Now take good heed how all the seven deadly sins may be driven away through steadfast faith. First, now,

of Pride.

Who is there that thinks himself great, and is proud, when he beholds how little the great Lord made himself within the womb of a poor virgin? And who is envious that beholds, with eyes of faith, how Jesus Christ, not for his own good, acted, and spoke, and suffered all that he suffered? The envious do not like that others should partake of their good things; and the Almighty, even after all that he suffered, went down into hell to seek associates, and to divide with them the good things that he had! See, now, how different are the envious from our Lord! The anchoress who refused to lend a book to another had turned away her eyes of faith very far from him!

Who is there that keeps wrath in his heart, who considers that God came down to the earth to make threefold peace: between man and man, between God and man, between man and angels? And, after his resurrection, when he came and sheaved himself to his beloved disciples, this was his salutation, “Peace be among you!” Take good heed now to this: when a dear friend goes away from another, he wishes the last words that he speaks to be well observed. Our Lord’s last words, when he ascended up to heaven and left his dear friends in a strange land, were of sweet love and peace, that is, “Peace I send among you, and peace I leave with you.” This was his token of love that he left and gave them at his departure. Now observe diligently, out of his precious love, what kind of mark he placed upon his elect, when he ascended into heaven. “By this ye shall know,” quoth he, “that ye are my disciples, if sweet love and peace is ever between you.” May God know this — and he doth know it — I would rather that ye were all leprous than that ye were envious, or cruel and spiteful. For Jesus Christ is all love, and in love he abideth and hath his dwelling: “In peace is God’s place, and wherever there is peace and love, there he bringeth to nought all the power of the devil; there,” he saith, “he breaketh his bow;” that is, secret temptations, which he shooteth from a distance;” and his sword also,” which is temptations that cut close and keen. Now attend diligently and learn by many examples, how good a thing is agreement of affection and unity of heart. For there is nothing under the sun that ye have, which is dearer to me, nor so dear. Do ye not well know that when men fight in powerful armies, they who hold themselves firmly together can in no wise be routed and overcome. It is just so in the spiritual fight against the devil. All his endeavour is to disunite hearts, and to take away love, which keepeth men together. For when love fails, then are they separated; and the devil immediately putteth himself between them, and slayeth on every side. Dumb beasts have the wariness that, when they are attacked by a wolf, or a lion, the whole flock crowd closely together and make of themselves a shield to each other, and are secure the while; and if any unlucky creature goeth out of the flock, it is quickly worried. The third example is, that when a man goeth alone in a slippery path, he soon slides and falls; and when many go together and every one has hold of another’s hand, if any of them begin to slide, the next one pulls him up before he quite fall; and, if they grow weary, every one is supported by another. (Temptation is sliding; and by wearying is meant the vices which are already mentioned under sloth.) This is what St. Gregory saith, “When we unite together in prayer, we are like persons walking on slippery ground, who hold each other by the hand for mutual support.” In like manner, in the strong wind, or in the rapid waters, they that must wade over, if they are many, hold each other’s hand, and if any one is separated, he is soon swept away, and perisheth quickly. We know too well that the way of this world is slippery,and that the wind and the streams are strong. Much need is there that every one should hold by the others with assiduous prayers; and with love hold each others’ hands. For, as Solomon saith, “Woe to him that is alone, for when he falleth, he hath none to lift him up.” He is not alone who hath God for his companion, and that is every one who hath true love in his heart.

The seventh example is this, if ye count right. Dust and grit, as ye see, when the particles are separated, and do not adhere to one another, a little puff of wind may utterly drive it away and disperse it; when it lies in a clod sticking fast together, then it lieth quite still. A handful of rods are difficult to break when they are together, but each one separately is easily broken. A tree that is about to fall stands fast when it is under-propped by another tree: but separate either from the other, and they both fall. Now ye have nine examples to this effect, in things external. Take example then, how good a thing is unity of heart, and agreement of affections, which keeps the good united, that none may perish. And he who wishes thus to have a right faith will consider attentively, and understand Jesus Christ’s precious words and works, which were done in love and kindness. Above all, I would have anchoresses to learn well the doctrine of this instruction. For many, more is the harm, are like Samson’s foxes, that had their faces every one turned away from each other, and were tied fast by the tails, as we are told in Judges. And in every one’s tail, a brand burning. Of these foxes I spoke long before, but not in this wise. Take good heed what this meaneth. We turn our faces gladly toward the thing that we love, and away from the thing that we hate. Those have, therefore, their faces turned away from each other, when none loveth another. But they are together by the tails, and have in them the devil’s brand; that is, the fire of lust. In another sense, tail signifieth end. In their end they shall be bound together, as Samson’s foxes were by their tails, and brands put therein; that is, hell-fire.

According to what has now been said, my dear sisters, see that your dear faces be always turned to each other with kind affection, a cheerful countenance, and gentle courtesy; that ye be always with unity of heart, and of one will, united together, as it is written of our Lord’s beloved disciples: “The multitude of them that believed were of one heart and one soul.” While ye remain united, the fiend may frighten you, if he is permitted, but not by any means harm you. That he knows full well, and therefore he is busy, days and nights, to separate you with anger or with base envy; and he sends a man or woman who tells to thee, and of thee, some whispered rumour which a sister ought not to report of a sister. I forbid that any of you should believe this devil’s messenger. But see that every one of you have certain knowledge when she speaketh in the evil man’s tongue. Nevertheless, let every one of you, by a trusty messenger, warn each other sweetly and affectionately, as her dear sister, of any thing that she doth wrong, if she know it with certainty, and cause the person who beareth the message repeat it often in her presence before she go out, in the manner she is going to report it, that she may not report it otherwise, nor patch any thing more upon it: for a small clout may greatly disfigure a large whole garment. Let her who receiveth this kind and salutary admonition from her sister gratefully thank her, and say with the Psalmist, “Let the righteous smite me in mercy; and let him reprove me: but let not the oil of the sinner anoint my head.” And again, with Solomon, “Better are the wounds of a friend than the deceitful kisses of an enemy.” If she loved me not she would not, in pity, warn me. Dearer to me are her wounds than flattering kisses. Always answer thus: and if it is otherwise than the other believeth, send her word of it again kindly and courteously; and let the other readily believe it. For this I desire likewise, that each of you believe one another as herself. And if the fiend blow up any anger or resentment between you — which may Jesus Christ forbid—until it is appeased, none ought to receive God’s flesh and his blood; let no one be so insane, nor in any way even to behold it, nor to look with anger toward him who came down from heaven to man on earth to make threefold peace, as aforesaid. But let each of them send word to the other, that she hath humbly asked her forgiveness, as if she were present. And she who thus first gains the love of the other, and procures peace, and taketh the blame upon herself, although the other may be more in fault, she shall be my beloved and dear sister. For she is indeed a child of God. He himself saith, “Blessed are the peacemakers; for they shall be called the children of God.” Thus pride, and hatred, and anger are banished from every place where there is sincere love and true faith in the merciful works and gracious words of God. Let us now proceed in order to the other vices.

Of Sloth.

Who can be, for shame, slothful, and sluggish, and slow, that considers how active and diligent our Lord was on earth? and after all his other labours, how, in the eventide of his life, he finished his painful task on the hard cross? Other men take rest and retire into their chamber from the light, and hide themselves when they are let blood on the vein of an arm. But He, on the hill of Calvary, went up still higher upon the cross; and no man ever underwent such great and severe toil as he did that day when he bled, in five places, streams from full broad and deep wounds, besides the great veins that bled in his head, under the crown of thorns; and besides the woeful gashes of the dreadful scourges, not only on his legs, but over all his dear body. His early resurrection from death to life is very evidently against the indolent and the sleepy.

Of Covetousness.

Against covetousness is his great poverty, which increased upon him continually, more and more. For, at first, when he was born, he who created the earth found not on earth so much space as his little body might be laid upon. For, so narrow was the place that his mother and Joseph sat with difficulty thereon; and so they laid Him up on high in a manger wrapped about with clouts, as the gospel saith, “wrapped him in swaddling clothes.” So finely was He, the heavenly Creator, clothed: he that clothed the sun. Afterwards, the poor lady of heaven fostered and fed him with her little milk, such as a maiden must have had. This was great poverty: but more came thereafter. For he had yet, at least, food, such as fell to him; and, instead of the inn, his cradle lodged him. Afterwards, as he himself complained, he “had not where he might rest his head.” Thus was he poor, as to lodging. In regard to meat, he was in such want that when he had preached in the city of Jerusalem on Palm Sunday the whole day, and night was drawing nigh, he looked all around him, it is said in the Gospel, if any one would invite him to food or to lodging, and there was none. And so he went out of the great city into Bethany, to the house of Mary and Martha. And once, as he went with his disciples on the way, they broke off the ears of corn by the way, and rubbed out the corn between their hands and ate for hunger; and were, moreover, much blamed for this. But the greatest poverty of all came afterwards. For he was stripped stark naked upon the cross. When he complained of thirst, he might not have water. But the most amazing thing was that, of all the broad earth, he was not allowed a little dust on which to die, The cross had one foot or little more; and that was also to increase his sufferings. When the Ruler of the World voluntarily became thus poor, he is an unbeliever who loveth, and coveteth too much, the riches and the pleasures of this world.

Of Gluttony.

Against gluttony is the poor pittance which he had on the cross. Two sorts of men have need to eat and to drink well — men who labour, and men who have been let blood. The very same day that he both laboured hard, and was let blood, as I said before, his pittance on the cross was only a sponge of gall. Consider, now, if any one reflects well on this, would she be dissatisfied with the mistrum, or the scanty meal of unsavoury food, or with the poor pittance?

Of Incontinence.

Against lechery is his being born into the world of the pure virgin, and the whole of his pure life which he, and all who followed him, led on earth. Thus behold the articles, which are, so to speak, the very joints of our belief concerning the human nature of Christ. God knows her who deeply considers them, and fights against the enemy who tempts us with those seven deadly sins. Wherefore, saith St. Peter, “Arm yourselves with thinking upon Jesus Christ, who suffered in our flesh.” And St. Paul saith, “Think, think, when ye fight in the battle against the devil, how our Lord denied his fleshly will, and so deny yours.” “Ye have not yet resisted to the shedding of your blood;” as he did of His for you, against himself, inasmuch as he was man in our nature. And yet ye have with

you, night and day, the same blood and the same blessed body that came of the maiden and died on the cross, there is only a wall intervening; and every day he cometh forth and sheweth himself to you fleshly and bodily in the mass — shrouded indeed in another substance, under the form of bread. For, in his own form, our eyes could not bear the bright vision. And he sheweth himself to you thus; as if he said, “Behold! I am here: what would ye? Tell me what you greatly desire; of what you are in want. Complain to me of your distress: and if the army of the fiend, which is his temptations, strongly assail you, answer him and say, ‘We are encamped by the stone of help: and the Philistines are come to Aphec.” Yea, Lord! it is no wonder. We are encamped here beside thee, who art the stone of help, and tower of true safety, and castle of strength, and the devil’s army is more enraged against us than against any other. This I take from the Book of Kings. For there we are told how the people of Israel came and encamped beside the stone of help; and the Philistines came into Aphec. Philistines, that is, enemies. Aphec — in Hebrew it signifieth “new madness.” It is truly so. When a man encampeth beside our Lord, then first the devils begin to rage: and here we are told that the Israelites soon turned their backs, and four thousand of them were miserably slain in the fight. Never turn ye your back, my dear sisters, but withstand the fiend’s army among the foremost, as has been said before, with strong faith; and with the good Jehoshaphat, send prayers quickly, as your messenger, to the Prince of Heaven for succour: The Book of Chronicles: “In us there is not, dear Lord, so much strength that we could withstand this devil’s army that is so strong against us. But, when we are thus circumstanced, and beset with such a force, and that also we know not of ourselves what counsel to follow, this alone remains for us — to lift up our eyes and our hands to thee.” O merciful Lord, do thou send us succour; do thou put our foes to flight; for to thee we thus look, with the good Jehoshaphat. When God cometh before you, and asketh what you desire, and at every time when ye have need, declare it thus affectionately to his gracious cars. And, if he do not soon hear you, cry louder, and more importunately, and threaten that ye will yield up the castle unless he send you help the sooner and hasten the more. But do ye know how our Lord answered Jehoshaphat the good? Lo! thus; in this manner, “Be not afraid,” etc. Thus he answereth you when ye call for help. “Be not afraid,” he saith, “fear ye them not, though they be strong and many. The battle is mine and not yours. Only stand firmly, and ye shall have my succour. Have only steadfast faith in me and ye shall be safe.” Now, observe, what a powerful help is steadfast and firm faith. For all the help that God promises — the strength to stand nobly—consists entirely in this alone. Firm faith maketh you to stand upright; and nothing is more hateful to the devil. Therefore this is his saying and his expression in Isaiah, “Bow down, that I may pass over thee.” She boweth herself who inclineth her heart to his tempting. For, while she stands upright, he may neither back her nor ride her. Look! how the traitor saith, “Bow thee down, and let me up. I do not wish to ride long. But I will go immediately away over.” He lieth, saith St. Bernard; believe thou not the traitor. “He will not,” saith he, “go over, but will sit full fast.” Nevertheless, there was one who believed him, and thought that he would soon dismount, as he always promised. “Do it,” saith he, “this once, and make confession of it on the morrow. Bow down thine heart; let me up, and throw me off with confession, if I should, perhaps, wish to ride too long.” There was one, as I said before, who believed him, and let him up, and he rode her both day and night, full twenty years and more; that is, she committed one particular sin, on the same night, through his instigation, and thought that she would, on the morrow, make confession of it; but she committed it again and again, and fell into such an evil habit that she lay and rotted in it so long, as I before said. And, if it had not been a miracle that puffed down the devil that sat on her so fast, she had toppled with him, both horse and burden, down into the depth of hell. Wherefore, my dear sisters, hold yourselves always invariably upright in true faith. Believe firmly that all the power of the devil melteth away through the grace of the holy sacrament, which ye see elevated above all, as oft as the priest saith mass, and consecrateth that Virgin’s child, Jesus, the Son of God, who sometimes descendeth bodily to your inn, and humbly taketh his lodging within you. God knoweth, she is too weak, and too evil-hearted,who, with the aid of such a guest, fighteth not bravely. Ye ought to believe truly that all that the holy church readeth and singeth, and all her sacraments, give you spiritual strength, but none so much as this; for it bringeth to nought all the wiles of the devil; not only his forceful and violent assaults, but his powerful stratagems, his cunning sorceries, and all his deceits; as illusory dreams, false appearances, dreadful alarms, and flattering and deceitful counsels, as if the thing to be done were good and for the honour of God; for that is his wicked artifice, which, as I said before, holy men most dread, and with which he hath terribly beguiled many holy men. When he cannot bring thee to any open wickedness, he incites thee to something which appears good. He saith, “Thou shouldest be more indulgent, and let thy mind be quiet. Thou oughtest not to disturb nor vex thine heart, nor rouse it to anger.” He saith this, signifying that thou shouldest not correct nor chastise thy servant for her fault; and thus he leads thee into carelessness, instead of mildness. And, at another time, directly contrary to this he saith, “Permit not thyself to forgive thy servant any fault; if thou wishest her to fear thee, keep her strictly. Justice,” saith he, “must be very strict;” and thus he coloureth cruelty with the hue of justice. One may be too severely just. Skilful prudence is better than rude force. When thou hast watched long, and shouldst now go to sleep, he saith, “It would now be meritorious to watch, since watching is painful to thee. Say yet,” saith he, “one Nocturn.” Why doth he say this? Only that thou shouldst sleep afterwards, when it might be time for thee to watch. Again, he persuadeth quite the contrary; and if thou art well able to watch, he bringeth drowsiness upon thee, or suggesteth such thoughts as these: “Wisdom is the best thing: I will go to sleep and arise again presently, and do more quickly than now what I ought now to do,” — and thus, perhaps, it often happens that thou dost it not in the right time. On this subject I spoke before at large. In temptations of this kind there is none so wise and guarded, unless God defend him, that is not sometimes deceived. But this sublime sacrament, with steadfast faith, more than anything else, unmasks his artifices, and breaketh his strongholds. Truly, dear sisters, when ye perceive him nigh you, while ye have steadfast faith, ye will only laugh him to scorn, because he is such an old fool, who comes to increase his own punishment, and plait a crown for you. As soon as he seeth you valiant and bold in the service of God, and in his grace, his power melteth away, and quickly he takes to flight. But, if he should perceive that your faith fails, so that it appears to you that ye might be quite led astray if ye were, at that hour, strongly tempted, then is your strength weakened, and his power increaseth.

We read in the Book of Kings that Ish-bosheth lay and slept, and had set a woman to be keeper of the gate, who winnowed wheat. And the sons of Rechab, Remmon and Baanah, came and found that the woman had left off her winnowing and fallen asleep; and they went in and slew the unhappy Ish-bosheth, who guarded himself so ill. It is of importance that the meaning of this be well understood. Ish-bosheth, in Hebrew, signifieth “a man bewildered” in English. And is not he verily bewildered and out of his wits who, in the midst of his enemies, lieth down to sleep? The gate-ward — that is, reason — which ought to winnow the wheat and separate the refuse and the chaff from the clean grain, that is, by diligent carefulness to separate the good from the bad, and place the wheat in the granary, and blow always away the devil’s chaff, which is fit for nothing but to smoulder in hell. But the stupid Ish-bosheth, behold how foolishly he acted. He appointed a woman to be gate-ward, that is, a feeble warden. Alas! how many do the like! Woman is reason, that is, the understanding when it grows feeble, which ought to be manly, steady, and earnest in true faith. This gate-ward layeth herself down to sleep, as soon as we begin to consent to sin, and permit the desire to go inward, and the fondness to increase. When the sons of Rechab, which are the children of hell, find such an unwatchful and indolent gate-ward, they go in and slay Ish-bosheth, that is, the bewildered spirit, which in a sleepy carelessness neglecteth himself. It is not to be forgotten that, as Holy Scripture informs us, they stabbed Ish-bosheth through the groin. Upon this St. Gregory remarks, “The fiend stabs through the groin when the fond desire of lechery perforates the heart: “and this is done only in the sleep of carelessness and sloth, as St. Gregory sheweth, “When the old enemy seeth that our reason is asleep, he immediately draweth nigh to her, and falleth into conversation with her; ‘Dost thou remember,’ saith he, ‘how this or that one spoke of the lust of the flesh?” And thus the old deceiver speaks to her heart words that she heard long ago indecently spoken; or of some sight that she saw; or of her own uncleanness which she formerly wrought. All this he places before the eyes of her heart, that he may corrupt her with the remembrance of old sins, when he cannot with new. And thus he often

bringeth again into the infatuated soul, through desire, the same sins which through penitential contrition were long since amended, so that she may weep and lament, as one in sorrow, with the Psalmist, “Alas! my wounds that were so well healed are gathering new matter,” and begin again to fester. A healed wound begins to fester when the sins that were formerly amended come again, with desire, into the memory, and slay the unwary soul. Gregorius saith, Ish-bosheth would not have fallen by a sudden death if he had not placed a woman, that is, a timid warder, at the door of his mind. All this mishap came through the gate-ward’s sleep. That which is not wary and watchful is not manly but womanly — easy to overcome, whether it be man or woman. All our strength, then, is according to our faith, and according to our confidence in God’s help, which is ever nigh, except our faith give way, as I said before. Faith weakeneth the enemy and putteth him to flight immediately. Wherefore, be always as bold as a lion against him, with true faith; and especially in that temptation by which Ish-bosheth died, namely, the lust of the flesh. Behold how you may know that he is cowardly and weak, when he smites in this direction. Is not he a cowardly champion who strikes at the feet? who seeks to smite his antagonist so low? Now the lust of the flesh is a foot wound, as was said long before; and this is the reason of it: in like manner as our feet carry us, so our lusts often carry us to the object of our desires. Now then, although the enemy wound thee in the feet, that is to say, tempt thee with carnal pleasures, be not too much afraid for so low a wound, unless it should swell greatly, through the mind’s consent, with too much delight, up toward the heart; and then, drink the antidote, and drive the swelling away from the heart; that is to say, think of the bitter pains that God suffered on the cross, and the swelling will abate. Pride, envy, wrath, anxiety about worldly things, listless indolence, and covetousness of wealth, — these are the wounds of the heart, and that which emanates from them immediately giveth a death blow, unless it be remedied. When the enemy smiteth in this direction, then is he truly to be feared, and not for foot wounds.

1. The remedy of pride is humility; of envy, love to one another; of wrath, patience; of indolence, reading, and various kinds of work, and spiritual consolation; the remedy of covetousness is contempt of earthly things; of avarice, liberality. Now, concerning the first. First of all, if thou wilt be humble, reflect always on your want of holiness and spiritual-mindedness. Consider what thou hast of thyself. Thou art of two parts — of body and soul, and in each are two things which may greatly humble thee, if thou rightly apprehendest them. In thy body is uncleanness and infirmity. Now, there cometh out of a vessel such things as it contains. What cometh out of the vessel of thy flesh? Doth the smell of spices or of sweet balsam come thereof? God knoweth. Do dry twigs often bear grapes? And do briars bear roses, and berries, and flowers? Man, what fruit doth thy flesh bear in all its apertures? Amidst the greatest ornament of thy face; that is, the fairest part between the taste of mouth and smell of nose, hast thou not two holes, as if they were two privy holes? Art thou not formed of foul slime? Art thou not always full of uncleanness? Shalt thou not be food for worms? Even now, a fly may hurt thee and cause thee to shrink. Truly thou mayest easily be proud! “Thou art,” saith the philosopher, “of slimy origin, a vessel of filth, food for worms.” Look at the holy men of old; how they fasted, and how they watched; how great were the sufferings and labours they underwent; and thus thou mightest know thine own weak infirmity. But knowest thou what distorteth the weak eyes of a man who has climbed up high? That he looks downward. Augustin saith, “As the sight of an inferior is an incentive to pride, so that of a superior is a warning to humility.” For, as he who looks at those who are of humble station seemeth to himself to be of high station, so do thou look always upward to heavenly men, who have climbed on high, and then thou shalt see how low thou standest. To fast a week on bread and water, or to watch three nights together, how would it enfeeble thy bodily strength? Thus, look at these two things in thy body, uncleanness and weakness: in thy soul, other two, sin and ignorance; that is, folly and want of judgment; for often that which thou thinkest to be good is evil and soul-murder. Behold with wet eyes thy shameful sins. Dread continually thy weak nature, which is easily overcome, and say, with the holy man who began to weep and said, when he was told that one of his companions had fallen with a woman into carnal uncleanness, “He to-day, I to-morrow:” as if he had said, I am of the same infirm nature as he is, and the very same may happen to me, unless God sustain me. Lo! thus, the holy man had no overweening contempt of the other man that was fallen into sin, but wept his mishap, and dreaded that the very same might befall himself. In this manner, keep your heart humble and meek. St. Bernard says, “As pride is a desire of worship, so, on the contrary, humility is the rejecting of worship,” and the love of moderate commendation and of meekness. This virtue is the mother of all virtues, and giveth birth to them all. He who tries, without this, to acquire excellent virtues “beareth dust in the wind,” as St. Gregory testifieth. This virtue alone is saved: this alone evadeth the snares of the devil of hell, as our Lord said to St. Antony, who saw all the world full of the devil’s hidden traps. “Ah, Lord!” quoth he, “who may guard himself against these so that he is not caught with some of them?” “Only the humble,” quoth our Lord. So little a thing is humility, and so small, that no snare may hold it fast. And here is a very wonderful thing: for, though it make itself so little, and so meek, and so small, yet it is the strongest thing of all, inasmuch as all spiritual strength comes from it. St. Cassiodore sheweth this, “All courage is from humility.” And Solomon telleth the reason of it. Where there is humility there, saith he, is Jesus Christ; that is, his Father’s wisdom and his Father’s strength. Now it is no wonder, then, that there is strength where he is, through in-dwelling grace. Through the strength of humility he overcame the giant of hell. The wary wrestler carefully observes what stratagem his mate, with whom he wrestles, is ignorant of; for with that particular stratagem he may overthrow him unawares. Thus did our Lord. He saw how many the fierce wrestler of hell caught up on his hip, and threw, with the cast of the thigh, into lechery, which rules in the loins. He heaved up many, and turned round with them, and swung them through pride down into the depth of hell. Oh! thought our Lord when he beheld all this, “I shall practise upon thee a sleight that thou never knewest nor ever could know” — the sleight of humility, which is the falling stratagem. And he fell from heaven to the earth, and stretched himself in such a manner on the earth, that the fiend thought that he was all earthly; and he was outwitted by that stratagem, and is still every day, by humble men and women who are well skilled in it.

On the other hand, as Job saith, he may not yet for pride but look high. “His eyes behold all high things.” Holy men who think little of themselves and live humbly are out of his sight. The wild boar cannot stoop to smite him who falleth down, and through meek humility stretcheth himself on the ground: he is quite secure from his tusks. This is not contrary to that which I said before, that we ought always to stand against the devil. For this standing is faithful confidence of firm belief in God’s power; and this falling is humble consciousness of thine own weakness, and of thine own want of strength; nor can any man so stand except he thus fall; that is, except he think himself of small account and unworthy, and look always at his blackness and not at his fairness, because the fairness dazzles the eyes. Humility can never be sufficiently commended, for it was the lesson which our Lord most earnestly taught all his elect, both by word and work, “Learn of me, for I am meek and lowly in heart.” In this virtue he poureth not merely drop by drop, but he poureth in a flowing stream, the fountains of his grace; as the Psalmist saith, “In the dales thou makest fountains to well up.” But a heart inflated, and swollen, and lifted up as a hill —such a heart retains none of the dew of God’s grace. A bladder inflated full of wind diveth not into those deep waters; but the pricking of a needle letteth out all the wind. In like manner a slight stitch or a slight pain maketh one understand how worthless is pride, and how stupid a thing is vanity.

2. The remedy for envy, I said, was love to one another, and doing them good; and good will, where the ability to do is wanting. So great efficacy hath love and good will, that it maketh the good which it doth to another our own, as well as his. Only love his good; be well pleased and glad of it, and thus thou turnest it to thyself, and makest it thine own. St. Gregory sheweth this: “If thou lowest the good of another, thou makest it thine own.” If thou hast envy of another’s good, thou poisonest thyself with balsam and woundest thyself with salve. Thy salve it is — if thou lowest it — against the wounds of the soul; and thy strength against the fiend is all the good that another doeth, if thou art well pleased with it. I firmly believe that neither carnal nor spiritual temptation shall ever master thee if thou art kind-hearted, and humble, and meek, and lowest so sincerely all men and women, and especially anchoresses, thy dear sisters, that thou art as sorry for their evil, and glad of their good, as of thine own: desire that all who love thee love them as well as thee, and comfort them as well as thee. If thou hast a knife or a garment, food or drink, scroll or book, the holy man’s comfort, or any thing that would

benefit them, desire that thou hadst it not, provided that they had it. And if any one hath not her heart thus disposed, let her, with sorrowful sighs, cry to our Lord by day and by night, and never give him peace until he, by his grace, have so changed and formed her.

3. The remedy of wrath, I said, was patience, which hath three degrees, high, and higher, and highest of all, and nearest the high heaven. The degree is high if thou sufferest patiently for thy own guilt; higher if thou art not guilty; highest of all if thou sufferest for the good thou hast done. “Nay,” saith some bewildered thing, “if I were guilty of it I would never complain.” Art thou that sagest so out of thy wits? Wouldst thou rather be Judas’s fellow than the companion of Jesus Christ? Both were hanged; but Judas for his guilt, and Jesus without guilt, was hanged on the cross for his great goodness. Of which of the two wouldest thou be the fellow sufferer? Upon this subject much is already written above, as how he that saith or doth thee wrong is thy file: and is not that iron accursed that becometh the blacker and the rougher the oftener and the more it is filed? Gold and silver are purified from their dross in the fire. If thou gatherest dross therein, it is contrary to nature. “Reprobate silver call ye them.” If the chalice could speak, which was molten in the fire and made to boil vehemently, and then, with much beating and polishing, made into so very beautiful a form for the service of God, would it curse the purifying fire and the hands of its artificer? The whole world is God’s smithy, in which he forgeth his elect. Wouldst thou that God had no fire in his smithy, nor bellows, nor hammers? Fire — that is, shame and pain; bellows — that is, they who speak evil of thee; thy hammers — that is, they who do thee harm. Think of this example. Augustine saith, “Why doth the wicked man boast, if my Father make of him a scourge?” When a day of redress is fixed, doth not he greatly affront the judge, who, before the appointed day, breaketh the truce and avengeth himself on thee or on himself? And who does not know well that Doomsday is a day appointed in which to do justice to all men? Meanwhile, keep the truce. Whatever wrong men do thee, the righteous judge hath appointed a day in which to see justice done between you. Do not thou affront him by despising the vengeance of his judgment, and taking vengeance according to thy own judgment. There are two things which God hath reserved to himself worship and vengeance, as Holy Writ sheweth. Whosoever taketh to himself either of these two, robbeth God and reaveth from him. “My glory will I not give to another.” Also, “Vengeance is mine, and I will repay.” God knoweth! Art thou so enraged against man or woman that, to avenge thyself, thou wilt rob God of his might?

4. The remedy for indolence is spiritual joy, and the consolation of joyful hope from reading and from holy meditation, or when spoken by the mouth of man. Often, dear sisters, ye ought to pray less, that ye may read more. Reading is good prayer. Reading teacheth how, and for what, we ought to pray; and prayer afterwards obtaineth it. In reading, when the heart feels delight, devotion ariseth, and that is worth many prayers. St. Jerome saith, “Let holy reading be always in thy hand. Sleep may fall upon thee as thou lookest thereon, and the sacred page meet thy drooping face;” and thus long and intently must thou read. Every thing, however, may be overdone. Moderation is always best.

5. Against covetousness. I could wish that others avoided, as ye do, gathering. Too much liberality often breedeth it. Free hearted ye ought to be. But an anchoress, from other’s liberality, hath sometimes been too free of herself. Lechery cometh of gluttony and of carnal ease; for, as St. Gregory saith, “Meat and drink more than enough bringeth forth a threefold progeny; light words, light deeds, and wantonness. Our Lord be thanked, who hath cured you of gluttony, my dear sisters; but carnal desires are never completely extinguished from among the temptations of the flesh. But know this, that there are three degrees therein, as St. Bernard testifieth. The first is cogitation; the second is affection; the third is consent. Cogitations are flying thoughts that do not last; and these, according to St. Bernard, hurt not the soul; but yet, they spit upon her with their black spittle, so that she is not worthy to be embraced or kissed by Jesus Christ, her beloved, who is altogether fair, before she is washen. Such impurity, as it cometh lightly, goeth away lightly with the help of prayer, confession, and all good works. Affection is when the thought goeth inward, and fondness is excited, and the desire increaseth. Then, as was the little spot at first upon the white hood, there groweth a wound, and penetrateth deeply into the soul, according as the desire and the fondness go in further and further. Then there is need to cry, “Lord, heal me, for I am wounded.” “Reuben, thou red thief; thou bloody desire; mayest thou never increase!

Consent, that is, the willingness of the mind when the fondness of the desire is gone so much too far that there is no refusing, if there were a convenient opportunity to commit the action. This is when the heart draweth desire into itself, as a bewildered thing, and begins, as it were, to wink and to permit the fiend to do what he pleases, and layeth herself down and inclineth to him as he bids, and crieth “I yield, I yield,” as if about to faint. Then he becometh bold who was at first timid. Then he leapeth near, who was at first at a distance, and bites the bite of death on God’s dear spouse. I wis, the bite of death, for his teeth are venomous as the teeth of a mad dog. David, in the Psalms, calleth him dog, “Deliver my soul from the sword, my darling from the power of the dog.”

Wherefore, my dear sister, as soon as ever thou perceivest that this dog of hell cometh sneaking with his bloody fleas of corrupt thoughts, lie thou not still, nor yet sit, to see what he will do, or how far he will go; and say not to him in a sleepy manner, “Friend dog, go out hence; what wouldest thou have here?” This enticeth him toward thee. But take up at once the staff of the cross, at the same time pronouncing the sacred name with thy mouth, with the sign in thy hand, and with thought in thy heart, command him sternly to go out—the foul cur dog; and beat him severely with the staff of the holy rood. Give him hard back strokes; that is to say, rouse up and bestir thyself: lift up your eyes and hands toward heaven, cry for succour, “Haste thee, O God, to deliver me.” “Come Holy Ghost.” “Let God arise.” “Save me, O God, for thy name’s sake.” “Lord, how are they increased that trouble me.” “To thee, O Lord, have I lifted up my soul.” “I have lifted up my eyes.” All the Psalms through. And if help cometh not to thee soon, cry louder with fervent heart, How long wilt thou forget me, O Lord, for ever?” And so on through the whole Psalm; the Lord’s Prayer, the Belief, the Salutation of the Virgin Mary, with deprecatory prayers in thy own language; and smite your knees down smartly to the earth, and snatch up the rood staff, and swinge him again on every side — the hell hound. That is nothing else than bless thyself all around with the holy sign of the cross. Spit, in contempt and scorn, upon his beard who thus dangleth about thee, and flattereth thee with the fawning of a clog, when, for so small a price — for the momentary gratification of a desire, he tries to purchase thy soul —God’s dear spouse, which he bought with his blood, and with his precious death on the dear cross. Look always at the price that he paid for her; and by that value her, and hold her the dearer; and never sell thou so cheaply, either to his enemy or thine, his beloved spouse that cost him so dear.

To make of her the devil’s paramour, is sorrow beyond all sorrow. Too depraved, withal, is she, who might, by holding up her three fingers, overcome her foe, and desires it not, through sloth. Hold up, therefore, with true and firm faith thy three fingers, and with the holy rood-staff, which is the cudgel which he loathes most, lay on the devil-dog. Name Jesus often, and invoke the aid of his passion, and implore him by his sufferings, and by his precious blood, and by his death on the cross. Fly into his wounds; creep into them with thy thought. They are all open. He loved us much who permitted such cavities to be made in him, that we might hide ourselves in them. And, with his precious blood, ensanguine thine heart. “Go into the rock,” saith the prophet, “and hide thee in the pit which is dug in the earth;” that is, in the wounds of our Lord’s flesh, which was as if dug into with the blunt nails, as he said long before in the Psalter, “They dug my feet and my hands.” He did not say, they pierced my feet and my hands, but dug. For, according to this Latin, as our teachers say, the nails were so blunt that they digged his flesh, and broke the bones rather than pierced them, to torment him the sorer. He himself calleth thee toward those wounds. “My dove,” saith our Lord, “come and hide thyself in the cavities of my limbs, and in the holes of my side.” Great was his affection for the dove for which he made such hiding-places. See now that thou, whom he calleth dove, have the nature of a dove, which is without gall, and come to him boldly, and make his sufferings thy shield, and say with Jeremiah, “Thou shalt give me, O Lord, a heart-shield against the enemy; which is thy laborious sufferings.” That they were laborious, he sheaved manifestly enough, when he sweated, as it were drops, the sweat of blood, that ran down to the earth. A shield should be held up, in battle, above the head or against the breast, and not dragged behind thee; and, in like manner, if thou wish that the holy rood-staff should be thy shield, and that the Lord’s painful sufferings should foil the devil’s weapons, drag it not after thee, but lift it up on high above the head of thy heart, in the eyes of thy breast. Hold it up against the enemy, and shew it him distinctly. The mere sight of it putteth him to flight; for it both terrifieth him and shameth him to distraction, since the time when our Lord therewith baffled his crafty wiles, and his proud strength. If thou, through thy negligence, defendest thyself at first feebly, and givest the enemy entrance too far in the beginning, so that thou mayest not be able to drive him back again because of thy great weakness, but art so far overcome that thou canst not hold this shield upon thy heart, nor shelter thyself under it from the devil’s arrows, take, at last, St. Benedict’s remedy, though it need not be excessively strong as his was, who, from the wallowing, on back, and side, and belly, ran all over with gory blood: but, at least, when the temptation is strongest, give thyself a smart flagellation, and draw, as he did, the sweet inclination into smarting. If thou dost not so, but defendest thyself in a sleepy manner, he will advance upon thee too far, before thou art in the least aware, and bring thee from foul thoughts to the desire of foul sin; and so he bringeth thee completely to give thy mind’s consent, which is mortal sin, without the deed; and so is likewise the pleasure of the stinging desire, without consenting to its effect, so long as it may last, when the reason no longer contendeth against it. For the delight in it must never be judged to be wilful though it continue, as long as the reason strives against it, and refuses its consent. Wherefore, dear sisters, as our Lord taught thee, trample upon the serpent’s head, that is, the beginning of his temptation. “Blessed is she,” saith David, “who restraineth herself at first, and breaketh against the stone the first emotions when the flesh ariseth, while she is young.” Our Lord is called a stone because of his faithfulness. And also in the Canticles, “Take us the little foxes that spoil the vines;” these are the first enticements which are felt, which destroy the vineyards, saith our Lord, which are our souls, that need much tilling in order to bear grapes. The devil is of the nature of a bear and of an ass; for he is strong behind and feeble in the head, that is, in the beginning, and so is the bear and the ass. Never give him entrance, but tap him on the skull, for he is weak as a bear in that part; and thus hasten him away and hurry him away so shamefully, as soon as thou perceivest him, that he may hold himself as disgraced, and dread the place wherein thou dwellest; for he is the proudest creature, and shame is most disagreeable to him.

Thus, dear sister, as soon as ever thou feelest thy heart incline with too much love toward any man, beware immediately of the venom of the serpent, and trample upon his head. The old woman spoke very truly, when with a single straw all her houses caught fire, that “much cometh of little.” And now observe how it happeneth: the spark that goeth up, doth not immediately set the house all on fire, but lieth and catcheth more fire, and continueth feeding it, and it groweth from less to more until the whole house blaze forth before we are in the least aware. And the devil bloweth upon it from the time that it first kindleth, and always bloweth a greater blast with his bellows as it increaseth. Understand this from thyself. If any sight that thou seest, or a single word that thou hearest amiss, at all move thee, quench it with the water of tears, and with Jesus Christ’s blood, while it is only a spark, before it increase and inflame thee so that thou mayest never be able to quench it; for so it often happens, and it is the just decree of God, that “he who doth not when he may, shall not when he would.”

There are many kinds of temptation in this fourth part, and various comforts and manifold remedies. May our Lord give you grace that they may help you! The fifth part then shall be of confession, the most necessary of them all, as I promised above. And observe how every part falleth into another, as I said before. Here beginneth the fifth part.

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