant in prayers, lest the Devil find a place for deceiving—who never slumbers, but goes around seeking whom he may devour. No one is so holy and perfect as not to have temptations at times, and we cannot fully be without them.

2. Sunt tamen tentationes hominibus valde utiles, licet molestæ sint et graves, quia in his homo humiliatur, purgatur et eruditur. Omnes Sancti per multas tribulationes et tentationes transierunt et profecerunt, et qui tentationes sustinere nequiverunt, reprobi facti sunt, et defecerunt. Non est aliquis ordo tam sanctus, et locus tam secretus, ubi non sint tentationes et adversitates.

2. Yet temptations are very useful to human beings, although they are troublesome and grievous, because in them a man is humbled, purged, and instructed. All the Saints passed through many tribulations and temptations and made progress, and those who were not able to endure temptations were made reprobate and failed. There is no order so holy, and no place so secret, where there are not temptations and adversities.

3. Non est homo securus a tentationibus totaliter, quam diu vixerit, quia in nobis est unde tentamur. Ex quo in concupiscentia nati sumus, una tribulatione vel tentatione recedene alia supervenit, et semper aliquid ad patiendum habemus. Nam bonum felicitatis perdidimus.

3. Man is not totally secure from temptations so long as he shall have lived, because within us is that whence we are tempted. Since we were born in concupiscence, when one tribulation or temptation recedes, another supervenes, and we always have something to suffer; for we have lost the good of felicity.

Multi quærunt tentationes fugere, et gravius incidunt in eas. Per solam fugam non possumus vincere, sed per patientiam et veram humilitatem, omnibus hositbus efficimur fortiores.

Many seek to flee temptations, and they fall more grievously into them. By flight alone we cannot conquer, but through patience and true humility we become stronger than all enemies.

4. Qui tantummodo exterius declinat, nec radicem evellit, parum proficiet, imo citius ad eum tentationes redient, et pejus sævient. Paulatim, et per patientiam cum longanimitate Deo juvante melius superabis, quam cum duritia et importunitate propria. Sæpe accipe consilium in tentatione, et cum tentato noli duriter agere, sed consolationes ingere, sicut tibi optares fieri.

4. He who only declines outwardly, and does not pluck up the root, will profit little; nay rather, temptations will return to him more quickly and rage worse. Little by little, and through patience with long-suffering, with God helping, you will overcome better than with your own hardness and importunity. Often receive counsel in temptation, and with one tempted do not deal harshly, but pour in consolations, as you would wish to be done to you.

5. Initium omnium malarum tentationum inconstantia animi est, et parva ad Deum confidentia, quia sicut navis sine gubernaculo hinc inde a fluctibus impellitur, ita homo remissus, et suum propositum deferens varie tentatur. Ignis probat ferrum, et tentatio hominem justum. Nescimus sæpe quid possumus, sed tentatio aperit quid sumus.

5. The beginning of all evil temptations is inconstancy of mind, and a small confidence toward God; for just as a ship without a rudder is driven here and there by the waves, so a remiss man, giving up his purpose, is tempted in various ways. Fire proves iron, and temptation the just man. We often do not know what we can do, but temptation opens what we are.

Vigilandum tum præcipue circa initium tentationis, quia tunc facilius hostis vincitur, si ostium mentis nullatenus intrare finitur, sed extra limen statim ut pulsaverit illi obviatur. Unde quidam dixit, Principiis obsta, sero medicina paratur. Nam primo occurrit menti simplex cogitatio, deinde fortis imaginatio, postea delectatio, et motus pravus, et assensio, sicque paulatim hostis malignus ex toto ingreditur, dum illi non resistitur in pricipio. Et quanto diutius ad resistendum quis torpuerit, tanto in se quotidie debilior fit, et hostis contra eum potentior.

One must keep vigil then especially around the beginning of a temptation, because then the enemy is more easily conquered, if he is in no way allowed to enter the door of the mind, but is met outside the threshold as soon as he has knocked. Whence someone said, Resist beginnings; the remedy is prepared too late. For first there occurs to the mind a simple cogitation, then a strong imagination, afterward delectation, and a depraved impulse, and assent; and so little by little the malignant enemy enters in altogether, while he is not resisted in the beginning. And the longer anyone has been torpid in resisting, by so much the weaker he becomes in himself day by day, and the enemy more powerful against him.

6. Quidam in principio conversionis suæ graviores tentationes patiuntur, quidam in fine, quidam quasi per totam vitam suam male habent. Nonnulli fatis leviter tentantur, secundum divinæ ordinationis sapientiam et æquitatem, quæ statum, et hominum merita pensat, et cuncta ad electorum suorum salutem præordinat.

6. Some at the beginning of their conversion suffer graver temptations, some at the end, some as it were are ill at ease through their whole life. Not a few are tempted quite lightly, according to the sapience and equity of the divine ordination, which weighs the state and the merits of men, and preordains all things to the salvation of its elect.

7. Ideo non debemus desperare, cum tentamur, sed eo ferventius Deum exorare, quatenus dignetur in omni tribulatione nostra nos adjuvare, qui utique, secundum dictum S. Pauli,etiam faciet cum tentatione proventum, ut possimus sustinere. Humiliemus ergo animas nostras sub manu Dei in omni tentatione et tribulatione, quia humiles spiritu salvabit, et exultabit.

7. Therefore we ought not to despair when we are tempted, but all the more fervently to beseech God, inasmuch as he deigns to aid us in all our tribulation—who indeed, according to the saying of St. Paul,will also make, with the temptation, a way out, that we may be able to endure. Let us therefore humble our souls beneath the hand of God in every temptation and tribulation, because he will save the humble in spirit, and will exult.

8. In tentationibus et tribulationibus probatur homo quantum profecit, et ibi majus meritum existit, et virtus melius patescit. Nec magnum est, si homo devotus fit, et fervidus, cum gravitatem non sentit, sed si tempore adversitatis patienter se sustinet, spes magni profectus erit. Quidam a magnis tentationibus custodiuntur, et in quotidianis tam sæpe vincuntur, ut humiliati, nunquam de se ipsis in magnis confidant, qui in tam modicis infirmantur.

8. In temptations and tribulations a man is proved as to how much he has progressed, and there the greater merit exists, and virtue is made more manifest. Nor is it a great thing if a man becomes devout and fervid when he does not feel the gravity; but if in a time of adversity he patiently sustains himself, it will be a hope of great progress. Certain persons are kept from great temptations, and in the daily ones are so often conquered, that, humbled, they never trust in themselves in great matters, they who are made weak in such very small ones.

Cap. 14. De temerario judicio vitando.

Chapter 14. On avoiding rash judgment.

1. Ad te ipsum oculos reflecte et aliorum facta caveas judicare. In judicando alios homo frustra laborat, sæpius errat, et leviter peccat. Se ipsum vero judicando et discutiendo semper fructuose laborat.

1. Reflect your eyes back upon yourself, and beware of judging the deeds of others. In judging others a man labors in vain, errs more often, and sins lightly. But by judging and examining himself he always labors fruitfully.

Sicut nobis res cordi est, sic de ea frequenter judicamus. Nam verum judicium propter privatum amorem faciliter perdimus. Si Deus semper esset pura intentio desiderii nostri, non tam faciliter turbaremur pro resistentia sensus nostri.

As a matter is at heart to us, so we frequently judge about it. For on account of private love we easily lose true judgment. If God were always the pure intention of our desire, we would not be so easily disturbed by reason of the resistance of our sense.

2. Sed semper aliquid ab intra latet, vel etaim ab extra concurrit, quod nos etiam pariter trahit. Multi occulte se ipsos quærunt in rebus, quas agunt, et nesciunt. Videntur etiam in bona pace stare, quum res pro eorum velle fiunt.

2. But always something lies hidden from within, or even from without concurs, which likewise draws us. Many secretly seek themselves in the things they do, and do not know it. They also seem to stand in good peace, when things are done according to their will.

Propter diversitatem sensuum, et opinionum satis frequenter oriuntur diffensiones inter amicos et cives, inter religiosos et devotos.

On account of the diversity of senses and of opinions, dissensions arise quite frequently between friends and citizens, between the religious and the devout.

3. Antiqua consuetudo difficulter relinquitur et ultra proprium videre nemo libenter ducitur. Si rationi tuæ magis inniteris vel industriæ, quam virtuti subjectivæ Jesu Christi, raro et trade eris homo illuminatus, quia Deus vult nos sibi perfecte subjicii, et omnem rationem per inflammatum amorem transcendere.

3. Ancient custom is relinquished with difficulty, and no one is willingly led to see beyond his own. If you lean more upon your reason or your industry than upon the virtue of being subject to Jesus Christ, you will rarely—and slowly—be a man illumined, because God wills us to be perfectly subjected to Himself, and to transcend all reason through inflamed love.

Cap. 15. De operibus ex charitate factis.

CHAPTER 15. On works done from charity.

1. Pro nulla re mundi, et pro nullius hominis dilectione aliquod malum est faciendum. Sed pro utilitate indigentis bonum opus aliquando intermittendum aut quandoque pro meliori mutandum. Hoc nam facto opus bonum non destruitur, sed in melius commutatur.

1. For no thing of the world, and for the love of no man, should any evil be done. But for the utility of the indigent, a good work is sometimes to be intermitted, or sometimes to be changed for a better. For by this act the good work is not destroyed, but is commuted for the better.

Sine charitate opus externum non prodest quemquam. Quicquid autem ex charitate agitur quantumcumque etiam parvum sit, et despectum totum efficitur fructuosum. Magis si quidem Deus pensat ex quanto quis agit, quam quantum quis facit.

Without charity, an external work profits no one. But whatever is done from charity, however small it may be, and despised, is made wholly fruitful. For indeed God weighs by how much one acts, rather than how much one does.

2. Multum quis facit, qui multum diligit. Multum facit qui rem bene facit. Bene facit, qui magis communitati, quam suæ voluntati fervit.

2. He does much who loves much. He does much who does the matter well. He does well who serves the community more than his own volition.

Sæpe videtur esse charitas, et est magis carnalitas, quia carnalis inclinatio, propria voluntas, spes retributionis, affectus voluntatis raro abesse volunt.

Often it seems to be charity, and is rather carnality, because carnal inclination, self-will, hope of retribution, the affection of the will, are rarely willing to be absent.

3. Qui veram et perfectam charitatem habet, in nulla re se ipsum quærit, sed Dei solummodo gloriam in omnibus fieri desiderat. Nulli etiam invidet, quia nullum privatum gaudium amat, nec in se ipso vult gaudere, sed in Deo super omnia optat bona beatificari. Nemini aliquid boni attribuit, sed totaliter ad Deum refert tota, unde omnia procedunt.

3. He who has true and perfect charity in no matter seeks himself, but desires that the glory of God alone be done in all things. He envies no one either, because he loves no private joy, nor does he wish to rejoice in himself, but in God, above all goods, he longs to be beatified. To no one does he attribute anything good, but wholly refers all to God, whence all things proceed.

In quo finaliter omnes Sancti fruibiliter quiescunt. O qui scintillam haberet veræ charitatis, perfecte omnia terrena sentiret plena vanitatis.

In whom finally all the Saints rest in fruition. O if one had a spark of true charity, one would perfectly perceive all earthly things to be full of vanity.

Cap. 16. De sufferentia defectuum aliorum.

Chapter 16. On the sufferance of the defects of others.

1. Quæ rarissime homo in se vel in aliis emendare non valet, debet patienter sustinere, donec Deus aliter ordinet. Cogita quod sic forte melius est pro tua probatione et patientia, sine qua non sunt multum ponderanda merita nostra. Debes tamen pro talibus impedimentis supplicare, ut tibi dignetur Deus subvenire, ut possis benigne portare.

1. What a man very rarely is able to amend in himself or in others, he ought to sustain patiently, until God ordains otherwise. Consider that thus perhaps it is better for your probation and patience, without which our merits are not much to be weighed. You ought nevertheless to supplicate on account of such impediments, that God may deign to succor you, so that you may be able to bear them kindly.

2. Si quis semel vel bis admonitus non acquiescit, noli cum eo contendere, sed totum Deo committe, ut fiat voluntas sua, et honor in omnibus servis suis, qui scit bene, malum in bonum convertere. Stude patiens esse in tolerando aliorum defectus, et qualescumque infirmitates, quia et tu multa habes, quæ ab aliis oportet tolerari. Si non potes te talem facere qualem vis, quomodo poteris alium habere ad beneplacitum tuum?

2. If anyone, admonished once or twice, does not acquiesce, do not contend with him, but commit the whole to God, that His will may be done, and that honor be in all His servants, who knows well how to convert evil into good. Strive to be patient in tolerating the defects of others, and whatever infirmities, because you too have many which ought to be tolerated by others. If you cannot make yourself such as you wish, how will you be able to have another according to your good-pleasure?

Libenter videmus alios perfectos, sed tamen proprios non emendamus defectus.

We gladly see others perfect, yet nevertheless we do not amend our own defects.

3. Volumus quod alii districte corrigantur, et nos ipsi corrigi nolumus, aut negari quod petimus. Alios restringi per statuta volumus, et ipsi nullatenus patimur amplius cohiberi. Sic ergo patet, quam raro proximum, sicut nos ipsos pensamus.

3. We want others to be strictly corrected, and we ourselves are unwilling to be corrected, or that what we ask be denied. We want others to be restrained by statutes, and we by no means allow ourselves to be further held in check. Thus therefore it is evident how rarely we weigh our neighbor just as ourselves.

Si omnes essent perfecti quid tunc haberemus ab aliis pro Deo pati?

If all were perfect, what then would we have to endure from others for God?

4. Nunc autem Deus sic ordinavit, ut discamusalter alterius onera portare, quia nemo sine defectu, nemo sine onere, nemo sibi sufficiens, nemo sibi satis sapiens, sed oportet invicem portare, invicem consolari, pariter adjuvare, et ammonere. Quantas autem virtutes quisque fecerit, melius patet occasione adversitatis. Occasiones namque hominem fragilem non faciunt, sed qualis sit, ostendunt.

4. But now God has so ordained, that we may learnto bear one another’s burdens, because no one is without defect, no one without burden, no one self-sufficient, no one wise enough for himself; but we ought to bear mutually, to console mutually, together to aid, and to admonish. And how great virtues each one has done is better made clear on the occasion of adversity. For occasions do not make a man fragile, but show what sort he is.

Cap. 17. De monastica vita.

Chapter 17. On the monastic life.

1. Oportet ut discas te ipsum in multis frangere, si vis pacem et concordiam cum aliis tenere. Non est parvum in monasteriis, vel in congregatione habitare, et in illis sine querela conversari, et usque ad mortem fidelis perseverare. Beatus qui ibidem bene visit, et feliciter consummavit.

1. It is proper that you learn to break yourself in many things, if you wish to hold peace and concord with others. It is no small thing to dwell in monasteries, or in a congregation, and to converse therein without complaint, and to persevere faithful even unto death. Blessed is he who lived well there, and happily consummated it.

Si vis debite stare et proficere, teneas te tanquam exulem et peregrinum super terram. Oportet te stultum fieri propter Christum, si vis religiosam ducere vitam.

If you wish duly to stand and to make progress, hold yourself as an exile and a pilgrim upon the earth. It is needful for you to become a fool on account of Christ, if you wish to lead a religious life.

2. Habitus et tonsura modicum faciunt, sed mutatio morum et integra mortificatio passionem verum faciunt religiosum. Qui aliud quærit, quam pure Deum, et animæ suæ salutem, non inveniet nisi tribulationem et dolorem. Non potest etiam diu stare pacificus, qui non nititur esse minimus, et omnibus subjectus.

2. Habit and tonsure do little, but the mutation of morals and an integral mortification of passion make the truly religious man. He who seeks anything other than God purely and the salvation of his soul will find nothing but tribulation and sorrow. Nor can he remain peaceable for long who does not strive to be the least and subject to all.

Ad serviendum venisti, non ad regendum, ad paciendum et laborandum scias te vocatum, non ad otiandum, vel fabulandum. Hic ergo probantur homines sicut aurum in fornace. Hic nemo potest stare nisi ex toto corde si voluerit propter Deum humiliare.

You have come to serve, not to rule; know that you are called to suffer and to labor, not to idle or to tell tales. Here, therefore, human beings are proved like gold in a furnace. Here no one can stand, unless with his whole heart he will to humble himself for God.

Cap. 18. De exemplo Sanctorum Patrum.

CHAPTER 18. On the example of the Holy Fathers.

1. Intuere Sanctorum Patrum vivida exempla, in quibus vera perfectio fulsit, et videbis quam modicum sit, et vere nihil, quod nos agimus. Heu quid est vita nostra, si illis fuerit comparata. Sancti et amici Christi Domino servierunt in fame et siti, in frigore et nuditate, in labore et fatigatine, in vigiliis et jejuniis, in orationibus et sanctis meditationibus, in persecutionibus et opprobriis multis.

1. Look upon the vivid examples of the Holy Fathers, in whom true perfection shone forth, and you will see how little—and truly nothing—is what we do. Alas, what is our life, if it be compared with them? The saints and friends of Christ served the Lord in hunger and thirst, in cold and nakedness, in toil and fatigue, in vigils and fasts, in prayers and holy meditations, in persecutions and much opprobrium.

2. O quam multas, et graves tribulationes passi sunt Apostoli, Martyres et Confessores, Virginies et reliqui omnes, qui Christi vestigia voluerunt sequi. Nam animas suas in hoc mundo oderunt, ut in vitam æternam eas possiderent. O quam strictam et abdicatam vitam sancti Patres in eremo duxerunt, quam longas, et graves tentationes pertulerunt: quam frequenter ab inimico vexati sunt, quam graves, et fervidas orationes Deo obtulerunt, quam rigidas abstinentias peregerunt, quam magnum zelum, et fervorem ad spiritualem profectum habuerunt, quam forte bellum adversus edomationem vitiorum gesserunt, quam puram, et rectam intentionem ad Deum tenuerunt, per diem laborabant, et noctibus orationi diutinæ vacabant: quamquam laborando ab oratione mentali minime cessarent.

2. O how many and grievous tribulations the Apostles, Martyrs and Confessors, Virgins and all the rest who wished to follow the footsteps of Christ have suffered. For they hated their lives in this world, that they might possess them in eternal life. O how strict and renounced a life the holy Fathers led in the desert, how long and heavy temptations they endured: how frequently they were vexed by the enemy, how grievous and fervid prayers they offered to God, how rigid abstinences they accomplished, how great zeal and fervor for spiritual progress they had, how stout a war, for the subduing of vices, they waged, how pure and straight an intention toward God they held; by day they labored, and by nights they devoted themselves to prolonged prayer: although, while working, they in no way ceased from mental prayer.

3. Omne tempus utiliter expendebant, omnis hora ad vacandum Deo brevis videbatur. Et præ magna dulcedine contemplationis, etiam oblivioni tradebatur necessitas corporalis refectionis. Omnibus divitiis, dignitatibus, honoribus, amicis et cognatis renuntiabant.

3. They expended all time usefully; every hour for being free for God seemed short. And, because of the great sweetness of contemplation, even the necessity of bodily refection was consigned to oblivion. They renounced all riches, dignities, honors, friends, and kinsfolk.

Nihil de mundo habere cupiebant: vix necessaria vitæ sumebant, corpori servire etiam in necessitate dolebant. Pauperes igitur erant rebus terrenis, sed divites valde in gratia, et virtutibus. Foris egebant, sed intus gratia, et consolatione divina reficiebantur.

They desired to have nothing of the world: they scarcely took the necessaries of life, and they were pained to serve the body even in necessity. Therefore they were poor in earthly things, but very rich in grace and virtues. Outwardly they lacked, but within they were refreshed by grace and divine consolation.

4. Mundo erant alieni, sed Deo proximi, ac familiares amici. Sibi ipsis videbantur tanquam nihili, et huic mundo dispecti, sed erant in oculis Dei prætiosi, et delecti. In vera humilitate stabant, in simplici obedientia vivebant, in charitate et patientia ambulabant, et ideo quotidie proficiebant, et magnam apud Deum obtinebant gratiam.

4. They were alien to the world, but near to God, and intimate friends. To themselves they seemed as if nothing, and despised by this world, but in the eyes of God they were precious and elect. They stood in true humility, lived in simple obedience, walked in charity and patience, and therefore advanced daily, and obtained great grace with God.

Dati sunt in exemplum omnibus Religiosis et plus provocare nos debent ad bene proficiendum, quam tepidorum numerus ad relaxandum.

They were given as an example to all Religious, and ought to provoke us more to make good progress than the number of the tepid to relax.

5. O, quantus fervor omnium Religiosorum in principio suæ sanctæ institutionis fuit; o, quanta devotio orationis, quanta æmulatio virtutis, quam magna disciplina viguit, quanta reverentia et obedientia sub regula in omnibus floruit. Testantur adhuc vestigia derelicta, quod vere viri sancti et perfecti fuerunt, qui tam strenue militantes, mundum suppeditaverunt. Jam magnus utique putatur, si quis transgressor non fuerit, si quis quod accepit cum patientia tolerare potuerit.

5. O, how great was the fervor of all the Religious at the beginning of their holy institution; O, how great the devotion of prayer, how great the emulation of virtue, how great the discipline that thrived, how great the reverence and obedience that in all things blossomed under the Rule. The traces left behind still bear witness that they were truly holy and perfect men, who, soldiering so strenuously, subdued the world. Now one is assuredly reckoned great, if he has not been a transgressor, if he has been able to tolerate with patience what he has accepted.

6. O, tepor et negligentia status nostri, quod tam cito declinamus a pristino fervore et jam tædet vivere præ lassitudine et tepore. Utinam in te penitus non dormiret profectus virtutum, qui multa sæpius exempla vidisti devotorum.

6. O, the tepidity and negligence of our state, that we so quickly decline from pristine fervor, and already it is wearisome to live because of lassitude and tepidity. Would that the progress of virtues might not sleep utterly in you, you who have so often seen many examples of the devout.

Cap. 19. De exercitiis boni Religiosi.

CHAPTER 19. On the exercises of a good Religious.

1. Vita boni Religiosi omnibus virtutibus pollere debet, ut sit talis interius qualis ab hominibus videtur exterius. Et multo plus debet esse intus, quam quod cernitur foris, quia inspector noster est Deus quem summopere revereri debemus ubicumque fuerimus, et tamquam Angeli in conspectu ejus mundi incedere. Omni die renovare debemus propositum nostrum, et ad fervorem nos excitare, quasi hodie primum ad conversionem venissemus ac dicere: Adjuva me Deus in bono proposito et sancto fervitio tuo, et da mihi nunc hodie perfecte incipere, quia nihil est, quod hactenus feci.

1. The life of a good Religious ought to be endowed with all virtues, so that he may be such within as he is seen by men without. And much more ought there to be inside than what is perceived outside, because our Inspector is God, whom we ought to revere most exceedingly wherever we may be, and to walk pure, as Angels, in his sight. Every day we ought to renew our purpose, and rouse ourselves to fervor, as if today we had first come to conversion, and to say: Help me, O God, in the good purpose and in your holy service, and grant me now today to begin perfectly, because what I have done thus far is nothing.

2. Secundum propositum nostrum est cursus profectus nostri, et multa diligentia opus est bene proficere volenti. Quod si fortiter proponens sæpe deficit, quid faciet ille qui raro aut minus fixe aliquid proponit? Variis tamen modis contingit defertio propositi nostri.

2. According to our purpose is the course of our progress, and much diligence is needful for one willing to make good progress. But if one who proposes bravely often fails, what will he do who seldom or less firmly proposes anything? Yet the defection from our purpose happens in various ways.

Et levis omissio exercitiorum vix sine aliquo dispendio transit. Justorum propositum in gratia potius Dei, quam in propria patientia pendet. In quo et semper confidunt quidquid arripiunt.

And even a slight omission of exercises scarcely passes without some loss. The resolve of the just depends on the grace of God rather than on their own patience. In which too they always confide, whatever they take up.

Nam homo proponit, sed Deus disponit, nec est in homine via ejus.

For man proposes, but God disposes, and his way is not in man.

3. Si pietatis causa, aut fraternæ utilitatis proposito, quandoque consuetum omittitur exercitium, facile postea poterit recuperari. Si autem tædio animi, vel negligentia faciliter relinquitur, satis culpabile est et nocivum sentitur. Conemur quantum possumus, adhuc leviter deficiemus in multis.

3. If for a cause of piety, or with a purpose of fraternal utility, the customary exercise is at times omitted, it can easily afterward be recovered. But if it is readily relinquished from tedium of mind or from negligence, it is quite culpable and is felt to be noxious. Let us strive as much as we are able, we shall still slightly fail in many things.

Semper tamen aliquid certi proponendum est, et proponenda sunt illa præcipue quæ amplius nos impediunt. Exteriora nostra et interiora pariter nobis scrutanda sunt, et ordinanda, quia utraque expediunt ad proprium profectum.

Nevertheless, something definite must always be proposed, and those things are especially to be proposed which impede us the more. Our outward and inward things alike are to be scrutinized by us, and to be ordered, because both conduce to our own proper progress.

4. Si non continue te vales colligere, saltem interdum, et ad minus semel in die, mane videlicet aut vespere. Mane propone, vespere discute mores tuos, qualis hodie fuisti in verbo, opere et cogitatione, quia in his forsan Deum sæpius offendisti ex proximum. Accinge te sicut vir fortis contra diabolicas nequitias, fræna gulam et omnem carnis inclinatinem facilius frænabis.

4. If you are not able to gather yourself continually, at least do so sometimes, and at the least once in the day, namely morning or evening. In the morning set forth a plan; in the evening examine your morals—what you have been today in word, deed, and thought—because in these you have perhaps more often offended God and your neighbor. Gird yourself like a strong man against diabolical iniquities; bridle the gullet, and you will more easily bridle every inclination of the flesh.

Numquam sis ex toto otiosus, sed aut legens, aut scribens, aut orans, aut meditans, aut aliquid utilitatis pro communi laborans. Corporalia tamen exercitia discrete sunt agenda, nec omnibus æqualiter assumenda.

Never be entirely idle, but either reading, or writing, or praying, or meditating, or laboring at something of utility for the common good. Corporal exercises, however, are to be done with discretion, nor are they to be assumed equally by all.

5. Quæ communia non sunt, non sunt foris ostendenda, nam in secreto tutius exercentur privata. Cavendum tamen ne piger sis ad communia, et ad singularia promptior. Sed expletis integre et fideliter debitis, et injunctis, si jam ultra tempus vacat, redde te tibi, prout tua devotio desiderat.

5. What is not common is not to be displayed outside, for private things are more safely exercised in secret. One must beware, however, lest you be slothful for the communal things and more prompt for the singular ones. But, the things owed and the things enjoined having been wholly and faithfully fulfilled, if now there is time free beyond, render yourself to yourself, as your devotion desires.

Non possunt omnes habere exercitium unum, sed aliud isti, aliud illi magis deservit, et pro temporis congruentia diversa placent exercitia, quia alia in festis, alia in feriatis magis sapiunt diebus, aliis indigemus tempore tentationis, et aliis tempore pacis et quietis. Alia, cum tristamur, libet cogitare, et alia, cum læti in Domino fuerimus.

Not all can have one and the same exercise, but one thing serves this person better, another that; and according to the congruence of the time, diverse exercises are pleasing, because some are more savory on feast days, others on ferial days; we need some in a time of temptation, and others in a time of peace and quiet. Other things we like to think upon when we are saddened, and others when we have been glad in the Lord.

6. Circa principalia festa renovanda sunt bona exercitia, et Sanctorum suffragia ferventius imploranda. De festo in festum proponere debemus quasi tunc de sæculo migraturi, et ad æternum festum perventuri. Ideoque sollicite nos præparare debemus in devotis temporibus, et devotius conversari, atque omnem observantiam strictius custodire, tanquam in brevi laboris nostri præmium a Deo percepturi.

6. Around the principal feasts good exercises are to be renewed, and the suffrages of the Saints to be implored more fervently. From feast to feast we ought to resolve, as though then we were to migrate from the world and to arrive at the eternal feast. And therefore we ought solicitously to prepare ourselves in devout seasons, and to conduct ourselves more devoutly, and to guard all observance more strictly, as though shortly we were to receive from God the reward of our labor.

7. Et si dilatum fuerit, credamus nos minus bene paratos, atque indignos tantæ gloriæ, quæ revelabitur in nobis tempore præfinito et studeamus nos melius ad exitum præparare.Beatus servus ait Evangelista Lucas, quem, cum venerit Dominus, invenerit vigilantem. Amen dico vobis, super omnia bona sua constituet eum.

7. And if it shall have been deferred, let us believe ourselves less well prepared, and unworthy of so great a glory, which will be revealed in us at the pre-appointed time, and let us strive to prepare ourselves better for the exit.Blessed is the servant, says the Evangelist Luke, whom, when the Lord shall have come, he will find vigilant. Amen I say to you, over all his goods he will set him.

Cap. 20. De amore solitudinis et silentii.

CHAPTER 20. On the love of solitude and silence.

1. Quære aptum tempus vacandi tibi, de beneficiis Dei frequenter cogita. Relinque curiosa, tales potius perlege materias, quæ compunctionem magis præstent quam occupationem. Si te subtraxeris a superfluis locutionibus et curiosis circuitionibus nec non a novitatibus et remoribus audiendis, invenies tempus sufficiens et aptum bonis meditationibus insistendis.

1. Seek a fitting time for being free for yourself; think frequently about the benefactions of God. Leave off curiosities; rather peruse such materials as provide compunction more than occupation. If you withdraw yourself from superfluous speeches and curious circuitings, and likewise from listening to novelties and hindering rumors, you will find time sufficient and apt for insisting upon good meditations.

Maximi Sanctorum humana consortia ubi poterant vitabant et Deo in secreto vivere eligebant.

The greatest of the Saints avoided human society wherever they were able, and chose to live to God in secret.

2. Dixit quidam:Quoties inter homines fui, minor homo redii. Hoc sæpius experimur, quando diu confabulamur. Facilius est enim tacere quam in verbo non excedere. Facilius est domi latere quam foris se posse sufficienter custodire.

2. A certain man said:As often as I was among men, I returned a lesser man. This we experience quite often, when we confabulate for a long time. For it is easier to be silent than not to exceed in speech. It is easier to lie hidden at home than to be able to guard oneself sufficiently outside.

Qui igitur intendit ad interiora et spiritualia pervenire, oportet eum cum Jesu a turba declinare. Nemo secure apparet nisi qui libenter latet. Nemo secure præcipit nisi qui obedire didicit.

Therefore, whoever intends to attain to interior and spiritual things, it behooves him to withdraw with Jesus from the crowd. No one appears securely except the one who gladly lies hidden. No one prescribes safely except the one who has learned to obey.

Nemo secure gaudet nisi qui testimonium bonæ conscienitæ habet.

No one rejoices securely except the one who has the testimony of a good conscience.

3. Semper tamen Sanctorum securitas plena timoris Dei extitit. Nec eo minus solliciti et humiles in se fuerunt, quia magnis virtutibus et gratia emicuerunt. Pravorum autem securitas ex superbia et præsumptione oritur et in fine in desperationem sui vertitur.

3. Nevertheless, the security of the Saints has always stood full of the fear of God. Nor were they on that account the less solicitous and humble in themselves, because they shone forth with great virtues and grace. But the security of the depraved arises from pride and presumption, and in the end is turned into despair of self.

Nunquam promittas tibi securitatem in hac vita, quamvis bonus videaris Coenobita, aut bonus Eremita.

Never promise yourself security in this life, although you may seem a good Cenobite, or a good Hermit.

4. Sæpe meliores in existimatione hominum magis periclitati sunt propter nimiam suam confidentiam. Unde multum utilius est, ut non penitus tentationibus careant, sed sæpius impugnentur ne nimium securi sint, ne forte in superbiam eleventur, ne etiam ad exteriores consolationes licentius declinent. O, qui nunquam transitoriam lætitiam quæreret, qui nunquam cum mundo se occuparet, quam bonam conscientiam servaret.

4. Often the better, in the estimation of men, have been more endangered because of their excessive self-confidence. Whence it is much more useful that they not be entirely without temptations, but be more often assailed, lest they be too secure, lest perhaps they be lifted up into pride, lest also they turn aside more freely to outward consolations. O, he who would never seek transitory gladness, who would never occupy himself with the world, what a good conscience he would keep.

O, qui omnem vanam sollicitudinem amputaret, et duntaxat salutaria ac divina cogitaret, et totam spem suam in Domino constitueret, quam magnam pacem et quietem possideret.

O, whoever would cut off every vain solicitude, and think only salutary and divine things, and would set all his hope in the Lord, how great a peace and quiet he would possess.

5. Nemo dignus est cælesti consolatione, nisi diligenter se exercuerit in sancta compunctione. Si vis corde tenus compungi, intra cubiculum tuum, et exclude tumultus mundi. Sicut scriptum est,In cubilibus vestris compungimini. In cella invenies, quod de foris sæpius amittes.

5. No one is worthy of celestial consolation, unless they have diligently exercised themselves in holy compunction. If you wish to be pierced to the heart with compunction, enter your chamber, and shut out the tumults of the world. As it is written,In your beds, be pricked with compunction. In the cell you will find what outside you more often lose.

Cella continuata dulcescit et male custodita tædium generat. Si in principio conversationis tuæ bene eam incolueris, et custodieris, erit postea tibi amica dilecta, et gratissimum solatium.

A cell, when continued, grows sweet, and, ill kept, generates tedium. If at the beginning of your conversation you inhabit it well and guard it, afterward it will be to you a beloved friend and a most grateful solace.

6. In silentio et quiete proficit anima devota, et discit abscondita Scripturarum. Ibi invenit fluenta lacrymarum, quibus singulis noctibus se lavet et mundet, ut Conditori suo tanto familiarior fiat, quanto longius ab omni sæculari tumultu degit. Qui ergo se substrahit a notis et amicis, approximabit illi Deus cum Angelis sanctis.

6. In silence and quiet the devout soul makes progress, and learns the hidden things of the Scriptures. There she finds streams of tears, with which on each night she may wash and cleanse herself, that she may become the more familiar to her Maker, the farther she dwells from all secular tumult. Therefore, he who withdraws himself from acquaintances and friends, to him God will draw near with the holy Angels.

Melius est latere et sui curam agere, quam se neglecto signa facere. Laudabile est homini religioso raro foras ire, fugere videri et nolle homines videre.

It is better to lie hidden and to attend to one’s own care, than, with oneself neglected, to work signs. It is laudable for a religious man to go forth rarely, to shun being seen, and to be unwilling to see men.

7. Quid vis videre, quod non licet habere?Transit mundus, et concupiscentia ejus. Trahunt desideria sensualitatis ad spatiandum. Sed cum hora transierit, quid nisi gravitatem conscientiæ, et cordis dispersionem portat?

7. What do you wish to see, which it is not permitted to possess?The world passes, and its concupiscence. The desires of sensuality draw one out to go strolling. But when the hour has passed, what does it carry except the gravity of conscience, and the dispersion of the heart?

Lætus exitus tristem sæpe reditum parit et læta vigilia serotina triste mane facit. Sic omne carnale gaudium blande intrat, sed in fine mordet et perimit.

A glad outcome often begets a sad return, and a glad late vigil makes a sad morning. Thus every carnal joy enters blandly, but in the end it bites and destroys.

8. Quid potes videre alicubi, quod die potest sub solem permanere. Credis te forsitan satiari, sed non poteris pertingere. Si cuncta videres præsentia, quid esset, nisi visio vana?

8. What can you see anywhere that can remain under the sun for a day? You perhaps believe you will be satiated, but you will not be able to attain. If you were to see all things present, what would it be, if not a vain vision?

Leva oculos tuos ad Deum in excelsis, et ora pro peccatis tuis, et negligentiis. Dimitte vana vanis, tu autem intende illis, quæ tibi præcepit Deus. Claude super te ostium tuum, et voca ad te Jesum dilectum tuum.

Lift up your eyes to God on high, and pray for your sins and negligences. Leave vanities to the vain; but you, attend to those things which God has commanded you. Shut your door upon yourself, and call to yourself Jesus, your beloved.

Mane cum eo in cella, quia non invenies alibi tantam pacem. Si non exisses nec quidquam de rumoribus audisses, melius in bona pace permansisses. Ex quo nova delectaris aliquando audire, oportet te exinde turbationem cordis tolerare.

Stay with him in the cell, for you will not find elsewhere so great a peace. If you had not gone out nor heard any rumors, you would have remained the better in good peace. Since you sometimes take delight in hearing novelties, it is necessary for you thereafter to tolerate a perturbation of heart.

Cap. 21. De compunctione cordis.

Chapter 21. Of the compunction of the heart.

1. Si vis aliquid proficere, conserva te in timore Dei et noli esse nimis liber. Sed sub disciplina cohibe omnes sensus tuos, nec ineptæ te tradas lætitiæ, da te ad cordis compunctionem, et invenies devotionem; compunctio multa bona aperit, quæ dissolutio cito perdere consuevit. Mirum est, quod homo possit unquam perfecte lætari in hac vita, qui suum exilium, et tam multa pericula animæ suæ considerat, et pensat.

1. If you wish to make any progress, preserve yourself in the fear of God and do not be too free. But under discipline restrain all your senses, and do not hand yourself over to inept merriment; give yourself to compunction of heart, and you will find devotion; compunction opens many good things, which dissoluteness is accustomed quickly to lose. It is a marvel that a man can ever rejoice perfectly in this life, who considers and weighs his exile, and so many dangers of his soul.

2. Propter levitatem cordis et negligentiam defectuum nosrorum non senstimus animæ nostræ dolores, sed sæpe vane reddimus verba, quandomerito flere deberemus. Non est vera libertas, nec bona conscientia, nisi in timore Dei. Felix qui abjicere potest omne impedimentum distractionis, et ad unionem se redigere sanctæ compunctionis.

2. On account of levity of heart and negligence of our defects we have not sensed the pains of our soul, but often we render empty words, when with good reason we ought to weep. There is no true liberty, nor good conscience, except in the fear of God. Happy is he who can cast away every impediment of distraction, and bring himself back to the union of holy compunction.

Felix qui a se abdicat quidquid suam conscientiam maculare potest, vel gravare. Certa viriliter. Consuetudo consuetudine vincitur.

Happy is he who abdicates from himself whatever can maculate his conscience, or aggravate it. Strive manfully. Custom is conquered by custom.

Si tu scis homies dimittere, ipsi bene dimittent te, tua facta facere.

If you know how to let men go, they themselves will well let you go, to do your deeds.

3. Non attrahas tibi res aliorum, nec te implices causis majorum. Habeas semper oculum super te primum, et admoneas te ipsum specialiter, præ omnibus tibi dilectis. Si non habes favorem hominum noli exinde tristari, sed hoc tibi sit grave quia non habes te satis bene et circumspecte, sicut deceret servum Dei et devotum Religiosum conversari.

3. Do not draw to yourself the things of others, nor entangle yourself in the affairs of your elders/superiors. Have always an eye upon yourself first, and admonish yourself especially, before all those dear to you. If you do not have the favor of men, do not on that account be saddened; but let this be grievous to you: that you do not carry yourself sufficiently well and circumspectly, as it would befit a servant of God and a devout Religious to conduct oneself.

Utilius est sæpe et securius, quod homo non habeat multas consolationes in hac vita secudum carnem, præcipue tamen, quod divinas non habemus, aut rarius sentimus nos devotos; in culpa sumus, quia compunctionem non quærimus cordis, ac vanas et extrinsecas non abjicimus.

It is more useful and safer often, that a man should not have many consolations in this life according to the flesh; yet especially, that we do not have the divine ones, or more rarely feel ourselves devout; we are in fault, because we do not seek compunction of heart, and do not cast off vain and extrinsic things.

4. Cognosce te indignum divina consolatione, sed magis dignum multa tribulatione. Quando homo perfecte est compunctus, tunc gravis et amarus est ei totus mundus. Bonus homo sufficientem invenit materiam dolendi et flendi: sive enim considerat se, sive de proximo pensat; scit quia nemo sine tribulatione hic vivit; et quanto strictius sese considerat, tanto amplius dolet.

4. Recognize yourself unworthy of divine consolation, but rather worthy of much tribulation. When a man is perfectly stricken with compunction, then the whole world is heavy and bitter to him. A good man finds sufficient material for grieving and weeping: for whether he considers himself, or weighs matters concerning his neighbor; he knows that no one lives here without tribulation; and the more strictly he considers himself, the more he grieves.

Materiæ justi doloris, et internæ compunctionis sunt peccata, et vitia nostra, quibus ita involuti jacemus, ut raro cælistia contemplari valeamus.

The materials of just grief and inward compunction are our sins and our vices, in which thus involved we lie, so that we rarely are able to contemplate celestial things.

5. Si frequentius de morte tua, quam de longitudine vitæ tua cogitares, non dubium, quin ferventius te emendares. Si etiam futuras Inferni, sivi Pergatorii, poenas cordialiter perpenderes, credo quod libenter dolorem et laborem sustineres, et nihil rigoris formidares. Sed quia ista ad cor non transeunt, et blandimenta adhuc amamus, ideo frigidi et valde pigri remanemus.

5. If you more frequently thought about your death than about the length of your life, there is no doubt that you would more fervently amend yourself. If also you were to weigh cordially the future penalties of Hell, or of Purgatory, I believe that you would willingly endure pain and labor, and would fear nothing of rigor. But because these things do not pass into the heart, and we still love blandishments, for that reason we remain cold and very slothful.

Sæpe est inopia spiritus unde tam leviter conqueritur corpus miserum. Ora igitur humiliter ad Dominum ut det tibi compunctionis spiritum; et dic cum Propheta, Ciba me Domine pane lacrymarum et potum da mihi in lacrymis in mensura.

Often it is from a poverty of spirit that the wretched body thus complains so lightly. Pray therefore humbly to the Lord that he may give you the spirit of compunction; and say with the Prophet, Feed me, O Lord, with the bread of tears, and give me drink in tears in measure.

Cap. 22. De conditione humanæ miseriæ.

Chapter 22. On the condition of human misery.

1. Miser es ubicumque fueris, et quocumque te verteris, nisi ad Deum te convertas. Quid turbaris quia non succedit tibi sicut vis et desideras? Quis est qui habeat omnia secundum suam voluntatem?

1. You are miserable wherever you may be, and wherever you may turn yourself, unless you convert yourself to God. Why are you troubled because it does not succeed for you just as you will and desire? Who is there who has all things according to his own will?

Nec ego, nec tu, nec aliquis hominum super terram. Nemo est in mundo sine aliqua tribulatione, vel angustia, quivis Rex, vel Papa. Quis est, qui melius habet?

Neither I, nor you, nor anyone of men upon the earth. No one is in the world without some tribulation or anguish, be he any King or Pope. Who is it that has it better?

Utique qui pro Deo aliquid pati valet.

Certainly, the one who is able to suffer something for God.

2. Dicunt multi imbecilles et infirmi, Ecce quam bonam vitam ille homo habet, quam dives et quam magnus, quam potens et excelsus. Sed attende ad cælestia bona, et videbis quod omnia ista temporalia nulla sunt, sed magis incerta, et valde gravantia, quia nunquam sine solicitudine, et timore possidentur. Non est hominis felicitas habere temporalia ad abundantiam, et sufficit ei mediocritas.

2. Many weak and infirm say, Behold how good a life that man has, how rich and how great, how powerful and exalted. But attend to the celestial goods, and you will see that all these temporal things are nothing, but rather uncertain and very burdensome, because they are never possessed without solicitude and fear. A man’s felicity is not to have temporal things in abundance, and mediocrity suffices for him.

Vere miseria est vivere super terram. Quanto homo voluerit esse spiritualior, tanto præfens vita sit ei amarior, quia sentit melius, videt clarius humanæ corruptionis affectus. Nam comedere, bibere, vigilare, dormire, quiescere laborare et cæteris necessitatibus naturæ subjacere vere magna miseria est, et afflictio homini devoto, qui libenter esset absolutus et liber ab omni peccato.

Truly, it is misery to live upon the earth. The more a man wills to be more spiritual, the more the present life is bitter to him, because he feels better, he sees more clearly the affections of human corruption. For to eat, to drink, to keep vigil, to sleep, to rest, to labor, and to be subject to the other necessities of nature is truly a great misery, and an affliction to the devout man, who would gladly be absolved and free from every sin.

3. Valde enim gravatur interior homo necessitatibus ocrporalibus in hoc mundo. Unde Propheta devote rogat quatenus ab istis liber esse valeat, dicens,De necessitatibus meis erue me, Domine. Sed væ non cognoscentibus suam miseriam et corruptibilem vitam. Nam in tantum quidam hanc amplectuntur, licet etiam vix necessaria laborando aut mendicando habeant, ut si possent hic semper vivere, de regno Dei nihil curarent.

3. For the inner man is greatly burdened by bodily necessities in this world. Whence the Prophet devoutly prays that he may be able to be free from these, saying,From my necessities deliver me, Lord. But woe to those not knowing their misery and their corruptible life. For to such an extent do some embrace this, although they scarcely have the necessary things by toiling or by begging, that, if they could live here forever, they would care nothing for the kingdom of God.

4. O insani, et infideles corde, qui tam profunde in terris jacent, ut nihil nisi carnalia sapiant. Sed miseri adhuc in fine sentient graviter, quam vile, et nihilum erat, quod amaverunt. Sancti autem Dei, et omnes devoti amici Christi non attenderunt, quæ carni placuerunt, nec quæ in hoc tempore floruerunt.

4. O insane, and unfaithful in heart, who lie so deeply upon the earth that they taste nothing except carnal things. But the wretched will still at the end feel grievously how base and a nothing was that which they loved. The saints of God, however, and all the devout friends of Christ did not regard the things which pleased the flesh, nor the things which flourished in this time.

Sed tota spes eorum, et intentio ad ætena bona anhelabat. Ferebatur totum desiderium eorum ad mansura et invisibilia, ne amore visibilium traherentur ad infima.

But all their hope and intention aspired toward eternal goods. Their whole desire was borne toward the abiding and the invisible, lest by love of visible things they be drawn to the lowest.

5. Noli frater amittere confidentiam proficiendi ad spiritualia. Adhuc enim habes tempus et horam, quare vis procrastinare propositum tuum? Surge, et in instanti incipe, et dic: Nunc est tempus faciendi, nunc tempus pugnandi est, nunc tempus aptum est emendandi.

5. Do not, brother, lose the confidence of making progress toward spiritual things. For you still have time and the hour; why do you wish to procrastinate your purpose? Rise, and in the instant begin, and say: Now is the time of doing, now is the time of fighting, now is the apt time for amending.

Quando male habes et tribularis, tunc tempus promerendi. Oportet te transire per ignem et aquam, antequam venia ad refrigerium, nisi tibi vim feceris, vitium non superabis. Quamdiu istud fragile corpus gerimus, sine peccato esse non possumus nec sine tædio et dolore vivere.

When you are unwell and in tribulation, then is the time of meriting. It is needful for you to pass through fire and water, before you come to refreshment; unless you have done violence to yourself, you will not overcome vice. So long as we bear this fragile body, we cannot be without sin, nor live without tedium and pain.

Libenter haberemus ab omni miseria quietem, sed quia per peccatum perdidimus innocentiam, amisimus etiam veram beatitudinem. Ideo oportet nos tenere patientiam, et Dei exspectare misericordiam, donec transeat iniquitas hæc, et mortalitas abforbeatur a vita.

We would gladly have rest from all misery, but since through sin we lost innocence, we have also lost true beatitude. Therefore we ought to hold to patience, and to await the mercy of God, until this iniquity passes, and mortality is swallowed up by life.

6. O quanta fragilitas humana, quæ semper prona est ad vitia. Hodie confiteris peccata tua, et cras iterum perpetras confessa. Nunc proponis cavere, et post horam ita agis, quasi nihil proposuisses.

6. O how great the human fragility, which is always prone to vices. Today you confess your sins, and tomorrow again you perpetrate the things confessed. Now you propose to beware, and after an hour you act as if you had proposed nothing.

Merito ergo nosmetipsos humiliare possumus, nec unquam aliquid magni de nobis sentire, quia tam fragiles et instabiles sumus. Cito etiam potest perdi per negligentiam, quod multo labore vix tandem acquisitum est per gratiam.

Deservedly, therefore, we can humble ourselves, and never think anything great of ourselves, because we are so fragile and unstable. Quickly, too, that which with much labor has scarcely at length been acquired through grace can be lost through negligence.

7. Quid fiet de nobis adhuc in fine, qui tepescimus tam mane. Væ nobis si sic volumus declinare ad quietem, quasi jam pax sit et securitas, cum necdum appareat vestigium sanctitatis veræ in nostra conversatione. Bene opus esset quod adhuc institueremus, tanquam boni novitii, ad mores optimos, si forte spes esset de futurea emendatione, et majori spirituali profectu.

7. What will become of us even at the end, who grow tepid so early. Woe to us if we wish thus to decline to rest, as if already there were peace and security, when not yet does there appear a vestige of true sanctity in our conversation. It would be well that we should still institute, like good novices, toward the best morals, if perchance there were hope of future emendation and of greater spiritual progress.

Cap. 23. De meditatione mortis.

Chapter 23. On the meditation of death.

1. Valde cito erit tecum hoc factum: vide aliter quomodo te habeas. Hodie homo est, et cras non comparet. Cum autem sublatus fuerit ab oculis, etiam cito transit a mente.

1. Very soon this will be with you: consider differently how you conduct yourself. Today he is a man, and tomorrow he does not appear. But when he has been lifted from the eyes, he also quickly passes from mind.

O hebetudo, et duritia cordis humani, quod solum præsentia meditatur, et futura non magis prævidet. Sic te in omni facto et cogitatu deberes tenere, quasi statim esses moriturus. Si bonam conscientiam haberes, non multum mortem timeres.

O dullness and hardness of the human heart, which meditates only on the present and does not more foresee the future. Thus you ought to hold yourself in every deed and thought, as if you were straightway about to die. If you had a good conscience, you would not fear death much.

Melius esset peccata cavere quam mortem fugure. Si hodie non es paratus, quomodo cras eris? Cras est dies incerta, et quid scis si crastinum habebis?

Better it would be to beware sins than to flee death. If today you are not prepared, how will you be tomorrow? Tomorrow is an uncertain day, and what do you know whether you will have the morrow?

2. Quid prodest diu vivere, quando parum emendamur? Ha, longa vita non semper emendat, sed sæpe culpam magis auget. Utinam per unam diem bene essemus conversati in hoc mundo.

2. What does it profit to live long, when we are amended little? Ah, a long life does not always amend, but often increases culpability more. Would that for a single day we had conducted ourselves well in this world.

Multi annos computant conversionis, sed sæpe parvus est fructus emendationis. Si formidolosum est mori, forsitan periculosius erit vivere diu. Beatus qui horam mortis suæ semper ante oculos habet, et ad moriendum quotidie se disponit.

Many compute the years of their conversion, but often the fruit of emendation is small. If to die is formidable, perhaps to live long will be more perilous. Blessed is he who always has the hour of his own death before his eyes, and daily disposes himself for dying.

Si vidisti aliquem mori, cogita quia tu per eandem viam transibis.

If you have seen someone die, consider that you will pass through the same way.

3. Cum mane fuerit, puta te ad vesperum non perventurum. Vespere autem facto, mane non audeas tibi polliceri. Semper ergo paratus esto, et taliter vive, ut nunquam imparatum te mors inveniant.

3. When morning has come, suppose that you will not reach evening. But when evening has arrived, do not dare to promise yourself the morning. Therefore always be prepared, and live in such a manner that death may never find you unprepared.

Multi subito improvisi moriuntur. Nam hora, qua non putatur, Filius hominis veniet. Quando hora illa extrema venerit, multum aliter sentire incipies de tota vita tua præterita et valde dolebis, quia tam negligens, et remissus fuisti.

Many die suddenly, unprepared. For at the hour when it is not supposed, the Son of Man will come. When that extreme hour shall have come, you will begin to feel very differently about your whole past life, and you will sorrow greatly, because you were so negligent and remiss.

4. Quam felix et prudens qui talis nunc nititur esse in vita, qualis optat inveniri in morte. Dabit namque magnam fiduciam moriendi perfectus contemptus mundi, fervens desiderium in virtutibus proficiendi, amor disciplinæ, labor poenitentiæ, promptitudo, obedientiæ, abnegatio sui, et supportatio cujuslibet adversitatis pro amore Christi. Multa bona potes operari dum sanus es, sed infirmatus nescio quid poteris.

4. How happy and prudent is he who now strives to be in life such as he wishes to be found in death. For the perfect contempt of the world, a fervent desire to make progress in virtues, a love of discipline, the labor of penitence, a promptness of obedience, self-denial, and the endurance of any adversity for the love of Christ will give great confidence in dying. You can accomplish many good things while you are healthy, but when infirm, I know not what you will be able to do.

Pauci ex infirmitate emendantur; sic et qui multum peregrinantur, raro sanctificantur.

Few are amended by infirmity; so too those who peregrinate much are rarely sanctified.

5. Noli confidere super amicos et proximos, nec in futuris salutem tuam differas, quia citius obliviscentur tui homines, quam existimas. Melius est nunc tempestive providere et aliquid boni præmittere, quam super aliorum auxilio sperare. Si non es pro te ipso sollicitus modo, quis erit sollicitus pro te in futuro.

5. Do not confide in friends and neighbors, nor defer your salvation to future things, because men will forget you more quickly than you suppose. It is better now to provide in due season and to send something good ahead, than to hope upon the help of others. If you are not solicitous for yourself now, who will be solicitous for you in the future.

Nunc tempus est valde prætiosum, sed proh dolor, quod hoc inutilius expendis, in quo promereri vales, unde æternaliter vivas. Veniet quando unam diem seu horam pro emendatione desiderabis, et nescio, an impetrabis.

Now time is very precious, but alas, you expend most uselessly that whereby you are able to merit, whence you might live eternally. A time will come when you will desire a single day or even an hour for emendation, and I do not know whether you will obtain it.

6. Eia, charissime, de quanto periculo te poteris liberare, de quam magno timore eripere, si modo semper timoratus fueris, et de morte suspectus! Stude nunc taliter vivere, ut in hora moris valeas potius gaudere, quam timere. Disce nunc mori mundo, ut tunc incipias vivere cum Christo.

6. Ah, dearest, from how great a peril you will be able to free yourself, from how great a fear to snatch yourself, if only you will have been ever timorous and wary of death! Strive now so to live that at the hour of death you may be able rather to rejoice than to fear. Learn now to die to the world, that then you may begin to live with Christ.

Disce nunc omnia contemnere, ut tunc possis libere ad Christum pergere. Castiga nunc corpus tuum per poenitentiam, ut tunc valeas certam habere confidentiam.

Learn now to contemn all things, that then you may be able to proceed freely to Christ. Chastise now your body through penance, that then you may be able to have sure confidence.

7. Ha stulte, quid cogitas te diu victurum, cum nullum diem habeas securum? Quam multi decepti sunt et insperati de corpore extracti! Quoties audisti a dicentibus, quia ille gladio cecidit, ille submersus est, ille ab alto ruens cervicem fregit, ille manducando obriguit, ille ludendo finem fecit, alius igne, alius ferro, alius peste, alius latrocinio interiit: et sic omnium finis mors est, et vita hominum tanquam umbra cito pertransit.

7. Ah, you fool, why do you think you will live long, when you have no day secure? How many have been deceived and unexpectedly drawn out of the body! How often have you heard from those speaking that this man fell by the sword, that one was submerged, that one, rushing down from a height, broke his neck, that one stiffened while eating, that one made an end while playing, another perished by fire, another by iron, another by pestilence, another by brigandage: and thus the end of all is death, and the life of men passes quickly like a shadow.

8. Quis memorabitur tui post mortem, et qui orabit pro te? Age, age nunc charissime quidquid pro te agere potes, quia nescis quando morieris. Nescis etiam, quid tibi post mortem sequatur. Dum tempus habes, congrega divitias immortales.

8. Who will make mention of you after death, and who will pray for you? Act, act now, dearest, whatever you can do for yourself, because you do not know when you will die. You do not know, either, what will follow you after death. While you have time, gather immortal riches.

Præter salutem tuam nihil cogites. Solum quæ Dei sunt, cures. Fac nunc tibi amicos venerando Sanctos, et actus imitando, ut cum defeceris in hac vita, illi te recipiant in æterna tabernacula.

Think of nothing besides your salvation. Concern yourself solely with the things that are God’s. Make for yourself friends now by venerating the Saints and by imitating their acts, so that when you fail in this life, they may receive you into the eternal tabernacles.

9. Serva te tanquam peregrinum et hospitem super terram, ad quem nihil spectat de mundi negociis. Serva cor liberum, et ad Deum sursum erectum, quia non habes hic manentem civitatem. Illuc gemitus et preces quotidianas cum lacrymis dirige, ut spiritus tuus mereatur post mortem ad Dominum feliciter transire.

9. Keep yourself as a pilgrim and guest upon the earth, to whom nothing of the world’s affairs pertains. Keep a heart free, and lifted upward to God, because you do not have here an abiding city. Thither direct your groans and daily prayers with tears, that your spirit may merit, after death, to pass over felicitously to the Lord.

Cap. 24. De judicio et poenis peccatorum.

Chapter 24. On the judgment and penalties of sinners.

1. In omnibus rebus respice finem, et qualiter ante districtum judicem stabis, cui nihil est occultum, qui muneribus non placatur, nec escusationes recipit, sed quod justum est, judicabit. O miserrime et insipiens, quid respondebis Deo, omniamala tua scienti, qui interdum times vultum hominis irati? Ut quid non prævides tibi in judicii die?

1. In all things look to the end, and how you will stand before the strict Judge, to whom nothing is hidden, who is not propitiated by gifts, nor does he receive excuses, but will judge what is just. O most wretched and unwise, what will you answer to God, who knows all your evils—you who sometimes fear the face of an angry man? Why do you not foresee for yourself on the day of judgment?

Quando nemo poterit per alium excusari vel defendi, sed unusquisque sufficiens onus suum portabit sisi ipsi. Nunc labor tuus est fructuosus, fletus acceptabilies, gemitus exaudibilis, dolor satisfactorius et purgativus.

When no one will be able to be excused or defended by means of another, but each one, self-sufficient, will bear his own burden for himself. Now your labor is fruitful, tears acceptable, groans audible, pain satisfactory and purgative.

2. Habet magnum et salubre purgatorium homo patiens, qui suscipiens injurias, plus dolet de alterius malitia, quam de sua injuria, qui pro contrariantibus sibi libenter orat, et ex corde culpas indulget; qui veniam ab aliis petere non retardat, qui facilius miseretur quam irascitur, qui sibi ipsi violentiam frequenter facit, et carnem suam omnino spiritui subjugare conatur. Melius est modo purgare peccata, et vitia resecare, quam in futuro purganda reservare. Vere nos ipsos decipimus per inordinatum amorem, quem ad carnem habemus.

2. the patient man has a great and health-giving purgatory, who, receiving injuries, grieves more over another’s malice than over his own injury, who for those contrary to himself prays willingly, and from the heart pardons faults; who does not delay to seek pardon from others, who is more easily moved to mercy than to anger, who frequently does violence to himself, and strives wholly to subjugate his flesh to the spirit. It is better now to purge sins and to prune vices than to reserve them to be purged in the future. Truly we deceive ourselves through the inordinate love which we have toward the flesh.

3. Quid aliud ille ignis devorat, nisi peccata tua? Quanto amplius nunc tibi ipsi parcis, et carnem sequeris, postea lues tanto durius, et majorem materiam comburendi reservas. In quibus homo peccavit, in illis gravius punietur.

3. What else does that fire devour, if not your sins? The more you now spare yourself and follow the flesh, thereafter you will pay the penalty so much the more harshly, and you reserve greater material for combustion. In the matters in which a man has sinned, in those he will be punished more grievously.

Ibi acidiosi ardentibus stimulis purgentur, et gulosi ingenti fame ac siti cruciabuntur. Ibi luxuriosi et voluptatum amatores ardenti pice et foetido sulphure perfundentur. Et sicut furiosi canes, præ dolore invidiosi ululabunt.

There the slothful (accidie-ridden) will be purged by burning goads, and the gluttonous will be tormented by immense hunger and thirst. There the lustful and lovers of pleasures will be drenched with burning pitch and fetid sulphur. And like rabid dogs, the envious will howl for pain.

4. Nullum vitium erit, quod suum proprium cruciatum non habeat. Ibi superbi omni confusione replebuntur, et avari miserrima egestate arctabuntur. Ibi erit una hora gravior in poena, quam hic centum anni in amarissima poenitentia.

4. There will be no vice which does not have its own proper torment. There the proud will be filled with every confusion, and the avaricious will be straitened by most wretched destitution. There one hour will be heavier in punishment than here one hundred years in most bitter penitence.

Ibi nulla requies, nulla consolatio damnatis. Hic tamen interdum cessatur a laboribus atque amicorum fruitur solatiis. Esto modo sollicitus, et dolens pro peccatis tuis, ut in die judicii sis securus propetenus cum beatis.

There is no rest there, no consolation for the damned. Here, however, at times there is a cessation from labors and one enjoys the consolations of friends. Be for the present solicitous, and grieving for your sins, so that on the day of judgment you may be secure, nigh with the blessed.

Tunc enim justi stabunt in magna constantia adversus eos, qui se angustiaverunt et depresserunt. Tunc stabit ad judicandum qui modo se subjicit humiliter judiciis hominum. Tunc magnam fiduciam pauper et humlis habebit, et pavebit undique superbus.

Then indeed the just will stand in great constancy against those who have afflicted them and have oppressed them. Then he will stand to judge, who now humbly subjects himself to the judgments of men. Then the poor and humble will have great confidence, and the proud will be afraid on every side.

5. Tunc videbitur sapiens in hoc mundo fuisse, qui pro Christo didicit stultus esse et despectus. Tunc placebit omnis tribulatio patienter perpessaet omnis iniquitas oppilabit os suum. Tunc gaudebit omnis devotus et merebit omnis religiosus. Tunc plus exultabit caro afflicta, quam si semper in deliciis fuisset nutrita.

5. Then he will be seen to have been wise in this world, who for Christ learned to be foolish and despised. Then every tribulation patiently endured will be pleasing,and every iniquity will stop up its mouth. Then every devout man will rejoice, and every religious man will merit. Then afflicted flesh will exult more than if it had always been nourished in delights.

Tunc splendebit habitus vilis, et obtenebrescet vestis subtilis. Tunc plus laudabitur pauperculum domicilium, quam deauratum palatium. Tunc plus juvabit constans pacientia, quam omnis mundi potentia.

Then the lowly attire will shine, and the fine garment will grow dark. Then the poor little domicile will be more praised than the gilded palace. Then constant patience will avail more than all the power of the world.

Tunc amplius exaltabitur simplex obedientia, quam omnis sæcularis astutia.

Then simple obedience will be more highly exalted than all secular astuteness.

6. Tunc plus lætificabit pura et simplex conscientia et bona quam docta philosophia. Tunc plus ponderabit contemptus divitiarum, quam totus thesaurus terrigenarum. Tunc magis consolaberis super devota oratione, quam super delicata comestione.

6. Then a pure, simple, and good conscience will gladden more than learned philosophy. Then contempt of riches will weigh more than the whole treasure of the earth-born. Then you will be more consoled by devout prayer than by delicate eating.

Tunc potius gaudebis de fervato silentio, quam de longa fabulatione. Tunc plus valebunt sancta sancta opera, quam multa pulchra verba. Tunc plus valebit stricta vita et ardus poenitntia, quam omnis delectatio terrena.

Then you will rather rejoice in preserved silence than in long storytelling. Then more will avail holy holy works than many beautiful words. Then more will avail a strict life and arduous penance than all earthly delectation.

Disce nunc in modico pati, ut tunc a gravioribus valeas liberari. Hic primo proba quid possis pati postea. Si nunc tam parum non vales sustinere, quomodo poteris æterna tormenta sufferre?

Learn now to suffer in a small measure, that then you may be able to be freed from more grievous things. Here first test what you can suffer afterward. If now you are not able to sustain so little, how will you be able to suffer eternal torments?

Si modo modica passio te tam impatientem efficit, tunc gehenna quid facietur? Ecce vere non potes modo duo gaudia habere, delectari hic in mundo, es postea regnare cum Christo.

If just a moderate passion makes you so impatient, then what will Gehenna do? Behold, truly you cannot now have two joys: to be delighted here in the world, and afterwards to reign with Christ.

7. Si usque in hodiernum diem semper in honoribus et voluptatibus vixisses, quid totum tibi profuisset, si jam in instanti mori contingeret? Omnia ergo vanitas, præter amare Deum, et illi foli servire. Qui enim Deum ex toto corde amat, nec mortem, nec supplicium, nec judcium, nec infernum metuit, quia perfectus amor securum ad Deum accessum facit.

7. If up to the present day you had always lived in honors and pleasures, what would it all have profited you, if now it should befall you to die in an instant? All, therefore, is vanity, except to love God and to serve Him alone. For he who loves God with his whole heart fears neither death, nor punishment, nor judgment, nor hell, because perfect love makes a secure access to God.

Quem adhuc peccare delectat, non mirum, si mortem, judicium timeat. Bonum tamen est ut, si necdum amor a malo te revocat, saltem timor gehenæ te coerceat. Qui vero timorem Dei postponit, diu stare in bono non valebit, sed diaboli laqueos citius incurret.

He whom it still delights to sin, it is no wonder if he fears death and judgment. Yet it is good that, if not yet love calls you back from evil, at least the fear of Gehenna should coerce you. But whoever postpones the fear of God will not be able to stand long in the good, but will more quickly incur the snares of the devil.

Cap. 25. De ferventi emendatione totius vitæ.

CHAPTER 25. On the fervent emendation of the whole life.

1. Esto vigilans et diligens in Dei fervitio, et cogita frequenter ad quid venisti, et cur sæculum reliquisti. Nonne ut Deo viveres, et spiritualis fieres? Igitur ad profectum ferveas, quia mercedem laborum tuorum in brevi recipies.

1. Be vigilant and diligent in God’s service, and think frequently to what you have come, and why you left the secular world. Was it not so that you might live to God and become spiritual? Therefore be fervent for progress, because you will receive the reward of your labors in a short time.

Nec erit tunc amplius timor aut dolor in finibus tuis. Modicum nunc laborabis, et magnam requiem, imo perpetuam lætitiam, invenies. Si tu permanseris fidelis et fervidus in agendo, Deus procul dubio erit fidelis, et locuples in retribuendo.

Nor then will there be any further fear or pain within your borders. For a little while now you will labor, and you will find a great rest, nay rather, perpetual joy. If you remain faithful and fervent in doing, God, beyond doubt, will be faithful and rich in recompensing.

Spem bonam retinere debes, quod ad palmam pervenies, sed securitatem capere non oportet ne torpeas, aut elatus fias.

You ought to retain good hope, that you will come to the palm (of victory), but you ought not to take security, lest you grow torpid, or become elated.

2. Cum enim quidam anxius inter metum et spem frequenter fluctuaret, et quadam vice moerore confectus in ecclesia ante quoddam altare se in oratione prostravisset, hæc intra se resolvit dicens: O, si scirem, quod adhuc perserveratus essem; statimque audivit divinum intus responsum. Quid, si hoc scires, quid facere velles? Fac nunc quod facere velles, et bene securus eris.

2. For when a certain man, anxious, frequently fluctuated between fear and hope, and on one occasion, worn out with grief, had prostrated himself in prayer in the church before a certain altar, he resolved thus within himself, saying: O, if I knew that I would yet persevere; and immediately he heard a divine response within: What, if you knew this, what would you wish to do? Do now what you would wish to do, and you will be well secure.

Moxque consolatus et confortatus divinæ se commisit voluntati, et cessavit anxia fluctuatio. Noluitque curiose se investigare, ut sciret quæ sibi essent futura, sed magis studuit inquirere quæ esset voluntas Dei beneplacens et perfecta ad omne opus inchoandum et perficiendum.

And soon, consoled and strengthened, he committed himself to the divine will, and the anxious fluctuation ceased. Nor did he wish to investigate curiously, in order to know what things were to be in store for him, but rather he strove to inquire what the will of God might be—well-pleasing and perfect—for every work to be begun and to be perfected.

3.Spera in Domino et fac bonitatem, ait Propheta, et inhabita terram, et pasceris in divitiis ejus. Unum est quod multos a profectu et ferventi emendatione retrahit: horror difficultatis seu labor certaminis. Illi maxime præ aliis in virtutibus proficiunt, qui ea quæ sibi magis gravia et contraria sunt vincere nituntur. Nam ibi homo plus proficit, et gratiam meretur ampliorem, ubi magis se ipsum vincit, et in spiritu mortificat.

3.Hope in the Lord and do good, says the Prophet, and inhabit the land, and you shall be fed in his riches. One thing it is that draws many back from progress and fervent emendation: the horror of difficulty, or the labor of the contest. Those above others make progress in virtues who strive to conquer the things that are more grievous and contrary to themselves. For there a man makes more progress, and merits ampler grace, where he conquers himself more, and mortifies himself in spirit.

4. Sed non omnes habent æque multum ad vincendum et moriendum. Diligens autem æmulator valentior erit ad proficiendum, etiamsi plures habeat passiones, quam alius bene morigeratus, minus tamen fervens ad virtutes. Duo specialiter ad magnam emendationem juvant, videlicet subtrahere se violenter ad quod natura vitiose inclinatur, et ferventer instare pro bono, quo amplius quis indiget.

4. But not all have equally much for overcoming and for dying. The diligent emulator will be stronger for making progress, even if he has more passions, than another well-compliant man, yet less fervent toward virtues. Two things especially help toward great emendation: namely, to withdraw oneself violently from that to which nature is viciously inclined, and to press fervently for the good which one needs more.

Illa etiam magis studeas cavere et vincere quæ tibi in aliis frequentius displicent.

Be the more studious to beware and to conquer those things that more frequently displease you in others.

5. Ubique profectum tuum capies ut si bona exempla videas vel audias, de imitandis accendaris. Si quid autem reprehensibile confideraveris, cave ne idem facias, aut si aliquando fecisti, citius emendare te studeas. Sicut oculus tuus alios confiderat, sic iterum ab aliis notaris.

5. Everywhere you will take your progress so that, if you see or hear good examples, you may be enkindled for imitating them. But if you have considered anything reprehensible, beware lest you do the same; or, if you have ever done it, strive to amend yourself more swiftly. Just as your eye considers others, so in turn you are noted by others.

Quam jucundum et dulce est videre fervidos et devotos Fratres bene morigeratos et disciiplinatos. Quam triste est et grave videre inordinate ambulantes, qui ea ad quæ vocati sunt non exercent. Quam nocivum est negligere vocationis suæ propositum, et ad non comissia sensum inclinare.

How jocund and sweet it is to see fervid and devout Brothers, well-compliant and disciplined. How sad and grave it is to see those walking inordinately, who do not exercise the things to which they have been called. How noxious it is to neglect the purpose of one’s vocation, and to incline one’s sense toward things not committed.

6. Memor esto arrepti propositi, et imaginem crucifixi tibi propone. Bene verecundari potes inspecta vita Jesu Christi, quia necdum magis illi te conformare studuisti, licet diu in via Dei fuisti. Religiosus qui se intente et devote in sanctissima vita et passione Domini exercet, omnia utilia et necessaria sibi abundanter ibi inveniet.

6. Be mindful of the purpose you have embraced, and set before yourself the image of the crucified. You may well be ashamed, upon inspecting the life of Jesus Christ, because you have not yet endeavored to conform yourself more to him, although you have long been on the way of God. The religious person who exercises himself intently and devoutly in the most holy life and passion of the Lord will find there abundantly all things useful and necessary for himself.

Nec opus est ut extra Jesum aliquid melius quærat. O, si Jesus crucifixus in cor nostrum veniret, quam cito et sufficienter docti essemus. Religiosus fervidus bene omnia portat et capit, quæ illi jubentur.

Nor is there need to seek anything better outside Jesus. O, if the crucified Jesus were to come into our heart, how quickly and sufficiently taught we would be. The fervent religious bears and accepts all things well that are enjoined upon him.

7. Religiosus negligens et tepidus habet tribulationem super tribulationem et ex omni parte patitur angustiam, quia interiori consolatione caret, et exteriorem quærere prohibetur. Religiosus extra disciplinam vivens gravi patet ruinæ. Qui laxiora quærit et remissiora, semper in angustiis erit, quia unum aut reliquum displicebit sibi.

7. A negligent and tepid religious has tribulation upon tribulation and on every side suffers anguish, because he lacks interior consolation, and is forbidden to seek the exterior. A religious living outside discipline is exposed to grave ruin. He who seeks laxer and more remiss things will always be in straits, because either the one or the other will be displeasing to him.

8. Quomodo faciunt tam multi alii Religiosi qui satis arctati sunt sub disciplina claustrali, rare execunt, abstracte vivunt, pauperrime comedunt, grosse vestiuntur, multum laborant, parum loquuntur, diu vigilant, mature surgunt, et orationes prolongant, frequenter legunt et se in omni disciplina custodiunt. Attende Cartusienses et Benedictinos, et Cistercienses ac diversæ religionis Monachos et Moniales qualiter omni nocte ad psallendum Deo surgunt. Et ideo turpe esset, ut tu debeas in tam sancto opere dormitare et pigritare, ubi tanta multitudo Religiosorum incipit Deo jubilare.

8. How do so many other Religious act, who are quite straitened under cloistral discipline, rarely go out, live withdrawn, eat most poorly, are coarsely clad, labor much, speak little, keep long vigils, rise early, and prolong prayers, read frequently, and keep themselves in all discipline. Consider the Carthusians and Benedictines and Cistercians, and the Monks and Nuns of diverse religion, how every night they rise to sing psalms to God. And therefore it would be disgraceful that you should drowse and be slothful in so holy a work, where so great a multitude of Religious begins to jubilate to God.

9. O, si nihil aliud faciendum incumberet, nisi Dominum Deum nostrum tot corde et ore laudare. O, si nunquam indigeres comedere, nec bibere, nec dormire, sed semper posses Deum laudare, et solummodo spiritualibus studiis vacare, tunc multo felicior esses, quam modo carni ex qualicumque necessitate serviens. Utinam non essent istæ necessitates, sed solummodo spirituales animæ refectiones, quas heu satis raro degustamus.

9. O, if nothing else to be done were incumbent, except to praise the Lord our God with heart and mouth. O, if you never needed to eat, nor drink, nor sleep, but could always praise God, and be at leisure only for spiritual studies, then you would be much happier than now, serving the flesh out of whatever sort of necessity. Would that these necessities did not exist, but only spiritual refreshments of the soul, which, alas, we taste quite rarely.

10. Quando homo ad hoc pervenit, quod de nulla creatura consolationem quærit, tunc ei Deus primo perfecte sapere incipit, tunc etiam bene contentus de omni eventu rerum erit, tunc nec pro magno lætabitur, nec pro modico contristabitur, sed ponit se integre, et fiducialiter in Deo, qui est ei omnia in omnibus, cui nihil utique parit, nec moritur, sed omnia ei vivunt, et ad nutum incunctanter deserviunt.

10. When a man has come to this point, that he seeks consolation from no creature, then God begins for the first time to be perfectly sapid to him; then also he will be well content with every event of things; then he will neither rejoice over a great matter, nor be saddened over a small one, but he places himself wholly and confidently in God, who is to him all things in all, to whom nothing indeed perishes nor dies, but all things live to him and, at a nod, unhesitatingly render service.

11. Memento semper finis, et quia perditum non redit tempus, sine sollicitudine, et diligentia nunquam acquires virtutes. Si incipis tepescere, incipis male habere. Si autem dederis te ad fervorem, invenies magnam pacem, et senties leviorem laborem propter Dei gratiam et virtutis amorem.

11. Remember always the end, and that lost time does not return; without solicitude and diligence you will never acquire virtues. If you begin to grow tepid, you begin to fare ill. But if you give yourself to fervor, you will find great peace, and you will feel the labor lighter because of God’s grace and the love of virtue.

Homo fervidus et diligens ad omnia est paratus. Major labor est resistere vitiis et passionibus, quam corporalibus insudare laboribus. Qui parvos non devitat defectus, paulatim labitur ad majora.

A fervid and diligent man is prepared for all things. The greater labor is to resist vices and passions than to sweat in corporal labors. He who does not avoid small defects little by little slips into greater ones.

Gaudebis semper de vespere, si diem expendes fructuose. Vigila semper te ipsum et quidquid de aliis sit non negligas te ipsum. Tantum proficies, quantum tibi ipsi vim intuleris.

You will always rejoice at evening, if you expend the day fruitfully. Keep watch over yourself always, and whatever may be concerning others, do not neglect yourself. You will profit just so much as you have brought force to bear upon yourself.

Amen.