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LOAN STACK 
 
 Entered, according to Act of Congress, in the year 1877, by 
 
 VERY REV. R. E. V. RICE, C. M., 
 
 in the Office of the Librarian of Congress, at Washington, D. C. 
 
k Ma 
 
 TRAtfSLATOl 
 
 The following t- i has proved a labor indeed, bat a 
 
 labor of I »r long years the 
 
 an J Spiritual Doctrine thed in an 
 
 tantly present tot He 
 
 hid hoped, and waited, and 1 able hand to 
 
 undertake the task. He had prayed that some one, adequately 
 
 charmed with its 
 ! with its Bui r the pi 
 
 Ho to make ol 
 and profit B 1 vain, hope withered, and 
 
 id in deli nd woul 1 oo1 
 
 I he must himaeli 
 the w limited powers he r 
 
 is the thought persisted, and sugg I 
 that I for what he 
 
 honor oi' -on, to make the a 
 
 •1 to the America 
 re were difficulties in the way. a tho 
 
 S of & 
 
 lese it is a ] ' n and to 
 
 - 
 
 lived in a 
 I real 
 ■I in every 
 s2ciic.-. o labors 
 
 of the 
 
 721 
 
IT translator's preface. 
 
 civilized world as in the peaceful country villages and hamlets* 
 ami 1 peoples of the so-called civilized countries as among the- 
 semi-barbarous nations of the Orient; because suffering exists- 
 everywhere, and, wherever suffering and human misery are, there- 
 St. Vincent labors. Hence, it cannot be superfluous to multiply 
 narrations of his life, or of his virtues; it cannot be esteeraecL 
 out of place to rooite to those who honor and revere him, who* 
 love him, other versions of his sayings and doings. 
 
 Moreover, the present work of all others, and there is no 
 thought to derogate from their worth, presents most completely 
 the virtue of the saint, and marks most fully and clearly his 
 ideas and teachings in regard thereto. It specifically treats, as its 
 title indicates, of the virtues of the saint and his spiritual 
 doctrine. Other works exhibit his virtues in the history of his 
 deeds. They are especially the work of the writers who narrate 
 the circumstances of his life and draw their own conclusions. 
 In the present the words of the saint himself are given. The 
 entire book is scarcely other than the writings and discourses oi 
 the saint arranged and brought to bear on particular points.. 
 It is, as the author well remarks, a complete compendium of the 
 writings of St. Vincent de Paul. The sum, the substance, both 
 of all his conferences whether to the Missionaries and Daughters 
 of Charity, or to the religious communities of which ho had 
 charge, or to the numerous societies of ecclesiastics, and of the 
 laity of both sexes which sprung np at his word^and were 
 willing, and actually did give their wealth and their time for 
 the benefit of the poor and raftering whose father he was, and of 
 the innumerable letters to individuals of all ranks, of all classes 
 and of all countries, constitutes the book. The author has but 
 little of his own. He never speaks but when to introduce the 
 saint. 
 
 And this very feature has proved no little trial to the translator. 
 Because, intent on fidelity to the sense, and even the very words. 
 of the saint, he has found it no easy task to transfer to ordinary 
 intelligible English the complicated phrases and intricate sentences 
 of the old style French of the fifteenth century. For, though 
 t and Pension, Itacine and Corneille, Boileau and La Fon- 
 taine were reinodelin £ and immortalizing the lan^uagrc of the 
 1' rank, even while the poor and simple priest, Mr, Vincent* was 
 
'LATOKS PR! I 
 
 providing the necessaries of life for entire province* racked and 
 mined by war and famine, Mill the old fashion held sway, and 
 but slowly and reluctantly gave way before the new. 
 
 IB idea, then, of the saint, and to pay attention 
 to the accompanying and confirmatory clause*, and make them 
 a united whole in English as they are in the French, was a serfc 
 
 sole. II » think he has been faithful and e 
 
 in perceiving the meaning of the Saint and rendering it into run- 
 May be his hopes have overleaped his ability, 
 and effort, however, have been sincere and constant. 
 The auto tea in his read* aeral knowledg 
 
 the main facts in the life of the saint. Hence, frequent reference 
 itoryofthat life. This may prove to some an 
 nnsatisfa be work. Yet, everything in the book 
 
 and independent True, for a more comprehensive 
 understanding of the degree of virtue practised, for a deeper 
 and more intimate feeling of the heroism of many of the acts 
 narrated, an acquaintance with the history of the life of the 
 For the work is a companion to the Life. It 
 . that the major portion of those who will read it are 
 Snfliciently familiar with the name and work* of the Apostle of 
 Charity, ami, therefore, that I mere ncntion of certain circum- 
 
 18 all that is required to recall the picture in all its vividt* 
 Or, again, it is hoped that th • the work will en 
 
 jet in those, to \ 
 
 ire to p< i all 
 
 lie work is of the The author 
 
 1 in the path of 
 
 Church I I iiurch, in her pro< 
 
 of cane: the memory oi the one prop* 
 
 the honor I to the theological 
 
 and then, their an: 
 plan ecomc that of all hagio- 
 
 • 
 \ over-w. vc. 
 
Vlii TRANSLATORS PREFACE 
 
 rather to hasten their ruin than promote their advance- 
 ment. And this dependence ever kept him in humility, 
 ever impelled him to seek by all the means in his power 
 to learn the will of his Creator, and, once assured of the Divine 
 pleasure, to boldly and with unbounded confidence set to work 
 to accomplish it; never for an instant permitting anxiety for the 
 result to trouble his mind or disturb the peace of his soul. God's 
 work it was, and God would have it performed as it pleased 
 Himself. This was sufficient. 
 
 Such was the guiding principle of Vincent's life, and such he 
 taught all with whom he came in contact. For he ever strove to 
 imitate Jesus Christ and to induce others to imitate Him. And 
 what has been the life of the Savior if not absolute dependence 
 on God, His Father, and faithful performance of all the Divine 
 wills ? 
 
 And this constitutes the charm in the virtues and teachings 
 of St. Vincent. Though his instructions are given ordinarily 
 to those who are called to the higher grades of piety, still the 
 humblest, the simplest, can apply them and practise them. They 
 may make them their own and yet outwardly go not out of their 
 ordinary way. They can find in them the highest excellence of 
 virtue, and by their practice become most holy servants .of their 
 God, without the slightest fear of illusion, without the accom- 
 panying vanity and deadly self-complacency of great works. 
 
 That the perusal of the virtues and spiritual instructions of 
 St. Vincent do Paul may inspire some little effort to make them 
 their own. and thus honor God and imitate the Saint, is what is 
 most humbly and earnestly prayed for, and constitutes the high- 
 est praise and reward his readers can bestow upon the 
 
 TRANSLATOR. 
 
PUBL1SHE R'S PREFA CE. 
 
 In giving to the American public the following translation of 
 Abbe Maynard's "'Virtues and Spiritual Doctrines of StVinbent 
 
 de Paul," we feel that WC are contributing, not a little, to the 
 grand cause of Catholic literature. It does not befit us to 
 say one word either in praise or in blame of the merit-) of the 
 work. The high commendation which it has -heady received 
 us, however, to indulge the hope that it is destined to fill 
 to advantage its particular and peculiar sphere of usefulness. 
 
 The work is issued from the otliee of the Ni \<; aua Ini.i.x, the 
 organ of the Students of the Seminary of Our Lady of Angels. 
 The typographical appearance is as perfect as we, with our 
 limited facilities, could expect. Errors, indeed, may be found, 
 but they are not of such importance as to demand the intro- 
 duction of a department devoted to their correction. Any in- 
 accuracies, then, that are discoverable throughout the translation 
 will, we doubt not, be charitably laid to the credit of inexperi- 
 ence; and of anxiety, the never failing attendant of fiist 
 endeavors. 
 
 The appendix, containing letters and heretofore unpublished 
 selections from the discourses and writings of Mademoiselle Le 
 Gras are presented almost literally. Even the title. 4< Letters and 
 Unpublished Fragments of Mademoiselle Le Graft" indicates this. 
 Eotli the "Virtues'' arid the "Letters" are now, for the first 
 time, presented in an English dress, and that they may prove 
 highly beneficial to their readers is the heartfelt wish of 
 
 The PuBUnBB. 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAP. PAGE - 
 
 I— Faith I 1 
 
 II — Hope and Confidence in God 6 
 
 III— Love of God.. _ -..._... 20 
 
 IV — Conformity to the Will of God — Resignation and 
 
 Indifference ._ 27 
 
 V — Presence of God _ 49 
 
 VI— Prayer 52 
 
 VII — Devotion and Piety towards God and the most 
 
 Holj* Sacrament — Imitation of Jesus Christ 70 
 
 VIII — Devotion to the Blessed Virgin and the Saints. . . 81 
 IX— Zeal for the Gloryof God and the Salvation of Souls . 84 
 
 X— Charity . . 105 
 
 XI— Meekness. ... 16G 
 
 XII— Humility... 180 
 
 XIII— Obedience _ 215 
 
 XIV— Simplicity _ 228 
 
 XV— Prudence , ._. 238 
 
 XVI — Justice and Gratitude _ 249 
 
 XVII — Detachment from Earthly Goods, and Love of 
 
 Poverty 261 
 
 XVIII— Mortification _ _ 274 
 
 XIX— Chastity 294 
 
 XX — Composure of Spirit. _ _ SOI 
 
 XXI — Fortitude and Patience ___ 305 
 
 XXII — Patience in Sickness . 323 
 
 XXIII— Method of Direction _ 335 
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 LETTERS. PAGE. 
 
 I — Love of God ; 1 
 
 II — Little Practices of Devotion ., 3 
 
 III — While on a Pilgrimage 5 
 
I V — "When Obedience calls to another House 5 
 
 V — Some Advices and Sonic Strength..:... .. 
 
 VI — Advice in Regard to Recreation 6 
 
 V 1 1 — To the Sisters in Poland on the Occasion of send- 
 ing other Sisters 8 
 
 VIII— On Christmas.. 
 
 I X— Mutual Affection . - 10 
 
 X — Against Division between Superior and Inferior.. 10 
 XI -Disunion among Sisters, and Discouragement in 
 
 Contradictions 12 
 
 XII — v ject, to the Sisters at Nantes . 13 
 
 XIII— To the Same 13 
 
 XIV — To the Same, on Mutual Support . It 
 
 XV — To the same in sending them a letter of St. Vin- 
 cent . . U 
 
 XVI— Patience in Trials 10 
 
 XVII— Same Subject— Danger of OHiec _. 17 
 
 XVIII — Some extracts of Letters... 17 
 
 XIX — Advices to Sisters suggested by their names ..... U 
 
 XX— To a r 10 
 
 XXI — Petition for the Apostolic Benediction, 1652- ... 20 
 
 XXII— Will of Mademoiselle Le.Gras... CO 
 
APPROBATIONS 
 
 The admirable work entitled : " The Virtues and Spiritual Doctrine of St. 
 Vincent de Paul," by the Abbe Maynard, now for the first time appearing in 
 au English dross, and published by the *« Seminary of Our Lady of Angels," 
 has been highly commended by his Eminence, Cardinal Marlot, Arch-bishop 
 of Paris, and very favorably received by the Catholic people of France. The 
 translation by a Priest of the Congregation of the Mission, now offered to the 
 American public, has my fullest approbation, and I must also hope that the 
 enterprise shown in contributing so valuable a work to our American Catholic 
 literature, and publishing the same from the College press, will be apprecia- 
 ted and encouraged, as it deserves. The work itself cannot fail to be appre- 
 ciated wheresoever known, and to do good wheresoever read. The spirit ot 
 St Vincent is revealed in his virtues and spiritual doctrine, and the spirit cf 
 Vincent is the spirit and essence of genuine Christian charity, the very life 
 ■n I soul of Christianity. All classes will be benefitted by the perusal of this 
 work. The simple faithful who seek to follow Christ "and lead Christian 
 lives, lives comformed to the maxims of the Gospel, will be edified and in- 
 structed and incited to imitation ; the clergy will seethe model Piiest of 
 modern times practising as well as teaching the virtues that adorn and 
 sanctify the pr.estly character and calling: the religious of hoth sexes will 
 find iuits pages ■ "practical illustration of that higher inner life and high 
 religious perfection which they profess, and learn after Vincent how to 
 sai ctify themselves by the regular observances and ordinary every day 
 duties of their community life. "The Virtues and Spiritual Doctrine of St. 
 Vincent de Paul" will naturally become the favorite book of spiritual lecture 
 In the conferences of St. Vincent, ami the members of this wide-spread and 
 admirable society will learn from it what true Christian charity means and 
 what it imposes, will learn to kindle and keep alive in their own hearts love 
 for the poor and disinterested zeal in promoting their temporal and spiritual 
 welfare, and thus present to the world, in their every- lay lives, an example 
 of true charity that makes them love their neighbor for God's sake. and. by 
 faith, see in the poor whom they succor ouly the needy and suffering 
 members of Christ. May, then, this little work be widely circulated and ful- 
 fil its mission by teaching the principles arid practices of the supernatural life, 
 found ad on faith and eliminating in divine charity, which is the bond of per- 
 fection and the touchstone of all true religion! May it raise up in every state 
 of life Imitators of Vincent do Paul, true followers of our meek and humble 
 and merciful Savior! 
 
 t STEPHEN VINCENT. 
 Bislop of Buffalo. 
 
 Buffalo, May 5th, 18 
 
 i •» 
 
 The following 1* tter of approbation, an honor to the author and to us a 
 memorial of His Eminence, Camidal Marlot, Arch-bishop of Paris is at- 
 
 tached to the original work 
 BlY Deak Abbe 
 
 Taris, Juna 19th, 18G4. 
 
 I am grateful for your kind remerphnmee 
 and touched by your thoughtful ness in sending me vour book entitled • 
 Virtue* and S Hrilual Doctrine of tit. Vincent de Paid. These pagv* are 
 moat profound and edifying, and are, moreover, a fit and natural compliment 
 of your history of the holy founder of the Mission. All those, who are anxious 
 to maintain themselves In the true spirit of Christianity, and to make new 
 progress in virtue, will read them with interest. May their number increase 
 from day to lay, and may the posterity of the illustrious Priest, whose nam** 
 serves as standard underneath which such generous devotedness is displayed, 
 augment in like manner! 
 
 Accept, my dear Abbe, the assurance of my affec- 
 tionate regard, * 
 
 t G. ARCHBISHOP OF PARIS. 
 To the Abb k Maynabd, Canon of Poitikus. 
 
V ! R, 'V I I IS £ 
 
 AND 
 
 SPIRITUAL DOCTRINE 
 
 OF 
 
 ST. VINCENT DE PAUL. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 FAITH. 
 
 Faith is the Grs1 r pproach unto God (Heb. xi. 6,) 
 
 engage in His service. I .11 Christian 
 
 virtue, the foundation o piritual e b is 
 
 the idea th bad of faith, and he, therefore 
 
 d his conduct according to its dictates, and made 
 the corner-stone of all his holy undertaking 
 
 Worn erful faith in St. Vincent! it partook of the simplicity 
 of childhood and the : ; formed within him t he 
 
 priii supernatural life, and he became the source whence 
 
 sprang that charity which embraced the entire world. 
 
 Hi- was a Btrong faith, and like unto tl rhich take 
 
 but the I and bea and 
 
 storms, a faith th ^th when tempi .led. 
 
 At Tunis, this faith r to blandishments and - of 
 
 hia out vie- 
 
2 VIRTUES AND DOCTRINE OF ST. VINCENT DE PAUL. 
 
 torious from the temptation of unbelief which, to free a friend, 
 he had accepte I ; in the troubles of Jansenism it escapes all the 
 snares of heresy and t he seductions of sectaries. " I thank 
 God," did he love frequently to say, '• for having preserved me 
 in the integrity of faith in the midst of an age that has brought 
 forth so many heresies and scandalous opinions, and for the 
 grace of never having held any opinion contrary to that of the 
 Church. By a special protection of God, notwithstanding the 
 many dangerous occasions wherein I might have been turned 
 from the light path, I have always been on the side of truth " 
 
 His Faith, we see, was not only strong, but, moreover, pure 
 and simple, that is. resting solely on the first truth, God and on 
 the authority of the Church. 
 
 His was a faith at once expansive and communicative, as are 
 all Christian virtues. It loved to diffuse itself by means of cat- 
 echising and instructing, particularly among the poor peasants 
 of the country ; as the ocean, it sought to extend to all parts of 
 the world, and being unable b/ its own direct efforts, it succeeded 
 through the instrumentality of a company of Missionaries sCVit 
 out to every infidel land. 
 
 An aggressive faith he had, ever on the alert against error, a 
 faith armed with that Credo which the Saint wore as a breast- 
 plate ; armed with prayer which he regarded as the best de- 
 fense in combat, and as a source of all light and strength ; 
 armed with zeal and charity to preserve from the contagion of 
 evil doctrines first his children, then the religious and secular 
 communities of which he was Superior, and, finally, doctors of 
 divinity and bishops of the Church whom he retained in the 
 faith. 
 
 His faith was humble even in its victories. ''Though," said 
 the Saint, "God gave me the grace to discern the truth fiom 
 error, even before the definition of the Holy See, still I 
 have never bad any feeling of complacency or vain joy because 
 my judgment was formed in conformity with that of the Church 
 fully recognizing that it was an effect of 1 lie pure mercy of God 
 towards me, to Whom, therefore. I must render all the glory." 
 
 He possessed, finally, a full and active faith ; a faith that en- 
 lightened his understanding, warmed his heart, animated his 
 thoughts and affections, his words and acts, and guided him in 
 
i .urn. 3 
 
 rything,an<1 everywhere, According to the truths and maxim 
 of J 68U8 Christ; a faith that guided him not merely in things 
 that referre I directly to ( 10 1. but which he introduced i ven into 
 temporal and human affairs. 1I<* undercook nothing of 
 which faith was no( the principle, and which he did not ; 
 supernatural end. 
 
 II 
 
 Such was tin 1 virtue of faith in St. Vincent; such Likewise was 
 tin- laith that he taught others lit- reprehended those who. in 
 explaining Chrifetiao truth, relied unduly on the light of science, or 
 on tin- Strength Of human reason; and those who examined these 
 truths with curiosity and temerity did not escape his censure, 
 kinstall hi- made use of this comparison: "As the more wo 
 
 fix th'' eve on the sun the leS8 W6 866, so, in the truths of relig- 
 ion, the ; strain reason, tic less we know by faith. It 
 burch proposes ihese truth-; we certainly 
 
 i believe her and to submit. 11 And he 
 
 added: •• The Church is the kingdom of God, and He inspi 
 her ruins with principles of good government Pis Holy 
 Spirit presides over the councils; from Him have proceede I the 
 light shed throughout the world which has enlightened the 
 samts. dazzled the wicked, dispelled doubts, rendered truth 
 ev { dent, laid bare errors and disclosed tic laths wherein the 
 Church in general, and each of the faithful in particular, may 
 walk in safety." 
 
 His charity and moderation had reached their limit, and yet 
 he was requested to exercise both towards the people of Port 
 I. lit- . imply answered: " When a dispute has been decid- 
 ed there i> no agreement possible, save in adhering to the 
 judgment given, li fore these gentlemen were condemned they 
 
 did their Utmost to have error triumph over the truth, and 
 unwilling then to listen t., any terms of agreement, they were 
 so intemperate in their desire to obtain the upper hand that 
 
 (tance hardly dared, offer itself. Even sii.ee the Holy See 
 has decided against them they have sought to give divers con- 
 structions to the Papal constitutions bo that their effect might 
 
 vaded. And, though on the one hand they have made a 
 
4 VIRTUES AM) DOCTRINE OF ST. VINCENT DK i»ADL. 
 
 semblance of sincerely submitting themselves to the common 
 Father of the Faithful, and of receiving the constitutions in the 
 real sense wherein the propositions of Janscnius were condemned, 
 nevertheless their writers, who have maintained these proposit- 
 ions, and have written books and apologies in their defense, have, 
 as y-t, neither said nor written a word in disavowal. What 
 union, then, can we have with them since they have no sincere 
 intention of submitting ? What moderation is possible in regard 
 to what the Church has decided ? They are matters of faith alike 
 incapable of alteration or arrangement, and. by consequence, 
 they cannot be adjustable to the sentiments of these gentlemen. 
 Theirs it is to submit and unite with us in the same belief, and 
 in a true and sincere submission to the head of the Church. 
 Without this we can only pray God for therr conversion." 
 
 He blamed all hurry and anxiety even in the most holy works, 
 for he saw therein a movement of nature and a hidden distrust 
 of Providence. One day he wrote to Madamoiselle Le Gras: "I 
 always see in you somewhat of human sentiment; you think all 
 is lost when 3-011 sec me unwell. Oh, woman of little faith! why 
 have you not more confidence in the guidance and example of 
 Jesus Christ? This Savior of the world confided in God, the 
 Father, for 'he state of the entire Church, and you think He 
 will fi.il you in regard to a handful of daughters whom His 
 Piovidence has evidently gathered together! Go, Madamoiselle, 
 humble yourself very much before God." 
 
 Little progress in virt e and in the things of God he attributed 
 to the too great confidence placed in human reasons. "No, no," 
 he f aid one day, "only eternal truth is capable of satisfying the 
 heart, and conducting us safely. Believe me. we have but to 
 lean firmly, strongly, on any one of the perfections of God, such 
 as His Goodness, His Providence. His Truth, His Immensity. — 
 we h-.ve but to ground ourselves well on these foundations to be- 
 come perfect in a short time. Not that it is not well to convince 
 by stro-.g reasoning and solid argument; these alwa} T s prove 
 serviceable when subservient to the truths of faith. Experience 
 teaches that he who preaches according to the light of faith effects 
 more in souls than he whose discourse is filled with philosophical 
 arguments and scientific reasoning. And the reason is that the 
 lights derived from faith arc always accompanied with a certain. 
 
heavenly unction that secretly penetrates to (he heart. Ildicc 
 wemayjudgeifitbem »ry, as well forourown perfection 
 
 • r the salvation ofsoals, to follow alwav- and in all things the 
 of faith. 
 •ill further taught that thi. • looked L'DOn 
 
 is they externally appear, bnl were to lie considered as th?y 
 
 app Jared in God. And this he based on the word of 
 
 •- For (ho thing* which ant tern ark I: but the 
 
 /•■•/." (2 Cor., ii.. '■'.) 'I ought 
 not." In- -aid. "regard a poor pea-ant or a poor woina aceord- 
 
 to the exterior, nor according to the intellectual capa- ity, 
 pecialty as o: arthly and so stupM is he. that 
 
 he g : the figure nor mind of rational heir 
 
 I * 1 1 • i ■■■\ erse the medal, an 1 yoii will see in the light of faith that 
 
 who has \v i s : i 
 in t ;• people; that, in His passion, I Ie scarcely had lh(V 
 
 figure of man, and that theC. msidefcd Him a fool, am? 
 
 the • sides, He e .llfl Himself the 
 
 e\; n. 1 ; ii-t of the poor: '•'/',> preach the Gospel to thtl /»"■• II-. 
 
 h-ith :<.,' M>r (Lnkeii., Oh, my God. bow beautiful W 
 
 is to look upon the poor, when we consider the:.. ;; God, and 
 in the esteem in which.! ' ; -' held i'cid! lint to the 
 
 and to a worldly spirit 
 
CHAPTER II. 
 
 HOPE AND CONFIDENCE IN GOD. 
 
 I. 
 
 Hope is begotten of faith and is proportional to it. He, 
 who knows Go 1 and beli vcs in Him can hope but in Him. can 
 reV but on Ilim. What the view of Divine truth disengaged 
 from all human reasoning is to faith, the goodness alone of God 
 is to hope which, thenceforth, disdaining men and their earthly 
 resources can no longer confide, no longer rest save in the 
 Divine Providence. 
 
 .Vincent so full of faith, carried his hope, after the example 
 of the father of believers, so far as to hope even against hope. 
 When everything seemed to fail him. then he hoped the more. 
 
 In the beginning ol his motto this holy hope alone inspired 
 him, alone directed him in their prosecution, alone sustained 
 him in the midst of difficulties and obstacles, and alone assured 
 him of success. 
 
 "When there was question of undertaking anything for the 
 service of God he commenced by having recourse to prayer to 
 know the Divine Will. Assured of this, he began the work, and 
 abandoned himself t:> the Divine mercy. Without doubt, ac- 
 ording to the order of Providence itself, he made use of all the 
 means that prudence suggested, but he did not pbee his reli- 
 ance on them, he counted only on the assistance of Heaven. 
 Even in the beginning he neg^cted human agencies. He first 
 allowed Providence to act, delaying as long as possible from 
 mixing his action with the Divine action, so convinced was he 
 that the less of man there is in any affair the more there is of 
 God. Once engaged, after this Christian manner, he feared 
 
HOPE AND CONFIDKNCK IN COD. i 
 
 nothing, either f >r himself (> r for his children* In vain the 
 timorous or the worldly wise majority magnified tin* obstacles. 
 
 or strove to dem mstratethe impossibility of the ua lertaking. 
 
 •■ Let us allow our Lord to act " he answers, •• it is His wo?) 
 
 and BS it has pleased Him to begin it we may rest assured thai 
 ii<- will perfect it in the manner most pleasing to Himself 
 
 Courag >,th in; Let us trust la our L >r l Wh i will be with as first 
 and last in a work to the u . I • h is calle I us.' 
 
 Then h • wonld throw himself blia lly Lai i -: and 
 
 most painful entcprises, redoubling his confidence In God in 
 the midst of difficulties, as the soldier redoubles bis ardor amid 
 of battle. As th ■ i idergone by 
 
 the order of God did not cause him any fear of exhausting tin 
 
 tiv:i Provides r did the wants a:i 1 pressing 
 
 necessities of his houses, though grieving his paternal heart. 
 dim his hope, or alarm him in regard to the future of bit 
 1 ition. 
 
 I- and disappoint labors and perils, far from 
 
 Subduing him, only serve I as Occasions tO testify confi 
 
 i God, and to depend more entirely and absolutely 
 
 on His will The result, moreover, of any work mattered little 
 
 to him ; good Of evil, he accepted it as coming from the hand 
 
 and equally manifested gratitude for His mercy. 
 
 And he acted in this manner not only in things of secondary 
 Interest, hut also in those that he had most at heart, as tor Lb 
 
 stance, the birth, continuation and Increase of that Congregation 
 
 Of Missionaries that was as dear to him as life. Whilst proceed- 
 ings were going on at the Court of Rome for the erection of Ms 
 band of Missionaries into a congregation, and whilst, at the sane 
 time, arrangements were being made for the transfer of the rich 
 j »i iorv of St. Lszaras to Vincent, he said, not through presumption, 
 but from Chris* ian certainty ofsuccess : " I fear but my sins, and 
 not for the success of our cause eitherin Rome or in Paris, neither 
 
 for the bulls nor for the affair of St. Lazarus. Sooner or later all 
 
 -will be accomplished. •• TUcj that fiat tic Lord kavt h< j„<i f« 
 tin' Lord: he is theft helper awl jm l*s, ozlit, ii«) 
 
 And that the dependence on the designs of God which presided 
 
 at the birth of his nation should still preside over its cx- 
 
 . on he never wished to make, nor would he allow to be made. 
 
6 VIRTUES AND DOCTRINE OF ST. VINCENT DE PUAL. 
 
 "the least effort to obtain benefices, establishments, or subject*. 
 
 • Between two favorable propositions made him, he felt himself in- 
 duced to prefer the less advantageous ; between two subjects, 
 . to prefer him whose birth was the moie humble, whose condi- 
 tion was the poorer, whose mind and knowledge were mediocre, 
 lest in his choice there should 03 anything that savored of 
 
 cupidity, of ambition, or of any other natural inspiration. 
 
 II. 
 
 To ground those under him in these maxims and in this manner 
 of acting, lie in luce 1 them to conceive a great diffidence in them- 
 selves, and to become thoroughly convinced that Ivy their own 
 efforts they could do nothing save spoil everything in the work* 
 and designs of God. He then dwelt on the greatness of the Divine 
 mercy. "God, said he, "is a founta'n wherefrom each draws 
 according to his wants, lie, Who needs six, takes six pailsfull, 
 he who re piires three, only three, and the little bird that wants 
 only to moisten its beak 11 i e s a-vay immediately after; a traveller 
 .must drink from the hollow of his hand." Impressed with this 
 • idea of the mercy of God he desired entire abandonment to Prov- 
 idence, just as the child abandons itself to its nurse "If this 
 nurse places the child on her right arm, the child is content; if 
 she change it to the left, it does not mind, and, provided it has 
 the breast it is content. Let us. then say to ourselves: God is 
 my father. Let him put me on the right side, that is in peace 
 and content, or on the left, which signifies the cross, it matters 
 not; H will strengthen me and I will hope in Him.'' Confidence 
 in Go 1 it was that he gayeas a Viaticum to those he sent into the 
 distant and difficult missions. " Go, Gentlemen, in the name of 
 God." he -aid to them ; " it is He who si nds you ; for His service 
 and His glory you undertake this voyage and this mission; He, 
 then, will be your guide, H e will protect and aid you . This we hope 
 ifor from His infinite Goodness. Keep yourselves always in a 
 firm dependence on His faithful guidance; have recourse to Him 
 in all places and in all circumstances; throw 3'ourselves into His 
 arms, for you should recognize Him as a tender father, with a 
 .•firm confidence that He will assist you and bless your labors." 
 Did tliev grow wearv and weak under the burden, it was con- 
 
HOPE AND COXFIl EXCE IX COD. 
 
 fidfcnoe in God wherewith lie renewed their courage lie wrote 
 to their superior: " I Bympathize with you m you labors; they 
 ii. and they continue increasing whilat Biokueas ia dim 
 tntshing your forces It is our good Lord who *l«>ts this, and 
 ■will not Leave so great a buixieu on your hands with- 
 out aiding von to Bustain it; He will, even Himself, be you* 
 strength ets well as your recompense for tho extraordinary bOi 
 vices that, iii thi • ou render H m. l>ii 
 
 whenOur Lord gives a helping band three <:ti» effect more than 
 ; and He always does when* He deprives us of human means 
 us in the d< of tloin oui 
 
 e will, howevei ss that it 
 
 may be pleasing to Him to restore your sick to health, and to 
 infuse into your community a great hope in His merey. M 
 
 He did not wish them to lose c; nflderiCC, In times of want and 
 •• You must not be surprise 1." he v, rote them on these 
 occasions, " nor frightened because the yearisbad, no, n< ver, it' 
 many be bad. God abounds in riches. Nothing has been want 
 in.;- to you up to the present ; why, then, fear To:- the future ? 
 ; would like to have all provision made ^<> a- to be assured of 
 having all yon desire. 1 say you wish so according to nature 
 for I think, that according to the spirit, you afe glad to have an 
 opportunity of relyinj I alone, and. Likes real poor man, 
 
 <>f depen I he liberality of I !ii . Lord, who is infini.ely rich. 
 
 1 help the poor people ; they are to be pitied in 
 because they do not know how to turn this time to 
 nor do they Beek first the kingdom of God and 
 justice that they may be m i h i worthy to receive the thi 
 us, over and above the succor required 
 eternal ii 
 
 Losses the most ruinous weic nol to shake their confidence 
 >es for the best; and therefore w< •nust 
 hope that thi Vom God, will be ] .'to 
 
 ns. All thine o tho just ; and we iredthat 
 
 the adversities we ( from the hand ol Goo 1 will be 
 
 joy and a blessing. I pray for them, gentlemen and my d 
 
 i:vii; lei us thank God for this affair, for the do rivatio i of 
 this property, and for on us to accept 
 
(0 VIRTUES AND DOCTRINE OF ST. VINCENT DE PAUL. 
 
 chisloss for His love. The loss is great, but His adorable wisdom 
 «-ill know how to turn it to our good, aud that in a wry that to 
 as is, at present, unknown, but one day we will see ; yes. we 
 will sec. And I trust that the manner after which 3 r ou all have 
 born' yourselves in the accident, so little foreseen, will serve as a 
 foundation to the grace God will give you, of making in future 
 a perfect use of all the afflictions it will please Him to send us." 
 
 Nor should intrigues and persecutions trouble them any the 
 more. He wrote: " As regards the inttigues that are being car- 
 ried on against us, let us pray God to guard us from this spirit ; 
 since we blame it in others it is all the more reasonable that we 
 ke:p it far from ourselves. It is a fault against Divine Prov- 
 idence which renders those who commit it unworthy the care 
 God takes of everything. Let us establish ourselves in entire 
 dependence on His holy leading, and on the assurance that in so 
 doing all that men will do or say against us will turn to our 
 good. Yes, my dear sir, even were the entire world to rise up 
 to destroy us it could do nothing but what is pleasing to God in 
 whom we have placed our hope. I beg you to enter into these 
 sentiments, and to dwell firmly therein so that hereafter your 
 mind will not be troubled with useless apprehensions." 
 
 The sense of their own imperfections and miseries should not, 
 according to him, militate against their trust in God. • 'We have 
 within us," he snid to them, "the germ of the omnipotence of God 
 and this ought to be a great motive to hope and to place all our 
 confidence in Him, notwithstanding all our poverty. No, we 
 oiusJt not be astonished when we see miseries among us, for each 
 hns his own good share. It is well to know them, but not to be 
 immoderately troubled by them ; it is even good to turn away 
 the thought of them when it leads to discouragement, and re. 
 double our confidence in God and our abandonment into his ten- 
 der arms." Still further he wrote: "I know the fidelity and 
 care you have for the work of God: what remains for you, then, 
 but to rest in peace? God only demands this with an humble 
 acquiescence in the success which he gives, and which, I am sure, 
 will be complete in j'our soul. Why, then, become discouraged? 
 Von point out to me your miseries . Alas ! and who is there that 
 is no:/ full of them ! The only thing is to know them and to love 
 f,he humiliation arising from them, as you do, without stopping 
 
iiopk an'd c).vfii>::\-je I\ G )D. 11 
 
 gave to lay a strong foundation of confidence in God; foi 
 then the b0U8€ is built upon a rock and when the storm comes it 
 remains flim. Do- not be afraid, then* This Is your case, I know; 
 for these feelings of distrnst and discoun are but frcm 
 
 m tare, an I m t from your heart, which ia far boo generou - (brany 
 thii g like that Let God, then, do with us and our works as he 
 ighonr pains and troubles for tnes be in vain, and 
 though they show only ingratitude and contempt lores, .still we 
 will not neglect, on that account, to continue, knowing- that in 
 this way we fulfill the law which is to loveGod with our whole 
 
 heart and our neighbor as our 
 He frequently taught them thia marim : tl When God begin* 
 
 :<> do so tq the end UD 
 
 And he said again: " When 
 il ii.to his affections, no nvitter what thai 
 I u^oes, He supports it. Have you never seen a father who 
 
 that he loves very much! He bears with nil the 
 Little one plei >; he even at times calls upon it. '•Bitemj 
 
 my And why thus 1 he loves that little child 
 
 Ant! in conjunction, he cite;' the ex 
 
 am; 'ion. •' Let us have eoLfidence ii 
 
 and my brethren, but lei it bp entire and pet 
 
 ; ; - .' 1 • 
 
 will finish it. For, I | th< 
 
 Congregation I wrohl intcdustothe >;di 
 
 nations, to the conferences, to the retreats, and other works ii 
 whir it 1 1 By no me tail 
 
 in the very beginni I all; for 
 
 ■ •I' them, hiad no And \ 
 
 ■: all this I 
 Provl all pit; 
 
 ; and an, 
 
 I >d. then, wit > has done al! 
 accord it. j 
 
 im ; for ii' we place it in 
 or fortune, God 
 will withdraw . uc must mi 
 
 ; and for the - 
 
12 VIRTUES AN'l) DOOTRIXi: OS ST. VINCKNT DE PAUL. 
 
 nity — Oh ! my brethren, let us beware of listening to such a 
 thought for we will be deceived. Let us seek solely God ; he 
 will provide us with friends aud with all else, in such a way that 
 we will want for nothing. Do 3*011 wish to know why we do not 
 suci-wl in such, or sueh an employment ? It is because we lean 
 too much upon ourselves This preacher, that superior, this con- 
 fessor trusts too much in his prudenee, in his learning, in himself. 
 What does God do ? He withdraws 1rom him; He leaves him 
 there ; and though he works, all that he does produces no fruit, 
 that thus, he may recognize his o.vn uselessness, and learn from' 
 his own experience that, no matter how talented, he can do no- 
 thing without God." 
 
 We must let God act, then; we must intrigue for no favor, not 
 ■be sollicitous, we should fear nothing. On this subject he wrote 
 •to one of his priests in Rome. "Every day you give me reason 
 to praise God for your affection for the congregation and your 
 cure for its affairs ; and I do with all my heart : but I must like- 
 wise say to you. as our Lord said to Martha, there is a little too 
 :much sollicitude in your action, and that only one thing is 
 ^necessary, namely to allow more to God aaid His direction than 
 you do. Fore ight is good when it is subject to Him; but it goes 
 %o excess when we become anxious to avoid anything we fear : 
 we hope mare from our own care than from His Providence, and 
 we imagine we do a great deal in anticipating His orders by our 
 disorder which causes us to trust rather in human prudence than 
 in His word. This divine Savior assures us in His Gospel, that 
 ivit her the little spariow. nor even a single hair of our head will fall 
 without His permission; and 3-011 fear our congregation will not be 
 abb to maintain itsel. if we do not use such and such precautions, 
 and if we do not do this thing and that ; ro that should we defer 
 doing it others will come and establish themselves upon our ruins, 
 ho soon as a design against us appears we must oppose it; should 
 anyone wish to profit by our moderation we must be beforehand 
 \\ ith him, el e all is lost. This is nearly the sense of 3'our letters ; 
 and, what is worse, your quick, lively disposition urges you 
 to act. as you speak, and in your enthusiasm you think 3 r ou possess 
 Sufficient light without having need to receive an\ r from others. 
 O.i ! my dear sir, how little this proceeding becomes a mis- 
 sionary. " 
 
UOPE AND COM il»l .Ni B IN I 13 
 
 lie I >ok delight in 1 1 1 v citing the example of Abraham 
 
 as one of '• Yon r and old 
 
 patriarch whose son, God had] ; ire 
 
 earth- And yet He commands him to s ion Where- 
 
 :i any pe *ai I: If Abraham put his son to 
 
 death how is < rod to fulfill Hia promise I This holy man, however, 
 who had » submit to all the wishes of God, 
 
 u putting himself in 
 pain about anythi It is the affair of God. might be have 
 
 said, to unman I He will 
 
 fulfill II ise — Hut how? — I do no1 know; it Is enough 
 
 to 1- Ui-Powerful; I am going to ofjfer Him what I 
 
 world since i ! it —Bui ii is my only 
 
 son — No matter — But, in taking the life of this child. 1 will de- 
 prive : keeping His word . ; — It is all the same; 
 He desires it ; i 4 , must be done. — Bu1 it* I preserve him my race 
 will be blessed. God has said — Yes, but Ho has also 8 >uld 
 put him to death; He h:is manifestc 1 i • ; 1 will obey Him, 
 no matter what happe I \ will hopein Hia e — Ad. 
 mire this confidence; he Is in no trouble about what will happen, 
 the affair concerned him very nearly : but he hope.-, all 
 will L r o well part in it. Why should not we, 
 gentlemen, have a lik< nee if we leave to God the care of 
 all that « oncerna u>. and if we prefer that which He commands I 
 
 •• In this connection, too, will i dmire the fidelity of the 
 
 children of Jonadab, son of Rachel I He was a good man who 
 received an inspiration from God to live in a manner different 
 from other men, to dwell in a tent and not in a house. He aband- 
 ons, therefore, the one that he has. Behold him now in the 
 country; here the idea strikes him to plant no vine soas not to 
 
 drink wine : and in fact he plants none and never after drank wine. 
 
 He forbade his children to sow wheat or other to plant 
 
 r to cultivate gardens. See. then, they are all without 
 withont grain, without fruit What, then, will you do, 
 
 my i 
 
 •• 1 )-> you ini • lier you. or your :'. 
 
 without eating ! - We will eat,' he says within himself, -what 
 "ver (iod will send.' Th very hard: even ihe pOOlCSt 
 
14 VIRTUES AND DOCTRINE OK ST. VINCENT DE PAUL. 
 
 religious orders do not cany the spirit of renunciation to such a 
 degree. However, be that as it may, the confidence of this man 
 wns such that he deprived himself of all the commodities of this 
 life t > depend absolutely, he and his children. on the care of Divine 
 Providence. And they continued in this way for three hundred 
 and fifty years ; that is he, his children, and his children's child-' 
 ren. This was so agreeable to God that, complaining to Jerc- 
 mias of the hardness of his people abardoned to their pleasures, 
 he tells him : '.' Go to those obduraies, and tell them there ts a man 
 tcho does (his. &-. " 
 
 " Jeremias, then, to verify the extreme abstemiousness of the 
 father and his children causes the Rechabites to be b. ought to 
 him. He sets a table, and places thereon bread, and wine. and 
 glasses* When they are come he says to then': ' I am commiss- 
 ioned by God to bid you drink wine' — ' And we,'* answered the 
 Rechabites. ' have a command not to drink ; for so long a time 
 we have not drunk, our lath' r having forbidden it.' Now, if this 
 father had so great a confidence that God would provide for the 
 subsistence of his family that he gave himself no trouble, and if 
 the children we.'e so careful in faithfully carrying out the inten- 
 tions of their father, oh, gentlemen, what confidence should not wo 
 have, that, no matter in what state God may place us, He will 
 provide us with all that is necessary ! What is our fidelity to" 
 rule in comparison with t 1 at of these children who, otherwise, 
 were not obliged to abstain from the comforts of this life, and yet- 
 practised such poverty ? Oh. my God! gentlemen. Oh my God! 
 my Brethren, let us ask of His Divine Goodne s a great con- 
 fidence in i Urn no matter what happens in ou: regard. Provided 
 we be faithful to H in nothing will he wanting to u? ; He will Him- 
 self live in us. He will conduct us, defend and love us; all that 
 we say, all that we do, all will be acceptable to him." 
 
 " Look at the bir.'s. They- neither sow, nor reap ; yet God 
 sets a table for them everywhere; He gives them clothing and 
 nourishment, He extends His Pio.'idenee to the {lowers of the 
 field, to the lilies whose ornaments are so magnificent tint 
 Solomon in all his glory had nothing similar. Now. if God thus 
 cares for the birds and plants why will you not trust in; a God so 
 good and so provident ? What ! will you trust rather in your- 
 selves than in Him ? And vet, vou well know that He can do all, 
 
; \\l> < <>\l n.rv i; IN ■ 15 
 
 and yo;i nothing ; notwithstanding this, yon dare confide in your 
 own endeavors rather than in Hie goodness, in yonr poverty 
 rather than in Hie wraith ! Oh misery of man !" 
 
 "I will say here, however, that Superiors arc obliged to look 
 after the want of each individual and provide all that La necessary; 
 and as God takes Care to furnish all I liscreatures. even the little 
 midge, with what is necessary, He wishes that Buperiorsand offi; 
 cers, as instruments of His 1'. ••■ e that nothing be 
 
 wanting, either to the priests. cleric8,or to the brothers; either 
 to a hundra I person-, two hundred, three hundred, or more, were 
 they in the house; either to the little orto the great. Hut my 
 'urn. you in your turn should quietly rest in the loving care 
 of the same Divine Providence for your maintenance^ and eon;. 
 
 rselves with what it gives without Becking to know whether 
 the community has it or not ; nor should you trouble yourselves 
 about anything except to seek first the kingdom of God, \'^r 
 Hi- Infinite Wisdom will supply all the rest" 
 
 _ >, I asked a Carthusian, who is prior of a house, 
 if. for the government of their temporal matters, they called a 
 
 council of the religious.' ■ We summon.' he answered me, 'the 
 
 officers, such a- the superior and the procurator; the others have 
 .u.-c! n; fchoy occupy themselves only in chanting theprai 
 
 I n>d and in doing what obedience and the rule prescribe. 1 
 
 With us, thanks be to God, the same practice hold-. Lei us con- 
 tinue (inn in it; we, too. are obliged to possess property and to 
 
 can for it in order to meet all demands. There was a time when 
 the Son of Cod sent his disciples without money or pr» visions ; 
 
 afterwards He judged it proper to have wherewith to maintain 
 
 his company and to assist the poor. 'Idle Apostles continued in 
 the same way; and St. Paul says of himself that he labored with 
 his own hands, and that he collected for Christians who were in 
 want. It belongs, then, to superiors to watch over the manage- 
 ment of the bouse; bul let them care. aUo, that this vigilance over 
 
 temporal things do not lessen that which regards virtue; and let 
 them manage so thai the spiritual life will be vigorous in their 
 houses, and that God witl there reign over everything. This 
 Bhould be their first object*" 
 
 lie £avc the same advice, and prescribed the same conduct 
 
1G VIRTUES AND DOCTRINE OF ST. VINCENT DK PAUL. 
 
 for persons from without, who came to consult him . ' * Put away 
 from your mind whatever causes you pain." he told them, " God 
 will take care of it. You cannot allow yourself any anxiety in 
 regard to this mutter without, so to speak, saddening the heart 
 of Gol, because Ho sees you do not honor Him sufficiently with 
 holy confidence. Trust in H ; m, I beseech you, and you will 
 obtain the accomplishment of all that your heart desires. I say 
 again, cast aside all those thoughts of mistrust which you some- 
 times entertain. And why should not your soul be full of con- 
 fidence since by His mercy it is the dear daughter of our Lo:d?. . . 
 Oh ! how great are the treasures hidden in holy Providence, and 
 how sovereignly do they who follow, but do not crowd it, honor 
 our God. I recently heard a noble, high in power, say that he 
 had thoroughly learned this truth from his own experience, for he 
 had never undertaken 1 y himself but four things, and these in- 
 stead of advantage brought him injury. Is it not true that you 
 wish. as is but reasonable, your servant should never undertake 
 anything without you. or your order ? And if this be reasonable 
 in man with his fellow man, how much more so is it in the 
 Creator, with His creatine V 
 
 He did not believe there could be excess of confidence in God. 
 Said lie: ''Just as you cannot believe too firmly in the truths of 
 faith, so, too, it is impossible to hope too much in God. It is 
 true, we may be deceived either iu hoping for that which God 
 has not promised, or in hoping for what he has promised only 
 under condition, when we are unwilling to fulfill the condition : 
 as for instance — a sinner hopes for pardo:: and yet does not wish 
 to forgive his brother ; he asks for mercy and will not change 
 his life ; he hopes to overcome temptations and yet neither com- 
 bats nor resists them. All such hopes are false and illusory ; 
 but true hope founded on the goodness of God and on the merits 
 of Jesus Christ can neve:: be too great." 
 
 With such principles, both in heart and mind, the Saint nat- 
 urally combated in others, as in himself, all temptation to despair. 
 He wrote, on this point, to an ecclesiastic who confided to him 
 his troubles. ; 'I hope, then since you wrote your letter, God 
 has dissipated the clouds that overshadowed you ; hence, I will 
 say but a word in passing. It seen s to me you have some doubt 
 
BQPE \M> CON FID 1 <.oi>. 17 
 
 whei ' the elect T.> which I will 
 
 answer that, though i' be true that m> person, without a Bpecial 
 revelation '■'. es infallible marks of his prodestina- 
 
 imony of St Paul, there are marks 
 
 whereby to know the true children of God bo probably that 
 
 there is room for doubt Ami these marks, my dear 
 
 i, by the God : the very letter wherein 
 
 you tell me you d • them <'.: of them, and 
 
 .■■ ac [tiaintanc • with you points out the others. Believe 
 
 me. Sir, [do I veu to ( rOCL Ilur a !i 
 
 il an 1 !• at f >r g i - 1 than your own — 
 
 I m •. ii ■ u- so to you. A ml I answer 
 
 thai allow his « I, imid 
 
 the lire, the purity of their interioi . 
 
 that tliey ru; occasion to hum, 1 l (l themselves without 
 
 treasure, being hidden, may he in greater 
 urity — Th it'.e had seen the wonders of Heaven; 
 
 l>ut In- did not for iliis leason consider himself justified, for 
 1 within himself too much dark -many Btrugg] 
 
 hat he thought nothing fn 
 arating him from the charity of .! 
 uffice to keep you in pei 
 amidst your i an entile ami perfect 
 
 of Our Lord. Who, desirous of 
 
 into the hands of His Providence. Lei His paternal 
 
 you, th ii' loves \'<'u; ami so far from 
 
 •tin-- a i virtue, {is you are. <>:i the contrary He 
 
 never abandons a sinner that hopes in Mis mere; 
 
 But ii was to his >f Charity 
 
 in recommending Confidence in God. To 
 
 the Re] he said: "The true .Missionary ought never 
 
 In- in trouble »!• of this world, hut should throw all 
 
 his eares on the i' Fthe Lord, holding it for certain 
 
 while he is well i charity, ami well grounded 
 
 in this confidence, lie will always he under the protection of God, 
 and consequently ,no< to him, and no good can fai] 
 
 him, eyeu when he imagines, according to appearances, that alii- 
 
18 VIRTUES AND DOCTRINE OF ST. VINCENT DB PAUL. 
 
 going to ruin. I do not say this of myself ; it is the Sacred 
 Scriptures that teach it, and that declare: 'He that divellethinthe 
 aid of the, Most High sh dl abide under the protection of the God of 
 Heaven,'' (Ps. xc, I.) He who abides in the confidence 
 of God will ever be favored with a special protection, and in 
 this, state he should deem it certain that no evil will befall him, 
 became for him all things work to his benefit, and no good will 
 be wanting since God, giving Himself to Hm, brings all 
 necessary goods, Ifoth for body and soul And hence, my 
 Brethren, you should hope that, whilst }'ou remain constant in 
 this confidence, not only will you be preserved from all evil, and 
 all sad accidents, but also that you will abound in all kinds of 
 good."' 
 
 This same confidence he counselled to the Daughters of 
 Charity by citing the instances of special protection with which 
 God favored them in perilous circumstances. One of them 
 came forth unhurt from the ruins of a falling house. He 
 said to them: "Can God show you better how accept- 
 able to Him is the service you render Him in the persons 
 of the poor ? Is there anything more evident ? A new house 
 falls, thirty five or forty persons are found crushed beneath its 
 ruins, and this Daughter, who with her soup was in the 
 same house, on a corner of the steps that Providence, it seems, 
 supported cxpressby to sustain her, escaj es all harm; she comes 
 out of this danger safe and sound. We must believe that the 
 angels drew her thence ; for what probability is there that 
 men did it ? They, indeed, lent their aid, but the angels were 
 necessary to sustain her. Oh, what protection ! Do 3^011 think, 
 my Daughters, that it was without a purpose God permitted this 
 house, entirely new, to fall ? Do you think it was but by chance 
 it fell just when our Sister was within ? Do you think it was by 
 good luck she escaped without injury? Oh, no, not at all. All 
 that is miraculous ; God had pre-ordained all that to prove to 
 your company the care he takes of it." Another time it was a 
 floor that gave away in the house of the Sisters, just at the mo- 
 rnent that there was no person either on, or under it. "Ah My 
 daughters" said the Saint on this occasion 4 'what reason have not 
 we to trust in God ? We read in history of a man bt tog killed in 
 
BOPE \M> I OKTIDKNCE IN <lOL>. 1J> 
 
 the open fields by a turtle, dropped on his head by an eagle. 
 and we see to-day 1 1 <> i : ~ ely overtorned, and Daughters 
 
 from under the ruins without the slight- 
 est Injury. What is this If not a mark and a testimony, 
 (i .1 wUhes to show them that they are as 
 to Ilira as the apple of His eye f Oh My Daughters, rest 
 I that, provided you keep within your hearts this hoh 
 con 11 - ve you, I t wiiere yen I 
 
CHAPTER III. 
 
 LOVE FOR GOD. 
 
 Love is all interior, and the eye of Ilim above that penetrates 
 to the depth of hearts sees its ardor and its flame. However, 
 from this inner hearth, as from a subterranean fire, dart forth 
 sparks which reveal it to the eyes of men. 
 
 Vincent's love for God manifested itself, in the first place, by a 
 perfect obedience to His holy law. It is the Apostle of charity 
 himself who has said : " Wliosoever keepcth His word, the charity 
 of God is truly perfect in him;" (I John ii. , 3), and again, 
 •'For this is the charity of God that we keep His commandments" 
 (I John vi., 3). Vincent was the living law of God ; every- 
 thing in his bod}*, as in his soul, all his thoughts, all his affec- 
 tions, all his words and all his actions were regulated by the 
 law of God, and his life was a continual holocaust consumed 
 b} r the fire of Divine Love. 
 
 Again. this love manifested itself by his ardent, continuous and 
 efficacious desire to have God known more and more, to have 
 Him adored, served, obeyed, loved and glorified at all times, in 
 ali places and by all creatures ; a desire that frequently escaped 
 him in suchlike ardent aspirations : - '(), my Lord ! O, my Savior ! 
 O, Divine Goodness ! O, my God ! When wilt Thou grant us the 
 grace to be entirely Thine, and to love but Thee alone." 
 
 It manifested itself in his words which, coining from his heart, 
 testified by their burning accent how bright was the fire within. 
 Of VincentVas of Chanty incarnate itself, his hearers said : "Were 
 not our hearts burning within us whilst he discoursed with us?" 
 This, the wife of the President. De Lannoi^non, addressing the 
 
I OVE FOB GOD. 21 
 
 Dot I one day In o meeting of the La 
 
 of Charity, exclaiming: "Well, Madam, might we not Bay, with 
 the •• hearts glowed with the ardor 
 
 of Divine Love while Mr. Vin rmy 
 
 pais, though little sensible to the thin. mre von 
 
 nil aflame with what the holy man hasju 
 44 It is i tnzaga, •• be I 
 
 ilofthe Lord bearing < n his lips the ardent coals of that 
 Divine love which barns in his heart " ' 'Thi Ided 
 
 a third, " and II depends only upon participate in the 
 
 ardor of thai Borne love." In isticai conferences be 
 
 produced the same impression. ,4 As tly listened to his 
 
 words," Bos* related. •• ot one who. did uot I 
 
 tlie accomplishment ofthe wcrdsof the Apostle, s ; . Peter: l, 7/anp 
 ik a* the ■■ iv. f XI). Ii 
 
 batTronson, 
 
 of the Seminary of St. Sulpice, in a transport, cried out : 
 
 hold, there is a man all filled with the spirit and the love of 
 
 lany came to the conferences only to hear him, and they 
 
 isddencd whenever hit v had forbidden him 
 
 •h. Bishopsofthe t renown were often present. When 
 
 through humility and respect, Vincent yielded to them the 
 
 conclusion of the Men, in the quality of director, 
 
 the regulations and by usage, belonged to him, they refused in 
 
 ordei not to be deprived of the happiness of hearing him. One 
 
 day. the most able Of them said to him: *• Mr Vincent 
 
 yon must rot deprive the company by your humility of the good 
 thoughts with which God lias inspired you on the subject in quest- 
 ion. There trtain indescribable unction ol the Holy 
 Ghost in your words that touches every one; moreover, these 
 gentlemen pray yon to impart your views, for one word from 
 
 you will have m:.; than all that we can ■ay." Ind, OH 
 
 leaving the o fter having heard bim, they used to 
 
 44 You are, indeed, happy in seeing and 
 hearing daily . - > ftlle 1 with the 1 God." 
 
 >\e manitf I purity 
 
 !. in the 
 and in •( • glory of < lod. 
 
22 VIRTUES AND-DOCTRIXEOFST. DE PAUL. 
 
 II. 
 
 And purity of intention was precisely the means he employed' 
 to form in his disciples a love for God. He said to them : "God 
 does not look so much to the exterior of our actions as to the* 
 degree of love and purity of intention with which we perform 
 them. Little actions are not so subject to vain glory as are more 
 brilliant ones, which often end in a puff of smoke. We must 
 accustom ourselves to please God in little things if we wish to 
 be acceptable to Him in all our actions." 
 
 From this we may judge of his horror of anything done through 
 human respect. One of his missionaries in Home, thinking to 
 imp. ess the Cardinals favorably, wished to commence with their 
 provinces in giving the missions. Vincent, to whom he had 
 communicate! his thoughts answered : «*0, my Jesus ! my dear 
 Sir, may God preserve us. from ever doing anything with such 
 base views ! His divine Goodness demands that we should never 
 do any good work, anywhere, in order to be esteemed, but that, 
 on the contrary, in all our actions we regard Him directly, • 
 immediately, and solely. I take this opportunity, prostrate in 
 spirit at your feet, and for the love of Our Lord Jesus Christ to ask 
 of you two things: the first is that you avoid as much as possible- 
 all desire of appearing ; and the second, that you never do any- 
 thing out of human respect. In accordance with this request it 
 is but entirely proper that you honor for some time the hidden, 
 life of Our Lord. There must be something precious in the hid- 
 den life, since the Son of God, before making Himself known- 
 lived for thirty years as a poor artisan And on humble begin, 
 nings Me always bestows more grace than on those that are sur- 
 rounded withpompand magnificence. You will ask me, perhaps; 
 what will they think of us at this court, and what will they say of 
 us in Paris? — Permit them, my dear sir, to say and think of us as 
 they please, and do rest assured that the maxims of Jesus Christ 
 and the examples of His life are not unavailing ; that the}' will 
 bear their fruit in proper season; that what is not conformable to 
 them is vain and that he who is animated with contrary maxims 
 will fail in all that he undertakes. This is my belief, and it is my 
 experience. In the name of God. then,, sir, regard it as infallible- 
 and cherish retirement." 
 
LOVE FOR GOD. 23 
 
 "It would be better,* 1 be said again, "to be bound hand and foot 
 and cast into a burning lire than to do anything to please men." 
 And then the l»*ttcr to show the injustice, and folly of those who 
 art through human motives, he contrasted the perfections of the 
 Creator with the miseries of creatures and added: u Let us always 
 honor the perfections of Cod. let as take for models of what we 
 have to do, those that are most opposed to our imperfections; 
 as I Ii^ Meekness and Clemency directly opposed to our wrath and 
 anger, 1 lis knowledge, so contrarytoour Ignorance, His grandeur 
 and infinite Maje Ear above our lowness and vileness, Hfs 
 
 Infinite G todness ever opposed to our malice. Let as strive to 
 perform actions In honor of that perfection that is directly con- 
 trary to our defects " The value and worth of what we do de- 
 1 according to him On the intention and end we have in 
 
 view. •• For," he said, '-just as garments are* ordinarily, not 
 mnch prized for the material from which they are made, as for 
 the lares of gold and rich embroideries, the pearls and precious 
 ies with which they arc 4 adorned, so we must not be content 
 with doing good works, we must also elevate and enrich them 
 with the merit of a noble and holy intention, doing them solely 
 to please and glorify God." lie concluded with the words of the 
 Gospel, " Seek first the Kingdom of God" commenting 
 follows : " Our Lord, in these words, recommends us to make 
 G od reign within ns,and then toco-operate with Him in extend- 
 ing and enlarging His Kingdom by the conquest of souls. Is 
 it ncl t honor lobe called to aid in so immense and so im- 
 
 portant a design ? Is it not doing as the angels, who labor in- 
 cessantly, and only for the extension of the Kingdom of God ? 
 Watt, then. My Brethren, will hinder us from corresponding 
 worthily with so holy and sanctifying a vocation ?" 
 
 II' practical good Bense, always keeping in the just middle, 
 would have no excess, even in the love of God. lie has left 
 OS a beautiful conference on this subject. At the conclusion 
 of a repetition of prayer, in August, IG55, he expressed himself 
 in these terms ! - It [s certain that Charity, when it dwells in 
 a soul, tak -s complete possession of all its p >wers. There is 
 no rest, it is an ever devouring fire, The person who is once 
 touched by it is continually in movement, always in action. 
 0, My Saviour 1 the memory 1 rememberonlyGod.it 
 
24 VIRTUES AND DOCTRINE OF ST. VINCENT DE PAUL. 
 
 loathes other thoughts, and considers them a torment; it must, 
 by every possible means, render His presence familiar. Such a 
 means is not good, others must be tried. If I could only 
 practice this devotion, I would succeed. It must be done. But 
 I have still that oilier devotion ; how harmonize both ? No 
 matter; I will perform both. And when this new devotion is 
 taken up, others are sought after, and still others. The poor 
 soul embraces all, and yet is not content. It surpasses its 
 strength, it becomes overburdened, and believes it can never 
 do enough. 0, My Sweet Saviour, what will become or" it? The 
 will conrinues all inflamed and is called upon to produce such 
 frequent acts (hat it can no longer comply; there are acts 
 upon acts redoubled at every moment, and in every place, in 
 the refectory, even in conversation and in company. In a 
 word, here, there, everywhere; there is nothing but ardor, but 
 lirp and flame*, but incessant acts. The soul is almost beside 
 itself. ! but how dangerous and imprudent are these exer- 
 cises, ihis eagerness, this zeal! — But what! Can there be 
 imprudence in loving God ? Can w r e love Him too much ? 
 or can we even love enough a God who is infinitely 
 amiable? — No, indeed. 0, My Saviour, My God! Who 
 can ascend to that astonishing love you bear us— a love 
 that shed for us, miserable creatures, all Your blood, a 
 single drop of which is of infinite price. Still, though God 
 commands us to love Him with our whole heart and with all. 
 our strength, we must remember that His Goodness do^s not 
 wish this love, by its multitude of acts, to impair and ruin our 
 health. For, in this state, the blood warms, and burning with 
 those ardors it sends hot vapors to the brain which in turn is 
 ■soon afire. Then follow dizziness, dullness, heaviness, as if a 
 weight were oppressing the brain : the organs grow weak, and 
 the person becomes powerless, helpless, until death, which is 
 very much hastened, intervenes. It seems this ought to be de- 
 cried. To die after this manner is to die a most beautiful 
 (death, it is to die of love ; it is the happy lot, of a martyr, a 
 martyr of love. It seems that these blessed souls can apply to 
 themselves the words of the Spouse, and say> with her: " Thou 
 hast wounded my, heart ; it is Thou. loving God. Who hast 
 
LOVE KOB GOD, 25 
 
 m Whoh d and burned my Jieart with 
 
 '/". y fier i, be lorevor blessed, ! My Saviour! 
 
 Among the sacri$06s that were offerod to God under the Old 
 
 :h i victim, in 
 ackimw burnt, was 
 
 ii% in) portion being r .In 
 
 like maimer these bob to be holocausts i ntirely consumed 
 
 by the 6 it. much better a 
 
 become , aol to turn the head in order to 
 
 make this nrtue ible, and. as i d part of nature. 
 
 •. at last, .mi efforts, we 
 
 go our hold; and then beware, beware thai we fall not into 
 a st -■• that) the one in which we were, into a condition, 
 
 from which St. Paul tclla as it is imp »ssible, t' mely 
 
 difficult] Xes, h .'iat ofteu results from tl 
 
 pist for all species of devoti for 
 
 virtue, a di si • holy thing3. This excess t: 
 
 pla When we commence to taste the swect- 
 
 3 of devotion we can never satiate ourseh think it 
 
 imp rer to have enough, we plunge too far ahead. Oh, 
 
 tch ! Very often the Devil turns 
 this into ttion'for us. Wii annol induce us di- 
 
 more pract- 
 ices of as 
 itinually until we lown under ght 
 Ify Brethren, virtues are middle, and each 
 virtue hi a which, d( fl 
 ■ neither to the right nor to the left, wo musl walk, if 
 ■ worthv of praise. B • n< ither carried 
 aw;, nature . it. 
 Such is the will of God. He is so good and so jus! thai 
 qui]' 11 knows our wretchedness, lie 
 
 :>r our defects. 
 
 musl acl with Him j; v. and do! give our- 
 
 ' - too nine!) ; i rem< ml the Bishop 
 
 tenevaon >rthy of so great 
 
 a man: * 01 . uld not 
 
 come to ance, and coming one 
 
26 VIRTUES AND DOCTRINE OF ST. VINCENT DE PAUL. 
 
 thoroughly enlightened in the science of the love of Godf 
 According to this, then, a soul truly affected with charity, 
 understanding what it is to love Gr.^d, would not desire to go 
 to God if God did not anticipate it and attract it by His 
 grace. This is very far removed from wishing to seize Him 
 and draw Him by force of arms and strength of machinery. 
 No, no, nothing is gained, in such cases, by force. When 
 God wishes to communicate himselt, He does so without 
 effort, after a sensible, sweet, quiet and loving manner." 
 
CHAPTER III. 
 
 •CONFORMITY TO THE WILL OP GOD. 
 NATION AND BOLT INDIFFERENCE 
 
 I. 
 
 Love unite! h bat it unite- especially wills. Hence 
 
 tlic proof of true love tor God is submission unci con- 
 
 formity to His most Holy Will. 
 
 As was the love, so, consequently, was the submission 
 Vincent de Paul. No one, before acting, ever asked with more 
 simplicity: * Lord what will Thou have me to do f'—(AurB 
 ix. C), None ever separated with more care, in all his 
 thoughts, in all hl8 affections, all that came from man from 
 that which came from Qod, in order to oas ii)«' <>ne. and 
 
 adhere to the other. None, during the course of an notion, or 
 •enterprise; ever regulated himself more constantly according 
 to the plan traced out by the Divine Will, lie practiced this 
 conformity to I he will of God, not only in regard to his own 
 personal conduct, but also in all bia good works for his 
 neighbor, and in all that related to hi nation. Lest he 
 
 might anticipate God he never took the initiative in any 
 project or foundation, and before oommeucing to acl he 
 awaited an external impulse which he looked upon as the 
 invitation and Approbation of Providence. If there were 
 •question of subjects, or of an establishment, or of a temporal 
 advantage lor his community, he accepted it only as from the 
 hand of God which he perceived both in the nature and 
 circums ion made ; and if he, afterward, 
 
 labored to pr lie goods he had received it was simply 
 
28 VIRTUES AND DOCTRINE OF ST. VINCENT DE 1'AUI.. 
 
 because God so wished it; for respect, gratitude and love for 
 the giver require that we prize and utilize his gifts. His 
 invariable law was to await the Divine Will and never to fore- 
 stall it, when known to render obedience to it as to a sover* 
 eign, to follow it, no matter at what cost, be it of labor, or of 
 property, or of honor, or, even if necessary, of life itself.. 
 When once he knew this will, either by interior inspiration or 
 by an external command or counsel, he straightway conformed 
 his own to it and directed all his intentions, which he was 
 careful to renew from time to tinie,lest anything foreign should 
 glide in. He submitted with patience and resignation, 
 nay more, with joy and affection, sacrificing all his na- 
 tural repugnances, to this will as revealed to him in. 
 events that are absolutely of its own domain, such as sickness, 
 losses, afflictions, and all the other accidents of this life. 
 
 .Resignation to the good pleasure of God, no matter how 
 painful, is, in truth, a sign cf submission to His Adorable Will' 
 In the most distressing events but a single word, "God be 
 blessed, God be blessed/' the perfect: expression of his acquies- 
 cence in the dispositions oi* Providence, came from the lips, or 
 rather from the heart of St.. Vincent. 
 
 But above and beyond resignation there is still something 
 that subdues, but does not deslroy, nature ; and this is holy 
 indifference. Vincent went to such a degree of obedience to 
 the will of God that he accomplished it both in his person 
 and in his works. Health or sickness, life or death, all 
 was equal. He took, with indifference, nourishment, remedies,, 
 even those for which he had the greatest repugnance, or those 
 he knew to be unsuitable for him, being no less content 
 with the evil effects than with the happiest results. 
 
 Indifferent in regard to himself, he was none the less so in 
 regard to the growth and progress of his congregation. He- 
 was told that to obtain good subjects lie should establish his 
 congregation in large cities. He answered: u We can take no 
 steps towards establishing ourselves in any locality whatever 
 if we desire to follow the ways of God and the usages of the 
 ongrega(ion;for, up to the present time, His Providence has 
 called us to those places where we now are, without our having 
 
i 0RM1 1 I 10 nn: wii.i. OF GOD. 
 
 sought themeitfc y or indirectly. Now, it is impossible 
 
 that this resignation t I ,hieh keeps us indei » on 
 
 il i dif etion be not rery agr Him, m icularlv 
 
 since it d ' nature, which under pretext 
 
 of zeal for tin glory of Ch d, often nrge us to undertake projects 
 thai Hei 3 He knows what is suitable 
 
 for us, and if, like true children, we abandon ourseh 
 a Father, He will give it to us at the proper moment. Certainly 
 were we pur or unprofitableness, ire would be Cat 
 
 from □ in the work of another, unless irtvi 1.. 
 
 would n re oursel 
 
 whom, perhaps, God has destined for t 1 
 
 imunity was made 
 him. an. i I, on the 30th ofJannary, L656: tt ] think we 
 
 will do well to let that affair rest for awhile in order to blunt 
 t.ic impetuosity <>f nature which rofi table thinj 
 
 imm itselves in holy indifference, 
 
 and allow Our Lord to make known His will, whilst, in the 
 meantime, we will i id the matter to Him in prayer. 
 
 If Ik- will the thing to ; ill hurt nothing, 
 
 and tin- appear in it the more will lie be p 
 
 death <-f his best missionaries, oi hi children, 
 
 could not p him irom l. d indifference. He 
 
 rccom mended them, whi; of the commu- 
 
 nity, in this wi- •: " We will pray God that it may he pleasing 
 to Him to preserve this good missionary, submitting ourselves, 
 howerer, entirely to His Divine Will. Forwe must believe, 
 audit is true, that not only this siekfl also the maladies 
 
 of others. and In a word, all that happens to the congregation is 
 done but by His holy direction ami for the g the 
 
 congregation, ilre.ee in praying to Go tilth for the sick, 
 
 and for relief in other neoefi I it ho always with the 
 
 condition, il euch he his good pleasure ami for his greater 
 glory/' Hi aula in announci: 
 
 : •• li i .;. ' /d to deprive 
 
 And " I have no doubt but that the death of this 
 
 on, who US deeply ; but, God 
 
 be praised, you o (old O done well to 
 
30 VIRTUES AND DOCTRINE OF ST. VINCENT DE PAUL. 
 
 take him from us and that you would riot wish Him to have 
 done otherwise, since such was His good pleasure." 
 
 ir 
 
 St. Vincent reduced this conduct,so admirable in submission 
 and holy indifference, to theory in his maxims, in the letters he 
 wrote and in the instructions which he addressed to his com- 
 munity. "To conform," said lie, "in all things to the will 
 of God, and to take pleasure only in it,is to lead the life of an 
 
 angel on earth, it is even to live the life of Jesus Christ 
 
 Our Lord is in continual communion with those virtuous 
 souls who hold themselves faithfully and constantly united 
 to His Holy Will, who have no other will but His." 
 
 This doctrine came from his distrust in men and his confi- 
 dence in God. "He said: "In regard to Divine things I 
 place no more reliance in human means than I would in the 
 assistance of the Devil. The things of God are done by 
 themselves, and true wisdom consists in following Providence 
 step by step. And let us convince ourselves of the truth of a 
 maxim that appears paradoxical: 'That he, who hurries in the 
 things of God, recedes." (To Coduing, 15th of May, 1643, 
 and 6th of Aug. 104-1.) Aga'n: "A weathercock is no more 
 subject to the movement of the air than is the spirit of man to 
 external agitation. . . . God be praised i'or having willed 
 that all earthly tilings be uncertain and perishable, in order 
 that in Him alone we would seek stability for our projects and 
 our works, for, then, all that happens will turn to our profit." 
 ■<2Cth and 31st of Aug. 1057.) " May it be pleasing, ihen, to 
 the goodness of God to give us part in the eternal thought 
 which he Has of Himself whilst perpetually governing this 
 world and providing for the needs of all His crea lures even to 
 the smallest insect. Oh ! how we must labor to acquire a par- 
 ticipation in this spirit." ( To Portail, 25th of Aug. 1038.) 
 And he explained further this government of God to which we 
 must submit, and subordinate our conduct: "God is not 
 governed in His works according to our views and desires. 
 We should content ourselves to turn to best account the little 
 talents that He has placed in our hands, without desiring to 
 
CON! OIIMIIV TO THE WILL OF GOD, 31 
 
 have greater, [fwe be faithful in small things He will place 
 r more important ; bul thai is His comvrn, not ours. Lot 
 Him art, and lei as withdraw ourselves still farther into oarown 
 shell. The irion whs began without any intention on our 
 
 part, it baa been multiplied by the hand of God alone, an dims been 
 called everywhere by superior orders, without our contributing 
 in anythin obedience. Pot more than twenty years I 
 
 did not dare ask of God the extension and propagation of the 
 congr Ration, considering that, if it be His work, to His Preyi 
 donee alone should be lefi thecareof its conservation and in- 
 . But by dint of thinking of the reconiraendatiop which 
 is given us in th( Gospel, to ask Him to send laborers into His 
 harvest,! have become satisfied of the importance and utility of 
 this tl Let us continue it God will receive this aband- 
 
 onment as very agreeable, and we will he in peace. The spirit 
 of the world is very restless, and desires to do everything. 
 Let US leave it there; we do not wish to choose our path, hut 
 tow.dk in thai which it is pleasing fo (Jod to point out to us. 
 Let us esteem ourselves unworthy to be employed or that men 
 should think of ns; we will he happy. Let us offer ourselves 
 to Him to do and to suffer every tiling ior His glory and for the 
 edification of His Church; He wants -nothing more. If Ho 
 .they are in His power, not. in ours. In His 
 presence let < ur wills and OUT hearts expand, ready for anything 
 without determining on any till He shall have spoken. In the 
 meantime, let us beg Him to give as the grace to lab >r in the 
 ; the virtues that Our Lord practised in His hidden 
 
 life." (To the ladies, *5th of Aug. 1059.) 
 H.' condemned alike confidence and natural eagerness in 
 at und sadness in miifortune, all appear- 
 ing to him to he derived from want of a suhmission to Providence. 
 lie wrote: " I will tell you two things in regard to the inquietude 
 and melancholy you say you have when things do not go right 
 with you. Tin first is, that itis God, andnol w -n. who makes 
 :;) \v< 11, and He, sometimes, cither to show us we can 
 do nothing >r to ei t ■:- • oar patience, permits that 
 
 they turn out otherwise than we wish. And the second is, 
 that you trust too much in your own power of direction, being 
 
,'32 VIRTUES AND DOCTRINE OF ST. VINCENT DE PAUL. 
 
 of the opinion that as you love good order it depends on you 
 to preserve it; and hence it is that, not being able to succeed 
 you grieve excessively, whereas were you firmly convinced that 
 all you can do is to spoil, you would be astonished that things 
 were not tar worse, and you would remain as tranquil in events 
 that appear to you contrary and disagreeable, as in success, know- 
 ing that it is God who thus orders things. I beg of you, then, to 
 regard all things in the light of His Providence, .doing humbly 
 and carefully all that depends on you to contribute to their 
 success, and for the result, submit to the good pleasure of God/' 
 (joM. Perneile, in Geneva, 2;M of Nov. 1G58.) 
 
 Obstacles aud misfortunes seemed to him forerunners of 
 success; and to show this he made use of the following in- 
 genious comparison: " There is reason to hope that, as with 
 fruit-trees, so will it be with you; for the more a long and 
 severe winter checks and retards them, the deeper root they 
 take and the more fruit they bear."' ( To M. Des Dames, in 
 Poland, 20th of June, 1C59.) 
 
 We see that he varied the application of the same doctrine 
 according to the circumstances and the needs of etch one. To 
 a pastor who desired to exchange h is parish he said: "Pray 
 and take counsel, for the question is to know whether God 
 wishes you to leave the spouse He has give you ;" to superiors 
 of houses who made known to him their fears of loss, or per- 
 secution: " Nothing will happen .but what is pleasing to God ; 
 He is master not only of what we posses,but also of our lives, and 
 it is hut proper that He dispose of all according to His Divine 
 Will;" io those who complained of their physical infirmities, 
 or their spiriiual dryness: "BeEaain subject to the good 
 pleasure of God ; rest content in every condition in which it 
 will please Him to place yon, and, as long so you know it to 
 be agreeable to Him, never elesire to leave it. This is the 
 most excellent and the most sublime exercise that a Ohristian,or 
 even a priest, can practice on earth." To Mademoiselle Le 
 Gras, who was very uneasy on account of the sickness of Mr. 
 Port ail, (he (hen director of the Daughters of Charity, he said: 
 "We must fight against that which gives pain, we must rend 
 our hearts, or soften them so as to prepare them for everything. 
 
.Mil V TO TI1E w di>. 
 
 the 
 
 .and He 
 
 i it as II. itest 
 
 ,\ is to d bo accoi oly will, 
 
 sick 
 isonjt BO 
 dear Lord desh .here he can oontinueil , 
 
 hap] 
 
 I? It will be the author of both the senses and 
 
 !i only in Him and for Him. Let as pray 
 that hotli you an • only the same will \. i and in 
 
 Him, for this U th." II 
 
 when a I'd to the conduct and th 
 
 son ;:i Miid mother to our 
 
 Lord, and He will render good account of both ; only per 
 Him mi and in him; seek this same will in 
 
 /our exe ire no other practice alone is 
 
 a en tirely God's. 01: ! 'quires little 
 
 I The most sovereign, and almost only, means is to 
 If lo do in all things the will !." On 
 
 b gged hi out. the i 
 
 of her soul, which, she thought was the cause of her bodily 
 ailment, he indicate no other cau^e of } r our sick- 
 
 of God. Adore, then, thi 
 without inquiring whence i 
 seei.: suffering. He is glorifii our 
 
 abai. ! lion without discuss' 1 of 
 
 will, unle His will is the rea -on, 
 
 will Let us, therefore, abandon 01 
 to V.: Christ lo tto 'lis 
 
 ildren 
 
 walked in thi;; holy it, 
 
 be praised t 1, ady to do, i and .c very- 
 
 most holy will, and to go In Lie whciv 
 
 it m ble to Him to ! This is tin ; m 
 
 ire 
 
34 VIRTUES AND DOCTRINE OF ST. VINCENT DE PAUL. 
 
 attached to nothing; it is the mark of the true children of 
 God who arc always prepared to correspond to the designs of 
 so good a Father. With lively sentiments of I enderness and 
 graiitude I thank Him for you, not doubting but that your 
 heart, thus prepared, will abundantly receive the graces of 
 heaven so that you may do a great deal of good on earth; 
 and such is my prayer to His Divine Goodness.' 7 
 
 In one or two of his conferences he condensed, and thorough!}" 
 expounded, this doctrine which is found scattered in hundreds 
 of his letters, and given in fragments in his numerous familiar 
 discourses. "The perfection of love," he says, "does not 
 consist in ecstasies but in properly doing the will of God ; and 
 He, whose will is most conlormable to that of God, will be, 
 among men, the most perfect. Hence our perfection consists 
 in so uniting our will io the will of God that His and ours 
 may be but one and the same will ; and he who will excel 
 more in this point will be the more perfect. When our Lord 
 wished to teach the young man, mentioned in the Gospel, the 
 means to arrive at perfection, He said to him : ' Jf anyone will 
 coma after me, let him renounce himself, lah: up his cros& 9 
 and follow Me.' But I ask you, who renounces himself 
 .more, or bears the cross of mortification better, and follows, 
 Jesus Christ more perfectly than ho who studies never to do 
 his own will, but always the will of God? The Scripture also 
 tells us in some other place that lie who adheres to God has- 
 but one mind with him. Now, I ask you, who adheres more per- 
 fectly to God than he who does only the will of God and never* 
 his own, who wishes and desires only what God wishes? Oh, 
 but tills is a short and easy way to acquire in this life a great 
 treasure of graces/' 
 
 Oh, then what happiness for the Christian ! " See in what 
 holy dispositions He posseses his life, and the blessings that ac- 
 company all that He does. He holds to God alone, and God. con- 
 ducts Him in every thing and in every place; so that he can 
 say to Hi m as did the prophet: 'Thou hast held me by my 
 right hand, and by thy will thou hast conducted me^ (Ps.. 
 lxvii, 24.) God leads Him, us it were, by the right hand, and 
 he, in turn, keeeping Himself in entire submission to this 1 . 
 
CONFORMITY ;<> THE WILL OF GOD. 35 
 
 Divine >-mOrrow, after to- .the 
 
 entire . in Bn •. all . and 
 
 tranquillity, in I >ntinually advancing God and 
 
 con into th around him the 
 
 sweet ::: m bim. If 
 
 yon po i n with those whofollow I ions 
 
 yon wil pliant light and bear 
 
 rich a ; a 
 
 force and en >rds : < I 
 
 to all hi with his gi igns 
 . ' others ; and ' 
 ion. But, on tu 
 
 ban t Inched to their own incliuati* ns 
 have ili 
 
 Of E 
 
 from tli taoh fchemsi while 
 
 base Bonis, and grace i thai derate Ihi i to 
 
 God, and breathe oil \." 
 
 ' re nee of the 7th ■ that 
 
 doctrin ion to the will of Co;l fully 
 
 the 
 the Saint styled : ktiiod: 
 
 >r it embraces 
 indifferenc . pur . and all th \ses 
 
 at than he who 
 . .a none, 
 
 and bes wba 
 
 so (1 and 
 
 niton ? 
 
 a human manner, 
 a worthy end. to OC- 
 
 i the wiU of i a 1. Meditati 
 
 working without discretion, , are but so many 
 
 inanima re a money thai has no value, not 
 
 tag the stamp, for God does not regard our works wave in- 
 asmuch i Hims li in them, and inasmuch i 
 are performed lor I 
 
38 VIRTUES AN!) DOCTRINE OF ST. VINCENT DK PAUL. 
 
 " Our. father, Adam in the Garden of Paradise was a tree that 
 naturally bore fruit agreeable in the eyes of its Lord: but sin 
 in severing his will from that of God rendered him incapable 
 of' doing anything that might ho pleasing to Him ; and we 
 who spring from this tainted source have, humanly speaking, 
 the same inability. 
 
 "There are theologians who think that all that is not done 
 for God is sin ; but if it be not sin, it is at least useless. 
 
 " 3. It was the maxim and practice of our Lord to do the 
 will of His Father in everything. Oh, My Saviour, what 
 prominence and what brilliancy thou givest to the exercise 
 of your virtues! Thou art the King of Glory, and yet Thou 
 earnest into the world to do but the will of Him who sent 
 Thee! This sacred disposition was most dear to Him: ' My 
 -will/ He said.' is to do the trill of Film who scut Ale.- ( John 
 iv. 34.) 0, My Saviour, that was Thy practice ! St. John 
 had that of penance, he was full of the desire to practice it 
 and to persuade others to do it. For it was for that He came 
 into the w T orld. And Thou, Lamb ol' God, Thou who 
 takest away the sins ol' the world, Thou earnest full of ardor 
 to do, and to inculcate the will of Thy Father. Elias 
 had a burning zeal for the glory of God ; he put everything 
 to fire and flames in order to imprint on the hearts of men 
 fear and respect. And Thou, My Saviour, Thou wert animated 
 with that sweet and incomparable desire that the will of. God 
 be done by all His creatines. It is for that reason Thou hast 
 placed in the Lord's Prayer: * Thy loill be done.' Thou hast 
 wished that all men would do, and would demand, what ? the 
 will of the Heavenly Father ; where? on earth and in Heaven ; 
 and how ? as the angels and saints do, promptly, completely, 
 constantly, lovingly. I am sura there is not one here present 
 who has not, to-day, endeavored to perform some actions that 
 of themselves are good and holy ; and yet it may be that God 
 has rejected them, because 'they were done through your own 
 will. Is it not this that the prophet declared when he said, on 
 the part of God: '/ do not want your fasts, by which in 
 thisTcmg lo honor me you do me the contrary; because, when 
 you fast you do your own will, and by this will you spoil and 
 
COS . WILL OF I 
 
 viti be said of all other 
 
 works o( piety. Tl nee of oar own will taints our 
 
 •aty 
 
 iken 
 
 from the roubled. 
 
 hat, then, must be done, not to I. time and oar 
 
 labor? Thi self-in- 
 
 Bt, from in el* uir- 
 
 i do the will of God in all things — 
 not in | peculiar i o render 
 
 tbe ad act: said 
 
 that '■ ill call out : ' Lord, Lor 
 
 I 
 
 work in 
 'But, 1. Thou call works of the prophe 
 
 aud miracles we hare perfom tire from 
 
 y to them : k I nei ■." Who 
 
 iter the 1 l of Heaven? Those 
 
 i will per • will of God. 0. 
 
 • filled with th wild IV 
 
 bul that ad by Thee, so that all 
 
 her. 
 
 ••I)-! hall we do tli 
 
 i" i ithor forbidden, or comma r indififerent. 
 
 In ; »r forbid* : the Will o? 
 
 from th 
 bild do fch will thcr. or a subject that of 
 
 king? In perform ii draining 
 
 bonor its father. 
 and the subject, in obedi ing. In like 
 
 will we do the will of < in doing w] led. and 
 
 no* have the intention of glori 
 
 love. We must obey when lie cod in- 
 
 iy, by Himself, or by the Church, for the 
 id He is the father of the family, and 
 He d, ildren to obey their mother as Hin 
 
38 VIRTUES AND DOCTRINE OF ST. VINCENT DE PAUL. 
 
 "There are actions that arc indifferent, some of which are 
 agreeable lo nature, other 3 disagreeable, and still others that 
 are neither the one nor the oth°r. 
 
 "Between two indifferent actions, one agreeable, and the 
 other disagreeable to nature, I should, in order not to live 
 according to ihe flesh, choose the latter. L", for instance, I 
 have my choice to visit, either of two persons, one of* whom I 
 know w'll be pleasing, whilst the other will be less so, or not 
 at alsl should, according to the rule, prefer the second to the 
 first. I except the case wherein there is no choice, as when 
 there is an obligation to go where my inclination leads ; for then 
 the will of Go:l being made manifest by the command, we 
 should seek therein His pleasure, and not ours. With regard 
 to actions that are neither agreeable, nor disagreeable, as to be 
 seated, or to remain standing, to go by one way, or another, I 
 do them fortuitously ; and in so doing there would seem to bo 
 no merit. Yet, by offering them to God and in doing them 
 in the mime of our Lord, as St. Paul teaches, they may be 
 made meritorious. 
 
 "There is a fourth manner wherein we may know the will 
 of Gad, and that is by inspiration; for God often enlightens 
 the understanding and moves the heart. But in order not to 
 be deceived, we must use the salt of discretion. Amid a 
 number of thoughts and sentiments there are found many 
 apparently good, which, however, do not come from God, and 
 are not according to His good pleasure. We must, therefore, 
 examine them carefully in prayer, considering their motives 
 and their object, propose them to the learned, take advice in 
 relation ro them with our directors, who are for us the deposi- 
 tories of Divine Wisdom ; and in doing what they direct we 
 will do the will of God. 
 
 f: We will perform it, again, in doing what is reasonable, accord- 
 ing to this prayer of the Church: ' Grant, we beseech Thee, 
 God, that always thinking rigidly? we may accomplish in word 
 and act fuse things lohioh arc phasing to Thee. 9 To do a 
 thing which appears reasona! Ic is, then, to do the will of God. 
 This, it- must always he undei stood, is to be taken with the 
 grain of salt of Christian prudence, and with the advice of 
 
. : OJttJC iv rO I HE WILL OP colt. 
 
 those who direct us.for it may happen that the thing to be 
 done may be r as >nablc in itself, but not in its circumstances 
 of time, place, or manner. 
 
 i do the will of Go I in tli do it 
 
 done passively when we acquiesce in what 
 
 God do< a in as, as in rents. A motive ibr con sole lion 
 
 surp will I Bay ? of the conversion 
 
 of some imp 
 
 e love : or iba pence 
 
 is re-established bel . we 
 
 andal to the Church. We ma ling 
 
 from the hand of God, and rejoice in spirit as did oar Lord 
 
 When He returned than! led 
 
 Bis .On the other hand, mise 
 
 I'm- Borrow us sueh my. 
 
 Thi i the hand of God. 
 
 bee: His pleasure to try as in that way, and because 
 
 : ; i< who sends all affliction ; . ' the 
 
 iiclithe Lord hath '.) Our Lord in 
 
 Garden of Olif a the torments lhat He 
 
 I them as willed by His Fa h 
 
 and with Him: 'Lot not my will bed ne, 
 
 Lord, but Thi 
 
 u Means : The taught as in t: 
 
 'Thy uri lone;' for our Lord, having placed those 
 
 WOKb in our d ii. . . of II im 
 
 the grace to do His will as i is done in II raven, p and 
 
 ing, with a simple and an varied conformity of 
 
 ayer 
 not only witn our lips, bal also to practice it Let ue begin 
 to-morrow, this very hoi i ay u>G>d: Lord, in order to 
 
 glor' md to do all will be m 
 
 manifest to me in Thy name. In this manner lei as 
 enliven our will and frequently renew oar particular inn 
 ion. But, you will tell hie, I do not remember, I am for 
 hou afire hair day-. wiNioal thi.iking to offer to 
 
 Him whs I do. We must bumble our \y much for 
 
 this, and be sorry for the 1 of merit; i my actions, 
 
4-0 VIRTUES AND DOCTRINE OF ST. VINCENT I)E PAUL. 
 
 or, at least, of the pleasure that God otherwise would have 
 received had they been offered to Him. And to supply for 
 this defect let each one, on rising in the morning, make 
 God a general oblation oi' all the actions of the day, and 
 afterward renew the ottering once or twice during the course 
 of the morning, and as often during the afternoon, saying 
 to Him : My God, be pleased to accept all the motions of my 
 heart and of my body ; draw them to Thee ; I offer them with 
 nil my labors and my suffering! The more wo do this, the 
 easier will it become and the more advantage will we find in 
 it. By this means, we will acquire new motives for loving, 
 and love will cause is to persevere and grow in this holy 
 practice. Alas ! how many there are, even in the world, who 
 do not lose sight of God. I lately met a person, who made 
 it a matter of conscience for having failed three times in 
 one day in the recollection of the presence of God. These 
 people 'will be our judges and will, one day, condemn us 
 before the Divine Majesty for our neglect — we who have nothing 
 else to do but to love God, and to testify our love by our services, 
 and by our every movement. Let us beg of our Lord, then, 
 to grant us the grace to say with Him: ' My meat is to do 
 the will of Him that scn.t me.' (John iv, 34.) Thy delight, 
 Savior of the world, Thy ambrosia and thy nectar was to do 
 the will of Thy Father. We are Thy children, and we throw 
 ourselves into Thy arms, in order to imitate Thy practices. 
 Give us this grace; for, as of ourselves we are powerless, we 
 ask it of Thee, and from Thee we hope for it; but with a con- 
 fidence and With a strong desire to follow Thee." 
 
 Absolute submission to the Will of God produces resignation 
 and holy indifference, one act of which, said St. Vincent, "is 
 worth more than a hundred thousand temporal successes." 
 Whether events happened by the express will of God, or were 
 come to pass simply by His permission, the saint still wished 
 resignation to God's good pleasure " in order to suffer ail that 
 may be pleasing (o Him, and as much, and for as long a time 
 as He may please. This is the great lesson taught by the 
 Son of God; and those who are docile, and imprint it deeply 
 in their hearts are in the first class in the school oi' this 
 Divine Master. And, for my part, I know of nothing more 
 
11!' WILL <>! SOU. I 1 
 
 holy, or of ion than this resignation when il 
 
 leads to complete renunciation of self, and to boly iudiifere 
 for all classes oi sin excepted, no matter how we 
 
 riKiv hare been placed in th nshold to this idea, and 
 
 >u as I ie to remain 
 
 : lv in this in 
 
 II ■:■ . again, the saint multiplied and diversified his 
 instrnc rording to the necessities of each one "O, 
 
 dutiful an ornament is bolj 
 indiJ 
 
 will always be l 1 ! lim 
 
 11 other workers in n wil! no itiou 
 
 ii** I (<» : b ipliahmen designs. 
 
 If \ once divested of all self-will, we would then 
 
 be in a rform with assurance the will of God 
 
 — •.i will in which the angels find all their felioity and men 
 all their happiness." To another, be wrote: "1 give < 
 infinite than I ispositiou thai 
 
 n countries, or not to go, but to in where; 
 
 , according as you may, or may noi be sent. B 
 inditi all things is the state of the perfect; and 
 
 hope that God will be glorified in and by you : 
 my heartfelt prayer. And I beg sir, 
 
 of Him, f<>r Q9 all. : 
 
 entirely to his li >\y conduct. We should serve Him according 
 
 food pleasure, and we should i' our own 
 
 hot] Locality and employment, Tl 
 
 God is enough to induce us ;>» wish 
 
 most perfect. manner, and, lil ored 
 
 .wants of the Gospel, by which our ! 
 I e known and Berved. And what matters it to 
 us, how, <•!• in whaj pla rided it be done? And most 
 
 assuredly will it be ii* we allow Him to act." 
 
 [n his confer the Daughters of chari. 
 
 those to his ideas an 
 
 on holy indifference. He said to the Daughters of Charity. 
 ( 14th of December. 1 * ; ~> i » ) : - The state of indifference Is the 
 ho, at the least sign, are ever prepared 
 
42 VIRTUE AM) DOCTRINE OF ST. VINCENT DE PAUL. 
 
 •accomplish willingly, both in heaven and on earth, the wishes 
 
 of God, desiring to do only what He commands them. Thus 
 
 acts the indifferent soul. Again, it resembles the angels in 
 
 this, that they, no matter what may be their employment, 
 
 neve'? ljse sight of God, but contemplate Him everywhere and 
 
 in all things. It regards the will of God in whatever it is 
 
 given to do, and is equally content wherever sent, just as the 
 
 angels, who, since (heir only enjoyment is to accomplish the 
 
 will of Gjd, are as happy in being the guardians of a wicked 
 
 man as of a man of virtue. The soul that is possessed of 
 
 indifference resembles the angels, then, in three ways: 1st, m 
 
 as much as it always walks in the presence of God ; 2d, since 
 
 it is always prepared to do His holy will without solicitude as 
 
 to the manner; and 3d, in this that it is a3 v much, and more 
 
 'Content, in occupations that are lowly than in those that are 
 
 elevated On the other hand, a soul that is wanting in 
 
 Indifference, and that desires to bs in such an employment, or 
 
 in such a place, in- preference to another, may be styled a 
 
 demon. Never to wish to do the will of God, but ever to do 
 
 one's own, is the spirit- of the demon. It is true that he does 
 
 the will of God in hell, as lie did when, at the command of 
 
 Our Lord, he entered the swine, but it is by constraint and in 
 
 spite of himself. And as the demon carries his hell with him 
 
 everywhere, and is devoured by flames even when in the bodies 
 
 of the possessed, so, too. a soul that is tilled with a thousand 
 
 desires, and at one time wishes this, and at another, that 
 
 employment, never has any true peace. This unrest is its 
 
 hell." 
 
 But, to have the instructions of the saint on this subject in 
 their entirety, we must listen to his conference to his missionaries, 
 on the lGfcli of May, 1050. '•' Indihrrenee," he says, ie is a 
 state of virtue in which man detaches himself from creatures 
 to unite himself to the Creator. Ir, is not a virtue, but a 
 state, wherein virtue acts, wherein the heart detaches itself from 
 those things that hold itcaptive. Where is the loving heart? 
 In the thing that it lores; consequently, where our love is, 
 there is our heart, captive. It cannot leave, it cannot rise, 
 it cannot go either to the right or to the left ; it remains 
 fixed. Wherever the treasure of the avaricious is, there, too, is 
 
CON'ioiiMiTVio'iiii: WILL OF COt>. 13 
 
 his heart, and where our 3, there is our treasure, Ami 
 
 what is dep . the ol j • i slavery aiv, 
 
 ordinarily speaking, the da i dug, 
 
 an imagination, a shorl i 
 
 of kindly gr aght merely thai 
 
 enough ado ia o ids and sores 
 
 us thai we cannot be cared, we do nol know bow I 
 we are alwa d and held ■ i»y it. The peculiar 
 
 prop r y of ind I . from us all feeling 
 
 and all i u~ from ourse Ives and from every 
 
 is its offic ■. I U I be bappli which it 
 
 . id • 1 it lab 'i - Aid how? 
 
 iv to 
 
 to o : • Mow, my soul, wh r are thy a.'. What 
 
 ;• ? What id it chat nap Do we 
 
 l be liberty of the chil I, or are n id to 
 
 . I » our own case, to honors? We musl 
 
 line to discover our bonds in order to nival; tliem. 
 
 liaving sen! lf : Son into the world to redeem as, 
 made us Bis children, and (he cowardly man, who alio 
 himself to b >me by creatures, ie | and, losing 
 
 the liberty of the chil Iren I, lie see 
 
 :id I hal God is nol : ber, 
 
 >le than that which ho loves, or the 
 pleasures 'hat captivate him. 
 
 "To what did the Son of God attach Himself? You km, v. 
 
 boa subject to the Will of His Father. By tfa • mouth 
 
 ie Prophet-King, Be compares Himself to on animal subject 
 
 to the will[of i perfect resign:: jests 
 
 Buimal that has neither choice nor desire. With 
 
 it you do as you please; i is ulwaj > out, to receive 
 
 dale or a pack-saddle, to b bed to a p and 
 
 still. To it everything i* indifferent; it permits any tret 
 
 mcir. no preference for its stable, nor inelinatio 
 
 rather than tha attachm ait. Have . 
 
 not. in passing, drawn up before a ga 
 
 Sometimes five and biz together, all awaii the coming of the 
 m whi has charge, an I when he has come they start off. 
 They turn to the right, or to . as lie chooses, and they 
 
44 VIKTtfES AND DOCTRINE OF ST. VINCENT DE PAUL. 
 
 stop as soon as be says the word. They are totally indifferent. 
 '■lam become as a beast before thee. 9 (Ps. xxii, 23) 'This 
 is how I am/ says our Lord, in order to show us that He was 
 ever ready to do whatever God wished. Oh, what tractable- 
 •nes.- ! ')'), what abandonment! And what was the result: ' And 
 I am ahoays with tJiee.' He was always with God. 
 
 " What does he who is perfectly submitted to the orders of 
 Divine Providence? He acts as the dumb beast, which is 
 ready for whatever is demanded, whenever, and however it 
 • may be demanded. And what do I, when I thus abandon 
 myself? I attract God, because I have no will. f Thou nasi 
 led ni3 by my Tight hand, and by Thy Will Thou hast 
 -conducted me.' (Ps. xxii. 2-1.) If I have done any good it is 
 Thou who hast guided me; the least sign of Thy Will was 
 ••sufficient for me, I am become as a beast of burden before 
 Thee; I have submitted to contempt, to suffering and to all 
 the dispositions of Thy good pleasure ; and hence it is, Lord 
 that my occupations are pleasing in Thy sight. 
 
 '•'Do you not seethe happy success of those that are in thin 
 disposition of indifference? They adhere to God alone, and 
 God is their guide. You can find them to-morrow, the entire 
 week, all the year, all their life-time, in*peace, in favor and in 
 continual love for God, and always diffusing around them the 
 sweet and salutary effects of the workings of God within them. 
 And compare the indifferent with those who are not so, and 
 you will see, on the one side, actions all resplendent with light 
 and rich in fruit; advancement in the entire person, force in 
 words, enterprises blessed, grace attending counsels given, and 
 the good odor of sanctity accompanying every action: ' And 
 by Thy Will Thou li a st conducted me.' (Ps. xxii. 24) But, on 
 the pare of those given up to their own satisfaction, you can 
 find only thoughts of earth, speech of slaves, and works that 
 are dead. The difference, then, between them is,'that these 
 unite themselves to creatures, whilst those separate themselves 
 from them ; that nature animal es low souls, whilst grace 
 vivifies those that raise themselves to God, and breathe but 
 His Will. Therefore is it that the latter may cay, after a 
 manner, with Our Lord : ' Thou hast received me with glory.' 
 
and 
 rtli. 
 
 and i have 
 i I 
 that I am held ( i ; > t 
 
 I , because am not sui 
 
 i am not .1 will able 
 
 >L I trill do nil. I d a angel, 
 
 i 
 . endurance you < 
 and a firn 
 
 should 
 bill 
 
 . ' 
 
 L to 
 form tli. i 
 
 all, and 3 ou learly vrh 
 
 I lis well-1 eloved 
 • // is ? (John xxi. 7), you i 
 
 yourself into the water to go You did not think of 
 
 at cloth in '. but 
 
 :• ail. And you 
 .dowrd with a most 
 grai bbo moment of your c so 
 
 perf 'vine, of indi in saying: ( Lor 
 
 tcili ■ '!<).' ( ' "v- 
 
 "Tl a worn! 
 
 lid only I 
 
 1 indifferenl 
 commit and 
 
 that li r» was iinsoliciloii-. and 
 
 grea and pr fchis virtue or' 
 
 indi hem, and follow 
 
 do not belong (o then but to Je 
 
46 VTUTUE3 AX!) DOCTRINE OK ST. VINCENT DE PAt'L. 
 
 Christ, Who wishes to so dispose of thorn that (hey do us lie 
 
 has done, .and suffer after His example. 'As the Father has 
 sent in e,' said Fe to His apostles and disciples, 'so do I send 
 yon, and as they have persecuted Me so will they persecute 
 you.' 
 
 "After all these con-si derations, should we not empty our 
 hearts of all desire, save that of rendering ourselves conformable 
 to Jesus Christ, and of all will, but that of obedience? I 
 think you all are in this disposition, and I trust {hat * ; od 
 will give us this grace. Yes, my God. I hope it for myself the 
 very first, for I have so much need of it by reason of my many 
 miseries and my many attachments from which I see myself 
 almost powerless to withdraw, and which cause me, in my old 
 age, to cry onf with David: "Lord haw pity on me." But 
 you will be edified, my brethren, when I tell you that we have 
 amongst us weak and infirm old men who have asked to be 
 sent :o the Indies, and have asked even whilst suffering from 
 their infirmities, which were not slight. Whence conies such 
 courage? It is because their hearts are free; they go willingly 
 and joyfully wheresoever Clod wishes to be known and adored, 
 and nothing but His holy will keeps them here. And we 
 others, my brethren, all of us, were we not entangled in some 
 wretched briers, should we nor, each one of us, say in his heart : 
 'My Go:l, I give myself to Thee to be sen;, any place on this 
 earth to which my superiors w r 11 judge proper I should go to 
 announce Thy Holy Name, and even should I die, then 1 will 
 still dispose myself to go. knowing well (hat my salvation is in 
 obedience, and obedience is Thy Holy Will.' Those who are 
 not in this disposition of mind should strive to know what it is 
 chat draws them one direction more than another, so that, by 
 means of continual mortification, both interior and exterior, 
 they may attain, with the help of God, to the liberty of the 
 children of God, which is holy indifference." 
 
 With the intention of teaching the lesson more vividly, and of 
 rendering it more effective, the saint would tike occasion from 
 some severe loss that happened to befall the congregation, to 
 excite it to the practice of an indifference, pushed even to 
 heroism. Thus, in 1G57, when the plague had snatched away 
 
CONFORMITY TO THE WILL OF I 47 
 
 nearly all I ionaries ii xupts himself Iu 
 
 • f u confi . 1. and exclai 
 
 "0, v true, gentlemen and my brethren, that 
 
 we should ! nrselvea 
 
 avineed that His Providence 
 will dir all that if wis!: 
 
 bapp in i<> ?, and win: 
 
 tak ach Is Bis • 
 
 . and ii go d | ia onr :ii tr happim 
 
 In; .' known t affliction which has come 
 
 upon as, and I can brethren, in all truth, one of the 
 
 atest that could fall upon us; it ia that we* have lost the 
 mai of onr house in Genoa Mr. 
 
 Blai > superior of that house, who waa a greai servan 
 
 . Bat thai is not ali : tl Mr. 
 
 stricken 
 with the plague, who bad so great a love for hi bor, 
 
 such fervor and zeal in procuring the salvation of souls, 
 
 away by the distemper. One of our Italian 
 priests, Mr, Dominie Boccon'. a very virtuous and good mis- 
 •n informed, died in a pest-house in which 
 be shut himself bo as to assist the poor plague- 
 people of the country. Mr. T . who was likewise a true 
 ui God, an excellent missionary, and great in every 
 ie, is also dead. Mr. Francis Vincent, whom you ku 
 and who did not yield in anything totbe o hers, ii dead. Mr. 
 Ennery, a prudent, pious, and exemplary man, is deal. It is 
 all over with them, gentlemen and my brothers; the plaj 
 taken from us these stout workers; God has taken them to 
 II rnself. 'Mii o. eight, but one remains, "Mr. LeJuge, who, 
 ha\ i stricken down, recovered and is now i the 
 other .sick. Oh, My Savior, Jesus, what a reat 
 an affliction] it is that we have great need to resign 
 ourselves thoroughly to the will ; for, otherwise, what 
 can we do l. p and lament the loss of th< 
 
 d who were so inflamed with zeal for His 
 
 glory} By rcshznai: r having accorded a Few 
 
 s to our grici for the Beparad >u. we can elevate ourselves 
 
 to God, and | ail these losses, since it is 
 
48 VIRTUES AND DOCTRINE OF ST. VINCENT 1)E PAUL. 
 
 by the disposition of His Divine Will that they are come upon 
 ns. Yet, gentlemen and my brothers, can we say we lose those 
 whom God takes? No, we do nor lose them, and we should 
 believe that the ashes of hese good missionaries will prove to 
 be the seed whence others will spring. Rest assured that G-od 
 will not withdraw from this congregation the graces that he 
 bestowed upon them, but will give them to those who shall 
 have the zeal to go take their places." 
 
CHAPTER V 
 
 N« i; OF G< 
 
 [ 
 
 Love, uniting hearts and wills, annihilates space, and is 
 happy only in the presence <>r in the continual sight of the 
 . t*! 11 of love for God, to ■ care 
 
 not to 1 Ihoughl of Hi holy and 
 
 ami; Mono, or in public, in quiet or in 
 
 in duty, in joy as in . in the Bilcnce of his room, or in 
 
 the noise and distraction of the of the court, and of 
 
 meel itly with God, always united to Him 
 
 in thought anl in heart No matter al what moment, or in what 
 place yon met him, it was readily seen from hi sted 
 
 manner, from his evenness of temper, from ;!;< nature 
 
 ent of his words, thai God was ever pr ith him. 
 
 Wne he invariably weringi 
 
 in order to reflect, and to consult God, and i* was in tin- name 
 the name of the Lord." his ordinary formula, thai 
 he gave n decision or an advice. He tho 
 presence four times an hour; whenever the ruck 
 
 he immediately ti ade the sign of the cro 
 
 and raised hi '! n. Ordinarily, he kepi them • 
 
 down, and even whenever be rode in a \ and he 
 
 ned them onl\ to >i the Cr ry which 
 
 he always carried attached to his - That he might no1 
 
 nor be seen, and that he might them tain 
 
 himself with God he almost always closed th< 'the 
 
 carriage. For that matter, however, of creatures, far 
 
 from distracting him, only served to elevate him to their 
 
50 VIRTUES AND DOCTRINE OF ST. VINCENT DE PAUL. 
 
 Creator. Fields covered with grain, trees laden with fruit 
 afforded him an occasion to bless the goodness of God and to 
 adore His paternal Providence; flowers, birds, or any other 
 agreeable object would occasion the exclamation: " What is 
 comparable to the beauty of God, Who is the source of all the 
 beauty and perfection of His creatures? Is it not He who 
 lends them their lustre and their brilliancy? " Most frequently, 
 however, he honored God, and kept himself united to Him in 
 depriving himself of the view of pleasing objects, and in 
 mortifying his senses. 
 
 If he went on foot through the streets he preserved the same 
 recollection, and observed the same practice. In passing 
 before a church lie would enter and prostrate himself with his 
 face to the earth. When the Ancjdvs rang, whether he was in 
 the midst of a crowd, or at court, he uncovered, and fell on his 
 knees to recite it. Though all looked at him in admiration he 
 saw no one. The little children in the streets pointed him out 
 to each other, saying: "See, the Saint is passing." 
 
 II 
 
 He counselled others to adopt what proved in his own case 
 a means to maintain the presence of God. Being one day at 
 Court, in one of the grand salon* which was all lined with 
 mirrors so that even the smallest insect or grain of dust was 
 reflected, he was struck with a thought which he hastened to 
 communicate to his Community. "Jfmen" he said, "have 
 been able to represent, in this manner, ail that passes in a place, 
 even the least" movement of the smallest thing, have we not 
 greater reason to believe that they are all represented in the 
 grand mirror of the Divinity that fills all space, and contains 
 all in its immensity, and in whieh the Blessed see all things, 
 and particularly the good works of faithful souls, and conse- 
 quently all their acts of patience, of humility, of conformity to 
 the will of God, and of other virtues? " 
 
 He placed in different parts of the house of St Lazarus the 
 words. ''God sees me." written in large characters, in order 
 to familiarize his children with the thought of the presence of 
 God; and he desired that, those tablets would be considered as 
 
. OJ GOD. 51 
 
 : Looking on those passing, and visible to then 
 
 . ( )t th( oti rod he Baud: "Who 
 
 ; Is faithf tl to ii. whosoe^ 
 
 trill soon Attain to ■ very high degree of sanctity " A. 
 
 s:ti<l again: "The of the | sill render 
 
 us familiar with the prs constantly doing His will; the 
 
 nbrance of the Divine presence will establish itself, lit 
 little, in the mind, q .<!. by His Grace, it will become a ' 
 «> that we will, at last be animated by this Divine preseo 
 
CHAPTER V 
 
 PRAYER. 
 
 I 
 
 Love is not content with the presence alone, it likewise 
 demands converse with the object loved. He, then, who loves 
 God, is, necessarily, a man of prayer. Vincent de Paul had a 
 most religious and profound esteem for prayer; he had the 
 greatest relish for it, and it possessed for him the sweetest 
 attraction. Every morning he devoted one hour to it : and in the 
 midst of the greatest multiplicity of affairs, and though he were 
 obliged to be bled, or to take medicine, he would not permit the 
 consequent fatigue, no matter how severe, to prevent him from 
 being present on the morrow. Be made his prayer on his 
 knees, in the church with his entire cotnmunity. ^ T ot content 
 to consecrate to God the first fruits of the day he also gave 
 himself up to prayer during his long nights of sleeplessness, and 
 devoted to it every lei- ure moment that his duty or his labor 
 for the poor left him. Every year, be his engagements what 
 they might, he retired eight entire days to give himself up to 
 prayer, and in the meanwhile he interrupted the most holy 
 occupations, that he might the better entertain himself with 
 God alone. 
 
 At all times his prayer was fervent. Sighs of a love that he 
 could not control were heard escaping him, and he alone was 
 unconscious. What passed between God and him? Did his 
 prayer follow the ordinary way of considerations In the 
 understanding, and affections in the heart, or did it proceed 
 solely, without labor and without any effort of nature, from the 
 operation of the Divine Spirit? His humility carefully con- 
 
'!. Bat when dei , his 
 
 atenance at ti I'ke unto thi 
 
 the rdoi "ill, illuminating I 
 
 and actions, I! at the 
 
 >urne<1 wii 
 ::nd with charity; his humility, hi ification, his ; 
 
 all bis \ irtues shone with new lustre in his condi 
 
 II 
 
 lie induced :»ll th luencc 
 
 to make morning mental praj 
 
 iring for the 
 ming the >uld be in 
 
 in it that they mighl take away with 
 
 fruit cf 1 it, and 
 
 himself led th 
 . and even the ladies of hi 
 practice it. 
 
 tilai ly i 
 and to directors of souls. ''Mental j >, a \ cr. "is n 
 
 tat book for a thai he will draw from 
 
 :hc Eternal Word the Divine truths <>«' which He i 
 iu /order to diffu ird9 among the people; pra; 
 
 will lit him to touch th ;N." 
 
 ies, both in their own i I 
 I in behalf of Ihe peo dally exhorted to the 
 
 practice of mental prayer. He said to them: "Gh 
 
 prayer, an »f everything; Frith 
 
 the do ail things in Him who hens 
 
 and ts me. ' " And he Baid : "The the 
 
 Mission will mental \ rayer is 
 
 faithfully oiai : in it, because i rayer is like an impregna- 
 
 ipart that will protect the rery 
 
 :.!. or lik<' il r of David 
 
 which will f jicc, bill 
 
 v and of 
 the si 
 
 litation be made as well in sicknes i as in 
 
54 VIRTUES AND DOCTRINE OF ST. VINCENT 1>E VAL'L. 
 
 health, on days of repose as on those of labor, "My Lord,, 
 the Prince of Conti" he said in this connection, "will one day 
 be our judge, at least he will be mine. lie is admirable in His 
 fidelity to the exercise of prayer; he devotes two hours to it 
 every day, one in the morning and the other in the evening. Be • 
 his occupations ever so great, no matter what company he has, 
 in it he never fails. It is true he is not so bound to the precise 
 hour that lie cannot advance or delay it according to necessity. 
 May God grant us this attraction for union with Him in . 
 prayer. " 
 
 It was in the morning, at the conclusion of his own prayer, 
 that Vincent pave his counsel and instructions to his mission- 
 aries. He called upon them, at least twice a week, to give an 
 account of the good thoughts that God had given them during 
 meditation. This repetition of pr&yer had for him an especial 
 charm. Even when away from his Community, in travelling, 
 he made use of it. When he journeyed, even with seculars, he 
 succeeded in gaining them over not only to employ a certain time 
 each day in meditation, but also>to interchange the communica- 
 tions which the Spirit of God had made to each. The domestics 
 were invited to speak in their turn, and one of them once 
 related: "Having considered that our Lord has recommended . 
 assistance to the poor, I thought I. ought to do something for 
 them ; but being poor myself, and not able to give anything, I 
 took the resolution of at least rendering them some little 
 honor, to speak kindly to them when they speak to me, and. 
 even to take off my hat in saluting them." 
 
 These words impressed, Vincent; he thanked God who loves 
 to communicate Himself to the simple, he induced pious ladies 
 to establish the custom., of repetition of prayer among their- 
 servants, and he was confirmed in his own practice of interro- 
 gating the least of his brothers, at St. Lazarus, as well as the • 
 most learned of the missionaries. . 
 
 In fact, at each repetition. of prayer, he always invited three 
 or four to speak, audi no matter how pressing were the calls 
 elsewhere, he listened to them .with kindness aad with joy, for 
 entire hours. It afforded mutual edification; it was a school 
 a practical lesson. from. which the, new-comers arid. the incxperi-- 
 
I'K.vn.i:. 55 
 
 form tli in the great art of mental player- 
 
 .in to the Daughters of Charity, 
 la 1 he conferences of the 1st and 81st of May, 1648, the nat 
 
 fthis prayer. He said: f'Th re is nothing 
 
 whi< so much recommended to His Apostles, 
 
 I them to ask the Fftther anything in His 
 
 ie ::n 1 pi . at the a ime time that it wou'd be 
 
 Bui these word not nddn Bsed m the 
 
 Apostles; they n l for all Christians, t; 
 
 ins, naturally timid and fearful, who dare 
 
 ting thro repulsed, who dare pro;. 
 
 : LU-receh 1 who dare 
 
 9 9 
 
 nothing through tear of be'ng refuse I. Now. Jesus Chri 
 
 >mplete assurance that trer will be well 
 
 pleased to have us ask Him, in the Name of His Son. whal 
 
 and that He is res jrant it to us; and 1 1 
 
 conl i us of this, but that wc may pray with more 
 
 I Ie ice, He promisos it with a kind oath, ofusinj utlsi 
 
 to yor.' 
 "He Himself has given ua the example. Jesus was a man 
 .) Hi> most tender age. He, al times, escaped 
 from the pre the Blessed Virgin aid Sit Joseph, that 
 
 He might, with more liberty, addresi il> prayers to God, Hi 
 Father. When about thirty years of age, He withdrew into the 
 srt where lie remained forty days in order t-> prepare 
 Himself, by prayer and fasting, for the preaching of His 
 Gospel; and during the entire course of His laborious life ll«' pas 
 ever punctual to prayer, going from time to time t i Jerusalem, 
 and eparating Himself from His Apostles in order to 
 
 pray, The nighl His passion. He prayed at different 
 
 intervals with sueh fervor that for three hours He was in a 
 bloodj and Buffered mortal agony. 
 
 a, therefore, well. the nature of prayer. What 
 nourishment i- to the body, prayer is t<> the soul: and i 
 
 >n who takes his r ily every two, or three, or four days 
 
 would directly b< int and unable to perform his dutii 
 
 having neith !i nor vigor, - . that does not devote 
 
 . tain specified time to prayer, or docs it out rarely, will 
 
 • me entirely tepid, will languish, will he without strength 
 
J)6 VIRTUES AND DOCTRINE QV ST. VINCENT DK l'AU!:. 
 
 or virtue, will be troublesome to others and insupportable to* 
 i if, aiul will become disgusted with its state and its 
 vocation. 
 
 '* Prayer is. as it were, the irrigation of our souls . Florists and 
 gardeners are careful to take their time in watering their plants 
 twice a day, during the heats and dryness of summer, and they 
 do so with intelligence, for otherwise their plants would perish. 
 But with this care the roots receive* nourishment from the 
 earth, and a certain humidity, coming from the watering, runs up 
 the stock, and gives life to the branches and to the leaves, and 
 taste to the fruit. So, too, dryness coming upon the garden of 
 our souls, all plants therein would perish if the care and labor 
 of the gardener were wanting, that is, if* they be without prayer 
 which, like a gentle dew, every morning softens our souls by 
 the grace which it draws down upon them. Are we wearied 
 from the incidents and annoyances with which, during the da\v 
 we meet, we have, again; in the evening, this sweet and 
 refreshing means to give vigor to our actions. Oh, what great 
 fruit the soul would bear in a short time were it careful to 
 refresh itself with this sacred moisture !' It would be seen to 
 advance every day from virtue to virtue, just as the gardener 
 perceives his plants growdng in proportion as he waters them ; 
 as a beautiful aurora that rises in the morning and constantly 
 increases till noon, so, too, that soul makes uninterrupted 
 progress until it reaches the Sun of Justice, Who is the true 
 light of the world, and is lost in Him, as the aurora is, in some 
 measure, lost in the midday sun. 
 
 "Prayer is, as it were, as the soul of our soul. The soul it 
 is that gives life to the bbdy, that gives motion to it, that 
 enables it to speak and to act, and as the body without the soul 
 is but an unsightly corpse with neithermovement nor action, so 
 a soul without prayer is devoid of feeling and movement for the- 
 service of God, having no longer any but low and grovelling 
 thoughts for the things of earth. 
 
 '-Prayer is a mirror in which the soul sees all its stains, its 
 ugliness, and all that which makes it disagreeable to God. 
 People in the world never leave their houses without precisely 
 attiring themselves neatly, and consulting their mirror to see if 
 
PRA1 
 
 there be any thing about them that mighl and 
 
 Boi to bear a mirror attached to their girdle so 
 
 • to look m time to tii i >w, if 
 
 people of the world emp ans to please men, 
 
 far more just thai persona consecrated to God would adorn 
 th< in the mirror of prayer, by means of aspiral ions and 
 
 ■ovt r anything displci 
 the Divine Majesty, to ask pardon in order to ain Into 
 
 Hi- 
 
 ilefly in praycrth makes known to ua whal Ho 
 
 avoi I. The holy fathers are • sol 
 wh< k of prayer, and decla 
 
 that it is a fountain of Jnventas wherein tl >ung 
 
 • ; that a blinded sou! n 
 i, deaf to the voice of God, becomes attentive to His 
 
 ■■; which was heavy and sluggish in the 
 thin i accounl of its evil habit- . 
 
 full of courage and o that we 
 
 per* at, without education, and without 
 
 kno • ' • tnysteries of our religion change, io bo Bhort a 
 
 fountain of juventas, in 
 which tl" young and at 
 
 •• !'i i elevation of the mil in prayer the 
 
 soul ' rod in Himself 
 
 interview of the soul with t mutual 
 
 mnnicatio tells tho SOU] interiorly what He 
 
 wishes it to know, and to do; wherein the soul tc the 
 
 demands which He Himself has made known to it. 
 "F a which we preach to o mvlnce 
 
 .' having rec 
 cooperating with His grace to extir] from our souls 
 
 and to implant virtue in them. We must OCCU] 9 in 
 
 prayer particular] batting or vicii 
 
 inclination that predominate- in 
 
 mort that, all tho rest i 
 
 Bat abat. I rtant to i 
 
 quietly i i the min lication 
 
 and through a d thoughts; we mi 
 
58 VIRTUES AND DOCTRINE OF ST. VINCENT DE PAUL. 
 
 raise the mind to God and listen to Him, for one word from Him 
 will effect more than a thousand reasonings, and more than all 
 the speculations of our understanding. I would we had this 
 manner of prayer, of elevating ourselves from time to time to 
 God, keeping ourselves in humble recognition of our own 
 nothingness, waiting until it pleases Him to speak to our hearts 
 and to give us some word cf eternal life. Only that which God 
 inspires and comes from Him can piofit us. We must, also, 
 receive from God what we are to communicate to our neighbors, 
 according to the example of Jesus, who. speaking of Himself, 
 said He taught others only what He had heard and had learned 
 from His Father. 
 
 4 It is natural to pray. We see little children do it with joy, 
 and God takes a singular pleasure in their little prayers. Mr. 
 de Berulle held their prayers in so great esteem that when he 
 met children he took them by the hand that they might give 
 him their blessing. 
 
 '* There are two kinds of prayer; the one, vocal, which consists 
 in the sole use of words, and the other, mental, which is made 
 by the mind and heart, without words. The example of Moses 
 shows us clearly what virtue, what efficacy there is in mental 
 prayer; for the people of God, engaged in battle, gained advantage 
 according as the holy prophet, without making use of a word, 
 raised his hands towards heaven, or lost ground, as he lowered 
 them. At another time, when Moses was in mental prayer, God 
 spoke to him: ' Why do you prevent me from destroying 
 this ungrateful people?' The Holy Law- giver only wished the 
 more in prayer, and obtained mercy for his people. What, 
 then, must be the efficacy of prayer, since it can tie the hands 
 of God? 
 
 "Mental prayer is made in two ways: either by the under- 
 standing or by the will. The prayer of the understanding is 
 when we strive to recollect ourselves, and to place ourseives in 
 the presence of God in order the better to seek to understand 
 the mystery or the truths proposed, so as to draw from them 
 suitable instruction, to excite affections proper to the subject,, 
 and to take strong resolutions to fly evil and to embrace the 
 good which God gives us the grace to know. Though the 
 resolutions and affections arc acts of the will, yet the prayer is. 
 
•called of the understand! il consists principally in 
 
 the search of truth. It i named', more frequently, meditation. 
 
 "The other, which is principally in the will, and is called 
 affectii iblc for every one. God uom 
 
 II< • and when He Wen cannot teach it; they 
 
 can attain to it neither by their own industry, nor by their own 
 effort. In this prayer, a sonl, without contributing anything of 
 its own, finds itself suddenly filled with lights and holy 
 affections. The understands enlightened in certain 
 
 truths incomprehensible to rill oilier., and the will is aflame 
 with all > >d desire 
 
 which the ' Lied and 
 
 tang particularly positive and practical, following 
 
 •chai ' his mind and of his virtue, od thai 
 
 raoidinary and sublime prayer to which God tlei 
 favc i particular operation of His spirit rath,!- than 
 
 by their own industry and the efforts of their faculties; lie 
 recognized I 's conduct in regard to privileged sou! 
 
 admirable and His ways incomprehensible; still, he held to the 
 
 maxim of the apostle, not to easily believe in all Spirits, and to 
 
 proi il to discover if they be from God; be 1 
 
 further, from St. Paul, iTiat Satan often transforms him 
 an angel of light, and that he leads astaray as well by 
 appearance ol on of evil; he knew, too, 
 
 i experiei here are kinds of 
 
 and perfect in appearance which, nevertheles in the 
 
 wrong way. He, therefore, ad U to follow the humbl 
 
 ecu re and within the 
 :i «»r all. until God, but God Himself and G . would 
 
 of the hand and lead unto another. 
 ■ Mi . recalling to mind the predilection ol* God for the 
 
 low! mple, he said further to the Daugfa I harity: 
 
 "Althou arning have o make 
 
 their pra int of the li. twledge 
 
 which th 
 
 ii that which He holds with the i 
 
 Lord 
 of H /because Thou bast hidde 
 
 from them to the little,' 
 
60 VIRTUES AND DOCTRINE OF ST. VINCENT I>E PAUL. 
 
 On those souls God delights to shed His most glorious l»ghts r 
 and His greatest graces; He lays open before then what the- 
 schools have been unable to discover, and He develops for them 
 mysteries in which the most learned see but darkness. A 
 theologiar, it is true, discourses of God, as science has taught 
 him, but a person of prayer speaks of Him in a totally different 
 manner; the theologian speaks from an acquired science, and the* 
 person of prayer, penetrated with cha ; T , from an infused 
 science; and in this case the theologian i he r»ore learned, 
 
 and he mu3t maintain silence in the presence of a man of 
 prayer because the latter treats of God far differently. 
 
 "Let us, therefore, persevere in prayer without being 
 discouraged by nryness or difhcuHies. During twenty years, . 
 St. Teresa was unable to make mental prayer, and did not 
 understand it. She, however, persevered; and God imparted 
 to her an eminent gift of prayer. In faithfully striving to make 
 our prayer, we, at least, practice every kind of virtue; obedience, 
 humilit}', faith, hope, charity, and, above all, mortification, which, . 
 like an inseparable companion, should alwaj's accompany 
 prayer." All these instructions, and others still, Ave find' 
 admirably developed in a conference to the missionaries, on the 
 10th of August, 1657. The saint explained, successively, what 
 is to be avoided, and what must he practiced in order to pray 
 properl} 7 and well. 
 
 Carelessness first must be avoided. " Prayer is not thought. 
 of; we come to prayer I know not why, through custom, 
 because others come; we think of everything, we do not at all 
 dispose ourselves for prayer. Prayer is an elevation of the 
 mind to God, wherein we represent to Him our necessities, and 
 implore His Divine assistance; we should, then, beforehand 
 prepare ourselves well for it. What are we about to do ? What 
 should we hope for in treating with so great a Majesty? Of 
 what have we the most need? What grace should we ask of 
 Him? 
 
 *' Let us place a guard over the levity and inconstancy of 
 our poor minds, that we may retain our thoughts in the 
 presence of God, that we may enchain that flighty imagination 
 that runs everywhere, and yet, let us do so without too great, 
 
I'll A. 01 
 
 an effort with* never 
 
 We 
 
 well on them. Vou will Bay: 'I will be 
 
 .' 
 in our 
 and all I ' 
 to hai t in n 
 
 . : this i 
 
 •thing i i 
 
 place 
 Him eil her as 
 I upon Hi 
 
 ; or in 
 rywhere here ai 
 
 . 
 ting the d of our conscience; 
 
 or in 1 the altar. Oh! 
 
 vior. behol I me, a poor and i 
 
 lehold me at the foot of the 
 altar when Thou iv . ' 
 
 do nothing unwortl 
 Rider I 
 
 ; . do nol 
 nis the: : 
 
 not 
 '2%ou, 
 
 . And this point, 
 
 :;jon it dl 
 
 of the prayer; that weD done, the rest folio 
 
 may 
 
 proper] Divine that 
 
 of our Qjuring II great 
 
 infinite trough rcession of 
 
 the Blessi 
 
62 VIRTUES AND DOCTRINE OF ST. VINCENT PE PAUL. 
 
 "We, then, propose to ourselves the subject of prayer. This 
 subject is either sensible, or insensible: if it be sensible, as for 
 instance a mystery, we must represent it to ourselves and pay 
 attention to all its parts and all its circumstances; if it be 
 imperceptible by the senses, as a virtue, we must consider in 
 what it consists, what are its chief qual'ties, as also its signs J 
 its effects, and especially its acts and the means to put it in 
 practice. It is good, also, to seek after reasons that will induce 
 us to embrace the virtue upon which we meditate, and to pause 
 at those motives that touch us most. They may be drawn from 
 the Sacred Scriptures, or else from the holy Fathers; and when 
 memory recalls certain passages from their writings, appro] riate 
 to the subject of prayer, it is well to digest them in our mind; 
 but we should not search for them in time of prayer, nor even 
 apply our mind to the consideration of many of them; for, to 
 what purpose delay the thought on a collection of passages, and 
 reason, unless, perchance, to enlighten and render subtle our 
 understanding? And this is to apply ourselves to study rather 
 than to prayer. 
 
 "When fire is wanted, flint is used, it is struck, and, as soon 
 as the fire catches the substance prepared for it, the candle is 
 lighted; and he, who having lighted the candle would still 
 continue to strike the flint, would make himself ridiculous. In 
 the same way, when a soul is sufficiently enlightened by 
 considerations, what need is there to seek after more and to 
 hammer and rehammer cur thoughts in order to multiply reasons 
 and thoughts? Do you not see that it is a loss of time, and that 
 then we must apply ourselves to move the will, and to excite its 
 affections by the beauty of the virtue and the deformity of the 
 contrary vice ? This is not difficult, for the will follows the 
 light of the understanding, and inclines to what is proposed to 
 it as good and desirable. But this is not yet enough. It is 
 not sufficient to have good affections, we must go further and 
 take resolutions to work earnestly, further to acquire fhe virtue, 
 proposing to ourselves to put it into practice, by producing its 
 acts. And this is the im portant point, and the fruit that we should 
 derive from prayer; hence it is that we must not pass lightly 
 over our resolutions, but reiterate them and imprint them well 
 on our hearts; and it is good to foresee the obstacles that n ay 
 
G3 
 
 arise, and the means that frill into 
 
 practice, and tc resolve to avoid on i adopt the other. 
 
 try, nor often expedient, to 
 
 have grand bl on the virtue that we wisl lire; no, 
 
 noreven to high thoughts; for the effort 
 
 to lender \ . I hilsf they :uv purely 
 
 spiritual que v often injure and trouble the mind, and 
 
 tie understanding heats the brain 
 and sins in the head; as also acts of the will too 
 
 d repeat i much forced, dry and weaken the heart. 
 
 We : in eve : » "m n i matter 
 
 what, and particularly in prayer, is never praiseworthy. Wo 
 should ati moderately and calmly, and pn all, 
 
 mind and of heart. 
 
 ••In finishing our prayer, we should thank God for the lights 
 
 and -races tl :8 during it, and for the resolutions 
 
 with which He and beg 1 stance to put into 
 
 - soon : ba1 we ;■ 
 
 • I be praised! this is what we do in ; And now 
 
 i this practice of prayer, since through 
 
 i<> OS, I :* ' in pur vocation, : 
 
 of pn 
 • unt of | >id falling tunt 
 
 of i (ontinue in charity, it' we I 
 
 and to i 
 
 an: scarcely anything without it: / 
 
 . ( .Mat. no, nothing, not 
 
 i the diffusion of His gospel and what int 
 glory: Pray ye < Lord, 
 
 and is Thy affair. No matter: Pray ye 
 Lordqf /' I us all, then, humblj 
 
 will cause us to adopt the practice ofpray< r." 
 
 To ascertain it' !;• bod were 
 
 well followed, or -h one vcia! advice he 
 
 in turn the brotl her, 
 
 what method <h> you always follow in your] her, 
 
 1 always divide l!.<- •• Xou do 
 
•64 VIRTUES AND DOCTRINE OF ST. VINCENT DE PAUL. 
 
 well, brother. Yet when we take a mystery as a subject for 
 meditation it is not necessary, nor expedient, to delay on a 
 particular virtue and to make our ordinary division of the 
 subject, in regard to that virtue; it hi better to consider the 
 history of the mystery and pay attention to all the circumstances, 
 (here being none, be they ever so little, or so common, in 
 which great treasures*of grace are not hidden, if we oidy knew 
 bow to search. This I recognized lately, al a conference of 
 these gentlemen who assemble here They had, as the subject 
 of their entertainment, what was necessary to be done to spend 
 well the time of Lent. It was a A r ery common subject, one the3 r 
 were accustomed to treat every year, and yet such good things 
 were said that all present were greatly moved, and I, myself, 
 particularly ; and I can say in all truth, I never saw the members 
 of the congregation more devout, nor heard discourses that 
 made a greater impresssion on the mind; for, though they had 
 ■previously spoken several times on the same subject, yet it 
 seemed as if they were not the same persons who spoke, God 
 having inspired them in prayer with a tot a 11 3' different language. 
 See, ray brethren, how God conceals treasures in things that 
 appear so common, and in the least circumstances of the truths 
 and mysteries of our holy religion. They arc as the little grains 
 of mustard-seed which become large trees when it pleases our 
 Lord to extend His blessings to them. Our subjects of 
 meditation resemble the stores of merchants; and as there are 
 stores in which 3-011 can find onty one class of goods, and others 
 in which 3-011 can obtain anything 3'ou desire, so, too, are there 
 subjects of meditation which instruct in one virtue only, whilst 
 others contain the riches of every virtue; such, for instance, are 
 the mysteries of the birth, of the life, and of the death and 
 resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ. To draw fruit from them 
 we must adore our Lord in the condition in which the mysteiy 
 represents Him, praise Him, and return thanks for the graces 
 that He h^s merited for us, humbly represent to Him our 
 miseries and our wants, and ask of Him the succor and the 
 graces necessary to imitate and practice the virtues that He 
 there teaches." 
 
 " Brother," he asked of another, ' ; do you derive any profit 
 from prayer? ' But little, Father.' 'How docs this come.' 
 
PRAYER. G5 
 
 roji it " during prayer I was 
 
 thinking within myself how i'i was that some made » little 
 progress in this holj reason to fear lest the 
 
 evil be thai they do not sufficiently practice mortification and 
 that the inch liberty to the If we read what 
 
 the [ritual life ha in their 
 
 writings, we can sou that they unanimously held that the 
 practice « f mortification is absolul , in order to pray 
 
 well, and that, to dispose oun >perly for prayer, we must 
 
 ue, the i ! all the 
 
 !>ii! we must also mortify the •■ of the 
 
 the memory and the will. fa this i 
 rtificatiou will I od preparation for prayer, and 
 
 .\ ill help i" pi ion, 
 
 is little pro • have fine 
 
 thou &pply them to them- 
 
 and do not reflect on their own condil A.ndye1 
 
 imended that, when < lod communis i 
 in prayer any Light or air •utiincnt. we man'." nse of it for 
 
 our ticnlar wants. We must reflect on our owndefe 
 
 them before God. and a; times even 
 
 tem before the con ;i for the sake of 
 
 humbling op • icperienc (fusion, and 
 
 iutions to verdone 
 
 without profit. " 
 
 Thereupon, a brother fell upon hi rdon 
 
 for having done nothing in prayer for some tin and for 
 
 not being able even to apply himself to it. "May God bless 
 you, brother, aint, •• He so 
 
 lose the likin ction prayer 
 
 had e grow weary in it. But this 
 
 ordinaril; \:y us, and we must not become 
 
 down-hearted, nor give way to i There are 
 
 many good t • treated in that manner, and so have 
 
 been many of the saints. Yes, I kno 1 very virtuous 
 
 »ns who feel only repu in pr yer; but as 
 
 are faithful they make good use of them, and this 
 
 contributes, not a little, to their advancement in virtue. It is 
 
 'n and drynei i n to those who 
 
66 VIRTUES AND DOCTRINE OF ST. VINCENT DE PAUL. 
 
 begin to give themselves to prayer, there is sometimes reason 
 to fear that this comes from negligence on their part, and it is to 
 this, my brother, that you must pay attention. But, perhaps,- 
 it is not your fault. 'Do yon not experience a pain in your' 
 head?' 'Yes, Father; and it comes from having wished, in 
 the last retreat, to make everything in prayer present to the 
 senses.' ' You should not act in that manner, brother, nor 
 strive, in prayer, to perceive by the senses that which by its 
 nature is imperceptible, for this is self-love, which in this way 
 seeks itself. In prayer we should act in a spirit of faith, and 
 in a spirit of faith consider the mysteries and the virtues upon 
 which we meditate, sweetly, humbly, without making any effort 
 with our imagination, employing the will in producing affections 
 and resolutions rather than the understanding to obtain knowl- 
 edge. And, meanwhile, we should persevere courageously, in 
 imitation of our Lord, who * being in an agony prayed the 
 longer. 1 (Luke xxii.,43.) Prayer is a gift of God which we 
 must demand of Him with importunity, saying with the apostles: 
 ' Lord, teach lis to pray,'' (Luke xi. , l); and we must, in patience 
 and humility, await this grace from His Goodness.'" 
 
 Another brother speaks in his turn: "I cannot make my 
 prayer well because I have no mind. Of my faculties I am 
 able to use but one, and that is the will. It begins, from the 
 moment the subject is proposed, and without any reasoning, to 
 produce affections, at one time thanking God, again asking 
 pardon and exciting confusion and regret for sin; or else 
 supplicating Him to grant the grace to imitate our Lord in 
 some of His virtues, and then in taking resolutions." 
 
 •'Continue that way, brother." interrupted the saint, "and 
 do not trouble yourself about the employment of the understand- 
 ing which is used only to excite the will. Since yours, without 
 considerations, goes thus to the affections and to the resolutions 
 of practicing the virtue, may God grant 3*011 the grace to keep 
 on in that way and become more and more faithful to His holy 
 will! The soul resembles a galley that moves on the water 
 by means of oars and sails. As the oars are not used unless 
 when the wind fails, and as the sailing is more pleasant and 
 faster when it is favorable, so we, in like manner, must use 
 considerations in prayer when the movement of the Holy Ghost 
 
PRATER. G7 
 
 is not felt, but when this heavenly wind blows in upon our 
 hearts we must abandon ourselves to Its actions." 
 
 Vincent then applied himself to show the difference between 
 
 the thoughts that are Inspired by God and those thai come 
 from ourselves. '•Remark," *aid he. ••the difference between 
 the light of the lire and that of the sun. At night, our fire 
 gives us 1 i !_r 1 1 1 and we see things by means of its flame, bnt we 
 
 them only imperfectly, we perceive bnt the surface, ar.d the 
 brightn go no further; but the sun tills and vivifies 
 
 ry thing with its light; it not only discloses the exterior of 
 things, but by an inherent force penetrates the Ulterior. Now, 
 the thoughts and considerations which spring from our 
 understanding arc but as little fires which .-how, only Blightly, 
 the outside of things, and effect nothing more; but the lights of 
 
 e, which the Sun of Justice sheds upon our BOUls, disclose 
 and enter into the depths Of OUT hearts, and excite and stimu- 
 late them to produce wonderful effects. w<- must, consequently, 
 ask of God that He Himself enlighten us and inspire us with 
 
 what is pleasing to Him. All these lofty and far-fetched 
 
 considerations are not prayer; they are often rather the outcome 
 
 pride And of thosi. who content themselves with such 
 thoughts. and who find their pleasure in them, it may be sail!. 
 
 !ier who would show off his tine language, whose 
 entire delight and complacency would be to see his auditory 
 I with what he Utters; in this, it is evident, it would not 
 be the Holy Ghost, but rather the spirit of pride that would 
 enlighten the understanding and give expression to all those 
 fine thoughts; to speak more properly, it would be the demon 
 that would influence him and cause him to speak in that fashion. 
 It is the same in prayer when we strain after beautiful 
 
 considerations, when we entertain ourselves with extraordinary 
 
 thoughts, and especially when this is done for the purpose of 
 giving them out in repetition that others may admire. There 
 is in this a species of blasphemy; it is, alter a manner, to be 
 
 idolatrous of our own minds. For, whilst treating with Cod in 
 prayer, you meditate on what satisfies your pride, you employ 
 this holy time in seeking your own gratification, and. in taking 
 delight in the beauty of your thoughts, you sacrifice to this 
 idol of vanity. 
 
08 VIRTUES AND DOCTRINE OF ST. VINCENT DE PACE. 
 
 ''Ah! my brothers, let us guard against this folly; let us 
 acknowledge that we are laden down with misery; let us seek 
 only after that which will lead us to the solid practice of virtue. 
 Let us. in pra3 r er, abase ourselves even to nothingness, 
 and in our repetitions humbly tell our thoughts; and should 
 any that seem to us beaui.iful present themselves let us greatty 
 distrust and fear lest it be the spirit of pride that produces, or 
 the Divil that suggests them. For this reason we ough f always 
 profoundly humble ourselves when these fine thoughts come to 
 us, either whilst m prayer, or in preaching, or in conversation 
 with others. Alas! The Son of God could have charmed all 
 men by His all-Divine eloquence and yet He did not wish to do 
 so; but, on the contrary, in teaching the truths of His Gospel, 
 He made use of common and familiar expressions and words; 
 He loved always to be despised and contemned rather than to 
 be praised and esteemed. Let us, then, m3 r brethren, see how 
 we may be able to imitate Him best, and for this purpose let us 
 suppress, in prayer, as elsewhere, all thoughts of pride; Ictus 
 follow in everything the traces of the humility of Jesus; let our 
 words be simple, common and familiar; and, when God permits 
 it, let us be glad that what we say obtains no consideration, 
 that we are despised, that we are laughed at, holding it for 
 certain that without a true and sincere humility, it is impossible 
 for us to be of profit, either to ourselves or to others." 
 
 His practical sense always preferred in prayer affections to 
 thoughts, and, again, resolutions to affections. "I am in 
 doubt," said a missionary in repeating his prayer, "whether I 
 should hereafter take any more resolutions, so unfaithful am I 
 in putting them into practice." ''My clear sir," Vincent im- 
 mediately rejoined, " that is not a sufficient reason; for, as in 
 taking nourishment, though we do not appear to derive any 
 benefit, still we do not, for that reason, abstain from eating. To 
 take good resolutions is one of the most important parts, nay, 
 the most important part of prayer. It is to this we must 
 devote ourselves, and not so much to reasoning or to language. 
 The principal fruit of pra}'er consists in forming good and strong- 
 resolutions, in being penetrated with them, in being well con- 
 vinced of their necessity, and in taking the proper means to put 
 them into practice, foreseeing and overcoming all difficulties. 
 
n: a | 09 
 
 Yet this i> not enough, Tor, after all, our resolutions are in 
 themselves but physic. 1 and moral actions, ami, though we do 
 well in forming them in our hearts and in being si in them, 
 
 we ought, neverthel that whatever good they 
 
 possess, that their practice and their effects depend absolutely 
 
 On God. And why is it. think you, that wemo-t frequently fail 
 in our resolution! rust too much in them. 
 
 confide I o lean on our <■•.. gth, and 
 
 this is the reason we derive do fruit. Hence, after taking reso- 
 lutions in prayer, we must pray to God, and, with a distrust in 
 ourselves, ask to] that it may please Him to commu- 
 
 nicate all thi . to fructify these resolutions. And, al- 
 
 Rgain fail in them, not only once or twice, but 
 in many instances, and even daring a length of time, then, notwith 
 standing that we did a Bingle one ofthi 
 
 we should no ■ them i\nd to hav< 
 
 the mercy of God and ask for the aid of Hu ' alts, 
 
 should, indeed, bcs Bubject of humiliation, but aol a reason why 
 
 should lose courage; amino matter into what fault we fall we 
 
 should i. count, diminish in anything the confidence 
 
 bould have in Him; but, on the co 
 
 mould take a new resolution to ri with His grace. 
 
 which we should ask, be careful not. to fall again. Although 
 
 e no etfeet produced by the remedies they preset 
 to a sick person, yet they do not, on that account, cease to 
 continue and renew them until t'. 
 
 . If. then, in sickness of body, though long and dangerous, 
 remedies are constantly applied, even when no improvement 
 ris'ble, how much gi . i- there ; . i do the same in 
 
 regard to the infirmities of our souls in which, when it plea 
 God, grj cc •■• 
 
CHAPTER VII. 
 
 DEVOTION AND TIETY TOWARDS GOD AND THE BLESSED 
 SACRAMENT— IMITATION OF JESUS CHRIST. 
 
 Devotion, such as we understand it here, is a virtue whereby 
 we manifest respect and affection for all that relates to Divine 
 honor and worship. 
 
 The devotion of St. Vincent de Paul took its rise in the 
 exalted and profound idea that he entertained of the infinite 
 grandeur of God. 
 
 This devotion filled his heart, animated all his words, 
 manifested itself in every action of the day, in his entire 
 conduct. In the morning, at the first sound of the bell, he 
 arose from his bed, made the sign of the cross, prostrated, and 
 kissed the floor. He asored the Majesty of God, gave Him 
 thanks for His glory, for that which he gave His Son, the 
 Blessed Virgin, the Holy Angels, his Guardian Angel, St. 
 John the Baptist, the Apostles, St. Joseph and all the other 
 Saints in Paiadhe. He again thanked Him for the graces 
 bestowed upon the Church, for those that he received himself, and 
 particularly, for having preserved him during the night. He 
 offered Him his thoughts, his words and actions, in unison with 
 those of Jesus Christ; he asked of Him to keep him from all 
 sin and to aid him in faithfully accomplishing all that woidd be 
 most agreeable to Him. 
 
 After these first acts of religion he repaired to the Church, 
 where, notwithstanding his age and the swelling in his limbs, he 
 arrived before the youngest and the most healthy. The sight 
 
DEVOTION AND PIETY TOWAliDS GOD. 7) 
 
 of his family assembled before our Lord rejoiced and consoled 
 old. 
 Having finished his prayer, he recited the litanies of the Holy 
 Name of Jesus, and. among ihe glorious epithets the Church 
 applies, lie dwelt with :m especial delight on the one: "Jesaft, 
 Father of the poor." After prayer, he went almost everyday to 
 confession. 1 he could not bear in himself even the 
 
 appearance of sin. Scarcely ever could his confessor find 
 
 matter for absolution. "Ah: sir." the humble Saint would say, 
 "if you could see me as God makes me see myself, you would 
 j ud ge otherwise " 
 
 lie then prepared himself for mass, and, though but just come 
 
 from prater, he spent n consideral le period in this preparation. 
 
 He finally voted and celebrated mass. lie appeared at the 
 altar a- another Jesus Christ, victim and sacriiicer; as victim, 
 he abased and humbled himself; | B a criminal, as one 
 
 condemned to death, he recited the Cor>jiteor, pronounced the 
 Domine, non $um dignus, and all the words of the liturgy that 
 express humility and compunction, especially the fliobia quoqw 
 
 Uoribus t concerning which he wrote: M When you come to 
 the Abo's qu que of the mass think of me as of the greatest 
 sinner In the world;" as sacrificer, he was grave and majestic as 
 
 the Savior, and at t!ie same time full of sweetness of serenity, 
 of mercy; it was with these sentiments expressed on his 
 countenance and in his attitude that he turned towards the 
 
 people, and. by the sound of his voice, by the manner in which 
 he extended his arms, it was perceived that his heart expanded 
 and that he desired to embrace them all. as on another Calvary, 
 in the charity of Jesus Christ. lie recited the prayer- of the 
 mass and performed the ceremonies with neither slowness no) 
 precipitation, occupying, but not going beyond, the half-hour. 
 He pronounced all the words in a tone moderate and agreeable, 
 
 distinct and devout, and with evident unison between the lips 
 and the heart. At the rea ling of the Gospel, lie redoubled his 
 respect and his attention, and, when he met with some word of 
 our Lord, he recited it in a more tendsr tone of voice, and with 
 more affection. At the double : llirmation of the Cod of Truth: 
 "Amen, amen, I say to you," he recollected himself more 
 especially, so as to pay greater attention to the Avoids that. 
 
|.2 VIRTUES AND DOCTRINE OF ST. VINCENT DE PAUL. 
 
 followed, wherein he suspected something important, or some 
 mystery; and he read them slowly, with faith and submission, 
 in order to impress them deeply on his heart. All who assisted 
 at his mass were greatly edified. "My God," they said, 
 " behold a priest that says mass well! " — '' That must be a holy 
 man/' added one; another said: i( He is rather an angel at the 
 altar.'' 
 
 And thus he said mass every da} r , except on the first three da}*s 
 of his annual retreat, on which, according to the usage of the 
 Congregation, lie omitted it. These days of penance and 
 greater purification excepted, in the city or country, at home, 
 or in traveling, sick or well, he never, up to the last weeks of his 
 life, when his limbs refused longer to support him, omitted the 
 daily sacrifice. 
 
 Having said mass, he assisted at, and often served, a second. 
 He wa» overburdened with work, he was old, — eighty years of 
 age, — he could not walk without a support nor could he kneel 
 without the greatest difficulty; no matter, the venerable 
 superior, with the simplicity of a young cleric, and with more 
 respect and greater devotion, served the least of his priests at 
 the altar. He did it in faith and in love; he also wished to 
 give an example to his clerics, that they should never permit, 
 while they were present, a lay person to serve mass. " It is a 
 shame for an ecclesiastic, one who is set apart for the service 
 of the altar," he said to them, with Bourdoise, "to allow, in his 
 presence, others to fill his office." 
 
 On festivals and at solemn offices his piety shone with new 
 lustre. He foresaw and carefully informed himself in regard to 
 all the ceremonies. No rubric, consequently, was violated by him, 
 nor did he permit a departure from any. He humbled himself 
 greatly before God, and before his brethren, for his inability to 
 make the genuflexion in the manner prescribed by the Church, 
 and whenever he thought that he failed in any other of the 
 ceremonies, he, immediately after the service, on his knees 
 asked pardon of the whole Community. And faults committed by 
 others he imputed to himself, which, however, did not hinder 
 him, notwithstanding his great weakness, from severely 
 reprimanding them. Moreover, he gat^e such example and such 
 edification that the services at St. I Lazarus were known 
 
73 
 
 throughout all Paris for the religion, the dignity and the 
 modesty that accompanied them. Vincent himself, when 
 Bang, or recited tin psalma in choir, ; : less a man than 
 
 an angel from Heaven chanting (he pn Hi prl 
 
 and* his clerics imitated hi ad his piety. Withe; 
 
 cast down and fixed on their books, in a modest immobility, 
 they gave n i by the ; md of their v< 
 
 and the em emanating from tho Divine love within 
 
 them. 
 
 timself in the public of!! 
 he in the private reci ireviary under the 
 
 of God alone. He always recited it with un< 
 his ' during the last two or I ■•■ "his life 
 
 when his infirmities, forbidding him thai humble ai ctrul 
 
 posture, forced him I ted And on his km 
 
 and with uncovered head, he .' the Sacred 
 
 Scripture, and particularly of the New Feetament. 
 
 His d«\ to all the mysteries of onr holy 
 
 religion, and, in particular, to thai of the Biost Holy Trinity, 
 
 the first of all ; then to the Incarnation which, for us, is tin 
 
 et touching manifestation of the Trinity, an Holy 
 
 aarist which p »n earth, the Incarnation. 
 
 If h: Holy Eucharist, eon- dice 
 
 eat, it was none the loss bo toward mi' myst< 
 
 '■anient. 
 
 When before the Holy Tabernacle, he :. aintaiind 
 
 himself on both knees in a posture bo humble that lie 
 
 seemed, tin- testify his respect, to wish to abase him 
 
 I with such faith man': 1 his 
 
 intenance, ontfwould Baythat he saw Jesus with hi with 
 
 such devotion, he would have inspired ti. incredulo 
 
 with faith and tli 
 and silence, thai be had 
 magni >f the most august per 
 
 There he loved to remain all the time that his duti 
 his disposal, and there lie forgot himself for lion. tber. 
 
 There he went, like Moses of old. to consult the Divine oracle 
 in all his difficulties. It v. of 
 
 St. Lazarus, or in whatever other place he found himself, that. 
 
74 VIRTUES AND DOCTRINE OF ST. VINCENT DE PAUL. 
 
 kneeling and with bare head, he opened and read the letters which 
 he saw were important. One day, in the court of the Palace 
 in Paris, a letter was handed to him. in which was announced 
 the success of some very important fffair. Though suffering 
 gre:;. J / in his limbs, he ascended to the high chapel of the 
 Palace, and, finding it closed, he at least knelt at the door 
 and in this position informed himself of the contents of the 
 letter. 
 
 Before going out he visited our Lord in the Blessed Sacrament, 
 whom he called the master of the house, to salute Him, to take 
 leave of Him and to receive His blessing; on re-entering he 
 returned to render, as it were, an account of his mission, and 
 also to thank Him for the graces that he received whilst away, 
 and to humble himself for the faults he believed he had 
 committed. 
 
 In passing through the streets if lie met the Blessed Sacra- 
 ment, he immediately, in whatever place he was, threw himself 
 on his knees and remained so until it had passed out :)f sight, 
 and often, even, he. with bare head, followed it, striving to be as 
 near as his old and infirm members would permit. 
 
 On his journeys, as he passed through a village he would 
 dismount, or leave the carriage, to go visit the Church and 
 salute our Lord in the Blessed Sacrament, or, should it happen 
 to be closed, to kiss the doorstep; and when come to the end 
 of his journey his first visit was again to the church. 
 
 En his sickness, buing unable to celebrate mass, he wished 
 at least, to receive Holy Communion, which he did to the eve 
 of his death, and with such a respect and such a rapture, that 
 it is as useless, as it is impossible, to attempt to describe. 
 
 Profanations, committed by heretics, or by the military, 
 grieved him mortally. Tears, extraordinary penances, fervent 
 prayers, all were offered in reparation and atonement He 
 went himself or sent some of his community in pilgrimnge to 
 the profaned churches; the priests said mass and the others 
 received Holy Communion there in reparation. He made good 
 the material loss caused by sacrilegious thefts of sacred vessels 
 and ornaments; and by means of missions he repaired the injury 
 done the honor of God and souls by impiety^ and heresy. 
 
PEVOTKM AND I'lKTV TOWARDS GOD. 75 
 
 He adored, in the Incarnation and Eucharist, his God abas- 
 ing himself to our level, and becoming like unto us, and his 
 grateful love for Jeans Lnapired hi m with the desire to render aim 
 *elf, in his hirn, similar t<> Him. He formed himself upon and he 
 lived according! to this Divine model In imitation of Jesus he 
 hid, umler cover of • l«>w!y and apparently common life, fejie 
 moat heroic virtues; under the exterior of ;i poor peasant, the 
 most excellent gifts of both grace and nature; unde 
 profession of stupidity and ignorance, a judgment the m 
 perfect, and a knowledge most extensive. He breathed bul 
 
 Jeaua. and in his words, iu his thoughts and in his nctioo 
 
 repeated but His language, be acted only with Jesus before him 
 
 i mo leL Jeans always, Jeans everywhere, Jesus in all 
 
 persons and in all things; such was his doctrine, such his 
 
 morality and SUCh his policy, and this he loved to express in 
 
 one word: "Nothing pleases me but in Jesus Christ 91 
 This constant and universal keeping in view of • 
 
 lightened, elevated, and spurred on his charity. He saw Jesus 
 Supreme Pontiff in the person of the Pope, as bishop and 
 prince of pastors in the bishops, as high priest in the pri 
 
 and sole doctor in the doctors Of divinity, as king of 
 kings and as judge of judges in princes r»nd ma 
 great and noble in men of birth, and as little in the lowly. 
 as workman in the person of artisans, as a divine merchant In 
 men of traffic, as poor in the poor, as prisoner in p 
 oners, as infirm and agonizing in the sick and dying. II( : 
 \i\> respect and his tenderness for all classes of men, and 
 • dally for ail those whose lowliness and whose suffering pre- 
 sented a u r i eater resemblance to the God annihilated and to the 
 man of sorrov 
 
 II 
 
 lithful an imitation himself of Jesus Christ, he could, in 
 turn, serve as a model to his brethren, and transform into rule- 
 and lessons for them his own practices And. first of all he 
 
 endeavored to Imbue them with a very high idea of God. He 
 said to them one day: •• Lei os strive, my brethren, to conceive 
 ■ great, a very great idea of the i and sanctity of God. 
 
70 virtues axd doctrine of St. Vincent de paul. 
 
 If our mind were sufficiently strong to penetrate a little into the 
 immensity of His sovereign excellence, O my Jesus, what high 
 sentiments of it would we not conceive ! We could then well 
 say with St. Paul that eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, nor 
 hat it it entered into the heart of man to conceive anything 
 comparable to Him. He is an abyss of perfections, an Eternal 
 Being, most holy, most pure, most perfect and infkitely 
 glorious, an infinite goorl, comprising all goods, and Himself 
 incomprehensible. Now this knowledge, which we have, that 
 'God is infinitely above all knowledge and all created understand- 
 in£, ouoht to be a sufficient motive for us to esteem Him 
 infinitel}-, to annihilate ourselves in His presence, and to cause 
 ns to speak of His Supreme Majesty with the greatest reverence 
 and submission; and in proportion as we esteem Him, so will 
 we love, and this love will beget in us an insatiable desire to 
 acknowledge His benefits, and to procure Him true adorers." 
 
 Devotion to the mysteries of the Most Holy Trinity and the 
 incarnation he made an express rule for his community, and the 
 Holy See especially approved it in the bull of erection of his 
 congregation. " We will endeavor to acquit ourselves of this 
 duty with very great care, and if possible in every manner, but 
 principally in doing these three things: First, in eliciting from 
 our inmost heart acts of faith and religion in regard to these 
 mysteries; second, in offering every day in their honor some 
 good works, and in celebrating their festivals with as much 
 solemnity and devotion as possible; third, in laboring stren- 
 uously, both by instruction and example, that the people know 
 and honor and worship them." He said to them with regard to 
 the celebration of n ass: "It is not enough to celebrate mass, 
 we must, moreover, offer this sacrifice with the greatest possible 
 devotion, according to the will of God Himself; conforming 
 ourselves, with His grace, as much as we can, to Jesus offering 
 Himself, when on earth, to His eternal Father. Let us use all 
 endeavor, then, gentlemen, to offer our sacrifices to God in the 
 : same spirit, in which our Lord offered His, and as perfectly. as 
 our poor and miserable nature will permit." 
 
 He prescribed the greatest respect in the church and in the 
 ceremonies. Precipitation, genuflexions half-made, the least 
 
N \ND PIE1 v TOWARDS < < 
 
 neirli >rmcnt to his exalted 
 
 idea of religion, and an alarm to his soul ever trembling befdru 
 the possibilit b, be took care to correct in 
 
 privat •, and, if necessary, in public, all the faults that ho 
 
 observe I. I members paSSO 1 : • :lll;u\ lliak- 
 
 in_ :t genuflexion carelessly and thou , he immediately 
 
 called him back, and in whal manner and 
 
 ■ is he would Bay: 
 •♦"Wo should never- cond/ct ourselves as mere puppets, which 
 
 are mad .!>'. acd the Balut4 if which are 
 
 without rei ■.!." A.n his humble habit of 
 
 ranting himself responsible for all faults he added: •• Who 
 
 iitv. my brethren! It is this miserable person who i- 
 
 aking t<> you, mil who would cast himself on his knees if he 
 
 luse my infirmities." And in tact, it was a cruel 
 
 privation to him. and one thai 'us, when he 
 
 could no longer kneel, and he publicly asked pardon lor it, and 
 :e)i to l»e scandalized, •• Nevertheless*" he 
 
 added, ••if I see the congregation relax I will force myself on 
 bat ; t will, and rise I may, with the 
 
 Bid of -dip." of you. or in making use of my hand-, so that I 
 
 may thua givethe example that I ought togive. For, the faults 
 committed in a community are imputed to theeuperior, ami the 
 faults of the congregation in this point arc always serious, as 
 much because there is question of a duty of religion and of an 
 exterior :ethat marks the interior respect we show God, 
 
 e be .the first to fail, those preparing for ordina- 
 tion. :md the who come here, will believe themselves 
 under no obligation to do better; and those who will succeed us 
 in the congregation and who w»ll model themselves after us, 
 will do still less, and thus everything will tend to decay; for if 
 the original be defective what will the copies be! I beg you, 
 then, gentlemen and my brothers, to paj attention to 
 this, and i port yourselves in this action in such 
 a manner that interior reverence may and always 
 ny the exterior. God de b adored in spirit and 
 in truth, and al 1 good Christians should do so in imitation of 
 the Son <>!' (i<>d, who, i rostrate on the earth in the Garden of 
 Olives, united to tin- devout posture a profound interior 
 
78 VIRTUES AND DOCTRINE OF ST. VINCENT DR l'AUL. 
 
 humility, out of respect for the Sovereign Majesty ^of His 
 Father." 
 
 What he said of the genuflexion he applied to all the 
 ceremonies. ''They are. in truth, only the shadow, but the 
 shadow of the greatest things, and this is the reason we should 
 perform them with Jl possible attention, in a religious sileuce, 
 and with g- cat modesty and gravity. I low will these gentlemen 
 who come here crrry the in out if wo ourselves do not perform 
 them well? The singing must be grave, without being hurried, 
 the psalms recited with an air of devotion. Alas! if these 
 ceremonies are not property performed, how will we answer 
 when God will demand an account.' 1 
 
 The holy ardor which he drew from Holy Communion burned 
 in his words. "Do you not, my brethren," he said, '• do you 
 not feel a Divine lire burning within your heart every time you 
 receive the adorable body of Jesus Christ!" He would not 
 have any remain away easily on account of interior trials or 
 troubles. "You have done somewhat wrong." he wrote to a 
 person, •' in abstaining from holy communion to day on account 
 of the interior trouble harassing you. Do you not see that it is a 
 temptation, and by this means you give a hold to the enemy of 
 this most Adorable Sacrament? Do you imagine that, by 
 remaining away, you will become more lit and better disposed 
 to unite yourself to our Lord? O, surely, if such were your 
 thought you have deceived yourself very much, and all this is 
 but pure illusion!'' 
 
 It is well known how grieved he was when he perceived among 
 Christians the falling otf from the frequent use of Holy Commu- 
 nion, and with what eagerness and earnestness he condemned 
 the hook of Arnauld and the Jansenist dot trines which were 
 calculated to decach both faithful and clergy from the ♦ • frequent 
 use of the Sacraments." 
 
 He urged especially the imitation of Jesus Chiist. "Lotus 
 honor the unknown state of the Son of God. There is our 
 centre, that is what He desires of us for the present, and for 
 the future, and always, until His Divine Majesty will make 
 known, in a wa} r that cannot lead astray, that he wishes some- 
 thing else of us. Let us honor, I say, the simple, common 
 
• ii<>n and rn:i v :<>w .\i:i>s 001 . 7(7 
 
 life our Lord led upon tho earth. His humility. His abasement, 
 •ami all the excellent virtues He practiced in this manner of life. 
 lint, let us honor tins Divine Blaster particularly in liis modera- 
 tion in action. No, he did not wish always to d<> all that he could 
 d<>. in order t<> tench* ui t<> be content whenever it is not 
 expedient to <lo all that we may be able, but only thai which 
 
 charity demands, and which is in Conformity with the orders of 
 the Divine Will. 
 
 • ( >h! how I esteem that generous resolution yon have taken 
 
 to imitate the hidden life of our Lord! It is evident that this 
 
 thought comes from God. since it is ><> removed from the 
 
 iincnts of flosfa and Mood. Consider it a-- certain that that 
 
 is properly the disposition of the children of God. and conse- 
 quently, he linn in it. and resist with courage any and all 
 contrary ideas that may suggest themselves. Rest assured that 
 by this means, you will in- in the state God wishes, i nd that, 
 thus you will constantly do His holy will, which, alter all, is 
 
 the end to which we should lend, and to which all the saints 
 
 have tended." 
 
 We have seen how he wanted his missionaries to conform 
 
 to the example of JesU8 in their sermons and in all the other 
 
 fanctioi s of their ministry. " He who says missionary, say- a 
 man called by God to save Bonis; for, our object is to labor for 
 their salvation in imitation of our Lord Jesus Christ, Who, alone, 
 
 is the true Redeemer, and who has completely verified the 
 
 lovely name of Jesus, which signifies Savior, lie came from 
 
 Heaven tO earth to exercise the office Of Savior. To s- ve was 
 
 the object of His life and of His death, and He still continues to 
 
 manifest this quality of Savior by the communication 
 
 of the merits of the Mood which He shed. Whilst He lived 
 
 upon earth all His thoughts w*redirected to the salvation of 
 
 men, and He continues i:: the same sentiments, because He sees 
 
 that such is the will of His Father. He is come, and He comes, 
 
 to us every day for this purpose, and by His example He has 
 
 taught us all the virtues peculiar to the office of Savior. Let 
 
 then, give ourselves to Him that lie may continue to exer- 
 
 iiis same quality in us and by us." 
 
 Finally, he said in general of the rules of the mission : "These 
 
 rules are almost all drawn from thcGospel, aseach one may see. 
 
80 VIRTUES AND DOCTRINE OK ST. VINCENT DE PAUL. 
 
 and they all tend to conform our life to that which Jesus led 
 upon earth. For it is said that this Divine Savior came , and was 
 sent by His Father to preach the Gospel to the poor: ' To 
 preach the Gospel to the poor He hath sent Me. 1 (Luke iv, IS.), 
 a?, by the grace of God, the little congregation tries to do, and it 
 has great cause for humility and confusion in this, that, as far 
 as I know, there is,, as, yet, none other which has for its partic- 
 ular and. principal end the announcing of the Gospel to the 
 poor, and to the poor the most neglected; to preach the Gospel 
 to the poor He hath sent Me. that is our end. Yes, gentlemen 
 and my brothers, the poor are our portion . What a happiness 
 to do the very sane thing which, our Lord has said, He came 
 from Heaven to earth to do, and by means of which we hope 
 to <ro from earth to Heaven. To do this is to continue the work 
 of the Son of Goc) Who willingly went into the country places 
 in search of the poor. Behold to what we are obliged by our 
 constitution, to serve and aid the poor, upon whem we must 
 look as our lords and masters. (), poor but blessed rules, 
 which oblige us to go into the villages, to the exclusion of cities, 
 to do as Jesus has done! Reflect. I beseech you, 0:1 the happi- 
 ness of those who observe them, in thus conforming their lives, 
 and all their actions to those of the Son of God. Q, my Lord, 
 what a motive we have in this to observe well our rules — rules 
 that will conduct us to so holy and so desirable an end!" 
 
TER VIII. 
 
 1>EV< !\ AND Tin: >Ai 
 
 I 
 
 r in a certain manner, the first 
 
 :,: de Paulj ; ii' l she received the first 
 
 ng the rains of the chapel of Our Lady 
 
 ofl' hildhood ; from his most tender aj 
 
 irhen he bad arms, he loved to goto 
 
 little statu.' which he himself 
 
 I the traditions of the 
 I of the miracles wrought by 
 Mary, and i I dedicated to her honor thai he 
 
 said his first 
 
 devotion tot Virgin forwhi bed 
 
 even t«» extreme old age. 
 
 made it a law to prepare himself for her festivals by 
 
 good works, tp cel< days with 
 
 solemnity, to offer the holy eacriflce in chapels or on al 
 
 ded: her honor, to terminate • his 
 
 meetings wil :' her anthems, ery 
 
 jtantly al bis the livery of i 
 
 hoi; - salute her a* the Bound <»r the Angdns 
 bell. 
 
 ently visited her chui ul in times of danger, 
 
 for religion and: a pilgrim j bartres. 
 
 In each mission he prpnoui le discourse in her 
 
 hon Church 
 
 he proclaimed the prii [mmaculi eption. 
 
82 VIRTUES AND DOCTRINE OF ST. VINCENT DE PAUL. 
 
 Finally, he placed under her protection all the confraternities 
 of charity, and all the works that he established for the good of 
 the Church, or of the poor. 
 
 Founder of a congregation of evangelical laborers, he naturally 
 had a great devotion to the holy Apostles, those first and 
 greatest missionaries, and among all, particularly to St. Peter, 
 the first vicar, and, in his successors, the continuator of Jesus 
 Christ, and to St. Paul, the first master, the first doctor of 
 those Gentiles among whom he, too, wished to spread the glad 
 tidings of the Gospel. 
 
 On entering, and before leaving, his room he saluted his guar- 
 dian angel. Fie did not forget St. Vincent Martyr, his patron 
 saint, the traditions of whose life and doings, in Spain, he had 
 collected; nor St. Vincent Ferrer whose name he bore, though not 
 under his special patronage ; nor St. Joseph whom he gave as a 
 patron to his internal seminaries, and whose devotion he intro- 
 duced into all his houses, and whose intercession he besought 
 in his important undertakings, with vows, masses, and 
 pilgrimages ; nor the blessed Bishop of Geneva whose canoni- 
 zation he, more than any other, brought about. He honored 
 the saints in heaven in their glory, and on earth in their relics. 
 He honored in them particularly the gifts of God, and to Gott, 
 the Author of all sanctity, he alwa\'s referred the worship he 
 rendered them. 
 
 He still honored the saints in his devotion to the souls in 
 Purgatory, for in them he recognized the living members of 
 Jesus Christ, animated by His grace and assured of partaking, 
 one day, in His glory. And this is why he praye/1 in their 
 intention, and often offered for them the holy sacrifice of the 
 Mass. 
 
 II. 
 
 He embodied all these devotions in the rules that he cave \ x \ s 
 community. He. recommended to his brethren to pray for the 
 dead, to say Mass for the least prayed for, to fly to the succor 
 of the most miserable and the least provided for, and to recite 
 before each meal the Be Profundi^ for the benefactors of the 
 Congregation. 
 
DEVOTION TO THE BLESSED VIRGIN. 83 
 
 This is what be says in bis rule In regard to the devotion of 
 
 the B Mother: "We will strive each and everyone of 
 
 us. to render, in the most perfect manner, with the help of 
 
 ;. the especial worship we owe to the Most Blessed Virgin 
 
 Mary, Mother of God ; 1st, in honoring every day, with an 
 
 otion, this most worthy Mother of Christ, and our 
 
 her; fend, in imitating her virtues, as far as in us Lies, bnt 
 
 particularly her humility and her purity ; 3rd, in earnestly 
 
 exhorting others, :i> often as the opportunity offers and the 
 
 pon given, to always render her great honor and 
 
 thy service. " During the troubles of the Fronde he induced 
 
 the -;ies of his conferences and his ladies of charit , 
 
 make several pilgrimages to shrines consecrated to Mary, in 
 order to obtain, through the intercession of this Mother of 
 Mercy, peace and prosperity for the kingdom. He required hi^ 
 preach devotion to her, and to inspire the 
 pie with a greal confidence in her protection. When, in 
 annual procession, the Chapter of Notre Dame would bring 
 the principal relics of the Cathedral to St. Lazarus, he said to 
 his community : •• We will so dispose ourselves to receive thesi 
 precious relies as though it were the saints themselves, whose 
 - they me that were to do us the honor to pay as a visit ; 
 and thus wo will honor God in his saints, and we will supplicate 
 Him to make us partakers in the graces with which 
 
 endowed their s'uils." 
 
CHAPTER IX. 
 
 ZEAL FOR THE GLORY OF GOD AND THE SALVATION 
 OF SOULS. 
 
 I 
 
 That "Vincent was devoured by zeal for the house of God his 
 entire life testifies, because that life was employed ill com- 
 bating evil and in extending the reign oF good ; and in this 
 consists true zeal. So many works, undertaken for the 
 renovation and sanctification of the clergy, so many 
 confraternities, so many assemblies, so many institutions, 
 so many missions given in France and in other coun- 
 tries of Europe and in lands beyond the seas, all these, 
 what are they if not so many living and speaking proofs of a 
 zeal that burned to prevent all outrage against God, and to 
 procure, in every place, His glory. and the salvation of souls? 
 
 His zeal was enlightened, since it followed in the light 
 of the Gospel and the decisions of the Church ; it was wise, 
 equally tree from weakness and excessive rigor, prudent and 
 discreet, devoid of bitterness and caprice, always tempered 
 with respect or tenderness, according to the manner of person 
 with whom he dealt; his zeal was invincible, never yielding 
 to storms or persecutions, not even to death itself; disinterested 
 detached at one and the same time from material interests as 
 well as from those of self-love; indefatigable and persevering, 
 believing never to have done enough whilst anything yet 
 remained to be done, a zeal which neither old age nor in fir miry 
 could conquer or condemn to rest. He was already old when 
 he said : "I remember, that formerly, when I returned from a 
 mission, it seemed to me, on approaching Paris, that the gates 
 
I rOB THE SALVATION OF SOULS. 85 
 
 ofibeoi ild fall upon and crush me; and, rarely did I 
 
 return from the mission without being filled with tin's thought. 
 The r as m of thai was thai l reflected within myself jusi as 
 
 ime one had way and behold, there are 
 
 other villages thai expect from you the same succor which you 
 Ii:r. this and to that one. Had you not g 
 
 there, in all likeliho i and such, persons, dying in the 
 
 which von found them, would have been doomed and 
 lost forever. NTow, ifyou Pound such and such sins in that 
 pari yea not reason to think that like abominations 
 
 fh boring parish where thea • p >or people exp 
 a mission? And youdeparl ! You Leave them as they are! If, 
 
 inwhile, they die, and die in >u will, in some 
 
 manner, be the i their destruction, and you 
 
 I should punish you.* Thus was my mind a^ita- 
 And later still, at the age of seventy-eight, be envied the 
 labors of his children. He wrote, in 1C54 : " Oh how ashamed 
 I feel when I see how useless I am, in this World, in comparison 
 with youl .... In truth, my dear sir, I can scarcely 
 contain myself ; Emus! tell you, in all simplicity, that what 
 you wri i new and ardenl desires to be able. 
 
 with my little infirmities, to go and finish my lite under a bush 
 in laboring in Borne town, that it seems to me I would bevery 
 happy did God grant me that grac 
 
 II 
 
 ••I then anything" said the Saint, "more beautiful I 
 
 ? If the love of God is a fire, /. al me : il love be a 
 
 sun, seal is its ray." 
 
 This seal inflamed his discourses and his Letters, and 
 enkindled the sane- fire in the hearts of his missionaries. 
 
 He wrote: "Oh! how happy are they who worthily give 
 
 themselves to God. to do what Jesus Chri lone and to 
 
 . in imitation of Him, the virtues thai Ho practiced, 
 
 »d, and the 
 ] of souls. For in this way they become true disci; I 
 of such a Master : they live purely in Hi . and diffuse, 
 
 with the odor of His life, tie- merit of His actions for the 
 
86 VIRTUES AND DOCTRINE OF ST. VINCENT DE PAUL. 
 
 sanctificatiom of souls for whom He was pleased to die. 
 
 '•Are we not truly happy, my brethren, to be able to manifest 
 in truth the vocation of Jesns Christ? For, who express 
 better the manner oi' life that Jesus led upon earth than the^ 
 missionaries ? I do not say it of ourselves alone; I understand 
 it also of those great apostolio laborers of different orders who 
 give missions, both within and without the kingdom. They,, 
 indeed, arc great missionaries wdiose shadows only we are. 
 See how they betake themselves to India, to Japan, to Canada, 
 in. order to continue the work Jesus Christ began, and which, 
 He has not abandoned since the first moment HTa was 
 appointed to it by the Will of His Father! Let us imagine that 
 Ho says to us interiorly : Depart, missionaries; go where I 
 send you ! See the poor souls awaiting yon, whose salvation 
 depends upon your sermons and your catechetical instructions. 
 This 3 my brethren, is what we should seriously consider; for 
 God has destined us to labor at such a time, in such places, and, 
 in behalf of such persons. It is thus He appointed for His 
 prophets certain places and' certain persons, and did not wish 
 them. to go elsewhere.. But wha£ could we answer to God if it 
 should happen that, through our fault, any one of these 
 poor souls died and was lost? Would not that soul 
 have the right to, reproach us with being the cause, in 
 some manner, of, its damnation, because we had not suc- 
 cored it as we should have done? And should we not 
 fear that at the hour of death we will be asked an account 
 of it? On the contrary, if we faithfully correspond to the 
 obligations of our vocation, will we not have great; reason to 
 hope that God will* augment in us His grace from day to day,. 
 that He will multiply, more and more, the congregation, that 
 He will draw to it men who will possess the dispositions that 
 are proper to a*t in His spirit, and that He will bless all 
 our works? And, finally, all those souls who will have obtained 
 their eternal salvation by means of our ministry will render 
 testimony to God of our fidelity to our functions. 
 
 "I T ow happy will be they,. who, .at the hour of death will 
 see accomplished in them: these beautiful words of our Lord ,\ 
 '"To preach tleyospel to the poor He hathtsent.Me.' (Luke iv. ,18.) 
 
ZEAL rOB nil-: B M.VAiinN i 81 
 
 But woo ro us if we become relax in serving and in aiding 
 the poor! For, after baring been called by God, and having 
 given ourselves :•> Him for that, purpose. He, in Borne • 
 depends upon us. Bear in mind these words of oneof she 
 Fathers: 'If th»u hasi not nourished, thou hast killed, 9 words 
 indeed, taken in reference to corporal refection, bnl which 
 may, with as much truth and more reason, be understood of 
 spiritual nourishment. Judge, then, if W< have- not * 
 tremble should wt> t'ad in this point, and if, on account of ; 
 
 under pretest of some infirmity or indisposition, we should 
 releat and fall away from our firs! fervor. As regards, myself, 
 notwithstanding my age, I do not hold myself excused from 
 tin- obligation of laboring in the service <»i' tie poor; for what 
 
 can prevent me? If I he unahle to preach everv day, i will 
 
 prtach twice a week; and if Ihavenol sufficient strength to 
 
 make myself heard in huge churches 1 will speak in small on 
 and again, if Ihavenol voice enough fori ha', what will prevent 
 me from speaking simply and familiarly to those good people, 
 
 1 do at present, gathering them around me as yon are? I 
 know aged men who at the day of Judgment con rise up 
 against us, and among others. Jesuit Father, a man of 
 
 holy life, who, having preached many years a- Court, was sei 
 at the age of sxiv. with a sickness that brought him to the verge 
 <>t Death, during which sickm I bowed him how vain and 
 how useless, for the most part, were these studied and polished 
 discourses of which he made use in his preaching. And this 
 produced in him such great remorse of conscience that, having 
 
 lined his health, he asked and obtained from hia superior-? 
 permission to go tench catechism ami give familiar instruction 
 to the poor in the country, lie labored for twenty years in 
 this charitable employment, and persevered till death. On 
 seeing himself aboul to expire he roe favor, which was 
 
 that the wand which he used in teaching catechism might be 
 buried with him, BO that, he said, il might hear witness that 
 be had abandoned the service of ' ari fo serve our Lord 
 in the persons of the poor country people. 
 
 me of those who seek to live a long time might fear that 
 the labor of the missions would shorten their days and 
 
88 VIRTU ES AND DOCTRINE OF ST. VINCENT DE 1»AIT, 
 
 advance the hour of death, and for this reason they might,, 
 as tar as possible, strive to avoid it as an evil that was to be 
 dreaded ; but I would ask 6f Him who would entertain such a 
 sentiment : Is it a misfortune for him who is journeying in a 
 foreign land to make progress in his journey and to near his 
 own country ? Is it a misfortune for those who are on the 
 sea to approach the port? Is it an evil for a faithful soul to 
 go see and enjoy its God? Is it* finally, a misfortune for • 
 missionaries to quickly go to possess the glory which their 
 Divine Master merited for them by His sufferings and death ? 
 What! Do we fear that that should happen, which we cannot 
 sufficiently desire, and which happens only too late? 
 
 "But what I say to the priests, I say also to those who are 
 not priests, to all our brothers. Ko, my brothers, you must 
 not think because you are not employed in preaching that 
 therefore you are exempted from the obligations which we all 
 have to labor for the salvation of the poor. For you can labor 1 
 in your own manner,. and perhaps with just as much fruit as 
 the preacher himself, and certainly with less danger for 
 yourselves. You are obliged thereto, beintx members of the- 
 same body with us, just as all the members of the sacred body 
 of Jesus Christ contributed, each in its way, to the work of . 
 our redemption. For if the head was crowned with thorns, 
 the 'iqgi were pierced with nails whereby they were fastened 
 to the cross ; and if,. after the resurrection, the sacred head was 
 recompensed, so, too, were the feet, and they participated in 
 the glory wherewith it was crowned." 
 
 He sustained their courage in their labors and sufferings.. 
 "Oh, sir, what consolation I have in thinking of you who are 
 entirely God's, and of your vocation which is .truly apostolic ! 
 Love, then,, this blessed lot that has- fallen to you and which 
 ought to bring down upon you an infinity of graces, provided 
 you are faithful to the first. You will, doubtless, have much 
 to struggle against, for the malign spirit and corrupt nature 
 will league togetherto oppose the good you wish to do; they 
 will represent to you the difficulties as greater than they 
 really are, and in order to sadden and depress you they will 
 use every effort to persuade you. that,. in your need, grace will 
 
■ up nieii wh<> will contradict and 
 
 ite you, and, perhaps, hose upon whom jrou 
 
 friend 8, who should sustain and console 
 
 you. Shon happen, my dear >ok apon 
 
 for, I hen, by I hi >u will I 
 
 with our Lord who, being overwhelmed with 
 
 Bis 
 tiv. ,, bher. Oh ! 
 
 truly I re they wh their 
 
 following such a Master ! B id Brmly beli 
 
 that v,! u will never be templed beyond 
 
 .you th, ami thai God Himself will b and 
 
 inch the more compl 
 
 in any but in Him 
 
 upheld them in their missions when th 
 apparently unfruitful, and he wrote: u Blessed be the 
 
 tr Lord who has bo sweetly and firmly 
 
 -ion which ;• 
 tion of the faith ! And blei 
 1 who lias come into the world, not onlj 
 redeem the sou: to instruct, 1 for you 
 
 the ocure the i our 
 
 ►own I ince, fchen, I 
 
 r Lord God, who bestows them, desires nothing so 
 mix to those who v. e of 
 
 them, on what does it depend tlr.it you be not filled with fchi 
 tiud thai naina of I man l e 
 
 •destroyed within d the darkness of ignora I of 
 
 sin dispelled from this people? J will hope tin 
 you will spare neither labor, nor health, nor life; you h 
 gfr ny d for this purpose, and expo rself 
 
 to the perils of a long voyage, and. there lore, it only remains 
 for you to Union to put your hand to 1 
 
 k in all e . to begin well, and to succeed, 
 
 you must remember to act in the I. unite 
 
 your with His. and give them u noble and all Divine 
 
 end by dedicating them to ffi r glory. Vy this means. 
 
 God will sboi D upon you and upon your every 
 
00 YIKTUES AX1) DOCTRINE OF ST. VINCENT DE PAUL. 
 
 Bort of blessing. Still, it may possibly happen that you do 
 not sec i hem, in this, at least, to the full extent; for God 
 sometimes, for very just reasons, conceals from His servants 
 the fruits of their labors, but He does not fail to make their 
 success very great. It is a long time before a farmer sees the 
 results of his work, and some limes he does not perceive at all the 
 abundant harvest that his sowing has produced. This is what 
 happened to St. Francis Xavier, who, during life, did not see 
 th- wonderful fruits his holy labors were to produce after his 
 death, nor the wonderful progress of the missions which ho 
 began. This consideration should keep your heart free, and 
 elevated to God, being confident ihat all will be well though 
 the contrary may seem probable." 
 
 He turned persecution itself into a motive of zeal. " Who 
 knows but that God has sent this misfortune to test our 
 faithfulness? Do the dangers which they encounter deter 
 merchants from travelling over the seas, or do soldiers refuse 
 to go to war on account of the wounds, or even of the death, to 
 which they arc exposed? And should we fail to do our duty 
 in succoring and in saving souls, on account of the worry of 
 mind and the persecutions with which we meet?" 
 
 When he learned that any of his missionaries were a prey to 
 the ravages of war, of pestilence, or of any other scourge, he 
 esteemed them happy and took occasion to excite in those at 
 home the desire of martyrdom. He said : "They suffer, by 
 the grace of God, in the proper spirit, and they are happy in 
 suilering, first because they render a service to God, and 
 secondly, because they procure the salvation oi* souls. iN"ow ? 
 we, too, gentlemen, ought to have a like disposition, and a 
 similar desire to work for God and ournfighbor,and be willing 
 to wear ourselves out for this purpose. Yes, gentlemen, and 
 my brothers, we must belong to God and to the service of our 
 neighbor without reserve; we should be ready to go naked to 
 clothe him, to give cur lives to procure his salvation, to hold 
 ourselves in readiness to do all and to suffer all for charity's 
 sake, to be disposed to go wheresoever it may please God to 
 send us for this purpose, be it to India, or to places still more 
 distant, and, in fine, to be willing to expose our lives to 
 
zlai. FOB mi >.\i.\ midn Of BOPE8. 91 
 
 •eure the spirtual good of our dear neighbor and io extend 
 the empire Ot'JeQOS Chri-t over soul.-. And J, myself, though 
 old and worn, should not. neglect to keep myself in this 
 disposition, and be ready to go to the Indies, there to gain 
 
 -ouls to God, even though I should die *on the way. Fordo 
 not think thai I mands of o igth and healthy 
 
 disposition of body ; no, Heonlj requires good will, and a true 
 -and sincere disposition to embrace all opportunities, to serve 
 Him even al Our lives, which our hearts should 
 
 desire to sacrifice for God, and, should lie sc will, suffer 
 martyrdom. And this desire ia sometimes as agseeable to the 
 Divine Majesty as the reality itscli'; the Church herself has 
 a similar idea of this disposition, lor six- honors as mar 
 man o srere only exiled for the feith and died 
 
 in exile a natural death. 0. how our brothers, who labor 
 in foreign lands, are learned in this science of so 
 
 led to the dangers of pestilence in attending 
 those who are Btrioken down; others are amid all the 
 dangers of s/ar; others are suffering all the pangs of 
 hunger ; and all is inconveniences, in labcrs, and in suffer- 
 ing-. V • . notwithstanding all this, they remain Sun and 
 unshaken in the good work which they have undertaken. Let us 
 acknowledge, and be grateful, gentlemen, for the grace*; ,.\ 
 bos given I > this poor and pitiable Congregation, tosee itself 
 composed of such persons and such members so faithful and 
 so constant in suffering for the service and love of His Divine 
 Courage, then, gentlemen, and my brothers ; let us 
 hope thai our Lord will strengthen as in the crosses t lint will 
 Come upon OS, bowgreal .-over they may be, provided He 
 perceives in us a love lor them and a ooaildeuce in Him. Let 
 as say to sickness, when it presents itself, or to persecution, 
 should it come, lo interior end exterior pains, to temptation?, 
 and to death itself, when He sends it : ' Welcome, ye heavenly 
 fa\< Tom God, holy trials, which come from a 
 
 paternal and all loving hand for mv g od ; 1 r a with 
 
 a heart full of respect, of submission, and of confidence in Kim 
 who sends you; I abandon myself to you that I may give 
 ■If to Him,"' 
 
92 VIRTCES AND DOCTRINE OK ST. VINCENT DE PAUL. 
 
 Let its hear the Saint further in one or two of those- 
 discourses wherein he excited in his children a desire to die 
 for Jesus, and for the salvation of souls. One of his mission- 
 aries, sent to Scotland, was imprisoned by Cromwell, that is> 
 was on the threshold of martyrdom. The Saint said : " I do not 
 know whether we should rejoice or be sorrowful for this. On 
 the one side, God is honored in the state in which our brother 
 is detained, since it is for His love ; and the Congregation 
 would be blessed should God find it worthy to offer Him a 
 martyr, whilst he himself would be happy in suffering for 
 God's name and in offering himself, us he has done, for 
 whatever it may please Him to ordain in regard to his person 
 or his life. What acts of virtue does he not, at present, 
 practice ; acts of faith, of hope, of love of God, of resignation 
 and of oblation, whereby he prepares himself more and more 
 to merit such a crown ? All this excites us, in God, to great 
 joy and gratitude. But, on the other hand, it is our brother who 
 sutlers; should we not suffer witb him? As for me, 1 confess- 
 that, according to nature, I am greatly afflicted, and my grief 
 is very sensible; but, according to the spirit, I judge we 
 should bless God as for a very special grace. See how God 
 acts! After a person has rendered Him some remarkable 
 service He loads him with crosses and afflictions and oppro- 
 brium. 0, gentlemen, and my brothers, there must be 
 something very great in crosses and in suffering which the 
 understanding cannot fathom, since, ordinarily, God causes 
 the service done Him to be followed by afflictions, persecu- 
 tions, prisons, and martyrdom, in order to elevate to a high 
 degree of perfection and glory those who devote themselves 
 perfectly to His service. Whosoever wishes to be a disciple of 
 Jesus Christ must expect that ; but he should alsohope,thatin 
 case the occasion offers, God will give him the strength to 
 support the afflictions, and to overcome the torments." 
 
 Two missionaries of Poland were in the midst of the ravages 
 of war and pestilence. Vincent took the occasion to say to 
 his Community: "Others would become discouraged in seeing 
 themselves in such a condition, three or four hundred leagues 
 away from [their own country. They would say : i Why were 
 
BALI ation <>r BOl L8. 9 i 
 
 •nt so far away > The others are in France iu comfort, 
 and we aw lefl i I die in a strange land.' This is what carnal 
 men would say, men who would cling to their natural feelin 
 and who would i. iffering 
 
 Lor. ing all their hapj Oh! how 
 
 itiiul a lesson th< from which wo 
 
 learn to love all the conditions in which it may plea 
 Divine Proi idence to place as. T both to 
 
 life and death i to whatever God will 
 
 ordain. They manifest no sign of imp. . nor of nuirnmr- 
 
 : on the I . . they sei 11 more. 
 
 Are itlemen, and brothe 
 
 iv to and her 
 
 the movements o! so as to live hut the life of Jesns 
 
 Chris! ? Aie we I to goto Poland, to Barbary, to I 
 
 Indi Iliui on and our lives? 
 
 If such thank God; but if, on the contrary, 
 
 there be those who (ear to forego their 
 who are so tender that they complain if the least thing be 
 wanting to them, and so delicate tl 
 and OCC because the air is not good, the food poor, or 
 
 use they have not sufficient liberty to | be) 
 
 lid like, in a word men, if some of 
 
 of nature, addicted I is is the 
 
 Mid who, le age of 
 
 seventy, is entirely worldly, let them consider themselves 
 unworthy the apostolic state to which God has called them, 
 and let them ig their Confreres so v. 
 
 fulfilling their oblia bo far devoid of 
 
 id their coin- 
 nine? 
 It is there. The plague? Both! u seized by it, and 
 
 ; time. W ar? Th ;ill(l 
 
 have fallen into the hands of the tn a word. 
 
 God has tried them I* of scourge. Ami w 
 
 will he as if tied to home comforts iouI 
 
 res to danger 
 for the service of will remain as tim 
 
04 VIRTUES AND DOCTRINE OF ST. VINCENT DE TAUL. 
 
 Oh, misery! Oh, meanness! See, there are twenty thousand 
 soldiers who go to war, there to suffer every kind of pain, 
 where one will lose an arm, another a leg, and many their 
 lives, and all for a little vain -glory, for hopes extremely 
 uncertain ; and yet they have no fear, they hasten there as if 
 after a treasure. But 'to gain Heaven, gentlemen, there is 
 scarcely one who stirs, and often, those, who have undertaken 
 to conquer it, lead lives so soft and sensual that th^y are 
 unworthy not only of a priest and a Christian, but even of a 
 reasonable man. If there be such among us, they are but 
 carcasses of missionaries. 
 
 "But, oh, my God! be forever praised and glorified for the 
 graces Thou hast given those who abandon themselves to 
 Thee; be Thou ; Thyself, Thy praise for having given to this 
 little Congregation these two men of grace. 
 
 " Let us give ourselves to God, gentlemen, to go to carry 
 His holy Gospel over the entire earth and into whatever pait 
 He may lead us ; there, let us maintain our part, and continue 
 our duties until such time as His good pleasure will withdraw 
 us. Let no difficulties move us; the glory of the eternal 
 Father and the efficacy of the word and of the passion of His 
 Son are at stake. The salvation of men and our own arc so 
 great a good that they merit to be obtained at any price. And 
 it matters not that we die the sooner, provided we die with 
 arms in our hands ; we will be only the happier, and the 
 •congregation will not be any the poorer ; for the blood of 
 martyrs is the seed of Christians. For one missionary who 
 shall have given his life for charity's sake, the goodness of 
 God will raise up several who will take up the good where he 
 •will have left it. Let each one, then, determine within himself 
 to combat the world and its maxims, to mortify His flesh and 
 His passions, to submit to the orders of God and to give 
 Himself entirely to the practices oi* His state, and in the 
 accomplishment of the Divine Will, in whatever part of the 
 world it may please God to place him. Let us, now, altogether 
 tnke this resolution, but let us take it in the spirit of our 
 Lord, with perfect confidence that He will assist us in our 
 necessities. Do you not freely wish to do so, my brothers of 
 
/J \l. FOB THE SALTATION Off BO L8. 95 
 
 ili* » minary? Do you not freely wish bo do sc, my brothers, 
 the students? I do not ask the priest8,for, without doubt, 
 they are all bo disposed. STes, my God we all wish to corres- 
 pond with the design* which Thou bast upon us. This is 
 what an propose in general, a:id each in particular! with the 
 help of Th We will, no longer, have any affection 
 
 cither for life <>r health, lor our comforts or joys, or for one* 
 place or another, mything in th - world thai can binder 
 
 Tbee, Ob Good God, from showing this mercy which we aU> 
 each for the other, ask of Thee/' 
 
 Seeking to enlarge their zeal in proportion t i 
 provinces that Providence opened to them, be added: "See 
 the beantifnl held that God opens up tor m aa well in Mada- 
 ■av asin the British Isles and elsewhere. Let us pray that 
 God will inflame our hearts with the desii vo Him, and 
 
 let US give ourselves to Hi 111 to do with IIS BS He pleases, St. 
 Vincent Ferrer encouraged him* If with Ihe thought that there- 
 would rise ; . by the fervor of their zeal, would 
 embrace th( entire earth. If we do no! deserve (hat God. 
 would give ns the grace to be of those priest* let us beg Him 
 to make ns, at least, their representatives and precursors. But 
 be that a* it may, we must be convinced that we will not be 
 true Christian* until we are ready to los* all, and give even 
 our life for the 1<>\«- and^Iory of Jcsu< Christ, resolving, with 
 the apostle, to choose torm rats an its df rather than to 
 fporated from the love of this Divine Savior." 
 
 In thus presenting to the holy ardor of his children vast 
 spheres of lahor, he influenced their zeal for the good works 
 in which, in Prance, they were engaged, and especially for the 
 spiritual retreats which, perhaps, after his death, they might 
 be tempted to abandon. "Oh, gentlemen,"' he -aid, w how we 
 should properly esteem the grace that God shows usiu leading 
 to us so many persons in order to aid them to work out their 
 salvation! Among those who come are many soldiers, and,. 
 some days ago, one of them said to me: 'Sir, I must soon 
 go to the war, and I desire, beforehand to put myself in a 
 good state. My conscience trouhles me, and, uncertain of 
 
 at will happen tome, I come to dispose myself for whatever 
 
00 VIRTUES AND DOCTRINE 01? ST. VINCENT DE PAUL. 
 
 God may ordain in my regard.' We have now in the house a 
 goodly number of persons on retreat. Oh, gentlemen, what 
 immense good may not (his produce if we only work faithfully 
 in it! But what a misfortune if this house should tire of this 
 practice. I tell you, gentlemen, and my brothers, I fear lest 
 the time should come, when it no longer will have the zeal 
 that up to the present has induced it to receive so many per- 
 sons in retreat. And then, what will happen? It should be 
 feared lest God take away from the congregation not only the 
 grace of this work, but also lest He deprive it of all the others 
 likewise. I was told, the day before yesterday, that the par- 
 liament had on that day degraded a councillor, that having 
 brought him, clohed in his red robe, into the great chamber, 
 where all the others were assembled, the president called the 
 court-officers and commanded them to take from him that 
 robe and his cap, since he was unworthy of these marks of 
 honor, and unfit for the office that he held. The same thing 
 will happen us, gentlemen, if we abuse the graces of God in 
 neglecting our first functions. God will take them from us as 
 - being unworthy of the position in which He has placed us, 
 and as unfit for the works to which; He has appointed us. 
 My God, what a sub'ect of grief! But. in order to be 
 thoroughly convinced how great an evil this would be should 
 God deprive us of the honor of rendering Him this service, 
 we should consider that many come here to make this retreat 
 in order to know the will of God in the inspiration they have 
 received, to quit the world, and I recommend to your prayers 
 one who has just finished his retreat, who goes, on leaving here, 
 to the Capuchins, to take the habit. There are some commu- 
 nities that direct to us many of those who wish to enter among 
 them, and send them here to perform the exercises of the 
 retreat; in order, before receiving them, the better to try 
 their vocation. Others come expressly, ten, twenty, fifty 
 leagues distant, not only that they may here recollect them- 
 selves and make a good general confession, but aiso to deter- 
 mine upon a slate of life in the w r orld,and to take the means 
 to save themselves in it. "We also see so many parish priests, 
 and co many ecclesiastics w T ho come here from all quarters to 
 renew themselves in their calling, and to advance in spiritual 
 
SEAL FOB Tin: salvation* OF sons. 97 
 
 life. They all come without troubling themselves about 
 money, knowing that they will be well received without that 
 And, on this point, a person told me lately that it was a great 
 consolation for those who had no money to know that there 
 was a place iii Paris always ready t i r. c i\«' them through 
 charit) whenever Ihey would present themselves with the real 
 design of making Ives right with God. 
 
 -• This h nth'inen. former] I as a* retreat for 
 
 lepers; the? wer rod, and not one recovered ; and now 
 
 it serves as a reft who are covered with a 
 
 spiritual leprosy, but who. by the graoeol God, recover ; we 
 further, snd say they are the dad who rise again to life. 
 What ■ bap] house oi St. Lazarus should he a place 
 
 of resurrection] Br, Lasarus, after being dead three days, and 
 
 in the tomb, >m it alive; and our Lord, who resusci- 
 
 tated him, d< une favor to many who, having remained 
 
 some days here, as in the sepulchre of Lasarus, depari with 
 new hie. Who would net rejoice at BO great a blessing, and 
 
 rtain sentiments of low and gratitude for the goodness 
 God in conferring so great a favor! What a shame if we 
 become unworthy of such a grace! What humiliation, gentle- 
 men, and what regrets will we not have one day, if, by our 
 fault we are degraded in this,to see ourselves in ignominy before 
 God and man ! What a subject of affliction to a poor brother 
 of the Congregation who now sees bo many people of the world 
 coming from all parts to seclude themselves for awhile with 
 OS, in order to change their lives, and who, then, will pee this 
 great good neglected ? He will see that none are any longer 
 receive I ; in a word. he will then no longer see what lie had seen, 
 for it ma) come to this, gentlemen, not perhaps, immedi- 
 ately, but in time. And what will be the cause? If a poor mis- 
 sionary who has become lax is asked : Sir, will you please direct 
 this person in his retreat? — this request will be B torment, and 
 if he do not excuse himself he will only, ac the saying is, drag 
 himself along; his desire to satisfy himself will be so great, and 
 he will have such disinclination to curtail his ordinary recreation 
 for a half-hour, or thereabouts, after dinner and after supper, 
 that this hour will become unsupportablc, though given to 
 
98 VIRTUES AND DOCTRINE OF ST. VINCENT DE TALL. 
 
 the salvation of a soul, and the most holily employed of the 
 entire day. Others will murmur at this employment under 
 pretext that it is very burdensome and very expensive ; and in 
 this manner the Piiests of the Mission, who formerly gave life to 
 the dead, will have no longer but the name and the appearance of 
 what they had been ; they will be but dead bodies and not true 
 missionaries ; they will be as the carcass of St. Lazarus and 
 not as St. Lazarus' resuscitated, still less, men who raise the 
 dead to life. This house, which now is a salutary pool in 
 which so many come to wash themselves, will no lunger be but 
 a foul, corrupt cistern, through the laxity and idleness of 
 those who inhabit it. Let us pray God, gentlemen and my 
 brothers, that this evil fall not upon us, let us have recourse 
 to the Blessed Virgin that she may, by her intercession and 
 her desire for the conversion of sinners, turn it away. Let us 
 pray to the great St. Lazarus that he may be pleased to be? 
 always the protector of this house, and that he may obtain for 
 it the grace of perseverance in the good which it has 
 begun." 
 
 He required, however, that their zeal should be discreet. 
 '•'Zeal." he wrote, "is not good unless it be discreet. It 
 seems you undertake too much at the beginning. By going 
 too fast we often spoil good works, for then we act according 
 to our inclinations which carry away with them judgment 
 and reason, and make us think that the good, which is to be 
 done, can be accomplished, and is proper at that time, when 
 it is not so, and this the evil success afterwards verifies. 
 The good that God wishes is done, as it were, by itself 
 without being thought of. .... Oh, how 1 would like you to 
 moderate your ardor, and weigh things we'll in the scales of 
 the sanctuary before coming to any resolution. Be passive 
 rather than active, and then God will alone do, by you, that 
 which all men together could not do without Him/' 
 
 He wished their zeal to lie meek as well as discreet and mod- 
 erate. Writing to one of his missionaries ai Annecy, whose 
 zeal was too severe and harsh, he said : " It seems to me that the 
 zeal you have for the advancement of the congregation is always 
 accompanied with seme harshness, and even goes to bitterness. 
 
ZEAL rOB tin: salvation or son-. 09 
 
 What you tell mo, and what you term laxness and sensuality 
 in some prove this, and particularly the manner in which you 
 tell it. Oli my God ! My dear sir, great can must be taken in 
 regard to this. Ii M from a lack to an excess of 
 
 virtue, it is easy from being just to bccom? a reprobate, and 
 all through inconsiderate seal They say good wine easily 
 become- vinegar, and that complete health is a sign of 
 approaching tt is hrne that zeal is the w>ul of 
 
 virtue; but then, sir, it must, as St. Paul .-ays, be according to 
 knowledge; that is, nnderstcx d ol knowledge from experience. 
 And bee >le, generally speaking, have not this 
 
 knowledge their aeal tends to excess, and notably those who 
 are naturally harsh. Oh, my dear sir, wc ought to guard 
 
 the maj >rity of tie- movements and 
 
 impulses of our mind, whilst we are young and ol" such a 
 disposition. .Mar: ha murmured against, the holy idleness and 
 holy fity at her dear sister Magdalene, and considered 
 
 ber as doing wrong because she was not all anxiety, as herself, 
 to wait up. n OUT Lord. Y.m and I, perhaps, were we present, 
 would feel the same. Ami yet, ' the depth of the He lie* y of 
 the wisdom and of the knowledge tlCOmprehen- 
 
 sibie an ' (Rom. ii.. 33. I Sec how our Lord 
 
 dedans the idleness ai.d m DSUality of Magdalene more pi. 
 
 to Him than the less discreet seal of St. Martha! In the 
 name of God, my dear sir, let us enter into these true 
 sentiments, and these practices, and fear, lest the evil spirit 
 
 L r n. through our excess of zeal, to induce us to fail in 
 respecr towards our superiors, and in the charily we owe our 
 
 ■:1s. That. Mr, is where our less pnub-nt seal terminates, 
 
 that, the advantage which the evil spirit reaps. Therefore, 
 
 J of you, n tic name < I our Lord, let us labor to rid 
 
 •■Ives of all zeal Oj poaed to i n, and charity ; 
 
 and, because, tms to me, the evil spiril aims at that in 
 
 your and in m lei as study to humble our understanding, 
 
 to interpret favorably, in our neighbor, his mannner of 
 acting and bear with him ttlc infirmity . 
 
 He recommended to them, above alba disinterested, or 
 rath He wrote: " Do you not know, 
 
100 VIRTUES AND DOCTRINE OF ST. VINCENT DE PAUL. 
 
 then, that a missionary, who labors on the strength of another's 
 purse, is not less culpable than the Capuchin who receives 
 money? I pray you, once for all, never give a mission but at 
 the expense of your house." 
 
 He desired that they should be no more jealous than himself 
 of the monoply of good works, that they, every day, demand 
 of God to send laborers into His vineyard, that they repeat, 
 with a desire as ardent as his own, the would that' all could 
 prophesy of Scripture, that they experience no egotistical 
 grief at the labors of others, but rather consider them far 
 superior to their own, whilst, at the same time, they thanked 
 God for the fruitfulness granted, as he said, to the little func- 
 tions of the congregation. He wro^e, in this sense: "It 
 would be preferable to have a hundred missions established by 
 others than to hinder a single one. Let us have more confi- 
 dence in God. Leave to Him the care of guiding our little 
 bark; if it be useful to Him, He will protect it from ship- 
 wreck. And so tar from the number and size of other vessels 
 causing it to sink, it will, on the contrary, sail among them 
 with greater security, provided it go straight to its destination 
 and do not amuse itself in crossing them ." 
 
 Again, he wrote on the occasion of a mission given by 
 Father Eudes: "Some priests from Normandy, directed by 
 Father Eudes, came to Paris to give a mission, and with a 
 special blessing. The court of Quinze- Vingts is very large,but 
 it was too small to contain all that came to hear the sermons 
 At the same time, a great number of ecclesiastics left Paris 
 to go labor in other cities, and it is impossible to describe what 
 wonderful fruits all have produced. And in all this we have 
 had no share because our portion is the poor of the country. 
 We have only the consolation to see that our little functions 
 have appeared so beautiful and so useful that they have aroused 
 the emulation of others, who apply themselves as we, and with 
 more grace from God than we, not only in the function of 
 missions but also in that of Gtminaries which are becoming 
 numerous in France. There is cause to thank God for the 
 zeal lie excites in many for the advancement of His glory and 
 for the salvation of souls." 
 
ZEAL FOB Till-: SALVATION OF SOI 10} 
 
 Ami, with a humility still more disinterested, he said one 
 day: " Lot us, my brethren, be si the country -man, who- 
 carried the luggage of St ! and bis companions weary 
 
 in t ho journey. When he saw them fall upon their knees' 
 whenever they arrived al any stopping place, he did the same; 
 when be saw fcbem pray, he, too, prayed ; and when these holy 
 persons once asked him what he was doing, he answered: *I 
 pray to Gofl that He may grant yon what, you demand. I am 
 poor beast, thai does n >; know bow to pray. I pray Him 
 toh [would like to be able to pray to Him as yon 
 
 do, bul I do not know how : hence I offer Him your prayers/ 
 Oh, gentl ind my brothers, we should look upon our- 
 
 the Ingga of these worthy laborers, as poor 
 
 simpletons who know not how to say anything, who are the 
 refu >r little gleaners coming in the wake' 
 
 of these great harvesters. Let us thank God that in this l T e 
 i pleased I A our little services. Let us offer 
 
 Him, together with our little hamlfuls, the rich harvests of 
 
 to do what is in our po :ho 
 
 service of God, and th ance of our neighbor, ii I 
 
 such a beautiful light and BO great, a grace lo this poor ' 
 country-man as to meril B mention in history, let us hope that * 
 in doing our best, as he did, to contribute to His honor and 
 ioe, His Divine Goodness will favorably receive our 
 offering and bless our worl 
 
 In i spirit of disinterested zeal he made f r himself 
 
 an inviolable rule, and imposed it upon hi ever to 
 
 induce any to enter his community, either by promises, or by 
 favors rendered, or by pious counsels. " Ah, gentlemen," he 
 said, "be careful, when you serve and direct those who come 
 here to make their spiritual retreat, never to say anything that 
 may attract them to the congregation. It belongs to God to call 
 them and to give them the first inspiration. iStill moie. even 
 should they disclose to you that they had such a thought, and 
 should they show such an inclination, be careful to 
 avoid deciding them either by exhortation or advice, to 
 become missionaries. Simply tell them that, as this is a very 
 important thing, they should think on it, and recommend it 
 
102 VIRTUES AND DOCTRINE OF ST. VINCENT DE PAUL. 
 
 more and more to God. Even represent to them the difficul- 
 ties with which, according to nature, they are likely to meet, 
 and that they must he prepared, should they embrace this 
 state, to suffer much and to labor hard for God. But if, after 
 this, they take their resolution, very well; then they may be 
 brought to the superior to confer more lully in regard to their 
 vocation. Let its allow God to act, gentlemen, and keep 
 ourselves humbly in expectation and dependence on the orders 
 of His Providence. By His mercy, such has been the custom in 
 the congregation up to the present, and we can say, there is 
 nothing in it that God has not placed there, as d that we have 
 sought neither men, nor goods, nor establishments. In 
 the name of God, Ictus continue in this practice, and let God 
 act. Let us follow His orders, 1 beg you, and not anticipate 
 them. Believe me, if the congregation do this Gocl, will 
 bless ifc* 
 
 For a still greater reason he would not have those, who had 
 the intention of entering another order, or those whom 
 superiors had sent to' try their vocation, retained at St. 
 Lazarus: "Should we perceive that they have an idea of 
 retiring elsewhere, to serve God in some holy order or 
 community, oh, my God, do not )f*b us hinder them ; other- 
 wise we ought to fear the indignation of God falling upon the 
 Congregation for coveting what He did not wish it to possess. 
 And tell me, if the Congregation had not been, up to the 
 present, in this mind, not to desire other subjects', no 
 matter how excellent, than those whom it pleased God to send, 
 and who previously had, for long, the desire to enter, would 
 the Carlhusian Fathers and other religious communities send 
 n>, as they do, to make their retreat here, a number of young 
 men who wish to join them? Indeed, they, would be very 
 careful not to do so. What! here is a subject who has the 
 ootion otbeeom'ng a Carthusian ; ho is sent here to confer 
 with our Lord by means of a retreat, and you will try to 
 persuade him to remain here! And what is this, gentlemen, 
 ii not to wish to retain that which does nob belong to us, and 
 to desire a man to en er a congregation :o which God has nob 
 
 - • o 
 
 called him, and oi which he has not even thought? And in 
 .what can such a mode or acting result, if not in bringing the 
 
i. rOB HtB SALVATION OP SO W. 103 
 
 entire congregation into disgrace with God? 0, poor little 
 Congregation of Mission bed u plight v »a 
 
 would fall did yon sy of 
 
 God, you have always been, and still are, far remoi ! trora 
 i c k1, • to God 
 
 may confirm this I in the grace II i baa priten 
 
 it n ut. that which IL» is 
 
 fed it should ha\ 
 He b 1 they v 
 
 abandon the ruinous mi i ion 
 
 of one soul i that v. our 
 
 life so gre.it a num 
 
 through fear of expense ? Andifno Id result 
 
 from these station-; than 
 
 of our holy r 1 who lr:vo 
 
 is, who nave voluutari!; ircouutrjp 
 
 and ease, and wh In 
 
 ig consolation to their afflicted brethren, 1 think 
 
 Loth men and money wo I I." 
 
 PoJan I, in Gene 
 
 not 1 I nor diminish, in aught, thei 'on 
 
 pie. And how he inveighed 
 the c >w-.,rd : y ! •• 1 1 ible." h< b of 
 
 the mission who leads a weakly, cowardly, tepid life 
 succeed in hi or to meet with a happy end; fo:*, what 
 
 injury, think yon, do these timid, weak soals effect in a 
 oonmmuniry ? And what prejudice do the slothful not do 
 both to themselves and to whom th< 
 
 ; I by their im good 
 
 nil these employments 1! as; these 
 
 seminar lenees, retrea the 
 
 poor? When Mr. Vincent ;. till these will soon bo. 
 
 abandoned; (or how keep up all these undertaking . here- 
 
 will yon find missionaries to send to Madagascar, (<> (he 
 Briti hary, to Poland an mere, and where 
 
 in >a ') ' miS.'S oil mil i so 
 
 burdensome? To which we must answer: if the Cong cga- 
 
104 VIRTUES AND DOCTRINE OF ST. VINCENT DE PAUL. 
 
 tion at its birth, find in its cradle, Las had the courage to 
 embrace the?e opportunities to serve God, and if the first that 
 have been sent to these countries have manifested such fervor, 
 is there not every reason to hope that it will become strength- 
 ened and augmented in time? No. no, gentlemen, if God 
 presented to the Congregation still new occasions to serve 
 Him, we should not fail, with the help of His grace, to 
 undertake them. Those cowardly spirits are only capable of 
 discouraging the others. For this reason you should beware 
 of such persons; and when you hear them utter such 
 language, say boldly with the Apostle : c Even now there are 
 b c ccme many Anti-Christs in the world.'' ( 1 John, 2-18), 
 anti-missionaries who oppose the designs of God. Ah, 
 gentlemen, as yet we experience but the first graces of our 
 vocation flowing in upon us, which graces, however, are very 
 abundant ; and we ought to fear lest, by our cowardice, we 
 become unworthy of the many blessings which God has, up to the 
 present, poured down upon the Congregation, and of the many 
 holy employments His Providence has confided to it ; we should 
 tremble lest wc fall into the state in which we see some 
 communities, — an evil that would be the greatest that could 
 come upon us." 
 
CHAPTER X. 
 
 ( UARITY 
 
 The nam- of St. Vincent de Paul is a synonym for cbi 
 Chanty was the first exercise of his childhood and the last of 
 his old age. Charity inaugurated his priesthood. His Jit'e 
 was one uniform and uninterrupted act of charily. This 
 chapter, therefore, would he as long as bis life if it were to 
 recouni ail the acts of charity performed by St. Vincent, who. 
 like the Savior, went about the earth doing goo:!. Hence, in 
 order to avoid repetition, it will suffice to refer to his I 
 which forms, in some manner, the first part of thi 
 
 Chany Bonl;it exhaled from his person lie good 
 
 odor of Jesus Christ, it inspired all his words, it directed all 
 his actions. 
 
 Bis charity -was universal, embracing all creatures capable 
 of receiving its effect ling to all the necessities of body 
 
 and soul ; having a mouthful of bread for all hunger, a covering 
 for all nakedness, an instruction for all ignorance, a con soli 
 word for all sorrow, a heart and arms for the abandoned. 
 He oarri <1 his charity to the heroic ideal of the Qosp 
 cont id sacrifice of life. How often, in his journeys of 
 
 charity, did not the Saint descend from his oarriag row 
 
 himself, at the risk of his life, between the drawn swords, and 
 succeed, by his courage and his pious entreaties, in disarming 
 adversaries] We cannot forget his voluntary captivity among 
 the galley slaves, nor his substitution of himself for a doctor 
 of divinity, who was troubled with a cruel temptation against' 
 faith. 
 
1 00 VIRTUES AND DOCTRINE OF ST. VINCENT DE PAUL. 
 
 His charity was well regulated. It ascended to the Sovereign 
 Pontiff, the vi'-ar, on earth, of Jesus Christ, in order to descend 
 to the poorest and most lowly without neglecting any one in the 
 interval. How many prayers he himself said, and begged of 
 <oth >'*j, during the yacaucies in the Holy See ! What respect, 
 "What filial affection, he immediately professed for the elect of 
 the Holy Ghost! 
 
 Bishops had in Vincent the most religious and the most 
 -devoted of servants. His correspondence with them is admirable 
 for Ub humility and charity. He felicitated them in their 
 successes and united with them in thanking Heaven. He 
 moderated them in their labors. " It is true, my Lord, that I 
 desired you Avould use moderation, but it is, that your work may 
 ensure, and that the excesses to which you continually go may 
 not so soon deprive your diocese, and the entire church, of the 
 incomparable good you do. If this desire accord not with 
 wliat zeal inspires, I will not be astonished, because the human 
 •sentiments, which bind me, remove mo too far from the emi- 
 nent state to which the love of God has elevated you. I am, 
 as yet, all sensual, and you are above nature: and I have no 
 less cause to humble myself for my defects, than to thank God, 
 as I do, for the holy dispositions which He gives you. I very 
 humbly supplicate you, my Lord, to ask of Him for me, not, 
 indeed, equal dispositions, but a little portion, or only the 
 crumbs that fall from your table." 
 
 For like motives he did not Avish them,unless in case of necess- 
 ity, to expose themselves in time of contagion, and he traced 
 Out for them this beautiful line of conduct: " I know not, 
 my Lord, hew to express my affliction on account of the con- 
 tag 'on with which your city is threatened, nor the confusion, 
 on account of the conlidence with which you are pleased to 
 honor me. I pray God, with all my heart, to turn away this 
 icourge from the people of your diocese, and that He will 
 make me worthy to respond in Mis spirit to your commmd. 
 My littlr thought, then, my Lord, is that a prelate, in such 
 cases, should keep himself in readiness to provide for all the 
 spiritual and temporal wants of his entire diocese during the 
 general distress, and not shut himself up in any one place, nor 
 
CIMKITT. 105 
 
 engage in any a 1 that will deprive him of the means 
 
 of providing for others ; and so much the more so, as he is not 
 the bishop of any one pli •. but of hi ■ ntire diocese, in 
 
 the government of which h i sh mid bo 4ivi 1 • his care a.s not to 
 confine it to any one particular locality, unless in case 
 thai he cannot provide for the >oulsof tint place by means of 
 p iri • '. In such a i- '. 1 I link, 
 
 that he is obliged ition, and commit 
 
 the rest to th.-careof tl ble Providenoeof <i ul. It is 
 
 thus, my Lord, tl res of this king- 
 
 dom 3. He has dj his priests to. ran r tile 
 
 le did '.\ le !>■• 
 
 9ns thitherto .see if the priest is firm 
 
 in h • him in and to give 
 
 suit rith- 
 
 • him all am hen 
 
 returns nom< id to incur the risk himself if he cmnot 
 
 le wanes of a ly parish. Cf tries 
 
 •ted diffe probability,, through 
 
 son. rase the city of 
 
 oted with the inn. 
 
 •■ I : . Bouli to do i endive d 
 
 can easily be done in one less gre 
 order to en courage yonrpriests. it would be well lor you, if agree- 
 
 . isit the ' oTs;or, n 
 
 danger of being taken prisoner in th . ant 
 
 you, you should sen I tons, or in their default, some 
 
 other - these In ; aud 
 
 i you Learn that the evil has broken out m som Lee 
 
 youshould, id order to encourag n*-, 
 
 poral assistance to the iol tnd thither some eecl< 
 
 •• i in county places, wh ) ;ire stricken with 
 
 i he < e, ordinarily, abandoned and i of 
 
 food. Il would be an abject wort.; '., to 
 
 Me for that by ; to all such places alms which 
 
 might be pat into the hands of goo who should procure 
 
 bread, wine and a i for which the poor people 
 
 eouldgo to thepi Lthetim inted. If the integrity 
 
103 VIRTUES AND DOCTRINE OF ST. VINCENT DE PAUL. 
 
 of the pastor be doubted, it would be necessary to give (lie order 
 to some other pastor or vicar in the neighborhood, or to some 
 good lay persons of the parish who would undertake it. There 
 is always, generally speaking, some one (o be found who is 
 cap iblo of this charity, especially when there is no question of 
 gny intercourse with the plague-stricken. I hope, my Lord, 
 if i: please God to bless this good work, that to Him 
 will accrue great glory, to you, my Lord, consolation in life 
 and at the hour of death, and to your diocese great edification. 
 ■But a necessary condition is not to shut yourself up in any one 
 place." 
 
 He labored to find worthy successors to those who believed it 
 their duty to resign their dignity. Sometimes he prevailed on 
 them to remain at their posts. w You have not, my Lord, more 
 *diifiaulty in your episcopacy, than St. Paul found in his; and 
 yet he sustained the weight until death, and not one of the 
 '^pasties laid aside his apostleship, or its labor, or fatigue, unless 
 io go receive his crown in Heaven. It would be rashness 
 'on my part, my Lord, to propose their example to you, did not 
 God, who has promoted you to their supreme dignity, invite 
 you Himself to folloAV them, and did not the liberty I take 
 proceed from the great respect and inexpressible affection our 
 Lord has given me for your sacred person." 
 
 He consoled them in their troubles and when they were 
 accused before the king. He spared them, as far as possible, all 
 painand all humiliation, even to the detriment ol his congre- 
 gation. " It is preferable," he was accustomed to say on these 
 occasions, " that suffering and confusion should fall upon us 
 rather than that w r e should do anything to injure this good 
 prelate." 
 
 During the public troubles he prevailed upon them, in the 
 interest ol' the king and of the people, to remain in their dio- 
 ceses, in order to suppress all factions, to alleviate existing 
 misery and to preside over the pious exercises undertaken in 
 supplication of the Divine Mercy. To those who had an idea 
 of coming to Paris to complain of the injury done by the army, 
 and to seek redress, he answered that all efforts for particular 
 cases w T ould prove useless in a calamity that extended over 
 
CIIAKITV. 100 
 
 almost nil France ; that by remaining in their dioce86fl they 
 could help their people more effectually, and thai by keeping 
 them in submission and fidelity they might open a way to 
 royal gratitude. 
 
 He knew, alto, how to give them firm advice, bat with what 
 wise and affectionate precautions! One of them was at law 
 
 with his clergy. Vincent desired nothing better than to assist 
 
 him, but ho would have wished toil » I: byway of accommoda- 
 tion, and he wrote to him: " In the name of God, my Lord, 
 
 pard n me, if I. rrom this place, intermeddle in these affairs, 
 
 and not knowing that the overture*! that I make will ho 
 acceptable to yon. It may he that yon will be dis.sit isfied. 
 But I cannot led}* it.s'mv what I do is through excess of 
 affection, to sec you delivered from the cares ami ions 
 
 which this troubles nn i affair may oc j m may 
 
 occupy yourself, with greater tranquility of mind, in the gov- 
 ernmen 1 and sanetiiication of your diocese. For tips object I 
 
 frequently offer to God my miserable prayers •• But, 
 
 my Lord, there is one thing thai grieves me , namely 
 
 that yon have been represented to the council as a prelate who 
 has a great facility in g«>ing to law; so much so that this im- 
 pression has taken firm hold of the minds of the nicmh 
 As lor me, personally, I admire our Lord Jesus Christ, Who has 
 disapproved of lawsuits, and yet, has graciously wilied to have 
 had one and to lose it. I doubt not, my Lord, that it yon 
 enter into some, it is for the sole purpose of maintaining and 
 defending II is cans'. And. hecause you consider (Jod alone 
 and not the world, you preserve a gr .-at mterior plac • amid all 
 the contradictions from outside : you seek solely to please Bis 
 
 Divine Majesty, with nit troubling yourself with what men will 
 
 say. For this I thank the Divine Goodness ; for ace 
 
 found only in souls intimately united with God. Hut I must 
 
 tell yon, my Lord, that this nnf ortunate opinii nof theoounoil 
 can injure you in the present case, and prevent you from ob- 
 taing what you desire." 
 
 Tin- Bishop, having refused any accommodation, the Saint 
 insisted in these terms: "I humbly heseech yon, my Lord, to 
 bear with me this once, if I pr?sume to make a proposal for 
 
110 VIRTUES AND DOCTRINE OF ST. VINCENT DK PAUL. 
 
 an accommodation. I am sure you do not doubt that it is the 
 affection of my poor heart tor your service that makes me 
 desire it : still, you might <ake it ill that one, so little intelligent 
 as I am, and knowing that you have not found my first proposi- 
 tion agreeable, should presume to offer a second. Nor do 1 
 propose it of myself, but by the order of your agent who 
 advises a friendly termination of these disputes. He gave 
 several reasons, and, among others, that it is but propriety 
 in so great a prelate to terminate the affair in a friendly way ; 
 particularly, since the difference is with your clergy among 
 whom there are spirits who are disposed to rebel, and capable 
 of harassing you all your life-time. And, judging from the 
 temper of the council, he fears for the result of the proceed- 
 ings ; because many of those who compose it, not knowing 
 your saintly life, nor the upright intentions which induce you 
 to act in this manner, might think that there is something con- 
 trary to the patience and mildness suitable to your dignity. 
 I humbly beseech you, my Lord, to excuse my boldness and 
 not to consider what I represent to you as coming from me, 
 but from your agent who is one of the wisest men of his age 
 and one of the best judges in the world. I pray God to restore 
 peace to your church and quiet to your mind. You know the 
 power you possess over me and the singular love God has given 
 me for your service; if, then, you judge me worthy of doing 
 anything to serve you, His Divine Goodness knows that I will 
 devote mysclt to it with all my heart. " 
 
 He overwhelmed himself in excuses when he found it im- 
 possible to serve the bishops as they wanted. u I blush with 
 sham*, my Lord, as olten as I read the bst letter you have 
 done mc the honor to address to me, and, even when I think 
 of it, considering how far your erealness has humbled itself 
 before one born a poor swine-herd, and a miserable old man 
 full of sin. At the same time, I experience great grief to have 
 given you the occasion of coming to that, when I had taken the 
 liberty to represent to your Greatness that we were unable to 
 give the men desired. Your Greatness may well think that 
 it has been through no want of respect or submission to all its 
 wishes, but simply from pure inability to obey on this occasion. 
 
i if vain . 11! 
 
 In the name of God, my Lord, d pardon our poverty. 
 
 You well know, inv L ad. that there are none in the world 
 more disposed to receive your commands than we, and in 
 particular, myself over wboi reign 
 
 power." 
 
 When they consulted him, his humility knew no bounds: 
 " Alas, my Lord, what arc you d in communicating 
 
 many important affairs to a po >r, ignorant man such as I am, 
 abominable in the sight of God and man for the innumerable 
 life, and so many prea . which make 
 
 me anworl ay n( the honor your humility does m . and which, 
 truly, should enforce silence ou me did you nol command me 
 i i speak) Here, then, are 'my miserable thoughts which I 
 propose frith oil the respect I owe you. and in the sitnpli 
 of ray heart." 
 
 Or again :" I have read and re-read your letter, my Lord, 
 not to examine the question you propose, bat to admire the 
 judgment you arrive at, wherein there appears soraeth 
 more than the Kpirii ol man; far, only the spirit oi 
 ing in your sacred person, could unite justice and charity in 
 the degree you purpose in this a flair. I have, then, but to 
 return thanks to God, as 1 do, for the holj thai He has 
 
 given you, and for the confidence with v. a deign to 
 
 honor your useless servant. What you propose is so far above 
 me thai I cannot, without great confusion, think of the opin- 
 ions you require of ma I will not, however, fail to obev 
 you 
 
 Justice and mercy were the virtues with irhich th 
 'inspired. Hence, it was only in extreme necessity that 
 he would have ecclesiastical censures employed. Consulted on 
 thishead in regard to some religious who were unfaithful, 
 particularly in the vow of poverty, he answered: "Alas: sir, 
 how yon con lound the son of a poof who has herded 
 
 sheep and swine, who is still in ignorance and vie.', in asking 
 him for counsel; I will, however, obey, in th- spirit of that puor 
 ass that formerly spoke by virtue or tie obedienee he owed to 
 him who e mmanded. and on condition, that, as no considera- 
 tion is given to what fools say, my Lord, the bishop, as well 
 
112 VIRTUES AND DOCTRINE OF ST. VINCENT I)E PAUL. 
 
 as yourself, will pay no attention to what I may say, save 
 in as much as it conform? with the best judgments of my 
 Lord, and with your own." 
 
 After this usual beginning, he opens his opinions: "In 
 general, we must treat unruly religious as Jesus Christ, in 
 His time, treated sinners. A bishop and a priest, as such 
 obliged to be more perfect than a religious, considered purely 
 as a religious, should act tor a considerable time, only by good 
 example, and should b< j ar in mind that the Son oi' God follow- 
 ed no other way during thirty years. After this, it is necessary 
 to speak with charity and sweetness, then with earnestness 
 and firmness, without, however, as yet making use of either 
 interdict, or suspension, or excommunication, terrible censures 
 which the Savior never employed. I well believe, sir, that 
 what I say surprises you a little; but what will you have? 
 This sentiment is the effect of what I feel touching the 
 truths our Savior has taught by word and example. I have 
 always remarked that what is done according (o this rule 
 succeeds admirably well. In following it, the blessed bishop 
 of Geneva, and, after hia example, the late Mgr. de Coniminges, 
 sanctified themselves, and were the cause of the sanef ification 
 of so many thousands of souls. You will, doubtless tell me 
 that a prelate who acts in this way will be despised. That 
 will he true, for a time, and it is even necessary it, should be 
 so, in orchr that we may honor in our persons the life of the 
 Son of God in all its conditions, as we honor Him in the con- 
 dition of our ministry. But it is also true, that after having 
 s uttered for a time, and just as long as it pleases our Lord, 
 He will give us the grace to do more good, in three years, than 
 we, of ourselves, conld do in thirty. Indeed, sir, I do not 
 think success can be obtained otherwise. Fine regulations 
 may be made, censures employed, and powers withdrawn ; but 
 will reformation result? There is scarcely a probability. 
 Those means will neither extend nor preserve the empire of 
 Jesus Christ in hearts. God formerly armed Heaven and earth 
 against man ; did He thereby convert him? Alas! it was 
 necessary for Him to abase and humble Himself, in order to 
 induce man lo accept His yoke and His government. How 
 
i rami r. Ill 
 
 can a prelate effect by bis power thai which God has not done 
 by His Omnipotence 
 
 The charity of the Saint for the religious orders is well- 
 known. \'o on* 1 , in truth, in the seventeenth century. 
 rendered them m rice. Minims, the order of Malta, the 
 
 Congregations of St. Genevieve, of Premontre, of Qrand- 
 >f St. Anthony, (»:' St. Bernard, of St. Benedict, all 
 had reason to be thankful for his charitable intervention in 
 their behalf, and they rendered, by the voice ol bheir superiors, 
 or of bishops, ample testimony to bis memory at the time ol 
 the process uf bis canonization. Ec treated all religions with 
 an affectionate respect, throwing himself at their fee', and 
 remaining prostrate until he received their blessing. M I have 
 remarked," he used to say, "that everything succeeded with 
 me OS those days on which some one ol' these s rvants of 
 Go/1 was pleased to bless me." 
 
 Humble and charitable as was his seal for religious commun- 
 ities, it sras also disinterested He loved to make others the 
 recipients of the honors and the advantages that were offered to 
 himself. An ecclesiastic of Anjou. wishing to install a com- 
 munity of priests in one of his benefices, asked him for ac 
 missionaries for this object. He referred him to either the 
 priests of St. Suipicins or ofSt. Nicholas du Chardonnet "They 
 
 are,'" he answered him, "two holy Communities which do great 
 good in the Church, and which extend very much the fruits of 
 their labors. They are better BUited, and more capable, than 
 we. to commence and perfect the good work yon have >o much 
 
 at heart." 
 
 Into the hands of the priests of St. Suipicins again be advised B 
 
 lady to place the revenue of a foundation made by her ancestors 
 for the formation of good ecclesiastics: "if, Madame, you 
 make this disposition you can rest assured that the intentions 
 
 of the donors in regard to the advancement of the ecclesiastical 
 
 State will be faithfully executed. And if, for this purpose, 
 are pleased to inform yourself of the good that is done at 
 SnlpiciUS, you may hope for like results when thil com- 
 munity is established in your place, tin everywhere 
 animated with the same spirit, and since it has but one picten- 
 sion. the glory of God." 
 
Ill VIRTUES AND DOCTRINE OF ST. VINCENT DE PAUL. 
 
 From this wc may judge of his esteem and affection for St 
 Sulpieius, and of which, at this period, he gave an heroic proof. 
 The enemies of Olier had stirred up against him a vile populace. 
 Informed of the tumult. St. Vincent came on the spot in all 
 haste, resolved to defend the life of his friend at the peiil of 
 his own. In effect, the fury of the crowd turned itself upon 
 him. Without respect for the age of the holy old man, without 
 consideration for his character and virtues, without gratitude 
 for the immense services of this father of the people, they 
 loaded him with reproaches, they even went so far as to strike 
 him. Vincent uttered no complaint, but contented himself 
 with repeating: " Strike St Lazarus, without fear, hut spare St. 
 Sulpieius." He rejoiced to thus serve as a protection for his 
 friend ; he was happy, he triumphed when he saw some friends 
 of Olier, who, profiting by the turn in the popular fury, snatch 
 him from the tumult and cany him off to the palace of the 
 Luxembourg. Amid the jeers and scoffs of the multitude, Vincent 
 then withdrew, thanking God for having braved persecution for 
 justice and friendship. But he was not at the end of his role of 
 substituting himself for others. The affair was brought before 
 the council of state. There, all the blame of the sedition was 
 thrown on St. Vincent. The title of Missionaries, which the- 
 Sulpicians, at that time, assumed, the frequent confounding of 
 the Priests of the Conference with the Priests of the Mission, all 
 gave occasion to many to regard Vincent as the Superior of 
 Olier, and the disciples of the latter as members of Vincent's 
 congregation. In consequence, the first time he went to the 
 Council of Conscience he was received with an almost universal 
 murmur of disapprobation. Courtiers, ministers of state, and 
 even the princes, warmly censured his conduct. To turn away 
 all this blame he had but to say one word : '-The priests of St. 
 Sulpieius are entire strangers to my conduct and m} r congrega- 
 tion." With what eagerness would he have said this if they 
 had attributed to him the good done by Olier and his priests ! 
 But, there was question of sharing in a persecution; he carefully 
 avoided declining the mutual responsibility that was thrust on 
 him. He, therefore, took up the cause of Olier and his priests 
 as his own, and defended it with more warmth than he would 
 have shown in the interest of his own congregation. The truth 
 
CHARITY, ll> r ) 
 
 was s o )-.i known. Then astonishment and admiration took the 
 place of blame. And when he was asked, why he had, against 
 all the roles of prudence, Incurred the danger of compromising, 
 for the i 'her-., his own person and the members of hie 
 
 community, be simply answered : •• I have only done my duty. 
 ry Christian who follows the maxims of the gospel should 
 do the same." The holy ent< appeased 
 
 t i him UOl as a private work, l»nl as a publ'lO gOod which ^J 
 
 were bound to preserve ami del 
 
 This is why Ik* was faithful until death t<> Mr. Oiier. He 
 closed b I his children, presided at the election 
 
 of his successor and labored to perpetuate h 
 What the Sain* did for religious men he did at the same time 
 religious women; The orders of the Visitation, o Lene 
 
 of Providence, of the Orphan Sisters, "!' tin- Sisters of St. 
 Genevieve, of those of the were indebted to him for good 
 
 direction, or tor their reformation, for their establishment or 
 leir preservation. 
 And what did he not do for the secular cl 
 of the ordin&nds, the ecclesiastical conferences, the spirit 
 retreats, the erection of seminaries, so many institutions estab- 
 lished for their reformation and sanctil sufficiently 
 'y. And to complete this work in favor of the clergy, \. 
 chaHty, fearing neither expense nor ingratitude, did In 
 in receiving at St. Lazarus, the priests wh i to 
 Paris from every province. 
 In the so loving heart of Vincenl de Pa il, hi* children, i 
 
 the order of the Gospel, should bavo a privileged 
 place. From hi- learn how gretri was his tenderness 
 
 for them, hut especially when in persecution an I his 
 
 tenderness assumed a most tOUOhSng char 
 
 believed they had reason to complain of him. Immediately 
 rising from his chair and throwing himself on the • :im 
 
 who avowed his aversion and discontent, ho would i Ah. 
 
 sir. had I not already niven you my heart, I would i OW give it 
 "il wholly." He USedhis D to retain thoscwho 
 
 were tempted to leave the congregation. If. in spite of him. 
 any left he still punned them with hia charity. In 1655, one 
 
116 VIRTUES AND DOCTRINE OF ST. VINCENT DE l'AUL. 
 
 of his young seminarists , contemning his advice, departed and 
 enrolled himself in a company of Swiss guards which, too, he 
 soon deserted. But this second desertion had like to cost him 
 far more than the first. For, being captured and put in prison, 
 he was condemned to death. In this extremity he remembered 
 the father whom he had abandoned, and he had recourse to him. 
 Vincent, full of pardon and charity for that prodigal son, 
 ^interceded in his favor, and obtained his life. 
 
 To those whom he could not induce to remain, he gave the 
 expenses of their journey, and recommended them to the 
 superiors of his houses in the province. "I trust" he would 
 write *' that God will always give the congregation grace to 
 exercise its kindness towards all the world, and especially 
 towards those who may separate themselves from it ; not only 
 that the}' may have no cause of complaining, but also that, by 
 heaping burning coals upon their head, they may recognize, 
 even to the end. the charity of their good mother." 
 
 He listened to the complaints of the least of his brothers : 
 " You have done well to inform me of it ; I will attend to it. 
 Always come to me, my brother, when 3-011 have any trouble, 
 for you know how I love 3'ou." He reassured them when 
 fearful of importuning him : "No, my brother, do not fear in 
 any manner, that you will annoy, or importune me by your 
 demands, and know now, once for all, that a person whom God 
 has appointed to aid others, is no more overburdened with the 
 assistance and instruction that is required of him, than would 
 be a father with his child. " 
 
 His charity followed his children in their travels, and every- 
 where prepared for them a like kindness. " I recommend such 
 a one to your care," he always wrote to the Superiors of his 
 houses, "I trust he will have great confidence in you, when he 
 sees the patience, the charity which Our Lord has given you 
 for those whom He commits to j^our direction." He responded 
 to all their demands and provided for all their wants when 
 0:1 the mission. One of them wrote to him once to request, 
 among ether things, a skull cap. As he found none at hand, he 
 took off his own and handed it to the brother. "But Sir," 
 said the brother, "we can buy one in town and send it on 
 
charity; ht 
 
 ie other occasion." — •• No, my brother, we must not make 
 him wait for it, he may Deed it right away. Send him ours, 
 I pray yoi. along with the other things he asked. M 
 
 His charity included the entire family of each of his confreres. 
 •' We will pray to God for this afflicted family."' was he 
 accustomed to sa}*, •' I re [uesl the priests, who have no special 
 
 obligation, to say mass, and OUT brol »*C holy com- 
 
 munion for its intention: ami I. first of all. will offer ii|> t^a^ 
 God for it, with a good heart, the mass l am about t.. cele 
 brste," 
 With the lever of a like affection he moved all hearts and 
 
 stimulated them to the most difficult verifiers. The soldiers of 
 
 Turenne exposed themselves to the fire of the enemy and braved 
 all dangers al the least of his orde ose they saw In him. 
 
 besides the renowned captain, the most attentive and compass- 
 ionate oi fathers. In like manner, the Vincent) on 
 
 a word from their superior, whose charity them as the 
 
 image of that God, who was to be their recompense, were ready 
 to fiy to the most barbarous nations, there to brave pestilence 
 
 the BWOrd, death. And BO much the more so as his charity .still 
 lined them in the midst of their laborious work in distant 
 
 missions. On their departure he fell at their knees and kiss 
 the feet of the evangelists of peace; be, afterwards, watched ovei 
 
 their wants, ami sent them, at the extremity of the earth, these 
 words of tenderness : " After the true and extraordinary mark.-, 
 which God has placed in you. of your vocation for the salvation 
 of that people, I embrace you in spirit; with all the feeling of 
 
 joy and tenderness merited by that soul which God US* chosen, 
 among so many Others upon the earth, to lead to Heaven so 
 groat a number of souls, as yours, which has left all all for this 
 purpose. And, truly, who would not love this dear soul. 
 
 detached from creatures* from iteownintei mfrom 
 
 its own body which it animates solely for the purpose of serv- 
 ing the designs of God who is its end and sole ambition? 
 Bnt yet. who would not take care to husband the strength of 
 that bo ly which has certainly gilt to the blind, and life 
 
 to the dead! l'iiis is what induces me, Sir, to beg you to 
 
 regard it as an instrument of G I 1 for the salvation of many, 
 and, in this view, to preserve it" 
 
118 VIRTUES AND DOCTRINE OE ST. VINCENT DE PAUL. 
 
 But what will we say of his charity to the poor ? Here, far- 
 more than in the presence of the gloiy of the Prince de Conde, 
 one feels himself equally embarrassed, both by the greatness of 
 the subject, and by the uselessness of the attempt. For, to- 
 continue with Bossuet: "What part of the habitable world has 
 not heard of the charitable institutions of Vincent and the- 
 marvels of his charitable life? The Sisters of Charity, the- 
 , Assemblies of Ladies, and of Lords, the work of the Galley 
 Slaves, and of Barbaiy, the hospitals for foundlings, of the 
 Name of Jesus, of the Holy Queen, and the general hospital — 
 is not the mere list of these institutions, founded by Vincent, 
 sufficient to impress the mind with an id<a of the immense- 
 charity of the Saint for the miserable? I will not mention the- 
 Congregation of the Mission, established for the sole purpose- 
 of aiding the poor in their salvation, and in reference to which 
 Vincent often repeated: " We are the ministers of the poor; 
 God his chosen ns for them. That is our principal object; all else- 
 is but accessor}-.'' 
 
 Vincent was, in truth, wrapped up in the poor ; they were- 
 the object of all' his thoughts and of all his affections, the- 
 subject of his grief and of his sorrow. "I am in trouble about 
 the congregation," he sometimes s-iid. "but,, to tell the truth, 
 it does not effect me as do the poor. We have but to go and 
 ask what we want from our other houses, if they have it, or 
 serve as curates in parishes ; but the poor, what will they do v . 
 or where can they go ? I confess that that is my burden and m3 r 
 grief. I am told that, in the country, the poor people say that 
 while the fruit lasts they can live, but after that they have- 
 nothing left but foMlig their graves and bury themselves alive !. 
 O, my God, what extreme misery ! And the means to remedy it?"' 
 
 The history of his life, f hows how he did so. There, too, will 
 be found how he saved Lorraine. Picardy, Champagne and so 
 many other provinces, and liow he snatched from starvation 
 and death the environs and faubourgs of Paris ; how his action. 
 in this was direct and personal, how immense were his alms, and 
 ttow he was proclaimed by the voice of public gratitude the 
 general almoner of France, the savior and father of his country. 
 
 In this present work, we have but to gather a few particular 
 facts, some- anecdotes, a few ears gleaned after the harvest- 
 
(HAlI'l.. 110 
 
 tive to the famous carriage which the 
 charity <>r the Saint soon turned into a [>ublic Conveyance. If 
 he met any poor person in the or in bhe country 
 
 he immediately made him or her enter the carriage. He did 
 this one <lay in the ease of a poor woman whom he. Borne leag 
 from Pari?, met doubly tired, both by the walk and from the 
 jlit of the child Bhe carried in her arms Anoiln r time he 
 ii met a woman, and the disgusting ulcers which covered 
 
 her wen' a new title to admission to hi 
 
 with receiving her into his carriage, he wished 
 
 her destination. It was then, only, that he directed his i 
 
 and that charity disarmed humility. It is true, that when ho 
 
 did not have his carriage, or when Imporl 
 
 him in another direction, he endeavored to | 'hair to 
 
 transport the poor and the .sick either to their homes, o 
 But lie loved far better to conduct them himself. One day, 
 
 in the faubourg St. Denis lie saw a poor woman ; on 
 
 the ground Priests, Levites, and people o 
 
 by without Btopplllg, as in tin tie- wounded man in the 
 
 el : or answered 1mm- moans with barren pity only. Hut, 
 The good Samaritan comes. Vincent lean 
 
 approaches, and. seeing that it was imp for the poor 
 
 woman to walk, he caused her to he put into his carriage, and, 
 though his business called him t<> a far different an 1 Par distant 
 
 Section, he gave orders to drive to the //</'/ l> few 
 
 minutes' driving, the poor woman became sick and it vrasn< 
 
 to take her I'rom tiie Carriage, the motion ofwhich she could not 
 
 bear. Vincent ordered spme wine ;<> be l n « • u •_: I » t . to lien 
 
 her, and when she had somewhat recovered lie paid the port 
 
 and, with their burden, he gave them a let) .inenda* 
 
 lion to tiie sister superior of tie- // 
 
 Similar traits are innumerable in the life of this holy pi 
 
 Thus again, stopped one day in the . by the 
 
 of a little child, he immed 
 carriage, questioned the child an >rcit 
 
 had on it- hand, he conducted it to :i. had the sore 
 
 dressed in his pi. his charge, consoled and 
 
120 VIRTUES AND DOCTItlNE ©*" ST. VINCENT DE PAUE. 
 
 returned the other to its parents. Such was the daily use of 
 the famous carriage, 
 
 Here are other instances of his charity. A journeyman tailor, 
 who had worked at St. Lazarus, wrote him from his home to 
 please send him an hundred needles from Paris. The Saint, at 
 that time, pressed with the most serious occupations both at 
 court and in the cit}^ found the request quite natural and 
 hastened to comply. 
 
 He visited the prisons of the Chatelet and the Conciergerie 
 to instruct and assist the- prisoners. By procuring dowries for 
 girls in danger, he secured them honorable marriage, or he 
 obtained for them an entrance into a religious house. He 
 settled the disputes of the entire district of St. Lazarus, restored = 
 peace among families, and even among the soldiers. When 
 lire, sickness, or any other misfortune, ruined a family, he 
 went to console it, he furnished what was immediately wanted, 
 and finished by re-establishing it in its previous condition, 
 procuring furniture, and mite rial and implements for work. 
 
 A poor carman lost his horses. He begged Vincent to help 
 him to repair the loss, and immediately he received one hundred 
 livres. Another died, leaving: his seven sons stricken down 
 with sickness. Having seen to their recovery, the Saint gave 
 them a horse and a cart, and thus relieved their misery. A 
 poor laborer died, leaving, to his wife and two little children, a: 
 hopeless lawsuit and want for an inheritance; Vincent supported 
 the wife,. and took the boys and maintained them till they were- 
 able to gain their own livelihood. 
 
 And how many poor, who will never be known, were indebted 
 for their very existence to Vincent ? Many regularly received a 
 monthly sum. During his last illness, one of those, failing to 
 receive his allowance, came-to St. Lazarus, to demand, as if due 
 him, the two crowns he had been receiving for the last seven- 
 teen years. 
 
 For many years he supported a poor blind man, and, before 
 dying, Vincent recommended the continuance of that charity. 
 
 A woman, having told bin* of her distress, received a half" 
 crown. •' This is indeed very littlein my extreme want'' she- 
 sent him word, and instantlv she obtained another half-crown.. 
 
« HARRY. 121 
 
 A fanner, ruined by three ton Inundations, WSJ 
 
 ■deprived of his farm by the landlord, who likewise seized his 
 farm implements and hi* horses. Vil VG him a piece of 
 
 land belonging to St. Lazarus, already in seed, and furnished 
 
 him with what was neceSSSJTy to cultivate it. And as he could 
 
 no longer keep his boh at school, Vincent rent the boy to his 
 
 "house at Richelieu, obtained for him an ecclesiastical title 
 and succeeded in making him a good pri 
 
 An old soldier, the number of whose wounds procured him 
 the nickname. Riddled, came one day to Si Lasarus, and 
 
 called for the superior: ■ Sir," said he without any other 
 
 Introduction, in the rough freedom of his prof ■• I have 
 
 : 1 it said that you arc a charitable man. Would you he 
 kind enough to receive mc into your house for some tin 
 • Willingly, my friend," replied Vincent and he ordered a 
 
 room to lie given him. Two days after, the BOldier took sick. 
 
 Tic was immediately placed in a warm, comfortable room, a 
 brother was expressly appointed to wait on him. medicine and 
 
 propei" nourishment were supplied, and he was retained until 
 he hat'; fully recovered. 
 
 On one occasion, in coming home from the city. Vincent found 
 at the gate of St. Lazarus some poor women, who asked him 
 for some alms. He promised, lint, having scarcely entered, 
 serious and pressing duties occupied Ids whole attention and 
 SlOVe away all thoughts of the poor women. Some time afl 
 the porter came and reminded him. He quickly went and 
 "brought the alms himself, at the same time throwing himself on 
 bis knees to ask pardon for having forgotten them. 
 
 Nothing ha 1 the power to discourage him ;not even the insults 
 of the poor. He did not wish vengeance for his brethren any 
 more than he did for himself, on account of the ill treatment 
 with which their charity bo often met Two of his < Lories, sent 
 tovUitthe sick in the domain of St. Lazarus, were met by 
 soldiers, and deprived of their cloaks. Two of the thieves were 
 taken by the people of the neighborhoo 1 a d brought to the 
 prison of the Bailiwick. To punish them, Vincent had but to 
 allow of justice to act. But, far from this, he caused 
 
 them to ' | and supplied with food, persuaded them, for 
 
122 VIRTUES AND DOCTRINE OE ST. VINCENT DE PAUL. 
 
 their purishment, to make a good confession, and, on their 
 promise to rob no more, ordered them to be set at liberty. 
 
 0:i another occasion it was the death of one his brothers 
 he had to arrange in a Christian manner. Poor women, 
 admitted to glean in the Great enclosure of St. Lazarus 
 were, by a brother, surprised in the act of stealing from the 
 harvest. One of them took up a stone, and struck the brother 
 dead. Vincent, immediatery informed, sees this blood crying 
 for vengeance. But the thought of the blood of Jesus Christ 
 recalls mercy, lie sent for the husband and advised him to 
 quickly take his wife away, an 1, as they were both poor, he 
 supplied then: with money for the journey. 
 
 For greater reason did he pardon them, when they shot the 
 pigeons vf St. Lazarus, lie used simply to say to the poachers: 
 " Why do you kill the parent birds? If you want pigeons, why 
 do you not come and ask me for the youn., ones? " 
 
 In general, he would never consent to punish an}- thefts com- 
 mitted on the property of St. Lazarus. " They are poor people, 
 and I pity them.''. It was thus he excused them, and often he 
 invited thorn to his table, and dismissed them with some little 
 money. 
 
 His charity, then, in accordance with the counsel of the 
 Gospel, extended even to the love of his enemies. Sometimes, 
 wretches, aroused by political passion, or by suffering, outraged 
 and maltreated him. either because they took him for a royalist, 
 or because they looked upon him as the author of the very evUs 
 he worked so hard to prevent and alleviate Thus, one day, when 
 returning from St. Germain where he had been called by order 
 of the queen, the gate-keepers,as he entered Paris, fell upon him, 
 loaded him with insult, tore his clothes, and even struck him. 
 The most brutal of them forced him off his horse and threatened 
 him with death. The magistrates, sho"tly after informed of 
 the affair, desired to bring the perpetrator^ of so dastardly an 
 act to justice. But Vincent went himself to solicit the judges 
 in favor of the guilty; moreover, to place an obstacle in the way 
 of investigation, and prevent it from reaching any termination, 
 he refused to tell the hour in which it happened, and so ihey- 
 could not]know who were on duty at the time. Yet, to avoid 
 
I IIAKITV. If9 
 
 the repetition of like outrages, he called tiott a 
 
 and enter Paris at will, which the Duke of Orleans immediately 
 
 forwarded. 
 
 But in Paris itselfhe Often had to suffer from a mutinous pop- 
 ulace. From among many occasions we elect tins. Once, When 
 but a few steps from St Lazarus, an infuriated man, pretending 
 that the Saint, in passing, had brushed against him gave him a 
 -lap in the face, and called out to the indignant crowd gather- 
 ing around: •' lie is the author of all our evils, of the Bubsi 
 and the taxes with which the people are burdened r Instead of 
 punishing his insolence with prison, by virtue of the different 
 judicial powers tli at St Lazarus at that time enjoyed, Vincent, fol- 
 lowing the maxim of the Gospel, threw himself at the knees of 
 
 the man, presented the other cheel •*] am not. my 
 
 friend, the author of the subsidies, the imposition of wl. 
 never was Of my province; but I am a great -inner, snd I ask 
 pardon of God and ofyou for the cause I may have given you 
 t<> treat me in this way/' At this sight, and by these words, the 
 fury of the man was disarmed. 
 
 On the following morning fee came to St. Lazarus and in his 
 turn made the most sincere apologies to the humble priest. 
 Vincent welcomed him as a friend, kept him in the house six 
 or seven days, and. inducing him to make the Spiritual exercises, 
 
 gained him to God. 
 
 Ill— great means for revenging himself on all those who had 
 insulted him was the spiritual retreat. A man requested him 
 
 to speak ill his favor to the chief justice, de Lamoignon. Some 
 days after, he met the Saint in the street, and. imagining him- 
 
 ■elf badly served, poured out a torrent of abuse which even the 
 humility of the saint, prostrate at his feet, asking pardon, could 
 
 not arrest. lint the next day he gained hi- SOU and learmd 
 that it was owing to the intervention of Vincent. lie there- 
 upon hastened to St Lazarus to ap and the Saint, in 
 answer, propose d the i 
 His charity towards his enemies is fully shown in the history 
 
 Of the Orsigny law -int. and in the details of his conduct while 
 
 a member of the Council of Conscience. An instance at ran- 
 dom. TiieQneenhad I a lord in punishment fori 
 
124 VIRTUES AND DOCTRINE OF ST. VINCENT DE PAUL. 
 
 insult offered to Vincent. "No. Madame, it must not be, " r 
 said the holy priest, "I. will not put my foot in this council 
 until this good noble be restored to your favor." 
 
 He showed himself full of charity and forbearance for his 
 tenants, and the debtors of his community. He was far from 
 adding, by seizures and costs, to the loses caused by mortality 
 among the cattle, or arising from unpropitious seasons. Not 
 only did he in such cases remit their debts and their rents, but 
 he advanced assistance to help them in reestablishing their 
 affairs. And he prescribed this mode of action to his priests: 
 11 It would be a sad thing, ' he wrote to one of them, " were you 
 obliged to seize the granary of the farmer of Chausee; for the 
 poor people are sorely enough pressed without adding to their 
 distress." And to mother: ''If you could pay your domestic 
 for the four months he was sick, and defray, also, his expenses 
 for doctor and for medicines, I think you would do well, since 
 he is a poor man." 
 f Again, and what is perhaps far more difficult, the Saint 
 showed himself charitable towards the ungrateful. He had 
 already aided the Irish priests thrown into France by the revo- 
 lutions in their own countiy. And more, he had commissioned 
 one of his Missionaries to assemble them on certain days of the 
 week for the purpose of instructing them in what pertained to 
 their sacred calling, and afterwards to obtain for them some 
 ecclesiastical employment. il By assembling them together in 
 this manner we might be able," he said, • ■ to find a way to assist 
 them; for their good will to render themselves more useful 
 and exemplary will thus become evident I beg you, ,■ ir, to 
 work for that object." " Sir," objected the missionary, " 3'ou 
 know that by your orders these meetings have alread}- been 
 begun and have been continued for some time. But, as the exiles 
 are difficult to manage, and as divided among themselves as the 
 provinces of their country, this good work has been discontinued. 
 They became distrustful and jealous of each other, and, though 
 you have shown them man}' kindnesses and obtained for them 
 many favors, they have lost confidence in you yourself, sir; 
 they have complained of you, and have been so inconsiderate as 
 to tell you to your face to have nothing more to do with them 
 or their affairs, and they have written to Rome in the same sense. 
 
< -UAIMTY. 125 
 
 Now, sir, itsecms (hat this ingratitude merits no fiuther kindnes- 
 ses on your part." "Oh, sir, what do you say :" answered Vin- 
 cent, "that is just why wo should be kind (0 them." And, like 
 Jesus Christ, finding in ingratitude even s new motive for charity 
 be continued to assist these j oor priests with all his power. 
 
 Bven when (kith and the religious honor of his house had to 
 sutler from ingratitude, his charity did not ireaken. A young 
 German Lutheran, who had abjured u\> Protestantism, in Paris, 
 was directed to him by a superioress of a community, who up 
 to that time had provided for the false neophyte. 
 
 The nun recommended the youni: man as :i suhjeel of bright 
 promise and as one who, as a member of the congregation, 
 might render great service to the Church. The saint received 
 him. gave him a room, and, according to custom, pin him on 
 retreat The new novice, after having studied the different 
 parts of the house better than his vocation, stealthily entere d 
 
 one kA' the rooms and appropriated a soutane, a long cloak ami 
 sonic small objects. He, then, without being seen, made ofT 
 through the door of the church. Thence, in the garb 6f a mis- 
 sionary, he went to the Protestant pastor at Charenton, and 
 aftetWards to the Faubourg. St. (Jermain. to the Protestant 
 minister, Drelincourt. To wrfcom he said: ■• I belong to the 
 Congregation of the Mission, but God having Opened my c 
 I come to you to make profession of the reformed religion/ 
 
 Drelincourt. to whom every cast-away, even the most dubious, 
 but particularly one from the MticsJ ranks, was a god- 
 
 send, received this one and marched him in triumph from 
 street to stre*.tj and from bouse to house of those of his 
 sect — an operation which admirably suited both the one and 
 
 tin' other. The one received forced congratulations, the other 
 forced alms. During one of these promenades ti. 
 
 met by the Lord Des [ales, a man very zealous for the 
 faith, and of some success in COntKN right 
 
 of the clerical costume of the companion of Drelincourt, 
 
 Isles divined all. To make himself certain he followed 
 them to the first house, entered with tl letting Die 
 
 Uncourt ascend, he asked tin- German what was his object 
 
 with the minister. Thinking that he was speaking t 
 Huguenot tl Bid lie liad Left St. Lazarus and 
 
r26 VIRTUES AND DOCTRINE OF ST. VINCENT DE PAUL. 
 
 had the intention of embracing Calvinism. Without waiting 
 another moment, or any further answer, Dos Isles went to find de 
 Bretonvilliers, pastor of St. Sulpicius, and had this young 
 man, who lmd found means to dishonor, at one and the same 
 time, the Church and the Missio", arrested and conducted to 
 the prison Chatelet. Immediately informed of all by Des Isles, 
 Vincent was far less sensible to the outrage done his house 
 than to that done to God. Importuned by his friends to punish, 
 in prosecuting the guilty, both the theft and the scandal, he 
 thanked them for their advice, and promised to consider it. He 
 then sent to the judges to ask not justice, but mercy. He. 
 himself, went to the king's advocate and the public prosecutor, 
 and declared, in the name of his community, that he demanded 
 nothing either for the robbery or for the outrage He added : 
 " As for myself, I humbly supplicate you to free the young man. 
 To show mercy is the attribute of God. His Divine Majesty 
 will receive it as vejy acceptible if you send away, without 
 punishment, a poor stranger, guilty, at most, of youthful 
 levit}v' Though the result of this singular request be unknown, 
 yet, it is to be presumed thf.t the magistrates did not refuse. 
 It was a precedent that would not embarrass through frequent 
 repetition. 
 
 II. 
 
 Let us now listen to the Saint speaking to us, from the 
 abundance of his heart, of that charity with which he was filled, 
 of that charity which emanated from him as the figure from its 
 substance, and transformed into itself all who heard him. 
 "For," he said, "each thing produces, as it were, a species and 
 image of itself, as we see in the case of the mirror which repre- 
 sents objects as they are. Ugly features are there represented as 
 ugly, and beautiful, as beautiful. In the sarre way, good and 
 bad qualities diffuse themselves externally. Charily, especially, 
 which is of itself communicative, produces charity. A heart 
 really inflamed and animated by this virtue causes its ardor to 
 be felt, and everything in a charitablej man breathes and 
 preaches charity." 
 
 He first gave the general doctrine of Charity. ''The precept 
 
(HAKiiv. 127 
 
 of charity sums op the irhole law, illy when it includes 
 
 our neighbor as well as God. There is not a congregation 
 more obliged to the practice of perfect charity than is ours. 
 Foroor vocation Is tog parish alone, nor toons 
 
 single diocese but all over the earth in order to inflame the hearts 
 of men, and to do as did the Son 1 1. who Himself 
 
 said thai Be irafl come to bring Srenpou r to 
 
 enkindle his love in the hearts of men. It is. tie true 
 
 that w<> arc sent, not only to love G l I. but, in I to make 
 
 others love Him. It is not enough torus to love Gorl it" our 
 neighbor, too, do not love Him ; and ire cannot love our 
 neighbor as ourselves If ire do not procure for liim the -rood 
 
 are bound to wish for ourselves, namely, the Divine I 
 which unites ns to Him who is our Sovereign Lord. We should 
 love our neighbor as being the image of God and the object of 
 His love, and so iabor that men may in torn love their most 
 
 table Creator, and mutually love one another, for the love 
 of God, who has so loved thcin as to give, f< r their hake, His 
 
 own Son to death. Bat gentlemen, we must look upon this 
 Pivihe Saviour as the perfect model of the charity that ire owe 
 our neighbor. Oh, my Jesus, tell us it it please Thee, what 
 induced Thee to descerd from Heaven to share in the maledic- 
 tion of earth I What excess of love iee to loi 
 Thyself to our Level, and to suffer the infamous death of the 
 ss! What excess of charity has made Thee ex;. .-elf 
 tO ali our miseries, take UDOU Thy r, lead a 
 
 life ofsufferinflT, and undergo so shameful a death I Where 
 charity so admirable, rive be fo None but the Son 
 
 of God is capable of it, mfdnone but Him ha for 
 
 Hi> creatui i leave His throne of glory to 
 
 ime a body subject to the infirmities and miseries of tins 
 life, and carry out the strange and wonderful measures he adopted 
 to establish, between us and among as, both bj and 
 
 example, love for God and charity towards our neig ibor. Y 
 it is this love that crucified Htm, and that produced the 
 marvellous work of our redemp: 
 
 14 O, gentlemen, bad we but a spark of the sacred fire that 
 
 -'imed the hear; of JesOS Christ, would we remain with 
 
 arms cro l abandon those whom we could assist I Not* 
 
128 VIRTUES AND DOCTRINE OV ST. VINCENT DE PAUL. 
 
 indeed, for true charity knows not idleness, nor does it permit 
 tis to look upon our friends and brethren in want without mani- 
 festing our solicitude ; and, ordinarily, exterior action testifies 
 to interior feeling. Those who have true charity within show 
 it externally. It is the property of fire to give heat and light, 
 and it is characteristic of love to be communicative. We should 
 love God with all our strength and in the sweat of our brow. 
 We ought to serve our neighbor with our wealth and our life. 
 O, how happy to become poor in charity to others ! But, we 
 should not fear such a result, unless we doubt the goodness of 
 our Lord, and the truth of His Word. But if, notwithstanding, 
 God permitted us to be reduced to the necessity of serving as 
 curates in villages, in order to obtain a subsistance, or even to 
 go and beg our bread, or overcome and penetrated by cold to 
 seek a resting-place in some corner of a hedge, and, if. in that 
 condition, some one would ask us : ' Poor Priest of the 
 Mission what has reduced 3^011 to such an extremity,' what 
 happiness, gentlemen, would ours be in being able to answer : 
 1 Charity it is that has done this ! ' O, how this poor priest 
 would be esteemed by God and by His angels! 
 
 •'And, now, what are the acts of charity ? The first act is to 
 do unto everyone as we rationally wish should be done unto us. 
 This first act is, of itself, so beautiful and so luminous that it 
 carries light into the understanding; this light produces esteem, 
 esteem moves the will to love, and convinces the person who 
 loves of the duties of charity which li j owes his neighbor. It 
 is the property of fire to give light r.nd heat, and it is the 
 property of love to illumine and give rise to sentiments of 
 respect and affection for the person loved. Yes, if w r e possess 
 the divine virtue which is a participation in the Sun of Justice, 
 it will dissipate the vapors of disdain and aversion, and will 
 show us what is good and beautiful in our neighbor that we 
 may esteem and cherish him. 
 
 Second. Act: •« Not to contradict. I do not gain my brother 
 by contradicting hiir. but by taking kindly, in our Lord, what 
 He advances. He may be right, and I. possibly, may be 
 wrong ; he does his part in contributing to an honest and 
 becoming conversation, and I turn it into a dispute ; what he 
 
I II AIM IV. 129 
 
 taken in a - use I would approve did I but know 
 ■ from iu be all contradiction thai hearts) 
 
 as avoid H as a fever that driea up, i thai 
 
 demon thai carries ruin into the most holy 
 Let u I) inish by our pra) 
 
 Par from combating, let as enter into the Bentim 
 others ; they say simply what Lhej think, lei as take in i 
 simplicity what they say. I' aould give way to 
 
 tiou and railh-ry, oh, my Savior, do not permit it : hut should 
 it happen, we should not reprehend them publicly, lor tha 
 neither ag to our rales, nor to theology, nor to the 
 
 maxims of the Gospel; correct them secretly and in private. I was 
 just thinking whether our Lord had ever contradicted ai 
 
 iples in the presence, of others, and only tw 
 to my mind. On ben He contradiotod St. F ping 
 
 to him: '0, Satan!' and the other when, pre- 
 
 bend him for his presumption, He said to him: 'Th 
 thou wilt deny me thrice.' He tha.' as it may, we see that 
 our Lord wac ' in contradicting ; why, then, should 
 
 He had the right to public!] land 
 
 disciples, for He was the way and the truth : hut we who 
 •M to err, should be extremely guarded in 0] 
 anyone, lesi we bring shame aj c brothi 
 
 gainst truth. 
 Third Act : - Mutual : No man 
 
 ;.r:h. Bul who is not ealled imperii et ? Since, then, all 
 I heir faults, all b n Pt. He who 
 
 Btud If well will discover in himself a number of 
 
 and failings and n 
 them, nor consequently help 
 
 Eamine ourselves in relation to our bodily condition 
 and ons: attii i rience an i 
 
 for the most holy thin n. we i bin 
 
 selves a strange opposition to some on 
 imp. thing in i<>n 
 
 with hi r 
 
 wl xlisp a him. 
 
130 VIRTUES AND DOCTRINE OF ST. VINCENT DE PAUL. 
 
 Another may use pure language, may speak according to the 
 rules of grammar, and we, through an involuntary antipathy, 
 will consider his thoughts obscure, his words pointless. But, 
 should we become conscious of this on our part, we would feel 
 very much pleased, should lie manifest no displeasure but 
 rather excuse us. Why, then, should not we, too, excuse him 
 when he is gruff with us, or when he criticises our actions? 
 For the antipathy may be reciprocal. We are, at times, gay 
 and cheerful, and, at other times, we are sad and depressed ; 
 yesterday, we were thought too joyful, to-day, we are too 
 melancholic. Since, then, we wish our neighbor to bear with 
 us in the excesses of our extravagant humors, is it not just 
 that we do the same by him in similar cases ? Let us put 
 ourselves to the question, let each examine carefully all his 
 miseries, all the infirmities of his body, the disorders of his 
 passions, his proneness to evil, his infidelity and ingratitude 
 towards God, and his injustices towards his neighbor, and he 
 will discover in himself more malice, and greater cause for 
 confusion than in any other person in the world; and then, let 
 him say sincerely: * I am the greatest sinner and the most 
 insupportable of men.' Yes, indeed, if we studied ourselves 
 properly we would find that we are a great burden to those 
 with whom we live ; and whoever has succeeded in thoroughly 
 knowing his own wretchedness, ( and this is an effect of the 
 grace of God ), may rest assured that he is come to the 
 necessary point to perceive his obligation to bear with others. 
 He will see no faults in them, or if he do, they will appear very 
 trivial in comparison with his own ; and thus, in the midst of 
 his own weaknesses, he will bear with his neighbor, particu- 
 larly when he considers the need he has of being borne with 
 by Almighty God. 0, admirable forbearance of our Lord J 
 You see that beam sustaining all the weight of the ceiling 
 which, without it, would immediately fall. He, in like manner, 
 has sustained us in our languors, m our blindnesses, and in 
 our falls. We were all, at one time, as if crushed beneath the 
 weight of our iniquity and our miseries both of body and 
 soul, and this gracious and gentle Saviour took them upon 
 Himself in order to suffer the pain and the opprobrium. If 
 
I ii a in i r, 131 
 
 we give our attention to this we will readily see bow much 
 we punished and tally we who 
 
 arc guilty, and, il others, I. 
 
 Fourth Aot "To Bymp with the guff ' our 
 
 ghbor, and to weep with him. Lots unites bearl s, and mi 
 one hear: feel whatever the other feel 8. They compassion 
 
 inch hearts an do! found in those who 
 experience no grief for the i . nor for the Buffering 
 
 the poor. Ah, how greai wa m of 
 
 God! I cannot help always contemplating thai 
 charity. Heis called teseeLaianiStandfl ga : kfagda 
 rises and weeping go I Him, the .Jews follow Him, and 
 
 lik< '.'Tv one i> gins bo n\ >•■•!> : what does ow •'• 
 
 do? i !.• weeps with them, it is this Loving tenderness that 
 
 brought him down from Heaven. He saw man deprived of 
 his glory, and He was touched at thai misfortune. We 
 should, oors i moved to pity at the ' ourafflic 
 
 ighbor, and share in his Buffering. 0, Sr. Paul. I 
 sensitive were you in this rea I i . 3avior, Thon Who 
 nasi filled this apostle with Thy spirit and Thy sentimet 
 BDas with him: 'Who is weak and I am k? 1 
 
 *• Bui how can I feel within me his sickness and his 
 
 afflictions? Through the union we all have in Jesus Christ, 
 
 Who is oar head. All men lorn; a my- all 
 
 members of each other. Now, il ha- ard, not 
 
 even in animals, that on rible to the pain 
 
 another; thai one part of man was bruised, injured, or 
 strained and the others did not feel it. That cannot be; all 
 our members have such sympathy, and are BO connected 
 iher that the evil of one is the evil oi the other. By far 
 greater reason should Ch . being members of the same 
 
 body and memb rue another, com e with eaofa 
 
 other. 5Tes, I I arislian and tosee a brother in affliction, 
 
 and not weep with him, not led for his sickness, is to 
 
 :' charity, is to be a Christian in app< i ly, i 
 
 to be without humility, is to be worse than ti of the 
 
 iields. Let us, then, i have sentiments of grief and of 
 
 row lor our neighbor. Let us do, through virtue, what 
 
132 VIRTUES AND DOCTRINE OF ST. VINCENT DE PAUL. 
 
 ]ieoplc of the world frequently do through human respect 
 when they visit a distressed person who has lost father, or 
 wife, or relative. What do they do ? Generally, they put on 
 mourning; when they are come to the house sadness is 
 depicted on their countenance and they say to the bereaved 
 person ; * Alas ! I cannot express my sorrow for the loss I 
 suffer in common with you; I am inconsolable! I come to 
 mingle my tears with yours'; and other fine words that testify 
 to the share they take in the affliction. This custom comes 
 from the practice of the first Christians. Originally, all these 
 were actions inspired by charity; and the evil is that they have 
 been separated from their source and are rendered wrong in 
 being done through hypocrisy, for fashion's sake, through 
 interest, or natural affection, and not from that unity of mind 
 and heart, which the Son of God came to establish in His 
 Church — a unity that causes all the faithful, having one and 
 the same spirit in Jesus Christ, as his members, to be afflicted 
 and saddened at the misfortunes of their brethren. According 
 to this we should regard whatever befals our neighbor as 
 happening to ourselves, and this, as well in joy as in sorrow, 
 for it i*3 also an act of charity to rejoice with those who rejoice. 
 Let us, then, rejoice at the good success of our neighbor, and 
 be glad that he surpasses us in honor, in name, in talent, in. 
 grace and in virtue. 
 
 Fifth Act: " To anticipate each other in honor. And 
 why? Because, otherwise, it might seem as if one acts the 
 gentleman, the great, or the haughty, all which contracts the 
 heart, whilst the contrary opens and expands it. Humility is 
 a product of charity, and it impels us, when we meet our 
 neighbor, to make the first advances in the honor and respect 
 we owe him, and in this way it conciliates his affections. Who 
 does not love an humble person ? A ferocious lion, ready to 
 devour the animal that w T ould resist, is immediately appeased 
 when he sees it trembling, and, as it were, humbled at his feet. 
 What else can we do but lore a person who humbles himself? 
 He is like a valley that receives the moisture of the mountains;; 
 he draws down upon himself the blessings and the good will 
 of all. 
 
CIIAUIT1 . 
 
 •• To m nr-i the afl >ction w otherj 
 
 We should, each < w thai n each other cordially, 
 
 Thi bring our . services, provid 
 
 otter them with a go »d prill b 
 
 • II >w I would HI Til you pleasure] To do you a j 
 
 turn in order to prove h< ish \.-n!" Ami after haying 
 
 said it with tlw lii)-,!- n in efTec(i\ 
 
 nc. and to make our l| to nil. 
 
 For, ii is n<»t sufficient lo h in the bear! and 
 
 d ; it should ; 
 if required, our life, as did i Then .ml 
 
 11:111 1 : I >rs love in the 1; 
 
 win i." 
 
 It was charily, also, that he ; 
 which he was and notably to the N*nns of 
 
 Visitation. He said: "Each one of you mual burnt 
 charity, and charity musl be | ou m <••• 
 
 manner. Any want of mutual e rord,; 
 
 ■h injurious to our neigh nor is, in domui 
 insufferable. I fear wry much th.it ruin will Hall 
 communities, the members of which are not closely a 
 each o:!h r. Ami this never hi 
 
 em, of forbearance and of charity. Nuns musi look 
 upon each other as the spouses of Jesus Christ, thi 
 the Holj and tin- li\ and in : 
 
 light, J procally 
 
 and 1 »r this purpose ■ 
 
 The Brsl is : 1 bave reco odness of God. who it 
 
 a port] 
 second is to 
 >r our amendment, and t<» 
 eonimi 
 par: ic i ..retully so a- 
 
 Q our hearts, w b • may' in any | 
 
 union we 
 
 To particular indi , as well as to communi I 
 
 to render ser »U8, wh I 
 
 him, from eni sring Ii . •• I • 
 
134 VIRTUES AND DOCTRINE OF ST. VINCENT DE PAUL. 
 
 an order,'"' bo would say; "a phantom of religion where there 
 Is no safety for conscience." 
 
 Rarely, and then only in the case of disorder in a community, 
 tlid he permit any one to change his order. From the 
 following, letter we may judge of all the others, and also 
 perceive the humble and charitable precautions under cover of 
 which Vincent administered severe reproaches and gave difficult 
 counsels: ' ; I have read your letter, Reverend Father, with 
 respect, and, indeed, with confusion, seeing that you address 
 yourself to the most worldly-minded and toast spiritual of men, 
 end one that is by all recognized as such. Yet, notwithstand- 
 ing all this, I will not neglect to give you my little thoughts 
 on what you propose to me, not through any desire to give 
 advice, but simply through that courtesy that our Lord wishes 
 we should show towards our neighbor. I was consoled in 
 seeing the attraction you have for a perfect union with—our 
 Lord ; your faithful correspondence with grace for this 
 purpose and the caresses with which His Divine Goodness so 
 often favored you, the great difficulties and contradictions 
 you have met with in the different states through which you 
 have passed, and, finally, in noticing the singular love you 
 iiave fori hat great mistress of spiritual life, St. Theresa. 
 
 i: But, though all this be so, I yet think, Reverend Father, 
 that there is more security for you to remain in the common life 
 of your holy order and to submit yourself entirely to the direc- 
 tion of your superior, than to change and enter another, though 
 holy. And first, because it is a maxim, that a religiousEhould 
 aspire to animate himself with the spirit of his order, other- 
 wise, he will have but the costume; and as your order is 
 recognized as one of the most perfect in the Church you have 
 a still greater obligation to persevere in it, and to labor to put 
 on its spirit by the practice of those virtues by which you 
 were induced to enter it. In the second place, it is another 
 cnaxim that the spirit of our' Lord* acts epiietly and sweetly, 
 whereas that of nature and the malign spirit act harshly and 
 morosely. But, it would seem from what you tell me that 
 your manner of acting is harsh and morose, and makes you 
 hold with too much obstinacy and attachment to your own 
 
riixMiY. 135 
 
 opinions in opposite >l yottr sup : : t > this 
 
 even your natural disposition carrii 1\\ 
 
 i Father, I thin k yon ought to 
 to Cod in order to renounce your own judgment and f o 
 
 accomplish His m08l bbly wi'l in the II's 
 
 . ideuce has called you. M 
 
 II" made Irs sentiments and hi< i rd to 
 
 religious communities the rule, for his priests and bis I tangh 
 of Charity: "Entertain esteem an 1 raspeel f>v ii'l." he 
 s-iid to them, "and never allow any envy. 
 Other feeling contrary to the humility and charity 
 • ntcr your mind-. Always- speak of them in 
 
 terms of esteem and \ rer find fa nil with their 
 
 conduct ; make "o >n of cm hat- 
 
 Be irrote again : "Yonaslcmo how yon should comport 
 rself towards members of religious orders. 5 <uld 
 
 endeavor (o serve them, and, on occasion, prove to them (hat 
 have such a disposition ; visit them at times; never take 
 sides against them, nor interest yourself in their a re to 
 
 charitably defend them; speak of them in good p 
 nothing either in public or private that might wound them, 
 i though they do not the same by yon. I wo II like 'hat 
 Ave all would do this ; for they are i e of 
 
 n, and. therefore, we ought to honor tv§j 
 
 them." 
 
 When there was rivalry or conflict f his 
 
 own and other order-, as it happened wrote: 
 
 "I adore in this the hand : . without whose order 
 
 nothing is done, and wo would do bet 1 i the light 
 
 of His good | . on all the evils and disappoin that 
 
 happen us, than to lay the blame on any or.e. And even were 
 it true that those of whom you were informed bore us envy 
 and worked their worst against us, still, I would never tire in 
 lining, in loving, and in serving them as much as possible, 
 whether here or elsewher . 
 
 And two years after: **In re you fear 
 
 from a certain community,! hope, in the mercy of God, that 
 
136 VIRTUES AND DOCTRINE OF.ST. VINCENT DE PAUL. 
 
 t hey will not take place, and I beg yon to take all possible 
 measures to avoid them by anticipating these good Fathers in 
 your respect, your offers of service and your deference. This 
 is what we strive to do here, and we do not find much trouble 
 in it. I am firmly resolved, even were they to throw dirt into 
 my face, never to manifest the least resentment, in order not 
 to break with them, nor depart from the esteem and honor 
 Lowe them. I do this for the sake of God. Should they 
 chance to say or do anything injurious to your little bark, even 
 wjth the intention of submerging it. suffer it for the love of 
 God who knows well how to preserve you from shipwreck, 
 and how to make the calm succeed the tempest. Do not 
 complain, say not a single word about it, and do not cease to 
 manifest affection for them when you meet them just as if 
 nothing were the matter. You must not be astonished at 
 things of this na'ure, but rather dispose yourself to receive 
 them properly. For, as oppositions existed among the apostles, 
 and even among the angels, without, however, any offence 
 against God, each acting according to his lights, so God 
 permits sometimes His servants to contradict and oppose each 
 other, and allow T s one congregation to persecute another. 
 There is far more evil in this than is imagined, though all 
 have an upright intention, but for those who humble them- 
 selves, and do not resist, there is always a great gain." 
 
 The missionaries, having reiterated their complaints, he, 
 with still greater persistence, repeated his counsels. "Is it 
 possible, my dear sir, that these good fathers treat us in the 
 manner you describe ? I have great difficulty in believing it. 
 But granting it to be so, I beg of you and the community 
 with you two things: the first, not to mention it, nor to com- 
 plain to any person. This would be far worse ; and secondly, 
 you should overcome evil with good, which means that you 
 should visit them as formerly, and speak favorably and 
 respectfully of them on every occasion, and also, should it please 
 God to give you the opportunity, do them a good turn. 
 These practices are according to God, and to true wisdom, 
 whilst the contrary produce a thousand unfortunate results;' 
 
 A reconciliation having been effected, he exclaimed: 
 
< ha am . 
 
 *• I' ' i I t Lit t he < 
 
 ! v reverend OUT Lord to 
 
 me with all the i 
 He addri js d to I! »m i simil; during i 
 
 on the part of i : "It 
 
 nihroil ua Ml 
 
 >nish me, my Bins mak ... 
 
 I cannot exj -l iffc (8 
 
 you will B •' in rLtian man Ible* 
 
 witli those who cause as eni 
 
 iften and Ofi cordially, thank- b I I ! ii 
 
 us to me that, by the grace of Gtod, I noi only hearth 
 do aversion, La: thai I honor and cherish them the 
 In the meantime, the Oratoriane 
 priests, in order, by their.] 
 
 the method of givii 
 M F id, •• l would nol beli ra did I 
 
 not end • participate in I he would /' 
 
 pro} Paul. A': 1 - ! my dear 
 
 There are thousands who fill hell: all 
 
 •ders would nol suffice 
 
 ous of tL 
 sons applying them& uocor thele poor sou 
 
 g in th ■ way of d >n1 Oh! aid . 
 
 to hinder the accomplishment of th 
 - earth ! If, on the other hand, u 
 n< from working, we must pray, bumble out 
 
 and do penance for the Bins we have committed in. flush 
 mil!! ." And, thn no- 
 
 li" again wrote to Rom •. o h of Jnlj J T 
 
 will not hinder me, even though they take out in. 
 
 miug them, and cherishing th ildren d 
 
 parents T, I 
 
 I pray i tch one 
 
 sain ." 
 
 Pr< . having called upon the Co 
 
 ion to serve the clerg) by means of • the spiritual exerci* 
 for tin to be ordained, and by the direction 
 
!3S virtues and doctrine of st. vixcent dk Paul 
 
 seminaries, almost at the same time that they were called to 
 
 labor for the salvation of the poor people, the Saint strove, in 
 
 the first instance, to impress his children with the divine 
 
 greatness and the necessity of this new ministry : " To be 
 
 employed in training good priests and to contribute thereto, 
 
 as a second efficient instrumental cause, is to* perform the 
 
 work of Jesus Christ, Who, during His mortal life, seems to 
 
 have assumed the task of making twelve good priests, who 
 
 were the apostles; having deigned to live with them for years 
 
 in order to instruct and form them in the Divine Ministry. 
 
 . . . We are, then, all called by God to the state we have 
 
 embraced, to labor in this eminent work ; for, to help to make 
 
 good priests is a preeminent work, than which nothing greater 
 
 ©r more important in this world can be thought. What is 
 
 ,*there in the world so grand as the ecclesiastical state? 
 
 Principalities and kingdoms bear no comparison to it, Kings 
 
 -cannot, like the priests, change bread into the body of our 
 
 Lord, forgive sins, or do the other wonders whereby priests 
 
 surpass all t?mporal greatness," 
 
 It such be the greatness of the priest, judg? of his action 
 whether beneficent or fatal according as he is faithful or 
 otherwise to his vocation. " As is the pastor, so will be the 
 people. To the officers of the army is attributed the good or 
 evil successor the war. In like manner we can say that if 
 the ministers of the Church are good, if they perform their 
 duty, all will be well ; but if, on the contrary, they are un- 
 faithful, they are the cause of all disorders. . . . Yes, we 
 $re the cause of the desolation that at present ravages the 
 Church, of the deplorable diminution it has suffered in so 
 many places ; being almost entirely destroyed in Asia, in 
 Atrica, and even in a great portion of Europe, as in Sweden, in 
 Denmark, in England, Scotland, Ireland, Holland and the 
 United Provinces, and in a great part of Germany. And how 
 many heretics do we not see in France! . . . Yes, Lord, 
 we, it, is, who have provoked Thy wrath ; our sins have drawn 
 down these calamities. Yes, it is the clerics and those who 
 aspire to the ecclesiastical state, it is the subdeacons, the 
 deacons, the priests,it is we, who are priests, who have been the 
 
( ■ II. A HIT Y. 
 
 cause of this desolation in the Church." And entering more 
 particularly into details Med in review the different 
 
 classes of ecclesiastics of his time. u They 
 
 read their breviary, i >t very n Iv, a few 
 
 administer the \ > so, and that is all." Bu1 B | 
 
 Dumher of others are in disorder and rice. And he mentioned 
 the priests of an entire province, orbo n ap to ht- 
 
 iperance tbatMl wasn to hold a council of bi 
 
 order to devise a means to stay so nd none 
 
 could be found. Yet, to console bimsell and his oonfn re . 
 added: u Bnl you must not imagine thai all ar Tly. 
 
 No, mj Savior! < f, how many holy ecclesi. 
 many, 1) •tii pastors and others, con; 
 their retreat, and they come from a distance expri 
 their interior in good order. And hew man] bolj priests 
 there are in Paris I There is a I of 
 
 ' gentlemen cf the conference, wh 
 
 >»iie who is not exemplary : ih y all labor with WO 
 fruit It*, then, there are in the world ba and 
 
 I am the worst, the mosi unworthy and the greatest sinn 
 them all — there are, also, on the contrary, who 
 
 openly praise God by the holiness o!" their Hycs." 
 
 But our vocation is to correct the bad and perfect th • go 
 And who arc- we for BUeh a ministry ? " [ 
 men, f farmers and peasants; and what j* 
 
 • > between ns, miserable as we 
 holy, so eminent, and so heavenly? ... V that 
 
 1 so great a grace as is that of contributing to 
 the reform of the ecclesiastical ori I did not, for 
 
 purpose, apply to the doctors in theology, or to tie 
 communities and religions ordn and 
 
 ;ity ; hut He has addressed Himself to 
 and miserabl egation, the last and of 
 
 all. What haa God found in us t i 
 tion? Where are our wonderful exploits? Winn- are 
 brilliant and illustrious actions we hai re, that 
 
 great capacity ? There is nothing of all tl , I imply 
 
 of His will, lias addressed Himself to poor miserable idiots 
 
140 VIRT-UES AND DOCTK1XC OK ST. VINCENT DE PAUL 
 
 rv bo repair the ruins in the kingdom of His Son, and in 
 the ecclesiastical state. Oh, gentlemen, let us carefully watch 
 over this grass which God has given us in preference to so 
 m.my learned and holy persons who. merited it far better than 
 we; for if, through our neglect, we .permit it to lie idle, God will 
 withdraw it from us. and to punish our unfaithfulness He will 
 give it to others. 
 
 "Alas! who among' us will b? the cause of s*o great an evil, 
 and who will deprive the Church of go great a good ? Will I, 
 miserable, b 3 the one? Let each one put his hand on his 
 conscience and ask of himself: Will I be the unfortunate one? 
 Alas! it requires but one miserable pea^m, such as I am, who, 
 bv his abomination?, turns away the favor of Heaven from an 
 entire house, and brings upon it the curse of God. O, rny 
 Lord, Thou who seesfc me all covered and filled with sins that 
 tbear me down, do not, on this account, deprive this little con- 
 gregation oi* Thy grace. Grant that it may continue to serve 
 Thee in humility and with fidelity, and that it may co-operate 
 with the design, it seems Thou hast, of making, through its 
 ministry, a last effort to contribute in r?- establishing the 
 honor and glory of Thy Church ! " 
 
 Thus Vincent always delighted in his lowliness, thus he 
 took pleasure in plunging into it, and strove to instil into his 
 •disciples toe same sentiments. But, far from finding in it 
 despair, lie drew from it fresh confidence. "God," he said, 
 '•' has alwavs made use of weak instruments for His greatest 
 designs. In instituting His Church, did He not choose twelve 
 poor, ignorant, and rustic men? And yet, by their means, 
 our Lord overturned idolatry, subjected to the Church the 
 princ33 and the powerful of the earth, and extended our holy 
 religion throughout the entire world. He can also make use 
 of us, pitiable as we are, to aid in the advancement in virtue 
 of the ecclesiastical state. In the name of our Lord, gentle- 
 men and my brothers, let us give ourselves to Him, in order 
 that we may contribute to this object by all the means in our 
 power, by good example, by prayer, and by mortification." 
 
 In these last words he summed up the means he was 
 accustomed to advise for the success of the holy work. First, 
 

 < HABIT Y. 11 1 
 
 last, and at all I lines i raj it. 
 
 ability we mu-t pray much. M\ Savior, nothing will avail if 
 Thou dost not lend «i helping hand. I . k all 
 
 ►at which we can do 
 
 ing. \Y\\ know bo miserable 
 
 I be ipinl of Thj priesthood, such 
 
 as had the Ap id the first priests wl ded them. 
 
 • which Thou 
 
 .- fishermen, on ari rsons 
 
 of thai rhom Thon didst, by Thy grace, c >tnmuni« 
 
 i and divin of th- 
 
 ordinal I all, in ordei 
 
 nmunions, their prayers and all 
 . ~. He asked this o! bis own community, he 
 communities, and 
 v. bom he senl to the altar ol ih burch 
 
 ,' Notre Dame. And, in their pra 
 
 : . Theresa, who in hi r time not d the 
 
 Church had of good workm 
 to send good p and she w :' her 
 
 wonld pray for thai rhaps, th 
 
 lor the better which i- d >w discernible in t'. 
 
 ■:. fco the piety of this int.* II I thai 
 
 nrnuld obtain their object, inpropo they 
 
 were offered by the hnmble. For 11 
 them oi' tin mosl humble !>•■ 
 
 bonld it ]»]« hould 
 
 come, it will conn- from the prayers of » who will 
 
 ordinands. He, whils: occupied wit. 
 ordinary duty, and whi his mind 
 
 to God to pray Him i<» d t" bl< 
 
 perhaps, without his thinking i - . God wrfll grant 
 
 if t ho good i of his h 
 
 There IS a verse in the Psalms : 
 
 .'*... Her • Vine n . lenly, 
 
 not remembering the rest of tfa ording to his 
 
 humble, familiar and dran irned towards his 
 
 . and ask d : ' Who will tell 
 
14*2 VIRTUES AND DOCTRINE OF ST. VINCENT DE PAUL. 
 
 of their heart:' ( Ps. ix., 1?.) " God bless you, sir," said the 
 saint. That was his ordinary thanks. And, charmed with 
 the beauty of the passage he repeated it several times with 
 feelings of joy and devotion, and continued: "Wonderful 
 manner of speech, worthy of (he Holy Ghost ! ' The Lord hath 
 heard the desire of the poor, He hath heard the preparation of 
 their heart,' to show us that God hears souls well disposed even 
 before they pray. This is a great consolation, and we ought 
 to take courage in the service of God (hough we perceive in 
 ourselves nothing but misery and poverty" 
 
 To prayer he recommended them to join humility. " These 
 ought to be the arms of a missionary. By means of humility, 
 which causes us to seek for ourselves only confusion, all will 
 succeed. For, believe me, gentlemen and my brothers, believe 
 me, it. is an infallible maxim of Jesus Christ, and one I have 
 often announced to you on His part, that as soon as a heart is 
 void of itself, God fills it; it is He who dwells and acts within it. 
 And it is the desire of confusion that empties us of ourselves; 
 it is humility, holy humility. Then we will no longer act, God 
 will act in us, and all will go well. Oh, you, then, who labor 
 directly in this holy work, you should possess the spirit of the 
 priesthood and infuse it into those who have it not, you. to 
 whom God has entrusted these souls to dispose them to receive 
 this holy and sanctifying spirit, aim not at anything but the 
 glory of God. Have simplicity of heart with Him, and respect 
 for these gentlemen. Know that thus you will succeed; every- 
 thing else will be of but very little use. Humility alone and a 
 pure intention of pleasing God have, up to the present, caused 
 this work to prosper. " 
 
 To prayer he recommended them to join humility. These 
 ought to be the arms of a missionary. By means of humility, 
 which causes us to seek for ourselves only confusion, all will 
 succeed. For, believe me, gentlemen and my brothers, believe 
 me it is an infallible maxim of Jesus Christ, and one 1 have 
 often announced to you on His part, that as soon as a heart is 
 void of itself God fills it; it is He whodwells a'ld acts within it. 
 And it is the desire of confusion that empties us of ourselves; it 
 is humility, holy humility. Then we will no longer act, but 
 
cnAsrrr. ''" 
 
 Godwill an in as, ana all will go well Oh you, then who 
 tobor directly in thiaholywoi mould po eplrit 
 
 f the prieatl I and inftiae it with those who have it not you 
 
 ,,, v.in m God baa entreated thaae soul* to dl tew to 
 
 ve this holy and ^notifying spirit, aim mythingbnt 
 
 the gloiy of God. Have simplicity of ben* with Him, and 
 brthese gentlemen; know thntthnayou wiUai 
 
 little nae HomUity alone and* pu 
 Intention of pleaaing God have, np to th« present, cauaed tins 
 work to prosper." 
 Humility i« I and obliging. "1 
 
 le,nen, the ordinands, .•v,-y mart it and dei 
 
 appearing proud and reserved, bul humbly, 
 
 being particularly vigilant in acein 
 i„. in l0 ut delay whatever may pleaae them; being prompt 
 
 in 1: their want-; designing even, if >■ their 
 
 InclinaUona and deairea. and anticipating thi to 
 
 ■atiafy them as for aa is reasonable." 
 
 But for the aucceaa of the ea ; »- counted eapecially 
 
 on the preaching by good example, ol all preaching the n 
 ,„,„. and efficacious: "What the - " he m 
 
 .•touches na for more than what the ear hears, and we beto 
 ,.,„,,,. i„ tue good we see than in that which 
 though raith enters by the ear, Fa® 
 yettbevirtu ee put into practi 
 
 thanthoeewe are taught Physical tbinj dif- 
 
 terent properties whereby they are dtotinguished. 1. 
 animal, even man himself, baa its quantise which make 
 b, ,wn as it is and diatingnieh it from every other ol a 
 kind So too, the servants of God have their peculiar quali- 
 ties that distinguiab them from carnal men. it is a ce< 
 tem* composure, humble, recollected, and devout, proceeding 
 „ithin them, andcarryingiteoperal .the 
 
 eoulaol rho beheld them. There , <>'" 
 
 we bo filled with God that l cannot look upon them without 
 ,, in their pictureaof the 
 
 themtouaaaaun led with ray.: ,h, jn>, «!,,, 
 
 live bolily -.. this earth - 1 about them a certain light which 
 
 ispecnliartothem alone. Such 
 
114 VIKTIKS AND DOCTRINE OF ST. VINCENT DE PAUL. 
 
 in the Blessed Virgin that nil who had the happiness of 
 
 beholding her were impressed with reverence i nd devotion ; 
 and, in our Lord, these appeared to a far greater extent, and it 
 is the same, in proportion, with all the saints. All this proves, 
 gentlemen, and my brothers, that, if you labor in the acquisi- 
 tion of virtue, if you abound in divine things, if each one, in 
 his own particular, tends continually to perfection, even when 
 von possess no external talent to direct these gentlemen, the 
 ordinands, God will so woik that your presence alone will shed 
 alight on their n'frderstanding' and will excite their will to 
 become better." 
 
 He thus . concluded this chapter on the edification of the 
 ordinands: " How blessed you are, gentlemen* in pouring into 
 these souls the spirit of God by 30111* piety, your meekness, 
 your affability, your modesty and humility, and in serving God 
 in the persons of His greatest servants ! How happy are yon 
 who give them good example al the conferences, in ceremonies, 
 in ctoir, in the refectory, and everywhere* Oh, how happy we 
 all will be, if, by our silence, our discretion, and charity, we 
 correspond with the intention of God in sending them to us." 
 
 In those who preached the retreats to the ordinands Vincent 
 required simplicity in style and purity in intention. But, for 
 this, self must be forgotten, God must be invoked, and all inspi- 
 ration demanded of llirn : " For God is an inexhaustible source 
 of wisdom, of light, and of love. In Him Ave should drink in 
 what we say to others. We should reject our own under- 
 standing and our particular sentiments in order to give place 
 to the operations of grace which alone illumines and warms the 
 heart. We must go out of ourselves and enter into God. We 
 must consult Him to learn His language, and beg Him, Himself, 
 to speak in us and by us. He, then, will clo His work and we 
 will spoil nothing. Our Lord, when conversing among men, 
 did not speak as of Himself: " My doctrine." said He " is not 
 of Myself, but of My Father : the words which I speak to you 
 are not Mine, but are of God." This shows us the great 
 necessity of having recourse to God, that He, and not we, may 
 speak and act." 
 
 When the Congregation saw the number of seminaries which 
 
CHARITY. M - r > 
 
 ii direct Loubledhi 
 
 meat, hi o] of his members 
 
 !it of their emplo the fear 
 
 that the work of the clergy won', I the Mission. 
 
 rticularlj l to 
 
 labor for tbe sanctificati heir 
 ends is to instrucl ecclesiastics not only in quo 
 
 <;" virtue ; foi w them the i 
 
 without tie Talent 
 
 ami a good li : without the latter, the forme 
 
 should lei to both, 
 
 this is * •. In I did 
 
 prying the clergy, we simply thought <>:' 
 
 . !<>r Uie poor. Ho* did I He 
 
 hid Himself, He seemed to think only of Hit: 
 
 to God, and ■•• thin-- which pertained t'» 
 
 Himself; this U all tha* \U- to d<>. A!'- He 
 
 c! to the pour. And then, afl 
 
 to instinct then), 
 admonish them and to train them, and final 
 them with His spirit not for then done, but for all 
 
 rth. He also taught them -ii that was ne< 
 
 I nit 
 of their mi In the same way. oar lit! 
 
 >n, in the commencement, onlj with it- 
 
 own p pi ritual advancement and in evangeliziu »r. At 
 
 • •rs, 
 struct the COU] I iiat 
 
 He called us t<> contribute in 
 
 i know, a:.<! what jht t<» pi I )h. 
 
 this employment i- eminent! ' U sublime! < >h, b 
 
 I 
 
 arc 
 that 
 
 without any m our | 
 
 and tin-!-. fore, He 
 
146 VIRTUES AND DOCTRINE OF ST. VINCENT DE PALL. 
 
 our application must be serious, humble, devout, constant, and in 
 
 accordance with the excellence of the work. Some, perhaps, 
 will sa\ r that they entered the Congregation only to labor in 
 the country, and not to enclose themselves in a city in teaching 
 in a seminary; but each and all of us know full well that the 
 occupations in which we are engaged in the house in regard to 
 ecclesiastics, and particularly, the work of the seminaries, are 
 not to be neglected under pretext of giving missions. We 
 must do the latter, and not neglect the former, since we are 
 almost equally obliged by our institute to acquit ourselves of 
 the one as well as of the other, and because long experience has 
 proved that it is extremely difficult for the fruits of the missions 
 to endure for long without the aid of the pastors to whose 
 advancement in virtue the other works of the< Congregation 
 seem to contribute not a little. Therefore, each one will give 
 himself to God, with a good heart, in order to perform his duty 
 well and faithfully. To labor for the instruction of the poor is 
 a great work, it is true, but it is still more important to instruct 
 the ecclesiastics, for, if th?y be ignorant, the people they 
 conduct must, by necessity, be ignorant likewise. The Son of 
 God might have been asked : 'Why art Thou come? Is it not 
 to preach the Gospel to the poor in obedience to the order of 
 Thy Eternal Father? Why, then, dost Thou train up priests? 
 WI13' take so much care in teaching, and in forming them?' To 
 which Our Lord could have answered that He crane not only to 
 teach the truths necessary for salvation, but also to ordain good 
 priests, and better than those of the Old Law. You know that, 
 of old. God rejected those priests who were polluted, or who 
 had profaned the sacred things, that He held their sacrifices in 
 abomination, and that He said He would raise up other priests 
 who, from the rising to the setting of the sun, from the South 
 to the North, would make their voices and their words resound 
 ' Their sound kith r/one forth into all the earth.'' And by whom 
 has he accomplished this promise? By His Son, Our Lord, who 
 has instituted a priesthood, who has instructed and fashioned 
 His priests, and through wiiom He has given power to His 
 Church to ordain others: ' As the Fa'Jier hath sent me so do I 
 send you.' And this for the purpose of continuing, by their 
 ministry, throughout all ages, what He Himself did towards the 
 
CIIA1UTY. 147 
 
 close of His life, in order that all nations may be saved by their 
 instructions, and by the administi ramenta It 
 
 Ad, then, be an illosion, and :i great Illusion, in a missionary 
 
 to wish to apply himself to the work ntributtng to 
 
 form good ; and all the more so, as there is nothing 
 
 greater than a good priest Think may, wewill 
 
 find that we can co-operate in nothing greater than in forming 
 b good | I 
 
 natural body which is the amazement of angels, and over Hii 
 mystic body the power ot remitting sin which for them is a 
 subject of wonder and of gratitude. Oh, my God, what a potl 
 Ob, what a dignity 2 I anything or more admira- 
 
 ble J oh, gentlemen, how great a thing is a good priest ! What 
 can a good . tic not <!".' What con vers i he not 
 
 surc1 Upon the priests depends thehappin l hristen- 
 
 ration, then, obligee rve tlie 
 
 rtical state which is so ho'yand bo elevated, and still 
 
 more the need tin* Church has of good i remedy the 
 
 immense ignorance and the innumerable vices with which the 
 
 !i is covered, and for which pious souls Ought to shed t( 
 of bl< 
 
 * * There is question whether all the dii we witness be 
 
 not attributable to the priests. This may scandalize some, hut 
 the subject requires that by the magnitude of the evil the import- 
 
 ly he shown. For sometime hack, this o; 
 
 been the subject of several con , and it has been 
 
 thoroughly treated, m order to to many 
 
 evils; and the conclusion arrived at was that the Church had no 
 than had priests. He from them 
 
 We have the instance of the last heresies io these ti 
 
 •hs. Luther and Calvin. They were priesta It is by 
 •ts that hen sy has prevail signed, an 
 
 - and their neglect t«> oppo e with all their 
 ; eir boun lea drtt; I bat 
 
 inundated the rarth. What sacrifice, then, 
 not make to God, in or ler to labor for their iation so I 
 
 i i thai 
 I may rifl -Iation?" 
 
148 VIRTUES AND DOCTRINE OF ST. VINCENT DE l»AUL. 
 
 Bat the privileged object of that charity which lie so recom- 
 mended to his children was the poor. He said: '-God loves 
 the poor, and, by consequence, He loves those who love the 
 poor. For when we have a great love for anyone we have also 
 an affection for his friends and servants. Now, the little Con- 
 gregation of the Mission strives to devote itself with affection 
 to the service of the poor, who are the well beloved of God, 
 and hence, we have reason to hope that, out of love for them, 
 He will love us. All who, during life, love the poor, need have 
 no fear of death. Courage, then, my brethren, and let us 
 devote ourselves with renewed love to serving the poor. Let 
 us even seek out the most wretched and the most abandoned. Let 
 us acknowledge before God that they are our lords and masters, 
 and that we are unworthy to render them our little services. 
 . . . . When we visit them let us enter into their feelings and 
 suffer with them; let us inspire ourselves with the sentiments of 
 the Great Apostle, who said : 'I became all things to all men,' 
 that thus we may not fall under the complaint formerly made by 
 our Lord through, one of His prophets: And I looked for one that 
 ivndd grieve together with me, but there was nyne. 
 
 " For this we must try to move our hearts to pity and to 
 make them susceptible of the sufferings and misfortunes of our 
 neighbor, and pray to God to give us the true spirit of mercy, 
 which is the spirit of God Himself, that when a missionary is 
 seen it can be said: There goes a man filled with compassion and 
 mercy .We should abound in mercy far more than other piiests; 
 for we are obliged, by our state and our vocation, to serve 
 the most miserable, the most abandoned, and those most 
 burdened with corporal and spiritual miseries Let us Jiave 
 this compassion in our hearts; let us manifest it in our exterior 
 and on our countenance, after the example of our Lord who 
 wept over the City of Jerusalem on account of the calamities 
 that were about to overtake it. Let us use words of sympathy, 
 proving to our neighbor that we take an interest in him and in 
 his sufferings; finally, let us aid and assist him in his necessities 
 and misfortunes as well as we can. and endeavor to relieve him 
 entirely or in part, for the hand ought to be as far as possible 
 conformed to the heart " 
 
 The insane and the young libertines detained at St. Lazarus 
 
CHABITT. 1 19 
 
 also formed tin- subject as well of his recommendations as of his 
 charity. In frecjucnl be sustained the courage of 
 
 those who gave themselv< angrateful and so repugnant 
 
 a t; 18," he said to them, "all the more meritorious 
 
 au6e nature finds in if ecause it is a good 
 
 work done in secret, and in favor of those who will return no 
 sign of gratitude. These are Bick in body, those in mind: tl 
 are stupid, those light those Scions. In a 
 
 word, ail are estranged in mind, the former by infirmity, the 
 latter through malice. What a spirit of direction we pri< 
 
 ■ guide i lain ! What grace, what a, what 
 
 patience our poorbrothei i»» bear with bo much trouble 
 
 aud endure such labor. " And he animated their courage by 
 the memory of some of the Sovereign I whom 1 1 r 
 
 Emperors condemne 1 t;> guard the beast j of the circus • ■ The 
 men of whom you have charge are not yet are they, by 
 
 their disorders and debaucheries, in some ways, worse than 
 animals. " He proposed to them especially the example of our 
 Lord who wished to experience in his person every Bpecies of 
 misery, and he exclaimed: "Oh, my Savior, Thou who 
 uncreated wisdom, Thou who hast suffered Thyself to be a rock 
 scandal to the Jews and foolishness to the Gentiles, Thou 
 hast been willing to pass for n fool!" It was again by the 
 
 m pie of Jesus Christ that be answered those who said to 
 him: "Wehavono rule which obliges us to receive 
 Lazarus either crazy people or young demons. " He rep; 
 
 ■« Our rule in this who ha- wished tO DC Mir- 
 
 rounded by the insane, by the obi ts, by those 
 
 tempted and by those possessed '•> the devil. Prom a 
 they brought them to Him to be freed, and this He did with 
 Why, then, blame us, or find fault, we 
 
 endeavor to Imitate Him in a thiug which He has shown to be 
 ible to I lim I 
 " If He i I in mind 1 by 
 
 demons, why should not we also! We do kthem, 
 
 they are brought to us. And how do we know that Ili-^ Provi- 
 dence, which so ordaii not wish to make use of us to 
 heal the infirmities of these poor people with whom oar gentle 
 Savior wished to sympathize to such a to 
 
150 VIRTUES AND DOCTRINE OF ST. VINCENT DE l'AUL. 
 
 have Himself assumed their weakness? Oh, my Savior and my 
 God, grant ns the grace to look upon these things with the- 
 same eye with which Thou hast regarded them!" 
 
 There was another motive which he urged for assisting these 
 unfortunates; it was thus that St. Lazarus became a grand, 
 school of experience wherein they could learn to compassionate 
 with all classes of evils, and exercise themselves in all their 
 charitable functions. " Bless God r gentlemen and my 
 brothers." he said, 1 ' ; and thank Him, because He gives us the 
 care of these poor people deprived of sense, and of the power 
 of governing themselves; for, in serving them, we see and we 
 experience how great and how varied human miseries are. and 
 by this knowledge we become the better fitted to labor success- 
 full}' for our neighbor . We will acquit ourselves of our functions 
 with so much the more fidelity as- we the better know from our 
 own experience what it is to suffer. For this reason I beg of" 
 those who tend these persons to lake good care of them, and I 
 ask the Congregation to frequently recommend them to God, 
 and to prize this opportunity of exercising charity and 
 patience toward* those poor people. Otherwise, God will 
 punish us. Yes, be prepared to see a curse fall upon the- 
 house of St. Lazarus, if the proper and just care of them be- 
 neglected. I recommend, especially, that they be properly 
 nourished, and, at least, as well as the community. I would 
 
 prefer that it would be taken away from me, and given to 
 them." 
 
 With what indignant charily he reproved those who closed 
 
 their hearts in the presence of the miserable! One of his. 
 
 priests, having condemned his great liberality in favor of the* 
 
 foundlings, and having complained of the straits to which. 
 
 thereby the house of St. Lazarus was reduced, and the ruin 
 
 that threatened, the Saint returned this beautiful answers 
 
 M May God pardon him this weakness which so removes him. 
 
 from the sentiments of the Gospel! Oh, what meanness of 
 
 faith to believe- that, in doing and procuring good for poor and 
 
 abandoned children as these, our Lord will have less bounty for 
 
 us, He who promises to recompense a hundredfold whatever 
 
 may be given for His sake!. Since this gentle Savior said to> 
 
 His disciples: • Permit little children, toco mc unto Mo,' can 
 
CHABITY. 151 
 
 we, without going contrary to Him, neglect or abandon them 
 when tiny come to usf What tenderness has He not shown 
 for little children, embracing them and laying His hands upon 
 them! I > I * 1 they not furnish Him the occasion for establishing 
 for.us a rule of salvation, ordaining us to become like unto 
 them if we wished to enter the kingdom of Heaven? hut to 
 have charity for children and to take care ol them Is, in some 
 measure, to become a child. And to provide for the necessities 
 of foundlings is to take the place of their fathers and mothers, 
 or rather it is to take the place <>f God, Who has said that, if 
 the mother forgot her offspring, He Himself would take chi 
 and ii"! forget it. Were our Lord still living on earth among 
 men. and did He ace children abandoned, would He, too, thii k 
 you, wish to abandon them I Such a thought would, surely, do 
 injustice to His infinite goodness. And we, too, in our turn, 
 would be unfaithful to His grace, if, after bavins been cho 
 by His Providence to provide for the preservation of their 
 bodies, and to procure spiritual good for the poor foundlings, we 
 became wearied, and abandoned them on account of the trouble 
 we experienced." 
 
 The service of the poor was his favorite theme with the 
 
 era of Charity. "... Oh, how happy you are, my 
 
 daughters, to have been destined by God for so great and 
 holy a work. The great ones of the world consider themseh 
 
 happy when they Can devote to it a portion Of their time, and 
 you are witni a, particularly at St Sulpicius, 
 
 with what zeal and what fervor 1 1 and the 
 
 great ladies who accompany you tend the poor. Oh, my 
 daughters, how you should esteem your. state wherein you In 
 every day, and every hour of the day. an occasion of doing 
 
 works of charity, which are the means God makes use of to 
 
 Sanctify many souls: Did not a St. Louis, my daughters, with 
 a holy and an exemplary humility serve the poor in the Hotel 
 
 e that greatly contributed to his hoHne 
 
 Ihive :;<.! ;ill the saints looked upon it I 1 work, and 
 
 sought to tend the poor? Humble yourselves, therefore, wh< 
 
 ever you practice this charity, and often reflect, my daughters, 
 
 that God has given yon a grace r r above your deserts 
 
 four principal care, after the love of God and the desire to 
 
\r>-2 Virtues and doctrine of st. vincentde taut.. 
 
 make yourselves more agreeable to His Divine Majesty, should 
 be to serve the sick poor with sweetness and cordiality, com- 
 passionating their sickness and listening to their little 
 complaints as a good mother ought to do, for they look upon 
 you as persons sent to assist them, as mothers who nurse them. 
 In this way, you are destined to represent in regard to the sick 
 poor the goodness of God. But this goodness acts towards 
 the afflicted in a sweet and charitable way; hence, you, too, 
 must treat the sick poor with gentleness, with pity and love, 
 for they are your lords and masters as well as mine. Oh, 
 what great lords they are in the eyes of Heaven ! It will be 
 their duty, as it is said in the Gospel, to open the gate. Now 
 you perceive what obliges }'ou to serve them with respect, 
 because they are your masters, and with piety, because they 
 represent the person of our Lord. You ought not forget to 
 suggest to them some good thoughts, something, for example, 
 like this: ' Well, ni} T brother, how do you think of making the 
 journey to the other world?' Then to another: 'Well, my 
 child, do you not will to go see our Lord ?' You must not. 
 however, say much at a time to them, but little by little give 
 whatever instruction isnecessaiy, just as to children at the breast 
 they give but little to drink at a time. So. too, should you 
 do when your sick are great personages in. the world, for, 
 notwithstanding, they are but children in piety, and a word 
 coming from the heart and uttered in the proper spirit suffices 
 to lead them to God. 
 
 ••You see, my sisters, though it be something to assist the 
 poor in their bodies, it never was the design of God in establish- 
 ing your congregation that you should care for the bod}' only, 
 because there will not be wanting those who will do that; 
 but the intention of our Lord was that you should assist the 
 soul of the sick poor. That is your beautiful vocation. What! 
 leave all we have in the world, father, mother, brothers, sisters, 
 relations, friends, possessions, if we have any, and even our 
 country? And why? To serve the poor, to aid and instruct 
 them how to go to Heaven. Is there anything more beautiful 
 or more worthy of esteem? Could we see a daughter thus 
 formed w r e would sec her soul resplendent as the sun; we 
 could not gaze upon. Its- beauty without being dazzled. Give 
 
CHARITY*. 159 
 
 yon then* tQ <i<>l for the salvation of the poor you 
 
 The of the poor Is so essentially the principal vocation 
 
 of this c ktipn, that the Saint would have, if accessary, 
 
 all things else subordinated to it, every point of the rule, i 
 mental prayer and mass; tor, as he unceasingly repeated: " 1' 
 is to leave GodforGod.* 1 He said: •• Would you think God 
 reasonable than a master who, having, commanded his servant 
 to do a certain thing, and before the order was fulfilled, bade 
 him do something which must be don^done instantly! Oh, 
 this master would nut certainly blame his servant for neglecting 
 his first order; on the contrary, he ought to in- Letter pleased. 
 It is the same with God. He has called you tx> the congregation 
 to serve the poor, and that this might be the m 
 
 ttable tie has caused rules to he given you; but ir. at 'he 
 time of the exercises, He calls you elsewhere, go on the 
 
 ::nt and do not once doubt hut that you do Hi- most holy 
 will. Oh, what a source of consolation for a good Daughter of 
 Charity to be able to think and to say to herself: 'Instead of 
 making my prayer, or my reading, I will go ami tend my | 
 sick who are waiting lor me, and 1 know Cod will look upon 
 
 my action as agreeable. 1 Oh, with such a thought, a sister j 
 gladly wherever God calls.* 1 
 
 But he also exhorted his COnfrere8 to love one another. 
 taking as bis text these words of St. John: Littb children, U/ce 
 one He told them: "The congregation will 
 
 lon<i as the virtue Of charity abides in it." He then prononi, 
 
 a thousand maledictions on those who. in destroying charity, 
 would be the cause of the ruin of I gregation, and added: 
 
 "Charity is the BOUl of all virtues, and the paradise of commu- 
 nities res, the house wherein charity reigns i- a paradi 
 for, where charity is, there God dwells. A great personage 
 has said that charity is the cloister of Clod, it i- there He 
 lodges, there He makes His sojourn, there i> His palace of 
 predilection. Let us be charitable, meek, ht us hear with 
 
 ca<h other, and then (iod will take up His residence with US, 
 we will be His cloisters, He will lodge with U-. and we will hi 
 
 I in our ! 
 
154 VIRTUES AND DOCTRINE OF ST. VINCENT DE PAUL. 
 
 Whoever, in a community, lias neither charity nor forbear- 
 ance, resembles, amid so many dissimilar dispositions and 
 different methods of action, a vessel, with neither anchor nor 
 rudder, sailing among rocks at the pleasure of wind and wave, 
 and which soon becomes shattered into a thousand fragments. 
 
 He wrote: ''How I pray God from 1113^ heart for you and all 
 yours that it may please His Infinite Goodness to give you one 
 heart and one soul ! Charity is the cement that binds Christians 
 to God, and individuals among themselves; so that he who 
 contributes to the union of hearts in a congregation binds it 
 indissolubly to God. May it please His infinite bounty to 
 animate us all with His love for it." And when he learned of 
 an act of charity, he exclaimed: "Oh, goodness of God, unite 
 thus all the hearts of the little Congregation of the Mission, 
 and then command what Thou pleasest. All pain will be sweet, 
 all work easy, the strong will assist the weak, the weak will 
 cherish the strong and obtain for them from God an increase 
 of strength, and then, O God, Thy work will be according to 
 Thy pleasure and to the edification of the Church, and Thy 
 laborers will multiply, drawn 03^ the good odor of Such 
 charty." (To Gennes, 13 Nov. 1647). 
 
 Union was his parting word to the missionaries who went to 
 labor together. He said to them: "Be united, and God will 
 bless you; but let it be by the charity of Jesus Christ, for all 
 union not cemented by the blood of this Divine Savior cannot 
 subsist. It is, then, in Jesus Christ, by Jesus Christ and for 
 Jesus Christ, that you should be united to one another. The 
 spirit of Jesus is a spirit of union and peace; how, then, can 
 you attract souls to Jesus Christ if you be not united among 
 yourselves and with Him? It cannot be done. Have, then, 
 but one mind end one will; otherwise } t ou will resemble horses 
 attached to the same plough, each one pulling in opposite 
 directions, and thus destroying and breaking everything God 
 calls you to labor in His vineyard. Go, having in Him but one 
 and the same heart, one and the same intention, and then you 
 will reap abundant fruit." 
 
 He sought an example of this union in the most Holy 
 Trinity itself. He said to the Daughters of Charity: "I have 
 
I I! AKIIY. 155 
 
 been desiring and wishing for a long time, that our sisters had 
 attained to that degree ef respect for each ether that the world 
 outside could never know which one was the sister servant. 
 For, ^<n\ my Daughters, though God be one in Himself, 
 there are in Him three persons, and the Father is not greater 
 than the Son, nor the F eater than the Holy ''.host. In 
 
 like manner, the Daughters of Charity, who ought to be the 
 image of the most Holy Trinity, though numerous should yet 
 
 have hut one heart and one mind. And as, again, in the 
 
 ns efthe most Holy Trinity the operations, though 
 diverse and attributed to each one in particular, have such a 
 relation between themselves that when we attribute Wisdom to 
 the Son and Goodness to the Holy Ghost, wedonot intend to 
 thai the Father is deprived of these two attributes, nor that 
 the Third Person possesses not the power of the Father nor 
 the wisdom of the Son; so, too, among the Daughters of Charity, 
 she who serves the poor must have a relation with the one who 
 tends the children, and she who has the care of the children 
 
 shonldnave a relation with her who has charge of the poor. 
 And I would still further wish that our sisters would conform 
 themselves to the Holy Trinity, in this, that as the Father 
 communicates Himself entirely to the Son. and the Son 
 entirely to the Father, from which union the Holy Spirit 
 proceeds, so they, too, would he all in all to each other that 
 they may thus produce the works of charity that are attributed 
 to the Holy Ghost, and. in this way, have a relation with the 
 Most Holy Trinity. For you see, my Daughters, he who says 
 charity says God. You are the daughters of charity; therefore, 
 you ought, as far as possible, conform yourself to the image of 
 God. To this tend all communities that aspire to perfection. 
 And what is there in God? 'lucre are. my Daughters, 
 equality of persons and unity of Well, what does 
 
 this teach you if not that you all, every one of you, should be 
 hut one and equal.' But if there must he a superioress, a 
 sister servant? Oh, this ought to be hut to give an example of 
 virtue and humility to the others by being the first to do every- 
 thing; the first to humble herself at the feet of her sister, the 
 pardon, and the first to renounce her own opinion 
 to follow that of another." 
 
15G VIRTUES AND DOCTRINE OV ST. VINCENT DE PAUL. 
 
 He recommended, especially, mutual forbearance. -'It is, 1 ' 
 lie said, " the stay of a Congregation, just as in a house the 
 parts below sustain those placed above." The defects of others 
 should not discourage us. " Let us look upon defects whether 
 of body or of mind as a special mercy from God, and alwa3 r s 
 show a particular reverence for those who are afflicted with 
 these failings, regarding their persons as strokes of a great 
 master though the piece be not finished (Conference, 21st. of 
 Oct. 1G43). ,( We should not be astonished when, at times, 
 we see faults in certain persons, because God permits this for 
 ends of which we know nothing; but what do I say? God even 
 makes use of sins for the justification of a person; 3-es, sin 
 itself eaters, in a certain sense, into the order of predestina- 
 tion, and by means of it, God produces in us acts of penance, 
 of humility, of humilit}', yes, gentlemen, of humility which 
 is Our Lord Jesus Christ's own virtue. And. tell, me have not 
 roses their thorns? There is no rose without thorns. The 
 defects then, which God permits in certain persons, in some 
 more, in some less, serve as ashes to cover up the virtues that 
 are in them, so that seeing their faults they may maintain 
 themselves in humility and abjection. And who is there not 
 subject to pome fault, when even the saints had their failings 
 and none but the Son of God and His Blessed Mother were 
 exempt? The Apostles were taught in the school of Jesus 
 Christ and from His own lips, and yet, you know what passed 
 between them ! Petty rivalries, want of faith, so that at the 
 very time the Son of God was ascending into Heaven He 
 reproached them with their incredulity. . . . What you 
 should fear are the sins of the understanding, for they are very 
 rarely, scarcely ever, corrected ; they are the most dangerous 
 faults." (Conference, 27th of April, 1657). 
 
 Having thus preached forbearance and mutual support, the 
 humble old man, throwing himself on his knees, said : "And 
 because I have greater need than an}' other that the Congregation 
 bear with me, on account of the many miseries I perceive 
 within myself, the mairy causes of disediflcation I give my 
 brethren and, particularly those who assist me in my little 
 infirmities, I therefore, pray you, my brothers, to kindly please 
 to continue your charity and forgive the past. Old men, as 
 
CHARITY. !•">', 
 
 David said, h rpport; bear with me, then. 
 
 my brothers, I beg of you, and pray to God that l may 
 improve." He I sed the floor, as was customary; all 
 
 the others doing the same. (Conference, 25th of July, 1058.) 
 lie afterwards can them against whatever could trouble 
 
 charity, against scandal, of which he said: "'Idle malice of 
 ■i lal may l.c compared 10 the malice of D who would 
 
 dig a dc;) and wide ditch iii the middli oughfarc 
 
 that the by might fall into it, and the better to prevent 
 
 them from being on their guard, would cover the ditch so as to 
 
 hide it from their \ Vandal is something Still 
 
 tuse the malice of that person tend- to precipitate only 
 bodies into the ditch, whereas the malice of scandal tends to pre 
 cipiti lintohelL (Conference to I >fCharity, 1 5 th. 
 
 of Nov. 16 
 
 He 1 lion, of which he said: "The 
 
 darts first pierced the heart of Our Lord I I striking ti. 
 for whom they were meant." Ho condemned those who Len 
 wiQlng ear, no loss than those who slandered: •* A.s they say thai 
 
 there would he DO tl, :xne u b 
 
 goods,so,too,caii it be said none would dare to detract were n 
 willing to listen." (Conference, Sisl id.) 
 
 ile added: " Detraction is like ravenoi B wolf thl 
 and ruins the sheepfold that it - of the great 
 
 ta that can befall aCoi to have within it 
 
 who detract, who murmur, and who, m- tent, always 
 
 find fault." 
 
 Finally, he branded envy: "To envy is to find fault with 
 the ordei I; for if we become displeased another 
 
 is better off than attack not so much him who has the 
 
 advantage over us as Him Who gives it. and Grod can say to 
 
 f It is I 
 
 the Mood of Jesus Christ is i , for to this Mood are 
 
 due all as well natural as spiritual, whilst, we, by our 
 
 - have merited but hell. It w to place ourself in opposition 
 
 to the communion of >r in the Church there is I 
 
 imunication i works. NOW, would a merchant, who 
 
 rmed a partnership with another. his 
 
158 VIRTUES AND DOCTRINE OF ST. VINCENT DE PAUL. 
 
 partner made great gains, seeing that he is to share in them ? 
 Will one part of the body rise up in anger, because another is 
 sound and healthy." (Repetition of Prayer, 1656.) In a 
 word, envy has caused the death of Jesus Christ — the envy of 
 the devil and the envy of the Jews. Envy is the gate through 
 which sin entered Heaven and came upon the earth. Envy 
 ruined Lucifer, and from being an angel of light it changed 
 him into an angel of darkness. Then the demon, seeing that man 
 was made to occupy the place whence he had fallen by his 
 rebellion against God, envied him and resolved to destroy him 
 by inducing him to fall into sin. He succeeded, and thus, in 
 causing the fall of Eve and Adam, he introduced sin into the 
 world. And hence, then, it may be said, no evil happens in a 
 congregation but through envy, which is thus the first source of 
 all the sins committed. 
 
 " It is said that they who commit sin experience a certain 
 satisfaction, but it is not so in the sin of eirvv. This vice is an 
 executioner who instantly punishes those who are given to it. 
 Look at the envious person; everything gives him pain; the 
 good he sees in others and the good he hears of others wither 
 him immediate^. He has a serpent in his soul. You know 
 the torments those suffer who are afflicted with the tape worm, 
 and how they can rest neither by day nor by night. The Holy 
 Ghost declares that envy dries up even the marrow in the bones; 
 in fine, the envious are in a condition far more deplorable than 
 those afflicted with tape worm. Let us take the resolution 
 never to envy the good of others, nor the esteem of men, nor 
 occupations, but choose for ourselves that which is least, the 
 employment which is the most painful, the worst garments, and 
 look upon ourselves as the least and last of all." (Conference 
 to Sisters of Charity, 24th of June, 1654.) 
 
 Let us further hear the Saint giving us both the precept and 
 example of charity, in the efforts he made to retain in their 
 vocation those of his members who were tempted to abandon it. 
 He wrote, in November 1656: "If you understood the gift 
 of God you would not prefer a change to the happiness of serv- 
 ing our Lord in the state to which He has called you, a grace so 
 great that it ought to be dearer to you than life. When I 
 
(ii \! 15!) 
 
 contrast your present dispositions with those in which I 
 
 formerly snv you. you Beem to me no longer the same man. 
 Wnere, now, is that gratitude th I you to thank 
 
 (Jod for baring withdrawn you from the worl.l, that you might 
 
 find in the* Congregation SO many means of sanctifying yourself. 
 and BO many I of charity to aid others in procuring 
 
 their salvation I W%ere, now, is that holy indifference to riches 
 and employment- that eaused you bo frequently to say that you 
 were ready to go, or to Btay. in older to follow our Lord! 
 Where is that i ror you and. to do in all things the will 
 
 d, and. according as it might he made known to you by 
 
 holy obedience.' 1 He wrote similarly to a brother, on the 5th of 
 September, 1649: -Do you not remember the lights God so 
 often gave you in prayer, lights that made you resolve before 
 Ili^ Divine Majesty to publicly declare before the whole 
 community that you would rather die than leave it1 And, 
 behold, on the slightest occasion, when there is question 
 neither of death, nor of shedding blood, nor of menaces, you 
 surrender without the resistence which a promise made to God 
 
 demands, for Qod is a firm and jealous God and re |uires to be 
 
 served according to His pleasure! Will you now contradict 
 that promise, and abuse His grace, make light of His goodness 
 and afterwards endure the regrets that others experienced 
 through like disorders? I have not seen anyone, to whom God 
 •rave the graces which you have received from His kindness leave 
 any community, without feeling in his conscience the reproach of 
 
 God, and in his daily life a thousand vexations. But. you will 
 say. i have the intention of always pleasing God Alasl there 
 is no lack of good pretexts; and if you examine you will find that 
 your action is not i I by the desire of rendering yourself 
 
 . of becoming more submissive, move detached from the 
 
 world and from your own case, more humble, more; mortified, 
 
 and more united to your neighbor by charity, as is necessary 
 in order to bec< pleasing to God. You think, how 
 
 my deai- brother, i ider Him service and work out your 
 
 salvation in removing mrself from the way of perfection: this 
 is an illusion. Had you not. already entered upon the 
 way <»f th i perfect, ah: very well; but St. Paul says that those 
 who have once been enlightened and have tasted the word 
 
160 VIRTUES AND DOCTRINE OF ST. VINCENT DE PAUL. 
 
 of God, and fall, can, with difficulty, be renewed in penance. 
 How can yon pursuade yourself that you will be able to preserve 
 yourself, in returning to the world, when even now, being out 
 of it, you find so much trouble in overcoming yourself? If you 
 believe the contrary, at least do not leave but by the same door 
 through which you have entered the congregation: this door is 
 the spiritual retreat which I beg you to make before determining 
 on a separation of such importance." 
 
 We find all these reasons, all the efforts of his charily, united 
 in the following letter to a missionary; (2d Jan., 1656): 
 "Reflect on these reasons: First, reflect on the graces of your 
 vocation in which God puts into your hands so many means 
 of perfecting your own soul and of saving Others, ' TJiou hast 
 not chosen me but I have chosen you,'' says our Lord. But He 
 will not be obliged to give you those graces iu another condi- 
 tion to which He will 'not have called you. Secondly, reflect 
 on the blessings it has pleased God, up to the present, to give 
 to all your labors, whereby you have done much good both 
 within and without, and which, besides your merit before God, 
 has made you esteemed, and endeared to every one. Third, 
 reflect on the promise } t ou have made to God to serve Him in 
 the little Congregation ; if you fail in your word with God, with 
 whom will you keep it? Fourth, reflect on these words of our 
 Lord: 'He who does not leave father and mother for my love 
 is not worthy of me.' Thank God, you have left yours to give 
 yourself entirely to Him. What pretext, then, have you, at 
 this hour, for abandoning Him in order to return to 3 r our 
 parents ? Fifth, think of the remorse you will have at the 
 hour of death, and for what you will have to answer at the 
 judgment seat of God, if, through human respect, or for a 
 temporal gain, or to live more at your ease, or for all these 
 together, though hidden under other pretexts, you should 
 become guilty of the infidelity of which we have spoken and 
 lose the opportunities you now have of advancing the glory of 
 Our Master God forbid, sir, that this evil should ever happen ! 
 They will tell you, perhaps, as you already have been told, that 
 you can work out your salvation anywhere. I admit; but I 
 add, it is extremely difficult, not to say impossible, to save yowv 
 soul in a place and in a state wherein God does not wish you, 
 
CHARITY. 161 
 
 especially after having left, without CHUM, a true vocation such 
 a- you have recognized yours to be. Too cannot say that you arc 
 wanting in the strength required for the functions of the Con* 
 gregation, since you know. sir, these are varied, that the labors 
 of each are regulated according to his talents, and that even 
 those who labor the most have Les . thin a parish priest 
 
 in the country who strives to do bis duty well. If it be 
 objected to you that you owe m >re to the souls of your relatives 
 than to those of strangers, answor, without fear of contradiction, 
 
 that one mission, lasting for a month 01 three weeks, which you 
 will pr< cure for the parish in which they live, will be of more 
 advantage t«> them than all that you, living among them, could 
 do during your entire life. And the reason of this is. that 
 familiarity diminishes esteem and often destroys it altogether; 
 and then one is no longer capable of producing any fruit This 
 is why a person is rarely a prophet in his own country. R< 
 i: i-. that Our Lord returned only once to Nazareth, and then 
 the inhabitants wished to precipitate Him from the summit of 
 a rock, a treatment. He. perhaps, permitted to teach evangeli- 
 cal laborers the danger they incur, in returning to their homes', 
 of losing the high esteem their labors have won for them, and 
 of fulling into shameful disorders. For this reason, further, 
 He did not wish to allow two of His disciples to return to their 
 parents when they asked permission, the one desiring to go 
 bury his father, the other to sell his property and distribute it 
 to the poor. "If you say you are obliged to assist your mother, 
 that is true in only one case, which is when she is in need of 
 the necessaries Of life, and when, without your aid, she would 
 be in danger of death from hunger. But, thanks be to God, 
 she is well enough off in the goocU of this world, and can do 
 without you in the future as in the past. lor all tl tons 
 
 I will hope, sir, that you will give yourself anew to God to 
 •serve Him in the Congregation according to IIi> eternal design8, 
 without further thinking of your relations, save the more to 
 detach yourself from them, and to recommend them to His 
 
 mercy: for, by this means, His Divine bounty Will continue to 
 bless you. and will bless, on account of you, the souls of those 
 that are dear to you. I hope and pray for this from the bottom 
 of my heart." 
 
1C2 VIRTUES AND DOCTRINE OF ST. VINCENT DE PAUL. 
 
 But if Vincent would not permit his children to leave the 
 congregation and go out into the world, he willingly exhorted 
 them, when on the point of death, to depart from the world and 
 the congregation to go to Heaven. Here is, almost entire, 
 one of his exhortations before death, admirable alike for its 
 sweetness, and its sublime faith: '- Well, my brother, how are 
 you at present? So you believe, then, that our great general, 
 the first of all missionaries, our Lord, really wants you in the 
 mission of Heaven ? You see He wishes that we all, each in 
 his turn, go there, and this is one of the principal rules and 
 constitutions He made while on earth. I will that where lam 
 there also may my minister be. My God ! What consolation you 
 should feel thus to be chosen among the first to go to the 
 eternal mission where all the exercises consist in loving God! 
 Is it net true that our great superior is graciously willing to 
 give 3*011 the grace of being of the number of these happy 
 missionaries? Oh, without a doubt, you should hope for it 
 from His mercy and goodness, and. animated with this confi- 
 dence, say to H ; m in all humility: 'Oh my Lord! whence 
 comes this happiness? Alas! it is not because I have merited 
 it, r or wha L - proportion is there between the toil of missions 
 given on earth and the joy and recompense of the missionaries 
 who are with Thee? It is, then, from Thy bounty and liberality 
 alone, O, my Master, that I hope for it. And what ! Besides 
 the ir equality between the labors of missions here below and 
 the reward Thou givest above, I have been guilty of a number of 
 sins, of infidelities, and of cowardice which render me unworthy 
 of the recompense. Still, I hope in Thy infinite goodness and 
 generosity that this great debt will be remitted, as was done to 
 the poor debtor in the Gospel: And He forgive him all the debt, 
 because Thy mercy and benevolence are infinitely greater than 
 my unworthiness and my malice. It is certain that the 
 greatest glory you are capable of rendering Him at present is 
 to hope with all your heart in His goodness and His infinite 
 merits, for the magnitude of the faults to be pardoned will only 
 manifest the better the greatness of His mere}*. He expects 
 that confidence from you, so as to be forced to say to you, 
 with all the affection of a father: This day thou wilt be with Me 
 in Paradise. Now, too, is the time to make frequent and 
 
CHARITY. 103 
 
 of love for your dear and good master, And all 
 
 i1k.sc beautiful acts of Dope, so Agreeable to God, which you 
 may have made should lead von to love, for if lie is bo magnifi- 
 cent, bo liberal* so good, ae you hope, is it not true that you 
 i avc great reasoo to cry out and say: i Ob, Qod of my heart! 
 Thy infinite goodness does not permit me to divide my afl 
 tions. oh! do Thou alone take p 1 of my heart and my 
 
 liberty: How can I desire anght else but Thee: I low attach 
 
 myself to anything not Thee] Would it, perhaps, be to myself! 
 
 Alas! Thou besrest me infinitely more love than I can !. 
 
 for myselt Thou art infinitely more desirous of my good and 
 
 llStSt the power of doing it, than I who have nothing and hope 
 
 for nothing but in Thee. Oh, my only God! Oh. infinite 
 Goodness: Why have I not for Thee the love of all the Sera- 
 phims together! Alas: it is very late to imitate them! Oh, 
 ancient U unty, I have loved Thee toj late. But, at Least, I 
 offer Thee with all the Btrengtb of my affection the love of the 
 most holy Queen of Angels, and, in general, the love of all the 
 blessed. Oh my God! in the presence ofHeaven and earth I g 
 Thee uiy heart such B I adore, out oflo . the 
 
 of Thy paternal Providence in regard to Thy wretched 
 servant I detest, in Thy] . and before the entire heavenly 
 
 court, all that can separate me from Thee. OSover* igu Goodness, 
 
 Thou, Who wished to he loved by sinners, </\\v me Thy love, and 
 
 then command what Thou wilt. * Give what Thou commandest 
 mandtohat Thou w3L f Yes, my very dear brother, it is 
 
 true, and you must in no way doubt it, that it always has I ■• 
 the good pleasure of God that you love Hiin and especially that 
 you love Him at this time. It i^ that we might love Him that 
 
 He created us to His own image and likeness, since we only 
 
 love what bCS emblance to us if not entirely, at least in 
 
 part This lover of our hearts, seeingthat, unfortunately. Bin 
 had Bpoiled this likeness, has wished to break through all the 
 
 laws of nature in order to repair the damage, hut so wonderfully, 
 that lie has not contented Himself in restoring in us in* image 
 and the character of His dignity, but lie has been pleased to 
 make Himself like us in clothing Himself with our humanity. 
 And more, as love ia infinitely inventive, after being nailed to the 
 infamous gibbet of the cross, in order to gain the souls of those 
 
164 VIRTUES AND DOCTRINE OE ST. VINCENT DE PAUL. 
 
 by whom He wished to be loved, foreseeing that this absence 
 might bring forge tfulness and coolness to onr hearts, He 
 instituted the most angnst Sacrament of the altar, in which He 
 is as really and substantially present as in Heaven above. In 
 this sacrament, He has wished to abase and annihilate Himself 
 still more than in His Incarnation, and in some measure to 
 make Himself more like ns by being onr meat and drink, 
 intending, by this means, that the union and resemblance, 
 produced between our bodies and nutritious substance, be 
 effected between Him and men, for love can do all. and wills all. 
 Thus has He willed, and fearing that men, not comprehending 
 rightly this ineffable mystery and stratagem of love, would 
 neglect to approach this divine sacrament He laid upon them 
 the obligation of so doing under pain of incurring His eternal 
 displeasure: ' Unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man you ivill 
 not have Vfe in you. 1 Excite yourself, then, to love Him. 
 Remember that the greatest gift you can give Him is your 
 heart; He asks nothing more: ' Son, give me thy heart.'' If your 
 thoughts suggest that it is temerity for a poor debtor and a mis- 
 erable slave to aspire to caresses and marks of affection from 
 the Supreme Master, answer that it is God Who commands you 
 and Who desires it. If any difficulty you may have felt in 
 making ac ts of faith cause you pain or scruple, have recourse 
 to acts of love which will please God better, and will, moreover, 
 contain acts of all other interior virtues. If you have difficulty 
 in forming acts of contrition, make them by way of love; for 
 they are nothing else. Do you not wish that the will of God 
 be accomplished in you? Do you not desire that He should 
 take infinite delight in you ? Are you not willing that He 
 should receive all the glory He expects from the sufferings He 
 permits you to endure at present! Were it in your power to 
 procure Him all the glory that He expects from all creatures, 
 would you not willingly do it? And are you not very glad of 
 all the glory and perfection that God has in Himself ? Do you 
 not detest, from the bottom of your heart, all that is in you 
 contrary to th'e good pleasure of God? Do you not wish you 
 had loved Him all your lifetime, as did the Messed Virgin? 
 Well, now, entertain yourself frequently with these beautiful 
 sentiments and look upon them as the lighted lamps of the wise 
 
CHARITY. 1C5 
 
 virgins who were admitted, for that reason, to eternal nuptials 
 with the spouse. Oh, but that is a beaatiful disposition in 
 which to enter with Him] And will you not leave us the hope 
 that you will not forget OS when you will he in Heaven among 
 the little troop of missionaries who are already there 1 Grant us 
 the favor t<> kindly tell them of the confidence we hare in their 
 holy prayers, so that they may obtain Corns the grace to perform 
 our mission here helow faithfully, that thus we may belong 
 a<_ r ain to the mission in Ile.iven — S mission of love that will 
 endure eternally." 
 
CHAPTER XT. 
 
 MEEKNESS. 
 
 I 
 
 Meekness is the flower and the odor of charity. Wonderful 
 flower! With Vincent it sprang up and shed all its beauty upon 
 an ungrateful earth. He was naturally choleric, being of a 
 splenetic temperament, and of an active nature. Yet, by efforts 
 pf virtue, and with the aid of grace, he succeeded in repressing 
 even the least appearance of anger, and conquered in himself its 
 most secret movements. The struggle was long and obstinate. 
 Whilst yet in the house of Gondi the wife of the general of the 
 galleys was distressed at his fits of melancholy, and it was in 
 1G21 that he was able to sa} r : " I addressed myself to God and 
 earnestly prayed Him to change in me this dry and repulsive 
 humor and give me a meek and benign spirit; and, by the grace 
 of our Lord, with a little attention to sallies of nature, I have 
 rid myself somewhat of my gloomy disposition." 
 
 Once in possession of the virtue of meekness, he guarded it 
 carefully, cultivated it, and faithfully practiced all its acts 
 After the example of the blessed Bishop of Geneva whom he, 
 himself, took as a model and recommended to others, he ever 
 after presented an open address and an amiable affability which 
 tinctured all his conversations with kind and obliging words 
 without, however, any shade of false flattery: he never praised 
 any in their presence unless actuated by motives of the most 
 elevated interest. 
 
 His meekness excelled in reprimand and correction. On 
 these occasions, he threw into his manner and his words, such 
 
v. i.f.kn: 
 
 moderation and such sweetness that he softened the hard 
 hearts and triumphed over all resi>tam 
 
 ili^ meekness became all the more compassionate and more 
 
 tendei to LC loved to fafde, and. OS it 
 
 were, to bury. Never a word n plaint did he use against 
 
 e who bad abandoned him, no retaliation for their murmurs. 
 Far from revealing the motives of their departure, he said of 
 them all the good possible that truth would permit, and avenged 
 If on their petty spites by all kind ! offices. 
 
 In tl >f his duty as Superior, he had worn the air of 
 
 one who had other than uperior who gave 
 
 hi> order-. Were his commands neglected, he contented himself 
 with saying: ■• Perhaps, had you done that in the manner! 
 
 d you to do it. God would have blessed 
 when the di without thought, indirect, or of 
 
 little import, he said nothing, his silence and patiet. tho 
 
 correct!* 
 
 He showed himself particularly mild towards the infirm*, 
 either of body, or of mind. With . > them he never com- 
 
 plained, nevtr U8C 1 B WOl I tl 
 
 the idea that the . lie sometimes admitted to 
 
 thee tion. on trial, not withstand in 
 
 to the eon; rtain subjects who appeared as if they 
 
 never could become suitable men: :e than < 
 
 his gentle care he merited that God should deliver them from 
 all their ailments, and should make of them efficient mission* 
 With still greater reason did he ith meekness and 
 
 patience those who already belonged to the congregation, hovr 
 great soever their infirmities. ■ no fear," he said to 
 
 them, "of being a charge to the o ion; on the contrary, 
 
 Dg for it to possess infirm members, for they, by 
 their sufferings, merit more thau do the others by their labo 
 
 The least among the members of his congregation, the 
 
 brot hers, the most uncouth and tho 
 
 ii. wire the privileged objects of his mildness and 
 
 gnity. lie called upon them in conference, no matter what 
 
 their roughness, listened to them with gentle patience, i ever 
 
 interrupted them, but to help them, and by mingling excuses 
 
ICS VIRTUES AND DOCTRINE OF ST. VINCENT DE PAUL. 
 
 and praises lie corrected them of any errors which they might 
 -have advanced. 
 
 His meekness, so tolerant with natural defects of body, or of 
 mind, was not disconcerted even by vices of the will. He bore 
 with intractable subjects that they might have an opportunity 
 for repentance and conversion: and when there was hardly any 
 nope of amendment he still bore with them in order to exercise 
 himself in meekness. 
 
 Even when overwhelmed with pressing duties his mildness 
 opened, to all. his room, his ear. and his heart. He was at all 
 tim2s ready to listen to the least of his subjects, before mass, 
 during the recitation of his breviary, and even at night. Those 
 troubled with scruples could apply to him several times during 
 the day or hour, even when he was engaged with persons of 
 distinction, and he would ever receive them with kindness. 
 He would rise from bis chair, go to meet them, take them into 
 a corner listen to them, repeat his advice, even write it down 
 for them and make them read it to him so as to be assured they 
 understood; nothing wearied his sweet and gentle charity. 
 
 And this is why Tronson, Superior General of St. Sulpicius, 
 could say that Vincent possessed the virtue of meekness in so 
 eminent a degree, that in seeing him you imagined you saw 
 St. Paul conjuring the Corinthians by the meekness and modesty 
 of Jesus Christ. 
 
 II. 
 
 And yet the humble Saint believed himself to be without this 
 meekness — his reward for so many combats. And so, in 
 exhorting his children to acquire it on the same conditions, he 
 said: -'We sometimes see persons who seem gifted with 
 remarkable meekness, and yat it is but an effect of their quiet 
 disposition; they have not Christian meekness the special duty 
 of which is to repress and stifle all the sallies of the contrary 
 vice. He is not chaste simply because he feels no unchaste 
 movements, but because when he feels them he resists. We 
 have in the house an example of true meekness; I mention it 
 because the person is not present, and because 3*011 can all 
 perceive that naturally he is of a sharp and arid disposition. 
 
MLI-IKXKSS. 109 
 
 [' \a Mr. X. An 1 you may judge if there bo, in the world, two 
 men as rough and forbidding as he and I And ye'l we see 
 this man overcome himself to Bucb a that we can truly 
 
 say he is no longer what he was: and what lias done this! li is 
 the virtue of meekness in tin' acquisition of which he is strug- 
 gling, whereas, I, miserable, remain as sharp as a briar. 1 
 y you, gentlemen, not to fix your eyes on the bad example I ■ 
 
 giveyou, but rather, I exhort you. t<> use the words Ofthe Ap istle. ' 
 
 to walk worthily and with all meekness and gentleness in the ' 
 state to which God has called you." 
 
 He would not have this meekl »:'t, nor weak and indul- 
 
 gent, bat rather, full of force and firmness on accounl of that 
 close union existing between all real virtues. For, lies 
 11 tlnre are none more corisl int, or more firm in good than the 
 meek and gentle; whilst, on the contrary, those who allow 
 themselves to be carried away by anger and by passions of the 
 irascible appetite, are ordinarily very I n*e they 
 
 act only in fits and starts. They are similar to torrents which 
 have force and impetuosity only in their irruptions, and :'.re 
 exhausted as soon a.^ these subside, whereas rivers, which 
 represent the meek, flow on without noise, tranquilly, and 
 never become dry. Therefore. Ie1 us be firm in regard to the 
 end we propose to ourselves in our good works, but let us 
 employ meekness in the mean- we make use of, imitating in-, 
 this the action of the wisdom ot Ixod whivh rcacheth its end* 
 mightily and yet ordereth t>e means Lei us, again, 
 
 in itatethe blessed Bishop of Geneva, ; mild and gentle 
 
 man that I ever knew. Tin' first time I ever saw him J 
 recognized in his address, in the serenity of his countenance, 
 in his manner of speech and in his conversation, a well-marked 
 image of the meekness of oar Lord .b-sus Christ, and my heart 
 
 Meekness is particularly necessary for persons living in a 
 
 community, and for those who labor for the salvation of so:. 
 The Saint said: --We have all the greater need of affability 
 we are, by our vocation, more rse 
 
 with one another and with our neighbor. This in t e is '• 
 
 the more difficult whether among ourselves, because we are i 
 
170 VIRTU KS AND DOCTRINE OF ST. VINCENT DE PAUL. 
 
 either from different countries, or are of different temperaments 
 and natural dispositions, or whether with our neighbor because 
 Often we have much to bear with in him. It is the virtue of 
 affability which overcomes all these difficulties, and which, being 
 the soul of good conversation, makes it not only useful but also 
 agreeable; it makes us, in conversation, comport ourselves with 
 propriety and with condescension for ench other. And. as it 
 is charity that unites us as members of one body, it is affability 
 ithat perfects the union. 
 
 " Let us practice the virtue of meekness, especially with the 
 .poor people in the country; otherwise, they will be discouraged 
 and not dare to approach us, thinking us too savere, or too 
 grand for them. But when we treat them with affability and 
 Cordiality they conceive different sentiments for us and become 
 better disposed to profit b}^ the good we wish to do them. 
 Since God has destined us to serve them we ought to do it in 
 the manner the most profitable to them, and, consequently, act 
 towards them with great kindness, and take, a? if addressed to 
 each of us in particular, the admonition of the Wise Man : • Make 
 thyself affable to the congregation of the poor.' 
 
 f4 Be affable, but never flatter; for nothing is so despicable 
 and unworthy a Christian soul as flattery. A man truly 
 virtuous abhors nothing so much as this vice. 
 
 '•On the other hand, do not contend with any, not even with 
 the vicious whom it may be necessary to reprehend ; but ever 
 use in their regard sweet and courteous speech, according as 
 charity and prudence will dictate. In our discussions with 
 heretics let us not enter into altercation, or employ harshness; 
 tlnyy are far more readily won by a sweet and amiable remon- 
 strance. This is how the angels act towards us. They inspire 
 good thoughts, but do not force us to follow them. Experience 
 has shown me that more is gained over minds in this wa}' than in 
 urging them to enter into our sentiments, and in wishing to 
 triumph over them. It is usual with the malign spirit to be 
 eager, and his custom is to disquiet souls. In a journey I made 
 to Beauvais I had, on one occasion, the happiness of convert • 
 |ng three heretics, and I must say that the kindness and mild- 
 ness I exercised with them contributed more to their conversion 
 
1?1 
 
 than all the rest of the di When we argue with any 
 
 one. the manner of cond c asily shows that we 
 
 want to gain the upperha ir adversary prepares lor 
 
 [stance rather than to learn the truth; so that the 
 instead of shedding any light on his mind, ordinarily closes the 
 door of his heart; whilst, on tl i ! affabil- 
 
 ity would open it. We have a b cample o 
 
 . though \ ery expert 
 
 ontrovcrsy, nevertheless converted heretic r by his 
 
 ban by hi* learning. And, on this point, His 
 
 Eminence, Cardinal Del add, 
 
 indeed, convince he ed to th p of 
 
 invert them. B mi- well In mind th i w 
 
 I to that great mi , St.. Tim I it the servantof 
 
 the Lord must not wrangle. 1 And, I yon, I have 
 
 •led by the 
 pow ient; but. ind 
 
 by I I true is it Lie 
 
 charm for gaining men to (;<;d." 
 
 Tiie Saint seemed to take a pleasure, bo tireless were his 
 exhortations, in reverting to the mild i kbiiity which 
 
 should i ; lie attributed to this all 
 
 the ie heard of the mi ion, 
 
 i he would take o both in his insti i n 1 in 
 
 i reo >inmen I more than ever the practice of this 
 virtue. He wrote in this sense to one of his pri I of 
 
 mis. the p th too much ai . -If 
 
 ( tod, in free, ble ark- 
 
 that the reason of it was that the mi 
 bly, humbly, and is all of 
 
 and if it has plea ke use of the m >st 
 
 all in the ion of some 
 
 them 
 
 ;alley sis in, with 
 
 Whom I have :. ;, Vv : - I 
 
 hap alL Ontl rary, 
 
 d I praised them for tb nation, when I pitied them 
 
 in their sufferings, wL L'them th< 
 
 their purgatory in this life, when I kissed their chains, condol- 
 
I 72 VIRTUES AND DOCTRINE OF ST. VINCENT DE PAUL. 
 
 cd with them in their grief and manifested sorrow for their 
 disgrace, then they listened to me, then they gave gloiy to God 
 and became reconciled to Him. I beg yon, sir, to unite with 
 me in giving thanks to God for this and ask Him to be pleased 
 to inspire all the missionaries to treat their neighbors, both in 
 public and in private, kindly, humbly, and charitably, and even 
 sinners, and the most obdurate, never employing against airy 
 invective, or reproach, or harshness. I have no donbt, sir, but 
 that you try to avoid tills unfortunate manner of serving souls 
 which, instead of attracting, embitters and alienates. Our 
 ho rd Jesus Christ is the Eternal Meekness both of angels and 
 of men, and, by this virtue, we should, in conducting others, go 
 to Him." 
 
 • He recommended meekness towards the poor, and also 
 towards sinners. "We must not be astonished," said the 
 Saint, " to see others commit faults, because, as it is natural 
 for briars and thistles to bear thorns, so, in the state of corrupt 
 nature, it is natural for man to fall, since he is conceived and 
 born in sin, and since the just man, according to Solomon, falls 
 seven, that is, several times a day. The spirit of man has its 
 inequalities and maladies as well as the body; instead, then, of 
 being troubled and discouraged, we should, in view of its 
 miserable condition, be humbled, and say with David, after his 
 fall : ' It is good for me that Thou hast humbled me, that I 
 may learn Tlry justifications.'' We must bear with ourselves in 
 our weaknesses and. in the meanwhile, labor to surmount them. 
 We must, moreover, bear with others, and charitably cover 
 their defects; for if it be forbidden to judge ill of another, it is 
 still less lawful to speak ill of him, the peculiarity of charity 
 being, as the Apostle says, to cover a multitude of sins. 
 Hear the Wise Man, once more: ' Hast thou heard a word 
 against thy neighbor? Let it die within thee." 
 
 . He would have meekness exercised even with those who 
 seemed the most unworthy of it. for example, the priest and 
 religious, who. enslaved in Tunis and Algiers, fell into the 
 most shameful license. He wrote to one of his priests who 
 performed the duties of grand vicar: " You should never allow 
 yourself to become incensed against abuses since you foresee 
 
Mil KM — . 173 
 
 only thai a greater evO frill follow. Draw what good you can 
 out of the priests and religious who aipe.0lav.e8 .... by 
 
 mild and easy ways, and employ M'Wiv measures only in cx- 
 
 t remits for tear the evils they endure, by reasqa of their captivity, 
 joined to the rigor which you, in your authority, would wish to 
 
 rcise, might load them to despair. It is impossible to ful- 
 fill the duties of your charge in all the rigor of full justiee with- 
 out augmenting the trials of these poor people an 1 exhausting 
 their patience, an 1 injuring yourself! You should not, 
 
 cially, undertake t ) immediately abolish certain customs 
 in vogue among them, even though they be had. Somebody 
 
 brought, the other day, to my attention a beautiful pass) 
 
 from St. Augustine, wherein he says, one should be particularly 
 ful in attacking an abuse that reigns in a place, becausi 
 
 will not only not succeed, hut, on the Contrary, will alienate 
 those in whom the custom is. as it were, ingrained, so that he 
 will thus deprive himself of the power of doing other good 
 which he have done, had he taken them differently. I 
 
 beg you, then, to condescend to human infirmity as much 
 you can. You will gain, in compassionating them, the 
 eccl< who are Blares, far sooner than by reproof and 
 
 correction. They an mting in light, hut in fortitude, 
 
 which (S insinuated by the external unction of word and ex- 
 ample, [do you should authorize or permit their < 
 orders, but I do say that the remedy should he mild and kind 
 and applied with great precaution." 
 
 in, meekness should accompany conviction, which the 
 
 Saint has recommended in so many of his letters. VVhen com- 
 I hunt was ma le of another, he invariably answered: •• If he 
 did not have these faults he would, in all probability, have 
 Others, and had you nothing to Buffer, your charity would have 
 hut little exercise, and your life not sufficient relation with that 
 
 a Christ, Who has been pleased to have for disciples 
 
 men who were coarse and vulvar, and sul.jcct to different 
 
 failings, simply- in order to hi pport unity, by practicing 
 
 meekness and forbearance, to show us, by His example, how 
 
 those who have charge of others should act I pray you, sir. 
 regulate yourself according to this ll.dv Model; He will teach 
 you not only how to bear with your confreres, hut also how to 
 
174 Virtues and doctuixe of st. vincent i>i<: uaui, . 
 
 aid them to become rid of their imperfections. You must not. 
 through a too weak toleration, neglect the evil, but you must 
 likewise use meekness in remedying it," 
 
 To a second superior, engaged, with another priest of the 
 Congregation, in a distant mission, he wrote: '-If you only 
 have cordiality and forbearance between you two I 'nave hopes 
 in the goodness of God that He will bless your works; and 1 beg 
 of you sir, in the name of God, let that be your constant prac- 
 tice. And, because you are at the same time the older and 
 the superior, bear with all, in the spirit of meekness, from him 
 who is with }'ou; I say all, so that laying aside within yourself 
 all authority* you may, in the spirit of charity, accommodate 
 3'0urse!f to him. This is the means by which our Lord gained 
 and perfected His apostles, and it is the only mtans whereby 
 3'ou can succeed with this good priest. Therefore, give a little 
 play to his humor, never contradict just at the moment you 
 think there is occasion, but wait, till sometime after, to remon- 
 strate with him, and then do so humbly and cordially. Partic- 
 ularly, so conduct yourself that no division between you and 
 him will ever become apparent; for you are there as on a stage 
 exposed to the eyes of all classes, and with whom one single act 
 of bitterness, noticed in you, would spoil all. 1 hope you will 
 receive and make use of this advice I give you, and that God 
 will make the million acts of virtue you will perform the base 
 and foundation of the good He wishes you to do." 
 
 Here, a^ain, the Saint collects, in his particular conferences, 
 all these scattered teachings on the nature, the excellence, and 
 the practice of meekness: "Meekness and humility." he said 
 one day, '-are twin sisters that agree admirably. We have a 
 rule that requires us to study them very carefully In Jesus 
 Christ, who says to us: ' Learn of Me because I am meek and 
 humble of heart.' 
 
 «f Meekness has several acts which may be reduced to three 
 principal ones. The first oi these acts has two branches one 
 of which is to repress all movements of anger, all the flashes of 
 that fire which mounts to the face, which troubles the soul, 
 which transforms one so as to 1 e no longer capable of recogni- 
 tion, and changes the calm and serene countenance into 
 
mi: i km 175 
 
 one dark and lowering, or glowing and inflamed. And what 
 meekness d<>? It arrests this change; it hinders him, who 
 is affected, from manifesting these evil effects. It does not, 
 however, prevent the movements of the passion, but it sets 
 iisclf as a barrier, so thai the passion cannot carry all before it. 
 Some commotion maj Itself in the countenance, but it 
 
 soon should not be surprise 1 to see 
 
 abated: I guickerthan 
 
 those of grace, but the latter vanquish We must not be 
 
 astonished at assault-, bat we should rather demand grace to 
 
 .-come them, being certain thai, though we feel within us a 
 certain revolt against it. yet meekness has the power to sup- 
 press it. This, then, is the In of the fll and it is 
 marvellously beautiful, so beautiful, in fact, that it restrains 
 the ugliness of the opposite vice from manifesting itself; it Is a 
 certain activity in the mind and soul that no! only moden 
 
 the :t . but eve: ;!>!ies its least SDS 
 
 "The second duty of this first act consists in 'this, that, it 
 being, at times, expedient to manifest displeasure, to reprehend, 
 to punish, it governs those in whom the virtue of meekness 
 
 resides so that they do these, not from an impulse of nature, 
 
 but from duty, just as the Son of God who called St. Peter, 
 Satan, and Who said to the dews, not once, but several tin. 
 Go, .' this word being found ten or twelve times in a 
 
 single chapter. Again, He drove the sellers from the temple, 
 Overturned their tables, and exhibited other signs of displeasure. 
 
 Were these the transports of* anger 1 No. He possessed meek- 
 ness in a supreme degree. In US this virtue renders OS masters 
 of our passion, but in our Lord, Who had only propassions, it 
 merely, according as it was expedient, advanced or retarded 
 any manifestation of anger. If then. He. Who was mild 
 and kind, showed Himself severe en certain occasions it was to 
 correct those to whom He spoke, it was to drive out sin. to 
 take away scandal; it was to edify souls, and to give us a lesson 
 Oil. what great fruit a superior would produce did lie act after 
 this manner! His admonitions and corrections would be well 
 received, because reason, and not caprice or humor, would 
 govern them. While reprimanding strongly, he would not 
 allow hi >n to overmaster him, but would look to the 
 
176 VIRTUES AND DOCTRINE OF ST. VINCENT DE PAUL. 
 
 good of the person admonished. As our Lord should be our 
 model in every condition of life, those who govern others ought 
 to consider how He acted and order themselves accordingly. 
 Now lie governed through love; and if He, at times, promised 
 recompense, at others, lie threatened chastisements: we must 
 do in like manner. but always be actuated by the prinei pie of love. 
 We, then, will be in the disposition in which the prophet 
 desired God to be when he said: 'Oh, Lord, rebuke me not 
 in Thy indignation.' It seemed to this poor king that God was 
 in anger with him, and, therefore, he prays Him not to punish him 
 in His fury. All men are, in this, of like mind; none wish to 
 to be corrected in anger. It is a favor accorded to but few not 
 to feel the first emotions. as I have said; but the meek man soon 
 recovers, he masters his anger and his vengeance, so that noth- 
 ing follows save v.hat is influenced by love. This, then, is the 
 first act of meekness, to repress the contrary emotions as soon 
 as they are felt, by either subduing anger altogether, or, in 
 the necessity, so using it that meekness may still govern. 
 Therefore gentlemen, now that we are speaking of meekness. 
 let us all resolve that, in all provocations to anger, we will cut- 
 short our inclinations, recollect ourselves, and raise our muds 
 to God, saying to Him: 'Oh Thou, Who, seest me assailed la- 
 this temptation, deliver me from the evil it suggests.' 
 
 " The second act of meekness is to show ourselves affable, 
 cordial, and calm of countenance, so as to reassure and j lease 
 those who accost us. This is why some with a 'cheerful and 
 agreeable manner of address please everybody, God having 
 endowed them with this grace whereby they seem to offer you 
 their heart, and to request yours in return. Whereas, there 
 are others, just as I am, who are rough, that present themselves 
 with forbidding mien and contracted brow, who are gloomy and 
 repelling; all this is opposed to meekness. Hence, a true 
 missionary would do well to make himself affable, and study to 
 acquire a cordial and amiable manner that he may. by these 
 external marks of the kindness within, inspire confidence and 
 assurance. You know, according to the word of our Lord, how 
 this sweet insinuation gains and attracts all hearts: For the 
 meek shall possess the land; and, on the contrary, how it has been 
 remarked of persons of condition who are in office, that when 
 
mki:kn: 17< 
 
 they are' too grave *nd reserved <>v<tv one tears and avoids 
 them 
 
 ** And as our doti in contact with the poor people 
 
 of the country, with those preparing for orders, with t1 
 making the • I retreat and with all classes 
 
 of ; issible for ns to do :my good if we b i as 
 
 barren soil producing nothing but thtstles. We' must pos 
 
 idh, and have a pleasant countena >t to 
 
 discourage <>r einbair me, 
 
 •I * -led, three or four days ago, in wil the 
 
 joy a certain person who was leaving manifested He 
 delighted, he remark :ause he found hen' a plea 
 
 manner, an o - of heart, and a certain charming simplic- 
 
 ity • hN word- lhat had deeply touched him. 
 
 •• I \ mv Savior, how happy w< Thee, 
 
 What a countenance! What mildness] With what cordiality 
 
 i\ Thoo not draw them 2 With what confidence didst Thou 
 not inspire them to come to Thee ! Oh, what marks of love: 
 
 !. an l through him, St. Peter, 
 and then all the i Oh, my Savior! he who has this loving 
 
 manner, this charming benignity, on, what fruit will he not 
 produce In Thy Church! Sinners and the Just will crowd to 
 him, the first to become reconciled to God, the second to be 
 
 is said of our Lord that His nourish- 
 ment would be butter and honey, to show us the meekness that 
 would bo given Him in order to know good and evil. Those 
 souls only, that possi can discern things; foran&er 
 
 bein ion that troubles the reason, i.. must follow that 
 
 site virtue gives discernment. On, mild Savi 
 
 "The third act of tS in not dwelling on any 
 
 displeasure w< ive received from any one, and in main 
 
 . saying in excuse: 'He did not think, 
 iv. ofimpul 1 him sway; 'and, finally, in 
 
 our thoi I the imagine 1 li Jury When d 
 
 ) a meCk man in oiler to exasperate 
 him. he nevei month In answer, he pretends 
 
 hear. 
 
ITS VIRTUES AND DOCTRINE OF ST. VINCENT I)E PAUL. 
 
 '• Meekness not only excuses the affronts and injustices done 
 us, bat it moreover acts mildly towards those who are guilty 
 and has a kind word for them; even should the outrage go as 
 far as blows, it suffers it for God's sake. Oh! if the Son of 
 God appeared so kind in His conversation, how much more 
 striking was His meekness in His passion! It went to such a 
 degree that it did not permit a single hasty word to escape His 
 lips against the deicides who covered Him with insult and spat 
 in His face, and who mocked at His sorrow. ' My friend/ He 
 says to Judas, who delivers Him to His enemies. Oh! what a 
 friend! He meets him with that endearing title - my friend.' 
 He acts towards all the others with similar kindness ' Whom 
 seek ye,' he says to them, 'behold I am He.' Let us meditate 
 on these prodigious acts of meekness — acts that surpass human 
 understanding. Consider how He maintains that mildness amid 
 the most terrible tortures of His crucifixion. Oh, my Jesus! 
 what an example for us who have undertaken to imitate Thee! 
 
 11 After all this, ought we not to love this virtue of meekness, 
 by which God not on ] y gives us the graces to repress all move- 
 ments of anger, to act kindly with our neighbor and return 
 good for evil, but also the grace to suffer peaceably all the 
 afflictions, all the injuries, all the torments, and even death 
 itself, that men can inflict. Grant us, O, my Savior, the grace 
 to profit by the pains Thou hast endured with so much love and 
 meekness! Man}*, through Thy menry, have profited, and 
 perluips I am the only one here who has not yet begun to be 
 both meek and patient." 
 
 In another conference, St. Vincent dc Paul, with that posi- 
 tive sense which he carried into the highest spirituality, reduced 
 to still more precise counsels the practice of this virtue of 
 mc( kness. 
 
 •' In the first place." he said. -• in order not to be surprised 
 by the occasions wherein we may fail in meekness we should 
 foresee these occasions, and represent to ourselves whatever 
 may, probably, excite our anger, and then form, in advance, in 
 our own minds, the acts of meekness we propose to practice on 
 r. 11 occasions. 
 
 " Secondlv, we must detest the vice of an<rer. in as much as 
 
mkkkn: 179 
 
 it di i God, without, bow< gnant or 
 
 provoked with o perceive ourselves >till 
 
 subject to it; for we must hate this vice, and love its contrary 
 virtue, not b ire have Aversion for the one, and take 
 
 but solely out of love for God whom the 
 es ami th< enda [fwedo this the Borrow 
 
 we conceive for I wimittcd against this virtue will he 
 
 calm and 
 
 "Thirdly, when we perceive ourselves ben 
 should Btrive to refn peaking, and 
 
 especially we shoul 1 come to no determination, until the omo* 
 tiou ;i<»Ms done in such agitation, not b< 
 
 fully directed b which is troubled si nred by 
 
 otherwise they appear good, yet can never be 
 '•t. 
 
 the fourth [)lace, during thi- a wo should make 
 
 an effort to prevent any sign <>i* it appearing in the countenai 
 which is the mirror of the soul, but we Bhould restrain it and 
 •in it by Chi I im- 
 
 plicity, because we do it. not to appear different from what 
 out from a desire that the virtue of meekm 
 
 which is in the BUperior part of the soul, may show itself in our 
 •. and in our exterior in order 
 
 to please God, and our neighbor for the love of I 
 
 •• In the fifth place, finally, we must, during these move* 
 
 • adeavor to restniin our and notn ling 
 
 all the transports of anger and the ardor of leal we may imagine 
 
 have, not utter any but kind and pie that thus we 
 
 ( Oftentimes, it • ■ one kino! 
 
 word t<» ■ inrate, whereas, on the contrary, 
 
 a rongh and hasty word m soul and occasion a bitter- 
 
 remely <i I employed, but three times in mj 
 
 in reprimanding and c< 
 
 thinking I had just cansi ' ad I have ever since 
 
 ited of it, I I did not succeed, and because I 
 
 . that i alwj a of 
 
 I 
 
CHAPTER XII, 
 
 HUMILITY. 
 
 I 
 
 '•We now come to the fundamental virtue of St. Vincent de 
 Paul, the virtue of humility, — a virtue which no saint, after 
 Him to whom nothing is comparable, after Him, who, being in 
 the form of God, has annihilated Himself and taken upon Him- 
 self the form of a slave, after her who has extracted from her 
 lowliness the principle of her greatness. — a virtue, I say, which 
 no saint has possessed in the same degree as St. Vincent His 
 was a prodigious humility which astounds not 011I3' our pride, 
 but even our intelligence, when we see this admirable man lower 
 himself beneath earth and hell; when we see him prefer to 
 himself the n ost perverse, the galley-slave, those condemned to 
 death, and even the demons! And yet a humility that alone 
 explains St. Vincent de Paul, which alone, by the incessant 
 self-sacrifice of himself it impressed upon him, explains his 
 charity, as prodigious as itself. He was the most charitable of 
 men only because he was the most humble. Some have said it 
 was an excessive humility. But no, if the Saint exceeded in 
 the -good opinion he had of others and exaggerated their praises 
 he did not do so from the low esteem he had of himself. In 
 comparison with the demon and with the greatest sinners, 
 beneath whom Le loved to debase himself, he did not, surely, 
 put himself in their place; but what, in comparison with God, 
 with His grandeur, and with His sanctity are the greatest and 
 most holy on earth but baseness and imperfection? It is this 
 truer and more profound sentiment in regard to God that has 
 
11 1: MI LIT Y. ]81 
 
 made the saints, though relatively . more humble than 
 
 other men, and hence more charitable and more devoted. 
 
 It lias been said: '• Were elemeney to be exiled from earth it 
 
 'it to find a refuge in the hearts of kinfes." This is the word 
 
 the Cardinal de la RocUefoncauld applied to the humility of 
 
 de Paul. It is not enough to say that humility was 
 virtue, it was in some sort his very passion. Never did 
 ambition thirst for honor, voluptuousness lor pleasure, as did 
 Vincent for contempt and humiliation. 
 
 Not < nly did he never say anything of himself, but he tried 
 
 his utmost to all the honorable recollections of his life. 
 
 HOW he worked to destroy the letter that has remained as a 
 monument ofhifl captivity in Tunis! That letter, in HJ58, had 
 been found at imily papers and transmitted to the canon 
 
 Saint-Martin. The latter thinking I in 
 
 lea'! i youthful years immediately sent a 
 
 'the letter to St Vincent But Saint Martin, him 
 notwithstanding his long intercourse with Vincent, had 
 
 ;ded the depths of a humility that only sought in these 
 recollections of the past new humiliations, only BOnght a means 
 to drawdown upon him tin 4 contempt of men. At the Bight of 
 that witness to his glorious s! nt blushed, and 
 
 tened to commit it to the flame II «ras only a copy, 
 
 and thcorignaJ still remained in Bt Bands, and might be 
 
 add i i nst him should he, according to his custom. 
 
 publish and < cries and his nothing He, 
 
 therefore, wrote to Saint-Martin imploring him to send the 
 original letter. Bui the Canon was on the alert, and pen et rat- 
 is humble friend, 1 la no lurry to 
 
 obey hi- r more thaa a y< >ntinned his 
 
 entre .Ion March tsth, 1000. bIx mouths before hit 
 
 Saint Martin employing tl ongand 
 
 sing terms: " [ conjure you, by all the 
 God to bestow upon y< i me the favor of sanding me 
 
 that wretched letter which makes mention of Turkey. I be- 
 ll] you, more' iii^t. to 
 grant my re ruest as soon a 
 
 Never 1 in imploring life. 
 
 /? 
 
182 VIRTUES AND DOCTKINK OF ST_ VINCENT 1)E l'ALI.. 
 
 For Vincent there was question of far more; there was question 
 of not leaving behind him an authentic testimony, written and 
 signed by his own hand, that was a title of honor. And time- 
 pressed, for he felt himself dying; hence, his urgent prayer. 
 
 Still more; during the entire course of his life, he spoke but 
 once of bis slavery, and that only when it was still fresh in his 
 memory, and, moreover in confidence to a single priest whom., 
 perhaps, he had need to prepare for (he holy ministry in those 
 barbarous regions. Further than this he maintained an 
 absolute silence on this subject. Twenty times in meetings 
 for charitable purposes had lie the opportunity to entertain 
 his audience with its story ; twenty times did he remain silent. 
 And yet, what motives would any humility, but his, have* 
 found to excuse, to justify the recital! For instance, the 
 need to arouse pity in behalf of the unfortunate slaves by 
 relating, not the sufferings of hearsay, but personal sufferings, 
 tortures endured by himself, placing himself on the scene in a. 
 dramatic picture, and even . showing, after the manner of 
 ancient eloquence, the trace of the iron still imprinted on his 
 members. He alone did not believe that the most exact- 
 ing charity could require such a sacrifice from humility. 
 And more astonishing still ; his captivity at Tunis, despite all 
 his etforts, was known, but not the details, and the subject was 
 often broached in his presence. A secretary of the king,, 
 particularly, named John Baptist Danlier, who had been a 
 slave at Tunis, strove many a. time by the recital of his own 
 adventures to entice Vincent to recount his. Vain efforts! 
 Vincent listened to the description of the cities of Barbary, us 
 if the country were entirely new to him, heard all the recitals 
 of sufferings in slavery without rejoining that he had endured 
 them all, and never yielded to the temptations to speak of 
 himse'fso natural to travelers, and especially to -those who 
 have encountered strange adventures. 
 
 A worker of the greatest things he considered himself in-, 
 capable of the least, looked upon himself as more apt to 
 destroy than to build up in the Church of God. Hence, his, 
 contempt and his diffidence oi 11 himself; his fear of intruding 
 himself into any undertaking unless he was,, as it were, thrust 
 
lUMii.nv. 183 
 
 into it by the hand o He would have preferred that 
 
 good were done by others rather than by himself. Obliged to 
 act, be, at least, awaited some external impulse wherein he 
 saw the will of Heaven, to which. Iron that time forth, he 
 referred all the honor and glory of the work. He would say: 
 "It Who has done all without my having even thought 
 
 of it; I count in the work only by my sins which hare fettered 
 
 the action nf ( to I." 
 
 he strove to hide all special graces that God gave him, 
 and all personal action in his enterprises. Charity alone eould 
 do violence to his humility and induce him to disclose what 
 of a nature to turn ro his credit. Moreover, he invariably 
 Ided himself bj this maxim: -If when doing a public 
 action I find I can enhance it, I will refrain from doing so, 
 hut. on the contrary, will retrench whatever may give it any 
 renown or myself any reputation. Of two thoughts that 
 ■. when .-peaking on any subject, when charity does not 
 otherwise demand, I will give expression to the les6 fine for 
 the sake of humilitv, and retain the more beautiful to sacri- 
 fice it to God in the Bee my heart. For our Lord i.s 
 pleased only with humility <>i hear! and simplicity in word 
 and action" 
 
 i when obliged to speak of the works which God did by 
 means, ofr of the blessings that attended his action, he 
 found means t;> d id Withdraw his personality. He 
 
 attributed all to the congregation, or united himself with it 
 in the plural in regard to everything honorable ; but he did 
 not forget to speak in the firsi person in all humiliating 
 formulas and when reciting ill success — jealous to reserve 
 for himself alone whatever could occasion any abasemeu 
 mortification. To God and to he attributed the pri 
 
 for all the good done in the < If alone, to 
 
 his coarseness, to his sins, the responsibility lor all the evil 
 that, might happ 
 
 \-\>i\ if he were silent concerning bis merit*, if ho carefully 
 concealed hi3 gifts, he revealed with smallest 
 
 imperfections which his humility magnified into abominable 
 crimes, and he spoke with holy intemperance of all that, 
 
184 VIRTUES AND DOCTRINE OF ST. VINCENT DE PAUL. 
 
 either in bis birth, bis person or his conduct could bring upon'. 
 him disregard and contempt. Hardly arrived in Paris,, 
 and avoiding publicity with the same ardor others seek it, and 
 dreading to be considered of noble, as others fear to be accounted 
 of plebeian, birth, he retained, after the manner of servants, 
 only his baptismal name and caused himself to be called simply 
 Mr. Vincent. And when in public and in legal documents he 
 was obliged to sign his name in lull he took care to write the 
 two parts for fear the separation would give rise to a suspicion 
 of nobility. 
 
 He took pleasure in relating on all occasions his lowly ex- 
 traction and the humble duties of his childhood. The bishop of 
 Saint-Pons during a visit he made to St. Lazarus accidentally 
 spoke of the Castle of Montgaillard from- which his family 
 took its name : " Oh,.! know it well," interrupted Vincent, " in 
 my youth I often led my animals in that direction." "I have 
 the honor of being a relation of yours, " a young man of 
 good family wrote him from Dax, in asking his influence — 
 " I will do for you what I would do for my brother," wrote the 
 humble priest in answer, "but do not claim a relationship' 
 with a man whose father was but a poor peasant and whose own 
 first occupation was tending swine." He used the same 
 language with the little as with the great. One day a poor 
 woman who thought to obtain his favor, said: "My lord, an 
 alms"' — "Oh, my poor good woman" rejoined the Saint, "you 
 know me very little, for I am only the son of a poor villager." 
 11 You make a mistake, my good woman," he said to another 
 who pretended she had been- the servant of Madam his 
 mother, " my mother, having to do her own work, never had a 
 servant for she was the wife, as I am the son, of a poor 
 peasant." Not content with thus publishing His low r origin, 
 at the court and in the city, in public and in private, he pro- 
 claimed it in other lands and sought in it a new motive for 
 gratitude for favors tendered either himself or his congrega- 
 tion,- cr found in it a refuge against the praise his virtue call- 
 ed forth: "What,. I ask, can you Qnd praiseworthy in one in 
 whom everything is wanting and whose father was but a poor 
 farmer?" Thus he wrote to Count Obidos who had befriend- 
 
m mi;. 1 1 185 
 
 'cd one of his ]>nests cast on the coast of Portugal, and'who, 
 in one o! lii tifled a profound reject lor his 
 
 own person. To all, to the rich and the poor, lie loved to 
 make known bis lowly birth : to the poor particularly* thai 
 they might look upon bin as bari d onoe in th .r con- 
 
 ditions. Thi day, a villager baring come to Si. Lazarus 
 
 peak wiili him and i! thai be VT88 just 
 
 then engaged with some lords, the man broke out: "H< 
 then, no longer 1st. Vincent, for . if told me that he 
 
 lii,-' myself only I >•.' a simple peasant." 
 
 In rowalfl none will see that bj cal 
 
 calculation thai recalls with complacency humble beginnii 
 so as to fore \ a comparison frith i 1 laud 
 
 the merit that attained to it With Vincent it was simply a 
 roaring and a passion for humiliation. And. ai times, he felt 
 
 rnple when that passion satisfied filled his soul with joy, 
 J n 1C33, he wrote to one ol hu priests: u I do 1 a oou- 
 
 solation a few daye hack when preaching tn a community in 
 
 taring that I was the son of a poor peasant; and in a 
 worthy community, that I onoe guarded swiue tld you 
 
 really believe, sir, that I fear entertaining a vain ion 
 
 in witnessing the pain nature suffers in this? M Admirable 
 remorse for being happy in humiliation and Buffering— the 
 delights of the Lore to be unknown and accounted for noth- 
 
 In IG23, when he still resided in the College Bons-Enfants 
 his humility was put to a test from which it cam'- out 
 ■gloriously victorious. lie was in his room when the porter came 
 to announce to him that the;- it, not 01 
 
 well- and claiming to b i wished to 
 
 k with him. Fatal fermentation of pride eren in the most 
 humble! Vincent, himself, at first turned red and beg] 
 of the priests to go and re • young man. But be soon 
 
 bed for having blushed, and going down himself he 
 went as far as the street wh nephew had re mail 
 
 embraced him tenderly, took him by the hand and brought 
 him into the college yard. Then he summoned all the pri - 
 of bis congregation, and presenting them the eonfufl rat* 
 
180 VIRTUES AND DOCTHINE OF ST. VINCENT Dbl PAUL. 
 
 said: "Gentlemen, this young man is the most creditable of 
 my family." " Nephew," he added turning to the young man, 
 "salute these gentlemen." And during the entire day he 
 presented him in his provincial costume as an important 
 person to all the visitors of rank that came to sec him. But 
 remorse for the movement of false shame rankled in his heart. 
 It was a necessity for him to discharge it at the first retreat 
 he made in common with his children. "Gentlemen and my 
 brothers," he said publicly, "pray for a proud individual 
 who wished to receive his nephew secretly in his room, because 
 he was a peasant and poorly clad." 
 
 This visit of his nephew recalls an incident of his childhood 
 which he related in his old age to the wife of the President de 
 Lamoignon. One day, when on a pilgrimage,in her company? 
 to St. Fiacre, in the environs of Meaux and about eight 
 leagues from Paris, the conversation turned on the saint they 
 were going to venerate. Said Vincent: "He was a very 
 humble man and I am full of pride and sin. I remember 
 that, whilst at college, I was told one day, that my father, 
 who was a poor countryman, had come to see me; I refused to 
 go to speak to him and in doing so I committed a great sin." 
 " It is the greatest I believe," added the lady in relating it, 
 " that he committed in all his life." Wonderful virtue of 
 this old man who, at that period, was renowned for his repu- 
 tation for holiness and for his position ; it found means to 
 perform a double act of humility at the same time, in confess- 
 ing a fault of his youth and in recalling his low birth! 
 
 Moreover, his humility would never permit him to make 
 any effort to raise any of his relations from their poor and 
 moan condition. "They are happy in their condition as 
 peasants one of the most innocent, and safest for salvation." 
 Such was his invariable answer to all recpuests. Still less 
 would he consent to introduce any of his nephews into the 
 Church, to give them a share in the riches of the sanctuary. 
 Such sacriiiireous intrusion was particularly distasteful to his 
 virtue. " Peasants in preference to beneficiaries," he an 
 Bwered to the solicitations of all, even of the pious and of 
 bishops. In relalion to this he wrote to the Abbe St. Martin, 
 
HUMILITY. 187 
 
 one of his oldest friends* ■• 1 thank yon for the can- yon take 
 oi'my '' - tell ycju.i h- >iiu'i. that I never de- 
 
 sired that he be a priest and still leas did I have- the thought of 
 him for 1! — the I the most 
 
 - ' i in • * stal rd lias wished to 
 
 :>•: . A for in \ had I known, when I had 
 it, wiiat it ; knew, 1 
 
 old have much preferred tc till thi than to engage in 
 
 eo formidable a Btate I i. ■■ than a 
 
 dred times to the poor people in t lie country, wl 
 bing to . 
 in life I told them I c 1 them happy in their condition." 
 
 This admirable 1 . him 
 
 in h ipondence. !'•• • irvinghis title <>r superior for all 
 
 pir I , his quatiOcation in all else was but unworthy 
 
 pri 
 
 his long ti . his diplomas 
 
 of Bachelor in Theology and Licentiate in Canon Law, 
 notwithstanding his extensive learnin penetrating 
 
 intellect, his infallible . he spoke only of his 
 
 ignorance, calling himself but a poor sch 
 of th • fourth form, signifying thereby thai he had finished 
 nse unable to complete his studies. ''You are but an 
 ignorant person," the proud St.Oyrau told him one day. " and 
 far from deservin it the head of your congregation 
 
 m< ri ! riven from it, and what surprises nie is that you 
 
 suffered to remain in it." "Ah, sir," an .he 
 
 hum' . •• I am -• 11 mere surpr in yon. for I am 
 
 Imagine, and, were justice 
 . I would be imm y from St. Laaar 
 
 11 day, after repeated c ion and counsels to a 
 
 young 5tu lenl d with a temptation to despair, he added : 
 
 lould the devil still suj thought, answer as I 
 
 have dii cted, and I lithe le tempter that it is Vincent, 
 
 an ignorant man, only of t he foui i, who has told \ 
 
 thai.- 
 
 On another occasion, in r rior whose 
 
 manner, it was claimed, was not sufficient >ane for his 
 
188 VIRTUES AND DOCTRINE OF ST. VINCENT DG PAUL 
 
 position, he answered among other things: "And I, how am 
 I made? And how is it I have, up to the present, been 
 suffered in my office. I who am the most rude, the most 
 ridiculous, and the most stupid of all when in the company of 
 persons of rank, where I do not know how to answer six 
 consecutive words without manifesting my want of intelligence 
 and judgment ; and what is still worse I have none of the 
 virtues of the person named." 
 
 We see he delighted to belittle himself in his virtue as in 
 his birth and natural qualities. Answering Marie Henrietta 
 de Rochechouarf, Superioress of cue of the houses of the 
 Visitation in Paris, who had recommended herself to his 
 prayers, he said: "Twill oifer you to God since you request 
 it, but I, more than any person in the world, haye need of the 
 aid of e;ood souls, on account of the immense miseries that 
 weigh me down, and which force me to look upon the good 
 opinion others have of me as a punishment for my hypocrisy — 
 a hypocrisy that makes me other than I am." 
 
 To a prelate that had called him a perfect Christian, he re- 
 plied : "Oh, what are you saying? I, a perfect Christian! I should' 
 be looked upon as one already damned, as one of the greatest- 
 sinners in the world." 
 
 To a young missionary, lately received into the community* 
 who accused himself of having so little profited by the good 
 example and the wonders of his life, he said: " Sir, we have 
 among us a practice of never praising any one in his presence. 
 It is true I am a wonder, but a wonder of malice more wicked 
 than the demon who has not so justly deserved hell as I : I 
 say this not through exaggeration but according to my real 
 sentiments." 
 
 An author wished to dedicate a book to him. He answered : 
 " What do you tell me, sir! Had you only reflected that I am 
 the son of a poor peasant you would never have given me this, 
 cause for confusion nor done such injury to your book as to 
 place on its title page the name of a poor priest whose only 
 claims to publicity are his wretchedness and his sins. 
 
 To another author, with similar intent, he said : "You 
 will extremely disoblige me should you really do as you say». 
 
HUMILITY. 180 
 
 A dedication il made in praise of those to whom it is addressed, 
 and I am altogether unworthy of praise. To speak of mo 
 properly you must say that I am the son of a peasant, that I 
 herded swine and cattle in my youth, and to this you must 
 add that that bears no com' vkh my ignorance and 
 
 wickedness. Judge from this, sum!" so pitiable a person as I am 
 should be publicly named in the way you propose. It would 
 me the gr , Sir, 1 would 
 
 feel it BO much that I know not whether I o >uld ever forget it." 
 All his letter- are lull of like professions oi humility. "I 
 am confused," he wrote to the l.aroness de Kenty, "that you 
 should address a poor priest like me, since you are unaware 
 either of my shallowness of mind or my Wretchedness." 
 
 Be wrote to the Superioress of the Visitation in Warsaw : 
 "For more than thirty years I have had the honor ol' serving 
 your houses in Paris. Bat, alas! my <! ::• Mother, I am none 
 the better for that, though, at the sight of those incomparably 
 holy souls I should have made great progress in virtue. I 
 humbly beseech you to aid me in a rdon of God for 
 
 the bad Use I have made of all His grao 
 
 And he wrote again: "The flattering way in which you 
 
 sk of me afflicts me very much. I see mys'lf far removed 
 from the state m which yon sup-pose me to be. On the 
 contrary; unless God take pity on i i myself on the 
 
 path thai leads tn the abyss beneath ; for 1 am most use! 
 most wretched, and I require all the ni rev of God, I beg you 
 to ask it for i 
 
 In the assemblies of piety, the meetings of the Ladies of 
 Charity as in the ecclesiastical conl . humility often 
 
 enforced silence on him, or ma 1c him abandon the idea he 
 had already began to develop to take up that of others. 
 
 A lady, on ! day, remarked this and mildly reproached him 
 with it. ** Wl) she, "'do you not maintain your 
 
 opinion more strongly since it always is the best?" ".May 
 God forbid, madam," he rejoined, "that my poor thoughts 
 should prevail over those of other- ! I am indeed well pleased 
 that God do His work without me — 1 who am but a wretch/* 
 
 But it is in the council of conscience, that is to say, at the 
 
190 VIRTUES AND DOCTRINE OF ST. VINCENT DE PAUL. 
 
 summit of honor, that his humility sends forth itsbrightestra} T s. 
 It was for the humble priest the access to court and rank. 
 It brought homage from the ambitious. It was it certain con- 
 trolling power over the affairs and the wealth of the Church 
 of France. Judge of his grief at his appointment and of the 
 efforts he made to rid himself of such an honor! He wrote 
 immediately to Rome: 4f I never more deserved compassion 
 than now. nor had more uced of prayers than at present in 
 my new office I hope it will not be for long. Pray to God for 
 me." 
 
 This hope sustained him for more than a year. " I pray to 
 God every da}'" he said to one of his priests, " that I may be 
 considered the simpleton that I am, so that I may not be em- 
 ployed in that kind of commission and may have more oppor- 
 tunity of doing penance for my sins." In truth, he prayed 
 to both God and man. From the day of his appointment he 
 never said Mass without asking the grace to be restored to his 
 former condition. He continually importuned the Queen, the 
 cardinal and all others from whom he could expect fh : s novel 
 kind of protection. Towards the end of 1644, it seemed as if his 
 prayers were heard ; on the occasion of a journey he was 
 obliged to make the rumor run that he was in disgrace. An 
 ecclesiastic, informed of the falsehood of fhe report, came to 
 compliment him. "Oh, my God, would it were true!" he ex- 
 claimed, raising his eyes to Heaven and striking his breast, 
 fc but so miserable a creature as I am docs not deserve such a 
 favor." On the fourth of January, 1645, in similiar strains to 
 Mr. Codving, his superior in Rome: '* God be praised for what 
 you say ! Ic is true there was an appearance that I would be no 
 longer tolerated in that office ; but my sins have effected 
 otherwise and have caused God not to accept the sacrifices I 
 have offered Him for His purpose. In the name of the Lord 
 I place my trust and I will not be confounded." 
 
 He went to court in the same equipage that brought him to 
 his missions in the country and wearing the cassock which 
 may be still seen, a cassock of coarse stuff, threadbare, and 
 patched. He never would change it, not even when he went 
 to the Louvre. If a new one were put in his room he took the 
 
humility. 101 
 
 old one, and when he could not find that, he looked out for one 
 like it on the back of some oik* of bifl priests who was nearly 
 his size and, under one pretext or another privately effected 
 a change. B in. His 
 
 answer to compliment or banter on the subject v. laiuless 
 
 and without rent." He tbn« replied to Ifazarin who. one day, 
 taking hold of bia poor cincture showed it to the Queen, 
 Baying: "See, Madame, hoir Mr. Vincent comes dressed 
 I look at his beautiful cincture." This cleanli- 
 ness he believed conciliated his obligation to propriety with his 
 habit of poverty and simplicity. The brilliancy of the Louvre 
 did not dazzle him and when the mirrors reflected back his 
 image, be cried out : "Ob, the big bo.. by!" — contrasting in 
 his mind, no doubt, the splendor of the roval apartments with 
 the poverty ol the cottage ol his childhood ; then raising his 
 thoughts higher he said to himself: '*Oh my (Jod, if by 
 means of this mirror, which is the product of earth, we can 
 see whatever passes in the room, what do not the blessed in 
 ren see in thai magnificent mirror of Thy Dignity that 
 embraces all and in which are contained all thing " 
 
 Hut it was not only in the secrecy of his interior that he 
 delighted to humble himself in expiation for an involuntary 
 grandeur ; he, moreover, abased himself in the presence of all 
 in atonement for distinctions that were to him a martyr lorn. 
 The Minister of State, Le Pelletier. deposed in the process of 
 his canonization: "I was yet young When I first saw the 
 servant of God at the Louvre, and I saw him there many a 
 time after. His modesty and prudence were full of i 
 I rs, prelates, ecclesiastics and others rendered him, out 
 
 of pure esteem, great honor ; he received it all with great humil- 
 ity. On leaving the council, where he had decided upon what 
 greatest in the kingdom, he was as kind and as easy of 
 access as he was when among the slaves ol* Tunis, or on the 
 bench of the gaily-. A virtuous bishop who bad not seen 
 him since his entrance to court, and having found him equally 
 humble and affable, and equally disposed to do a favor as 
 before, could not refrain from saying to him: u Mr. Vincent is 
 always Mr. Yinec 
 
192 VIRTUES AND DOCTRINE OF ST. VINCENT DE PACE 
 
 In the beginning, when first summoned to court, the 
 Prince of Conde desired; him, one day, to take a seat beside 
 him. " What! my Lord," answered thelmmble priest, drawing 
 back, "it is already too much honor that your highness suffers 
 mc in your presence. But make me sit beside you! Are you, 
 then, unaware that I am but the son of a poor villager?" 
 This w r as his defence, his watchword, against all attacks on 
 his humility. "Manners and life ennoble a man/' answered 
 the prince. " Moreover, Mr. Vincent, it is not to-day that 
 we learn your merit." And. the better to judge, he brought 
 about the conversation to some point of controversy. Vincent; 
 handled it with so much precision and clearness that the prince 
 cried out: " Ah, Mr. Vincent, Mr. Vincent, what do you say, 
 you preach everywhere that you are ignorant, and look, you 
 have resolved, in two words, one of the greatest difficulties 
 proposed by the sects. " Then the Prince went into some 
 question of Canon Law,and, mors and more charmed with the 
 answers of the scholar of the fourth form, he rose from 
 his seat without a word, and, hastening to the Queen, con- 
 gratulated her on her choice of a man so well versed in what 
 pertained to ecclesiastical matters. 
 
 More than once he was the butt for bitter jests and the 
 blackest of calumnies. Persons endeavored to ruin him with 
 the Queen, with the Minister of State and with people of 
 merit. To him all this was a happiness and a recompense for 
 zeal. A young noble, whom Vincent, doubtless, had frustrated 
 in his culpable hopes,said to him once : "You arc an old fool." 
 "You are right, my son." answered the holy man, at the 
 same time falling on his knees, " and I ask pardon for what- 
 ever may have given you cause to speak so." " Are you aware. 
 Mr. Vincent, of what is said of you," the Queen laughingly said 
 to him one day. " Madam, I am a great smner." " But you 
 should justify yourself." " Far worse things have been said 
 of our Lord, and He never justified Himself." 
 
 He never justified himself. An unworthy ecclesiastic 
 whom Vincent had debarred from a benefice, attempted 
 revenge in spreading dishonorable reports about him. "If 
 Mr. Vincent," he represented among people of quality, "did 
 
in Mii.nv. 193 
 
 not favor in as unwilling to par- 
 
 ch;! he.rs, is quite 
 
 and I know bom he g 
 
 »r a libr 
 This time tl . and in the first momen 
 
 i the pen to writ r ol justification. 
 
 3 when h med: 
 
 ''Oh wretohl o thinking? Whatl you want 
 
 tO OUrSClfl And (li 
 
 •i, iii Tunis, falsely acouc 
 
 d, finally, though innoc the accusation, died 
 
 without a word of complaint! Ami yon, you wis 
 
 will nol And he • 
 
 letter which he had already begun. Some i 
 calumni ibly, and ;il! saw in it th< tnce 
 
 of II 
 
 Once, noticing that a certain lord, who ha 
 his friend, no longer manifested for him anything 
 he went to him, and said with a .serene countetian . I 
 
 am 
 
 the least intending it, and, nol knowing in wfi i . I corns 
 
 if) humbly beg you to tell me, that I ma;. fault.'' 
 
 In the presence of such candor and humility the nobleman 
 
 could not dare to complain, and friendship was re-established. 
 
 In like manner did he act in as who 
 
 retained ill-feeling towai . i>>' v. the 
 
 cnl! 'mis, and . when the words 
 
 ofth 1 came to his mind: "Ifth it thy gift at 
 
 \ltar <nnl titer* that thu brotlier hath anytliing 
 
 against thee; ' go i<> hr 
 
 d to thy brother." (W Suddenly he 1 
 
 nents, betakes himg If :<> the r 
 
 d protest) him, and 
 
 his order, and ■ i the all up ihe 
 
 g&crifh e of n eonci and of love. 
 
 [f he did not su 'ir -i tim ■. his iurenl i ity 
 
 invariablv fini iOTerins arming 
 
 ill-will. lla\ at the- fed of a 
 
194 VIRTUES AND DOCTRINE OF ST. VINCENT DE PAUL. 
 
 religious community, to ask pardon for some imaginary 
 offence, he found himself spurned with scorn and. contempt, 
 and. he withdrew elated with joy in having been ill-treated, (or 
 justice' sake. Some daysafuer, some ornaments being wanting 
 at St. Lazarus, he sent to borrow from this self same superior 
 just as if he had. been his best friend. The superior, con- 
 founded, and. touched, by such a request, cried out: "'This if, 
 indeed, the mark whereby I recognize the man of God." The 
 ornaments were sent, he follows, and soon he and the holy 
 priest are at the feet and in the arms of one another. 
 
 He sometimes disconcerted those who insulted him and put 
 them to flight by an unexpected act of humility. Publicly 
 abused, one day, at the very gate of St. Lazarus by a noble 
 whose son he had refused to recommend, be threw him- 
 self at his feet and said : " You are right, sir, I am but a wretch 
 and a sinner." The noble immediately escaped into his 
 carriage. But he could not so easily evade the humble 
 priest; Vincent immediately arose, ran after him, and did not 
 leave before making a profound reverence. 
 
 We see that his humility did not manifest itself merely in 
 vain words that often signify nothing, but that it produced 
 acts of the most profound humiliation. How often did he not 
 fall on his knees before his priests to publicly avow "what he 
 termed the crimes of his past life ! How often, again, did he 
 not accuse himself of some supposed dereliction of duty and 
 even of secret movements which he had so effectually curbed 
 that nothing appeared exteriorly ! How often, finally, did he 
 take upon himself all the blame for the faults committed in 
 the congregation, always believing himself to be their first 
 cause, and looked upon the death of his missionaries and all 
 loss of goods suffered by the institution as a punishment for 
 his sins! Every year, on the anniversary of his baptism, he 
 knelt before his community and asked pardon of God, and of 
 men, for all the sins he had committed and for all the scandals 
 he had given during the many years that Divine Goodness had 
 suffered him upon the* earth, and he recommended himself to 
 the prayers of all to obtain his conversion and mercy from 
 God. 
 
Hi MIUTY. 195 
 
 He abased himself in this manner before the least of his 
 brothers. When he thou:.:)- be bad offen led any one of them 
 lie sought him everywhere, in the garden, in the kitchen and 
 :; in the cellar, threw himself al his i id them, and 
 
 asked pardon. En 1649, being token dob al Richelieu, they 
 •m nt to him from Par's the infirmarian of St. Lazarus, who, 
 than any other, knew his constitution, ami how he 
 
 should he treated. Vincent, without doub iyed him 
 
 w:th his asual kind: he thought proper t<> Bay to him 
 
 in a Bad t Mil- of voice: u My old i long 
 
 a journey." Instantly fearing lesi the brother infinnarian saw 
 bi this only a 'reproach* and nol a protestation »»r humility, be 
 cast himself at his feel and asked bis pardon. But this was 
 not enough Cor this man of insatiable humility, trembling 
 before the shadow of wounded charity. Ou his return to St. 
 LaaaruS, be >r bronght about an opportunity t i m 
 
 more ample and honorable amends; and. one day. the brother 
 
 iniirmarian and his assistant being together in his room, he 
 said to the latter: " Would you believe, sir, thai when this g 
 man went to Richelieu for my sake, I did not give him my 
 heart u I wj omed? And for this, in your presence, 
 
 I wry humbly SSk bia pardon, and I beg you to pray to God 
 for me that I may not again fall into a like fault." 
 
 All superiority and all distinction should necessarily wound 
 a humility so profound. Hence, as we see in his Life, the 
 effort! be made inlG42to lay aside the offl superior. 
 
 Forced to retain it, he, at least, refused all its advantages and 
 hon«»r-. II e complained of the marks of honor with which 
 respect for his virtue inspired his children ; and when they 
 objected to him thai such was the custom in all oommuniti 
 he a •• I know that very well, and we must respect 
 
 their n-asons for so doing ; hut I have still gr for 
 
 not Buffering it in my regard — I, who ought not to be com- 
 pared to the mosl anwortby of men, since I am worse than all 
 other 
 
 Se would not allow the place which be occupied in the 
 church to be covered with a mat, mn would he allow 
 
 the chair to be elevated. "Thai i ." he said, '-the privilege 
 of bishops and not of a miserable priest as I am, w 
 
106 VIRTUES AND DOCTRINE OF ST. VINCENT 1)E PAUL. 
 
 Under the influence of the same spirit of humility he always 
 
 selected for himself the poorest vestments for mass. In 1638, 
 on the birth of the king, Ann of Austria sent to St. Lazarus a 
 magnificent vestment of silver cloth. It was near the feast 
 of Christmas, and all were glad to think that Vincent, who 
 was to officiate on that solemnity, Avould be the first to wear 
 it. But ornaments so rich frightened him and it was absolutely 
 necessary to bring him others more common. 
 
 Whilst he delighted :n abasing himself in performing the 
 most humble service lor others, even washing the dishes, and 
 cleaning the shoes of an ordinand, he refused for himself all that 
 his position, his age and his infirmities demanded. He dressed 
 his ulcerated limbs himself, and the carriage of which he was 
 obliged to make use he called his ignominy. 
 
 His love for humility in himself he extended to his congre- 
 gation, always terming it little, the very little, and the sorry 
 congregation. He wished it to be considered as the least of 
 all, as holding, in every instance, the last rank among the 
 clergy, whether regular or secular. He limited its ministry 
 to the poor country people. Once, in a letter to St. Jane 
 Frances Chantal, something that might redound to the honcr 
 of his congregation slipped from his pen. He felt remorse and 
 wrote to her: (t I have told you many things to the advantage 
 of this little congregation. Truly, my dear mother, that makes 
 me fear. Hence, I beg you, lessen a great deal what I have said, 
 and mention it to no one. Alas! my worthy mother, did 
 you but know T our ignorance and the little virtue we possess you 
 
 would greatly pity us With tears in my eyes 
 
 I say this, feeling but too well the truth of what I say, and the 
 abominations of my poor soul. I beseech you, then, my dear 
 mother, to offer to God my shame and the confession I make 
 of it to you in the presence of the Divine Majesty." And this 
 is why, too, when any one asked admission into his congrega- 
 tion, he s:id: "What! sir, you wish to be a missionary? 
 And how came you to cast your eyes on our little congrega- 
 tion? For we are only poor people." One of the greatest 
 astonishments of his life was when the Abbe of To-urnus, 
 Louis de Eochechourt de Chandenier, wished to clothe himself 
 
Ill/.MII.ITV. »1>7 
 
 with tli f "the p K>r : iting 
 
 him I An I when, in bis pr any ono 
 
 l» ;■ i 1 i:i praising his : •• 
 
 ypur kindne rards us thai induces yon bo think in that 
 way; but it ru i that all oth 
 
 holy, wi. "able, and worse than mii 
 
 >, when I ned that 
 
 •e ignored, or calm and refused all 
 
 defem* •. J! "I will never justify m 
 
 works. Moreover, as oar 
 
 Lord wa 
 
 less bo add, wh m gp •.:'. de Paul, tha'. 
 
 hi ■ humility in no way impaired hyi 
 
 St. Tbon welJ Baid thai Uumi ing 
 
 the contrary, by giving it 
 
 a solid foundation in God, w 
 
 it in preventing il rrom 1 If amid 
 
 tne violence of vanity and human activity. When there was 
 lining tl the Church, 
 
 no one was more id firm than Vincent. H e shon 
 
 from the . 1^ >uis, - » humble i 
 
 magnanimous, how easily hunulil Lercsity 
 
 and true greatness of soul. Be proved h ipk; 
 
 None made himself so little, none did greater thin . 
 
 II. 
 
 of humility, bis favoril 
 
 spo». iy and 
 
 spiritual wril »mparab1 on 
 
 humility. To bo excellence and n 
 
 • hiia constanl cUi torn, brought I 
 
 as and i of our Lord: '• If I cnl i 
 
 you to speak, no matter whom, he could a t of 
 
 ■ 
 honor the w< rill only 
 
 thai L'e Himself r •<• Hum n I *1 it ton3: 4 
 I am hit .7.* • M I 
 
 if it wei il who • r 
 
198 VIRTUES AND DOCTRINE OF ST. VINCENT DE PAUL. 
 
 were the prophets or some saint, we might say they were, like 
 ourselves, only disciples. If ifc were philosophers, alas ! they 
 know not this virtue! And Aristotle himself, he who has 
 spoken so nobly of all the other moral virtues, does not even 
 mention humility. 
 
 " Therefore, only Jesus Christ could say: ' Learn of Me.' 
 
 Oh, what words! Learn of me, and not of another, not of a 
 
 man, buL of a God! Learn of Me! What, then, Oh Lord, 
 
 is this thing so dear in Thy eyes? 'Because I am humble.' 
 
 Oh, my Savior, what a word! I am humble. ( Yes I am so, 
 
 not simply externally, or from ostentation, or through vanity, 
 
 hut humble of heart ; not with a slight and passing humility, 
 
 hut with a heart truly humbled in the presence of My Eternal 
 
 Father, with a heart always humbled before men and for men. 
 
 sinners, loving lowly and abject things and embracing them 
 
 always w r ith joy and love. Learn of Me.' This is so contrary 
 
 to the spirit and maxims of the world, so removed from the 
 
 inclinations of men, and from the heart of each one, that did 
 
 not a God say it and exemplify it in His own person, none 
 
 would be willing to listen to ifc ; for all so love what is in them 
 
 and what they produce externally that there is not one who, 
 
 naturally, does not wish to be in good repute, and who does 
 
 not make every effort to obtain esteem and praise. 
 
 " And yet, all love humility above all other virtues, at least 
 in theory, and this is a fruit of the grace of baptism and of 
 the spirit of our Lord. All love it and none possess it, for we 
 have an astonishing bent tor pride. Oh, my Savior! how 
 differently do Thy actions teach! What is the life of this 
 Divine Savior, if not a continual humiliation, both active and 
 passive? He so loved it that He did not leave it for an instant 
 while on earth; and even after his death, He has wished that 
 His Church would represent to us His Divine person in the 
 figure of the crucifix, that He might appear to us in a state of 
 ignominy, as having suffered for us the death of a criminal, 
 and a death the most shameful and most infamous that could 
 be imagined. And why this ? Because he knew the excel- 
 lence of humiliation and the malice of the opposite sin, which 
 not only aggravates other sins, but even vitiates works that, 
 
199 
 
 liich may taint aud o urnpt 
 those that arc _ holy Because He 
 
 knew the height, the depth, the length and the breadth of 
 humilit j . w the rel irfections of 
 
 God, His father, in <l Ith sinful num. 
 
 u All His life, then, n is of hamilia 
 
 tious. That wonderful rtned l>y the Holy Ghost, to 
 
 remain : in the womb o in ! To 
 
 thai be v,;:- refused a 1 edging and ( ' 
 lli ii- i! lured to lake Bbelter in a stable! Saving 
 
 of Heaven and of earth to im media 
 then ill into i an infarit, 
 
 miserably fly into Egypt! What do! i - an infs I 
 
 Ah, as an im GodI His life was one contin- 
 
 ual affection for contempt. H tiled with ittl 
 
 had any one dissected His heart be would have found engraved 
 on that adorable heart, humility, above every .other virtue 
 
 - Humility, therefore, is th virtue of Jesus Christ ; it is the 
 virtue cf His Blessed Mother; the virtue of the 
 sail te of missionaries, But 
 
 I mistake, I would that we posses ad when I saidtba 
 
 was the virtue of missionaries, I meant that ii is the virtn 
 which they have the i ad which they should 
 
 most ardently desire. For. this sorry little eo ion, 
 
 which is the least of all, should have no other foundation 
 than humility, which should be its own peculiar vin 
 otherwise, we will never do anything effective, either within 
 or without ; and without humi ' either 
 
 progress in ourselves or pro tit for our neighbor. Oh, my 
 ior, give us, then, this holy virtue which is so suited to as, 
 which Thou bast made known to the bou 
 
 hast cherished with w much affection ! Am , . >■■■. gent) • aen, 
 know that he, "who wish ft t > b . should 
 
 labor without ceasing to acquire l • and beoo 
 
 pert 
 
 of pride, of ambition and vanity as against the greatest 
 enemies he can have : as they appear he should attack 
 
 and exterminate thein,|heing most vigilant to give them no 
 
•2C0 VIRTUES AM) DOCTRINE OE ST. VINCENT DE PACE. 
 
 entrance. Yes, I say itan Q w, if we be true missionaries, each 
 one of as, in his own particular case, will be glad to be con- 
 sidered as of poor and mean intellect, as a person of no virtue, 
 will be content to be treated as ignorant, to be insulted and 
 contemned, io have his defects cast in his face, and to be 
 proclaimed a? insupportable by reason of his wretchedness 
 and imperfection. I go further and affirm that we should 
 rejoice when it is said that our congregation, in general, is 
 useless in the Church, is composed of poor, simple persons, 
 tnat it succeeds but poorly in all that it undertakes, that its 
 labors in the country bear no fruit, that the missionaries are 
 devoid of the grace of God and that the ordinations are con- 
 ducted without order. Yes, if we possess the spirit of Jesus 
 Christ we should be satisfied to be reputed such as I have 
 mentioned. ' But, sir,' some one wi 11 object, ' what do you 
 say ? This ivord is hard. 9 It is true,, I acknowledge, that 
 that is hard to nature and that it is very difficult to persuade 
 nature that it has done badly and still harder for it to suffer 
 that such be believed and made a reproach. But also it is 
 very easily understood by a soul that is truly humble and 
 knows itself as it really is; and so far is it from being saddened, 
 that, on the contrary, it rejoices and it is well content that 
 God be exalted and glorified by its humiliation and its insignifi- 
 cance, know very well that our Lord has given to many in 
 the congregation the grace to hasten on in the practice of this 
 virtue, has given them the grace to animate their actions with* 
 the desire of their own abasement, and a love to be unknown 
 and despised. But we must ask God to grant the same grace 
 to all the others, so that our only ambition will he to abase 
 ourselves, to annihilate ourselves for the love and glory of 
 God and that the special, distinctive virtue of the Mission be 
 humility. That you may the more cherish it. take note of 
 what I am about to say, namely, that if you ever heard any 
 strangers relate any good done by the Congregation, you will 
 find that they do so because they diseos r ered in it some little 
 image of humility, and because they witnessed it practice 
 lowly and humble actions, such as instructing the simple 
 peasants and serving the poor. So, too, when you see the 
 ord nands come out of the retreat edified with the house, you 
 
2or 
 
 will recogniz.\ .dioul 1 you i :aminc. t hut it is because they 
 notic id a simple and bumble manner ol acting which for them 
 is a novel . i lure." 
 
 It was, then, nol individual humility thai Vincent. 
 
 . hunrlitv aj 
 a body. H "Our I amble not only in 
 
 Bimself, bn o bumbh hi ttia lil ; ' con§ - 
 
 II e formed it oul of a few pa ledge or 
 
 manners, who even did □ who, In 
 
 a word, all abandoned Him, and who, after Hia death, ^ 
 
 } [imeelf, hunt tdemne 1. and pal to 
 
 death. La it not a si un- 
 
 tood tha od John, parti ml of a 
 
 Ration, should fly honor, and love contempt, whilst at 
 the a, the commun- 
 
 ity i [aire ami pre rid? 
 
 • I ask yon, how £ and John 
 
 can trulj id seek after contempt, and ye( thai (he con- 
 
 ition composed onlyof P a, and other 
 
 particular m , should love and honor? It 
 
 • certainly be admitted and acknowledged that these two 
 things are incompatible. And hence if is that all the i 
 aries should be content not only when they And thei 
 in t . contemned and humbled, bui also when 
 
 ingregation despised, for that will be a sign 
 that they are truly humble. The m a 
 
 peby they might know each other, and by which. 
 . !io were ben 4 
 
 L: 'Who are y;>;i?' ' I believe in Cod, I 
 beli m9 Christ!' was their ansv. let 
 
 bum tark of the c< , and let 
 
 • than b; 
 
 : • Hnmili 
 imoned with :' Who g let humility be 
 
 our v :d." 
 
 Influenced by these sentiments he ordained rjiat (lie mis- 
 sionaries ig at any pnbH 
 universities or in col! liould take the lowest, as their 
 
202 VIRTUES AND DOCTRINE OK ST. VLXCEXT DE PAUL 
 
 proper place, and be very careful to make no show of 
 learning. One of the most distinguished of his first missionar- 
 ies, James de La Fosse, failed in this order, one day, and thereby 
 drew upon himself compliment upon compliment. But there 
 was one who had no idea of felicitating him ; it was Vincent, 
 who soon heard of this incident: -< Knowing, sir," he said to 
 him, " that a truly humble man and a poor missionary never 
 seeks either the first places in assemblies, or to have himself 
 spoken of, I require, you, therefore, to go and ask pardon 
 of those whom you have disedified." 
 
 In what does humility consist? First, in the contempt of 
 one's self. "In truth, if each one of us would study to know 
 himself lie would find that it is very just and very reasonable 
 to despise himself. For, if we, on the one hand, seriously 
 consider the corruption of our nature, the levity of our mind, 
 the darkness of our understanding, the disorder of oar will 
 and the impurity of our affections; and if, on the other, we 
 weigh well in the scales of the sanctuary our works and our 
 productions we will find all wcrthy only of contempt. 'But 
 what ! ' you may say to me, ( do you include the sermons we 
 preach, the confessions we hear, the care and trouble we take 
 with our neighbor for the glory of God? Yes, gentlemen, if 
 our best actions be reviewed, it .will be discovered that in 
 most of them we have Failed in the maimer of doing them, 
 ^and often, in the end proposed, and that m whatever way we 
 look at them, we will find as much of evil as of good. For, 
 tell me, I pray you, what can be expected from the weakness 
 of man ? Who is it that produces nothingness and who is it 
 that produces sin? And what else have we within us but 
 nothingness and sin ? Let us, then, look upon it as certain, 
 that, in all things and everywhere, we deserve to be rejected, 
 and are very despicable by reason of the opposition we have in 
 ourselves, to the sanclity anl other perfections of God, to the 
 life of Jesus Christ and to the operations of Hi; grace. If, 
 then, we study to know ourselves thoroughly, we will find in 
 all we think, in all we say, in all we do, regarding either the 
 substance or the circumstances, thai we are f ally and com- 
 pletely surrounded with cause for shame and confusion; and if 
 
II U MI LIT V. 201 
 
 ire 1) • unwilling to flatter ourselves, we will perceive that we 
 arc- not only worse than other men, bur even, id a certain 
 fashion, more iricked than the demons in bell. For, if tb 
 unfortunate spirits had bad, at tbeir disposition, tbe grace* 
 and means thai have been given us to bter they 
 
 would have made a thousand times better use of them. 
 
 - Ami m be plea know <<ur 
 
 tanks an<l despise us. We ougbl i > receire with satisfaction 
 the contempt thai <>ur itate of lire, our perjon, our manner of 
 acting or our mode oi Bp eoh may bring up m ua. Our L >r I 
 
 could have avoided the insult-, r . ami the 
 
 he received from the Jew.-, and jei IK- did not. I,: ua beget, 
 
 within ns an affection for humiliation, and thus <J->d will give 
 
 us humility, He will preserve it in us, and IK* will increase it 
 by the acta lie will inspire in us to perform ; for one act of 
 virtue well don 3 for another, and the first degree of 
 
 humility is the stepping stone to the second, the second to the 
 third, and so 01' ihe others, I J member, gentlemen and my 
 brothers, that Jesus Ohrist, speaking of the publican who 
 humbled himself, Bald thai Id- prayer was heard. If, then. 
 He rendered thi- 1 >nv to a man, who, all his life, had 
 
 been wicked, for what should we not hope provided we 
 truly humble? lint, on the o lantrary, what happened to the 
 Pharisee? IK' was a man separated from the real of the peo- 
 ple by his state of life, which, among the Jews, seems to have 
 been a kind of religions order, in which he prayed, fasted 
 and did many other good work-, an I yet, notw ling, lie 
 
 is rejected by God; and why? Becau Led his good 
 
 works with complacency, ami took pride in them just as if ho 
 had performed them by his own virtue. See, then, a just man 
 and a sinner before the throne of God. Ami bee 111- ■ the just 
 is without humility, he is rejected, and with all his good works 
 
 iemned. and that which, i;i him, 
 really rioej on the other hand, soe the sinner who, recognizing 
 his wickedness and touche 1 with a true sentiment of htimili 
 remains at the door of the temple, strikes I113 breast and dares 
 not raise his eyes to heaven : and by this humble disposition of 
 his heart, although he was guilty of many sins going to t 
 
20 4 VHtTtTES AND DOCTRtNR OP ST. V IXC EXT 1)E PAUL. 
 
 temple, jot he left it justified^ and one single humiliation was 
 
 the means of his salvation. From this we may perceive that 
 
 humility, when true and real, introduces all the other virtues 
 
 into the soul, and that by sincerely and profoundly humhling 
 
 ourselves, from sinners, that we were, we become just. Yes, 
 
 were we even the most wicked, did we but have recourse to 
 
 humility it would make us just ; on the contrary, were we 
 
 like unto angels and did we excel in the greatest virtues, yet, 
 
 were we devoid of humility, these virtues, having no foundation, 
 
 could not subsist, and they, being thus destroyed from want 
 
 of humility, we become like the damned who have no virtue. 
 
 Understand well, then, this truth. gen rlemen, and let each one 
 
 engrave it on his heart, and say within himself : *' Though I 
 
 had all virtue, if yet, I have not humility I only deceive myself, 
 
 and, thinking myself virtuous, I am but a proud Pharisee, and 
 
 an abominable missionary. 1 Oh, my Savior, Jesns Christ, shed 
 
 upon our minds those lights th-it filled Thy holy soul and 
 
 made Thee prefer contumely to praise! Inflame our hearts 
 
 with those holy affections that burned and consumed Thine, 
 
 and which caused Thee in Thy own confusion to seek the 
 
 glory of Thy heavenly Father. Grant, by Thy grace, that we 
 
 begin from the present moment to reject all that does nor, 
 
 tend to Thy glory and our shame, all that savors of vanity, of 
 
 .osculation and self esteem! Grant that we renounce, once for 
 
 .all, the applause of men, who are deceived and, in their turn 
 
 are deceivers, and all vain imaginations of the good success of 
 
 *our works ! In a word, Oh, my Savior, by Thy grace and 
 
 Thy example, grant that we may learn to be truly humble of 
 
 -heart/*' 
 
 Such :'s an abridgement of the great conference cf the ISth 
 of April, 1G59. But he continually returns to this dear 
 humility. One morning, during a repetition of prayer, one of 
 the community having humbled himself for his poor thoughts, 
 the Saint said : "It is a good practice to enter into details in 
 humiliating things when prudence allows them to be publicly 
 declared, on account of the profit we derive from overcoming 
 ourselves in the repugnance we feel in disclosing and making 
 known what Ave would keep secret. St. Augustine published 
 
nr.MiLiTV. 205 
 
 the seci ith, com] book on them, that 
 
 thus the entire earth might Irani toe extravagance of his 
 errors and i of hia licentiousness. And that vessel of 
 
 1 to the 
 third heaven, has be not avowed that h the 
 
 Church ? Be hti , so 1 bat it may be 
 
 known to the consummation ol ages thai be was a p< c 
 Indeed, if we be nol watchful over ourselves and do not do 
 
 tie violence to ourselves in declaring our misery and 
 failings, \vc will soon ion 
 
 in, and WC will ' what will ■. Ion, W 6 
 
 inherit this from our firsi father, Adam, who, after havi 
 offend d God, wen< and hid himself. 
 
 '•I have made different visita I > Borne ho gipus 
 
 men and have often asked of them what virtue t 
 esteemed and loved the most : I ask«d it even of those wlio, 1 
 
 knew, had the greatest repugnance for humiliation. Yel 
 oft arcelyonc who did not tell me it waa 
 
 humility, .so true ia il thai every body fioda thia virtue beauti- 
 ful and amiable. Whence ia it. then, that so few embrace it 
 and that still fewer possess it ? it ia because tbey oontent 
 the: with admiring it and take no pains to acquire it. 
 
 in t henry it is charming, bni in practice it- visage ia disagree- 
 le to nature: offend, it would have us 
 
 alwi the lowes( place, put o 
 
 and even beneath the least, would have as bear with calumny, 
 ipt, and lore abasement, for all which things we 
 iratty have an aversion. Hence it is u< >me 
 
 this repugnance and to make some effort to actually exercise 
 ourselves in this virtue, for, otherwise, we will mire it. 
 
 I know well that, through the mercy <»;' God, there are th 
 
 who pis (1 who. not only have 
 
 I opinion of themselves nor of their talents, no:- of their 
 learning, nor of their virtue, but even, regard themselves as 
 very id wish to be considered aa such, and esteem 
 
 tbera ith all creatures . And I must confess, I never 
 
 behold these persons but they cause confusion in my soul, tor 
 they secretly upbraid the pridi within me. wretched as 1 
 
203 VIRTUES AND DOCTRINE OK ST. VINCENT DE l'AUL. 
 
 am. But they themselves are always content, and their joy is 
 reflected in their countenance, for the Holy Ghost, who lesides 
 in them, so fills them with peace that nothing has the power to 
 disturb them. When contradicted, they humbly acquiesce, when 
 calumniated they bent with it, when forgotten the}- think it but 
 just, when overburdened with occupation they willingly do their 
 best, and how difficult soever the thing commanded be, they 
 devote themselves to it with a good heart trusting in the power 
 of holy obedience. The temptations that assail them only 
 serve to strengthen them the more in humility, and to make them 
 have recourse to God; and thus they easily obtain the victory 
 over the evil one. And so the only enemy they have to combat 
 is pride which, never in this life, declares a truce, but attacks 
 even the greatest saints on earth, some in one way and some in 
 another. Some it surprises with vain complacency in the good 
 they have done, whilst it inflates others with ttie knowledge they 
 have acquired. The latter are tempted to consider themselves 
 the most learned, the former to believe themselves the most 
 virtuous and most constant. Hence, we have great need to 
 pray to God that He may be pleased to secure and preserve us 
 from this pernicious vice which is ail the more to be feared since 
 we have for it a natural leaning. We should, moreover, be 
 vigilant over ourselves and do just the contrary of what corrupt 
 nature wishes. If it desire to elevate us we must abase onr_ 
 selves; if it excite esteem for ourselves let us think of our 
 weakness; if it make us desirous of appearing, we must hide all 
 that may attract notice and must prefer humble and lowly 
 • actions to those that are important and honorable. In line, we 
 must frequently recur to the love of our own abjection, an 
 assured refuge against all like agitations which this unfortunate 
 tendency to pride constantly excites within us. Let us pray 
 our Lord, by the merits of the adorable humiliations of His life 
 and death, to be pleased to draw us after Him. Let us, each 
 one for himself, and mutually for each other, offer to Him all the 
 humiliations we may suffer, and let our practice of humility be 
 solely for the honor of God and for our own confusion." 
 
 Another day, in speaking of a conference at St. Lazarus, he 
 said again: "These gentlemen, the ecclesiastics who meet here, 
 took for the subject of their conference, Tuesday last, what 
 
HUMILITY 207 
 
 virtues each had remarked in the late Mir. Olier who hud been a 
 member of their association. Among other things that were said 
 the most important was that thtsgrea! servant of God aimed, 
 ordinarily, to belittle himself in hi , and that, among all 
 
 virtues, he particularly endeavored to practice humility. A.s 
 they were speaki arded those holy persons' portraits that 
 
 bung up in the hall, and sai.l to myself: 'Oh, Lord, my 
 
 I, if we could penetrate the Christian truths as those pei- 
 have done, and conform our lives to this knowledge. Oh! ! 
 
 differently we would act.' For example, having rested ray i 
 on the portrait of the blessed bishop of Geneva I thought that 
 
 wire we to look upon the things of this world in the same light that 
 bo regarded them,* were we to speak of them as he did, an) 
 
 6 our ears, like his, open only | > eternal truth-, we would 
 he car<l*ul not to allow vanity to oeeupv our minds or our 
 heaii 
 
 "But above all, gentlemen, if we attentively consider this 
 beautiful portrait which we have before our eyes, this admirable 
 original of humility, our Lord Jesus Christ, can it he possible 
 that we will give to our minds Admittance of any good opinions 
 of ourselves, are from His marvellous self 
 
 abasement! Him reputed a* a murderer, will we he so 
 
 rash as to prefer ourselves to others 1 Will we have any fear 
 of being esteem <l miserable when we see the innocent treat 
 a- a malefactor, and dying between two thieves, as the most 
 L r u : l* us pray God, gentlemen, to preserve ns from this 
 
 blindness, let us ask the grace of always tending to lowliness, let 
 us confess in His presence, and before men. that of oursel 1 
 we are hut sili. hut ignorance and malice; let us wish that it 
 
 lelieved. that others say BUCh of us and on that account 
 despise D8; in line, let us lose no opportunity of subduing 
 
 ourselves by the practice of this virtue. But it Is ;.>»; enough 
 
 to have an atl'ection for it. and to resolve to practice, as so 
 many (\<^: We mu-t do violence to ourselves and actually come 
 to the exercise cf its acts, and of these there never can be 
 too many." 
 
 Following tic counsel of the apostle he insic i8on and 
 
 out ' on the humility proper to his congregation: i: God 
 
208 VIRTUES AND DOCTRINE OF ST. VINCENT DE l'ALI. 
 
 has not sent us to assume honorable charges and employments, 
 nor to act and speak with pomp and authority; but He sent us 
 to evangelize and serve the poor and to perform the other 
 functions of our institute in an humble, sweet, and familar 
 manner. Hence, we may apply to ourselves what St. John 
 Chiysostom said in one of his homilies, that as long as we 
 remain sheep out of a veritable and sincere humility, we not 
 only will not be devoured by the wolves but will even change 
 the wolves into sheep; whereas, the instant we depart from this 
 humility and simplicity, the spirit of our institution, we will 
 lose the grace which is attached to it. and we will find none 
 other in the most brilliant actions And, indeed, is it not just 
 that a missionary, who has made himself worthy, in his little 
 profession, of the blessing of Heaven and the approbation of 
 men, should lose both one and the other when he applies 
 hinself to works whic 1 -, by the renown that is sought in them, 
 savor of the spirit of the world, and are opposed to the spirit of 
 his state? Ts there not reason to fear that he will vanish in 
 open day and fall into disorder, as is said of the servant, who, 
 becoming master, became, at the same time, haughty and in- 
 suff 'rable? The late Cardinal Berulle, that great servant of 
 God, w T as accustomed to say that it was good to keep one's self 
 lowly, that the more humble conditions in life were the safer, 
 and that there was" a certain indefinable danger in high and 
 elevated positions, that that was the reason the saints have 
 always tried to fly dignities, and that our Lord, to convince us 
 by His example as well as by His word, had said, in speaking 
 of Himself, that He was come into the world to minister and 
 not to be ministered unto." 
 
 The humble founder would not suffer strangers, much less 
 members of the congregation, to sound its praises. A person 
 lately admitted and still ignorant of the spirit and usages of the 
 .community having called it the holy congregation. Vincent 
 abruptly said: "Sir, when we speak of the congregation we 
 should never make use of this term or of any other term equiva- 
 lent or elevating, but we should employ the following: the poor 
 congregation, the little congregation, and such like. In this 
 we will imitate tie Son. of God, Who called the congregation 
 of His apostles and disciples, little flock, little congregation. 
 
ii;m:i.:iy. 
 
 Oh! b< w I irish ili.it <;<>! would be pleased to give the poor 
 little c mgregation the grace to establish itself strongly in lm- 
 militv. to make t iiis virtue whereon it may build, 
 
 and that it m in a frame. Gentlemen, 
 
 masf not deceive ours* Ives; if ire have not humility we I 
 nothing. I apeak not merely of >r humility. I speak 
 
 principally of that of the heart, and <>:* thai humility that mi 
 us really bel irth more 
 
 pitiable I I : that 
 
 all congregations, and the . both in 
 
 Dumber and i and a humility tl ivea as 
 
 pleasure to know that o thinks of u*. 'Alas! win, 
 
 to wish to 1 
 
 When 
 the Son of God was i it did tl: 
 
 ed to pass in the minds of the* 
 people I For a fo 
 
 ner, though be was non n wished to be 
 
 passed over and to have a Barabbas preferred — a brigand, a 
 murderer, a wicked person! Oh, my Savior, my Savior! 
 
 ly humility will, on th i Day of Jnd found all 
 
 sinn 1 to 
 
 this; and you, who g OH mi lk in public, 
 
 tetimes, an 1 often enough, the 
 touched with what hfl aid to them, t! 
 
 I even thei >me amon who, in their excitem* 
 
 womb that ad the paps 
 
 that . '.' We have, boom 
 
 Nature bearing this i> satisfied, vanity is 
 endered and nourished, unl< a these rain complacence 
 
 '. fir 
 wlri< h mid !: lonld Lai 
 
 the • lis. To do othen 
 
 If and not Jesus Chil ■*. A.nd he, v. 
 
 ii. <o have his name 
 
 on ue, what such a 
 
 What He c aori- 
 
 rilegel Whatl make the God and 
 
 divine things the reputation! Yes. it is a 
 
210 VIRTUES AND DOCTRINE OF ST. VINCENT DE PAUL. 
 
 sacrilege! Oh, 1113' God, my God, give this poor little congre- 
 gation the grace that no one of its members fall into this 
 misfortune! Believe me, gentlemen, until we have a profound 
 humility and an entire contempt for ourselves we will never be 
 fit to do the work of God. No, if the Congregation of the 
 Mission be not humble, and if it be not pursuaded that it can 
 do nothing good, that it is more suited to spoil everything than 
 to succeed in any good work, it never will do much; but when 
 it will possess and live in the spirit I have mentioned, then, 
 gentlemen, it will be ready for the designs of God because such 
 are the subjects God makes use of to effect great and lasting 
 things. 
 
 "Some theologians, explaining the Gospel of the day, in 
 which mention is made of the five wise virgins, and of the 
 five foolish ones, think that this parable should be interpreted 
 of persons in community who have retired from the world. 
 If, then, it be true that the half of these virgins, of these 
 persons are lost, ah! what should we not fear? And what 
 should not I, first of all, dread? But now, gentlemen, let us 
 fake courage and not lose heart, let us give ourselves properly 
 to God, let us renounce ourselves and our satisfactions, our 
 ease and our vanity; let us look upon ourselves as our greatest 
 enemies; let us do all the good we can and let us do it with all 
 the requisite perfection. It is notenough to assist our neighbor, 
 to fast, to meditate, 10 labor on the missions. All this is good 
 in its way, but it is not enough; we must, moreover, do all this 
 well, namely, in the spirit of our Lord, after the manner of our 
 Lord, humbly and with an upright intention, that the name of 
 I lis Father be glorified and His will accomplished. 
 
 " The fruit that plants bear is not of a nature more excellent 
 than that of the stalk. We are the stalks of those who will 
 come after us, who. very likely will not carry their works to a 
 higher degree of excellency than we do ours. If we have done 
 well, the example will go from one to another. Those who 
 remain teach those who follow the manner the first practiced 
 virtue, and these, in their turn, teach others who come after; 
 and this results from the grace of God which the first merited. 
 How is it that we sec in the world certain families who, for 
 generations, live so well in the fear of God? L have just now 
 
wii.iiy. l'11 
 
 Id my mind one, among others, of whioh I knew the grand* 
 father and the father, who both were very looc! men, and I 
 knew to-day the children, who are liken •!. Whence 
 
 docs this cornel It la because their parents, by their good and 
 holy lives, have merited this grace t from God. For God, 
 according to Mis promise will bless such families eve i to the 
 thousandth generation. But again we see husbands and wi 
 who arc good : nd live virtuously, and yet everything m< 
 away and goes to ruin in their hands, nothing succeeds with 
 :a. And whence com • the punishment 
 
 of God, which (heir parents merited by their grievous faults, 
 es to their descendant ling to. what is written, that 
 
 i will chastise the -infill lather in his children t<> the fourth 
 
 . ■ration. Although this is understood p.incipally in regard 
 to temporal ^ood^. yet wc may, in some manner, take it in 
 
 •ion to spiritual things. Consequently, if we faithfully 
 observe our rules if we practice well all the virtues proper for 
 a true missionary, we will merit, in some sort, the same grace 
 from God for our children , that is, for those that will come after 
 ii-, who. likewise, will do well, it' we do badly, it is to he 
 feared that they will do the same, and even worse, for nature 
 
 always carries ns along with it-elf and ever tends t<> disorder. 
 We can consider Ourselves as the fathers of those who will come 
 after us. The Congregation Is Still in its cradle, it has just 
 
 been b< in. it is only a f<\\ rince it began to exist, an I 
 
 this to he in the cradle.' Those, who, two or three hundred 
 
 PS from" nOW come after us, will look upon us as their fathers 
 
 and even those who have only just now come, will be Consider/ 
 
 ed as among the first for all those of the first hundred years will 
 be regarded as the first fathers. When you wish t<> give m< 
 freight to a pi hat is found in some one of the fathers of 
 
 the first ages, \ on say: •This passage is taken from such a 
 
 father, who lived in the first Of second century.' In the same 
 way it will he said: 'In the time of the first priests of the 
 
 Congregation of the Mission Buofa was done, they lived in such 
 
 a manner, such and such virtues flourished among them.' This 
 l.cii itlemen, what example should we not leave to our 
 
 successors, since the good they will do depends, in some 
 manner, on that which we perform I S >me of the fathers of the 
 
212 VIRTUES AND DOCTRINE Otf ST. VINCENT DE PAUL. 
 
 Church maintain that God shows damned parents the evil their 
 children do on earth in order to augment their torments; and 
 that the more these children multiply their sins so much the 
 more do the parents, who are the cause by the evil example they 
 left them, suffer the vengeance of Heaven. On the other hand, 
 St. A a gust in says that God makes known to the fathers and to the 
 mothers who are in heaven the good that their children do on 
 earth, that their joy may he increased. Then,, gentlemen, what 
 consolation and what joy will we not receive when God will 
 deign to show us that the Congregation is doing well, abound- 
 ing in good works, observing faithfully the order of time and 
 employments left it, living in the practice of the virtues and 
 good examples which w r e will have willed to it! Oh, wretched 
 man that I am, who says and does not! Pray to God for me, 
 gentlemen; pray to God for me, my brothers, that He may 
 convert me! But now, let us all give ourselves to God, but in 
 earnest, let us labor, let us assist and aid the poor country 
 people who are awaiting us," 
 
 One of his priests, who was stationed in Artois, having 
 published, without previously obtaining permission, a short 
 notice of the Congregation, its progress and its works, sent a 
 a copy to Vincent thinking that he would, in return, receive 
 some mark of gratitude. 
 
 The humble founder, on the 7th of February, ] 657, wrote to 
 him: •' The pain this has occasioned me is so sensible that I 
 am unab'e to express ir. To publish what we are, and what we 
 do is very much opposed to humility .... If there be any 
 good in us or in our method of life, it is from God. whose also 
 it is to manifest it, should Me judge it expedient. But for us 
 who are poor, ignorant and sinful men, we ought to hide our- 
 selves as being unfit for any good and unworthy the considera- 
 tion of any one. Hence it is that, thus far, God has given me 
 the grace, to refuse, to allow to be printed an3 T thing that could 
 make the Congregation known aud honored, though I have 
 been warmly urged, particularly in regard to correspondence 
 from Madagascar, from Barbary and the Hebrides. Still less 
 would I have permitted the publication of what relates to the 
 essence and spirit, the birth and growth, the functions and the 
 
HUMILITY. 219 
 
 end of our Institute, Ami would to God, sir, it were yet to be 
 done: Bnt-sinoe there la no longer a remedy, I will say no 
 more. only. I beg yon, do nothing that concerns the Congre- 
 gation i>. •!'(»!(• informing m 
 
 When it was imp meal from himself and others 
 
 the virtue and tfa -of tin- I ition, he wished, at 
 
 leant, to protect humility and oven that it should receive its 
 share of the profit, and would say: " We ought never turn or 
 
 fix our eyes <>n what is good in US, but rather strive to know 
 
 what is had and defective; this a great means to preserve humil- 
 ity, we ought not to dwell on the gift i rtingsoaJs uoron 
 what lor talents we may have; for they arc nol 
 oars, we tre only the bearers of them, and even with those gifts 
 
 we can ! BOUls, Fortius reason no one should flatter 
 
 himself, nor take any complaceney in himself, nor cone 
 self-esteem b God' works grand things by bis iastrun 
 
 tality; he shoul I rather humble himself and acknowledge tl »1 
 
 is but a wretched instrument which God deigns to make use 
 
 of just as He did of the rod Of Moses, which, though Working 
 lerS, was none the ics ; a piece <•(* fragile wood. 
 
 •• I pray you to ado] t these sentiments and to seek in your 
 labors nothing but humiliation and ignominy,, and, if it plei 
 God, death at the cud. ( raght not a priest, who aims to acquires 
 reputation in the service of God, die of shame! Ought he oof 
 to be overwhelmed with confusion in dying in his bed, he who 
 hasfl ive opprobrium and a gibbet as the 
 
 impense of Efts laboi I K< call to mind that we live In Jesus 
 Christ to die the death of Jesus Christ, and thai we ought to die 
 in Jesus Christ to live- the life of Jesus Christ; that our life 
 
 lid be hidden in .Jc-us and full of JOSUS, and that, to die 
 
 Jesus died, we must live as Jesus lived. Now. these principles 
 blished, let as devote ourselves toobioquyand ignominy; 
 let us disapprove of the honors rcnth red us, of the good name 
 and applause given us, and let us i'o nothing to acquire 
 them . . . Humble yourselves profoundly in the thought 
 that Judas received greater graces than you. that these graces 
 produced more effect than yours, and, notwithstanding, he Is 
 And what will it profit the g her in the 
 
 world, and one endowed with most excellent talent-, to have 
 
214 VIRTUES AND DOCTRINE OF ST. VINCENT DE PAUL. 
 
 the praise of his sermons sounded throughout an entire province- 
 or even to have converted thousands of souls, and lose his 
 own?" 
 
 With St. Vincent, humility was the source whence flowed all 
 other virtues, especially charity. "During the sixty-seven 
 years that God has suffered me to be on earth, I have thought 
 and thought again on the means the most proper to acquire and 
 preserve union and charity with God and our neighbor; but I 
 have found none better or more effectual than holy humility, 
 than the abasing of ourselves beneath all, judging evil of none 
 and looking upon ourselves as the least and as the worst of all. 
 For it is self-love and pride that blind us and induce us to 
 maintain our ideas against those of our neighbor . Consequently, 
 the more a person is humble, the more charitable will he be. 
 Charity is the paradise of communities. But charity is the soul 
 of virtues, and it is humility that attracts and guards them. 
 As with valleys that receive the mountain rains so with .com- 
 munities that are humble. Once we sire void of ourselves, God 
 will fill us with Himself, for He cannot bear a vacuum. Let 
 us, then, humble ourselves, my brethren, seeing that God has 
 cast His eyes on this little congregation, to render it of service 
 to His Church, if, however, we can call a congregation a hand- 
 full of men poor in birth, in learning, and in virtue, the dregs,, 
 the sweepings and the refuse of the w T orld. I pray God, two or 
 three times every day. that He may destroy us if we prove un- 
 serviceable for His glory. What ! gentlemen, would we desire- 
 to remain in the world without pleasing G.ocl and procuring. 
 His glory?" 
 
CHAPTER KILL 
 
 \< E 
 
 I 
 
 Vincent's obedience was profound entire, and admirably 
 ordered First of all he kept himself in a constant and absolute 
 dependence on God, and sought to do His adorable will in 
 
 rythiug. Hence, hardly arrived in Paris, he place- him 
 under the direction of Berulle and obeys him as he would God 
 Himself, assuming, on a word from him, either pastoral duty, or 
 Ice in the honse of ( tondi 
 
 He - God in all spiritoal and temporal powers, 
 submits m alike in sorrow as in joy, in humiliation is 
 
 in honor. 
 
 In his judgments, in his affections and in his undertakings, 
 he obeyed the r >vereign 
 
 Pastor of the church, he obcye 1 the bishops, as the successors 
 of the apostles, never performing or permitting any functions 
 of his institute without theii it i bishop refused 
 
 the service of his missionaries, be immediately withdrew then,, 
 and simply wrote: '« We are entirely un 
 under so great a prelat i arc: when I seek for the reaav 
 
 Providence has had to cause us to 1 I find di 
 
 i but m\ (To the Bishop of Perigneux, April i-t. 
 
 .) It was in obedience to a bishop, st. Francis de Sales, that 
 he accepted and continued ig, notwithstanding the pr< 
 
 of duties, his infirmities and his age, the direction of the Nm, 
 
 Visitation ; in obedience t<> the Archbishop <>!' Paris, he 
 isumed the burden aftei having laid .-.ad continued to 
 
216 VIRTUES AND DOCTRINE OF ST. VINCENT DE PAUL. 
 
 carry it until his death. '-lam the child of obedience," he- 
 wrote one day, " it seems to me that should the bishop command 
 me to go to the extremity of his diocese, there to remain all my 
 life, I would do it just as if our Lord had commanded me. and 
 that that retirement, or the employment he would give me- 
 would be a foretaste of Paradise, because I would in this be 
 accomplishing the good pleasure of God.'' 
 
 lie still obeyed the parish priests even after he had received 
 the mission and full power from the bishop, and would never 
 undertake anything in their parishes save with their consent 
 and according to their pleasure. 
 
 He obeyed the King in the smallest, ns well as in the greatest 
 things, and sometimes in the most naive manner. A brother 
 found some partridge eggs within the enclosure of St. Lazarus.. 
 Pie took them and put them under a hen. As soon as they were 
 hatched he put them in a cage and brought them to Vincent. 
 The 'atter. at first, seemed to make no acknowledgement, but 
 presently he said to the brother: " Come, let us take a walk 
 in the enclosure.' 7 As soon as they reached the field he told 
 him to open the cage and let Hie birds loose. -< My brother,"* 
 he then snid, "3*011 knew well that the king forbade the taking 
 of partridges whence 3-011 found these eggs. I beg of 3-011, do so 
 . no more.'' 
 
 One day, a noble said to the Queen: " There are few 
 persons, like Mr. Vincent, attached to the service of the 
 Kino* and state with such a sincere, constant, and disinterested 
 fidelity." "You are right," answered Ann of Austria, "Mr. 
 Vincent is a true servant of God and of his Prince.'" It was, 
 in a special manner, in obedience to the Queen that he under- 
 took the missions of St. Germain and Fontainbleau; and when 
 in this last royal residence his priests had met with certain, 
 obstacles, he would not withdraw them without the permission 
 of the Queen. 
 
 He obeyed his inferiors, and even all classes of persons. In 
 obedience to the Reverend Doctor Duval he entered St. Lazarus;, 
 through obedience to the former prior he made the acquisition, 
 of that farm of Orsigny that brought a distressing and ruinous 
 lawsuit. In general he condescended to listen to the advice 
 
OBI DIE* -17 
 
 and wishes of others, even those of a ireak mind, when the 
 •object was indifferent, sod when neither truth nor charity was 
 Interested. In such cases, for the sake «»! obedience and humil- 
 ity, he sacrificed to them hie superior intelligence and cxperi- 
 ■c. He never either contradict ided; he, himself, 
 
 when contradicted. Invariably, after having adda ■<■ I his reasons, 
 maintained an hnmble silence. Bat when the service or glory 
 of God was the subject, then he showed himself firm and unshak- 
 en in his opinions and ret : ■• I wUI condescend as much 
 
 on wish," he would say, ''provided God be not offend* 
 ▲nd still, r\ !es, he refused with such graec,tuch 
 
 gent ind humility that his resistance iros more acceptable 
 
 than the deference of others 
 
 II 
 
 Snch was ihc obedience that he preached to his confreres, and 
 counselled every one. He wrote io bis constitutions: ''We 
 Will obey exactly all Olir superiors, and each one of them, 
 considering them in our Lord, and our Lord in them; and 
 first oi'all our holy father, the L'ope, to whom we will sincerely 
 and faithfully render reverence ond obedien* 
 
 He taught ob to the Porx ially in regard to 
 
 foreign missions. Hewrote: •• The i sending to the 
 
 nations residing in no one on earth, save in the person <>i* His 
 Holiness, he, consequently, has the power of sending cede 
 tics throughout the entire earth for the glory i and the 
 
 in this, obliged to 
 In accordance with this principle I have the 
 
 tittle l to go whithersoever His h 
 
 in. \\'e ought to be, in regard to the Pope, as were the 
 servants In tl I srd to their Master, so that when 
 
 He tells us: •<;.) there, 1 we #ttl be 
 we will come; • l >•» this, 1 if will be our duty to do it. Th 
 Congregation ought to live in the disposition to obey, even to 
 the neglect of all bould be so disposed that were the 
 
 Pope I its members, from the superior down to the last 
 
 brother, to tl would willingly 
 
2)8 VIRTUES AND DOCTRINK OF ST. VINCENT DK l'AUL 
 
 Whilst reserving for himself and his successors the internal 
 government of the Congregation, he asked the Holy See to 
 make it subject to the bishops in nil those functions that per- 
 tained to the assistance of the neighbor, such as missions, con- 
 ferences, retreats, and seminaries, so that in these nothing 
 might be done but with their permission and consent. 
 
 He also recommended his priests to do nothing in parishes, 
 not even, he said, to remove a single straw, without the con- 
 sent of the pastors. And he wrote: "We hold it ns a maxim, 
 to labor in the service of the public according to the good 
 pleasure and under the direction of the pastors, and never to 
 go against their sentiments; and at the opening and at the close 
 of each mission we ask their blessing in a spirit of depend- 
 ence." 
 
 He preached obedience to kings, and confirmed it by the 
 example of the first Christians: "We should, after their 
 example," he said, "always render to kings a faithful and sim- 
 ple obedience, without ever complaining of them, or murmur- 
 ing against them under any pretext. Anfl even when there is 
 question of loss of property, or of life, let us yield them from 
 a spirit of obedience rather than gainsay their wills, provided 
 the will of God does not oppose, for kings represent in our 
 regard the sovereign power of God on earth." 
 
 And carrying his doctrine of obedience further, he said again : 
 "We should not confine our obedience simply to those who 
 have the right to command us, but we ought to extend it still 
 further; for if, as St. Peter recommends, we submit to every 
 living creature for the love of God, we will be far from the 
 danger of failing in what is of obligation. Let us. then, try to 
 do so, and let us regard all others as our superiors, and, for 
 this purpose, let us esteem ourselves below them and even 
 inferior to the least, showing them deference, condescension 
 and kindness. Oh, what a happy thing it would be were God 
 to firmly establish us in this practice ! " 
 
 He counselled, particularly, this condescension among children 
 of the same religious family: "In a community," he said, "all 
 those who compose it and are members should exercise conde- 
 scension towards each other; and in this spirit the learned 
 
OBBDIJ M -1!) 
 
 rlit to deadend to the weakness o£ the ignorant in all that is 
 
 not sin or error; the wise and prudent ought to condescend to 
 the bumble and simple: l J!foi high wumded, hut oondeaoencUng to 
 the humbi .' Etom, xii., it;). En this same ipiiit of condescen- 
 sion ire >h« aid Dot only approve of the sentiments of others 
 in thingi >r indifferent, but we ought even prefer them to 
 
 our own, believing that others possess more Light and have 
 better natural or supernatural qualities than we. Bui in things 
 that an- bad we must hi' od our guard again st any condescen- 
 sion, for, in SUCh a case, it is no Longer a virtue hut a serious 
 fault ami on€ that can only eonie from a licentious mind, or from 
 cowardice and pusillanimity." 
 
 So obedient himself, and so penetrated with the oeCCSSity of 
 obedience he could not suffer the least infraction of this virtue. 
 QDert Aux-C mteaux was his assistant, that is to say. he was 
 after Vincent, the first in the Congregation. The Saint, one 
 night, kept him up very late working, ami. when hi; was Leaving 
 the room, told Hi in to take a rest in the morning. The next 
 morning Lambert was the lir-t at prayer, Vincent perceived 
 him, and, in the pi esence of the entire community, brothers and 
 young seminarists included, he ordered him to kneel down, and 
 then said: " Sir, obedience is better than sacrifice. A fault 
 I* ss serious than yours nearly cost Jonathan lis life ami created 
 rder in the army of the chil Iren of Nrael." 
 Finally, Obedience t > rules and to superiors. He said to the 
 Sisters of Charity: "You have, doubtless, heard tell of what 
 sailors do when they are on the open sea. and. sometimes, more 
 than live hundred leagues from land. Well, they have perfect 
 confidence as long as the laws of navigation are observed; but 
 when these are neglected and the sails become unmanageable 
 
 then they run great chance of being lost. It is the same in 
 every community. A community is a little vessel that floats in 
 an open sea, but a tea extremely perilous, and where dangers 
 are multiplied. Your fidelity to your vocation, your good 
 behavior and constant observance of your rules, give all assur- 
 ance of safety, Do not \'vjv, then; your are in the very vessel 
 God Inspired you to sail in: there i> need of a good pilot who 
 will watch while you sleep, 
 
 "And who, do you think, are those pilots 80 necessary to 
 
220 VIRTUES AND DOCTRINE OF ST. VINCENT DE PAUL. 
 
 guide your ship? Your superiors, whose duty it is to direct you 
 in what you have to do to arrive happily at port. This happi- 
 ness will be yours, provided 3-011 obey them punctually and be 
 faithful in the practice of your rules." 
 
 The obedience he taught his own community, he preached to 
 all others of which he had charge. Among all the virtues — the 
 relfgious of the first house of the Visitation in Paris have 
 testified — he frequently recommended to us the virtue of 
 obedience and exactitude to regularity, even in the slightest 
 points of the rule. He took a special delight in forming our 
 community well in these virtues of obedience and exactitude, 
 and said to us: '• These two virtues, when practiced persever- 
 ingly, constitute the religious state To incite ourselves to 
 their practice it is good to talk of them familiarly when together, 
 and entertain ourselves with the idea of their excellence and 
 beauty. We should have an affection for them on account of 
 the pleasure God takes in the religious who are faithful in them, 
 and because He, Who is their Divine Spouse, so loves these 
 virtues that the least delay in obedience is disagreeble to Him. 
 A truly religious soul, having vowed obedience in the presence 
 of the entire Church, ought carefully accomplish what she has 
 promised. If we give way in little things we will soon give 
 way in something greater. All the creature's good consists in 
 doing the will of God. But this will is found particularly in 
 the faithful practice of obedience, and in the exact observance 
 of the rules of the institute. We cannot render a more agree- 
 able homage to God than by practicing obedience, whereby He 
 accomplishes His designs in our regard. In it is found His 
 pure glory, together with the destruction of self-love and all 
 other interests, and this is what we should have mainly in view. 
 The practice of obedience gives the soul the true and perfect 
 liberty of the children of God." 
 
 He strongly recommended us to renounce our own judgment, 
 and to mortify it by submitting it to that of our superiors, and 
 he s:iid to us again: " Obedience consists not only in doing 
 immediately what is ordered, but it also requires that we keep 
 ourselves entirely disposed to do all that may be conmanded 
 on any occasion. We must look upon our superiors as holding 
 
OBI 221 
 
 in our regard the place of Jesus Christ, and in view of that, ire 
 Should render th I i murmur against 
 
 them is a certain Interior apostasy. For, as exterior apostasy 
 consists in quitting the habit of religion, and separating from 
 the communi 
 
 from superiors, contradicting them in our own minds and 
 adhering toourowri particular views which are contrary to 
 theirs; this is the that can happen in com- 
 
 munities That religions avoids this evil who remains in a holy 
 indifference and allows herself to be guided by her sup* riots.*" 
 
 II*' said to us still further on the Subject of obedience: 
 
 •• A.s the basis for the true submission that ought to exist 
 
 in a community the following should he well weighed: 
 
 •' Fiist: The position of superiors who hold inour regard the 
 place of Jesus Christ on earth. 
 
 "Second: The trouble they take and the solicitude they have 
 
 for our perfection; sometimes | t le entire night io 
 
 Unrest, and often deeply troubled il whilst inferiors enjoy. 
 
 at their ease, the peace and tranquility procured for them by 
 
 the care and toil of tic superiors, whose am all the 
 
 later because they have reason to dread the account that they 
 
 will have to render to ( iod. 
 
 •'Third: Tim recompense, even in this liic promised -souls 
 truly obedient: for. besides the graces this virtue merits, God 
 
 delights in doing the will of those who. from love for Him, 
 submit their will to their superiors. 
 
 mrth: The punishment that those, who are unwilling to 
 
 obey should apprehend, a terrible example of which God 
 
 in the chastisement His Justice inflicted upon Core, Dathan and 
 Abtron for having contemned Moses, their super for 
 
 having, by tl i- contempt, oisly offended God, i 
 
 said, -c of the superiors whom His Providence has 
 
 established in the Church: • He. who hear- you, h< ars Me, and 
 
 Me.* 
 " Fifth: The example of o!;cdien< .:e to give 
 
 man, having preferred death And surely it, 
 
 would b God obeying even 
 
 unto death for om- salvation, and we, poor, mis< ires, 
 
 res fOT love of Him.*' 
 
222 VIRTUES AND DOCTRINE OF ST. VINCENT DE PAUL. 
 
 But all this .doctrine is found more amply and more eloquently 
 developed in the conferences of the Saint whether to the Sisters 
 of Charity or to the missionaries. Following his ordinary 
 method be first adduced the motives of obedience, and first the 
 example of the Son of God : ' { There certainly mustbe something 
 very great and divine in this virtue since our Savior so loved it 
 from the first moment of His birth to the time of His death, 
 since all the actions of His life were done through obedience. 
 He obeyed God, the Father, in becoming man; He obeyed His 
 mother, and St. Joseph, His foster father: 'And He was sub- 
 ject to them.' He obeyed all those who were in dignity, 
 whether good or bad; so that His entire life was but one 
 continued act of obedience. He began His life, and finished it 
 through obedience. He made Himself obedient unto death, 
 even unto the death of the cross, and ivherefore it is His Father 
 exalted Him. 
 
 iC Oh, my Savior, what then is this virtue of obedience? How 
 excellent must it be since you have found it worthy of a God! 
 Oh, the beautiful example of obedience our Lord has left us! 
 What need of other motives after that? If there be anything 
 more it is what our Lord has said: ' He who does not renounce 
 himself is not worthy of me, nor worthy to be my disciple.' We 
 cannot, indeed, go out of ourselves nor leave our soul or our 
 body. To renounce one's self then is to renounce one's judg- 
 ment and one's will, and this is obedience. 
 
 1 ' Second : In disobeying, we sin more or less grievously accord- 
 ing to the gravity of the disobedience, and particularly, accord- 
 ing to what is commanded by the rules, since these are all taken 
 either from the scriptures, or from the commandments of God; 
 and when the disobedience is in important matters it gives 
 scandal; and particularly, when it is through contempt, we may 
 sin morlalty," 
 
 He then asked himself in what this virtue consisted, and 
 answered: "In a disposition to do what these, to whom we are 
 subject, wish. God is the God of virtue. But virtue has its 
 principle and its root in the interior, for, as what appears man 
 is not man himself, go what seems obedience is not always the 
 virtue of obedience which consists in a constant disposition to 
 
obey, tor at With sueh a di 
 
 tion we go direct to <■<> L A superior, who ordains a certain 
 thing, can, indeed, Ml In ordaining. A' nol infallible 
 
 nor impeccable — bn< he, who o ovided the thing be not 
 
 evidently sinful, Is sure of doing the will for God 
 
 cannot deceive. How could our I. bedience from 
 
 the Scribes and Pharisees, from the priests of the ancient law 
 who, for the most part irerc oiled with rice, and with which he 
 frequently reproached them. And yet lis told the people; 
 'Obey them, do as they tell you, but do not imitate their 
 work-.' Ami how could He have obeyed them Him 
 He fciiiu doing wroi id not know how to practice 
 
 Because they were in authority and dignity; 
 they, therefore, Bbould be obeyed according to the rule: //■ 
 •8 me .... Theirs it was to guide souls, 
 •• Let us then follow the beautiful example that our Lord has 
 given us-: l For I do always ike things t! ffim.- (John 
 
 viii, 29 . JFes, J do always; and this obedience which Her 
 cd endured not only whilst he was on earth, hut continue- even 
 
 to-day when He is glorious in heaven. Dei it to the 
 
 priests, even those who are wicked, allowing them, ::• UiC Holy 
 Kuehaii>t. to elevate or lower Him as they please. (Hi. what 
 an obedience that endures even after death: Oh. my Lord, 
 Thou hast, from all eternity, taken tfa obey! 
 
 Grant US the grace to cuter into Thy sentiments, tl, 
 
 our rules, to obey the order of our superiors, their wilt 
 expressed by m rd or Bigri, and even their intention." 
 
 In the third place how are we to obey I The answer to this 
 question is read particularly in a conference t<> the Sisters of 
 Charity, given on the 25th of dune. 1642: "Wemustobey 
 promptly, cheerfully, with submission of judgment, and with 
 the intent of pleasing God. Obedience should bo prom] 
 sluggishness and delay in obeying greatly diminish the merit, 
 
 :V our neighbor, sadden superiors, Who, in Buch 
 would far prefer to do the thing themselves, than command it. 
 
 lould obey willingly and not throuj traint, 
 
 fearing to displease and then be reprimanded We should obey 
 withsubm! gment, doing what is commanded and in 
 
 the manner it is commanded, and considering it to he for the 
 
224 VIRTUES AND DOCTRINE OF ST. VINCENT DE PAUL. 
 
 best, notwithstanding any contrary ideas we may have; and all 
 the more so as our judgment is blind and the knowledge of what 
 is best is often hidden from us by the preoccupations of our 
 passions, as clouds hide the rays of the sun. Finally, we should 
 obey in order to please God, enlivening our obedience with 
 thoughts like these; ' In obeying I render m\ r self acceptable to 
 God, it is the same as if I said I do a pleasure to God.' Oh! 
 what a happiness for a poor and wretched creature to have the 
 power to do a thing that pleases God! This is doing I lis holy 
 will, this is doing what the angels do. On the other hand, 
 whatever we do of our own choice, let the thing be ever so excel- 
 lent, we always incur the danger of doing the will of the devil, 
 who transforms himself into an angel of light, and desires to 
 deceive us by the appearance of some little good." 
 
 In the conferences of April 7th, 1650. and May -3d, 1655, 
 he returns to the subject and recompense of obedience: (i There 
 is a double merit in an action performed through obedience: 
 there is the merit of the work, when it is good, in itself, and, 
 moreover, there is the merit of obedience by which the action is 
 done. We may compare actions done through obedience with a 
 painting from the hand of sone great master, as, for instance, 
 Michael Angclo. The painting is in itself worth, say, no more 
 than ten crowns, but being the work of a great artist its value 
 is greatly enhanced and may be sold for twenty or thirty crowns. 
 Or again, we compare them to ornaments destined for the service 
 of the altar. You will see fine linen, very white, nicely folded, 
 and of sweet odor, that is highly esteemed in itself, but is prized 
 far more since it is to be used for the service at mass. Thus, a 
 good action which Ave perform has its own merit, but obedience 
 gives it an additional merit, and, moreover, renders meritorious 
 the most indifferent actions, and even those that of themselves 
 have no value. 
 
 "It is just as if we united precious stones with other precious 
 stones. Imagine a dress made of beautiful silk . The silk alone 
 makes the dress beautiful, but it is still more stiking if gold 
 lace be added. Thus it is with good actions performed out of 
 obedience ; and for each such action we receive two rewards. 
 Even the indifferent actions are more agreeable to God than 
 good works without obedience. This virtue is a sort of philos- 
 opher's stone, and all it touches becomes gold ." 
 
OltKDIEXCK. 225 
 
 Jt is readily understood that, in hi- . the Saint 
 
 placed this same d< ithin the reach of each of those 
 
 under hi according to the state or dispositions in which 
 
 they were. He wrote. to MademoUe) ia who. through 
 
 riience, had renounced one of her pious undertakings: -Our 
 1 will, perhaps, draw glory from ypur submission 
 
 than from all the id have done. A beautiful 
 
 diamond is of more value than :i mountai 
 act of the vii id submi worth m 
 
 than a mnii! performed in behalf of <>th< re." 
 
 ;i). 
 He ri w (May 28th. 1669): '• Your 
 
 tetter liai informed me of yonr trouble. I fully believe that 
 ( . I , i ... you feel the unhappy results of a change sought by 
 
 ir own will, for it is Ili< custom to make those, who have 
 
 undertake rve Him, know that their repose is in obediei 
 
 and never in the accomplishment of their own will. And, 
 
 remember, you will never find calmness of mind in following our 
 
 renounce yourself, because He Himself has 
 
 . that, in Him, this renunciation must be 
 
 made, and tta id every day You have heard tii 
 
 hundred tim >U do not appl; yen 
 
 have b went requests you have 
 
 made t<> anding that you were begged 
 
 to have patience where you wei -till had your objections 
 
 difficulties, and I told you that you would bave them ev< 
 re. It was necessary to c «t the contentment 
 
 did not ! urself. Our Lord calls 
 
 ike to show u- thai it ia a state of 
 
 .ml a hard one for those who wish to withdraw 
 
 i it. but sweet and easy f»>r those who love it and arc cnamor- 
 
 fifc My dear brother, do you wish to find peace of heart 
 
 i : tore 
 either to your Judgment or your will. You have already 
 
 not to them. I.' 
 
 you; aided, and rest assured that it will be Clod who 
 
 willcond and He will lead you to the liberty of His 
 
 children, to an abundanc olataon, to great progress 
 
 virtu pineas. I lay all this t<» you 
 
 >»or THEmt 
 
22 6 VIRTUES AND DOCTRINE OF ST. VINCENT DE PAUL. 
 
 because you propose still another change; otherwise I would 
 have imitated the kindness of God who never reproaches us 
 with faults once pardoned. I would have thought of yours no 
 longer, had I not seen 3-011 in the danger of committing the 
 like again; this is wiry I represent to you the trouble and 
 anxiety that will come upon you if the experience of what 3*011 
 have already suffered do not make 3-011 more submissive. Con_ 
 sider it as certain that, if 3 r ou are changed because 3 r ou demand 
 it, you will no sooner arrive at 3-0111* destination than 3-011 can 
 sa3', as you now sa3 7 where you, at present, are, that 3 r ou are 
 there by your own choice rather than by the will of God, having 
 obliged 3 r our superiors to send 3-011 against their better judg- 
 ment, and this thought will constantly disquiet you. And now, 
 to take awa}- this sting of conscience in regard to the place 3-ou 
 are in at present, remain there because holy obedience ordains 
 it, and no longer look upon 3-our being there as by yodr own 
 will, but by that of God. Ask His pardon for the past and 
 think no more of it Resolve to give ear no more to 3-our 
 own spirit, if 3-011 do not wish to be led astra3-, for it is of 
 such a nature that it will trouble 3-011 wherever 3 r ou go, unless 
 you believe me I pray our Lord to animate 3-011 with His 
 spirit, our Lord who was so submissive that He compared 
 Himself to a beast of burden, which is so indifferent that one 
 can do with it as he wishes, no matter when or where. Were 
 we in such a disposition God would soon lead us to perfection.' 
 
 Eveiything furnished him a subject and an occasion to preach 
 obedience: " A captain told me, a few days ago, that, were he 
 to perceive that his general gave a wrong command and that 
 he would lose his life in obe3'ing it, though he could, with one 
 word, have the order changed, 3-et he would lose his honor were 
 he to say that word, and he would prefer to die than utter it. 
 See, gentlemen, how great our confusion will be before Heaven 
 in witnessing such perfection of obedience in war, and our own 
 so imperfect in comparison." 
 
 And suddenly, reflecting on his position as Superior and on 
 the obligation he had just imposed on his children of obeying 
 himself, he cried out in his humility: u Oh, wretch that I am!' 
 To obc3' one who disobeys God ! Who disobe3 T s our hoi 3- Mother 
 the Church! One who was disobedient to his father and mothes 
 
my. 227 
 
 from his infancy ! for almost all my life hai been but disobe- 
 dience, [entiemen. to whom do you render obedience! To 
 
 one who, like t! i Pharisees, is full of vice and sin. 
 
 this will give your ol all the merit. I was 
 
 reflecting a little while ago on my disobedience and I remem- 
 bered that, when a small boy, my lather brought me to the 
 city :md I was ashamed of him because h Bed, 
 
 and limped a little. Oh, miserable wretch that I am! How 
 disobedient have 1 bee i I ask ( tods pardon for it and for all 
 the scandals 1 have given you. I will also ask pardon of the 
 entise congregation, and I conjure you to pray to God forme 
 that He may pardon me these faults, and give me also a Bin© 
 t for them." 
 
 GETHSEMAMI ABBEY, 
 GETHSEMANI.P.O. KY, 
 
CHAPTER XIV. 
 
 SIMPLICITY. 
 
 Simplicity shone in Vincent in all its modest brightness. It 
 gained all those with whom he came in contact; it contributed, 
 in a great measure, to the success of his immense undertakings, 
 because, besides the blessing of God, it won for him the confidence 
 and affection of men. With humility and charity it, of all his- 
 virtues, is the one that struck his contemporaries the most, 
 and they all unite in rendering it a most touching and unanimous- 
 eulogy. It was simplicit}', the character of the great in all things, 
 the common character of true virtue as well as of real genius, 
 that, in St. Vincent de Paul, especially charmed Bossuet. 
 Hence, it is to this simplicity, to this admirable simplicity of the 
 holy old man that, with manifest feeling, he rendered testi- 
 mony all his life, and to which, grown old himself, he pays a 
 last tribute in his letter to Clement XI. A simplicity all the 
 more wonderful, since it maintained itself, and thrived in 
 dealing with the world, amid the lrypocrisy of a Court, in the 
 windings of business, that is to say, in the midst of dissimula- 
 tion, deceit and duplicity, which naturally should have withered 
 and destroyed it. His simplicity was the ornament of his- 
 discourses, the secret of his direction, the charm of his person, 
 as also the counselor of his humility in avowals of forgetfulness. 
 
 or fault. 
 
 II 
 
 Hence, he preached it with love, and indignantly stigmatized 
 the contrary vice, lie said: "To appear good externally, 
 
bmplicitt, 22P 
 
 and to I rnally, is to do as the hypocritical 
 
 Fha mitate tin* demon who transforms himself 
 
 int<> pi udence of tha flesh ami 
 
 hypocrisy especially reign in this corrup great 
 
 prejudice of the spirit of Chri >1 better 
 
 combat an I i than by a i and sin 
 
 mple," he .in. •• or rather lie in 
 
 simplicity itself; and wherever you discover simplicity, thi 
 too, yon find God. And, as the V\ s, he, who walks 
 
 in simpli .1 confidence, while, on the contrary, tfc 
 
 ■ make n simplicity, are in 
 
 their cunning I, and lest bund out 
 
 their dissimulation, place no fur in them." 
 
 But Let us hear him in a special conference on this subject. 
 given March 14th, kl Our Savior, in 
 
 to preach His Gospel throughout the world, i I to 
 
 them particularly this virtue of simplicity i.iost 
 
 important and most y to drawdown upon ti. 
 
 grace of Heaven, and to dispose the h< arth 
 
 to hear and believe them. Xow, itwas not only to His 
 
 to all til ; ' Whom His 
 Providen > the work of preachin of 
 
 itly, it 
 >ke and : this virtue of simpli 
 
 ' His n the 
 
 ion. an I what a ! 
 
 imple, to ' by the very w 
 
 ill an 1 entertain with them. 
 
 which He addn 
 
 •• / . 
 
 Our 
 I able to Him i >wl 
 
 inc. 
 whid I :.; men, 
 
 is known only to the little and that '. rmittcst 
 
 d • 1 th<- prudent of Id to un i it, 
 
 the hidden from 
 
230 VIRTUES AND DOCTRINE OF ST. VINCENT DE PAUL. 
 
 "them. Certainly, these words, if we reflect on them, ought to 
 alarm ns who run after knowledge as if all our happiness de- 
 pended upon it. Not but that a priest and a missionary should 
 have learning, yet it should be such as is required to satisfy the 
 duties of his ministry and not to content his ambition and his cu- 
 riosity. He should study and acquire knowledge, but soberly, as 
 "the Apostle says. There are others who plume themselves on 
 their understanding everything, and who wish to pass fcr persons 
 accomplished, clever, and capable in all things. These, too, 
 as well as all the learned and wise in the knowledge of the 
 world, are of the number of those from whom God takes away 
 the understanding of the truths and virtues of Christianity. 
 To whom, then, does He give the understanding of His truths 
 and His doetiine? To the simple, to the artless, and more 
 frequently, even to the poor people, as is verified by the differ- 
 ence remarked in the faith of the poor people in the country 
 and that of persons in high life. For my part, I can say a 
 long experience has proved to me that a lively and practical 
 faith, and a true spirit of religion are more ordinarily found 
 among the poor and among the simple. God takes a pleasure 
 in enriching them with a fervent faith; they believe and relish 
 the words of eternal life which Jesus Christ left ns in His 
 Gospel; we see them, generally, bear patiently their sicknesses, 
 their privations and their other afflictions without murmuring 
 and even without complaining, save little and rarely. How 
 comes this? It is because God is pleased to infuse into them, 
 in abundance, the gift of faith and all other graces, whilst He 
 refuses them to the rich and wise of the world. 
 
 "Add to thi6 that all love simple and candid persons, who use 
 neither cunning nor deceit, who act ingeniously and speak 
 sincerely, and whose lips, thus, are ever in accord with their 
 hearts. They are everywhere esteemed and loved, even at 
 Court when met with; and in all well regulated communities 
 every one bears them affection and places confidence in them. 
 And what is very remarkable, even those, who do not possess 
 cither candor or simplicity in their speech or their thought love 
 it in others. Let us strive, then, my brethren, to become 
 pleasing in the sight of God by the practice of this virtue, and 
 imitate those in the little congregation, who, by the grace of 
 God, give us;in this so bright an example* 
 
SIMPLICITY. 2'M 
 
 *■ But, to understand and ap| tllence of this 
 
 virtue, we must know that it brings us to God. and, by produc- 
 ing conformity, i us like to Him, Re being bot simple 
 
 spirit, ond His admitting no composition. Hence, 
 
 what ' e ought .to be by means of this virtue 
 
 in as far as our weakness and misery will permit. We must 
 have a heart simple, a mind simple, a simple intention ami simple 
 action; we Bhould B] eak simply, b itforwardly, without. 
 
 Emulation or gnile, looking only whom alone 
 
 . 
 '•Simplicity, then, comprehends not only troth and purity of 
 ntion, but it >ver, a certain property of re- 
 
 moving us from all deceit, cunning and duplicit 
 principally in the use of words that this virtue man self, 
 
 it obliges us to declare with the tongue just as it is in the heart 
 speaking and uttering what wc have to 8ay, simply, and with the 
 intention of pleasing God. pticity, notwithstand- . 
 
 ing all this, does not oblige us to disclose all our thoughts ; for 
 this virtue is discreet, and it is never in opposition to pru- 
 dence, which discerns what is good to say from what is irapro] 
 and knows wdien to o ■ • and when to Speak. If, for 
 
 iest: i proposition, good in its substance and 
 
 good in all its circumstances, I on 
 
 I have t ome imp; 
 
 less circus l with, it must be omitted; and, in gen- 
 
 eral, those thing 1 which arc know 
 
 ir neighbor, or which tend to our own prai 
 or aim at some carnal or temporal gratification, for otherwise 
 we would sin, at one and the same ti Other 
 
 virtr. 
 
 4< In a nature thai 
 
 it act in view, 
 
 .etions, or daily avocations, or ordin- 
 of piety, rejecting all hypocrisy, all artifice, and 
 all vain | >ther a pics 
 
 the pres- 
 old y i:i thing of more va'u • 
 ordiDg to tl; I tl.c world, 
 d to the vir- 
 
232 VIRTUES AND DOCTRINE OF ST. VINCENT DE PAUL. 
 
 luc of simplicity, which cannot suffer a pretending of one thing 
 whilst meaning another. For, as this virtue induces us to speak 
 according to our interior convictions, so, too, does it cause us to 
 act with candor and Christian rectitude, and do all for God, 
 Who is the sole end it has in view ; whence we must infer that 
 this virtue does not reside in those who, through human respect, 
 desire to appear other than they are, nor in those who do good 
 -externally that they may be esteemed virtuous, who keep a num- 
 ber of superfluous books that they may be regarded as learned, 
 ■who study to preach well in order to obtain applause and praise; 
 nor, finally, in those who have other than the proper motives 
 in their exercises and practices of piety. Now. I ask you, my 
 Brethren, is not this virtue of simplicity beautiful and desirable, 
 and is it not just and reasonable to guard against all dissimula- 
 tion and artifice in word and action? But, to acquire it, we must 
 practice it; and we can become truly simple only by frequent 
 acts of simplicity, aided, certainly, by the grace of God, which 
 we should frequently ask." 
 
 The particular and written instructions of the Saint in regard 
 to this virtue were absolutely the same as his public or spoken 
 teachings. On one occasion, when sending a missionary to a 
 province where the people were noted for their shrewdness, he 
 gave him this advice : "You go into a country where, they 
 say, the people are for the most part clever and cunning. Now, 
 if such be the case, the best way to be of use to them will be 
 to act with them in. the greatest simplicity. For the maxims of 
 the Gospel are totally contrary to the spirit of the w r orld. 
 Hence, as you go there in the service of Our Lord, you ought 
 to act according to His spirit — a spirit of rectitude and simplic- 
 ity. '' To another of his priests who regulated his friendly re- 
 lations with externa in the interest of the Congregation, and 
 wished to have published what he wrote of certain persons, he an- 
 swered : '• Ala?, sir, with what are you amusing yourself? 
 Where is that simplicity of the missionary which aims directly 
 at God? If you do not recognize any good in these persons, do 
 not say you do ; bat if you see good, speak of it in order to 
 honor God in them, for from Him proceeds all good. Our Lord 
 reproved a man who had called Mini good because his intention 
 -was not pure. How much more reason will He have to reprove 
 you when you praise sinful men through complaisance, to gain 
 
:rr. 203 
 
 th< ir favor, or through some other temporal and imperfect end, 
 though there be other motives which may be good! For lam 
 convinced that you do not seek to gain the affection of anysa «• 
 ins to promote tfa >f God. Bnt remember, God 
 
 does not like duplicity, and that to be truly simple i 
 ilder only Htm *' 
 But it was in tally, that mplio- 
 
 aing all I trd all hankering i 
 
 an I praise. He said : •■ ' ire to shine and ha 
 
 :' : we I 
 suci • .:: raster, 
 
 the infernal serpent, that and 
 
 empoisons, with its <1 . the hearts of those who lie* 
 
 to It! 0, accursed Tilde! Whatgd< thou corrupt and 
 
 Of what evil art thou T the 
 
 r preach himself, and aot 
 of c .• at the 
 
 instruction that a prelate gave the ordinandi; after which, 
 to his mom, I Bald to him : -My! >«day 
 
 converted in 6.' Ho answered: 'How I I rc- 
 
 . ; d, s«) p] I SO 
 
 simply, that it s 
 
 f rain from thanking God.' 'Ah, Birf he replied, 'Imnstcon- 
 ith e [Ual candor that I might easily have said BO! - 
 thing more polished and mor 1; hut had I done so, I 
 
 would h if I God. 1 Sl'O, gentlemen, the sentiments of 
 
 the | sentiments which all th 
 
 ■ procure the salvation of souls, should possess, and then, 
 
 yoUj God will not fail to bless what;, and 
 
 four words. Yes, God will be with yon, 
 
 and will the 
 
 simple. 1I< them and He their labor and enl 
 
 On the contrary, it would be a:i impiety to think that 
 to favor or aid a person who the glory 
 
 men I who nourishes himself on vanity, a-; do those who 
 
 •h themselves, and who, in theii ither 
 
 with simplicity nor with humility. For. how can it he said that 
 God would desire to assist a person in d< \ himself? Such 
 
 a thought cannot enter the mind of a Christian Oh, if 3-011 
 
234 VIRTUES AND DOCTRINE OF ST. VINCENT DE PAUL 
 
 knew how great an evil it is to intrude oneself into the office of 
 preacher for the purpose of preaching otherwise than Jesus 
 Christ has preached, otherwise than have preached the Apostles 
 and many great Saints and servants of God, and still do preach, 
 you would be horror-stricken! God knows, thr.t three times, 
 during three consecutive days, I knelt before a priest, who then 
 was, but now is not, of the Congregation, to beg of him, with 
 all the earnestness I rossibly could, to preach and speak with 
 simplicity ? and to follow the directions that were given him, but 
 I never could induce him to consent. He gave the instructions 
 of the Ordination but produced no fruit; and all that beautiful 
 collection of thought and selected periods went off in smoke, 
 for, in truth, it is not the pomp of words that profits souls, but 
 simplicity and humility, which draw down and instil into the 
 he -irts of men the grace of Jesus Christ. And if we will recognize 
 and confess the truth, what is there in us to attract all these gen- 
 tlemen, the ordinands, the theologians, the bachelors and licen- 
 tiates of Sorbonne and Navarre, who come here? It is not the 
 learning nor the .doctrine which we offer them, for the}' have 
 more than we. No; but it is the humility and simplicity in 
 -which, by the grace of God, we act towards them. They come 
 ~Jiere only to learn virtue ; when once they see its light grow 
 -dim in us they will withdraw. Hence, we ought to desire and 
 pray to God that He may be pleased to grant the grace to all 
 the Congregation, and to each one of us in particular, to act 
 simply and plainly, and to preach the truths of the Gospel in 
 the way Our Lord has taught them, that thus, all may under- 
 stand them, and each one profit by what we say." 
 
 He said to those who preferred a more elevated and ornate 
 style to simplicity and familiarity : " Why all this vain display » 
 Does any one desire to show himself an elegant rhetorician? a 
 learned theologian? Strange! he, surely, takes the wrong way. 
 Perchance, he may be esteemed by a certain class of persons 
 who hardly understand anything about it; but to acquire the es- 
 teem of the wise, and to win the reputation of being an eloquent 
 speaker, he must know how to persuade his auditory to embrace 
 what he desires, and to dissuade it from what he wishes it to 
 void. But that does not consist in a dainty choice of words 
 nd rounded periods, in an unusual manner of expressing the 
 iubUetypf his eoneeptions 4 nnd in delivering his discourse in an 
 
[PUCITT. 23J 
 
 elevated and dramati rhich overshoots the mark. 
 
 Do such preachers attain their end ? Do they strongly persuade 
 the love of piety! Arc the people touched, and is theoonfes 
 sional crowded 1 And yet Midi is the supposed aim of th 
 
 at preachers] Bat here is their real object: to acquires 
 name, to ha 1 l: Truly, that man declaims well; he is elo- 
 
 quent; he has beautiful thoughts and he expresses them agree- 
 ably, Behold to What the fruit of their sermons amounts! Y>i 
 then ascend the pulpit not to 
 
 — oil, what a eii BOf a thing SO holy as the word 
 
 of , God * to* nourish and vanity! 
 
 Savi 
 
 lie then went on to a 
 all b 1 by this too simp! 
 
 method." And he ansv. You will thereby 1<>m> your 
 
 honor; oh! in preaching as Je I has preac] 
 
 will lose your honor! What! to speak the Son of 
 
 God has spoken of Him is to lo 
 
 the word of the Fi 10 honor! To del 
 
 with simplicity, in familiar ! ' has 
 
 to have no honor! T man of 
 
 h down 1 ' of C'> I 
 
 it with a >lfc my Divine Savior! 
 
 Oh, gentlemen! To our honor in pr 
 
 the Gospel as Jesus Christ has preached it! I would just as soon 
 Ile.W!. 
 ;lv how to manage H ten, that He d well 
 
 understand himself 1 Oh , what >hemyP 
 
 In again: "As. things of natural 
 
 hose that are painted 
 :d familiar discoo 
 an 1 :ii is a □ arable ac than those 
 
 ■ 
 
 He i n g 
 
 and ; I it himself even i:i I b one. iii i 
 
 turn, had t ) speak before him. In the evening he gave an 
 account of the sermon, and had it analy licly by the 
 
 chief members of the community. When vat 
 
 ich and took pleasure in pointing out the 
 
236 VIRTUES AND DOCTRINE OF ST. VINCENT DE PAUL. 
 
 Vanity displayed therein and then he concluded in his ordinary 
 charity: ''Believe me, sir; try to preach as Jesus Christ has 
 done. This Divine Savior could, had he so desired, have said 
 marvellous things concerning our most sublime mysteries, and 
 with conceptions and terms corresponding, being, as He was, 
 the Word and the Wisdom of His Eternal Father. And, yet, 
 we know in what manner he preached, simply and humbly, in 
 order to accommodate Himself to the people, and to give us a 
 model and a method how to treat His holy word." 
 
 When he was sending the ecclesiastics of his conference on a 
 mission in the Faubourg St. Germain, these latter took the liberty 
 to represent to him that there was a great difference between a 
 mission given in a city, and a city like Paris, and missions in the 
 country. With different enemies, different arms, they said to 
 him; and this simple and familiar language which succeeds with 
 fthe country people, would, here, excite on^ laughter and 
 -ridicule. "What is that I just heard, gentlemen?" interrupted 
 ""Vincent, "behold words inspired by human prudence, and, . 
 -.perhaps, by self-love. You, then, wish to destroy the power of 
 S3the cross by relying on means purely natural Believe me, the 
 method which God has blessed in your mission to the country 
 people is the only one He will bless in the mission you wish to 
 undertake. You go to combat the spirit of the world, which is 
 a spirit of pride, and you will overcome it only by attacking it 
 in the spirit of Jesus Christ, which is a spirit of simplicity and 
 humility. Like this Divine Savior, seek not your own glory, 
 but the glory of His father; after His example, be ready to 
 suffer contempt, and, if need be, contradiction and persecution. 
 In speaking the language which the Son of God bas spoken, it 
 will not be you who speak but Jesus Christ through you. Thus, 
 you will merit to become the instruments of that mercy which 
 alone touches hearts the most obdurate and converts souls the 
 most rebellious." 
 
 Let us terminate this chapter with the admirable letter the 
 Saint wrote to Mr. Martin, Superior in Turin, who was anxious 
 to inaugurate, with some grand mission, his ministry in Piedmont, 
 "Oh. no, my dear sir," Vincent immediately wrote to him, 
 "you must, on the contrary, begin by some little mission that 
 will have no great show. To commence so meanly will seem 
 
SIMPLICITY 
 
 237 
 
 to you unfortunate; for, to acquire esteem we ought, it seems, 
 
 conn- out a little by a g >mplete and splendid mission which 
 
 will, at i lav all the fruits of the spirit of the COD 
 
 tion. May <o>d me from the thought of such a desire! 
 
 What conforms to our poverty and to the spirit of Christianity 
 Is to fly ail ostentation, and lo ment, Is to seek contempt 
 
 and humiliation as Jesus Christ has done; ami when we have 
 this resemblance to Him lie will labor for us. The late Bishop 
 of Geneva uudei stood this well. The first time that he 
 preached in Paris, <>;i the occasion of the last visit he made, the 
 
 people Hocked to hear him. from all quarters of the city; the 
 
 Court was present, and all. who could render an audii 
 
 rthy so celebrated a preacher, were present Every 
 pected a discourse befitting the power of that genius by which 
 he was accustomed to rivet the attenti< u of all. But what did 
 this great man of God do! lie simply recited the life of 
 
 Martin, and he did this on purpose to abase himself before SO 
 
 many illustrious personages, whose presence alone would hi 
 
 the enthusiasm of any other preacher. II" was the 
 
 fust to profit from his senium by reason of this aorokj net of 
 humility. He related this, shortly alter the occurrence, to 
 M adam de Chantal and myself, lie said to us: 'Oh, howl 
 lis re mortified om . They were Bure that I would be won- 
 
 drously eloquent before such jgood company.' Durirg the 
 sermon a girl said: 'Just look at the mountaineer, how poorly lie 
 speaks: It was well worth his while to i far to 
 
 what he ad weary the patience of so many:' This is 
 
 how the saint repressed nature which loves distinction and re- 
 nown; it isthus we should do, preferring the common and lowly 
 to great and important occupations, preferring abjection to 
 
 honor. I hope, indeed, that you and those of your house will 
 build upon this holy practice as a found;, tion. so that your 
 edifice may be established upon the rock, and not ii| on moving 
 
 sand.* 1 
 
CHAPTER XV. 
 
 PRUDENCE. 
 
 Vincent did not, any more than the Gospel does, separate 
 simplicity from prudence: two virtues equally necessary to 
 each other, and which he practiced in the same degree of per- 
 fection. His prudence and his wisdom obtained for him 
 universal confidence. During his entire life, St. Lazarus was 
 known as the house of the Seer, and people came to consult him 
 on all affairs pertaining either to Church or State, to the public 
 in general or to private individuals. During half a centuty 
 there was nothing of importance done in France, whether in the 
 political, or religious order, without his participation or his 
 counsel. In the height of the civil troubles he wa.3 equally es- 
 teemed and consulted by both parties, by the Court, and by 
 the Princes, by the adherents of: Mazarin. and by the Frondists. 
 In the troubles of Jansenism he again it was to. whom they 
 addressed themselves, and to his prudent intervention is princi- 
 pally due the triumph of truth, the preservation of faithful com- 
 munities, and the return to the faith of a number of the 
 seceder^. The nuncios, Bagni and Piecolomini, were accus- 
 tomed to seek his advice in relation to important questions 
 concerning the Church of France, and even the Universal 
 Church. Bishops, abbots, directors of souls, submitted to him 
 their most serious and most delicate affairs. Heads of 
 religious orders, superiors of communities sought his concur- 
 rence for the reformation of their orders and of their houses; or 
 again, an individual religious, a simple novice would consult 
 
PKUDEXCK. 239 
 
 him on his vocation, or his change Of state. Numbers of 
 
 torn, of priests, pi to him the difficulties of their 
 
 ministry, or of their conscience, Great lot\ls and noble ladies left 
 to him the decisions of their projects for the glory of God, the 
 ■r of their neighbor, 6r their own sanctlocation. There 
 was not a ge: ul.not a family, not a com m unity in whieh 
 
 his prudent action was unfclt; not a ronoion f >r a good object 
 of which he was not the inspiration tnd the guide. 
 
 Whence earn I this univeisal recourse to him I No doubt, f rem 
 
 his reputation for sanctity; bom the confidence placed in the 
 grace attached by God tohis Intervention ;but also from the know! 
 edge of his natural and acquired prudence. For he was n wise 
 man by excellence, a man, possessing in an eminent degree that 
 good sense which Boasuet terms the master of human lift-; and 
 conse [USntly, he was a man always keeping himself in that 
 
 middle where the true and the good have Ixed their throne, 
 preserving himself with equal care from both extremes 
 
 which end in error and ill BUC Even the pretext of good 
 
 could not deceive his prudence. From necessity he had origi- 
 nated the adage: "The better is the enemy of the good." for 
 that was among his maxims. He said again: »• The human 
 mind U active and restless. The most enlightened are not 
 always the best, if they be not as well the most circumspect 
 "We walk safely when we do not depart from the path trodden 
 1 y the majority of tin 
 
 He founded his prudence < n God, whose will he was careful 
 to consult in everything; on Jesus Christ, whose lessons and 
 examples he studied, in order to conform his counsel and his 
 conduct to the virtue of a holy analog}', ever asking himself: 
 ''What would Our Lord have said, or done in like circum- 
 stances, or in such a difficulty 
 
 11 There 19 n time to speak and a time to keep silence" the 
 Divine Wisdom Ins said, Vincent had learned it and practiced 
 it. None knew belter how to maintain silence, when speech 
 would either violate a secret, wound < harity, compromise an 
 affair, or when it was simply useless. He knew how to listen, a 
 virtue rare, though necessary, without c\er Interrupting. In- 
 terrupted himself, he instantly . : but, as nothing 
 could bend his inflexible wisdom, the interruption once ended he 
 resumed the thread of his discourse :ind went straight to his 
 
240 VIRTUES AND DOCTRINE OF ST. VINCENT DE PAUL. 
 
 point. His speech was slow from habit of reflection. His reas- 
 onings were pure, clear, and convincing, expressed in terras 
 plaiiT*and precise, animated with a gentle warmth, and carried 
 persuasion to the heart while convincing the mind. If he spoke 
 the first, he unraveled and explained the question with such 
 order and precision, such d-epth and reach, that each one, even 
 the most clever,said to himself, "That is it,'* — an homage to his 
 infallible good sense. Moreover, good sense taught him to adapt 
 himself to all styles and all language, according to the minds he 
 dealt with, so that the man of moderate parts believed himself 
 his equal, whilst the highest genius did not find him his inferior. 
 And this was because he had the power of discernment in 
 men as well as in doctrine and affairs. He immediately per- 
 ceived the ability of each one, and adjusted his language and 
 conduct in accordance. He divined the strong and the weak, the 
 good and the bad qualities of all, and he knew how to regulate 
 thereupon their position and their occupation. In everything 
 he distinguished the true from the false, the good from the bad, 
 the better from the less good, under appearances the most de- 
 ceptive, or the most clearly hypocritical. 
 
 This is what made his direction so sure, his decision so infal- 
 lible, his action, when once he had formed his mind, so firm and 
 so resolute. When consulted, he sometimes was slow to an- 
 swer, for he, himself, required to previously consult God and 
 the wise; but the answer which he finally gave was stamped 
 with the mark of wisdom and experience. 
 
 He was, likewise, slow to resolve and undertake, always in 
 virtue of that good sense wiiich felt the need of previously pen- 
 etrating and combining the nature, the means, and the end in all 
 things. His children, particularly the younger, used to com- 
 plain to him of it, and he ordinarily answered as he did on the 
 7th of December, 1641, in the following letter, addressed to Mr. 
 Codoing, Superior of the Mission at Annecy: "You will object 
 that I am too slow, that you have to wait sometimes six months 
 for an answer that might be given within a month, and that, 
 meanwhile, the occasions pass, all remains stationary. To 
 which, sir, I answer that it is true: I am top long a time in an- 
 swering, and in doing things; but, notwithstanding, I have never 
 yet seen any affair spoiled by my dela3 r ; on the contrary, every- 
 
PR! ! ■ . 241 
 
 thin • . and with the n< 
 
 foresight and precaution. Still, I purpose, for the future, to 
 swer yoi le after their receipt, and after 
 
 ha\ i l . 1 1 1 \- hon< 
 
 by the time we t h maturely wh Bins Hia 
 
 Von will, then, in your turn correct yourself, it' you 
 I lei : .ii*l action, and I will 
 
 labor to correct my negligence Will I dare tell \ 
 
 sir, without blusl . There ia no remedy; I must I 
 
 thus, that, reviewing all the principal things that have been d< 
 in this <•. ' ia easily demonstrat- 
 
 ed, that bad they been done before they were, they would i 
 
 well don [ say this of all, wij 
 An 1 thia ia why I have n ^ptvial devotion to following, step by 
 step, the ad trable Providence and the sole consolation 
 
 I have is, me it is oar Lord alone Who has done, 
 
 and constantly does, all in this little Congregation." 
 
 lie was then the friend oi slowness, <>r rather, the enemy of 
 
 tipitation. T an effect of his prudence, fhia Blow- 
 
 ness had, moreovi is fear of going in < a to 
 
 ling oasured of His concurrence, and the 
 
 need he felt of never laying the foundation of a work without 
 
 the certainty, 0,r, at least, the probable hope, of being able to 
 
 ompletion. Prom thi combination, 
 
 the continuance and permanence of all his woiks. 
 
 But, on- I of the Divine Will and of th :es of 
 
 His Providence, nothing hod the power to stay him. lie was 
 
 nayed neither at the number nor the difficulties of the un 
 takings, lie followed them with a force of min i intrep* 
 
 ■hat no ■ \ hether they 
 
 came from persons or things, from the combinat 
 
 »r Of human pas He applied himself with i 
 
 ;••. full of order and light; he sustained the burden, the trouble, 
 thi' • Im that came from a holy security, wit 
 
 inee which he derived from hi- religious 
 . 
 His [raq uperior in its admirable prudence, ¥ 
 
 did not, as with most men. ari \6 to <!' hl8 eal 
 
 Culit on the contrary, vd. 
 
 and brought to a ;l termination all his projtt 
 
242 VIRTUES AND DOCTRINE OF ST. VINCENT l>ti PAUL. 
 
 Such he has shown himself in the establishment and guidance 
 of the Congregations of the Missionaries and the Daughters of 
 Charity, to which he gave rules only after twenty-five and even 
 thirty-three years, wishing thereby to imitate Our Lord, "Who be- 
 gan to l\d before He. taught, and also, to a void the inconveniences 
 of premature Constitutions. Hence there was nothing unfore- 
 seen, nothing provisional, and consequently, nothing to be re. 
 formed in these rules; nothing that did not have existence in 
 fact before being formulated in words, nothing which weakness 
 or cowardice can tax as impracticable or even dillicu! t. 
 
 Such, too, he showed himself in the Council of Conscience, 
 where, with an admirable wisdom, he veered amid so many in- 
 trigues and ambitions, where he knew how to reform so many 
 abuses, where he succeeded in conciliating things often the most 
 incompatible, namely, the interests of the Court and of inclivid- 
 als with the superior interests of the Church. 
 
 Such, in tine, he showed himself when obliged to admonish, 
 to reprehend, or to correct. His prudence knew how to suit 
 itself to character and circumstance, so as not to dishearten 
 pusillanimity or to push pride to revolt, so as not to wound 
 either the dignity cf the person or the charity due to secret 
 faults. Mr. Soure, pastor of St. John en Greve, exiled to Com- 
 piegne, wrote to him on the 17th of August. 1659, to obtain infor- 
 mation concerning a priest who formerly belonged to the Mis- 
 sion, and to whom he wished to confide for a time the care of 
 fiis parish. "Si r/ 7 Vincent answered him, '* I do not sufficiently 
 know the ecclesiastic whom you mention to give any recommen- 
 dation, though he did enter and leave our Congregation twice.'' 
 Messrs. Portail, d'Horgni and Aim eras, who were present when 
 he dictated this letter, observed to him that this pastor would 
 have reason to be surprised if he wrote that he did not know 
 well enough a priest who had been twice under him. ''I see 
 that very clearly," replied Vincent, "but Our Lord, though He had 
 a perfect knowledge of all classes of persons, has, nevertheless, 
 scid to some, ' I know you not;' and he will say the same on 
 the Day of Judgment because he does not know with approving 
 knowledge." What is most to be admired here, his charity or 
 his prudence? 
 
 Vincent sometimes employed no less prudent address than 
 persevering zeal in his efforts with ecclesiastics who were hu* 
 
PRU 243 
 
 tied in matters of faith. One, learned, preacher, of 
 
 aristocratic famil » sec him. r; Sir, w the Saint 
 
 ope day said to him, "as yon are Learned and eloquent 1 want 
 to &ik an advice, [n our mil >untry ii hap] 
 
 Uiat ire find who do not believe the truth holy 
 
 religion, and we :nowbow out convincing them, 
 
 what must we do in such circumsl lr Whj 
 
 me that " replied the ling. ''Because, sir, the 
 
 ,o the rich in their ■ .■ j, and, at 
 
 j oor.ignorant 
 
 rea sured, the abbe enumen 
 the | elision — Scriptuies, the lathe: 
 
 omon consent <-.' pcoph - an 1 
 
 :\- and with- 
 out study, ami mii! it to im 
 
 in self brought the writiug. "Thank loii. si 
 
 • 
 
 Vincent. '* It ia a singular 
 
 • d to learn the ("act 
 
 If, it 
 will your ju i will, with difficul . 
 
 believe it, but it i>. nevertheless, true thai certain pa. 
 
 thing dr. what you hi < II 
 
 writing, profess i'. by an edifying life. Y .wrc 
 
 of rank: I with virt t to 
 
 birth as wit!: stone. When the I in 
 
 I it is incomparably more dazzling than wl i l. M 
 
 had their effi ! 
 had tic the abbe 
 
 himself and ; 
 
 prudent* 
 
 when he lis A 
 
 »ue of his IV era! tin: to him 
 
 he woul don hi-- church! 
 
 :iy ether DO matte ami fill or how rich; and in ph- 
 
 ot" hi- fid mowed him hi : Ff I 
 
 after the tempting offer of a i ■■rami archbishopric wa* 
 
241: VIRTUES AND DOCTRINE OF ST. VINCENT 1)E l'AUL. 
 
 made, and the bishop felt inclined to yield to the sed notion. 
 Vincent met him by chance: "My Lord, 1 ' lie said to him 
 after the compliments of the day were passed, and with his eyes 
 fixed on the bishop's hand, " 1 pray yon remember your ring." 
 "Ah! Mr. Vincent," answered the bishop, " yon catch me 
 there. " 
 
 We must not forget to mention with what a happy union of 
 prudence and humility he extricated himself, on his journey to 
 Mans in 1649, from the embarrassment he was occasioned by 
 the presence in the city of the Bishop. Lavardin de Beanmanoir, 
 — the very one about whose consecration, for an unthinking 
 word, so many ridiculous fables were invented after his death. 
 Far from being of service to him in the council, Vincent had 
 opposed his promotion to the episcopacy Lavardin knew it, 
 had frequently complained of it, and even bitterly. Judge, 
 then, the surprise, and the delicate position of the servant of 
 God when he learned that this prelate, who had not } T et received 
 the bulls, was already at Mans! How was ho to act towards 
 the bishop? It was unbecoming to leave without seeing him, 
 dangerous to see him without previously preparing him, impo- 
 lite to ask him if he would receive a visit. " If I go to salute 
 him," said the Saint, "very likely he will be surprised, and, 
 perhaps, touched and moved; if I send to inquire whether he 
 would be pleased with a visit I do not know how he will receive 
 the compliment; if I neither go nor send, this good lord will 
 have reason to be still more incensed against me, and this must 
 be avoided. What. then, is to be done?" 
 
 The humility of the Saint came to his rescue. The very 
 next morning he sent two of his priests, the superior tf the 
 seminary and another priest, to inform the bishop, that", 
 having arrived in his diocese the previous evening, he did 
 not dare to make any delay "without his permission, and he 
 very humbly besought him to be pleased that he remain seven 
 or eight days in the house of the seminary. 
 
 This compliment on the part of a man whose rectitude 
 and sincerity Lavardin , notwithstanding his resentment, 
 knew better than any other, completely disarmed him : "Say to 
 Mr. Vincent." he answered the messengers, 4i that lie is free 
 
PRUDENCE. 245 
 
 to remain in M . agas lie think 1 that had he no 
 
 house in my episcopal city I would take a pleasure in offering 
 him niiii 
 
 courteous an answer a return of Mi. 
 
 Vincent wag preparing to go to the bishop's pals i he 
 
 brupl departure of Lavardin. 
 
 II 
 
 And will lisl q to the Bainl Bpeaking to 
 
 prudence, in bis conference <>f the 1 4th of March, L659: <f It 
 is the dory of this virtue," h ilate and guide 
 
 »ns. it mak< peak wisely and in 
 
 pro] a, directing us in our d i 
 
 with ci: clion and judgment, those subjects that 
 
 good in their nature and in their cir ices, sup] 
 
 and retaining in silence those that are against God, or thai 
 injure our neighbor, or that tend to self-praise or any other 
 unworthy object, This virtue, n u> to act with 
 
 discretion; and only i ture deliberation, and with pure 
 
 motives in everything we do, not only In regard to the sub- 
 
 ice of the action bul ; so that the 
 
 prudent man he should, when lie should, and 
 
 purpose he should. On the contrary, the imprudent man 
 adopt- neither the proper manner, nor time, nor motive, and 
 ia wherein his fault lies, whereas the prudent man, acting 
 with di« . does all things iu weight, number and 
 
 measure. 
 •• Prudi d impliedly tend to the sane- end which is to 
 
 -.k well and to do well, and all with a vi w t i -id, 
 
 as the one cannot exist without the other, our Lord has 
 recommended both together. I am aware that, by a disti 
 tion of reason, a difference may be found 
 virtues ; hut they have, in real] mneotion both in 
 
 tluir substance and in their object The prudence of the flesh 
 and the world, it has for • of bon 
 
 of pleasures, and of riches, is dia lly opposed to 
 
 Chri and prudence which alienate us from 
 
 goods and impel i. lid and 
 
 enduring. They are as two good sisters who are inseparable, 
 
246 VIRTUES AND DOCTRINE OF ST. VINCENT I)E PAUL. 
 
 and are so necessary for our spiritual advancement that lie,, 
 who has learned to make proper use of them, will certainly* 
 amass great treasures of grace and merit. Otir Lord, on. 
 several occasions, practiced both in an excellent degree, and', 
 particularly when that poor woman, caught in adultery, was 
 brought to Him to be condemned; for, not desiring to take the 
 place of judge at that time, and wishing to deliver her from 
 her enemies, He said to the Jews: c Let him ivho is ivithoutsin, 
 among you, cast the first stone at her." (John viii, 7). Herein 
 he practiced in an eminent degree these two virtues : simplicity, 
 in the merciful design He had of saving this poor creature, and 
 thus doing the will of 1'is Father, and prudence, in the manner 
 He adopted to effect His purpose. And so, again, when the 
 Pharisees came, tempting Him. asking if it were lawful to 
 give tribute to Caesar; for, on the one hand, he wished to 
 maintain the honor of His Father,and do nothing to the preju- 
 dice of His people,andon the other,He did not want to put Him- 
 self on record, as being m opposition to the rights of Cassar,nor 
 to give His enemies an opportunity to publish Him as in favor- 
 of exactions and monopolies. What, then, does He answer 
 them so as not to say anything out of place, and to avoid all 
 surprise ? He requests them to show Him the money of the 
 tribute, and, learning from the lips of the very ones who show- 
 it, that it is the image of Coesar that is engraved upon it, He 
 says to them: 'Render, therefore, to Cwsar the things that 
 are Qmsatfs and unto God the things that are God's. 7 (Mark, 
 xii, 17). Simplicity appears in this answer in its relation 
 with the intention Jesus Christ had in His heart of teaching 
 that the honor due should be given to the king of Heaven and. 
 the king of earth respectively; and prudence also appears, 
 since by this answer He wisely avoids the snare these wicked 
 men set to surprise Him. 1 ' 
 
 " It is, then, the nature of prudence to regulate words and 
 actions; but it has, moreover, another duty, and this is the 
 choice of the proper means to attain the end proposed, and 
 this end being none other than God it takes the paths the 
 most direct and most certain, that lead to Him. We do not 
 here speak of political and worldly prudence which, aiming at 
 only temporal and sometimes unjust success, makes use, likewise,. 
 
PBCDFNCE, 247 
 
 of but human, and, therefore, very doubtful and uncertain 
 means. But we speak of that holy prudence, recommended to 
 us by our Lord in the Gospel, which induces us to select the 
 proper means to arrive at the end He proposes to us, and, this 
 end being entirely divine, it is necessary that these mean 3 bear 
 with it a relation and a proportion. Now we can choose the 
 means adapted to the end we propose in two ways; either by 
 our reason alune, which is often weak enough; or, guided by 
 the maxims of faith that Jesus Christ has taught us, which 
 are always infallible, and which we can follow without any 
 fear o( being deceived. Hence it is that true prudence subjects 
 our reason to these maxims, and proposes to us, as an inviola- 
 ble rule, to always judge of all things as our Lord has judged ; 
 so that when occasions present themselves, we ask ourselves : 
 * How has our Lord judged of such and such a thing ? How did 
 He act in such and in such circumstances ? What has He said 
 and what has He done in such and such cases ? ' And then we 
 conform our conduct to His maxims and to His examples. 
 Let us, then, gentlemen, take the resolution to act in this 
 wise, and walk with assurance in the royal path wherein Jesus 
 Christ will be our guide and conductor, and remember what 
 He has said, that Heaven and earth will pass away but His 
 words and His truths never. Let us bless our Lord, my 
 brothers, and let us endeavor to think and judge as He, and do 
 all lie has recommended either by word or by example. Let 
 us put on His spirit in order to co-operate with Him in His 
 works ; for, to do good^is not all, we must, moreover, do it 
 well, in imitation of our Lord, of whom it is said: ' He did all 
 thing* ted// (Mark, vii, 37). ^<>, it is not enough to fast, to 
 observe our rules, to perform the functions of the mission ; 
 wc must, further, do these things in the spirit of Jesus Christ, 
 that is to say, with perfection, for the ends and objects He 
 Himself has instituted. Christian prudence consists, then, in 
 judging, in Epeaking, and in acting as the eternal Wisdom ol 
 God, clothed in our weak flesh, has judged, spoken, and 
 acted." 
 
 The Saint again said: '' Where human prudence fails and 
 sees nothing, there the light, of Divine wisdom begins to 
 dawn." 
 
248 VIRTUES AND DOCTRINE OF ST. VINCENT DE PAUL. 
 
 Finally, ho made his prudent slowness- the rule for others r 
 " The works of God are done little by little; they begin and. 
 they progress. When God wished to save Noah with his entire 
 famiiy from the deluge, He commanded him to construct an 
 ark that could have been completed in a short time ; and yet,, 
 that he might do it little; by little, He orders him to comsume 
 a hundred years in building it. God, similarly, wishing to 
 conduct and introduce the children of Israel into the Promised 
 Land could have had them make the journey in a lew day,?,, 
 yet more than forty years went by before He granted them 
 the grace to enter it. Again, having the design to send His 
 Sen into the world to atone for the sin of the first man, as that sin 
 infected all other men, why did he delay more than three or 
 four thousand years ? Because He does not hurry in His 
 works, and He docs all things in their proper time. And, 
 too, our Lord, coming upon the earth to work our redemption, 
 could have come in perfect age without consuming thirty 
 years in retirement, which might seem superfluous. Never- 
 theless, He has willed to be born a little child and to increase 
 and grow in age, just as other men, in order to approach, 
 little by little, the consummation of His purpose. Did He 
 not sometimes say, speaking of vvhat He had to do, that His 
 hour had not yet come? And this to teach us not to advance 
 too much in things that depend more on God than upon us, 
 He could, even in His own time, have established His Church 
 throughout the entire earth; yet He contented Himself with 
 laying the foundations, leaving the rest to be done by His 
 Apostles and their successors. Accordingly it is not expedient 
 towishtodo everything at once and immediately, nor to 
 think all is lost because everyone does not manifest an eager- 
 ness to co-operate with us in the little good will we have. 
 What then must we do ? Go on sweetly and calmly, pray to. 
 God a good deal, and net in concert."" 
 
CHAPTER XVI. 
 
 JUSTK E AND GU \ 
 
 I. 
 
 Vincent regulated 
 the woi r, therefore, to < 
 
 things thai are G >.r the things that are 
 
 r's." 
 To Go<J, abov." all. he, ;:- a !;. , QS a plies!", 
 
 faithfully re ien like- 
 
 to their c . itli him, ho 
 
 pai ; lebt of justice. "Tribute to whom tribute ; 
 
 torn to whom custom ; fear i> ; honor to whom 
 
 honor; owing no man anything sa . which he so . 
 
 tier! wards all thi i the 
 
 ent:. . said to his community : ^Gentl 
 
 care for the interests of other lias for our own ; let as 
 
 he upright in our dealings, act lo; 
 himself, jui it before everything else. Hewr 
 
 day: l * Remember particularly to pray to 
 ten' If obliged to select b 
 
 one to fulfill a promise 1 made, the other I 
 it y to one w\ a great deal 
 
 of barm, and on y both. I left tlie act of charity 
 
 iliill my pro: i the person to whom 1 rery 
 
 mucli di I am not .- ::1 tout 
 
 as to having yielded too much to my ineli seems 
 
 to me, I did in doing the act o! 
 
 community without 
 
 ing to he asked : and often he had the amount sent to I 
 
250 VIRTUES ASP DOCTRINE OF ST. VINCENT DE PAUL. 
 
 house of the creditor. '•' It is not just," ho used to say, "to 
 give them the trouble to come to demand what is legitimately 
 due them." 
 
 He largely indemnified those who had to suffer from any ac- 
 cident on his part, no matter how involuntarily. One day his 
 coachman having upset in the mud some loaves that were in. 
 front of a bakers shop, he immediately paid for them and or- 
 dered them sent to St. Lazarus. 
 
 The same coachman, another time, having broken a rotten 
 bar that served to close a carriage entrance, he made him re- 
 place it with a new one worth four times as much. 
 
 He never received recompense for his good offices ; never es- 
 pecially would he casta favor in the way of equity to arrest 
 its course. In a certain large city the missionaries were threat- 
 ened in the possession of their establishment by some power- 
 ful persons, who had summoned them before the law. The 
 governor offered to protect them on consideration that Vincent 
 would befriend him at Court. " If it be in my power to serve 
 you," the Saint wrote to him, " 1 will do so ; but, I beseech 
 you, leave the affair of the priests of the Mission in the hands 
 of God and of justice to decide ; for I do not desire to be in 
 any place either by the favor or authority of men." 
 
 Though enjoying seignorial rights he was the enemy of dis- 
 cord and litigation. Yet he dispensed justice gratuitously and 
 recommended that kindness and mildness should be exercised 
 in his courts. He, himself, intervened whenever, for example, 
 he learned there was danger of dissension between any two fam- 
 ilies of his domain, and his charity rarely failed to conciliate 
 both interests aud hearts. He dissuaded all those who coun- 
 selled him from trying the law. " A lawsuit/' he said, " is a 
 morsel hard of digestion, and the very best is not worth the 
 poorest accommodation." He said again : u A mutual agree- 
 ment in actions at law is so acceptable to God, that He says 
 to each one, ' Seek after peace and pursue iV/(Psi xxxiii.15.) He 
 does not merely say we should accept this divine peace when 
 offered us, but that we should seek it and run after it. 
 
 Much less would he patronize the law either for himself or 
 for his houses. He wrote to one of his priests who had tried the 
 kw and had been defeated : « We have reason to go to law as 
 
.i! - : i on k/rrroDE. 25 1 
 
 le as po ind when foroed to do so, ir is only after 
 
 bai Milnn and without. We prefer to 
 
 relinquish what dify our neighho 
 
 His conduct in suits he ecu] I id was full of charity. 
 
 If on th or bad them 
 
 fisi tO them 
 
 own cause than to pray tbi 
 Plaintiff and defendant ie, lie al situ- 
 
 out i D all that WW in favor of hi? adversary a< well 
 
 what availed himself. One would b - an 
 
 impan ial councilor whose interest in d sc- 
 
 cured; ot rather, he was partial onl; lahis opponent, 
 
 whose ] "ongerl gbl than hh own, 
 
 Besides, he went t>> see the m-.i- 
 AH ion app »ared to h 
 
 [," he would say, " should pay no at- 
 tention :o any such. K myself, when iu the Councilor 
 Queen, counted all repr nothing, contenting my- 
 
 B !f to examine if ti re just or no . 
 
 id the purse of the party opposed to him more than 
 own. Some of hi in affair with certain ten- 
 
 ants who were intractable and of bad faith, begged him to pro- 
 cure for them a < intimidate these men 
 
 ddicted . •■ i I ' is best yo 
 
 Vincent answered, "I won] y sorry, for my part, to 
 
 see i ;o come so tar I 
 
 selves." 
 
 The inhabitants of the valley of Puiseauz wished to lew a 
 tax on the little farm of Fresneville, which . a io the 
 
 i, and, in spite of his friendly efforts to the con- 
 trary, tiny invoked the law. They, therefore, came to IV 
 The Saint received them as people d with his own 
 
 •. He i .em at St 1. I ITU I, had them placed by his 
 
 .'n the refectory, and defrayed the expenses of their return 
 home. When the Bui m the point « . lie 
 
 sent them notice th Iduce in time their last 
 
 argumei timed to Tar: Look them- 
 
 selves straightway to him as to the patron of their cause, lie, 
 himself, brought them io the s . where he aided them to 
 
252 VIRTUES AND DOCTRINE OF ST. VINCENT 1)E PAUL. 
 
 establish their pretended rights. Much against his will, as it 
 were, they were defeated; but ho bore all the expenses of the 
 proceedings, gave them their supper, once more lodged them 
 for the night, and only allowed them to depart when he had 
 put into the hands of each twenty sous for his journey home. 
 
 When he, himself, lost a case he submitted to the decrees 
 of justice as to a judgment of God. No murmur, no com- 
 plaint against either Providence or men ; and he required his 
 priests to imitate him in this. "Long live justice," he wrote 
 on the 24th of October, 1G59, to one of his missionaries in 
 Genoa, '-'long live justice. You most believe that it is found 
 in the loss of your cause. The same G-od Who gave you the 
 good has taken it away ; blessed be His holy name! Good 
 becomes evil when it is not where God wishes it to be. The 
 more we resemble our Lord naked on the cross the more will 
 we partake of His spirit. The more we seek, as He did, the 
 kingdom of God, His Father, in order to establish it within 
 ourselves and in others, the more will those things that are 
 necessary for life be given us. Live in this confidence and do 
 not anticipate those years of sterility of which you speak. 
 Should they come and you lack either the means of subsist- 
 ence, or occupation, or both together, well, in the name of the 
 Lord, let them come. It will not be through your fault but 
 by the order of Providence whose conduct is always adorable. 
 Let us, then, leave to our Father in Heaven the duty of 
 guiding us, and let us, whilst on earth, strive to will as He 
 wills and reject what He rejects." 
 
 Gratitude is a part of justice, for it is justice to be ren- 
 dered to benefactors. Vincent, who was so just, could not 
 therefore, be but grateful both to God, the source of all good, 
 and to men who, for us, are the channels of His mercies. 
 Every morning he returned thanks to God for His glory, for 
 the glory He gave His Son. for that which He gave the 
 Blessed Virgin, the holy angels, the apostles and all the saints. 
 He, again, thanked Him lor the graces conferred upon the 
 Church, on all religious orders, and particularly for those con- 
 ferred upon his own congregation. Finally, he thanked Him 
 for the assistance given the poor, fcr the happy success ac- 
 corded the arms of the king, for the victories won by Christian 
 
JUSTK E and QR \ ni i DM. 253 
 
 princes over infidelity, m : m a word, tor all 
 
 rantageo l buroh or State. And as he believed 
 
 himself unable to acknowledgement, 
 
 be invited bis children, devout and religions cemmu- 
 
 , to unite with li i duty and would Bay: 
 
 "Praise t) lothing gains the hearl of God 
 
 We oughJ to employ as mnoh time in 
 
 thanking i is we oceupi iking 
 
 them/' And then he would lamenl over the ingratitude of 
 
 men ; he would repeat the complaint of our L >rd in reference 
 
 to the nine lepers who did not return ml Him. He 
 
 strong ;t from o vice which, he Baid, 
 
 unworthy to recer tvor either from God or m 
 
 He tenderly thanked God for all ts conferred. upon 
 
 !f ; and ever] toe anniversary ol bis baptism, be 
 
 aid of tbe nomageand immunity 
 
 so that his thank fulnes not fall short ol the favors he 
 
 b id iee, -veil from the Divine B >unty. 
 
 Grateful •. I lion kful towards all 
 
 who had rendered any ell or to his com- 
 
 munity. A!v, nngthai none owed himsell anything 
 
 lie regarded all honor, all kindness done him as a favor, and 
 ured forth his thanks with a touching humility and an 
 u) of bear,. u How good of you,* he would say, "not 
 to despise my < I to supp inner) to 
 
 i to me so pal m your I 
 
 May God a! And thus be acted towards the 1 
 
 bison (hem bavin. d some holy water 
 
 for him and i. for bis blessing, he -aid: 
 
 brother, may God ward you." That was bis cus- 
 
 tomary formula. inability," h or wrote, 
 
 "to suitably thank you, I pray God to I hanks 
 
 and your 
 He acted in 
 
 ildren, thanking them for the -t ser- 
 
 vice,.- having helped him to m . tnd he 
 
 would blame hi- much e in his 
 
 thai: . 
 
 1, in ex;/ nr L >r .1. as done 
 
254 VIRTUES AND DOCTRINE OF ST. VINCENT DE PAUL. 
 
 to himself what was done to the least of those belonging to 
 him, and was equally grateful. 
 
 He was even grateful towards those who rendered no direc t 
 service to either himself or his children; for instance, towards 
 the poor country farmers, who, by their labors furnished the 
 clergy with the means to live solely for the sanctification of 
 the people. After having, one day, pictured a vivid repre- 
 sentation of their sufferings in the public calamities, he said : 
 "Alas! my brethren, while they slave themselves thus to 
 nourish us we seek the shade and take our rest. Even in the 
 missions where we labor the churches shelter us from the in- 
 clemency of the weather; Ave are not exposed to the wind, or 
 rain, or to the rigors of the seasons. Surely, living thus by the 
 sweat of these poor people, and on the patrimony of Jesus 
 Christ, we should always reflect, in going to the refectory, 
 v/hether we have actually deserved the food we are going to 
 take. For my part, that thought often enters my mind and 
 gives me great confusion. I say to myself: ' Wretch! have 
 you earned the bread you go to eat? the bread you receive from 
 the labor of the poor? At least, my brethren, if we do not 
 gain it as they do, let us pray to God for them, and not allow 
 a day to pass that we will not offer them to our Lord that He 
 may be pleased to give them the grace to make a good use of 
 their sufferings. We said, some few days ago, that God looks 
 to the priests, particularly, to arrest the course of his indigna- 
 tion; He expects that they will do, as Aaron did, and station 
 themselves with censers in their hands between Him and these 
 poor people ; or else, like Moses, they will make themselves 
 intercessors to obtain a cessation of the evils they suffer for 
 their ignorance and their sins, evils they, perhaps, would not 
 have had to undergo had they received the necessary instruction 
 and had care been taken of their religious welfare.. To these 
 poor, then, we should render these offices of charity as much 
 to satisfy the duty of our condition as to manifest gratitude 
 for the benefits we receive from their labors. Whilst they 
 struggle against want and all the misfortunes that encompass 
 them we must, like Moses, constantly raise our hands to 
 Heaven for them ; and if they suffer for their sins and igno- 
 rance, we ought to be their intercessors with the Divine Mercy, 
 
JUS! ICE \\;> OR miii 255 
 
 for charity obliges us to give them a helping hand to withdraw 
 thom irom their misfortunes; and, moreover, if ire do not oc- 
 enp it to cost us our lives, in instructing 
 
 ing (hem in their per. lod, 
 
 we become, in e oner, the cause of all the evils they, 
 
 com mi i." 
 
 Much more did he manifest a lively gratitude towards his 
 >rs and those of his congr 
 pom Main • bo Anjon, in 1649, t 
 bv two remarkable instances of gratitude. The young mis- 
 sionan. who accompanied bim and had rescued him from a 
 very tm -r whilst cr a river that was much 
 
 swollen. Little by little grew tepid, and 1- s observa 
 
 of rule, and his superiors soon fonnd him tndocil lly, 
 
 tired of the yoke, he wished to cast it off entirely, and, not 
 withstanding all the ordinary efforts of Vincent, to retain him 
 in his vocation, he left. 
 
 At the end of a year he repented, and like the pro Hgal son 
 he cried out: "Iwillria to my He there- 
 
 upon wrote to Vincent letter after 1": ', on and 
 
 beseeching bim to receive him among the nun most 
 
 humble b if not of his children. 
 
 Both to try him, and Irom repugnance to receive anew 
 who once had left, Vincent, for long, I o answer. The 
 
 missionary multiplied his letters and redoubled his importuni- 
 ty: -I am forever lost, my father, unl 
 helping hand." At this, Vincent responded, not, howe 
 to grant him his request, but to lay before his eyes the fault 
 he had o ad the impossibility iving 
 
 him. 
 
 Repulsed in all hi (n methods of at- 
 
 tack he tried a final a the most ible, 
 
 and the mosl vulnerable of the heart of Vincent: " Sir," ho 
 A ' him, ' 4 1 once saved the life of your bod that 
 
 of i: pencd the 1 
 
 immediately answered, <k con. i will be welcomed with 
 
 open arms." It gation of the 
 
 -ion on - ingtoVi atiful expression, 
 
 but into that of 1 ; hat he was to enter. On the pome 
 
256 VIRTUES AND DOCTRINE OF ST. VINCENT DE PAUL. 
 
 of setting out, lie fell sick and died, lull of the hope he found 
 in repentance and in the generous pardon so graciously accord- 
 ed him. 
 
 The second instance is no less touching. On getting out of 
 the water St. Vincent entered the farm house of the Goualerie 
 to dry his clothes. Always at home among the poor, he entered 
 into conversation with the farmer and learned that he was af- 
 flicted with rupture whieh caused him cruel torments. The holy 
 priest, whom God had cured of a like evil, promised him, as 
 soon as he returned to Paris, to send him a certain bandage 
 that would give him instant relief*. After having paid bis 
 host of the moment most liberalty, and thanked him for the 
 hospitality of his cottage with more earnestness than he would 
 a noblemen for the hospitality of his castle he resumed his 
 journey. I lis travelling was prolonged far beyond his calcu- 
 lations or desires. Nevertheless, he has scarcely set foot in 
 Paris when he recalls his host and his promise. lie sends the 
 bandage and adds a letter wherein he reiterates all hit thanks. 
 And, as' there was no sure way of reaching the poor peasant, 
 he addresses all to the lady of the Marshall of Schomberg, of 
 whose lands the Goualerie formed a portion, with the reediest 
 to co-operate in the good work and recommend the peasant 
 to the good will of her people. 
 
 Loving, esteeming those belonging to him more than him- 
 self he could not entertain less grateful feelings for the bene- 
 factors of his houses. 
 
 He provided for the support and settled for the rent of a 
 poor woman for twenty-live, or thirty years, because she had 
 nursed one or two of the plaguc-strieken of St. Lazarus. 
 
 The Jesuit Fathers of Bar had received into their house a 
 missionary of Lorraine. He died w T ith them and was buried 
 in their church. Touched with this hospitality accorded to 
 his child whilst living and when dead, the saint gave his 
 community, for subject of conference, the necessity of gratitude. 
 "I feel two things within me,"' he said, "gratitude and in- 
 ability to refrain from praising the good. 1 ' 
 
 Even those, to whose generosity obligations were attached, 
 did not find him wanting in gratefulness. "We must not on 
 that account," he said, "fail to show ourselves very thankful 
 
JX75TK B and QBA.TITDDE. 25? 
 
 and pray to God for them as tor cur benefactors. We see that 
 tin- Church, even, has had Bach a feeling of gratitude for her 
 benefactors as to relax her discipline in their favor, granting to 
 lay persons the i dating in 
 
 many places, though this right belongs to the Church alone. Why 
 has she done this it* it be not to prove her gratitude for those 
 who have benefited b< 
 
 A doctor of the S alon. had given a 
 
 considerable sum to the Congregation, and finished by found- 
 ing a bouse <>i* the Mission at Aumale, the place of his birth. 
 Exl by labor, penance and mortification, more than from 
 
 old v.ge, lie retired to Vernon, to the children of St. Fia: 
 
 who received him a> an apostle and as an emulator of their pov- 
 erty. Abool a year rjefore his death, Aug. 26th, 1646, Vincent 
 de Paul, who learned of his destitution and the desire he 
 had of i^oing to St. Lazarus, wrote to him: M I thank Grod for 
 
 the hope yoa give us of soon seeing you here, where you may 
 
 your real after your great labors. ( >h, air, how welcome 
 
 you will he, and with what joy 1 will embrace you i Conic. 
 
 then, and. I beg of you, do not delay. And I can assure you. 
 We will take a very special care of your health, and you will be 
 the master of all in the house, aaying and doing just as you de- 
 siic hut particularly will you have all power over me, who ever 
 loved you with greater tenderness than I did my own father. 
 
 If you need the four thousand francs with which you endowed 
 
 the religious of St. Bernard, but which are appropriated to the 
 
 Mission, we will with pleasure return them to you; it being but 
 just, it seems to me, that a founder who is in want should re- 
 ceive assistance out of the revenue of tin; foundation he made. 
 We will do more, for if you have need of the principal to main- 
 lain yourself in your old age, we will restore it to you, as 
 did to the pastor of Vernon. II*- gave US a revenue of six hun- 
 dred francs, and afterwards, belie ving himseli in want»requeate 1 
 it> return, and we gave up both the income and the fund. But 
 if you do no: the principal, still, sir. enjoy the rent as yon 
 
 have done up to the present and we will continue the Missions 
 
 which you have commenced and maintained with such bless- 
 But the children of St. Francis did not wish Mr. Calon 
 to have recourse to the disinterestedness of the holy priest; they 
 retained him with pleasure, and closed his eyes in death 
 
258 VIRTUES AND DOCTRINE OF ST. VINCENT DE PAUL. 
 
 Vincent always acted in this manner towards the founders of 
 his establishments and the benefactors of his Congregation. In 
 September, 1654, he wrote to one of his priests: 'We can 
 never be sufficiently thankful, nor grateful enough to those 
 who have founded our establishments. God has lately given us 
 the grace to offer to a founder of one of our houses the money 
 that he donated, because I believed him in want; and it seems 
 to me I would have been greatly consoled had he accepted. 
 And I believe that, in that case, the Divine Goodness itself 
 would have been our founder and would not have permitted us 
 to want. But even, were that not to happen, what a joy, my 
 dear sir, would it not be to impoverish ourselves to relieve him 
 who had wished to benefit us? God has already given us the 
 grace to do this once, having actually restored to a benefactor 
 (the pastor of Vernon) what he conferred upon us; and ever}' 
 time I revert to it I feel an unspeakable joy and consolation." 
 And, the year following he wrote to a benefactor whom he im- 
 agined to be in straightened circumstances: " I beg you to 
 use the property of the Congregation as your own. We are 
 ready to sell all we have, even our chalices, to assist you. In 
 this we would only do what the hoty canons ordain, namely, to 
 return to our benefactor in his need wiiat he gave us in his 
 abundance. I say this, sir, not for form's sake, but in the pres- 
 ence of God and as I feel it in the bottom, of my heart." 
 
 In 1654, the Cardinal de Retz succeeded in escaping from his 
 prison in Nantes, and fled to Rome. Son of the General of the 
 Galleys, pupil of Vincent de Paul, Retz, even amid his intrigues, 
 his political escapades, and gallantries, always showed himself 
 the protector of St. Lazarus, and St. Lazarus, grateful as its 
 founder, was inclined to sustain Retz in his disgrace. Vincent 
 de Paul, without money, owing to the condition of the Congre- 
 gation at that time and of France, borrowed three thousand 
 francs to send the Cardinal. Retz, knowing the straightened 
 circumstances of St. Lazarus, refused. He then was offered 
 at least personal service. The Missionaries of Rome, therefore, 
 received the proscribed Cardinal; but on whose order, and under 
 what circumstances, and at what cost, the following letter, 
 written to Ozenne, in Genoa, the 12th of March, 1655, will show: 
 "Our house in Rome is in distress, as you may have learned by 
 
JUSTICE AND ..KATniDK. 259 
 
 the Gazette of that Court. And the reason is because, by order 
 of the Pope, they received the Cardinal de Rets, before they 
 were aware of the Kings prohibition to have any intercourse 
 With him. The King, displeased at this act of obedience to the 
 Tope and of gratitude to our archbishop, has had orders sent 
 
 bo Mr. Berihe and the other French priests to leave Boose and 
 return to Prance They have done so, and Mr. Berths is now 
 
 in France, or on the point of arriving, and through pure Obedi- 
 ence. The aflair may turn out as God pleases; but it is better 
 to forfeit all than lose the virtue of gratitude. " 
 
 We have elsewhere recounted what the affectionate gratitude of 
 
 Vincent did for Adrian le Bon, the former prior Of St Lazarus 
 
 A part of this gratitude was exercised towards the old religious 
 of St. Lasnrus. Vincent desired that they be granted as 
 much as conscience would permit, and made participants in 
 
 the good WOrfcs of the Congregation. •• All our little merit 
 he said, "come from their gifts." He himself gave the example, 
 and on every occasion showed them both in word and deed a sing- 
 ular deference. The sub-prior having been prostrated by B con- 
 tagious disease, then prevalent at St Lazarus, he went to see 
 him, consoled him, offered him his servicers, served him in re- 
 ality, remaining with him and inhaling his infectious breath. 
 and would have stayed with him night and day had he not been 
 forced away. 
 
 The gratitude of Vincent towards the prior descended even 
 to his servant. This man, after fifteen or sixteen years of ser- 
 i, Left his master in spite of all the efforts and the liberal of- 
 fers of our Saint to retain him. Having returned to 
 his own province, he there almost entirely lost his mind. 
 Without subsistence, without relative-, he fell into m 
 
 ery, wandering at hazard, and gaining his mouthful in 
 any and every way, without knowing distinctly whither 
 his steps led him. But Providence, which was conducting him, 
 
 guided him one day to I'aiK and his intelligence, awakened by 
 the sight of so many objects that recalled ancient memories, 
 discovered the way to St. Laaarus. He asked to speak with 
 Vincent who, occupied at the time, sent him to dinner, promis- 
 ing to see him afterwards at leisure. At the lirst interview, and 
 almost from the first words, the ho saw the sad state of 
 
260 VIRTUES AND DOCTRINE OF ST. VINCENT DE PAUL 
 
 the poor man. " It is the domestic of our benefactor," lie said 
 to himself, ''and we must have pity on him and consider him 
 as one of the family." And, in fact, he gave him a room at St. 
 Lazarus and provided for all his wants till death. 
 
 The virtue of gratitude accompanied Vincent even into the 
 arms of death, for two days before his end he profited of his 
 little remaining force to pay a last tribute of gratitude to his two 
 most illustrious benefactors, the Cardinal de Retz and the rev- 
 erend Father de Gondi, the venerable General of the Galleys. 
 
CHAPTER XVII. 
 
 DBTA.cn MEN r FBOM KART&LY GOODS, AND LOVBOf POVERTY 
 
 I 
 
 The entire life of Vincent <!«' Paul, considered either as * 
 Christian, or as a (bander and superior of a religious comma- 
 nity, was one act of continual detachment (laving overcome 
 
 the desire — legitimate, for that matter — of obtaining a benefice. 
 having renounced one of the best parishes in the diocese of Acqs 
 because he did not wish to acquire possession on the strength 
 of the law's introduction* be no longer obeyed but the 
 
 impulse that led him to possess nothing of hifl own. He Lived 
 poor among the poor at Clicliv and ( 'hatillon, poor again in the 
 house of (iondi; after that he consecrated himself by poverty 
 to the service of the poor. 
 
 Poverty inaugurated all hi> works, iff accepted the founda- 
 tion of Mister and Madame de Gondionly on the refusal of several 
 communities; he refused, for long, the priory of St. Lazarus, 
 and took possession of it only through obedience. And in thai 
 rich house, possessed of seignorisi right-, superior of two c 
 gregations, in favor with the rich and the great, he was captivated 
 anew with love for poverty, and he embraced it with a -^n I 
 passion than does the mi-cr riches. 
 
 He was poor in his room, a room more than modest, small and 
 bare. Its walls were whitewashed, the floor devoid of carpet; for 
 furniture. & deal table with a cover; two straw chairs; for a bed, D 
 hard straw tick without a mattrass, and during the last years of 
 his life without even linen; for all ornament a wooden crucifix and 
 some paper pictures which a brother had, at d liferent tin. 
 
•262 VIRTUES AND DOCTRINE OF ST. VINCENT DE PAUL. 
 
 placed upon the walls, and which the Saint, retaining but a sin- 
 gle one, had had removed as being contrary to poverty. There 
 was neither fire nor fire-place, and that up to the age of eighty, 
 when his childien forced him to take another room because he 
 had need of a little fire in order to dress his ulcerated limbs. 
 But how he humbled himself for it! How he accused his 
 sins as being the cause of subjecting him to such a misery which 
 he called scandalous ! With what parsimony he used the wood 
 which, as everything else, he claimed to be the property of the 
 poor! So, too, when in condescension to the entreaties of his 
 children, he finally consented to permit a curtain on his bed, 
 with what reproaches did he overwhelm himself for this luxury, 
 which resembled the coarse serge that is seen on the beds 
 of the poorest peasants in the country ! And still he feared that 
 his room was too luxuriously fitted up. Hence, when 
 they made the visit to the rooms he required them also 
 to visit his, in order to remove whatever might be super- 
 fluous. He said one day: " There are two coverlets in 
 my room which I .use in perspiring; let them be removed." 
 The same bareness was visible in the lower room where 
 he received persons of the highest rank. A brother had 
 once placed a piece of old ca:pet before the door to keep 
 out a cold wind that blew through; he had it taken away the 
 very same day. The upverty of the clothes he wore at Court 
 has been noticed; at Home they we*e still poorer. If he were 
 told that his collar w r as worn, or that his hat was too old, he 
 would answer with gentle pleasantry: " Oh, my brother, the 
 King can have no more than a collar that is not torn and a hat 
 that is not worn " Equally poor were all the objects destined 
 for his use : his umbrella, for instance, is still preserved, and is 
 made out of a coarse stuff dipped in wax, not unlike the rude 
 canvass the poor women, who sell their wares on the street, 
 use as a protection against the weather. 
 
 Poor in his costume, he was not-less so in his food; and yet, 
 every day when seating himself before his poor pittance, he ex- 
 claimed : *• Ah, wretch, you have not labored for the food you 
 eat." When he found himself in the country without mone}' he 
 was delighted because he could then go to the house of some 
 
DETACHMENT PROM EARTHLY GOODS, 263 
 
 poor peasant ami ask a piece of biack bread for the love of God. 
 
 Hi- poverty Included even tin* ornaments and vestments used 
 
 in the church of St. Lazarus; he would have them plain and 
 
 cheap. Bare OH gran I BOlemnities, He was liberal only in what 
 Concerned the glory of God, and the spiritual and corporal hen 
 elit of the poor; then he became prodigal, and Mattered money 
 
 so much dust and was never troubled with fear in contn 
 ing even large del 
 
 iii> detachment embraced bis Congregation as well as him- 
 self. " This tongue that now speaks to yon,* he one day said 
 to his community, "has never, through the mercy of (Jo 1. asked 
 
 for anything of all that the I i now pOI and 
 
 were i! fly only to take a single step, or to pronounce 
 
 one solitary word to have the Congregation established in the 
 provinces ami in the large cities, to have it multiplied and called 
 to important duties, I would not wish to pronounce that word, 
 and I trust Our Lord would give me the >t to utter it. 
 
 This is the disposition of my heart, which is to let the 1'iovi- 
 deuce of ( \o6 do everything." 
 
 His action in regard t<> the Daughters of Charity was similar. 
 He never made any effort to maintain them in places he had 
 
 sent them, against the wishes of those who had called forth* 
 
 and on the slightest intimation of their pleasure he withdrew 
 
 them. The administration 6f the hospital of Nantes having 
 
 manifested a desire to substitute for the Daughters of Charity 
 the Hospitaller nnns, he, ever disinterested, immediately 
 
 wrote to the gentlemen that he knew a great deal of good COfl 
 
 cerning these nuns, an 1 that if they wished to dismiss the 
 Daughters of Mademoiselle Le Gra*, he xrvy humbly begged 
 them to do it without ceremony. A! the same time he wrote 
 to Mademoiselle Le Gras, who then wasal Nantes: "This? 
 what onr Lord would do Were lie still living on earth. The 
 
 Spiril Of Christianity Wishes that we should enter into the senti- 
 ments of others, and God will, if we place no obstacle, turn 
 this change to Hi- v." 
 
 Not only was it his maxim, and his practice to solicit notb 
 ing, not even a place to dwell in. after the example ol our. Lord 
 "who never ha 1 a house and did not wish to have any," hut, 
 
2G4 VIRTUES AND DOCTRINE OF ST. VINCENT DE PAUL. 
 
 during the public misfortunes, he even refused the rich dona- 
 tions that were offered him, protesting that the poor had 
 greater need than he. He once refused as much as ei^ht 
 hundred thousand francs which were offered him to build a 
 church, because he believed he could not accept them without 
 doing an injury to the poor of Jesus Christ. 
 
 His disinterestedness shone particularly in the Council of 
 Conscience. Admirable disinterestedness, of which, according 
 to the testimony of the minister of state, Le Pelletier, the 
 secretary, Le Tellier, said: i( In qualit}^ of secretary of state I 
 was in position to have a great deal of intercourse with Mr. 
 Vincent. He has accomplished more good works in Fiance for 
 religion and the Church than any one I ever knew; but I have 
 particularly remarked that in the Council of Conscience where 
 he was the principal actor, there was never question either of 
 his own interests, or of those of his congregation, or of the 
 ecclesiastical houses he had established." A disinterestedness 
 all the more praiseworthy, as his houses, nearly all poor, .were 
 moreover burdened by the gratuitous nature of their chief 
 functions. The acquisition of a few benefices would have 
 placed them in ease. He never thought of it. And if some- 
 times benefices were attached to his seminaries this occurred 
 only at the earnest entreaties of the possessors, or of the legiti- 
 mate collators. And even then it was difficult to obtain his 
 consent, the only share he ever had in securing them. And, 
 moreover, he imposed the law that revenues should be devoted, 
 not to the services of the houses, nor to the advantage of his 
 members, but to the education of young ecclesiastics. If he 
 learned that the Queen was about to confer some favor on him, he 
 immediately had it given to another. What was his dismay when 
 the rumor got abroad that she intended to demand fcr him the 
 Cardinal's hat! He would have listened to his death sentence 
 more willingly than he did to the compliments some that of his 
 friends addressed to him on that occasion. The Roman purple 
 would, truly, have been for his humility the purple of martyr- 
 dom. 
 
 Is it necessary to add that this disinterestedness was proof 
 against all corruption! One of his most intimate friends came 
 
L01 >VKBTT. 26.5 
 
 to him, one day. to offer him, in the name of certain parties, 
 one hundred thousand P i obtain his Influence in the 
 
 Council in favor of certain projects that contained nothing 
 burdensome in regard to le, but which could hurt the 
 
 Interests of the clergy. Vincent might have said as did St 
 Peter to Simon: •• 1/ ■ ■. ''■ / th (kes .... 
 
 Uiy Jd la the si hi of << iii, 20). 
 
 contented himself in saying with more gentleness: "God pre* 
 serve me from it! I would rather die than say a word on the 
 6Ubj< 
 
 I in acquiring* ho was ind rving 
 
 what he already possessed, baring DO attachment 1<> anything 
 
 here below, Troubled in his title to St Lazarus by th 
 
 of St Vi • ,<■, be preferre I to abandon all rather than maintain 
 his right in law, and came to the determination of defending 
 his title only out of deference 
 
 He was the same in I i all his bouses, whether in- 
 
 trigue or armed force disputed his possession. After the 
 le of the Faubourg toine, when his 1. in 
 
 g pillaged by both armies, he ordered the 
 
 entire Community to repair to the church, and there, j .rostrate 
 in the presence of the God of the poor, to oiler Him all 
 sessions and. in case of i . thank Him very humbly for 
 
 having despoiled them. 
 
 incut won its triumph in the proceetiii 
 latiYe to gny farm He had acquired this faun on very 
 
 onerous conditions, and had quite c ble expense in 
 
 improving it. He was oh the point of enjoying tin- results 
 
 when an tin; l nee deprive. 1 him of all. 
 
 Brother \)\\ Courneau, his secretary, I of the 
 
 ion. "Godbebl be exclaimed, and he repeated ; 
 
 of loving resignation live or bix times with increasing 
 Prom ni he repaired to the Church and, I a long 
 
 time in adoration and prayer; in coming out Ik* again n 
 
 1 be blessed, only one thi I it 
 
 i have, !»;. b a loss to th on." 
 
 ain in his room, he immediately \ ft fiiend --Sir, 
 
 good friends impart to one another the good and the evil that 
 
 
268 VIRTUES AND DOCTRINE OF ST. VINCENT DE PAUL 
 
 befall them, and, since you are one of the best we possess 
 in the world, I must inform you of our loss of the suit and 
 of the Orsigny farm, not, however, as an evil but as a grace 
 that God has bestowed upon us, and I beg you to aid us 
 in returning thanks. I term graces from God the afflictions He 
 sends u-, especially when they are well received. But His 
 Infinite Goodness, having prepared us for this loss before the 
 judgment was rendered, has also given us the grace to sub- 
 mit to it with resignation, and, I presume to say, with as much 
 joy as if the decision were favorable. This would seem a 
 paradox to one not blessed, like you, sir, in the things of 
 Heaven and who would not know that conformity, in adversity, 
 to the good pleasure of God is greater good than all temporal 
 gain. I humbly beg you to permit me thus to pour into your 
 heart the sentiment of my own." 
 
 As the case was lost by the dissent of only three or four 
 judges out of twenty two, Vincent was advised to renew the 
 proceedings and take up an appeal: " No," he wrote, *'we 
 would be accused of too much attachment to wealth, a charge 
 already made against ecclesiastics, and we might, in causing 
 ourselves to be accused in court, do a wrong to other commu- 
 nities and scandalize our friends. Besides, I have extreme 
 difficulty in going against the counsel of our Lord, Who wishes 
 that those, who have undertaken to follow Him, would not en- 
 tangle themselves in the law. That we have already done so 
 was because I could not, in conscience, abandon a propert}' so 
 legitimately acquired, a property, moreover, belonging to the 
 community, and of which I had only the administration, with- 
 out doing all in my power to preserve it. But now, since God 
 has discharged me of His obligation by a sovereign decree that 
 has rendered my further care unnecessary, I think we ought to 
 do no more. And all the more so, as, should we fail a second 
 time, it would be a sort of dishonor which might prejudice the 
 duty and the edification we owe the public. . . . Moreover, 
 as one of our practices in missions is to settle all disputes and 
 difficulties among the people, it is to be feared that, were the 
 congregation to become obstinate and renew the suit by an 
 appeal to a higher court — the last resource of all chicanery — 
 God would deprive it of the grace to further effect reconcilia- 
 tions. 
 
DETACHMEN1 PROM EARTHLY GOODS, 267 
 
 Vincent, therefore, renounced a new prosecution of his rights. 
 He gave u p the farm of Orsigny, but not the obligations he had 
 contracted in accepting it. and he continued tin' prayers an I 
 other spiritual obligations of the donation. 
 
 II 
 
 It remained to Inspire the members of his community with his 
 
 own detachment and induce them to acquiesce in this unjust 
 judgment as if it were the sentence of Heaven. He gave them 
 a spiritual conference on the subject, wherein, having related 
 the advice given him to have recourse, for his protection, to a 
 higher court, he cried out: "Oh. my God, we will take care 
 not to do so! Thou Thyself (), Lord, hast pronounced this 
 decree; it will be, if pleasing to Thee, irrevocable. And, not 
 to delay the execution, we now make a sacrifice of this property 
 to Thy Supreme Majesty. And 3-011, gentlemen and my 
 brothers. I pray you to add a sacrifice of praise; let us bless the 
 Sovereign Judge of the living and the dead for having visited 
 us in our day of tribulation; let us return Ilim infinite thanks, 
 not only for having withdrawn our affections from the goods of 
 this earth, but also for having in reality Stripped us of what we 
 had, and let us beg of Him the grace to love this deprivation* 
 I love to believe that we are all joyful in this temporal loss; for 
 since our Lord says in the Apocalypse: ■ Those wliom I love J 
 cJiastise, 1 ( Apol. iii., 10,) must we not love chastisements as 
 we would the tokens of His love? But it is not enough to love 
 them; we must rejoice in them. Oh, my God. who will give us 
 this grace? Thou art the source of all joy, and outside of Thee 
 there is no true J03'! It is of Thee, then, we demand it Y 
 gentlemen, let us rejoice since it seems that Grod has found us 
 worthy to suffer. But how rejoice in sufferings, since they 
 naturally displease, and we try to avoid them? In the same 
 
 manner as ire do, when sick, in remedies. We know that 
 
 medicines are bitter and that the very -» of them create 
 
 an involuntary shudder. And yet we swallow them gladly 
 and why? Because we love our health which we hope to pre 
 serve, or recover by means of the medicines. These afflictions, 
 
 which of themselves are disagreeable, contribute, nevcrthe!. 
 
'i'CS VIRTUES AND DOCTRINE Of ST. VINCENT DE PAUL. 
 
 to the good condition of a soul or of a congregation; by them 
 God purifies it as gold is purified by fire. Our Lord in the 
 Garden of Olives felt only agony, and on the cross only sorrow 
 which was so excessive that it seemed, deprived as He was of 
 all human succor, as if He were abandoned also by His Father. 
 Yet, in these terrors of death and these excesses of His passion, 
 He rejoices in doing the will of His Father, and, rigorous though 
 it be, He prefers it to all the joys of the world; it is His meat, 
 His delight. My brethren, such should be our gladness when we 
 see His goo 1 pleasure accomplished in us by means of the hu- 
 miliations, losses, and troubles, that may come upon us: ' Look- 
 ing,'' as St. Paul says, « on Jesus, the author and finisher of 
 failJ'y Who, having joy ,j)mpohed to Him. underwent the cross, 
 despising the shame'' ( Heb. xii., 2.) The first Christians were 
 imbued with these sentiments, according to the testimony of 
 the same Apostle. ' And received with joy the plundering of your 
 goods. 1 (Heb. x., 34.) Why will we not, with them, rejoice, 
 to-day, in the loss of our property? Oh, my brethren, how 
 great a pleasure it is to God to see us assembled for that pur- 
 pose, to behold us entertaining ourselves with it and to see us 
 .exciting this joywithin us We are become, on the one hand, 
 a spectacle to the world by the disgrace and the shame arising 
 from this sentence which publishes us, it seems, as unjust de- 
 tainers of another's good. * We are made a spectacle to the world 
 and to angels and to min.' ( I Cor. iv. ,9.) 'By reproaches and 
 tribulations made a spectacle.'' ( Heb. x. . 21.) But, on the other 
 hand : ' My brethren, count it all joy when you shall fall into divers 
 hniptaticns.' (Jf.ir.es i.,[ 2.) Let us look upon our loss as a 
 great gain; for God has, with this farm, deprived us of the sat- 
 isfaction we felt in possessing it and of the pleasure we took in 
 sometimes going to see it; and this recreation, being agreeable 
 to the senses, would have been like a slow poison that kills, as 
 a knife that cuts, like a fire that burns and destroj's. But now, 
 through the mercy of God, we are delivered from this danger; 
 and the Divine Goodness wishes to inspire us, now that we arc 
 exposed to want in temporal things, with more confidence in 
 His Providence, and to oblige us to abandon ourselves to it en- 
 tirely for all the necessities of this life, as well as for the graces 
 of salvation. Oh, were it pleasing to God that this temporal 
 
i OVE of rnvEun. 209 
 
 - were recompensed with an augmentation of confidence in 
 His Providence, with greater abandonment to its direction, with 
 :i greater detachment from earthly goods and renunciation of 
 ourselves, oh, my God, my brethren! bow happy we would be* 
 
 I will hope in His paternal bounty, which does all for the l 
 that this grace be accorded as. 
 
 •• What, then, arc the fruits we ought to gather from all this? 
 
 The first is to offer to God all that remains of our goods and 
 
 consolations, as well temporal as spiritual. To offer ourselves 
 
 Sim in general and in particular, but in the proper spirit, 
 
 that He may absolutely dispose, according to His good pleasure, 
 
 Of our persons and of all that we have. To oiler ourselves ill 
 such a manner that we will always he prepared to leave everv- 
 tbing and accept any inconvenience, ignominy, or affliction 
 that may come upon us. that thus we may imitate .Icsns Christ 
 in His poverty. His humility, and His patience. 
 
 " The second is never to have recourse to law. no matter 
 what our right may be, or, should we see cm-selves obliged to 
 eall in its aid. to do so, provided our title be entirely char and 
 evident, only after having essayed every imaginable means of 
 settlement; for he who trusts in the judgment of men will often 
 find himself deceived. We will put in practice the counsel of 
 our I. oi-d. who says: * Jf>unfom W& lake (nrti ; i tkycpallethimk 
 iiiti cloak algon* ( Matt. v. 40;. May God grant the Congregate n 
 
 this disposition: We must hope that, should it prove faithful 
 in thin practice and steadfast in never departing from it, His 
 
 Divine Goodness will bless it, and if with one hand He takes 
 away He will give with the other." 
 
 Whether the family of Vincent was dispossessed of any piece 
 of property, or its services no longer required in any locality. 
 
 be always preached the. same detainment On these occasions 
 
 he wn.tc to th<»e whom he was obliged * to recall: "After 
 having rendered your account to the Grand Vicars, and receiv- 
 ed a receipt lor what you have, as according to inventory, you 
 Mill deliver all into their hands and gracefully take leave of 
 them, without a single w.»rd of complaint, or any expression 
 
 .ntent to have the place, and you will pray that (iod may 
 bless the city and the diocese. I would es| ft ially beg of you 
 
 to say anything in the pulpit, or elsewhere, that could show 
 
270 VIRTUES AND DOCTRINE OF ST. VINCENT DE PAUL. 
 
 the slightest discontent. You will ask the blessing of these 
 gentlemen, and have all your little familv do the same, and, 
 at the same time, ask it for me who desires to prostrate myself 
 at their feet in spirit with yon." 
 
 He taught them, when in the greatest distress, to be reassur- 
 ed in regard to the future, and to place all their trust in Provi- 
 dence. One of his priests representing to him, one day, the 
 po vert}' of his house, he asked him : " What do you do when 
 necessaries fail the community? Do you have lecourse to 
 God." '-Yes, sometimes," answered the priest — " Well," he 
 replied, " that is the effect of poverty; it makes us think of God 
 and elevate our hearts to Him, whereas, were we in comfortable 
 circumstances we might, perhaps, forget Him. For this reason 
 I am rejoiced that poverty, both voluntary and real, is practis- 
 ed in all our houses. There is a hidden grace in poverty that 
 we do not know." " But," rejoined the priest, f, you procure 
 for others what they need, and you neglect 3*0 ur own." (i l 
 hope God will forgive you these words," returned Vincent, "I 
 see you §aid them simply without meaning an3 T thing; but 
 know that we will never be rich until we become like to Jesus 
 Christ." 
 
 His priests, having as yet no fixed abode in Rome, he wrote 
 to them: " Can we be better off, or more agreeable to God, 
 than when we are just as God wants us to be, provided, 
 indeed, w r e will acquiesce in submission to His holy guidance, 
 acknowledging that we are unworthy a more convenient abode, 
 that the one we have is far better than our deserts, and more 
 suited to the designs that God has on us? For, if w r e are not 
 destined to remain, we have no need of a fixed habitation, nor, 
 if we wish to follow our Lord who had none, should we have a 
 house of our own? If we do not love humiliation when God 
 gives us the occasion to practise it, will we seek it when in 
 more honorable circumstances ? Let us remain humble and be 
 content in poverty, because, then, people seeing our mean con- 
 dition will despise us. Then we will begin to be true disciples 
 of our Lord. 'Blessed are ye poor: for yours is the kingdom of 
 GocV (Luke vi, 20) . It is, then, in Heaven they will be lodged. 
 Is it not a beautiful place for us ? Oh, my God, give us the 
 
1)ETA« I1MKN 1 IKOM KAKI1N.V GOODS, 271 
 
 grace to prefer the means that conduct thither to the preten- 
 tions and convenience! of earth. " 
 
 Such was tlic spirit of the Mission from the ?ery beginning 
 The Saint' said one day: u The Congregation, still in its in- 
 fancy, being composed of Only three or four, went to Mount 
 liartyr (with the exception of the miserable man now speaking, 
 he being indisposed) and recommended itself to God through 
 the intercession of the holy martyrs, that it might enter into 
 the practice of poverty, then and since to well observed by a 
 
 great portion of the community ." 
 
 To maintain this spirit of poverty smopg them, the Kaint of- 
 ten gave it as the subject of their conferences: "Ton should 
 know, gentlemen," he said, - that this virtue of poverty is the 
 very foundation of this Congregation of the Mis-ion. Alas: 
 what would become of this Congregation should attachment to 
 the goods of the world creep in I What would become of it did it 
 give entrance to the desire of riches which, the Apostle Bays, is 
 the root of all evil I Some great saints have said that poverty 
 is the bond of religious orders. We arc not. in truth, religious, 
 it having been found inexpedient to have us such, and, more- 
 over, we are not worthy to be, though we do live in common. 
 Still it i-. nevertheless, true. and we can say it also, that pov- 
 erty is the bond of communities, and particularly of ours; it is 
 the bond which, releasing us from all earthy things, unites us 
 perfectly to Ood. Oh. my Savior! Give us this virtue which 
 binds tis inseparably to Thy service, so that, henceforth. we may 
 de ire and seek only Thee and Thy glory." 
 
 He then indicated more clearly and more completely its ne- 
 cessity and its excellence. "Our Lord," he said, "being tin- 
 sovereign master of all riches, having created them all, and, 
 therefore, being their legitimate possessor, witnessing the great 
 disorder the desire snd possession of these riches occasioned on 
 the earth, wished to remedy it by practising poverty. And for 
 this purpose, He became so poor that He had not whereon to lay 
 His head. He desired, too, that the Apostles and Disciples 
 whom He admitted to His company, should practise the same 
 poverty, as also the Drat Christians, who, as we read, possessed 
 nothing in proper but had all things in common. Our Lord, 
 then, seeing the great ruin the evil spirit caused in the world by 
 
27i VIRTUES AND DOCTRINE OF ST. VINCENT DE PAUL. 
 
 the possession of riches, which were for a great many a source 
 of destruction, has wished to repair the evil by a contrary rem- 
 edy, namely, by the practice of poverty. 
 
 ,e ' Blessei are the poor in spirit: frr theirs t* the kingdom, of 
 Heaven, 1 (Matt. v. 3.) This is the first lesson of Our Lord. 
 What first escapes the lips is that which most fills the heart. But 
 the first words of Our Lord are these : ' Blessed are the poor' — 
 a mark of his great love and esteem for poverty. More, still, 
 in what does the good pleasure of God consist? In this, that 
 He desires that those, who love Him, love without reserve. Now, 
 those who have made a vow of poverty have severed all ties 
 and retain affection for nothing. They are, then, forced, as it 
 were, to direct their affections and their love towards God; for 
 life is impossible without love. But, since, by the vow of pov 
 ert3 T we have no longer affection or love for earthly and cre- 
 ated things, we must have both tor the Uncreated Good, and for 
 things of Heaven. Having, therefore, made this vow of poverty 
 we are no longer attached to anything; neither to honors, nor 
 to riches, nor to pleasures. And then, will our heart be de- 
 void of love? It must, therefore, direct its love to God. Con- 
 sequently, the vow of poverty is but a sovereign and perfect 
 means of properly loving God. Let us well understand this 
 truth, that we abandon the riches of earth to possess those of 
 Heaven. I desiie to make profession of it; and, in withdrawing 
 my love from false gods, to love and enjoy the only true God, 
 I reject trifles, and corruptible and perishable riches that I may 
 possess those that are eternal and enduring. Oh, my Saviour, 
 what a happiness!'' 
 
 Another day he compared the soul, not free from all attach- 
 ment, to a man firmly bound, hand and foot, to a tree, that can 
 neither liberate himself, nor go and seek necessary sustenance. 
 He will, consequently, die of hunger or be devoured by wild 
 beasts. Image of a soul fastened with the love of the goods and 
 conveniences of this world! It thinks of them, night and day, 
 a nd the thought will not away; it seeks none who may deliver 
 it and give it life; it is, then, in great danger of being devoured. 
 Oh, my Saviour, is it possible that we will not endeavor to cast 
 off such bonds? What! a little bird, ensnared in a trap, strug- 
 gles night and day to regain its freedom, and we, when entan- 
 
: RTY. 273 
 
 gled in an evil attachment, will t. Bias to free ourselv* »! 
 
 The example of that Little bird will condemn us before the tri- 
 bunal of < rod." 
 
 . arming rity with ii (anathema, Ue add- 
 
 ed one daj : l# M mtlemen and my b woe 
 
 to the missionary who shall allow himself to be attracted by the 
 
 i of this life ! For he Bhall be ensnared; tl 
 thorns will remain imbedded in him and I 
 fret htm. And should thi tune happen the Congregation, 
 
 what, then, will bo said! And what sort of life will be led in it I 
 Individuals w 11 say : '\V< 
 
 we ought to take our ease. \\'\\y go teach in the villages! Why 
 Lei the poor people of the country alone; their 
 parish | uch be their good j . will tend to 
 
 them lor us; we can live quietly without giving ourselves all that 
 trouble." See how idleness will follow in the train of avarice; the 
 only thought will be how to preserve and il goods, 
 
 ratify self, And th aid fan-well toalltl 
 
 of ion, and to the Mission itself, for it will no loi 
 
 exist You need but consult history to find an infinity of ex 
 am plea of how riches and abundance of temporal (ions 
 
 have brought about the ruin, not only <>f many Cecil 
 
 of entire and cuinmimi: use 
 
 they had lost the spirit of their first po 
 
 .. falling back on himself, in one of his ordinary 
 of humility, he exclaimed: "Oh, my Savior, how can I. who 
 am BO miserable, speak of this! I who have had formerly a horse, 
 and who. now, have, a fire in my room, a curtain on 
 my l-cd. and a l»: ii on me; I. of whpm such cars ia 
 
 d that I want for nothing! Oh, what aseand the 
 
 abuse of the vow <«f poverty in all these 
 .' God and of the I 
 gntion. Mid I beg it to liear with me in my old age. 1 have 
 difficulty in bearing with myself, and i I I de- 
 
 i il to be hun. on. M; ace 
 
 to i »rrect myself, though ich as I 
 
 can iu all these thins 
 
CHAPTER XVIII. 
 
 MORTIFICATION. 
 
 Detachment from things of earth and love of poverty 
 include mortification. But we must study more directly in our 
 Saint the special virtue designated by this name. 
 
 So faithful a disciple of the Savior, Vincent could not fail to 
 hear in his body and in his entire being, according to the 
 counsel of the apostle, the mortification of Jesus Christ. 
 Therefore, like the Savior's life, His was but a continual 
 sacrifice. And this sacrifice was all the more meritorious and 
 agreeable to God as it was the more humble and the more 
 secret. For, founder and head of a congregation destined to 
 serve as a model both to clergy and people, and therefore 
 obliged to show externally only those virtues which true 
 Christians and good ecclesiastics might emulate, he confined 
 himself entirely to a life well regulated, equally removed from 
 culpable weakness and from a rigor too severe and forbidding. 
 But the cross of Jesus Christ did not lose any of its claims; he 
 paid to it, interiorly and in secret, the tribute of homage and 
 imitation which, in public, he seemed to refuse. 
 
 He sacrificed to it all the love of man: the love of honor and 
 self-esteem, unveiling before the eyes of all, as we have seen, 
 his lowly birth and his pretended weaknesses whether in the 
 order of nature, or of grace; the love of reputation, and of 
 gratitude on the part of others, the desire of friendship which 
 he alwa3's forced to yield to duty, fearing neither contempt, nor 
 hatred, nor vengeance; the love of parents and of country, con- 
 stantly calling to mind that, priest according to the order of 
 
MORT1FK a i [OK. 2/ 
 
 If elchisedech, he shuuld forget all genealogy; that, priest of 
 Jesus Christy he should know neither mother, nor brother; that, 
 apostle of the < rospel, be should prophesy everywhere save in his 
 native land. Saving become priest, and. in particular, when once 
 Intrusted with Ihe portfolio of benefices; be made it a law to 
 ask nothing either temporal or spiritual for himself, or for his 
 family. In vain did the priests of the locality, and even some 
 of his missionaries represent to him the straightened circum- 
 stances of bis relations and the severe labor tO which they wire 
 
 condemned, and urged him to do something for them: "What," 
 
 he asked, -are they poorer than before, and can their arms no 
 longer suffice tO procure a living for them suitable to their con- 
 dition in life'" And rea-suied on these two points, he added: 
 ''They are, then. Indeed happy, for they execute the divine 
 
 sentence which has condemned man to train his bread in the 
 
 sweat of his brow." 
 
 The only >hare which the family of Vincent ever hail in the 
 immense chanties that passed through his hands was tin; sura 
 
 of a thousand franca, and then it owed it to extraordinary mis- 
 fortunes. This sum bad been given the holy priest for his re- 
 lations by his friend, Do Fresne. Vincent accepted it: hut he 
 said to Du Fresne: •■ My family can live as it has up to the 
 present, and this increase of wealth will not render it more 
 meritorious. Besides, it alone would profit by it. Do you not 
 believe a good mission given to all the parish would be of more 
 value before God and men .'" DuFresnc could not deny this, 
 and the money was laid aside for that purpose. But occasion 
 failing to present itself, the civil wars intervened snd desolated 
 the provinces, especially Gutenne. None suffered more than 
 
 Vincent*! relations; they Lost their little all, and sonic even 
 their lives. This out the year 1656, Vmecnt received 
 
 the most distressing information concerning his family. Ill— 
 
 friend, the <anon of St. Martin, the Lord of Pony, wrote to him 
 that they were reduced to beggary; the Bishop of Acqs, who 
 
 visited Taris that year, told him: •' Your poor relatives are 
 badly Oil", if you do not take pity on them they must experience 
 
 it difficulty in procuring the necessaries of life. Some of 
 
 them died during the war. and there are others who are living 
 
 on alms." '-See in what state my poor relations are," added 
 
276 VIRTUES AND DOCTRINE OF ST. VINCENT DB PAUL. 
 
 Vincent in relating this to his priests, " the}' are reduced to 
 beggary! to beggary! And I, myself, had not God given me 
 the grace to be a priest and to be here, would be as they 
 are. But what is to be done? The property of the com- 
 munity does not belong to me, and it would be giv- 
 ing a bad example to dispose of it." It was then that he 
 remembered the money handed him by Du Fresne. »* Blessed 
 be the Divine Providence," he cried out, ''that did not permit 
 me to send missionaries toPouy! It evidently reserved this 
 alms for my poor family. And, full of joy in being able,, this 
 time, to reconcile his disinterestedness with his tenderness for 
 his family, he hastened to place the thousand francs at the dis- 
 position of the canon St. Martin whom he begged to dis- 
 tribute it. 
 
 This soul, so loving, could not exclude from its universal 
 charity those whom time and the order of God had inscribed on 
 it even before the poor themselves. And, consequently, was 
 he obliged to make use of the most cruel effoits of virtue to 
 suppress and extinguish in it the explosions of a love that ever 
 tended to manifest itself in benefits, and. no mortification cost 
 him more. '* Do you imagine," he said one day when pressed 
 to assist them, •' do you imagine I have no love for my rela- 
 tions? I have for them all the feelings of tenderness and 
 affection that i nyone can have for his family, and this natural 
 love impels me sufficiently to aid them. But I must act accord- 
 ing to the movements of grace and not of those of nature, and 
 I must think of the poor the most abandoned, without stopping 
 nt ties of friendship or relationship." 
 
 There came a day when the Saint had especial need to call to 
 his aid his principles of mortification in order to struggle against 
 his love for his relatives. In 1623, aftera mission at Bordeaux, 
 finding himself at the very door of his family, he determined, 
 by the advice of his friends, to pay them a visit. He had for a 
 longtime resisted th's advice, objecting the example oC many 
 good ecclesiastics who had at first done great good away from 
 their native place, but, having revisited their home, were, on 
 their return, entirely changed, had become useless to the public, 
 and were as much immersed in the affairs of their family, as 
 before they were devoted to the works of their holy minifetrjr. 
 
MoIMIl I< ATIOX. 277 
 
 He obeyed, bo* In doing so, lie yielded less to the 
 
 needs of hi nevertheless to revisit his own, 
 
 than to the design of strengthening them in virtue, of teaching 
 them to lore and prise their lowly condition, and of declaring 
 to them, once for all. that in the future, as in the past, they 
 should count for thei* livelihood on the labor of their hands 
 ■Ion triahed to reawaken kheremjni of his hum- 
 
 hie childhood.o!' |his |infant piety, and to ■ hi pr 
 
 1 and his mature to the God of his childhood. On 
 
 the morning after \\\< arrival, he renewed, in the parish church, 
 the promises of bis baptism, and offered himself anew to the 
 Lord on the vci itt the seal of a 
 
 Cbri kian, the breathings of the apostolic spirit Daring his 
 
 ;it Pony, he gfeatly edified his relatives and all the honest 
 villagers by his piety, his prudence, his temperance and his 
 mortification. These 'J<><><\ peopk remarked !ly — let 
 
 us not draw hack in , of these simple details — that he 
 
 drowned hie wine in water, and that at night he removed the 
 soft bed iii y had prepared loi him, ami lay down on the hard 
 
 straw. On the day of his departure he went barefooted on a 
 pilgrimage from the Church of Tony to the Chapcd of Our 
 Lady of Bugloose, It Wi me path that he, aa berdsfc 
 
 often took with his 1 o day, he. a 1 by 
 
 his brothers and Bisters, by his poor relatives, and by almost all 
 th" villagers justly proud of their compatriot. Vincent cele- 
 hrai in the chap -1. After the C • h ■ 
 
 gathered all his relatives around a hoard; then he 
 
 ■ to take hi I have of them. All fell on their knees to a 
 his blessing. "Yes, 1 bless j [aimed with emotion, 
 
 "hut 1 I' poor and humble, and I ask for yon from our 
 
 Lord the grsoe of a holy poverty. Ne mdition 
 
 in which He has been pleased to have you horn. This is my 
 mofi mcndation and v.: m t<> trans- 
 
 mit as an heirloom to your d :\[<. Farewell, r 
 
 Dllt Vincmt had >.-an--ly get out befi felt his hear; 
 
 hreaking. andtes lie had just b 
 
 tic witness ami -<t of t: • arly all his 
 
 pie, and he tell them so, when he had but to open his 
 
 band >rl. to upon them wealth. There 
 
278 VIRTUES AND DOCTHINE OF ST. VINCENT DE PAUL. 
 
 then arose within him between, the law he had imposed upon 
 himself and his fraternal tenderness, a struggle the issue of 
 which was long uncertain. "Wretch! "he cried out in this 
 cruel agony, "this is the punishment of your disobedience to 
 the spirit of detachment and abnegation so frequently recom- 
 mended in the Scriptures to the ministers of the Gospel. Before 
 this journey you thought only of the service of God, of works. 
 far removed from flesh and blood, and now all your thoughts 
 turn on your people." But we must listen to him, fully relat- 
 ing this contest between nature and grace, in a conference he 
 gave on mortification on the 2d of May, 1059. He said: 
 "Having spent some eight or ten days with my relations in 
 order to instruct them in the way of salvation and to remove 
 from them all desire of riches, even telling them that they 
 must expect nothing from me, that had I chests of gold and 
 silver, I would give them nothing, because an ecclesiastic who 
 possesses anything owes it all to God and the poor. The day 
 I departed I was so overcome with grief in leaving my poor- 
 relations that I did nothing but weep the entire way, and 
 weep almost without ceasing. To these tears succeeded the 
 desire to assist and better them; to give such a one this, such 
 a one that ; thus, my heart softened by pity portioned out 
 what I did have and what I did not have. [ say this to my 
 shame, and I say it because God, perhaps, permitted that, in 
 order to make me the better understand the importance of the 
 evangelical counsel of which we are speaking. This impor- 
 tunate passion to advance the well being of my brothers and 
 sisters lasted for three months; it was a constant weight upon 
 my poor mind. During it, whenever I experienced a little 
 freedom, I prayed to God that He would be pleased to deliver - 
 me from this temptation, and I prayed so earnestly that, 
 finally, He had pity on me. He took away from me all this.- 
 immoderate tenderness for flesh and blood ; and, though they 
 have since then been reduced to live on alms, and are so even 
 to-day, He has has given me the grace to commit them to the 
 care of His Providence and to consider them happier than were 
 they in abundance. 
 
 "I say this to the community because there is something 
 grand in this practice so much recommended in the Gospel, 
 
■ORTmCATIO 270 
 
 excluding, as it does, from among the disciples of Jesus Christ 
 all those who do nol hate father and mother, brother and 
 sister, and bex&use our rute. following that counsel, exhorts 
 us to renounce all immoderate affections for those belonging to 
 ns. I- I as praj God fortbem;and if we can assist them in 
 charity, let us do so; but 1> ■ firm against nature, whioh 
 always tending ia that direction, will. If it ran, turn asawaj 
 from the school ol Jesus < as be Brm." 
 
 Prom the time of this journey np t<> the day of bis death, 
 Vincent never again saw but a single member of bis family, 
 the nephew whose Btory we have related in the chapter on 
 Humility, and whom he led as be osme, on foot, and 
 
 with only ten crowns for bis long way. And, moreover, be 
 received this modest sum from the Marchioness of Maignelay — 
 the only aim- be ever solicited for his family. Liter, lie hid 
 a scruple for having even kept hi- nephew a few days, and he 
 asked pardon on bis knot a for having given him to eat of what 
 belonged to the poor. 
 
 Not withstanding the ill success of that journey some years 
 after one of his brothers, the father, possibly, of this young 
 mau, had the thought of trying bis chance. He had just lost 
 a ruinous lawsuit and wished to reestablish his affairs. But 
 in a letter of the 29th of August, 1635, written toaMr.de 
 Fontenay, Vincent, after having thanked him for what he had 
 done for his brother during the trial, eagerly added: "In re- 
 lation to his intention, as I bave been informed, of coming to 
 Paris to see me, I beseech you, sir, to dissuade him from th I 
 idea, as well on account of his age, as from the fact that when 
 here I could not relieve him, since I have not the disposal of a 
 single thing that I could give him." 
 
 He extended this mortification in matters of family to his 
 native place. Once, when he had the idea "f establishing there 
 some of the priests of his Congregation, fearing this thought 
 to be inspired by a natural feeling rather than by a movement 
 of grace, he immediately said to bimself: "Qh, wretch! of 
 what are you thinking? Should not all places and countries 
 be indifferent to you. and have not all *ouls equally cost the 
 Ben of God? Why then incline to succor some in preference 
 to others F " And he abandoned his project. 
 
280 VIRTUES AND DOC T RINK OF ST. VINCENT DE PAUL. 
 
 The soul disclosing itself especially in speech, the interior 
 mortification oi" Vincent manifested itself in the absolute 
 empire he held over his tongue. A useless word never escap- 
 ed him ; still less a word of detraction, of boasting, of vanity,. 
 of ridicule or of impatience that could betray m him a vicious 
 or undisciplined temper. He never spoke of himself sare from 
 a motive of charity; and. when he sometimes did, ic was with- 
 out any feeling of self-love and simply to maintain the con- 
 versation, and he soon ceased, warned by the interest of his 
 hearers, struck his breast and exclaimed: " I am a wretch, full, 
 of vanity and pride, who do nothing but speak of myself." lie 
 then asked pardon on his knees for the scandal he thought he 
 had given. 
 
 But he gave willing ear to others relating what he already 
 knew, both to mortify self-love which always delights to appear 
 knowing, and not to deprive the speaker of his pleasure irk 
 narrating. He listened, particularly, without interruption or 
 reply when reproaches and insults were addressed him that he 
 might imitate the Savior in His passion ; and like the Savior 
 again, lie prayed with gratefulness from the bottom of his 
 heart, for those who outraged him. 
 
 In the perplexities of affairs, in losses, m misfortunes, never a 
 complaint, never a murmur escaped him ; only a loving acqui- 
 escence in the Divine Will, expressed ordinarily in these words: 
 '•God be praised! God be blessed! We must submit to His 
 good pleasure and accept all that He will please to send 
 us/ ? 
 
 His exterior mortification was not less. Up to extreme old 
 age he sought out all occasions wherein he could suffer. It 
 was one of his maxims that mortification could be practised 
 a: every moment either in maintaining a painful, though 
 mcdest, position, or in depriving the. senses of the sight of 
 agreeable objects, or in willingly suffering the inclemency of 
 the weather and of the seasons. And he constantly reduced this 
 maxiiw to practice: In 1649, in a journey he undertook for 
 the rmrpose of visiting the houses of his Congregation, he. 
 condemned himself to the most rigorous penance and the most 
 excessive privations. It was winter, and a very severe winter, 
 which alone ought to have been sufficient and more than. 
 
mouth-; 281 
 
 sufficient to sat re of Buffering in in old man of 
 
 renty-three wandei m farm to Barm, badly boused, and 
 
 poorly clad. To tl> 
 
 . 
 is almost his o 
 
 him ho distributed to the 
 
 with him; and of tbi partook bo sparingly thai 
 
 time to read for the others during the greater part of the 
 
 dinner hour. 
 
 Ho did not look on beautiful I 
 
 buildings, B >r plucked a floi r. To their perfume he 
 
 preferred the fetid odor of hospitals, or of the >om« 
 
 ^withstanding hi Ibility to i be 
 
 never took any | >u against cold or heal ; rer wore 
 gloves in winter and his handsi like bis limbs, were swollen 
 and chapped. 
 
 He closed his ear to harm Land to 
 
 course in order to mortify the lie did th As 
 
 tot o resemble the holy precursor, who neither 
 
 ate nor drank. We 1 rmitno distinction between him- 
 
 self and his brethren in the quality of I, not even in the 
 
 iniirmiticsof oL! in very late in the afternoon 
 
 from his charitable e: e directed his steps to the re- 
 
 fect- after he ; m of his spiritual food at 
 
 the foot of the altar, the onl ishment for which he ex- 
 
 hibited any eagerness. If t!ie common is over, his 
 
 mortification was overjoyed, for then he would have only what 
 !, and the more meagre and 1 izing it was, the 
 
 more debcioE it appeared to him. For that mat- 
 
 ter, he seem Less did he have 
 
 any preference. He was served with raw i : he 
 
 ate them without a word, and i: H be next day 
 
 through the cook. If everything had alret and 
 
 nothing was left, he con ten I iself with a little bread. 
 
 AW re bis v. ine removed he i ink the 
 
 r. And yet thu, so sober : fc, and often 
 
 hisj ,1 in the day, for he enl i, and, accord- 
 
 ing to h , bad taken nothing in the morning. When 
 
282 VIRTUES AND DOCTRINE OF ST. VINCENT DE PAUL. 
 
 very old he was urged to take some broth before going out. 
 " You tempt me, sir," he said to the priest who presented it 
 to him. e * Is it not the evil one that induces you to persuade 
 me to thus nourish this miserable body, this vile carcass? Is 
 this right? May God forgive you." Still, in his last days, he 
 consented to take a drink in the morning, but by way of medi- 
 cine; for it was a broth without meat, made of wild chicory 
 and pearl barley, With no seasoning either of lard, butter, or 
 oil. 
 
 And yet he had a strong appetite. One day, pointing to a 
 loaf of bread weighing, two or three pounds, he said : " If I 
 yielded to my appetite, I could eat all that." But poor nour- 
 ishment, and little of it, was not sufficient for his mortification; 
 he held in reserve bitter powders which he sprinkled over what 
 he ate to render it more disagreeable to the taste. Nature 
 sometimes gave way, and at night they were obliged to bring 
 him, when overcome by weakness, a morsel of dry bread, the 
 only refreshment he would accept. 
 
 Such w r as the repast destined to repair the strength lost in a 
 long day of work, and even for this, we have seen, he re- 
 proached himself, believing he had not merited it. 
 
 It was a constant fast with him. Never theless, he fasted 
 more regularly twice every week and on all days ordained by 
 the Church. When more than eighty years of age, he con- 
 tented himself with the salt fish served to the community. 
 When he came in alter the others had finished they sometimes 
 tried to deceive him, and served him fresh fish, but lie asked 
 what had been given to (he others, and if he were not served 
 the same he would not touch anything. In the evening a lit- 
 tle bread, an apple, and water colored with wine formed his 
 collation. He abstained from even this when he came a little 
 late, from the city; then, without taking any nourishment, he 
 would retire to his room, or repair to the church to preside at 
 a spiritual conference. He was, so severe with himself that it 
 was necessary to request the interference of the highest author- 
 ities to induce him to moderate his austerity, and at the prayer 
 of his children, the Cardinal de Bochloucault commanded him 
 to take more care of a health that w T as precious to the Church. 
 
 After meals, his brethren had an hour for recroation; he never 
 
MORTIFICATION, g - 9 
 
 took any. Finally, ill retired to rest, and soon St. Lazarus 
 was buried in sleep; lie alone watched. His nights were al- 
 most as laborions ashii days. On entering in the evening he 
 
 found a number of letters awaiting him j it wa< at night he 
 answered tli 
 
 lfo8l frequently, midnight struck and be at work. 
 
 He, finally, thought of taking some res:. But not before tak- 
 ing a revere discipline as a chastisement for the many good 
 
 works of the day, in which he discerned nothing buf imperfec- 
 tions and sin ; in the morning he had prepared hinis If lor the 
 work of the day by a like penance. A brother, whose room 
 was adjoining, affirmed thai that had continued for twelve 
 year-. It was for more than that : this practice went as far 
 back as Chatillon, at least, where his hosts had often heard 
 him go through this rough gymnastic, and where they found 
 under his pillow, after his departure, a forgotten instrument 
 of penance. From that time be imitted it, not even 
 
 when traveling, or whibt sick. But all this was only his or- 
 dinary and daily practice of m ►rtification. II I upon 
 himself extraordinary penances during the public calamities, 
 in the general and particular needs of his Congregation, and 
 icnlarlj when he learned of some fault committed in any 
 of his houses. Then, he began by giving himself the disciplin ! 
 twice every night for a week, to expiate tho faults of others, 
 which he always imputed to himself. M My sins," he said, 
 "are the cause of all the evils that happen; is it not just that 
 I should do penance for them?" After that, he sought a rem- 
 edy for the evil and applied it. At all times he joined to the 
 discipline the wearing of bracelets and pointed wire cinctures, 
 which he sometimes replaced by a hair shirt, still preserved, 
 ghl alone of which is enough to make one shud 
 At last he fell on his knees to say his final prayers, and make 
 his daily preparation for death. He turned down hi.s bed. 
 What kind of bed this was, we have seen. For fori . at 
 
 . it was thi : for, at the time of his jour: 
 
 from Macon, in 1617, the Oratorians, with whom he had stop- 
 ped, entering his room early in the morn! that he 
 had rem n L - from hi a hare seen. 
 he eonsei I, to hav 
 
284 VIRTUES AND DOCTRINE OF ST. VINCENT DE RAUL. 
 
 it, lie still continued to sleep upon the straw. Very often 
 on this wretched pallet he found neither rest nor sleep. Fever 
 consumed him, his sores tortured him, he was bathed in sweat : 
 no matter, at four o'clock in the morning, he was the first 
 to rise ; and, notwithstanding the swelling in his aged limbs, 
 which he had to bandage after rising, he was in the church be- 
 fore the youngest, and the most healthy to commence anew 
 the same round of labors and mortifications. 
 
 II 
 
 This habitual mortification was also with Vincent de Paul 
 an habitual subject of discourse : " Be firm," he said contin- 
 ually, "be firm against nature : for if we once give it an inch 
 it will take an ell. Let us be convinced that our advancement 
 in spiritual life will be measured by the progress we make in 
 this virtue of mortification, a virtue particularly necessary for 
 those who are to labor for the salvation of souls. It is vain to 
 preach penance to others if we ourselves do not practise, it and 
 if it do not manifest itself in our actions and in our conduct." 
 
 He redoubled his exhortations during the public evils; and 
 to give effect to his words, he sometimes retrenched a dish at 
 table, and,at others, ordered the substitution of black for white 
 bread. He would say: "God afflicts His people. Ought not 
 we, priests, be at the foot of the altar bewailing our sins? This 
 is our duty. And, further, should we net forbid ourselves 
 something in our ordinary nourishment in order to relieve 
 them, to suffer with them, and share in the general misfortune?" 
 
 He said again, in a more general way: " Our Lord has so 
 loved affliction and suffering that He wished to lead a life of 
 sorrow; He became man that he might have the means of suf- 
 fering. All the saints have embraced the same state, and 
 those, to whom our Lord did not send severe sickness, sought 
 out, themselves, opportunities to afflict and chastise their 
 bodies. Witness St. Paul, who said, speaking of himself: ' But 
 I chastise my body and bring it into subjection.'' (1 Cor.ix., 27.) 
 This is what we, too, should do, we, who are in perfect health: 
 we should punish and mortify ourselves to atone for the sins 
 we have committed and for the daily sins of the world against 
 
kobtip* mow. 285 
 
 ii ine M g -siv. But alas ! man is so wretched and mis- 
 fcbat Dot only ool punish himself, but even 
 
 often suffers wito impatience the nckness ami afflictions it 
 pleases God to Bend, though they be forhis good." 
 
 .Mutual forbearane • « and mottificariona 
 
 be especially r idedio 1 and Daughter! 
 
 of Charity. 
 IK- wrote to the missionaries, on Ate L3th of August, 1G50 : 
 with difficulty we succeed in loving the evil that c 
 to m from ethers. We aiv more susceptible of grief than of 
 pleasure ; the sting of r than 
 
 The means to equalise this disparity is to embrace, with a-< 
 much willingness, whatever may m >rtify nature as what may 
 deprive ^ of pleasure, to incline oar he* i iffering by the 
 
 advantage it brings, and to he prep receive it, so that, 
 
 when it does oome, we may neither be surprised nor saddened. 
 
 -•The spiritual Coinhat c-unsels to represent tooncaell all the 
 untoward accidents that can arise, to 
 
 <e oneself in the com a: until one feels himself the 
 victor, that is, resolved to suffer all willingly b ey, in 
 
 reality, come. However, we should no inn evil- 
 
 of which the bare thought affrights, such a- certain tortures of 
 martyrs, hut rather picture ourselves in contempt, calumniated, 
 down with a fever and the like." 
 
 He wrote to the Daughters of Charity, on the 8th 6f March, 
 lG-iS: " I pray you, bear witli one another. Xoo go in com- 
 pany to eternity, and you are all spoufl s of Jesus Christ, our 
 Savior; be united, then, more and more. Let no one take it to 
 heart if another contradicts her, or if others speak and murmur 
 against her. There is not a p ts >n in the world who has not 
 something to endure from his neighbor. our Lord, 
 
 eff, among His disciples did not escape. \\\ must pass 
 by this way, or else live in ;, separated from ail. But 
 
 woe to him who is alone! Let OS, th her cheer- 
 
 fully and sweetly. We belon 'I and are obliged to 
 
 accept what He ordains and what He permits. We are re- 
 el, our actions are cri 1 worse than 
 servants; again, we are informed on, superiors listen to what 
 is said to our disadvantage, the verj is done against us. 
 
286 VIRTUES AND DOCTRINE OP ST. VINCENT DE PAUL 
 
 Oh, Lord, my God, what beautiful opportunities to acquire 
 humility, to exercise sweetness and patience, to make ourselves 
 agreeable in the eyes of God, to become beloved of the glorious 
 Virgin Mary, and all the heavenly court, and finally, to gain 
 the hearts of those who made us suifer, for, sooner or later, 
 they will recognize their fault, if we only do our little duty, 
 and this we should do diligently and carefully. Let us, then, 
 do it in the presence of God, with calmness of mind, with 
 sweetness and condescension towards everyone ; m this way, 
 our actions will become golden and our recompense will be 
 very great. But what must we do to make proper use of the 
 contradictions and vexations which God sends us? We must 
 love them. And the means to love that which is disagreeable ? 
 First, we must reflect that such was the constant practice of 
 our Lord, while on earth, and, generally, such was the prac- 
 tice of all the saints ; secondly, none go to Heaven save by way 
 of tribulation and penance ; thirdly, to suffer in this world is 
 a necessity whether we will or not and only those, who love 
 to suffer, do not, suffer; fourthly, if the Sisters of Charity, 
 those whom our Lord has chosen among thousands to elevate 
 to his love, do not wish to honor His passion in anything, who, 
 then, will do so ? You are Daughters of Charity: mortifica- 
 tion is also a daughter of charity and ou^ht, therefore, be your 
 sister. Caress her, then, visit her often in prayer, and be 
 mindful of her on occasion. 1 ' 
 
 With the intention of mortifying an excessive tenderness for 
 parents, he rarely gave permission to visit them. "I cannot 
 advise you," he would write, " to go visit your parents, be- 
 cause our Lord has left us an entirely different coun- 
 sel, not wishing one of his disciples to go home to 
 bury his dead father, nor another to return and sell what 
 he had to distribute it to the poor. And yet these were mo- 
 tives very holy and urgent. To this counsel He added His 
 example. He returned to His own country but once, and 
 then his countrymen endeavored to precipitate Him from the 
 summit of a mountain. He permitted this, 1 think, to repre- 
 sent to us the spiritual dangers we incur by similar visits. 
 Hence, you will perform an action very agreeable to God by 
 
MORTIFICATION. 287 
 
 mortifying nature in refusing it the Journey. At the hour oi* 
 death you will experience an indescribable consolation for hav- 
 ing remained steadfast at your poet, when flesh and blood 
 united tod a from it. I yon, the advice I give 
 
 you is what I would follow myself. We ooght bo have a very 
 great difficulty in leaving the w >rka of God for temporal 
 affairs, and still more when it i- only I gratifica- 
 
 tion, such as revisiting our home and to by our family. 
 
 For, when the time of separation < -thing but 
 
 grief and tears; and, what isw< se often remain after- 
 
 action toservantsof God, and, haying 
 receiTed impn but little conformed to their 
 
 state of lite, they sometimes lose the affection they bad 
 for their exercises." 
 
 The Saint has left us ta reneea on this subject of 
 
 mortification, the one of ; of January, l'J-*>7, to the 
 
 Daughters of Charity, the o bh • 2d of May, 1059, to the 
 
 roaries. In the oonfereuc3 to the Daughters of Charity 
 be identifies mortification with Ohri vers," 
 
 he said, *• have their currents, and the boats tb »W the 
 
 stream constantly mow, even without labor, because the river 
 carries them on. But, if you wish tli i boat to go a_ 
 current you must employ horses, or oars, and if the oar be not 
 constantly in the hand, the boa! recedes in the direction whence 
 me. Now, it is the same with those who wish to serve 
 If they desire to approach Him and advance in His 
 good graces, they musi labor, without ceasing, to make new 
 progress in virtue; otherwise, they will discover that, i<; 
 of nearing Him, the distance insensibly increases, themselves 
 falling back and drifting away. For, the practice of virtue is 
 not according to nature X I'ure inclines to the possession of 
 beautiful objects, to the enjoyment of Bensual s and 
 
 the craving af;. tn and praise. This is our bent, and we 
 
 Follow it without difficul . weeps 
 
 mg. The Bentimi led to those 
 
 of nature. Grace leads towards thing3 of Heaven and to the 
 practice of virtue ; it wills that the appetite be m >r:li d, and 
 satisfactions renounced. N ids to wards things of earth, 
 
288 VIRTUES AND DOCTRINE OF ST. VINCENT DE PAUL. 
 
 wills that we follow our passions, that we enjoy our pleasures, 
 and drain their cup to the last drop. It is, therefore, certain, 
 that if we do not continually labor to mortify ourselves and 
 resist our passfons, they will obtain the upperhand, and we will 
 follow the propensities of corrupt nature. During life we must 
 not cease laboring to mortify ourselves ; and, even though we 
 had already one foot in Paradise, we should not relax in our 
 efforts to place the other there also, lest the foot outside succeed 
 in withdrawing the one within, and thus ruin all." 
 
 The Saint then explained the practice of mortification, both 
 interior and exterior, almost as we see in the following confer- 
 ence given on the 2d of May, 1659. 
 
 On that day he took as a text these words of Oar Savior : 
 " If any man will come after Me, let Mm deny himself mnd 
 take up his cross." (Matt. xvi. 24. Luke ix. 23.) And he com- 
 mented thus : " Our Lord says to us, you wish to come after 
 me? Very well. You wish to conform your life to mine? Very 
 good, again. But do you know that you must begin by re- 
 nouncing yourself, and continue by carrying your cross? And 
 this is not given to all; very few receive this grace. ITence it 
 is that the^many thousand?, who followed to hear, abandoned 
 Him and withdrew, not being found worthy to be His disciples 
 because they did not possess the necessary dispositions to over- 
 come themselves, to deny themselves, and to carry their cross. 
 " What is meant by denying oneself? It is the renouncing 
 of our judgment, our will, our senses, and of our relations. 
 What a life ! To renounce one's entire self for the love of God, 
 to conform one's judgment to that of another, to submit one's 
 will, through virtue, to whom we should, and submit to the 
 judgment of God in all things! It is thus that our Savior did. 
 By judgment we understand knowledge, intelligence,and under- 
 standing. The Son of God was pleased to have it known that 
 He had no judgment of His own, that His judgment was that 
 of His Father, as He gave us to understand by these words: 
 1 My doctrine is not Mine, but of Him that sent Me.' (John vii. 
 16.) I attend to the judgment He passes on things and I judge 
 the same. — How profitable it is for a Christian to submit his 
 lights and reason for the love of God! Who denies himself 
 
MOKriFICATloN. 283 
 
 better than be who surrender- his judgment? A question is 
 proposed and each ( opinion. Now, to renounce one- 
 
 self in such a oase i; id d >( re [aired to refuse to .sty what we 
 think: weonghl ; bathe, who-- judg- 
 
 ment ifl BUbmiaOYe, prefers to follow that of another rather 
 than his own. Let 11% then. M did Oar Savior, aOOOfd our 
 
 judgment with that <»f God, which is known to us by the sacred 
 
 Scriptures, and let us use it only when our rules and our super 
 iors are silent. Ill that ease, in ! : Lord, we 
 
 can form our reasoning according to the sense most conformed 
 
 to the Spirit Of the < rOfpeL 
 
 "Our Lord has equally renounc I Qia will : ' For I always 
 <l<> the thimjs that ]>Jcase Him: (John Yiii, 29). If we do the 
 same we will be worthy to belong to Blfl school. But, as long 
 as we enjoy our own will, we cannot be in a proper disposition 
 to follow Thee, my Sa\ i >r: we will obtain no merit in bear- 
 ing with our trials, nor have any pari with Th 
 
 " We should mortify our interior and exterior senses, watch 
 continually over them and take especial care to subject 
 them to God. Curiosity of the e\ [Ueni and dangerous. 
 
 And curiosity in bearing, oh ! what a power it has to run away 
 with our minds! Curiosity was the ruin of our first father, 
 and he would ha-, totally lost had he not found the path 
 
 ofpenauce. Curiosity of touch may also have unfortunate 
 results. We must, then, have a guard over ourselves that we 
 give no rein to our passions, nor satisfy our smses. 
 
 " There is another thing which teems hard; still we must 
 !>ou the head and yield. The Son of God has said in precise 
 terms that, to renounce ourselves, we must hate our parents. 
 But this is understood when they wish to hinder us from going 
 to Him ; for when they themselves conduct us to Him, or 
 leave dj free, He does not require of us this hatred. Again, 
 it is not, properly speaking, to hate them, but to behave as if 
 we did, I mean we must abandon them, and disobey them 
 when they interpose to prevent us from obeying God and fol- 
 lowing Jesus Christ. 
 
 <k ]Let us then renounce on r parents, our country, . . ." 
 Then the Saint cited himself us an example to prove what 
 danger there is in too great a tenderness for family, and recalled 
 
290 VIRTUES AND DOCTRINE OF ST. VINCENT DE PAUL. 
 
 that voyage of 1G23, which we have already recited; he then 
 proceeded: "Let us renounce the recollections of our past 
 lives. Otherwise, we will turn with a lingering pleasure to our 
 youthful follies, we will dwell on the affections we had, and on 
 the vexations and sorrows we experienced. Now, nothing so 
 much inflames the appetite for forbidden things as the recol- 
 lection of their false joys. 
 
 "Let us renounce the devil and his pomps! ' But, sir,' you 
 will say to me, ' we are poor priests who have already done so; 
 we have but plain clothing, pocr furniture and nothing that 
 savors of pomp!' Oh, gentlemen and my brothers, let us not 
 be deceived in this ! Though we have poor raiment and mean 
 rooms, can we not have a pompous spirit ? Alas ! yes. To aim 
 to preach fine sermons, to be spoken of, to publish the good 
 we do, to grow proud, this is to have the spirit of pomp. And, 
 to combat this vice, it is preferable to do a thing less well 
 than to take complacency in having done it well. We must 
 renounce vanity and human applause ; we must give ourselves 
 to God, my brethren, so that we may separate ourselves from 
 self-esteem and from the praise of the world, in which the pomp 
 of spirit consists. It were better to be bound hand and foot, and 
 cast into a burning fire, than to do or say anything to please 
 men. In this connection, a celebrated preacher said to me, 
 some days ago: 'Sir, when once a minister of the Gospel seeks 
 after the honor and applause of men, he delivers himself up 
 to the tyranny of the public, and, thinking to make himself 
 important by his beautiful discourses, he becomes the slave of 
 a vain and frivolous reputation.' To this we may add that he, 
 who utters forth rich thoughts in a pompous style, is opposed 
 to the spirit of Our Lord, who said: 'Blessed are the poor in 
 spirit.'' (Matt. iii. 5.) Herein the eternal Wisdom shows how 
 carefully evangelical laborers should avoid grandeur in action 
 and word, and adopt a simple, humble, and common manner 
 of speech and conduct, whereof He Himself has been pleased 
 to give us the example. It is the evil spirit that delivers us to 
 this tyranny of desiring to gain applause, and who, perceiving 
 us disposed to po simply about performing our duty, whispers 
 to us: 'That is, indeed, mean ; it is too trivial, and very un- 
 worthy ibe grandeur and majesty of Christian truth P Beware 
 
IfOBTIF* A.TION. 291 
 
 of siith suggestions, my brethren : reject these vanities, I pray 
 you by tlie bowels of the meres of Qur Lord, renounce this 
 worldly iiinl diabolic ostentation. Keep constantly before your 
 es the simple and humble manner oi Out Lord, of Him Who 
 could hi Q renown to His works and .sovereign efficacy 
 
 to ffifl word, and yet did not wish to do so ; but, Jtoiug. still 
 rnrther, the more to confound our prjde by His admirable bu- 
 in ili at ions, II.' baa willed that Hi> disciples should do 
 things than He Himself. ' F<w wSU do,' He says to them, 
 fhdyou »•>'■'! d But, <) Lord, why dost 
 
 Thou wish that, doing what Tboti bast done, they do still m 
 It is, gentlemen, Oar Lord permits Himself to be out- 
 
 done in public actions in order I i excel in those thai are hum- 
 ble and secret; He desires Lhe fruits of the Gospel, and not the 
 noise of the world, and hence He has done more through His 
 servants than by Himself. He has wished that St. P »uld 
 
 convert, at one time, three thousand, and at another, five thou- 
 sand persons, ami that t ! th should he enlightened 
 by His Apostle-, whilst He, Himself, though the Light ol the 
 World, !>:•• ached only in Jerusalem and its neighborhood; He 
 preached there, knowing that He would sueveed less than 
 
 elsewhere: yea, He addressed Himself to the J 
 pie most likely ami capable of contemning and contradicting 
 Him. He. then, has done but Little, and His disciples, igno- 
 rant and uncouth, animated with His spirit, have done more 
 than He. Why this? To give us an example of perfect hu- 
 mility. Oh, gentlemen, why not follow the example of such 
 a l>i\ii:' M ': Why not always yield to others the advan- 
 . and choose for ourselves the worst and most humiliating 
 works? For. assuredly, this is the moj ml the 
 
 most honorable to Our Lord, and He ought to he our only 
 aim and object. Lot US, then, adopt Hisexampl '. Here i . 
 public action I perform; I can, in doing it. attract great at- 
 tention : I will not do so, I will omit such and smh which 
 might give it some brilliancy, and draw on nnself some praise. 
 Two thoughts come to my mind: I will give expression to the 
 less fine for humilit\" in the more beautiful to 
 
 sacrifice it to God in the secret of my heart. 
 . "Th- dominant \9 
 
*92 VIRTUES AND DOCTRINE OF ST. VINCENT DE PAUL. 
 
 many, and which we must carefully renoimce : it is this im- 
 moderate desire of health and of being well, and this excessive 
 care for its possession that urge us to do both the possible 
 and the impossible for the well-being of our body. For this 
 undue solicitude and this fear of suffering any inconvenience, 
 which we perceive in certain persons, who apply their whole 
 mind and entire attention to the care of their poor little life, 
 are great impediments in the service of God, for they take 
 away the liberty to follow Jesus Christ. Oh, gentlemen and 
 my brothers, we are the disciples of this Divine Savior, and 
 yet He finds us enchained slaves ! And bound to what? To 
 a little health, to an imaginary remedy, to an infirmary where 
 all our desires will be attended to, to a house wherein we will 
 be satisfied, to a walk we take to recreate ourselves, to a repose 
 that savors of laziness. 'But/ some one will object, ' the 
 doctor counselled me not to apply myself so much, to take the 
 air, he advised a change in the climate.' Oh, misery and 
 weakness ! Do the great in the world leave their ordinary 
 abode because they sometimes are indisposed ? Does a bishop 
 leave his diocese ? A governor, his province? The citizen, 
 his city? The merchant, his house? Do kings, themselves, 
 do this ? Rarely ; and when they are taken sick, they remain 
 where they happen to be. The late king fell sick at St. Ger- 
 main -en -Laye, and, without having himself removed else- 
 where, he continued there four or five months, in fact up to 
 the time of his death, which was truly Christian, and worthy of 
 a king most Christian. Attachment to life does not lack tor 
 pretext. I will be told: 'It is a participation of the Deity, 
 and therefore must be preserved.' Yes, but it is self-love that 
 seeks to conserve it. This is why our Lord has said : 'For 
 whosoever shall save his life shall lose it, 1 (Matt, xvi, 25). And 
 elsewhere He adds that there can be no greater proof of love 
 than to give one's life for his friend. But is not God our 
 friend ? And our neighbor, is He not also our friend? Would 
 we not be unworthy to enjoy the existence He has given us, 
 did we refuse to employ it for objects so noble? 
 
 "Another way to renounce ourselves is to put off the old 
 man and clothe ourselves with the new, and this we do when 
 
MORTIFICATION. JBH 
 
 we endeavor to free ourselves from our passions ami imi>erfec- 
 tions. In this way he who was in the filth, of sin becomes 
 purified. I was addicted to pride. I delivered myself by making 
 acts of humility. Whilst eagaged in remedying my past negli- 
 genoe and combating my present cowardice, what do I ? I 
 purge mys« lfof theold h-awn that corrupts the entile DUMB, and 
 I infuse life into all m vigilance and atten- 
 
 tion. Consequently, to moor thus a whole life-time, not only 
 in correcting the vile and evil inclinations, but also in elevat- 
 ing our habits and our occupations to the level of the new 
 
 man* Onr Lord Jeans Christ, is to put away incessantly the 
 
 old Adam and to clothe ourselves with the new. 
 
 •• May it please God to give us the grace to become like to 
 a good vine-dresser, who has nil pruning knife always about 
 him that he may cut away whatever he meets hurtful to the 
 vines. And if they sprout more than he desires, and continu- 
 ally shoot out useless wood, he has his knife always ready, and 
 often he holds it in his hand to lop off, as soon ai be perceives 
 it. whatever may be superfluous, that the sap may mount to 
 the branches which are to bear fruit. It is thus we Ottghi to 
 cutaway the unwholesome productions of depraved nature 
 that never wearies in putting forth the shoots of its corrup- 
 tion : and then, they will not prevent Jesus Christ, Who is 
 compared to the vine and Who compares us to the branches, 
 from rendering us abundantly fruitful in the practice of holy 
 virtues. 
 
 "Courage, then, let us work at mortification. Let no day 
 pass without our making three or four acts of if, and thus we 
 will become true disciples of Jesus Christ." 
 
V 
 
 CHAPTER XIX. 
 
 CHASTITY 
 
 •Chastity is the daughter- of mortification. By mortification, 
 in truth, the- flesh is so reduced that the body seems no longer 
 to exist, and, 'on the ruins of the sense, purity, like a heaven- 
 ly flower, springs up. It is the life of angels under a material 
 .envelope. Such was the modesty of Vincent de Paul, and it 
 wasreflected from his heart on his countenance, and passed 
 into his every word and. his entire conduct. Whether he 
 spoke or wrote, his words were always charitable ; but never, 
 when addressing a ■• female, whether secular or religious, did he 
 use a word too soft or too tender. He even refrained from 
 the use of any expression which, though proper and becoming, 
 might yet inspire the slightest evil thought. The word 
 chastity was too expressive for his sensitivoness, because it 
 iuggested the thought of the contrary vice, and he preferred 
 the more comprehensive term of purity. If he had occasion 
 to speak of any fallen creature he designated her crime only 
 by the vague expressions of weakness and misfortune, in order 
 to remove all impure imagination, and herself he never termed 
 other than fallen creature. 
 
 Pure as an angel, and so confirmed in grace that he no 
 longer felt the sting of the flesh, he, nevertheless, made use of 
 all the precautions of a man still subject to the assault of 
 corrupt nature. We have told of his mortification. Who will 
 describe his subjugation of the senses, particularly of his eyes, 
 which he never fixed on any woman ? With none did he confer 
 
( HA9TI1 V. 2JT5 
 
 alone, in private, but always before witnesses, and with th^ 
 door of the apartment open. Bo the condition of the person;, 
 wJlO wished to speak with him, what it might; he never went. 
 save accompanied by a brother who had a standi wg order to kc*e|^ 
 him in sight. One day, the lady of (he Marshall of Sehom-" 
 berg came to the parlor of Si Daaarns, and the brother, btffc? 
 of respect and consideration, withdrew, drawing the door after 
 him. Vincent ini ■ ly called ">it t<» him: "What 
 
 you doing, my brother? Voti know your dttty is to keep the* 
 •i and y >nr py< -■ on m 
 
 He acted in tin- Bame manner with his ladies and even with 
 his Dang Charity ; Tie never, without n 
 
 cither. •• I masi soon go to La Chapelle," he one day wrote 
 to Mademoiselle Le ( d oi'my going 
 
 .our house yon will please send me word. I am well 
 pleased not to go other* cording to tin- decision 
 
 agreed on from th,. ^ery beginning 
 
 And. s l' time: "It yon desire] should bare tie- ' 
 
 benefit of £ ring yon in yong BicknesS, acquaint me. I ha; 
 made i- a Ian i vistf yon unless called for some nee 
 
 ary or ?ery useful purpose 
 
 When obliged to confer with Mademoiselle Le Graa or 
 her Daughters, he observed the 6arae rules of prnd< 
 with persons of the world. 
 
 The parity of Vincent^ as are all Chi virtues,^ 
 
 pansiw and conquering. Qme "!' hia 
 draw women and yonng girls from the perils to which he kn< 
 th.-m t«» '><• exposed. Thus, h<- broaght from Lprrain - I 
 a Domber of young girls whos? virtue was. 
 prey to the temptation of hunger, always an eyiJ counsel 
 
 and the hrutality of an undiscipli;;. t\. H- phi 
 
 them wit h Ma<lin I I IS, who, with 
 
 Ladies of Charity, succeeded in obtaining tor thei ii 
 
 in the besl families in Pafis, some as maids in waiting, other* 
 
 as house sen cording to her qnalifie 
 
 lie was no less devoted hing from n who 
 
 had already rallen. He favored and e I the insl 
 
 ntions for pei bii time, and mdre parties 
 
• 96 VIRTUES AND DOCTRINE OF ST. \INCENT DE PAUL. 
 
 ularly the Magdalene, where he sent the Daughters of the Vis- 
 itation, whose sweetness and charity seemed the virtues most 
 proper to win over the poor penitents.* He, himself, toward 
 the close cf his life, formed the project of building a vast hos- 
 pital for young girls aud abandoned females, and especially 
 those who make an infamous traffic of their houor. He held 
 on the subject numerous and long consultations with persons 
 •f. piety i and, notwithstanding the difficulties of such an en- 
 terprise, he would, doubtless, had not death intervened, have 
 carried it into successful execution. Others inherited his idea 
 and realized it under different forms. 
 
 II 
 
 Having such a love of purity, what must he not have done 
 to infuse and foster it in his children ? " It is not enough for 
 Missionaries," he said, "to excel in this virtue; they are 
 obliged moreover to do their utmost so to comport themselves 
 that none can have the slightest cause to entertain, in their re- 
 gard, the faintest suspicion of the contrary vice, because, this 
 suspicion, though totally false, would tarnish their reputation 
 and prove more prejudicial to their holy occupations than all 
 the other crimes that could be falsely imputed to them. Hence,. 
 we must not rest satisfied in using all ordinary means to guard 
 against this evil,but we must, moreover, if necessary, employ ex- 
 traordinary precautions, such as omitting, at times, to perform 
 «errain actions, though otherwise lawful, and even good and 
 holy, as visiting the sick poor, when, in the judgment of su- 
 periors, such actions might furnish occasion to these sus- 
 picions." 
 
 And for this reason he answered those who asked if they 
 ihould take with them a companion when visiting the sick : 
 u 0, my Jesus! Sir, you must be vigilant not to fail therein. 
 When the Son of God ordained that His disciples should go 
 two and two together, He saw, no doubt, the great danger that 
 would result in sending them alone. Now, who would be rash 
 •nough to derogate from a usage which He introduced among 
 
 * That was before the Sisters of the Visitation were cloistered. In the be- 
 ginning of their institute their duties were similar to those of the Sisters of 
 Charity.— Translator, 
 
CHASTITY. C07 
 
 His disciples, tad which the Congregation h is always follow- 
 ed? Experience has taught a number of eoniimmiries of re- 
 ligious women that it is necessary, on account of tho abuses 
 that have arisen at such times and places, to leave the dour of 
 the infirmary open* and have the curtains of thebed drawn 
 back, while the oenfessor administers the sacraments, and re- 
 mains by the sick sister" 
 
 Ele wrote to another : "i led to tin 1 Daugh- 
 
 ters of Charity never to permit men to e ir rooms, ei- 
 
 ther lay persons or ecclesia Ind no more those of the 
 
 Congregation than others; and I h . <l I hem to close 
 
 the door even on myself, should I wish to enter. I except, of 
 con: . i of Bl< kness; for, in case of necessity, the sister in- 
 
 firmarian can conduct the priest, or a In-other may aconn 
 him, but never otherwise 
 
 One of his priests having, one day. ask. *d him in simplici 
 it were expedient to feel the pulse of the sick so rfs to be a6le 
 to judge of the necessity of admi £ the lasl BUccorscri 
 
 religion, he replied : " That practice must be carefully avoid- 
 ed, for the evd spirit might easily make use of it to tempt the 
 living and even the dying. The devil, in this. 
 forges arrows of all woods wherewith to strike the soul. The 
 strength of the passions may remain though the body he eniH- 
 ciated. You should call ro mind the example of that Saint, 
 who, having separated from his wife with her consent, would 
 not, while sick, allow her to touch him. crying out with what 
 voice he had that there was still fire un< It the ashes, 
 if yon wish to know the symptoms of approach nig devolution. 
 a-k some attendant, o/ some other person present to do y»n 
 that favor, there being less danger i r Mm ; inform 
 
 yourself of what the doctor says. But. on no BCCOnnt, run the 
 ri-k of touching eith> r girl or woman under an 
 
 In the same sense, be rs to 
 
 abstain from all intercourse, though hi I 1 intention 
 
 were pur-', with a person of the othersex: '• 1' id, 
 
 u in such particular t on>, ff there be no 'el 'is 
 
 always the occasion of thinking evil; ami. mor. tn » 
 
298 VIRTUES AND DOCTRINE OF ST. VINCENT I.)E PAUL. 
 
 to preserve purity, is to shun the occasions that may sully it." 
 
 '" However, the Saint would not have the temptations against 
 this virtue alarm them, still less be the occasion of their aban- 
 doning their vocation. He wrote to a brother, thus tempted, 
 "who desired to become a hermit: " On the one hand, I have 
 been consoled by your letter, in seeing the candor with which 
 you disclose what passes within you ; but, on the other, it has 
 given me a pain similar to that St.. Bernard formerly received 
 •from one of his monks, who, under pretext of greater regular- 
 ity, desiredjto leave his. vocation and enter another order, though 
 the holy abbott assured him it was a temptation, aud told him 
 that the evil one desired nothing better than this change, 
 .knowing well that, could he force him to abandon his first 
 gafcate, it would be an easy matter to withdraw him from the 
 ^eeond, and then precipitate him into a disorderly state of life, 
 ,sas it actually happened. What I can say to you, my dear 
 ..brother, is that, if you be not continent in the Congregation 
 ~p! the Mission, you will not in any condition in the world, and 
 of this I assure you. Be careful lest there be levity in your 
 desire for change; if not, then, after prayer, which is always 
 mecessary in all needs, the remedy will be to reflect that there 
 ts no state in life in which there are no dryness and weariness, 
 and, at times, longings for change. After this consideration, 
 ibink that, God having called you to the congregation in 
 which you are, He, very likely, has attached to it the grace of 
 your solvation, which, not having called you, He w r ill refuse you 
 elsewhere. The second remedy against temptations of the flesh 
 js to fly all communication with and the sight of those persons 
 who give rise to them, and, moreover, to reveal them immedi 
 j-tely to your director, who will give you other remedies. I 
 would, besides, advise you to have a great confidence in Our 
 Lord, and in the assistance of the immaculate Virgin, His 
 mother, to whom I will frequently recommend you," 
 
 Treating, one day, of this subject of chastity, after his usual 
 fashion, that is, in its motives, its nature, its means, he ad- 
 4uced as the principal motive the great aversion of Our Lord 
 for whatever seemed contrary to this virtue : " So much," said 
 he, -'that, intending to become man, He did not wish it to ba 
 
CHASTITY. -290 
 
 in the ordinary manner, bur by the operation of the Holy 
 Ghjst, in a way entirely supem iinral. bo that He, beia< true 
 man, as other men, 11 >f Mother remained always chaste and » 
 Virgin. Oh, my Lord ! there mii3( be something grand in thi* 
 virtu. -. since the ftoTy oi Holies baa Pur ita sake willed to abvo* 
 gate in His oonoeption and His birth the laws of oator 
 
 "Our Lord ii topermil Himaelf to be calam- 
 
 niated, to be called ;.-er,a drinker, one possessed by 
 
 the devil, and so on ; but He never allowed even His j 
 enemies to reproach Him with tli 
 
 ••oh, my Savior! I i I iddress ourselves t> obtain 
 
 this so ran- u virtue. Nature has not the power to gran! it; on 
 the contrary, it excites within lis Is opon thousands 
 
 of impure temptations. 
 
 ♦'Our Lord goes farther* and says; ! He who does not leave 
 his wife is not worthy oi M ■.' iin 
 
 ciples, who were mar >ara£ed from their wive- t<> 
 
 follow Hun, and SO did the wives from their h . Many 
 
 of the first Christians followed this example, and had no further. 
 matrimonial intercourse. But the d lemy of this 
 
 virtue, sum succeeded in breaking down in men this beautiful 
 
 resolution. Worldly intercourse and the imaa ;n?is of 
 
 nature induced some to return to a Lifejesjq pare. Thi 
 
 ra why a great an kring they did no( possess 
 
 strength suffl i live in B itj in the world. 
 
 fled into iU<> deserts of Lvb:a and .Egypt, there to hal the lil" 
 of a:. ■ that time, monasteries have b -e:. aed 
 
 where those who, tearing thi I away from sin and the 
 
 pleasures of the fleeb, and wishing to Kvea ehasb lit*. , ate 
 ived. . 
 
 "Th re are two kinds of e rlrtnfe* 
 
 which, in general, mod r i desired of carnal p"Te 
 
 ►ncern'a marrie 1 p ity; 
 
 there is an extirpating 
 
 from the heart all impure affections. A virtue rare, and oik? 
 which the demon d >es h: i 1)1:3 mo3t 
 
 holy souls especially. The most holy things serve him as means 
 to tempt us with impurity. Oh, Lord, what is to bo done in 
 
300 VIRTUES AND DOCTRINE OF ST. VINCENT DE PAUL. 
 
 these terrible moments ? Fly to God, take refuge in the 
 wounds of our Lord Jesus Christ Help us then, 0, my Cod, 
 to pluck, from our hearts these accursed affections, to erase 
 from our memories all these wicked remembrances! 
 
 "There are, also, two kinds of purity, purity of the body 
 and purity of the heart. He who possesses purity of the body 
 has not, therefore, chastity. He must add purity of the heart, 
 which is the form and essence of this virtue. Chastity, in 
 truth, drives away all evil thoughts from the imagination, 
 fFom the memory and from the mind. We should, then, di- 
 rect all our efforts against our heart in order to become 
 masters, and root out all that can give rise to any image con- 
 trary to this sublime virtue. 
 
 "The means to preserve chastity are. first, vigilance over 
 the senses, and particularly over sight and hearing. A guard 
 over the eves: O, sight how dangerous thou art ! O how evil 
 it is to allow the eyes to wander here and there and rest on all 
 kinds of objects! David, that holy man, by this became an 
 adulterer and a homicide. A guard ov?r the hearing: very 
 many would never have known what impurity was had they 
 not seen and heard those comedians and buffoons, who repre- 
 sent unbecoming actions and rehearseevil discourse. Oh, what 
 danger there is in listening to such things! We must, then, em- 
 ploy the greatest vigilance over our senses; over the sight, the 
 sight, I say, yes, the sight; over the hearing, and so of all the 
 other external senses, the touch, too, and as far as; possible 
 make ourselves masters. Secondly, to fly all private conversa- 
 tion with persons of the other sex. Thirdly, to practise so- 
 briety, especially in the use of wine. Fourthly, to shun idleness; 
 when the devil finds a person idle, he does everything to make 
 him succumb. Oh, what a fine opportunity he has to tempt 
 and torment him by impure representations ! Fifthly, to avoid 
 all tender relations and expressions both in conversations and 
 in letters." 
 
UHAFTEH XX, 
 
 « OMPOSURE <»!•' SPIRIT. 
 
 I 
 
 With a mortification both interior and exterior, such as we 
 "have seen, with so absolute a submission to the Divine "VN' ill, 
 Vincent could not but possess his soul, and maintain over 
 himself an empire that retained all his facalti -s in perfect 
 equality. And he did maintain this equality in all things and 
 at all times. 
 
 He was composed in his manner of life, always bumble and 
 inclined to piety and charity from infamy to old age. 
 
 Wr TO composed in his holy undertakings; he sustained and 
 prosecuted them to their termination amid contradiction of 
 every description and trials of every quality. 
 
 He was composed in the inequalities of occupations and 
 alfairs, in humiliations and honors, in the slave-pen r>f Tunis 
 and at the Court of Anne of Austria, which forced a bishop to 
 exclaim, as has been mentioned: "Mr. Vincent is always 
 Mr. Vincent." 
 
 lie was composed in losses of property and in those of law, 
 during disorder and wars, which could wring from him only this 
 cry: " God be praised ; M or this humble and submissive plaint: 
 " We will be obliged to go act as curares in the village if God 
 do not have pity on us." 
 
 He was composed in misfortunes at sea which deprived his 
 children of their all, save life, bat which could not turn bim 
 from the maintenance of the foreign missions. 
 
 He was composed in the losses, still more sensible, ol his 
 
304 VIRTUES AND DOCTRINE OF ST. VINCENT DE PALU 
 
 He has finished as he lived, in the good use of suffering, in the* 
 practice of all virtues and in the desire to consume himself, like 
 our Lord, in the accomplishment of the will of God. He was 
 one of the first two who labored in the Missions, and he always 
 contributed to the other functions of the Congregation, to 
 which he has rendered very great service in every way, and in 
 losing him it would have lost greatly, did not God dispose all 
 things for the best and cause us to find our profit, where we 
 imagine only injury. There is reason to hope that this, His 
 servant, wih be of more benefit to us in Heaven than he could 
 have been on earth. I pray you to render him the customary 
 suffrages. " • . 
 
 He wrote, in the same spirit, a month after, on the occasion 
 of the loss of Mademoiselle Le Gras; and generally, in eveiy 
 instance, on the death of his best and dearest subjects. A last 
 quotation: ** You have not, then, heard of the losses we have 
 undergone? Oh, Sir, but they are great, not only in the nunc- 
 ber of men whom God has taken from us, but also in the 
 quality of persons, all being priests, and of the best workers in 
 the Congregation. And so, too, they proved themselves, meet- 
 ing death whilst serving their neighbor, and a death most 
 holy and extraordinary. Six of them, without counting a 
 brother, died of the pestilence, in Geneva, whilst assisting the 
 plague-stricken, and the others have given their temporal life 
 to procure that of eternity for the islanders of Madagascar and 
 the Hebrides;. They. a; e so many missionaries in Heaven. 
 There can be no doubt of it, since they have consumed them- 
 selves for the sake of charity, and since there can be no greater 
 charity than to give one's life for his neighbor, as Jesus Christ 
 Himself has said and done. May God, then, Sir, be glorified 
 with the glory He has bestowed upon our confreres, as we have 
 reason to believe, and may USs good pleasure ever be our 
 peace and the calm of our afflicted' hearts 1 I do not tell you 
 what was our grief on receiving such news Doming almost all at' 
 the same time; it would be imperishable to eypress it. You, 
 loving the Congregation so tenderly* will be able to judge, by 
 the pain you will experience, whether we could receive a 
 greater stroke without being crushed. " 
 
CHAPTER X\r. 
 
 : I i M AND TAT! 
 
 I 
 
 The man §o meek. s<> humble, bo gentle, was for all that, 
 
 whenever the interests of truth and justice required, as strong 
 
 .•Hid invincible as i wall of bias* <>r a column of Iron . 
 
 It La, again, in the Council of Conscience, on that more pub 
 lie theatre, where his fortitude distinguished itself as did his 
 
 equanimity, h is humility, as did all his virtues. Withpnt a 
 doubt, his natural kindness led him. when, he OOttld in con 
 
 science do so.to oblige every one from the humblest plebeian to 
 
 the highest lord or peer; but did any ask what was against his 
 rules, then he opposed an Insurmountable refusal. In vain did 
 intriirm ,<-upidity. and ambition assail his virtue; without taking 
 
 counsel of either hope or fear, he, as tar as in him lay, repulsed 
 
 them fmm the sanctuary without mercy. For long, be strng- 
 i even against Ma/.arin himself, becoming more and Store 
 powerful, who, forgetting his ecclesiastical character and obey- 
 ing only the calculations of his personal ambition, or what he 
 termed a reason of state, wished to make friends, not with the 
 mmou of Iniquity, as the Gospel has it. but with the sacred 
 goods of the Church. In his letter to Clement XL, I'enelon 
 wrote; " An incredible discernment of ppirits and a singular 
 firmness were eofcapicuous in this man of God. Having eegard 
 
 neither for the favor nor the hatred of the great he eon-ulted 
 
 only the interest. of the church, when, in the Council of Con- 
 nee, by order of tie' (iiiirn, Anne of Austria, mother of tie.: 
 King; be gave his ad vice in relation to the choice of bishops. 
 Had the >nncilors adhered more Constantly to this man, 
 
304 VIRTUES AND DOCTRINE OF ST. VINCENT DE TALL. 
 
 He has finished as he lived, in the good use of suffering, in the - 
 practice of all virtues and in the desire to consume himself, like 
 our Lord, in the accomplishment of the will of God. He was 
 one of the first two who labored in the Missions, and he always 
 contributed to the other functions of the Congregation, to 
 which he has rendered very great service in every way, and in 
 losing him it would have lost greatly, did not God dispose all 
 things for the best and cause us to find our profit, where we 
 imagine only injury. There is reason to hope that this, His 
 servant, will be of more benefit to us in Heaven than he could 
 have been on earth. I pray you to render him the customary 
 suffrages. " , • . 
 
 He wrote, in the same spirit, a month after, on the occasion 
 of the loss of Mademoiselle Le Gras; and gencrall}', in every 
 instance, on the death of his best and dearest subjects. A last 
 quotation: "You have not, then, heard of the losses we have 
 undergone? Oh, Sir. but the3 r are great, not only in the num- 
 ber of men whom God has taken from us, but also in the 
 quality of persons, all being priests, and of the best workers in 
 the Congregation. And so > too, they proved themselves, meet- 
 ing death whilst serving their neighbor, and a death most 
 holy and extraordinary/. Six of them, without counting a 
 brother, died of the pestilence, in Geneva, whilst assisting the 
 plague-stricken, and the others have given their temporal life 
 to procure that of eternity for the islanders of Madagascar and 
 the Hebrides. They.aie so many missionaries in Heaven. 
 There can be no doubt of it, since they have consumed them- 
 selves for the sake of charity, and since there can be no greater 
 charity than to give one's life for his neighbor, as Jesus Christ 
 Himself has said and dona. May God, then, Sir, be glorified 
 with the glory He has bestowed upon our confreres, as we have 
 reason to believe, and may His good pleasure ever be our 
 peace and the calm of our afflicted hearts! I do not tell you 
 what was our grief on receiving such news coming almost all at' 
 the same time; it would be imperishable to cypress it. You, 
 loving the Congregation so tenderly, will be able to judge, by 
 the pain you will experience, whether we could receive a 
 greater stroke without being crushed. 1 ' 
 
[AFTER XX! 
 
 : I L'DE AND PATH 
 
 I 
 
 The man so meek, so humble, bo gentle, iras t«»r all that, 
 whenever the into truth and justice required, as -trong 
 
 and invincible as a wall <>f brass <»;• a column of iron . 
 
 It is. agaill, iu the Council of Conscience, on that more pub 
 lie theatre, where his fortitude distinguished h-rlf, as did liis 
 equanimity, his humility, as did all his virtue.-. Without a 
 donbt, his natural kindness led him. when he could in con 
 nee do so, to oi>liL r »' every one from the humph si plebeian to 
 the highest lord or peer; but did any :ivc what was againaji his 
 rules, then he opposed an insurmountable refusal. Iu vain did 
 intriunu .cupidity, and amhition assail his virtue; without taking 
 
 counsel of either bope or fear, he, :i- tar as in him lay. repulsed 
 
 them from the .-auctuary without mercy. For Long, he strug- 
 1 even :iL r :iin^t Mazarin himself, becoming more and iihhc 
 powerful, wdio, forgetting his ecclesiastical character and obey- 
 ing only the calculations of his personal ambition, or what he 
 termed a reason of state, wished t«» make friends not with the 
 
 Mammon of iniquity, as the Gospel has it. hut with the sacred 
 goods of the Church, in his letter to Element XI., Fcnelon 
 wrote: " An inerecKble discernment of ppirits and a singular 
 firmness were conspicuous in this man Haying regard 
 
 neither for tie- favor nor the !, it. he consulted 
 
 only the into t lie church, when, iu the Council of Con- 
 
 nee, by order of.,the Queen, Anne- la, mother of the 
 
 Kin_r. be gave his adrice in relation to the choice of bishops. 
 Had -the other councilors • e constantly to this man, 
 
306 VIRTUES AND DOCTRINE OF ST. VINCENT DE PAUL. 
 
 who seemed to read the future, certain men, who afterwards 
 created great trouble, would have been far removed from the 
 episcopal charge." Such, too, was the sentiment of Victor de 
 Meliand, Bishop of Alet, who speaks in similar terms of the in 
 vincible firmness and fortitude of soul with which the man of 
 God neither permitting himself to be moved by entreaties nor 
 alarmed by threats, refused his vote, in the promotion to 
 prelacies and benefices, to those, whose unworthiness was 
 known to him, no matter what their rank, their condition, or 
 their dignity. The laity rendered to Vincent, on this point, the 
 same testimony as the clergy. "It was the public esteem in 
 which he was held," the president of the parliament, de Lamoig- 
 non, has deposed, "that induced the Queen to call him to the 
 Council of Conscience; but this honor did not change his mode 
 of life. In difficult circumstances he spoke with a firmness 
 worthy the apostles; no human consideration could persuade 
 him to dissemble the truth in the smallest degree, and he never 
 made any other use of the confidence reposed in him by the 
 great, than to inspire them with the sentiments they should 
 have." 
 
 ' The instances of this constancy are innumerable. A lady of 
 high rank, having besought him to obtain from the King a bene 
 fice for one of her children, he answered: '* Pardon me, madam, 
 I can have nothing to do in the matter." Astonished at first 
 in being less favorably received by a poor priest than she 
 would have been by the greatest lords, then carried away by 
 pride and passion, she said : "Indeed, sir, your assistance is 
 unnecessaiy, I know of other ways to obtain my request. I 
 have done you too much honor to address you, and it is readily 
 seen that you do not, as } T et, understand how to behave towards 
 ladies of my rank.' Vincent's further answer was silence over 
 which even insults had no power. In similar circumstances, if 
 he did answer anything it was simply: *■* Madam, our rules and 
 my conscience do not give me the liberty of obeying you in 
 this; therefore, I beg you, hold me excused." Or. again, it 
 was a personal argument he opposed to the solicitor, as he did 
 to a judge of a superior court wiio, meeting him on the street, 
 thought to gain him to his interest. To pretended friendship 
 and to anger, to flattery and to insult, the Saint contented himself 
 
poRfrruDt 4Kb p \. rti m i . 307 
 
 iritli answering: "Sir. you endei I wish to believe, to 
 
 acquit j' on reel f worthily of your duty, and I ought to do the 
 same in mine." 
 
 He needed still greater fortitude when they came to him on 
 Che part of the Queen. A. young man of family had asked of 
 the Queen an abbey. He 'obtained his request on condition 
 that Vincent would not Object He. then, accompanied by his 
 tutor, went' to St. Lazarus. They opened with the ordinary 
 Compliments of politeness, then expressed the anticipated 
 thanks of the entire family and recounted a long list of present 
 and future qualities of the claimant; all which proved more the 
 desire to obtain the benefice than the presence of the required 
 merit To thi< picture, Vincent, previously Informed, meekly 
 opposed another of contrary hues, and concluded with a refusal 
 which he couched in bis accustomed phrase: ••!. therefore, 
 you, sir, not to take it ill if I refuse my consent tola thing of which 
 
 l will demand of me an account" At these words the tntoi 
 rose and advanced towards the Saint with clenched nets, pouring 
 out at the same time a torrent of abuse; then, seeing that lie 
 could* not even disturb his tranquility he departed, hut Vincent 
 
 impanied him. and. witli more than ordinary politeness, 
 
 and pupil as far as their carriage 
 
 Hut what WM to he done when Mazarin. DO f :ill powerful, 
 
 with his policy for his only counselor, alone named to the 
 
 sia-tieal benefices, and no longer proposed hut the ratiiha 
 
 tion of an accomplished fact.' Even then fortitude did not 
 
 abandon Vincent He strove to enlighten the religion of <the 
 
 nueen. and obtained frOm her the choice, at, least, <>f worthy 
 bishops. 
 
 This is how lie merited the following testimony from Clement 
 
 XI. in his buH of Canonisation: "When tin* uobles recomV 
 mended to him their sons attd solicited hhn by prayers or threats* 
 he disdained their offers as he trampled under foot their men* 
 
 Never did this >oul. strong an 1 robust. wMi to make 
 
 erful ft iends to the detriment of the inheritance of Chri>t 
 and at the expense of the cross, or compromise, through fear, 
 the evil- whCrewlth his enemies threatened him." 
 
 He showed himself Btrd tin, in the direction of the' 
 
 communities confided to his care, and notably of those of the 
 
308 VIRTUES AND DOCTRINE OF ST. VINCENT DE PAUL. 
 
 Visitation. He courageously closed them to all that could intro. 
 duce either the spirit of the world or the errors then prevailing. 
 With a holy and disinterested firmness he refused admission to 
 ladies of the highest rank, to princesses, even, who sought his 
 consent to he received as boarders, some to gratify their 
 curiosit3 r , others to satisfy a mistaken devotion. The lady 
 benefactors were the only exception and he had an exact list 
 of their names. And generosity alone could not acquire with 
 him the title of benefactress; a pure faith and solid virtue were 
 moreover necessary. For example: the monastery of St 
 Antoine street could hope for great advantages from a lady, 
 who had already, during the two years she was with the nuns, 
 donated a sum of fiftv thousand livres, and who had given to 
 another monastery, less scrupulous, the sum of three hundred 
 thousand. But she desired to be guided by the advice of the 
 new sectaries, and wished to introduce into the convent her 
 Jansenist director. Vincent had the fifty thousand francs 
 returned, and then dismissed her. To all temporal advantages 
 he preferred the spiritual good of communities. Fie often 
 reaped only hatred arid persecution. Thus a high born dame, 
 to whom he had closed the door of the house at St. Denis, 
 would not permit him to give amission on her lands; but that 
 did not influence him, he remained inflexible. In 1658, a 
 messenger came to inform him that Madam Payen, mother-in- 
 law of Mister Lionne, was at the gate of the monastery of St. 
 Antoine street, and demanded admission to see a' little 
 daughter of the minister, who was dangerousl\ r ill and could 
 not be removed. . He answered: "lam Madam Payen's most 
 humble servant, and desire greatly to serve her. But my rule 
 is to grant admission to none. I have refused Madam cle 
 Nemours, Madam de Longueville, and the Princess de Carignan, 
 who will never forgive me. What would these ladies say 
 were they to learn of the exception? Besides it would be 
 against my conscience. And the sight of Madam Payen will 
 not recall the child to life." 
 
 He was firm even against gratitude. Never did he manifest 
 such fortitude as on one occasion when he was obliged to resist 
 the entre.- ties of Adrien Le Bon, former prior of St. Lazarus, to 
 whom he had vowed so much respect and gratitude. Through 
 
VOBTITUD1 AND FATUQTOJL 309 
 
 Vincents advice, gad by Older of tho queeu, an abbess of high 
 family, but who had given ber scandals a renown equal to that 
 of her high birth* was imprisoned. The priori who was eider 
 great obligati mi fee the charged by her with 
 
 obtaining her freedom, He accepted, and all the more willing 
 ly, as, in this rase iik«* in other*, he believe 1 he had hut to say 
 aword to Vinceot to attain his purpose. What, then, irere hia 
 surprise, and astonishment, when he saw that not only his Brsl 
 request, hut all his continued persistence, ivu before the tteaclj 
 refusal of the holy man: Tranquil and rcpeetful. hut resolute, 
 
 Vincent simply answered} "1 oannot betray my conscience; i 
 
 yon to exonseme. M •• Wh it, 1 the prior wounded, 
 
 • is this the treatment I receire at your hands alter having 
 
 given you my house.' Is this the return for all the benefits I 
 
 have rendered you and your Congregation P "It is true.*' 
 
 repUed Vincent deeply grieved, »'tt is true you have laden ns 
 
 with goods and honors, and our obligations to you are those of 
 Children te their father: hut be pleased, sir. to take it all 
 back, if we merit it only at the sacrifice of <l<>d and our eon- 
 
 scieni 
 
 Finally, the entire lire oM le Pent, so many persist 
 
 ent efforts against error and evil, so many religious and charit 
 
 able institutions established and maintained in spite of a 
 
 thousand difficulties that would deter and dishearten the moat 
 
 crous, abundantly testify to his heroic fortitude and con 
 
 In some of the incidents above related we have seen his 
 patience in company with his fortitude, for he ever found 
 means to practise Several virtues at the same time. 
 
 I lis patience was remarkable under the abttse and evil treat 
 inent his courageous resistance to ambition and cupidity 
 brought d<>wn on his devoted hca ". As. for example, on that 
 day when, having obtained from the queen the retraction of the 
 promise of a bishopric made to a dutches*, and being commis- 
 sioned by her to notify the lady of this decision, he was 
 
 received with an ontbnrat of rage. The dutchess, not feeling 
 
 herself sutlicient.lv revenged by the torrent of abuse she hat! 
 lavished on him, seized a foot-stool and threw it at his head. 
 
*.310 VIRTUES AND DOCTRINE OF ST. VINCENT DE PAUL. 
 
 making a gash from which the blood flowed freely. Vincent, 
 unmoved whilst the storm raged, was almost felled by this- 
 -stroke. He withdrew without a word, covering his face, all 
 blood, with his handkerchief. From the noise he had heard 
 and at the sight of Vincent, the brother, who had accompanied 
 him and whom he had left in the antechamber, divined all. 
 Fired with indignation, he cried out that his father, a priest,, 
 and a minister of the king, should not be thus treated with im- 
 punity, and he rushed towards the apartment. Vincent threw 
 himself before him : " You have no business there, my brother; 
 this is the way. Come, let us go." And he led him with him. 
 ""Is it not," he added on leaving, "a wonderful thing to see 
 how far the tenderness of a mother for her son can go ?" This 
 was all his vengeance. Witness, again, that other day when,. 
 publicly maltreated at the very gate of St. Lazarus by a lord 
 whose son he had refused to recommend: M You are right, sir," 
 he said to him throwing himself at bis feet, " I am a wretch 
 and a sinner. 7 ' 
 
 Again, all those numerous instances of evil treatment and 
 abuse at the hands of the poor, who laid at his door the ' public 
 distress, or complained to have not received enough, to which 
 he quietly returned only these words: "Go, and pray to God." 
 And, finally, witness his behavior towards his adversary in 
 the Orsigny farm lawsuit. The latter- w.f>s prodigal in his- 
 slanderous abuse of Vincent and his Congregation. Vincent 
 could have exacted reparation of honor. He would not permit 
 'his lawyer to reply. . "Our Lord has suffered far more," was- 
 his only answer to those who urged him to defend himself; and,. 
 as'ifl the passion of the Savior, this patience and silence excited 
 the admiration of. the court and of his opponent himself. 
 
 lie was patient in the importunities, the urgent solicitations,. 
 J. he inconsiderate requests, and the offensive answers to which 
 lie was every day subject, and which, instead of drawing from 
 him a bitter or a sharp word, or any sign of impatience, served, 
 on. the contrary,. to induce him to act and speak, if possible, 
 with more calmness and more meekness. 
 
 '.He was patient in the losses, oftentimes not inconsiderable, 
 of the Congregaticn when they brought him into contempt. 
 
PORTXT1 it: AMD PA n: HI 1 
 
 His patience, in such ones, wai not only resigned, but joyu 
 
 for he Ban an opportunity of practising humility, poverty and 
 
 all other virtue-. 
 
 Hie patience wat heroic Inth r subjects aa well as of 
 
 property, and ol bs the most dear and most necessary 
 
 He then wrote: "Through the mercy of Qod. my soul is in 
 peace, because this loss happens by the good pleasure of Cxod. 
 It is true, I i time* fear, thai my sins are the cause; b 
 recognizing, even in this, the good pleasure of God, I sect 
 all with a good he 
 
 The good pleasure, the sriil of God was, in effect the first 
 
 foundation of his patience He said with the prophet: "Shall 
 
 hen • t/>> city which the Lord hath hoi Amos iii.<'<. | 
 
 Another motive for hi^ patience he found in these words of Si 
 
 Paul: •■ tot suffer you to bu (>- npi 
 
 but w8l make aho with tempi > 
 t ion issue, thai 'I"" <K to bear if." (i. Cor , s-lS.) 
 
 II 
 
 " Afflictions, " he taughti " are not an eviL God sends them 
 to us to I our patienee and to teach us to have pity for 
 
 others; He Himself having been pleased to endure them in 
 order that we might have a pontiff, who knew how to compas- 
 sionate with our mis< I encourage as, by his example, 
 in the practice of this virtue. One of the most certain marks 
 that God has great designs on a person Is when lie semis deso- 
 lation on desolation, and sorrow upon sorrow. The true time 
 todiscoverthe spiritual progress of a soul is the time of tempta- 
 tion and tribulation, because such as a person is in these trials, 
 such, ordinarily, will he he afterwards. In a single day of 
 temptations we can acquire more merit than in many days of 
 peace." And he illustrated this doctrine by pointed compari. 
 sons. *' A captain." he said in one Of bis eonterences of the 
 year 1645, " first paye I twenty francs a piece for his soldiers, 
 and then he supplied them with army bread; but after that he 
 placed them in the ranks where they had to nndergo great 
 fatigue, instead of nourishing them delicately and making 
 cowards of them, and thus rendering them useless. Thus God 
 
312 VIRTUES AND DOCTRINE OF ST. VINCENT DE PAUL. 
 
 gives sweetness in the beginning, but afterwards He sends the 
 fatigues and torments of temptations and trials. When on sea 
 the traveller remarks the dolphins follow each other in regular 
 order and divert themselves in the water, and notices the flocks 
 of little birds clinging to the masts, he is delighted and amused,, 
 but when the w r ater, the bread and provisions give out, then 
 there is only anxiety and terror. The water in a pond being 
 always at rest becomes stagnant, muddy, and offensive; on the* 
 contrary, rivers and springs, which flow with rapidity among 
 stones and rocks, have beautiful and sweet waters. Now, who 
 would not prefer to be a river at this price than a stagnant 
 pool?" 
 
 He wrote (March 9th , 1 657) : "The difficulties you experi- 
 ence in your management are not proof that it is not good. On 
 the contrary, our Lord wishes to show that it is. since He puts 
 it to the test. It is not surprising that a good vessel is safe in* 
 calm weather, since even a bad one could not then sink; but 
 its quality is determined when it, exposed, weathers the tem- 
 pest. You would be very happy had you nothing to suffer in 
 your position; but you will be still more so. if, for the love of 
 Our Lord, you remain firm in the midst of.the agitations which 
 He sends. I have befoie counseled patience, and I again 
 renew the recommendation. ' 
 
 He said to the Daughters of Charity in, a still more vivid 
 manner: "See the sculptor who wishes to carve a beautiful 
 figure out of a rough and ugly looking stone He takes his ham- 
 mer and gives such heavy strokes that, looking at him. one would 
 imagine that he was going to break it into pieces. Then, when 
 he has cut away the roughest part, he uses a smaller hammer, 
 and after that he begins with the chisel to fashion the figure in 
 its different parts. When it is rough formed he takes more 
 delicate tools to bring it to that state of perfection which he 
 intends. This is how God does. See the poor Daughter of 
 Charity and the poor Missionary: when God withdraws them 
 from the corrupted mass of the world the}^ are still carnal and 
 unpolished; they arc unwrought stones. .God, however, wishes 
 to make of them beautiful images, and for this purpose He goes 
 to work and applies heavy strokes of the hammer. And how 
 does' He do it? In making them suffer, now heat, again cold. 
 
i n hi. wi» P I mi:n. i . 313 
 
 and then the hardships of visiting the tick in the country, 
 where, in winter time, the wind is biting sharp, and where they 
 should go in l»a<l Ml well M in tine weather. Well, these are 
 the heavy strokes Of the hammer that Qbd gives a poor 
 Daughter of Charity; tod whoever would consider merely the 
 
 surface would say that that Daughter i> t<» be pitied But it* we 
 
 Cast our eyes on the designs Of <-"d we will sec that all these 
 blows are only for the purpose of fashioning thai beautiful soul. 
 And when, after having as well of body 
 
 as of mind, He perceives that what was tin* most coarse baa 
 
 been removed from the soul by the patience which it has prac 
 Used, oh, then He takes up the QUitel to perfect it. He com 
 mences to delineate the feature-; He adorns and embellishes it; 
 lie t lellghl in enriching it with II :md He does 
 
 not rest until He bat rendered it perfectly acceptable." 
 
 In twenty different letters he returns to this subject « special 
 ly la regasd to teinptation>; for example, in tlie following lett< r 
 addressed.in 1024, to a missionary in Rome: "Such is the eon- 
 duct of God in regard to thoee whom He destines for something 
 at, or for. something special in His service, that He, pre- 
 viously, exercises them in troublesome dislikes ami repugnance* 
 and movements of inconstancy. At times, ffia object is to try 
 them. Again it Is to let them feel their own weakness, at other 
 times to detach them more from created objects, and occasion 
 ally to dissipate the vapors of self-complacenc}', and ever and 
 always His object is to render them more agreeable in Hi- 
 •eyes. Do not doubt, provided you resist, that the temptations 
 you sulfer will contribute to your advancement. There is not 
 a man, be he ever so perfect or SO steadfast in his vocation, 
 that is not subject.at times,to like temptation*. The enemy was 
 even so rash as to attempt to induce the Son of God to adore 
 him, a temptation the most horrible his malice could have in- 
 vented. Was there any among the Apostles, or among the 
 saints, who had no need to do violence to Himself in order to 
 :resist the attacks of the flesh and the world? Coninge, then; be 
 firm ! Can it be possible that a little repugnance will cause us to 
 ^abandon all? God forbid, since the Apostle says that it is im 
 possible for those, who were once enlightened and have become 
 >unworthy of the light, to return to the state whence they fell. 
 
314 VIRTUES AND DOCTRINE OF ST. VINCENT DE PAUL. 
 
 For, though their intentions be good and their resolutions 
 strong, still when it comes to the execution of these resolves, 
 when the question is to overcome the difficulties grace fails 
 them because they have failed grace. Their scruples wear and 
 harass them, and the desire of calm and rest forces them to 
 form their conscience which will easily accommodate itself to 
 sensuality, and nature assumes the mastery " 
 
 He wrote similarly to a young novice Sister, June 25th., 
 1658: "I am not astonished at the repugnance you feel in your 
 exercises of religion; on the contrary, I would be, did you not 
 experience any. Sooner or later, God always tries the souls 
 He calls to His service by similar pains, and it is preferable to 
 undergo them in the beginning than later, or towards the end. 
 Because thereby you early learn to know and humble 3 T ourself. 
 to distrust yourself and to place all confidence^ God; in a word, 
 you lay in a fund of patience, of fortitude and of mortification, 
 virtues of which you will have great need all your life. 
 
 " I have no doubt you would be glad to remain free as you 
 are, but this content would come from nature, and would not 
 last. We cannot serve two masters. If 3 r ou wish to enjoy the 
 liberty of the children of God you must follow Jesus Christ in 
 the narrow path of subjection which conducts to salvation . For 
 so great is human inconstancy, notwithstanding the dispositions 
 you may have to do right in going by the broad way of libert} 7 , 
 you may mistake, as ordinarily thej r do, who arc attached to 
 God only by silken cords. 
 
 ." Consider, for a moment. I pray you, the Son of God, Who 
 came into the world not only to save us through His death, but 
 also in order to submit to every will of His Father and to draw 
 us to Him by the example of His life. He was still in the womb of 
 His Mother when He was obliged to obey an edict of an emperor; 
 He was born out of His own country, in a tempestuous season 
 of the year, and in extreme poverty. Shortly after His birth, 
 see how Herod persecutes Him, and how He has to fly, how in* 
 His exile He suffers not only His own discomforts, but also, 
 through compassion, those of the Blessed Virgin and^St. Joseph, 
 who endure a great deal on His account. Having returned to 
 Nazareth and grown up, He submits to His parents, and to the 
 
I -.i:r:n Dl am» P I :i: n< i . 3)5 
 
 rules of a hidden life in order to m rve a- a model to religion 
 souls who, taring embraced tin' like, ought to obey their 
 superiors ami the observances of their state Ami without 
 
 doubt, ii- had \»u in view then, in the eternal design lie had 
 of saving you \rf meant of the absolute retreat you have begun 
 
 If you, in your turn, will look at this Divine Savior you will 
 
 how He suffers without ceasing, how ll** prays, how He labors, 
 and how He obeys, • // rdingtoi '$t Paul 
 
 say- ( Rom. wiiL Bui to live according 
 
 to the spirit that vivilie-, yOU mu-t live M our Lord lias lived. 
 yOl must renounce -elt, must do rather the will of another than 
 
 your own, make good use of contradictions, and esteem Buffer- 
 ing nresssahte to self-satisfaction, lie, speaking of His passion, 
 
 ei of ili< diseipiei kriM t<> ; 
 
 Afoot' 1 (Luke wiv., 86.) This is t«> give as to under- 
 stand that as H< entered into glory only through afflictions, we 
 
 shouhl not pretend t<» enter without Buffering. There are dif- 
 ferent hinds of suffering. The Apostles and the first Christians 
 suffered the persecution of tyrants and endured every species of 
 hardship, ami it is said that all those, who wish to follow Jesus 
 ( hristi will suffer temptation. If you reVert to 3'our past life 
 you will And that you have not been exempt) and in whatever 
 •condition you may he. even WOW you married, and advanta- 
 geously, \iiii would still And crosses and troubles. There 
 few persons in the world that do not complainof their state, even 
 though it seems happy. Truly, the best Is that wherein we In- 
 come like our Lord, tempted, praying, working and suffering, and 
 this is the path by which He leads those souls whom lie wishes 
 to raise to a hi <xh degree of perfection. You must not. then. 
 be disheartened if you And no attraction for the practice of vir- 
 tue. Virtue is not virtue, save in as much BS we do violence to 
 ourselves to practise it. The life of man. according to Job, is a 
 combat. We. then, must wish to be van- 
 
 quished. And. as the devil is a roaring lion L r oim_ eek- 
 
 Ing to devour us he will not fail to attack you in order to 
 weaken you in your determination of being all to God, to 
 
 discourage you in its prosecution and to completely dishearten 
 you if possible, foreseeimr that should you persevere he will be 
 confounded It i-. tl it him resolutely 
 
316 VIRTUES AND DOCTRINE OF ST. VINCENT DE PAUL. 
 
 by prayer and by exactitude in the practices of the community, 
 and, especially, by a filial and entirely singular confidence in 
 God. His grace will not fail you; on the contrary, it will 
 abound in you in proportion to your trials, and to your resolu- 
 tion, with its help, to overcome them. God never permits us to 
 be tempted above our strength . 
 
 "For all these reasons, it seems to me, you will do well to 
 be resolute in your difficulties, The more you give our Lord, 
 the greater graces will you receive. His yoke is sweet to those 
 who willingly embrace it, and your burden will be light if you 
 compare it with that of Jesus Christ, Who has so suffered for 
 you, or if you consider the consolation and recompense He 
 * promises those who serve Him constantly, without regret, in 
 the place and in the manner He desires, as I trust you 
 will do." 
 
 Speaking in a more general manner he said: " The wisdom 
 of God has so well ordered everything that night succeeds day; 
 sadness, joy; and contradiction, applause; and this He has done 
 that our minds would rest only in Him, Who alone is above all 
 change. We must all, without exception, be prepared to suffer 
 in one way or another; otherwise, we will not be disciples of the 
 Divine Master, Who has wished to be persecuted. Regard it 
 as a blessing to be treated as He was, and endeavor to follow 
 His example in the virtues He practised when maltreated." 
 
 Or again: " Your pains, which are various and of long con. 
 tinuance affect me sensibly. They are a cross with outstretched 
 arms, embracing both body and soul; but also a cross that ele- 
 vates you above earth, and this gives me consolation. Yon 
 ought to be consoled in seeing yourself treated as our Lord was, 
 and honored by the same marks whereby He proved His lo ve 
 for us. His sufferings were both interior and exterior, and the 
 interior were, beyond comparison, far greater than the others. 
 But wiry, think you, does He try you in this manner? For the 
 same object He had in wishing Himself to suffer, namely, to 
 purify you of your sins and to clothe you with His virtue, in 
 order that the name of His Father bejsanctified in you. Remain 
 in peace, then, and have perfect confidence in His goodness. 
 Give no heed to any contrary feelings; be shy of your own sen- 
 
: in DE and i' v in • 317 
 
 timcnts, ami believe rather what I say and the knowledge 1 
 have of you, than all that you yourself may think of feel. You 
 have every motive to rejoice in God and to hope tor everything 
 from Him thlOQgll our Lord. Who dwells In you; and after the 
 recommendation lie his given yon to renounce yourself, I do 
 not see anything that eould giv6 you cause for apprehension. 
 not even sin, which i> the only evil we ihould fear: because in 
 the state of religion, which you have embraced, you do penance 
 for the past, and in regard to thefhture yoor great horror for 
 
 whatever may displease < iod Is VOQ1 id." 
 
 I '■» one of his missionaries, who had Buffered for justice sake. 
 he wrote: u Is not your heart greatly comforted in seeing thai 
 you have been found worthy he fore God to sutler in His service? 
 Certainly, you owe Him special thanks and are bound to ask of 
 1 1 i in the grace to make good use of your trial." 
 
 To an abbess, who complained of the contradictions she met 
 with in endeavoring tv> reform her abbey, he said: '-The suf- 
 ferings undergone in the establishment of a good work draw 
 down the graces necessary to succeed." 
 
 To missionaries prevented in the work of theii mission by 
 
 some popular outbreak against them i seed he God for 
 
 the difficulties He is pleased to have you encounter! You must, 
 on this occasion, honor the contradictions the Son of God ex- 
 perienced when on earth. Oh, how much greater they were. 
 since through aversion for Him and His doctrine they forbade 
 Him entrance to certain places ami. at last, deprived Him of 
 life! It was for occasions just like these that He prepared His 
 disciples when He told them they would he ridicnled, alfronted 
 and maltreated, that fathers would take sides against their 
 children and children would persecute their fathers. Let HI 
 derive our profit from them, and hear with j atience. as did the 
 holy Apostles, the contradictions we may meet with in the service 
 .»il. Or rather, when we experience them, let us rejoice as in 
 a great good, and let M begin with the present occasion to 
 make that use of them which the Apostles, after the example of 
 their Head, made of theirs. If we conduct ourselves in this 
 manner, you may rot assured that the very means by which 
 the devil wished to thwart you will turn to his own discomfiture; 
 
318 VIRTUES AND DOCTRINE OP ST. VINCENT DE PAUL. 
 
 that 'you will give joy to Heaven and to all good souls who may 
 witness or may hear of your action; that, in fine, even those, 
 who now oppose, will at last bless you and recognize you as co- 
 operators in their salvation. But what! ' Tins kind of demon is 
 not cast out but by prayer and patience.' The holy modesty 
 and interior recollection which are practised in the congrega- 
 tion will also be of service to you; and, again, it will be well to 
 inform yourself of the causes that led to the aversion which 
 this people exhibits towards the missionaries in order to avoid 
 whatever may have given any occasion, and even, if judged 
 expedient, to do the contrary." 
 
 Writing to one wdio complained of one of his confreres, he 
 said: "You must not look upon his action as coming from 
 himself, but rather as a trial wherein God wished to test 3 T our 
 patience; and this virtue will be all the more real virtue in you 
 as you are more alive to resentment, and as you have given 
 less cause for the injury you received. Prove, then, that 3 T ou 
 are a true child of Jesus Christ and that it is not in vain you 
 have so often meditated on His sufferings; but that you have 
 learned to overcome yourself by bearing patiently the things 
 that wound your heart the more." 
 
 "In a word, sir," he said to another by way of conclusion, 
 " we must go to God through infamy and good name; and His 
 Divine Goodness shows us a mercy when He is pleased to per- 
 mit us to fall into reproach and public contempt. I have no 
 doubt 3 T ou have received in patience the confusion arising from 
 what has happened. If the glory of the world be but smoke, 
 the contrary is indeed solid when received in the proper spirit; 
 and I hope you will derive great profit from this humiliation. 
 May God grant it. and may He deign to send us many more of 
 then) that thereby we may merit to become all the more agreea- 
 ble to Him." 
 
 The advantage, the happiness of suffering was one of His 
 favorite doctrines. '-Ah! sir," he wrote to one of his priests in 
 trouble, "would you desire to be without suffering? Would it not 
 he preferable to have a devil in the body than to be without a 
 cross? Yes. for in that case the devil could not hurt the soul; 
 but having nothing to suffer, neither soul nor body would be 
 .conformed to Jesus suffering; and yet this conformity is the 
 
I 0UT11 1 \>\ \m» i-A'iii 310 
 
 /nark of our predestination. Therefore} be not astonished at 
 your pains, since the Son of God baa chosen suffering for 00 r 
 
 salvation 
 
 [Jiider this admirable conviction, be, at times, complained -as 
 
 have done so many saints, that God did not try his eongn 
 
 tion l>y afihctions. -I have.'* he said one day. »«fior some lime 
 back, ami indeed vny often, dwelt on the thought that tin* 
 congregation does n<>' snffsr any thing, thai everything amiles 
 
 «»ii it in success, and that it Kfe in a ceitain prosperity; lot 
 
 -ay rather that God blesses it in everj way without its expeii- 
 eneiog either obstacle or annoyance. I commenced to baxe :i 
 
 doiil»L of that inactive tranquility, knowing that God prove* 
 
 those who serve Him and chastises tli«.-<- whom He lotes 
 • Whom Ocd f L' r > n> ehcuttoh 1 (Heb, \ii--»*. ) I recalled to 
 mind what is related of St. Ambrose, bow, when ones traveling 
 he came to a house where the master, be Learned, did not know 
 what sorrow was. Lnd thereupon, enlightened from above, be 
 Judged that a bouse so gentry dealt with was near its destine 
 
 tion. and said: 'Come let us leave this place, for tic wrath of 
 i is about to fall on this house." And, in reality, he had no 
 
 sooner departed than the lightning- of heaven Btruck it and •»" 
 
 v< loped in ruin all who were within. Again, I saw many ord°r> 
 troubled from time to time, and particularly one of the grea' 
 and most holy in the ehureh, which is. at times, in consterna 
 
 tion, ami U sven now andergoinga terrible persecution; and I 
 
 said to myself: -See how (o>d SOU towards tie and how 
 
 He would treat OS wen- we strong in virtue.' lint, knowing on 
 
 feebleness, He uarses us and feeds us on milk just like little 
 
 ehildren.and - lOCCesi almost without OUT lilting a tin 
 
 in co-operation. Iliad. ; fcom these considera- 
 
 tions, reason to fear, that we wen- not aooeptable to ('od, nor 
 worthy to sutler anything for Hie love since He turns asideitom 
 
 US all afflictions ami all those tests which prove His servants. 
 
 True, we have met with some disastei o nr embarks 
 
 tion for Madagascar, but here again God has come to our 
 relief; and in the year 1640 the soldiei oned n> a loss of 
 
 altogether forty -two thousand francs: but we alone did not 
 
 suffer; every one felt the effects of the public troubles; the evil 
 WSJ common, and we were not, treated otherwise than others. 
 
320 VIRTUES AND DOCTRINE OF ST. VINCENT DE PAUL. 
 
 Bat, blessed be God, my brethren, because now it has pleased 
 Mis Adorable Providence to deprive us of the piece of property 
 just taken from us! The loss is considerable for the community; 
 yes, very considerable. Let us enter into the sentiments of 
 Job when he said : ' The Lord gave these goods, and the Lord hath 
 taken them away: blessed be tJie name of the Lord/ 1 (Job 1-21.) 
 Do not consider this deprivation as coming from a human judg- 
 ment; but let us say it is God Who has judged us, and let us 
 humble ourselves under the hand that strikes, as David who 
 has said: " / teas dumb, and 1 opened not my mouth, because 
 thou hast done if" (Ps. xxxviii-10.) Let us adore His justice. and 
 regard it as a mercy that He treats us in this manner. He does 
 it all for our good. Be did till things well, St. Mark relates." 
 
 He taught, moreover, (June, 1659) how to make a good use 
 of calumnies, persecutions and other trials: ''They are never 
 wanting," he said, " to those who are faithful to God. They 
 are graces that God lavishes on those who serve Him with 
 fidelity. Without a doubt, He is not the author of them, He 
 only permits them ; but, in as much as they are tests and exer- 
 cises for our patience and meekness, they are His work, He 
 wishes thereby to wean His servants from all that might im- 
 pede their going to Him. Therefore, whenever it pleases His 
 Divine Goodness to send us these opportunities for suffering, 
 let us elevate our hearls to Heaven, let us adore and praise His 
 holy and ever adorable conduct; let us receive them with joy, 
 as favors shown us, and say in the fullness of our hearts: 
 Welcome, dear persecutions ! Welcome, dear calumnies, dear 
 crosses sent from Heaven ! I propose to profit by this visit you 
 make me on the part of God ! Poor nature will suffer, it will 
 grumble. No matter, we must suffer, and suffer with joy what 
 God wishes us to sutler. Oh ! had we but a lively faith, did we 
 took upon these things with a Christian eye, did we regard 
 them not as oppositions coming from men but as graces on 
 the part of God, and did it but please His goodness to disperse 
 from our minds the clouds of the maxims of the world, which 
 hinder faith from penetrating to the depths of our hearts 
 with those of the Gospel, we would, indeed, have far different 
 views and other ideas; and when question of suffering injury 
 and persecution arose, we'would esteem and look upon them 
 
FORTirrni: and PATH 321 
 
 a< A great bl< ad a happy COnditlOD. Yes, to be calumni- 
 
 ated and peisecuted is, indeed, a h:ij>p\- state. 
 
 ■•What ! to be maligned and suffer persecution a happy state? 
 Yes, for it is Jesus Christ Wno baa said: ' />' then w *° 
 
 suffer persecution for jiutM safe.' (Matt. v. 10.') Remark the 
 words: » For For, when we give cause to speak 
 
 and act against as, we must bamble ourselves under the sveng 
 Inghandof God, Who leaves nothing go unpunished, and Who. 
 
 sooacr or later, chastises the transgressors of His law. In this 
 CaBQ the contradictions we Suffer at the hands Of men come from 
 
 God irritated against us; they are the effects of His justice, ami 
 men are hut the ministers. But, when calumny falls on those 
 who serve God faithfully, it is a great happiness, since it is a 
 
 means to sanctity them more and more. 
 •• When a physician prescribes a remedy in order to drive 
 
 away tin' unhealthy humors of the body, we call it a purgation; 
 
 and when the gardener lops oil" the useless branches of a fruit 
 tree it is also called a pruning; but with this difference : the doc- 
 tor purges to take away the evil or its cause, while the gardener 
 prunes the tree and cuts away live branches that it may hear 
 more fruit and Less wood. So with us; if God sends us persecu- 
 tions when our behavior is not such as it ought to be, then the 
 persecution is a purgation. But if we suffer from men without 
 having given them reason, then it is the gardener who lops off 
 the quick branches in order to have the tree bear more fruit 
 than leaves. Such a person has attained to two degrees of vir- 
 tue; God wishes to advance him to four; he has reaelied four 
 and the Lord wishes him to have six; for this purpose He em- 
 ploys the rod of calumny and persecution it is, then, a very 
 happy state; it is one of the evangelical beatitudes, it i9 a 
 Christian beatitude, a happiness begun here below and com- 
 pleted in I Icnwn : 'JBessed . . . for theirs to the Kmgdom of 
 Heaven!' 
 
 Wretches, indeed, on the contrary, are those who do not 
 suffer persecution! Let us, then, await with firmness the oc- 
 casions for suffering that it shall please God to send OS, and en- 
 dure them in the spirit of Jesus Christ. 
 
 " The means to derive profit from affliction are: First, to 
 prepare ourselves for them by a faithful use of the little daily 
 
822 VIRTUES AND DOCTRINE OF ST. VINCENT DE TAUL. 
 
 occasions that arise, and make them serve ns in our apprentice- 
 ship. For, if we behave cowardly in such trifling annoyances, how 
 can we expect to patiently endure great sufferings ? If we cannot 
 endure a rough word, a cross look, how can we receive unmoved, 
 much less with joy, calumnies, affronts, and humiliations? Sec- 
 ond, on the very instant to close our lips, so that no word of ill 
 will, of irritation against those who calumniate and persecute ma}' 
 escape. *I was dumb, and I did not open my mouth." Is it not 
 just that we maintain silence, since it is God Who speaks to us 
 and sends us these visitations ? Is it not reasonable that we ac- 
 cept this cross with submission since such is His good pleasure? 
 Ought we not even thank and praise Him for persecutions, seeing 
 that He permits them for our sanctification? Third, we are to 
 defend ourselves neither by speech nor by writing. We should 
 not fear to lose the esteem of the world. True esteem is but 
 the gleam from a good life; its source, its foundation, is virtue, 
 which can be taken from us neither by slander nor by persecu- 
 tion, provided we make a good use of them and remain faithful 
 to God. Calumny can, indeed, eclipse the lustre of our virtue 
 for a time; but virtue remains all the same, and will recover its 
 brillianc}- when it shall please God to dissipate the clouds that 
 conceal it from the eyes of men." 
 
CHAPTER XXII. 
 
 PATIEN I. IN -I- K\i:-. 
 
 Patience in sickness! Aid: her exercUo of almost the entire 
 
 length of the long life of our Saint, but particularly of the last 
 fifteen year* Already, in nit."), his life was banging by a thread, 
 old diseases, and ever new afflictions, the weight of labors that 
 
 had neither rest nor respite, the martyrdom of the Council of 
 Conscience, all these exhausted nature, which was soon reduced 
 to extremity. Hut faith and charity retained all their vigor. To 
 keep these alive, he daily received his God, and. even in delirium, 
 he still found their aceeuts and their ardor. He was found in 
 this conditio!, one day, l»y Father St .line. who. like so many 
 worthy people, had, on the news of his sickness, hastened to 
 visit him. To the question which the lather asked him, of the 
 
 thoughts that flitted through his ravings, the aged nan, Without 
 
 however recognizing him, seemed to answer: '■ In << Oontrik 
 
 kumNt heart, kt mm he accepted, OLordf* (Dan. iii. 39) — the 
 cry of humility, the echo of his entire life, rather than an answer 
 
 to a question he likely had not heard. 
 
 Snatched fiom death on this Occasion l»v the devotedness of 
 one of his children, he, however, retained a painful weakness* 
 Henceforth, his infirmities, which in reality began at the time of 
 his residence in the house of Gondi, or. rather, at the time of 
 his captivity in Tunis, were continual. lit- had ever been very 
 sensitive to the weather, and subject to a light fever, which some- 
 times continued lor three or four days, and. at other times, even 
 fifteen or more. During these attacks he would do nothing for 
 relief, nor would he interrupt either his labors or his exercises. 
 
324 VIRTUES AND DOCTRINE OF ST. VINCENT DE PAUL. 
 
 " It is nothing, " he would say; "it is only my little fever." 
 The only remedy he had recourse to, and a remedy far more 
 painful than the evil itself, consisted in forced sweats, lasting 
 for successive days, particularly in summer, which made his 
 short nights a kind of martyrdom. During the greatest heats, 
 when even the linen of the bed is a burden, he would cover him- 
 self with three blankets and place at his sides two large vessels 
 of boiling water. He thus passed the night with neither rest 
 nor sleep, and in a suffocating heat. In the morning, always at 
 the stroke of four, he arose from his bed as from a bath. Bed 
 and bedding, all was steeped and steaming. He dried himself 
 alone, never accepting the assistance of anyone, and went to 
 prayer. 
 
 What could days succeeding such nights be ? Enervation and 
 drowsiness overcame him amid his occupations and visits. In- 
 stead of yielding to sleep, he arose from his chair and remained 
 standing, or assumed some painful position; and when sleep did 
 conquer, he begged pardon for what he termed his misery, in- 
 stead of alleging in excuse sickness and the necessity of na- 
 ture. 
 
 To his habitual little fever' was added a quartan fever that 
 seized him once or twice every year. He treated it no better 
 than the other, and it was precisely during this time that he ren- 
 dered the greatest services to God and the poor. 
 
 He was already an octogenarian when the evil became greater 
 than his courage. He had long suffered from er3 T sipelas, and 
 this was followed by a continuous fever for some clays, which 
 terminated in a severe inflammation of one of his legs. Then, 
 notwithstanding his will, he was forced to keep his bed for some 
 time, and his room for two months. For the first time they 
 succeeded in inducing him to take a room where there was fire. 
 He could no longer resist, for his weakness was such that he 
 had to be carried from the bed to the fire, and back again, just 
 as a child. 
 
 The Lent of the following year, 1657, was marked by an uni- 
 versal loathing which prevented him from taking scarcely any 
 nourishment. In 1658, he suffered from his eyes and for along 
 time did not wish to apply any remedj'. The physician had 
 
PATOMCI in* SICKNK — . 325 
 
 prescribed BO application of the warm blood of a pigeon; but 
 when the brother brought the pigeon and was about to kill it, St. 
 Vincent cried cut: M Xo, no, I will never consent! That inno- 
 cent bird represents to me my Savior, and God will readily 
 find another means of Curing me.'' 
 
 Besides Indifferent to life and death, to health and sickness, 
 he was the same in regard to remedies. When a medieine wfji 
 prescribed and he suspected it to bo unpleasant, lie took it and 
 seemed content with the evil effect as if it ! ad been an entire 
 sucet 
 
 Tnwaids the end of the same year, M h«' was returning from 
 
 the city in company with one of his priests the braces of the 
 
 carriage breaking, he was thrown out and his head daubed 
 
 duel the pavement. He received a -were wound and a n- 
 
 newal of his (ever, and there was increasing danger of his 
 
 death. 
 
 All these ills, borne with fortitude BO sweet and so quiet, are 
 as nothing in comparison with what he had to endure, especially 
 from 1657, on account of the swelling and ulceration of ids 
 legs, it was forty-live years before, as we already know, that 
 is during his captivity in Tunis, that he experienced the fust 
 symptom-. In this (ongjipace of time he had moments of such 
 painful weakness and such agony from this Inflammation that he 
 COUld neither walk nor support himself, and was obliged to re- 
 main al»ed. This is the reason that, from 1632, tic year of his 
 taking possession of St. Lazarus, so removed from the centre 
 of Paris and from business, he was necessitated to travel on ll< 
 back to the different scenes of bis charity, and. in 1649, after 
 his long journey into Brittany and I'oitou, be was forced t«> 
 abandon the horse for the famous carriage which he called his 
 ignominy. 
 
 After this the evil made alarming pr< gress. In l <;:><; it 
 reached botlj knees. The Saint could no longer bend 
 them but with extreme difficulty, noi rise up again without ter 
 
 riblc pain, nor walk save with tlu: aid of a crutch. Finally, the 
 
 •welling broke in Ids righl leg near the ankle; two years after, 
 thi' humors collected there anew and tie- pain in the knee- con- 
 tinually increasing II was impossible for him, from the begin- 
 
326 VIRTUES AND DOCTRINE OF ST. VINCENT DE PAUL. 
 
 uing of 1650, to leave the house. He. nevertheless, contrived 
 for some time to descend to the church for prayer and mass, 
 and to the conference hall, to preside at the meetings of his 
 community, or of the Tuesday conferences, or of the Ladies of 
 Charity, who preferred to go to that extremity of Paris than 
 miss the happiness of seeing and hearing him. 
 
 Soon, unable longer to either ascend or descend the steps of 
 the sacristy, he was obliged, in order to celebrate holy mass, to 
 vest and unrest at the altar. " See how I am become a great 
 lord," he would say smiling, alluding to the privilege, belonging 
 to bishops alone, of vesting at the altar. 
 
 Towards the close of 1659, he was deprived of the consolation 
 of celebrating mass in the presence cf the people, and he could 
 . say mass only in the chapel of the infirmary; some months after, 
 his limbs no longer bearing him, he saw himself reduced to the 
 necessity of simply hearing it, which he did every day up to his 
 death, but at the price of what sufferings ! To go from his room 
 to the chapel he had to drag himself along on crutches, and 
 this movement reopened his wounds and aggravated all his 
 pain. Nothing could be read on a countenance always serene; 
 but the sight alone of his painful tottering walk carried the 
 counter-stroke of his suffering to the he*arts of all. 
 
 Moreover, they feared a fall at an} r instant, which, in his con- 
 dition, might prove fatal. The}-, however, conjured him, in the 
 middle of July, 1660. to consent to have the room adjoining his 
 fitted up as a chapel so that he might be able to hear mass with- 
 out leaving his own. " No, no,'' he said, '• domestic chapels 
 should not be allowed except in case of great necessity, and I do 
 not thank that mine is such a case." ''Consent, at least," they 
 said to him. " to have a chair to carry you from your room to 
 the chapel of the infirmary; a thing that will cost but little, is 
 contrary to no rule, and will preserve you from all danger and 
 will spare your children extreme anxiety." This proposition, 
 too, failed in the presence of his humility and his love for suf- 
 fering. Finally, on the day of the Assumption of the Blessed 
 Virgin Mary, six weeks^only before his death, unable even to 
 drag himself on his crutches, he permitted two of the brothers 
 to carry him, but it was to his great confusion, and only to the 
 chapel, about thirty or forty steps from his room. 
 
PATIBKCI IN HCKNBS8. *•-/ 
 
 What ■ martyrdom ! And to all this supervened :i disorder of 
 the kidneys, an infirmity no less painful to him, than incon- 
 venient ami humiliating. Not wishing to aeoepl any aid.- he 
 would grasp a cord pendent from the oeiling of his room, and 
 
 in the most frightful pains lie was heard to utter this < ry only: 
 '•Ah. my Savior' My good Savior!" At the same time he 
 
 would cast hi :i a small wooden crucifix, still preserved 
 
 among his relics, which he had placed before him. to inspire 
 
 himself by thi with fortitude and < onsolation. 
 
 His nights wen- even more cruel than his daya Even then. 
 
 he would h:r. thcr COUCh than the hard straw whereon he 
 
 passed five or bis hours lesa in rest than in hew tormeo 
 
 During the day his BOreS flowed in such abundance that tiie 
 
 floor was stained, yet this was in itself some relief; hut, -at 
 night, the humors and serosities, hardened by the heal of (fie 
 
 bed. coagulated in the join's of the knees and occasioned t< i:i 
 hie torture. He hiniM-I;' acknowledged it. first ill a letter, and 
 afterwards to one of his priests, * I ha- tied my condition 
 
 from you as much I could." he wrote to a person in his intimate 
 confiden I did not wish you to know of my illness, lest 
 
 it might sadden you. lint, my God! how long will we be so 
 
 tender that we dare not tell of our happiness in being visited by 
 
 Thee.' May it please Our Lord to make us stronger and cause u 
 
 to find our happiness in His good pleasure!" And one of hit 
 
 lionaries having said to him: •• It seems tome thai yoai 
 
 pains increase from day to day."' he replied : "It is true, that 
 
 I feel them augment from the sole of the loot to the top of the 
 
 heal. But, alas] what an account I will have to u r ive at the 
 tribunal of God, before which I have very soon to appear, if i 
 do Dot make ROOd use of them :" 
 
 Bttt he diil not wish to be pitied, more particularly if the I \ 
 
 presslon of pi tgr seemed a murmur, againsl Providence. The 
 missionary above mentioned having entered his room one day 
 as ti. dressing hi- sores, and perceiving that he s 
 
 suffering \^ry much, said: MOhi sir, how grievous are youi 
 pains r — "WhatP interrupted the holy old man, "do you call 
 - the work of God; and what He ..plains in Inflicting 
 suffering on a miserable sinner like me? (i re you, sir. 
 
328 VIRTUES AND DOCTRINE OF ST. VINCENT DE PAUL. 
 
 for what 3^011 have just said, for the language of Jesus Chrisl! 
 does not admit of such speech! Is it not just that the guilty 
 suffer, and do we not belong more to»God than to ourselves?" 
 Meanwhile, he grew weaker and wasted awa}' day alter day, 
 yet continuing the same vigorous treatment with himself and 
 ingeniously turning aside in his greatest distress all the solace 
 and comfort they wished to procure him. Madam d'Aiguillon 
 and other Ladies of Charity, horrified at his changed appearance 
 and his ever-increasing weakness, and informed of the objection 
 he made. to the strengthening meats offered him, came to an 
 understanding with the physician to draw up a daily regimen in 
 which were included broth and fowl; then they presented this 
 plan of diet to him for his signature in order to oblige him to 
 follow it in every point. He signed it through a motive of 
 chanty, and resolved to keep his word. But, after the first or 
 second day, his stomach, unused for so long a time to such deli- 
 cate nutriment, could not bear it, and he begged, in pity, the 
 Ladies and his brethren to permit him to live after his own 
 fashion. They were obliged to allow him to return to the com- 
 munity fare. 
 
 His mind, always free, and clear, his soul, ever stiong and 
 active in a wasted body, , continued to direct his Congregation 
 and its works. In his arm chair where pain tied him down, 
 lie was present and presided over all. There, he received visits 
 of every description from within and without, and was ever 
 smiling, always calm, ever meek and affable in tone of voice, 
 in words and manner. If asked concerning his sickness, he 
 would answer: "It is nothing" or "What is it all in com- 
 parison with the sufferings of Our Lord, or with the pains of 
 hell which I have merited," and then he would adroitly change 
 the subject and from his own troubles which he desired forgotten, 
 would turn to those of his visitors to compassionate with them 
 and offer consolation. And, notwithstanding his difficulties in 
 speaking, he would protract the conversation and continue to 
 talk for more than half an hour with as much grace, vigor, and 
 unction as in his better days. 
 
 It is unnecessary to add that, amid these occupations so 
 burdensome for a dying old man, his exercises of piety followed 
 in their usual course. He even multiplied them in his last days 
 
PATIENOI in I .'?2f> 
 
 as a more immediate preparation for death. And yet many a 
 long year before he hud begun to prepare himself lor his Una! 
 passage, n<>t only by his wonderful labors, bat also by special 
 acts. Everyday after mass be recited the prayers of the dying; 
 
 and at night he placed himself in condition toiuiswcr, that very 
 
 night Itself were it ueoeesaij, the call of Go 
 
 All these praetioes were known only by chance, or ratherthrough 
 a special permission of Providence, a little before the death <»r 
 Vincent one of his priests wrote to a confrere concerning his bad 
 
 state and the fears of the Congregation, and without thinking. 
 went according to the Mage to hand Vincent the letter to n 
 The venerated Superior did read it. At the words in the 
 
 letter: -'.Mr. Vincent is wasting visibly, there is every appear 
 ance that are will soon lose him." he became agitated and 
 led reading. Far from manifesting displeasure at the im 
 prudence of the missionary, lie said to bimself: -It is a salutary 
 counsel this good' priest has wished to give me and a warning 
 
 to boh 1 myself YD readiness." A moment after, he, in hi* 
 
 humility, troubled, asked: "May I not have had the misfortune 
 of giving this priest some cause of pain and scandal f" He 
 Immediately sent for him. ••sir." he said to him. - I ver\ 
 
 humbly thank yon for the good advice yon have given me. I 
 assure yon. yon have done me a kindness; and I beg you to 
 Complete your Charity by Informing me of any other faults you 
 
 ma}* have noticed in me." ••< )'i. nr." answered the poor mis- 
 sionary, disconcerted and confused, "I assure you, in my turn « 
 
 that I have not thought of either directly or indirect!*, 
 giving j K>n, and I have failed only through ina«l\- 
 
 encc." ■ Do not annoy yourself, and let your mind heat rest. ' 
 replied the Saint, "I would only have loved and honored you 
 the more. And in regard to the admonition I thought you 
 Wished to give, i will tell you in all simplicity that God lias 
 given me the avoid iN necessity: I tell you this, in 
 
 order that you may not be scandalized in seeing me make no 
 
 oordinary preparations. For eighteen years I bays never 
 
 gone to bed without having previously disposed myself to die 
 
 that very niuht." 
 
 It was for a still loi even that the Saint lived in 
 
$30 VIRTUES AND DOCTHINK OK ST. VINCENT 1)K PAUL. 
 
 this thought and in this practice, for the following little note, 
 written with his own hand, twenty-five years before, was found: 
 " I was taken dangerously ill two or three da} T s ago, and that 
 made me think seriously of death. Through the mercy of God 
 I adore His Will. I acquiesce in it with all my heart; and ex- 
 amining myself on what could give me an}' regret. I have dis- 
 covered nothing unless it be that we have not as yet finished 
 our rules." 
 
 This faithful servant had, then, for long, as he of the Gospel* 
 his loins girt and his lamp lighted ready to go meet His master 
 and open for Him, as soon as He knocked at the door. This 
 supreme moment was constantly before his eyes, and he ever 
 recalled it to 1 he minds of his children, "One of these da}'s, ,f 
 jhc repeated to them, '• the miserable body of this old sinner 
 ^vill be placed in the earth. Jt will crumble to dust and you 
 •will trample it under foot." And when he was asked his age, 
 she would answer: •' For many years I have been abusing the 
 igraceofGod. * Woe is m? that my sojourning is prolonged ! * 
 IPs cxxix., b). Alas! O Lord, I have lived too long, because 
 there is no improvement in my life, and because my sins 
 aim! ti ply with my years." Whenever he announced the death 
 ^of a missionary, he added: " Thou neglectest me, O m} T God. 
 and ca 7 iest to Thyself Thy servants. I am the tare that spoils 
 ■ the good grain which Thou gatherest, and see, I always use- 
 ifeSfljr occupy the earth. ' Why do T take up the earth? 1 (Luke 
 xiii.. 7) But yet. my God. let Thy Will be done and not 
 mine." 
 
 Meanwhile habitual and increasing weakness, and sleepless 
 
 nights brought on a heaviness against which he could no longer 
 struggle. He saw in it the image and precursor of approach- 
 ing death. " It is the brother," he smilingly said, " that comes 
 to await his sister." A few days after, the sister, Death, did 
 come in effect, and the holy old man received her with the same 
 gentleness and the same patience that he had received all the 
 sickness she had sent in advance of herself. 
 
 He took occasion from his own condition to lead others to 
 the thought of death, a thought most salutary, provided it be 
 animated with confidence in the goodness of God. He wrote to 
 
PATIENCE IN SICKNESS. 331 
 
 a person who had a too vivid and exclusive apprehension of 
 death: •' The thought of death It good, and Our Lord Uas, coun- 
 selled and recommended it ; but it ought to be moderated. It 
 is not expedient for yon to have it constantly present to your 
 mind It suffices If you reflect on it two or three times a day, 
 without, however, delaying \ i 1. even should you 
 
 find yourself disturbed, not to delay on it at all, but gently put 
 it aside." 
 
 il 
 
 tuple Of his own ill r menu- to eo 
 
 age the sick, especially if they were youug, " Do not fear, my 
 brother," he wonld say, ••! bad the same i when young, and 
 
 I recovered; I have had asthma, and now I have it no more; I 
 haw had rupture, and God cured me; I had neuralgia in the 
 head, and it has disappeared; I had oppressions of the < 
 and weakness of the stomach, and all I have outlived Have pa- 
 tience for a time; there is < to hope that your sibkn< 
 will pass away and that ( ro 1 still wishes to make nse of yon . Let 
 , act, and do yon peacefully and tranquilly resign yourself." 
 He also spoke of his own maladies In letters an 1 in conifer- 
 d order to exhort his disciples to patience in their lllni 
 "It is true," he wrote, "thatsickm re clearly than health, 
 show iter what we are, and that, In suffering, impatienee 
 and melanchi ly attack the, most resolute. But as they only hurt 
 the weakest, you have derived rather an advantage than an in- 
 jury from them, because Our Lord has strengthened you in the 
 practice of abandoning you reel 1 to His good, pleasure. This 
 strength appeal's in the resolution yon have taken to combat 
 them with courage, And I trust it will appear Btill more in 
 victories you will gain by enduring your pains henceforth for I 
 glory <>r God, not only with patience, but and 
 gladm 
 
 He said to his commjunitj : k * We roust admil 
 ofai( a troublesome state, and one almost insupportable 
 
 to nature; and yel it Is one of th i most powerful means that 
 God employs to bring n> back remove us from 
 
 Hi), and to shower down upon us His gifts' and gra< es, O, my 
 
': 332 VIRTUES AN1> DOCTSIKK OF ST. VINCKXT DE I»AV1« 
 
 Savior ! Thou Who hast suffered so mucli and Who hast died 
 to redeem us, and to show us how greatly affliction may glorify 
 God and promote Our own sanctification, do Thou grant us, if 
 it please Thee, to know the immense good and the great treas- 
 ure that are hidden in sickness ! It is, gentlemen, by it that 
 our souls are purified, and it proves a most efficacious means to 
 acquire the virtue we do not possess. There is no more suita- 
 ble condition for the practice of all virtues. In sickness faith is 
 wonderfully exercised, hope acquires new lustre; resignation, 
 love of God, and all virtues find abundant opportunities for 
 manifesting themselves. It is there we learn what is in us, we 
 know what we are; it is the gauge wherewith to sound and 
 know unerringly, the virtue of each, whether lie has much or lit- 
 tle, or none at all. You can never see what the man is better 
 than whilst he is in sickness. That is the surest test whereby 
 to recognize the most virtuous, or those who are less so. And 
 <this proves how important it is that we thoroughly know how to 
 properly conduct ourselves in sickness. Oh, if weknew how to 
 -act like a certain servant of God, who of his sick bed made a 
 throne of merit and grace! He surrounded himself with the 
 mysteries of our holy religion; to the canopy of his bed he at- 
 tached an image of the most Holy Tiinity ; at the head he placed 
 ^oae of the Incarnation; on one side, the Circumcision; on anoth' 
 *er, the blessed Sacrament; at the foot, the Crucifixion, so that 
 jio matter how he turned, to the right or to the left, or in what 
 direction he cast his eyes, whether above or below, he always 
 found *himse!f environed by these divine mysteries, and, as it 
 were, encompassed by and full of the presence of God. Oh, what 
 a beautiful thought, gentlemen, what a beautiful thought! How 
 happy we would be were God to give us a like grace! We ought 
 to praise God because through His mercy and grace we have in 
 the Congregation sick and infirm persons who manifest in their 
 indispositions and their sickness, as on a stage, patience and 
 ail other virtues in their brightest lustre. We will thank God 
 for having given us such members. I have often said, and I can 
 not refrain from repeating, that we ought to consider those who 
 are sick as a blessing to the Congregation. 
 
 ' 'Let us regard ill health and afflictions as coming from God. 
 Death, life, health, disease, all come by tie order of His Provi- 
 
PATIBNi ! IN >K km SF, 333 
 
 dence; and be the manner what it may, it is always for tlie ben- 
 efit and salvation of man. 
 
 '•Yet, there are those who. very frequently, bear their suffer- 
 ings with impatience. This is a serious fault Others permit 
 themselves to be mastered by the desire for change of place; 
 they wish to go here, to go there, to this house, td that prov- 
 ince, tC their own OOUUtry, under pretext thai the climate there 
 
 Is better, A.nd what does this indicate 1 [t shows' that they are 
 
 men attached to themselves, childish spirits, persons who wish 
 
 to suffer nothing, just as if bodily ailments were evils that must 
 
 aided, To fly the condition wherein it has pleased God 
 
 tO place u^ is to fly our own happiness. Vis, suffering is a State 
 
 Of happiness, ami it sanctities the soul 
 
 "I have seen a man, named Brother Anthony, who knew 
 
 neither how to read nor write. We have his portrait in our 
 
 hall II*- possessed the spirit of God in abundance. He called 
 every one his brother, or, if s female, sister; and when be 
 spoke to the queen he called even her his sister. Every one 
 wished to see him. lie was asked one day: - What do you 
 do when sickness comes upon youl How do you acl when 
 sick:' -I receive them/ he said, >as trials sen ( by God For 
 example, when a fever comes l say to it: ah. now, my sister 
 malady, or my sister fever, you come <>n the part of God, he. 
 therefore, welcome: then I suffer God to do His will in me.' 
 Behold, gentlemen and my brothers, how he acted, it is thus 
 the servants of Jesus Christ, those lovers of the cross, are ac- 
 customed to do. p ut they do not noglecl to employ the reme- 
 dies prescribed for their relief and for the eure of each dlfl 
 and in this, too, they honor God Who has created the plants; 
 
 and given them healing properties. But to have such tender 
 ness for oneself, to be so exceedingly deHcate in our least in- 
 disposition. < ), my Savior! this is what w»- must reject: yes, we 
 must renounce this tenderness in regard to ourselves." 
 
 And OOming l»a<-k. as usual, to himself, he cried out in finish 
 ing: ••On, wretch that I am! What a poor use I have made of 
 the sickness and the little inconveniences it has pleased God to 
 send me: ( )f how many SCtS of impatience have I not been 
 guilty! Ob, miserable that I am. what scandal lave I not. 
 
334 VIRTUES AND DOCTRINE OF ST. VINCENT DE PAUL. 
 
 given those who have seen me behave in that manner! Help 
 me, my brethren, to ask forgiveness of God for the past, and 
 grace to make a better use, in the future, of whatever His 
 Divine Majesty will please to send me in my great age, and 
 during the little time that remains to me of life. " 
 
CHAPTER Will. 
 
 MKUlon up DIRE( TION 
 
 I. 
 
 If ire study St Vincent de Paul in his conduct in general we 
 
 will sec united as in one single picture all those virtues we have 
 successively admired. Moreover, it will afford the opportunity 
 of gathering together certain teachings of the Saint that could 
 not be classified onder any of the preceding titles. 
 
 The sole end of his conduct was the greater glory of God and 
 the accomplishment of His will on earth as in Heaven; the way- 
 followed to attain this was He Who defined Himself as the Way, 
 the Truth and the Life, Our Lord JesUfl Christ, taken as light in 
 II is doctrine and sa guide in H'.s examples. 
 
 Like Jesus Christ, Vincent began by sanctifying himself; 
 then his own sanctification he made the instrument of the sanc< 
 tification of others. 
 
 From tliis may be learned the l>a>is of his conduct, a conduct 
 that was always humble, ever doubtful of the most vivid person- 
 al lights, seeking always to be directed by the light of God, 
 and even according to the counsels ol men. 
 
 His was a COD loot attentive and vigilant, arranging all. 
 watching over all. ail foreseeing all. Am I at the same time 
 this Conduct was prudent and sirCUmspOOl i.M word and in 
 especially in the direction of others: never absolutely detennin 
 lug anything l.ut proposing simply thoughts and submitting 
 them in some manner to the Judgment of those who sought his 
 counsel; never inspired by thai spirit of sufficiency and pre 
 sumption which decides without hesitation: "This is true, th.s 
 
336 VIRTUES AND DOCTRINE OF ST. VINCENT DB PAUL. 
 
 is the right way," but adopting in preference these more humble 
 phrases: " This is my advice, this is what seems to me con- 
 formable to the order of God;" — except, however, where a 
 maxim of the Gospel answered directly the question proposed, 
 for there can be no hesitancy possible in the presence of a 
 Divine oracle. 
 
 His conduct was slow and willingly dilitory. save when 
 necessity absolutely required an immediate answer or action; 
 and even then, he still took time to quickly consult God, or 
 seek for something analagous In the lessons or examples of 
 Jesus Christ. 
 
 Having need of a counsel at Tunis. Vincent cast his eyes on 
 Martin Husson. a lawyer who practised before the superior 
 court of Paris, who then, was living in retirement in Montmir- 
 ail. He wrote to him, but, with his usual piudence and reserve, 
 confined himself in his letter to a simple enumeration of the 
 reasons for and against, without adding a word that could in- 
 fluence his will. Much perplexed, Husson came to Paris, and 
 left the decision in the hands of the holy priest. Vincent 
 directed him to consult some wise and prudent persons, but 
 Husson assured him he awaited his word as the expression of 
 the will of God. Forced into his last intrenchments, Vincent had 
 recourse to prayer, and on Easter Sunday, in the year of ]653, 
 he said to Husson: '".I have offered to our Lord, in the mass, 
 your anxieties, your lamentations and your tears; and after the 
 consecration I cast myself at His feet begging Him to enlighten 
 me. Having done that, I considered attentively what, at the 
 hour of my death, I would have wished to have counseled you 
 to do. It seems to me, then, that if I were summoned at this 
 very instant I would be consoled in the thought of having told 
 you to go to Tunis, on account of the good you can do there, 
 and I would, on the contrary, extremely regret to have per- 
 suaded you not to go. This is my inmost thought. You may, 
 however, go, or not go as you choose." " God wishes it," ex- 
 claimed Husson moved by such disinterestedness, "and I £0." 
 Vincent immediately procured his credentials from the king. 
 A few weeks afterwards, Husson departed for Tunis. 
 
 We see from this example that the Saint did not like himself to 
 
Mil IK»1> <n DIRECTION. 
 
 designate the Bubjcd to be tent to foreign missions. He ordi- 
 narily waited until :i person bad manifested, and had repeatedly 
 shown a decided vocation tor that sort of apostolate, He tooted 
 in this way notably In regard to Madagascar; 
 
 His c m tact was strong and firm in the maintenance of exacti 
 tudeand regularity, and at the same time (nil of suavity and gen- 
 tleness, In imitation of the conduct of God Himself, Who, li 
 the Wise Man: •/•• i ftetf ft :m ■ u and endurethaU 
 
 thin Wisdom, viii-i). This conduct was consequent- 
 
 ly tempered with kind consideration, with humble excuses in re- 
 fusalsto intemperate demands; by entreaty, or kindness of 
 expression in cpmniands; and. on this very account, more 
 effective and more obeyed than the most imperious authority. 
 
 It was not only in regard to foreign missions, but also in re 
 
 lation to any diiiicnlt employment that Vincent previously de- 
 
 1 to know the dispositions of his subjects: •• I write you." 
 
 be said to one of his priests, "to know the state of your health. 
 
 and with what God will inspire you in relation to the proposition 
 
 I am abOttt to make yon. We aie called to N . to take CDS! 
 
 of an establishment, and. having determined tp send four or 
 tivc missionaries, we have thought of you as their guide. Hence 
 sir, it only remains that yon raise your lici rod to listen 
 
 to what He will >ay to you on this snhjeet. and I beg you to 
 -end me immediate information Qf the disposition of yonr body 
 as well as of your soul in regard to thi> holy enterprise, an I 
 pray On* U>rd to grant us the grace to ever and in all pla* 
 correspond with His holy will." 
 
 He sometimes sdopted a charming gaiety --Are you tin- 
 man." he, one day. said to a priest, "to undertake a LongVQVJ 
 for the service Of Godf" 'I am ready." rejoined the other. 
 'Tmt it is out of the kingdom." ', That's no difference. * j liut 
 you must crosi the lea ." ' • To go by sea or land is all the same 
 tome." "But indeed,* 1 added the saint, smiling, '.the pU 
 
 is twelve hundred quarter leagUOS distant f 'Were it two 
 thousand I am Willing tO -'•'* 'Depart then, >ir; \ 
 wanted in Rome." 
 
 Finally, his conduct was edifying and exemplary, always in 
 
 imitation of Our Lord. Who commenced to do before He taught. 
 
338 VIRTUES AND DOCTRINE OF ST. VINCENT DE PAUL. 
 
 Hence the admirable care of the venerable old man to attend 
 exactly all the exercises of the community, especially those the 
 most painful for him, such as the morning meditation, and that 
 after a cruel sleeplessness, when harassed with perplexities and 
 with business, when sick and whilst undergoing treatment for 
 the recovery of his health. 
 
 Let us now consider this conduct applied to the spiritual as 
 well as temporal interests of his communities. We will dwell 
 awhile here on fraternal correction, which was one of his tri- 
 umphs. He possessed the authority of example, which guarded 
 him from the severe retort, "Physician heal thyself;" the 
 patience that defers the bitter remedy and emplo3's it only in 
 the last extremity: the charity that applies it in a manner 
 proper to heal the wound instead of irritating it or inflicting a 
 fresh one; the humility which, by accusing itself the first, com- 
 mences by drinking the cup of shame and leaves to others but 
 a few drops; the prudence, which measures the strokes in ac- 
 cordance with character, so as neither to discourage weakness, 
 nor drive proud ardor to revolt; the meekness that sweetens 
 correction, deceives and lulls nature to sleep; and with all this, 
 the firmness that does not hesitate to put the axe to the root of 
 the evil when the cure is at no other price. All these virtues 
 conspired to give an incomparable charm to his manner of cor- 
 rection. Ordinarily, he delayed his reprehension, until nature 
 had become calm both in himself and in others. He reflected 
 on it before God and, like a skillful physician, he studied both 
 the moral temperament of the sick and the medicinal property 
 of the remedy, in order to render the correction effective; and, 
 when he saw a refractory subject, he made his meditation, for 
 even three days in succession, on how he should act. 
 
 The moment arrived, he approached his object by a profes- 
 sion of esteem for him whom he wished to reprehend. At one 
 time he would praise the qualities of the person, at another, 
 find, at first, an excuse in the first movement of nature and of 
 passion. Then, he would accuse himself, always taking upon 
 himself the greatest share of the fault. "Oh," he would say, 
 "how you and I both need to labor to acquire humility, to ex- 
 ercise ourselves in the practice of patience, to bear with others 
 as we wish they would support us, to accustom ourselves to ex. 
 
HBT1I0U "i DIRBCTION. 
 
 actitude, and to regularity, ^ So lie took the role of 
 
 the accused cting the jndge. Once having remarked a 
 
 young seminarist carrying to the church a strange book; ho 
 called him aside and saicl: "Have you not remarked something 
 id me that has scand oT Receiving an answer in the 
 
 negative he continued, "Well, my dear brother, would jrou 
 like me to tell y on something that I hate observed id you.'' 
 
 bim, adding: '*lfay God bless you, 
 my brother.'' 
 
 When the individual ■ iliated by all these humble and 
 
 charitable precautions, when he was in n disposition to rei 
 
 nize, wiili the Wise Man. that the Wounds <>f a friend arc prefer^ 
 
 to the deceptive can i -my. he went straight to 
 
 the fault, and witli firmness pointed out all the dr umsti noes of 
 
 time, of place, and of person; be rendered pal] s gravitj 
 
 and its consequent os in • the 
 
 the future of the congregation or of a special work 
 
 i I . ■. t lu-ii. w« mid not b > add with, severity: •Ifyousayyou 
 
 ha\. defects in yourself it iss sign yon have 
 
 but little humility, for bad you as much as Jesus Christ requires 
 
 -t of the you would believe yourself the 
 
 most imperfect of all ami would readi wledge yourself 
 
 guilty of all these t!. 1 would attribute to in 
 
 blindness the tact of your not perceiving what others Bee.ell the 
 
 so as you have already been admonished of them. A 
 iu speaking of admonition, I have also been informed that yon 
 can scarcely bear to be reprehended. It* that he the 
 
 how youi i to be fie far removed you 
 
 frcra the I to humble themselves before all 
 
 ami rejoiced iu having their slightest faults pointed nut. It is, 
 
 indeed, a poor imitation of the Saint of Saint 
 
 Who has | crmitted Himself to be reproached publicly with evil 
 
 He did not do, and yet uttered not a n avoid the 
 
 is learn <>f Him, sir, t«> 1 «• m< ek and bum* 
 ble of heart These are virtues which you an i 1 Bliould demand 
 of Him wit!- nnd to which we should give spe< 
 
 attention iu order that we m iway l>.\ the 
 
 opposite passions which, with one hand, throw down thespiritual 
 edifice that the other builds. May i'. please thi Lord to 
 
,'UO VIRTUES AND DOCTRINE OK ST. VINCENT I>K RAUL. 
 
 enlighten us with the light of His II0I3' Spirit so that we may 
 seethe darkness of our own, and submit it to those whom He 
 has appointed to conduct us, and may we be animated with His 
 infinite meekness which, inspiring our words and actions, will 
 render us agreeable and useful to our neighbors. " 
 
 The correction finished, he reanimated fallen courage, renewed 
 his protestations of esteem and affection, and as a final sedative, 
 added words like the following: " I experience the most in- 
 tense pain in Baying the least thing to wound you. In the 
 name of God, bear with me;" or again. "I am unable, no, I 
 cannot express the sorrow I feel in grieving you. I beg you to 
 believe that were it not for the importance of the thing I would 
 a thousand times have preferred to bear all than to give you the 
 slightest pain." Such tenderness was irresistible. Self love 
 died almost without feeling its wound; and this is what gave 
 rise to the saying: ''Mr. Vincent is like the grand Turk, 
 because he strangles self-love with a silken cord." 
 
 Notwithstanding his absolute detachment from things of earth 
 the Saint took the greatest care to preserve and manage with 
 economy the temporalities of his congregation. As man, he 
 knew that all are condemned to eat their bread in the sweat of 
 their brow; as Christian, he knew that Providence, even in its 
 designs the most generous, desires to be seconded by us; as 
 head of a family and general of a spiritual arm}', that it belongs 
 to fathers to piovide for their children and to captains to furnish 
 arms and rations to their soldiers. 
 
 Therefore, he first sought to turn to best account the little 
 pioperty that the congregation possessed. Not content with 
 appointing intelligent procurators, he reserved to himself the 
 general superintendence and the chief administration, permit- 
 ting nothing to be done without his advice, designating in ad- 
 vance, often, every da}-, the specific duty of each, and requiring 
 an account. When he learned that his Orders had been antici- 
 pated, exceeded, or violated, he deposed the unfaithful agent, 
 even were he a particular superior; for he said: "If every one 
 were to do as he thinks fit the dependence established by God 
 would be destroyed and theie would no longer be but change 
 and disorder in the houses." 
 
M i. i dod o* row I nOK, .">4l 
 
 He appointed brothers to superintend the cultivation of the 
 farms of the congregation; and they had under them husband- 
 raen and shepherds. He himself entered into the most, minute 
 detaiU in regard to Lhe drops and flocks; the kitchen garden and 
 orchard, and as formerly Charlemagne did. he even attended to 
 the accounts of the barn-yard of St Lazarus. 
 He was thrifty in the these revenues, augmented by 
 
 b skillful management by procuring his stores at the times 
 and places the m . recommending' to allow nothing 
 
 tO gO -» ua-te. to use the most rigOrOUS economy, aid, in had 
 
 id during public disorders, even to retrench in the ordi- 
 nary expenditures, charity alone knew no calculations; there* 
 in, though ever acting prudently, he displayed a holy prodig- 
 ality, lint, for Kim3elf and his priests, in his houses, in 
 clothing and at table, he confined himself t<> the strictly 
 necessary and shunned every superfluity. This was why he was 
 such an enemy to change, which oecei costly Journey 
 
 when these changes had no other reason than the protended 
 unwholesomeness of tie climate, the difficulty of the occupation, 
 <>r the incompatibility of disposition. 
 
 II 
 
 For him. t •<». time was a rich capital of which hewas severely 
 economical. That he mtghl con-cerate it entirely to his pious 
 
 undertakings, lie never gave a moment t<> idleness. Moreover, 
 he augmented it by adding the two hours 1 recreation he permit- 
 ted his community, but which he himself refused, and each 
 night by two or three more hours taken from his sleep. He 
 never paid a visif save through a nc< -s, grati- 
 
 tude or Charity. In the dis-harM. even, of his duties, in 
 charitable reunion-, notwithstanding all his condescension, he 
 
 avoided useless WOI Is :md digressions and always led the Others 
 
 hack to the question by this ordinary word: " Come, let us to 
 
 thesnhject; we must try to finish." This is how, a< cording to 
 
 the remark of Mademoiselle de Lam rignon. he alone had done 
 
 more good WOrk* than any twenty ot!i >r saints 
 
 Vincent, we have said, require I in all those who wished to unite 
 themselves to him first a real vocation, and then perseverencein 
 
342 VIRTUES AND DOCTRINE OF ST. VINCENT DB PAUL. 
 
 that vocation. On this two-fold subject he said, one day. 
 to the Daughters of Charity (22nd of September, IG47): "Avo- 
 cation is a call from God for the purpose of doing something. 
 God says: 'I wish this soul to sanctify itself in serving- Me in 
 such an occupation.' Though His Divine Goodness often calls 
 us by means that are unknown to us, yet He most frequently 
 employs the strong desire, which He gives us, to be received 
 into such a state, and the perseverance we manifest in our re- 
 quest. After this, we must no longer doubt that our vocation 
 comes from God; for when you allow yourselves to entertain 
 the doubt, it is, ordinarily, because you find difficulty in the 
 practice of poverty, of humility, and of obedience which the- 
 .demon endeavors to make appear to you impossible. But God 
 is immovable in His judgments, and the salvation of sous' is 
 not of such little consequence to Him that He does not take 
 all the necessary care to place them in the way the most sure 
 and most easy for them to secure it. But we must not leave 
 that way, for should a person who is on a long journey turn 
 aside and leave the high-road he runs the risk of meeting only 
 byways that will lengthen the distance. A man, with his 
 orchard planted with good fruit bearing trees, would incur the 
 risk of not only gathering no fruit, but also of killing the trees, 
 were he to change them constantly and yearly transplant them. 
 Judas, having been called to the apostleship and having had a 
 participation in the graces of God. imagined he was not right 
 when he was. and thought to betcer himself elsewhere. You 
 know bis history and how he was lost. Let us, then, remain 
 where God has called us. Have you ever heard of a soldier 
 who, without an order, left the post assigned him by his cap- 
 tain ? When a soldier is on duty, whether it rains or blows, 
 whether it hails or freezes, .even when cannon balls are falling 
 on every side, he is not permitted to retire. He must remain 
 even at the risk of death; and, should he prove so cowardly 
 as to abandon his post, he is put to death without mercy, he is^ 
 taken out and shot; and why ? Because he did not remain, 
 where his captain placed him. It is the same with the soul. 
 Faithless to its vocation it no longer knows any rest. Far 
 hotter for it would it have bean, had it never b3gun. for then, 
 at least, it would not have to answer for so many graces re- 
 
MB rHOD OV lilBKCTIOK. 
 
 perved and abased. On th( contrary, the soul that perseveres 
 drives the d< ack into hell when it iieir tempta- 
 
 tions. And it, at the same time, to God; lor 
 
 He is looking on, and takes a singular pleasure in witnessing 
 itspera in what it has nndcrtaken for His love, not- 
 
 withstanding all the comhats of flesh and blood, and all the 
 wiles of the e\ :1 spil 
 
 •• A goo I mi e ins to | 13 is to take r as, and to 
 
 write th \ for future use wh looasion prese 
 
 itself. Ar re-read them and i self: 
 
 • Wai it not God who inspired me with that thought ? v > 
 
 it not a good motive that influenced me i" take that resolu- 
 tion ?'—F<>r we muei temptoti 
 
 •• There are two classes of persons, boweter, who are never 
 troubled with them: those who never resist, and those who 
 rind the things of God so sweet and so agreeable that they 
 never experience ai ruanoe. Hence, instead of being 
 
 astonished if sometimes we see ourselves tried, let 113 employ 
 
 means proper lor resistance, and, above all, let us i 
 the grace rather to die a thousand times, were it necess; 
 than consent to temptations against our vocation." 
 
 He desired a still more serious vocation for the priesthood. 
 On the 5th of March, L659, be wrote to a lawyer in Laval: 
 ••It l| B misfortune for those who enter the priesthood by 
 the window of their own choice, and not by the door of a 
 legitimate vocation. Yet the number off the former 
 
 at; because they regard the ecclesiastical i an easy 
 
 manner of lite, in which they seek (heir comfort rather than 
 labor: and hence ha! i the fearful rai in 
 
 the Church. For, to the 
 
 the sins, and the heresies that lay it waste. This i hat 
 
 -•. John Chrysostom to d >u!d 
 
 I : and why ? H < | toes 
 
 necessary to fulfil] the obligations of thii to' 
 
 those I? Jiom His goodl and It never calls any in 
 
 wh m it does not p rcciv.- th 
 
 whom it does D »t intend to bestow them A.S for all others, 
 God allows them to advance, and permits them, inpunishmen 
 
344 VIRTUES AND DOCTRINE OF ST. VINCENT DE PAUL. 
 
 for their temerity, to do more evil than good, and finally to 
 destroy themselves. The call, then, to this holy profession 
 must come from God, and this we see in the case of Our Lord 
 Himself Who, being eternal priest, yet did not presume to 
 exercise its duties until the Eternal Father had declared : 
 1 This is my well beloved Son, hear Him ' (Luke ix-35). This 
 example, together with the knowledge I have of the disorders 
 occasioned by priests, who have not lived up to the holiness of 
 their character, induces me to caution those who seek my 
 advice in regard to receiving orders, against engaging them- 
 selves unless tliey "have a true vocation from God, a pure in- 
 tention of* honoring Our Lord by the imitation of His 
 virtues, and other marks showing that His Divine Goodness 
 calls them ; and this feeling is so strong within me that, were 
 I not a priest, I never would become on?. This is what I 
 frequently say to such aspirants, and I have repeated it over a 
 hundred times in preaching to the country people/' 
 
 To confirm his own children in their vocation he said: "See 
 the design of God in your regard in causing you to be born 
 precisely at the time of the institution of the Congregation. 
 You are the first called. If a king selected certain soldiers to 
 lead in the assault, would not this honcr be a motive powerful 
 enough to make them face death rather than give way ?" And 
 then, addressing the brothers, he added: "You, too, as well as 
 the priests, lead a life conformed to that of Our Lord : You 
 imitate Him in His hidden life, during which h? was en- 
 gaged in corporal labor, working in a carpenter shop 
 and performing household duties just like a domestic. 
 Thus you imitate His life of thirty years, whilst the 
 priests, in their functions, imitate only that of three and a half 
 years ; you honor the dependent life of Our Lord and the 
 priests His priesthood. Moreover, by reason of the union that 
 exists between the members of the same body, an effect of which 
 is that what one does the others are considered as doing, it is 
 certain that you labor in the confessional with the confessors, 
 that with the preacher you preach, and that you evangelize the 
 poor with the priests who evangelize them." (29 Oct. 1G38.) 
 
 He concluded in a general way: "Let us continue our 
 
HKTUOD «>i DIRECTION. 345 
 
 voyage to Heaven in the ship in which God has placed us. The 
 grace of perseverance is the most Important of all ; it crowns 
 
 all others, and the death that finds us with arms in our hands 
 is the nn»t glorious and Liable. Naturally, we desire 
 
 to die at home, in the arms of those ire love and Mirrounded 
 by our relations tind l'ri< nds; hut all do not yield to such ten- 
 derness; it is only those souls that are over-delicate. Our Lord 
 wished to terminate His life as He Lived: His life hating been 
 
 And painful, His death was hard and cruel, without any 
 human consolation. This i- why many have desired to diealon", 
 abandoned by men, trusting to have God only to aid them." 
 
 What sorrow and tVar Beized him when he learned that cer 
 tain of his subjects had the thought of abandoning their voca- 
 tion ! He wrote, July 18th, 1C59 : " May God grant them the 
 grace to open their eyes, to see the danger to which they ex- 
 pose themselves in thus following the inclinath n of rebellions 
 nature, which never accords with the spirit of Jesus Ohri 
 Oh, how difficult, says the Scripture, for those who have fallen 
 after having been enlightened to rise again ! Indeed, they 
 have every reason to tear that they will miserably wander if they 
 leave the path in which God has placed them. For, how will 
 they fulfill their duties in the world, where there are so many 
 snares and obstacles, if they do not perform them in the state 
 in which they are, and in which they are assisted by so much 
 grace frcm God, and have so many Spiritual and temporal 
 helps, all which will be wanting to them outside their vocation? 
 Yet we must not be surprised to see persons thus waver and 
 turn back. The like are met with in the most holy communi- 
 ties, and God permits it to show men the weakness of man, to 
 give the most determined and resolute a subject for fear, to 
 try the good, and to give both an occasion for the practice of 
 many virtues. Let them, at present, conceive a regret lorpast 
 faults, lei them purpose amendment, humble themselves, and 
 
 become submissive and repair the had example they have given J 
 
 do you take special pains to assist them." 
 
 We have seen in another chapter the charitable efforts the 
 Sunt made to retain them ; but we tDVLSi cite again that letter, 
 so admirable for its longanimity : "It would be but justice to 
 the Congregation to cut off the diseased members. This is true, 
 
3 46 VIRTUES AND DOCTRINE OF ST. VINCENT HE PAUL. 
 
 and prudence demands it. But, to give an opportunity for the 
 practice oi aii virtues, we now exercise patience, foroearance, 
 and charity, even without the hope of their improvement. We 
 try, as remedies for the evil, .different applications of meekness, 
 of menaces, of prayer and admonition, and all with the hope of 
 no other good than that which it may please God to work by 
 Himself Our Lord did not drive away St. Peter for having 
 denied Mini more than once, nor even, Judas, though he was 
 to die in his sin. Therefore, I judge His divine bounty is much 
 pleased to see us extend, the kindness of the Congregation to 
 those who are fro ward, that thus we may satisfy justice and 
 omit nothing that can gain them to God." (July loth, 1650. 
 to Almeras, Rome.) 
 When any had left he consoled himself with the following 
 
 consideration: '■ After Mr. had left, I commenced, in my 
 
 sorrow, to say my Office. But it pleased God to console me by 
 the understanding He gave me of what He had done m having 
 the trumpets sounded in the armies of Israel before battle, and 
 haying it proclaimed that those who were afraid, or had mar- 
 ried, or had planted a vineyard, or built a house that year 
 should retire, considering that such classes of persons would 
 be of more injury than benefit in battle. And then it struck 
 me what great evil some of those who had left, having become 
 dispirited in their vocation by the example of a single one, who 
 loved the things of the world, could have occasioned in the 
 Congregation had they remained in it all their life-time. In 
 this way God was pleased to comfort me very much. Perhaps, 
 He took into account the fact that I was for a lull half-hour 
 on my knees before one of the parties, trying to change his 
 mind, and was unsuccessful. 
 
 "jn the name of the Lord ! We must remember how many 
 followed Our Lord and how few persevered with Him. I say 
 we should remember this, in order that we may honor His feel- 
 ings on these occasions." (Aug. 2Gth, 1642, Annecy.) 
 
 Under the influence of such considerations, he did not wait 
 until ihe subject left of his own accord, but took, himself the 
 initiative either by refusing to receive those whom he foresaw 
 would not persevere, or by dismissing the incorrigible. Ha 
 
MKTHOD OF DIRECTION". '■> IT 
 
 wrote: "Where is the community that dees not refuse appli- 
 cants who do n<>t p the requisite quaJifieationa, 6r that 
 does not send away those who do not behave Well I I 
 some time ago, in the company of i great prelate, one who 
 thoroughly un<l' cnmunitii one was 
 speaking of a certain community, and was praising it because 
 it neVer a at i y it had on apon the 
 pressed astonishment, and said, '0, j turn* 
 niry! Thou to th) perfedtioo, 
 cription of subje •• tree thai is planted 
 does not take root, nor docs i 
 
 Kingdom of God is com p * into I hat 
 
 takes both good and bad fish, and the fisherman 
 the good, and casts the had back again into the sea, '! 
 
 of God did i ompairy all those who pre- 
 
 sented them Be did not enforce His> authority to re- 
 
 those who wished to withdraw; but He offered those who 
 remained their choice in saying to them : 'Willi .fjo 
 
 did nor i Judas, it was be* 
 
 (muse Judas was to be the principal instrument in Ei po don, 
 
 •• I say all this in order thai you may impress it upon I 
 who think differently, and on those who arc d 
 the Congregation, as well as oil their parents. The Son of 
 God informed His apostles ofthe dangers they would incur, 
 and I think the missionaries would do well to act In the same 
 way to honor the simplicity and candi Lord ii; this as 
 
 in all other things, 5 ny will he scandalised by this 
 
 manner of acting, and will not enter the C I 
 
 answer : First, it will be a scandal taken, if what is in vigor 
 in all well r< j I (inmunitics in the church ol I 
 
 called BCandal ; £tcond. if it he our Lord Who calls them the 
 
 fear of being ty will not d m from c and 
 
 If" i : be not Mr, we ought tone well pleased that I -»ot 
 
 enter the Ooi >u, for it ought to desire <> whom 
 
 <in ( ; lie all others w:ll never he of any 
 
 An-. «a 1G5G). 
 lie wrote in a still more decided ton. in relation to the 
 dismissal of dangerous sul • Our seminary i^ being filled 
 
348 VIRTUES AND DOCTRINE OF ST. VINCENT DE PAUL. 
 
 up; I think our Lord grants us tins as a reward for the fidelity 
 of the Congregation in purifying itself of refractory members. 
 One of our priests here told me that six of the best could not 
 do as much good as one who was beyond correction could do 
 evil .... We must purge the Congregation. Ten of the 
 right sort are worth a hundred, and a hundred, that are not 
 called, or who do not correspond with the designs of God, are 
 
 not worth ten. (25th of December, 1642) Purify, 
 
 yes, let us purify the Congregation of those who are profane 
 and of those who are not agreeable to God and He will increase 
 and bless it. God, having wished to put to death three thous- 
 and men because they had adored the golden calf, answered 
 Moses, who wished by his prayers to stay His hand: i Let me 
 alone that my wrath may be kindled against them, and 1 ivill 
 make of thee a great nation.' (Exodus xxxii., 10). According 
 to this, then, to diminish in a community the number of those 
 who offend God is to augment it both in virtue and number, 
 for well-regulated and virtuous communities attract subjects. 
 Yes, but those sent away will write and otherwise incense the 
 public against the Congregation! They will occasion no more 
 harm than God will permit them to do ; and the injury they 
 may do us will turn to our benefit. And, moreover, would 
 we not be unworthy to serve God m the state in which we are, 
 if, to hinder a person from doing us an evil, we were willing 
 to suffer him to vitiate the service and glory of God among 
 us? Remember that the decay of most of the communities 
 comes from the cowardice of superiors who are too weak to 
 hold a strong hand and who neglect ti dismiss the froward 
 and those who are unwilling to be corrected." (20th of March, 
 1043, Rome). 
 
 To forestall the sad necessity of such extreme measures, we 
 have said that the Saint watched most sedulously over the 
 training of those whom he admitted to the internal seminary. 
 He did not neglect to animate and sustain all by his living 
 and powerful word : " Whoever desires to live in community," 
 he said, "should resolve to live as a pilgrim on earth; he 
 should be satisfied to become foolish for Christ's sake ; should 
 make up his mind to change his manners and habits, to mor- 
 
Mil HOD «'i i>ii:i < l :<<n. £49 
 
 tily bis passions, to leek God solely, to subject himself; u if 
 the least, to every one ; he should fully persuade himself that 
 he came to serve and not to be served, to suffer and lahur, and 
 not to live in delighl and idleness. He should know that one 
 ii tried aa gold in the fornace, that perseverance is only at the 
 price of hurnhlhr. If for Go&'a sake, and he should be 
 
 convinced that in doing thm he will obtain true content in 
 this world and eternal life in the next* 1 
 
 Everything furnished him with an occasion to in-till into 
 their minds the mosl hei positions. When he learned 
 
 that a missionary had been maltreated in a foreign country, 
 he recounted the affair, and added: " May God gran I that all, 
 who seek admission into the Congregation, may come with the 
 thought of martyrdom, and with the desire to Buffer death 
 and to consecrate themselves wholly to the service of God, 
 either in foreign conn tries or in the their own or where i 
 soever it will please God to make use of the little Congre 
 tion! Yes, with the thought of martyrdom] oh. how we 
 should often ask this grace from oar Lor 1 ! Ah '. gentlemen 
 and my brothers, is there anything more reaa >nabl ■ than that 
 should be consumed for Bim Who baa so generously given 
 His 1 ilr for us? If* our Lord basso loud OS as to die for 
 us, why will we not have a like affection for Him and prove 
 it when occasion offers? We see so many popes, who, one 
 after the other, were martyr -d Is it not strange to see 
 merchants traverse seas and ineur an infinity of dangers, all 
 for a little more gain ? Last Sunday I w i ng with one. 
 
 who told me that a proposition to go to the Indies v.a- made him, 
 and that he had resolved to «: <-d if there were no dan- 
 
 ger: he told me that there waa very greal danger; thai though 
 it was true snch a merchant whom he knew had returned, yet 
 such another had not. 1 then reflected ! if this person, for 
 the purpose of seeking some precious stone or for the sake 
 Of gain, is thus willing to expose himself to BO many dangers, 
 how much more should not we blare in order :<» e.trry the 
 precious gem of the Gfoapel, and st!" 
 
 Ih' wanted studies to 1»" pro with in vfratiou and 
 
 humility He wrote, on the LStfa of July, 1689: "The desire 
 
350 VIRTUES AND DOCTRINE OF ST. VINCENT DE RAUL. 
 
 to learn is good, provided it be moderated. . . Remember 
 the advice of St. Paul, who recommended us to use sobriety iu 
 learning. Mediocrity suffices, and whatever is aimed at 
 beyond this is rather to be feared than desired for the laborers 
 of the gospel, because it is dangerous, it puffs up, it leads them 
 to show off, to become self -conceited, and finally to shirk the 
 humble, simple and ordinary duties, which, nevertheless, 
 are the most useful. Hence, our Lord selected disciples who 
 were capable of doing but the humblest things. If we labor 
 for tht? salvation of souls in the spirit of our Lord, He will 
 give us the lights and the graces necessary to succeed. If you 
 desire to know only Jesus Christ crucified, if you wish to live 
 only His life, doubt not that He Himself will be your science 
 and your guide." He said again in a conference : <l The 
 learned, and, at the same time, humble, are the treasure of the 
 Mission, as good and pious doctors are the honor of the 
 Church." 
 
 He dreaded the transition from the purely spiritual exer- 
 cises of the seminary to the distractions of studies, and he 
 multiplied his instructions in order that the students might 
 not diminish in fervor according as they advanced in knowl- 
 edge. He said: "Glass, when taken from the furnace and 
 placed in the cold, is in danger of breaking ; so a young man, 
 who passes from a place of recollection, vigilance and prayer, to 
 the tumult of a class-room runs the risk of becoming disturbed 
 in his pmctices of piety. Strive, then, to maintain your first 
 fervor and prevent nature, from assuming the upperhand. 
 Incite your will in proportion as your understanding is en- 
 lightened with new knowledge, and make use of your study as 
 a means to elevate yourselves to Cod. Let the light of the 
 mind become a fire in the heart. Be firmly convinced that the 
 science most useful for our neighbor is that which has its 
 foundation in piety. Fly curiosity, that pest of a spiritual lite, 
 which has introduced so many evils into the world. Fly the 
 inordinate desire of knowing, which dries up devotion and 
 closes the soul to the lights of Heaven. I have remarked that 
 common and ignorant persons ordinarily make their prayer 
 better than men of learning. God delights in communicating 
 Himself to the simple, because they are more humble than the 
 
METHOD ni DM: 1 EC 1 1< >N. 851 
 
 learned, who are always ho full of themselves. Would that 
 you all had the learning of St. Thomas but on condiiion that 
 you also had the humility of the holy doctor! Pride ruins the 
 wise, as it ruined the angels, and knowledge without humility 
 rerbeen baneful to the Church. Lore, then, humility 
 and do not become conceited. The moc nifloant demon 
 
 it» hell kn than the most subtle philosopher, or the 
 
 most profound theologian on earth. God does not need the 
 learned to do His work ; lie rejects them, on the contrary, 
 when they are proud, prefers the Simple, and even women, as 
 lie did in the laal century for the reformation of a very cele- 
 brated order m the Church. In conclusion, employ your ;. 
 in fitting youn c the service of your neighbor. Do not 
 
 air time, for the work is urgent, and infinitely c.\ 
 
 the number of rorkmeri. The people in the country pre being 
 lost for want of instruction, and the greatest portion of the 
 
 eartli is still buried m the darkness of infidelity. Study, then- 
 fore, labor to acquire Icnowledg \ but without losing humility." 
 
 Whilst lie condemned a rain curiosity he cautioned the com- 
 munity against sensuality. M Wo/ he said, "to him, who 
 seeks his too ! Wo to him, who flies the c 
 
 For he will find others so heavy that thy will overwhelm him. 
 He, who mik pS light of exterior mortifications under pretext 
 that the interior are mueh more important, Sufficiently shows 
 
 thai he is mortified neither interiorly nor exteriorly.** 
 
 He S&id, .at another time: "I have remarked in the most 
 of those, who suffer ship wreck in their voeation, a remissness 
 in two things: the first is rising in the morning in which 
 they are nol exact; and the second is effeminacy in regard to 
 the hair* letting it grow too long, and in- usably allowing them- 
 selves to become attached to other like vanities." 
 
 We see what importance the saint attached to rising, and 
 
 morning meditation* Here is a long letter be wrote, on this 
 
 subject, on Januarv L6th, 1650, to the superiors of his houses: 
 u You know that everything in this world is subject to some 
 change, that man himseli' Is never in the same condition, and 
 that God often permits abuses to creep into the most holy 
 communities. This has happened in some of our housei, as 
 
352 VIRTUES AM) DOCTRINE OF ST. VINCENT DE PAUL. 
 
 we have lately become aware by the visits that have been made 
 to them, without, however, knowing at first the cause. To 
 discover it required patience and study on our part. At last, 
 God has shown us that the liberty on the part of some to re- 
 pose longer than the rules allow has produced the evil results; 
 all the more so as they, not being in prayer with the others, 
 deprive themselves of the advantages that exist in making it in 
 common, and they frequently make none at all or very little 
 in private. Hence it is that such persons, being less vigilant 
 over themselves, become languid in their actions, and the com- 
 munity becomes irregular in its practices. 
 
 "To remedy this disorder the cause must be removed; and 
 for this purpose, exactitude in rising must be recommended, 
 and firmness in maintaining it shown; so that, little by little, 
 each house may come to change its appearance, exhibiting 
 more devotion to rule, and individual members, in their own 
 particular, may become more solicitous for their spiritual ad- 
 vancement. This has furnished us with the occasion to take 
 for the subject of our 6rst conference, this new year, the first 
 action of the day, in order to strengthen ourselves all the more 
 in the resolution of invariably rising at four o'clock. The 
 felicitous results of fidelity in this, and the inconveniences 
 arising from the contrary having suggested to us the motives, 
 I have considered it my duty to communicate them to you, 
 I have added the objections and answers that may be advanced 
 in relation to this matter, and the means that may be made 
 use of, in order that you may acquaint your community and 
 thus strengthen it in this practice, or, if it be not already ex- 
 isting, introduce it that thus it may participate in the same 
 happiness. 
 
 " The first advantage,resulting from promptitude in rising as 
 soon as the signal is heard, is that we fulfill our rule, and con- 
 sequently do the will of God. Second, the obedience shown 
 at that hour, being so much the more pleasing to God 
 as it is the more prompt, draws down likewise His blessing 
 on the other actions of the day, as appears from the 
 example of Samuel, whose alacrity in rising three times 
 in one night was praised by Heaven and earth and merited 
 great favors from God. Third, the first of good works is 
 
MKTIIOD OF DIRECTION. 353 
 
 the most honorable. But, all honor being due God, it is 
 only reasonable Him our first good action. If we re- 
 
 fuse, we give the devil the Aril share, and prefer him to God. 
 H' n • , this lion lies in wait around our bed in the morning 
 ready to receiye this action, and thus be able to boast that if 
 
 he cannot obtain anything else from as during the day, he has 
 had. at least, the very li >tt. Fourth, in acrustoming 
 
 our i the hour, we eontraet the habit. In a short time 
 
 we become quiok to respond to the signal, the habit even serves 
 asao alarm where there la Done, and we experience no difficulty 
 in promptly leaving onr beds. Whereas,on the oontrary,nature 
 is encouraged by the indulgence we allow it: having reposed 
 one morning, it demands like gratification the next, and will 
 continue to demand it until all hope be absolutely taken away. 
 Fifth, if Our Lord left Paradise and became BO poor here on 
 ear' to haw whereon to lay His head, how much more 
 
 ought not we leave a bed, and go to Him? Sixth, well regu- 
 lated sleep is beneficial to both body and mind, but he who 
 sleeps much becomes effeminat . Moreover, temptations arise 
 during that tim nth, it the life of man is too short to 
 
 worthily serve God and repair the evil use he has made of his 
 nights it certainly is a deplorable thing to wish to still shorten 
 the little tim - lefl for that object. A merchant rises early 
 that he may beqpme wealthy; his moments are precious; 
 thieves do as much, and lay in wait the entire night to sur- 
 prise the passers-by; will we be less diligent in good than they 
 in evil P Worldlings make morning calls, and arc careful to be 
 -ent at the levee of the great. My God! what a shame, if 
 laziness will cause us to lose the hour assigned for- converse 
 with the Lord of Lords, our Support and our All! Eighth, 
 when we assist at prayer and at rtpiHH hare in the 
 
 blessings of Our Lord, Who then abundantly communicates 
 Himself, being Himself present, Bl II BSSUrei us, in the midst 
 of those assembled in His name. The morning, being the 
 most tranquil portion of the entire day, is (he most proper 
 time for prayer. Hence, the ancient hermits and the saints, 
 after the example of Davi<l, alws morning to 
 
 prayer and meditation. re obliged to ri 
 
 early in the morning to gather ths manna; and ire, who are 
 
354 VIRTUES AND DOCTRINE OF ST. VINCENT DE PAUL. 
 
 without grace and without virtue, why should not we do in 
 like manner to acquire both? God does not bestow His favors 
 equally at all times. And, indeed, since He has granted us the 
 grace to all rise at the same time, we see among us here greater 
 punctuality, more recollection and modesty, and this inspires 
 the hope that, as long as this beautiful order wiLl endure, vir- 
 tue will make constant progress, and each will become more 
 confirmed in his vocation. Indolence and negligence have in- 
 duced many to leave us, because they could not love a life 
 wherein they were not able to satisfy themselves as they would 
 like. How is it possible to willingly go to prayers if we rise 
 with reluctance? To meditate properly when we are only half 
 in the church, or are there simply for the sake of appearance ? 
 On the contrary, those, who love to rise, ordinarily persevere, 
 rarely become remiss, but rather make happy progress. The 
 grace of vocation is attached to prayer, and the grace of prayer 
 to that of rising. If, then, we be faithful in this first action, 
 if we all meet together before Our Lord and present ourselves to 
 Him,as did the first Christians, He, in turn, will give Himself to 
 us, He will enlighten us with His light, and will Himself operate 
 in us and by us the good we are called to do in His Church ; 
 in a word, He will grant us the grace to attain to that degree 
 of perfection which He desires of us, that we may one day fully 
 possess Him during an eternity of ages. See, sir, of what im- 
 portance it is that the community rise exactly at four o'clock, 
 since prayer derives all its value from this first action and 
 since all our other actions possess only what prayer gives. He, 
 who said that he judged from the manner of his prayer how 
 all the ofher actions of his day would be, well knew this. 
 
 "But, in as much as the delicacy of some will not surrender 
 without a struggle, for it has a pretext, I foresee that it will 
 tell me the rule of rising ought not to equally oblige persons 
 of feeble constitution and those who are more robust, and that 
 the former require longer sleep than the latter. To this I 
 oppose both the opinion of physicians, who maintain that 
 seven hours' sleep suffices for such persons, and the example of 
 all the orders in the Church. All limit themselves to seven 
 hours and there is not one that takes more. Some have not 
 even that much, and the greater number have it broken, for 
 
METHOD OF DIRECTION. 355 
 
 they rise once or twice to go to choir. And what condemns 
 our cowardice is that the Daughter rv— I except 
 
 those who are in the infirmary — though freak and tenderly 
 educated, have not a greater prii But, do they not at 
 
 times rest longer than usual ? No ; I h ive never heard 
 
 " Another will ask: 'S D i"ise when he feels in 
 
 ■1? I have had a Bevere head-.. . a lever, 
 
 that J r re night 
 
 Ion . my dear friend, yon m on be in 
 
 the infirmary or hav • permission to remain longer in hed. 
 
 Por, if seven h< I have not relieved you, neither wfll one 
 
 or two taken of you: cord cure you. M . though 
 
 in' ir pain mighl be alleviated, it is ezpedienl that 
 
 >d in union with the otb< mg, and 
 
 then you can n your indisposition I 
 
 otherwise we will always have to begin, because frequently 
 raai avenience, and more msy imagine sickness 
 
 in order to indulge nature. All this would g t<> oon- 
 
 r. If a person has not slept one night, nature will 
 know b0W t<> BUpplj for i: the UOXt 
 
 mean thai those who arrive, after 
 a journcj I of the extra 
 
 •• 5 Should • that 
 
 the fatigue is such as to require more than seven hour 
 
 •■ill have them retire earlier than the " lint 
 
 iv late and very much exl, • In 
 
 such a ease there will he no harm to allow them I In 
 
 the morning, Cor h re necessity an « rule." 
 
 "What! rise every mornii ir o'clookl And the 
 
 custom is to take a repose on \, or at least oik 
 
 fifte* i «.ni, r to recruit ourselves a little! Thai i- very 
 
 hard, and liable I -irk." " Such is the language «'f 
 
 -love, and here is my answer: both our rule and our custom 
 require that we all r. oe bour. Iflaxm rept 
 
 in.i, is only recently, and it is confl i few bouses,and b 
 
 been occasioned I of individual- and the toleration 
 
 of superiors ; for, in o e of rising has 
 
 always been faithfully . they have over been in 
 
356 VIRTUES AND DOCTRINE OF ST. VINCENT DE PAUL. 
 
 benediction. To suppose that any will become sick because 
 no intermission in this exactitude is permitted is simply an ima- 
 gination ; experience proves the contrary. Ever since all began 
 to rise regularly at the appointed time we have here none sick 
 who were not so before, and we have none elsewhere. And 
 we know, and the doctors declare, that too much sleep is in- 
 jurious to those of phlegmatic constitution and those whose 
 humors are vitiated. 
 
 "Finally, if it be objected that there may be some necessity 
 preventing a person from retiring to rest at nine, or even at 
 ten o'clock,and that then it is but reasonable he should take in 
 the morning what he lost at night,I answer that we must,as far 
 as possible, avoid whatever may prevent us from going to rest 
 at the appointed hour; and if this cannot be done, it is so sel- 
 dom that the loss of one or two hours' sleep is slight in com- 
 parison to the scandal that is given by remaining in bed whilst 
 the others are at prayer. 
 
 "Have I not done wrong, sir, in dwelling so long on the 
 importance and utility of rising, since, perhaps, your commu- 
 nity is one of the most fervent and most regular in the entire 
 Congregation? If it be so, my purpose is no longer to per- 
 suade any anything else than gratitude for the faithfulness 
 God gives. But if it have fallen into the abuse we are com- 
 bating, I am right, it seems to me, in inviting it to correct 
 itself, and in praying you, as I do, to see that it does. Now, 
 here are briefly the means to be employed by you and your 
 community. 
 
 "Those for the community, are: First, it should convince 
 itself that exactitude in rising is one of the most important 
 practices in the Congregation ; for, as is the beginning, such 
 will be the remainder of the day. Second, to offer itself to 
 God at night before retiring, and ask of Him the strength to 
 overcome itself in the morning without delay, and for this 
 purpose to invoke the assistance of the Blessed Virgin by the 
 recital of a Hail Mary, kneeling, and recommend itself to its 
 angel guardian. Many have found this means of very great 
 advantage. Third, each one should represent to himself that 
 the sound of the bell is the voice of God, and as soon as he 
 
mi: ; imi> 01 diukction. 
 
 hears it be .should rise immediately, ami, making the sign of 
 the cross, prostrate himself, kiss the floor, aad adore Gob* in 
 
 unison with the res! of the >mniuuit\ ; and when be fails ill 
 
 this he should impose a penance <>n himself. There are those 
 wh<> give th- the discipline for as long a time as they 
 
 in disputing with the pillow, Finally. bh< Lasl means for 
 each individual is never to sweire from this exactitude; Joi 
 the more ire give way the more difficult it b 
 
 ral means whieh mv dependenl on jroor 
 
 and that of the officers forth.' h i\ a per- 
 
 Appointed who will go from r torn to room, give a light 
 when necessary, and say in a loud roi< licamus i 
 
 and repeat it until h. : that, after, anol 
 
 go the round of the i end time, where the 
 
 community is large* Those designated for these purp 
 
 Should b D their duty. 
 
 "Second, that these who mak ioJ and under 
 
 no ! iiatever allow any, not in the mfinnar in 
 
 case of necessity, than four o'clock. This exacti- 
 
 tude in rising has been found so beautiful and so da), 
 
 that th.- conclusion has been arri\ who are un- 
 
 faithful ought not be intrusted with any offices in the con. 
 gat; rase their example would Boon produce laxness in 
 
 this point, and they could with ill grace take for the 
 
 what they would be obliged t i May it pie 
 
 i to forgive US our past failings and grant us the grace to 
 COneoi them, that we may 1- aithful servants 
 
 Whom the Master, when He comes, will (ind watching! 'Amen, 
 J say to you,' says Our Lord, ' He will make them til to m 
 and, passiny, will minister to (him\ and if Ueehal tU< 
 
 . or if He shall < eh, and fine] 
 
 them wits. Verily,! say unto you //> 
 
 will set them over all II thJ n Luke, 
 
 The Saint again recommended unil'onnitv in Sentiment* in 
 will, and in action. " \\C will be 00 oar guard,'' lie said, 
 
 "against elevating oursel or aiming to surp 
 
 them, for this destroys affection, intr nvy, and engen- 
 
 ders . if. heretofore, we have striven to excel, in the 
 
358 VIRTUES AND DOCTRINE OF ST. VINCENT DE PAUL. 
 
 name of God, let it happen no more. If I find myself capable 
 of great depth in penetration, or great elevation in my dis- 
 course, I will conh'ne myself, externally, to one half ; should I 
 find myself able to perform any action exceedingly well, or 
 display more than ordinary learning or erudition — ah, away 
 with all that ! Our Lord has not acted after that fashion. He, 
 all powerful as He was, accommodated himself to the under- 
 standing of the weak. Should (wo thoughts present them- 
 selves to me, the one beautiful and ingenious, the other com- 
 mon and less striking, 1 will adopt the latter and reject the 
 former. Let us adjust ourselves to mediocrity. Let the learned 
 appear si with moderation, and let the strong, who labor, la- 
 bor humbly. For all that is said and all that is done m regard 
 to the poor people, in an elevated spirit, is vain and useless ; 
 it all possess above their heads, the wind sweeps it over the 
 housetops. What do these preachers, who exhibit new, curi- 
 6tts ? and strange Avaresin grave and lugubrious tones of voice? 
 What do they do ? They stir the feelings of nature a little, 
 but i hey neither give life to the dead, nor shed the light of the 
 Gospel on the people living in the darkness of ignorance. Let 
 us aim to give our exhortations with the least show of learning 
 possible, and with less of eloquence, in order to conform our- 
 selves to others who preach but who have less learning and less 
 talent. . . . Every one can approach mediocrity, but to sub- 
 limity only few can attain. He who has a superior mind can 
 descend to a certain degree to which he who has less talent can 
 ascend. This will banish far from us envy, rivalry, and detrac- 
 tion, and will produce union and uniformity among ourselves, 
 and in our actions. 
 
 " Let us form ourselves in this spirit if we desire to have 
 within us the image of the Blessed Trinity, if we wish to have 
 a holy relation with the Father, the Son, and Holy Ghost. In 
 what do the unity and conformity in God consist if not in the 
 equality and distinction between the three persons? And 
 what constitutes their love, if not their resemblance? And, 
 asks the holy bishop of Geneva, were there no love among 
 them what amiability would they possess? Uniformity, then, 
 exists in the Holy Trinity : what the Father wishes that the 
 Son desires ; what the Holy Ghost does, the Father and Son 
 
Mil HOD 01 UIU1 I I l<>\. 
 
 i (1 -. 'i ::no. 
 
 Tip ration. Such is tfee origin of p rfect'on, 
 
 and our model L Mid t i : i-u 
 
 <\\ unity 
 
 in plurality. I. mini' in whit we differ , one from 
 
 Other, thai v.v ni-iy .-•; ri\ c ll >l> and mak [Ual, 
 
 . : for lib 
 bo unity." • 
 T<> induce lii in the < l>- 
 
 JOlir 
 
 darity in fid iploy 
 
 harsh ra . Vmcenl I them, 
 
 ber in private or in pa 
 
 Oh the advi 
 
 in on »>ur t. woul 
 
 ill. and would ire ooi feel thankful to >ulfl 
 
 draw our at ' 
 
 th<' laughter of those who c the kindness of thai person, 
 
 •i ? Also, we are blinded in what 
 i 
 tee, have we n □ to complain 
 
 with ourdii . when, knowing our faults, 
 
 : that 
 
 •it'ii fly i: Wher 
 
 ring on i 
 
 priv 
 
 can bed I I 
 
 All know my fault.-: and I 01 
 
 com . must npl aished to feel a repugnan 
 
 adm \'-'V ther 
 
 fault nature, loi 1, 
 
 inot but be pained thereby. B I to 
 
 it, and we must puni ire we have 
 
 d into any tauH and have not wi mi- 
 
 tion. . . . Oh ! one of to 
 
 - snt to receive adm • them properly, and 
 
 to believe thai were we known other faults 
 
 could be pointed out. For, if we 
 
360 VIRTUES AND DOCTRINE OF ST. VINCENT DE PAUL. 
 
 will perceive that there is not one on earth more wicked than 
 we are. And since we neglect to do so on account of the ugliness 
 we might perceive, the admonitions disclose what self-love 
 conceals, ana* if we take them in good part, we will, little by- 
 little, attain to great perfection. Were we sick, would we 
 not be pleased to have our father informed, to have the physi- 
 cian notified and minutely instructed concerning the nature of 
 our disease, and to have it made known to the entire house ? 
 And why, if not to receive comfort and relief ? But sin ren- 
 ders our souls ill with a mortal, sickness; why, then, not be 
 glad that information of our condition be given our superiors, 
 who are our spiritual physicians, and who can apply the proper 
 remedies f" (March 15th, 1648, to the Daughters of Char- 
 ity.) 
 
 And he added: "But." some one will say, u such a one in- 
 formed that I committed such a fault, and yet it is not so ; or 
 he added something not in accordance with the truth." 1 
 answer: the thing is true or not ; if true we have no reason to 
 be put out because we are admonished; we should, on the con- 
 trary, humble and correct ourselves. If it be not true, well, 
 we have an opportunity presented by Divine Providence to 
 ufler, and to practise an act of heroic virtue. If the fault be 
 somewhat exaggerated, or a circumstance be added we should 
 also suffer it patiently. Tell me, my brethren, how did the 
 Son of God, who was innocence itself, sutler the false accusa- 
 tions lodged against Him? You yourselves know, and. I have 
 no need to tell you. And why,then, will we be so wretched and 
 mean spirited as not to be willing to receive the advices given 
 us? It is true that we are not always masters of ourselves and 
 cannot hinder the first movements of nature. When certain per- 
 sons are admonished you see them change color. What is that 
 \ ut a 6rst movement of nature, a movement which is not cul- 
 able and of which, though one were a St. Paul, he cannot 
 always be master? But if the mind, regaining itself, does not 
 repress it. ah, then, there is sin. Herein we perceive the dis- 
 tinction between the animal and the rational parts of man. Ah, 
 me ! how miserable I am ! I have great cause to humble my- 
 self before God, and all the more so as there is not a sin com- 
 mitted in the house of which I am not culpable. Even this 
 
very day I permitted myself some little complacency. I 
 self-love thai from properly receiving admoniti 
 
 Desl '-will, say- St. Bernard, and bell Bball be ao m 
 
 Let us earn, ourselves to latwe may property 
 
 ire the advices that may headdress d to us." (Jane 9 
 ICO 
 
 Saint wiahed that even sap sri < m< 
 
 of these having ooniplained to him of his snbordinal 
 
 be m : "II is i little 1 1 -mis yon to 
 
 form yon in the proper manner of conducting those under 
 you. This will give you a glimpse of thegi ( >ir 
 
 Lord's kindness in b with, when He iras on earth. II;.- 
 
 rtiesand dw id will give yon an idea of win II. 
 
 had to Buffer from both go >d and had. It will, ftlso, prove to 
 
 you thai superiority ; I other conditions,and 
 
 that Bnperiors who are anxious to do their duty, both in v. 
 
 and by example. have much to ,ti >t only from the fr 'ward 
 
 but even from the very best of their subjects. Hence, lei 
 ourselv re Him in this state without any 
 
 ion from men. Our Lord will give us abund- 
 ance, provided we labor properly to become m in the 
 
 observance of our rules, and to acquire the virtues fitting true 
 missionaries, especially those of humility and mortification. 
 It seems to me, you would do well, sir, to tell this good pri 
 on the occasion of his communication, or at som k other s ait 1- 
 opportunity, that you beg him to inform you of your fail 
 ings; for in your position it cannot be but that you com mil 
 many faults, not only in your : >r, but 
 
 that of missionary, and as a Christian. You would also do 
 well to declare from time imuoity thai not 
 
 only you consent to be admonished by the meml yom 
 
 house designated for that charity ; but. 
 
 would be pained w< re he to neglect it, or did h 
 
 the <• established in 
 
 all well ; Sou will, mo;co\ ire them 
 
 that you will not read the letters th m - n »r tho 
 
 write them. Oh, sir, ho-.. ry and what 
 
 I close in recommending m; 
 your prayers, and I beseeoh you to offer thcra to God that H 
 
362 VIRTUES AND DOCTRINE OF ST. VINCENT DE PAUL. 
 
 may pardon me the incomparable faults I every day commit in 
 my position — a position of which I am, of all men, the most 
 am worthy, worse than Judas in regard to onr Lord/' 
 
 W? see that the humble Saint was far from wishing to make 
 mimself an exception in this. Hence, he said one day: "I 
 affirm that those, who notice faults that tend to irregularity 
 and the ruin of the Congregation, and do not inform, are 
 guilty of that ruin and disorder. I, therefore, should be con- 
 tent to be admonished myself; and if I did not correct myself 
 ©I any scandalous failing which could bring disorder and de- 
 struction on the Congregation, or again, if I taught or main- 
 tained anything contrary to the doctrine of the Church, the 
 Congregation, in assembly, should depose me and then send 
 me away." 
 
 The following is the manner of giving admonition. Ought 
 they be public? Yes, in three cases : "First, when the evil 
 «sso inveterate in the guilty person that a private admonition is 
 judged useless. For this reason our Lard did not reprimand 
 Judas save in the presence of the other apostles, and then, 
 even, in obscure terms. On the contrary, He upbraided St 
 Peter who wished to dissuade Him from His passion, and 
 called him Satamknowing well that thereby he would be bene, 
 tited; second, when the persons w horn we wish to advise,are good 
 but weak and unable to bear correction, no matter how gently 
 given : a general recommendation suffices to correct them ; 
 third, when there is danger that others will, unless the fault 
 be noticed, fall into the like. Beyond these, I think the ad- 
 monition should be given in private. 
 
 ■ ''In regard to faults committed against the person of the 
 superior the inferior should be admonished, but, in doing so, 
 attention should be paid to two or three things. First, the 
 admonition should never be immediate unless in necessity ; 
 second,it should be gentle and suitable ; third,it should be more 
 by manner of reasoning, representing the inconveniences that 
 result from the fault, and the superior, in reprimanding 
 should make it plain to the inferior that the correction is given 
 not through injured feeling or because he himself is concern- 
 ed, but simply for the subject's own good and that of the 
 Community." (13th of Aug. 1G50). 
 
Vincent said further: "T 
 
 •e >nd with 
 
 with in 3 and charitable 
 
 i. finally, the third tim< , and firm 
 
 11 - 
 
 final resort. <>m 
 
 through antipathy, I a pir 
 
 I : n truth when w< 
 itunility ; 
 irally, to imj iori H 
 
 ! parii •u!.i:- 
 app] principl 
 
 and 
 
 He 
 on tli" 1; ey impoa kf, in 
 
 from imprudent; ambition the desire of assuming b 
 burden : "I dc a 
 . 
 le and bumbled hi I will 
 
 lay I lit. A' 
 
 natural " H 
 
 of all t the opprobrium, and tb ; in all 
 
 plai i -.and a rank. STou; perhaps, I hat 
 
 a man i and has lowered him ach 
 
 n he has taken the last place ? \Yh il ! a man humid • hi 
 
 iking the place of Our Sai .the 
 
 16 Of Our II • Who d :ud 
 
 cair, pirii of ( i 
 
 : and I! 
 
 during I with His par nu and 
 
 II ii livtdii: 
 
 of i rith 
 
 mag tli 
 
 and 
 
 fended His Apostles wh< n I 
 
 to who Bhould be the '.'. irigtothem: i A\ 
 
 will be the ft 
 
M4 VIRTUES ANP DOCTUlNi-; OF ST. VINCENT I)E PAUL. 
 
 Mark, x. 44.) It is the accursed spirit of pride within them 
 -that urges men to aim to be in high position and have the di- 
 rection of others. I know of no other way of expressing this 
 deplorable condition than by stating that these persons have 
 r \hd evil one in themselves. For the devil is the father of the 
 .: pride with which they are possessed. Oh, how dangerous is. 
 ■position, even when not ambitioned! How difficult to main- 
 tain virtue therein unles3 by laboring constantly to annihilate 
 oneself before God, and to mortify oneself in all things! For 
 : 'he care and the troubles of business distract and divert the 
 ; <wind from the love of God tind from union with Him in prayer 
 And recollection. To-day I said to a superior, who told me of 
 Rome persons whom he destined for positions : 'Alas! You 
 send them to their destruction.' But, what! It is a necessary 
 evil. I heard one of the most holy men I knew (the Cardinal 
 do Berrulle) say, and I have experienced the same myself, that 
 the state of authority is so malignant that it leaves, by itself 
 and of its nature, a base and detestable stain, which infects the 
 soul and all man's faculties, so that, when not in office, he has 
 all the difficulty in the world to submit his judgment, and 
 obey. His arms, his gestures, his carriage, and his looks, al- 
 ways retain something savoring of sufficiency, unless, a thing 
 very rare, he be a man thoroughly consumed in God. 
 
 "And then, what should cause one to tremble is the strict 
 account God demands of those who have charge of others, 
 oven were it a brother they had for a companion in their office. 
 Oh, poor me ! What will 1 answer to God for myself, especi- 
 ally since my time has been so long? But yet. may God pardon 
 me, if it be pleasing to Him. Yes, an account must be given 
 of words, cf actions, of postures that may have scandalized in- 
 feriors, and of the faults they will have committed through 
 mir weakness and our negligence. In this connection it is related 
 of Cardinal Bellarmin, that, whilst he was archbishop of Ca- 
 pua, he was informed of the dangerous illness of a bishop of 
 iiis province. He went to see the sick prelate, and finding 
 him in great peace and tranquility of mind, was surprised, and 
 feared some fatal illusion. He resolved to undeceive him, and, 
 therefore, said to him : ' Whence is it, my lord, that you are 
 in such great peace, and a peace so unknown to persons of our 
 
METHOD 01 i'iKi< nox. 305 
 
 position in like circumstance! ? Have you carefully reflected? 
 B ; maturely ijreighed the words of the Apostle: Re- 
 
 Uh "II !>■'■ trin* t Is i: 
 
 dble thai you do not find yourself guilty in this so im- 
 portant a point ? if you <!o not, disabuse yourself, for un- 
 doubtedly there is illusion on your part 1 This touched the 
 bishop, who, melting into tears, excited himself to contrition. 
 
 or, rather I that the archbishop was oblig- 
 
 ed to return and restore bis peace of mind. O my GodI Who 
 will not tremble at thfi awful moment of death, particular- 
 ly if he has sought after office? I asked a bishop recently if 
 he did not feel the weight of his charge. 'Alas, sir/h 
 I, 'the harden has nol waited until now to make 
 felt, fox, three weeks after my consecration, 1 experienced so 
 
 bitter a remorse that I would Willingly have wished to 
 
 hare bad the power of beginning anew. 1 Such is, sooner or la- 
 ter, the stat" of those who have thrust themselves into dignity. 
 What, then, shall we do to totally banish from the Congregate 
 
 •ion this detestable and diabolical spirit of smbitioning au- 
 thority ? 
 
 •• First, if any one among us feel this accursed appetite for 
 office and superiority, he ought to have constant recourse to 
 the hair cloth, the discipline, ami to mortification until God 
 will have shown him mercy. He should go before the Blessed 
 Sacrament and lament before God: * Ah, my God, what have 
 1 done? In very truth 1 am tilled with sin, but, my God, why 
 dost Thou permit me to stray so far from Thee by bo deplorable 
 and diabolical a spirit ? My God, forgive me P Second. We 
 should return thanks to God for tie he has given us of 
 
 not allowing this spirit of authority and superiority to take 
 don ol those who are in charge. On the contrary, all 
 
 up"rior3 « i* this little Congregation write me pressingly 
 
 to release them ; and whenever I accede to their request they 
 again write with such professioni of joy and gratitude that it 
 
 is impossible to suppose any lack of sincerity. Oh. my breth- 
 ren, what blessings the Congregation will receive as long at 
 (rod will please to continue in it this spirit, which is the spirit 
 
 of humility, tin- spirit of Our Lord. We must thank God for 
 t. and I pray our broth -rs to do so in their communions and 
 
. 366 VIRTUES AND DOCTRINE OF ST. VINCENT DE PAUL. 
 
 the priests m their masses ; it would even be well to celebrate 
 mass for that purpose. Third. When obedience, at a suitable 
 time, calls us to an office, we should submit. This is what the 
 bishop of Geneva ordained : 'Whenever a sister,' he says, 'shall 
 be elected to any office, though she consider herself unworthy, 
 let her submit and receive the blessing, and let her place her 
 trust in God for the grace necessary to acquit herself properly 
 of her duties. For, when God calls us to any employment, He 
 either sees the necessary disposition in us, or He is determined 
 to confer it." 
 
 " Our Saint said again : " Those who are in charge groan un- 
 der the weight, because they feel that they are feeble, and they 
 believe themselves incapable of conducting others. If any pre- 
 sume the contrary he would be a source of affliction to his in- 
 feriors, for he would lack humility and the other graces neces- 
 sary to give consolation and good example to them. The gifts 
 • of God are manifold and He bestows them as He thinks proper. 
 Such a person is learned, but unsuited to govern, and such an- 
 other makes progress In sanctity, but is not the one to guide 
 others. Therefore, it belongs to His Divine Providence to sum- 
 mon us to the employment for which He has given us a fitness . 
 and not for us to insinuate ourselves into thorn." (May 5th. 
 1658.) 
 
 On those who were legitimately appointed to office, he after- 
 wards lavished instructions. Ho first recommended them to 
 share their responsibility with others by taking counsel. He 
 wrote : "Very far- from it beam wrong to take advice, it is, 
 on the contrary,' expedient and even necessary to do so when 
 the subject in question is important, or when we cannot 
 ourselves come to any determination. In regard to 
 temporal affairs, the counsel of some good lawyer or other intel- 
 ligent person outside should be sought; and in what concerns 
 the interior of the house we should confer with the proper of- 
 ficers, and also with others of the community whenever it seems 
 proper. And when this is done with all ilio necessary precau- 
 tions, the authority of God, which resides in superiors, suffers 
 no detriment, but, on the contrary, the good order which re- 
 sults makes it more loved and respected. I pray you to act in 
 this manner, and remember that, in regard to changes, or ex- 
 
UB1 in>l> OJ DIRECTION. •' ,; 7 
 
 « 
 
 inordinary m them to the super- 
 
 ior general." 
 
 II. her : *• I. • uiih your 
 
 confn at any i g yon all together, ma) 
 
 who is the superior. Do no! take any decision m affairs 
 of little mom . without their adi >ially t 
 
 my pan I call mil I ler when 
 
 ever an}' difficulty as to hoi? I Bhould act arises, whether in 
 spiritual and ecclesiastical matters, or in temporal things; and 
 
 hi! to th< •> bo have ehai I 
 
 seek advi the brothers in whatever i their 
 
 department, on iccount of their knowledge of those things, 
 blesses tl m taken in concert." 
 
 Having taken counsel, and having formed a decision, he would 
 have them go directly and peracveringly to its execution. '*When 
 
 we have recommended anythin ••!. an I have taken 
 
 counsel, we ought to rfdhere steadfastly to what has been de- 
 cided, and rejc mptation whatever may arise against it. 
 
 confident that God will not be sed nor reprehend 
 
 ue. For we can say in legitimate •(). Lord, I have 
 
 recommended the affair to Thee, and I have 1 
 could do no more to discover Thy will ! ' The example of 
 Clemen I VI if. 1 case in point An affair of grave im- 
 
 [jortance, concerning an entire kingdom, was submitted to him. 
 Several couriers wore dispatched t<> him and an entire 3 ear ; 
 
 tt hid wishio ime to any decision, notwithstand- 
 
 II their representations. He, meanwhile, recommended 
 ; red with those in whom he had the 
 . and whom be regarded as the most capable 
 and enlightened, and, finally, aftei heveitd consultation 
 came tos conclusion favorable I liorch And 
 
 this, lie had a dream wherein, it seemed to him. our Lord ap- 
 peared with a - 11 tenance reproaching him fbr what be 
 
 had done and threatening to punish him. On awakening, being 
 
 greatly distressed by such 1 be communicated it : 
 
 dinal Tolet. who. having considered the matter in the pies- 
 
 ofGoA tol 1 the Pope not to be at all annoyed, that it was 
 but an illusion of the devil and thai be had no rtctr, 
 
 ■tnee he had recommeuded the <;<>d and bad taken 
 
 counsel, which I good t*o| e 1 ccept* 
 
368 VIRTUES AND DOCTRINE OF ST. VINCENT DE PAUL. 
 
 ing the Cardinal's advice, experienced no further misgivings on 
 the subject." 
 
 He recommended firmness particularly in maintaining the 
 rule : ' * Those who are in office must be firm in seeing that the 
 rule be observed, and must use great caution so as to not give 
 occasion for a falling off in this respect, through want of reso- 
 lution and exactitude. Among all things that can occasion, in 
 communities, a decline in their first discipline, I have seen 
 nothing more dangerous than their government by weak and 
 easy superiors or other officers who desire to please their in- 
 feriors and gain their affection. As disasters in war are usually 
 attributed to the general of the army, so the faults committed 
 in a community ordinarily arise from the negligence of the 
 superior, and, on the contrary, the good state of the members 
 depends upon the wise direction of their head. I have seen 
 one of the most regular communities in the Church fall away in 
 less than four years, through the negligence and supineness of a 
 superior. If, then, all the good of a communit}- depends on the 
 superiors, we ought, certainly, pray fervently to God for them, 
 intrusted as they are with the guidance, and obliged to render 
 an account of all under their direction." 
 
 On the superior depends not only the good conduct of his 
 confreres, but also, in seminaries, the proper education of 
 young ecclesiastics : "Train them, sir," he wrote to a superior, 
 "in the true spirit of their calling, which consists especially in 
 an interior life and in the practice of prayer and virtue. For 
 it is not sufficient to teach them chant, ceremonies, and a little 
 moral theology ; the principal thing is to form them to solid 
 piety and devotion. But for this, sir, we ought ourselves, the 
 first, possess the.se, for it would be almost useless to give 
 them instructions without the example. We ought to be reser- 
 voirs always full, so that the water may flow without exhaust- 
 ing the supply. We should, ourselves, be imbued with the spirit 
 with which we desire them to be animated, as no one can give, 
 what he does not possess. Let us, then, earnestly beg it of our 
 Lord and give ourselves to Him that we may endeavor to con- 
 form our direction and our actions to His. Then your seminary 
 will diffuse a sweet odor both within and without the diocese, 
 that will increase its numbers and draw down the blessings of 
 
METHOD Of DIM - THM 
 
 Heaven. But, were you to act the master towards those under 
 your charge, or were you to neglect or disedify them, it would. 
 on the contrary, pro tele to such ■ good. This 
 
 will result If we seek too great an elegance In manners, too 
 at a nioetyin dress, too mnch delicacy at table, if we aim at 
 
 consideration and honor, if we seek tO recreate ourselves, to 
 
 spare ourselves in labor, and hold too much converse with 
 terns. We must be firm, but not aostere, in our government, 
 
 and should avoid OOildisfa incekne>s which serves QO purp< 
 We will learn from our Lord how our rules should ever be 
 
 companied with humility and affability in order to win over all 
 
 hearts and Offend none. ' 
 
 To superior- agaio it belongs to Insure the success of the 
 missions: "My great hope [§ that, with the grace of God, you 
 
 will contribute very mnch tO the salvation Of these people, and 
 
 that your example will serve to enkindle in your confreres an 
 
 affection for this good work, which will Induce them to dei 
 
 the! >itin the places, at the times, and after the manner 
 
 prescribed by you, Who, like another Moses, will consult God 
 and receive from Efim the law which you will transmit to those 
 whom you lead. Remember that the government of this holj 
 jiatriaidi was gentle, patient, forbearing, humble and charit- 
 able; and that in the conduct of our Lord, these virtues 
 
 peered in their perfection in order that we might conform 
 
 thereto." 
 
 Consequently it was the SUpei f to regulate the con 
 
 duct of his subjects both on the journey thither, and during the 
 labors of the mission: •• You will have charge, sir, of the 
 direction of those who accompany you. and I pray our Lord to 
 Inspire yOU With HiS Spirit and His manner of directing. Un- 
 dertake, then, this holy work in His spirit; honor the prudenee. 
 the foresight, the meekness, and the exactitude of our Lord. 
 You will do a great deal if you have the rule observed Bfl 
 Should be. because fidelity in it will draw down the bid 
 Heaven on all the n it Begin, then, with exactitude in the 
 boon of rising and retiring t<> rest, in prayer, the Divine 
 
 and the other exercises. Oh, sir, how rich :i the 
 
 habit acquired in these, and what inconvenience the contrary 
 occasions! Why. then, will you not take the pains to acquit 
 
.370 VIRTUES AND DOCTRINE OF ST. VINCENT DE PAUL. 
 
 yourself of these duties for God's sake when you see people in 
 the world, for the most part, so faithfully observe the order they 
 have established «for themselves in their affairs? We rarely see 
 judges fail in rising, in going to court, and returning at their 
 usual hours, or tradesmen, in the hour for opening and closing 
 their shops. We, ecclesiastics, who are so given over to our 
 own ease, are the only persons who follow the movement of our 
 inclination." 
 
 If the Saint imposed on superiors so heavy a burden he like- 
 wise aided them to bear it, bj r his encouragements, and by the 
 consolations he lavished on them when in difficulties: "I com- 
 passionate with you in your trials," he would write on these 
 occasions, ''you ought not to be astonished at difficulties, 
 still less become disheartened, for they are met with everywhere. 
 Two men living together aie enough to try each others patience; 
 and even were you entirely alone you would prove a burden to 
 3'Ourself, and would have in yourself abundant to bear with, so 
 true is it that our wretched lives are fullof crosses; I thank God 
 for the good use to which you turn yours as I sni persuaded 
 you do. I have perceived too much wisdom and meekness 
 in your character to think they will fail you in these untoward 
 eircumstances. If 3011 do not satisfy every one, you should not* 
 therefore allow yourself to be anno3^ed: for our Lord, Himself, 
 did not please all. How many have there been who havecriti 
 eised His words and actions and how many will still be found 
 to do the same? 
 
 On another occasion, he wrote: "1 well know there is suf- 
 fering in the office you fill, and I pray our Lord to strengthen 
 you in your difficulties. These are the occasions wherein we 
 acquire virtue, and when there is no trouble there is but little 
 merit. Would it were pleasing to God to give us a great indi- 
 terenee f >r all offices. Oh! then, what an assurance we v would 
 have of doing His holy will, which ought to be our only aim, 
 and what peace and content would be ours." (Dec. 8, 1G49.) 
 
 He loved to see superiors humble and'diffident of themselves, 
 and when so, he hoped everything from their labors: "I have 
 remarked the humble idea you have of 3^ourself. This is very 
 necessary for those who govern. But 3^011 know this diffidence 
 in your own strength, ought to be the foundation of the conn- 
 
■BTHOD OF DIBE< TlOS. ;J7l 
 
 diehce you should place In G r, without this confide 
 
 we often discover that v. than we thought, and 
 
 with it We tiii'l we can do r rather GrOd him 
 
 docs what Be requires of us. Do not, theref 
 
 on whal 
 
 near you and within you, ready ' on a helping hand as 
 
 3 yoa turn t<> him for assistance, and then yon will 
 thai all will prosper. i>> bol doubt hut that, having placed 
 [on, 1 [e •■ to (ill it 
 
 >perly, it' you, for Hi love, undertake It with conn 
 
 He comforted them especially, when they from the 
 
 their >u ; mended a charitable for- 
 
 bearance. ■" Jfou BhOUld hear with yoni ' he had 
 
 not these faults he would have I you nothing to 
 
 Buffer from him orfr charity would have r< 
 
 litt! mr direction not suffl 
 
 thai i. He was pi i have rude disci] 
 
 who bad many defl that he would hi 
 
 ortunity of manifesto rds them meekness, bumilii 
 
 and d thus, by 1 1 >w those 
 
 should* aet who have < . Lei this Divine Model 
 
 be your rule, and he will teach you at me time how t<. 
 
 r with your lu\ them to 
 
 their fault. Kvil must not be tolerated, bu 
 ty applied. " 
 And again : ,% The virtue of such and i 
 
 I ; hut thi^ is beci uularity, less 
 
 punctuality and solicitude for theii icemenl and I 
 
 of their brethren their zeal and their cxaeti! 
 
 who have neither, b the cottra 
 
 :' the lat 
 
 but, m on with defi 
 
 WOrthv and show. 
 
 the who hi 
 
 bis lame 
 \tere un' 1 1 
 
 v, reprehended him. Bui l lod 
 
372 . VIRTUES AND DOCTRINE OE ST. VINCENT DE PAUL. 
 
 became incensed against them, and, to appease Him the Saint 
 was obliged to offer sacrifice for them. His virtue was so pleas- 
 ing to God, that he had a right to say what he did say, and 
 yet these friends blamed him. And wiiy? Because they were 
 as persons who, with eyes bleared and sore, cannot gaze upon 
 the lays of the sun without being dazzled. In like manner, 
 those, who cannot attain to the virtue of these two good 
 missionaries, imagine there is excess, when before God there is 
 not. They find fault with their conduct, because they have not 
 the courage to imitate them. May God give us all the grace 
 to consider as good everything which is not evidently evil." 
 (July 18th, 1659 ) 
 
 Impressed with such ideas how he must b'ame those who did 
 not exercise meekness and patience! A superior having writ- 
 ten to him that he would prefer to rule animals than men, the 
 Saint answered: '• What you write will bear explanation. Yes, 
 your words are true in regard to superiors, who desire that 
 everything bend beneath them, that nothing resist them, that 
 everything succeed according to their inclination, that they be 
 obeyed without reply or dela}% and, so to say, that all adore 
 them; but they are not true in regard to those who love contra- 
 diction and contempt, who look upon themselves as the serv- 
 ants of all, and who strive, in their government, to imitate our 
 Lord, Him who bore with rudeness, rivalry, wont of faith and 
 the like from the members of His company, and who declared 
 that He came to serve and not to be served I know, sir, that, 
 thanks to God, this same Lord has given you the grace to act 
 with humility, and patience, and that you have made use of 
 this language only the better to express the difficulties you en- 
 counter, and the more to persuade me to relieve you. We will 
 try, however, to send some one in your place." 
 
 He, sometimes, released superiors, but more frequently he 
 answered their request : "So far from the reasons you allege for 
 your discharge from superiority inducing us to seek another 
 that, on the contrarj^, they confirm us in the determination of 
 giving it to j r ou altogether. The knowledge of your defects 
 and your incapacity should serve to humble 3-ou as it does, but 
 it should not discourage you in the work Our Lord wishes 
 you to perform. He possesses enough virtue and ability both 
 
KCTBOD OK DUUE4 1 1- >n. 
 
 for you and for HlmsetC Lei Him guide, ami rest assured that 
 whilst you remain in the bumble sentiments in which you ere 
 
 at present, and place a PpecUl confidence in Him. HU lireetion 
 will sanctity yours. 1 trnal in His goodness and in the holy 
 nee you will make of His (April I Oth, 16*8.). 
 
 He answered another: "In regard to your request 1 pray 
 
 you not to think of it, but rather hope that, under the sshc 
 
 that humility, whieh inclines you to submission to another, is 
 
 hidden the spirit of our Lord, who Himself Will direct your rule, 
 
 will in- your force in your weakness,your science in your doubts, 
 
 and your vinue in your dimeulties. On your par', sir. give 
 
 yourself to Him thai you may be ■ burden to none, thai you 
 may act towards each one with meekness and respect, and. that 
 your Ian] ting and amiable, never 
 
 ere and Imperious. For there Is nothing so capable of win- 
 ing hearts a> this amiable and snare manner of action, anri,con« 
 tently, none so proper to attain your object which should 
 he to have God served and souls sancUfr 
 He did not ne-: iimend in temporal things the 
 
 economy, modesty and mortification he himself SO well prac- 
 tised. In times of scarcity and want, he said: "We must 
 
 lament over the distress Of the poor, and weep with those who 
 
 p, else we are not disciples of Jesus Christ But what else 
 ihouldwedof The inhabitants of a beleaguered * • i t \ examine 
 from time to time what provisions still remain. How much 
 grain have we. they ask I So much. How many months are wel 
 So many. And thereupon they regulate the quantity of bread 
 
 h Is tO receive, and say: "With two pounds of bread a day 
 we can continue for so long. And when they perceive t!. 
 is to last longer, and that the provisions diminish, they limit 
 
 themselves to one pound, to ten ounces, to our, in order 
 
 to hold out the longer and jn. Itulation through hunger. 
 
 And how do they manage at sea when it happens that the ship 
 
 I and d liven by the winds, sn 1 n ng time from 
 
 port? They count the biscuit and measure the fresh water and 
 
 if there DC not enough, with the usual allowance, to las', till they 
 
 arrive in port, they give leas; and the more they are delayed 
 the mote they diminish each pt hare. N wernors 
 
 of cities and captains of ships act In this I if wisdom 
 
374 VIRTUES AND. DOCTRINE OE ST. VINCENr DE PAUL. 
 
 €A r en requires the}' should use these precautions, lest they 
 might perish, why will not we do similarly? Do you think that 
 the people in cities do not retrench something in their ordinary 
 expenses, and that the very wealthiest establishments, seeing 
 that the vintage is over, do not economise in their wine, in the 
 fear that next year they might not be able to procure a supply? 
 Yesterday, some persons of quality from the city were here and 
 they' told me that most of the houses would entirely cut off the 
 servants' wine. They will tell them: < Provide for yourselves; 
 tb»e wine in the house is only for the master.' All this, my 
 brethren, has made us think of what we should do, and, yester- 
 day, I assembled the ancient priests of the house to hear their 
 advice. We, finally, came to the conclusion to reduce, for this 
 year, the community's allowance of wine at each repast to one 
 gallon. This will pain some who think they have more need of 
 j a little more wine; but,as they are accustomed to submit to the 
 orders of Providence, and overcome their appetites, they will 
 turn this privation to their own profit as they do all other causes 
 of mortifications. There will, perhaps, be others who will 
 complain because they are attached to their own gratification; 
 carnal spirits, sensual and inclined to their own pleasure, un- 
 willing to deny themselves the least satisfaction and who mur- 
 mur against everything that is not in accordance with their 
 taste. Oh, my Savior, protect us from this spirit of sensual it}'? 
 He answered a superior who wished to build, under pretext 
 of the good he could effect in a more commodious dwelling: 
 "You speak of commencing to build. Oh, m} 7 Jesus! My dear 
 sir, you must not think of it. It is a great'mercy of God that 
 the congregation has even so good a house whilst waiting till it 
 please His Divine Goodness to send us aid. As regards the 
 inconveniences you adduce I must say that since we cannot pre- 
 vent them, we will not be the cause of them. And, moreover, 
 all this seems to me to bear some resemblance to the conduct of 
 God in regard to His people. He permitted great disorder for 
 many ages, and the loss of an infinity of souls that lie might 
 establish an order all divine, and save all by the advent, the 
 life, the passion and the death of His Son whom He sent when 
 He saw His people, prepared by so many warnings, so many 
 prophecies, and so many ardent aspirations, disposed to receive 
 
METHOD OF l»n:!.< WW. «'*7o 
 
 Him. Ifthiabe a fall I withdraw; and if you offer a 
 
 ter I will adopt it with pleasun 
 
 Qomlcal ofhia own time the Saint preached the grand law 
 of labor. He ■■ the motives; ■*] i en an 
 
 expret and to man to gain hi areat.of his 
 
 brow; that ii to say, by a labor bo painful that the perspiration 
 will How from immfcnd i> general and there la 
 
 who may claim exemption. <o>d bai aply Bald: 
 
 • Tin ui sir.ilt make nae of the in ■ . thy mind to obtain thy 
 
 livelihood.' be i shall labor with thy hands, with thy 
 
 and with thy entire body, and with such an * oergy and in 
 such fatigue that the Bweal will fall in drops from off thy brow, 
 aid In H man liveth by the 
 
 of his hand-; the Holy i to understand 
 
 thereby thai lb »t obligation of man. after that which he 
 
 : to gain hi* livelihood. He likewise inti- 
 mates that, in reward for the hardships thus borne, he will 
 turn, and none will see him reduced to i and become a 
 
 burthen to any; bu1 that he will always* have sufficient to sup- 
 port hi rad maintain his family; everything will pi 
 with him. 1 labor with him. 
 Tim unjust, on the contrary, nol working, is frequently a bur- 
 then to others, because he ia forced to b 
 hi the occasion of taking what belon Third, God 
 Himself constantly Bed and never wiU 
 to labor. 1! entity: 
 
 i in :i 1 etei nity I [ia ontj 
 from the and the Son, mutually loving each other, the 
 
 ■mi all eternity proceeds, through whon 
 I upon ih all celestial g to labor in 
 
 \e Himself in the production and conservation of 
 
 • it in i it, the 
 
 stars constant 1 . pro 
 
 but all this beautiful order 
 which in to its original 
 
 nothinj move Ilia hand; mot labors 
 
 with each individual c He works with the artiaan in 
 
 hla Bhop, with the woman in he: , with lb 
 
 and the ant in their gatherin B moment 
 
3/6 VIRTUES AND DOCTRINE OF ST. VINCENT DE PAUL. 
 
 from labor. Hut for whom does He work? For man; yes, for 
 man alone, in order to procure him the means of preserving 
 his life and to provide for all his wants. This being the case, it 
 is quite reasonable that we, His creatures, should labor, and 
 labor until the perspiration pours, according to the command 
 He has imposed upon us. Fourth, Our Lord during His mortal 
 life was alwa} T s at work. Up to the age of thirty He worked at 
 the carpenter's trade in the shop of St. Joseph, thus living by 
 the labor of His hands, and in one of the most humble and 
 painful occupations in the world . And we, pitiable and misera- 
 ble creatures, will we want to pass our time in laziness ? What 
 did not Jesus Christ do from the age of thirty up to the moment 
 of His death! He was always occupied; He was frequently in 
 the holy temple instructing the people; He went about preach- 
 ing from village to village and gave Himself no rest. His pov- 
 erty was such that He did not have even a stone for His pillow; 
 He ordinarily lived on the alms given Him by Magdalene and 
 other pious women who followed Him to hear His sermons; He 
 sometimes went to eat with those who invited Him; but He was 
 engaged night and day and at all hours in doing some good 
 work. At one time He went to such a place when He knew 
 there was a soul to gain, again He visited a sick person to give 
 first, corporal, and then, spiritual health. Thus Ave should do. 
 The apostle St. Paul, notwithstanding his numerous occupations, 
 lived by the labor of his hands, taking the time for this work 
 either from the day or night, in order thus to be a burden to 
 none, as he himself informs us in one of his letters. And 3^et, 
 he was not a man of the common people; he was by birth of 
 good condition, and eminent in virtue and in science; but 
 he held the poverty of Jesus Christ in such high esteem 
 that he scrupled to eat a mouthful of bread without having 
 labored for it; and when, by reason of his great duties, he could 
 not work during the day. he took the time from his rest at night. 
 In the beginning of the primitive church everj^body worked. 
 The monks, after having assisted at the divine office, made 
 mats and baskets out of rushes, as a means to procure them- 
 selves the necessaries of|life. In the time of St. Bernard this 
 custom was still in vigor, and the religious lived very holily; 
 but, since it has been abolished, there has been a great falling 
 
Kvraoo Of d»» now, 877 
 
 away in the discipline of tin* regular orders. For. idleness ia the 
 mother of rice; y*<. it is their; 
 
 "lint in what disposition should we labor! Pii -hould 
 
 have the intention of pleasing God, for He delights to sec as 
 copied in good things, and for a good purpose. Second, to 
 honor the painful labors of Jesus Christ, Who, during His mor- 
 tal life, did not spare HimselC bul engaged in the 
 labors. Third, for the service of oar neighbor, who la so dear 
 to Our Lord that lie regards as done to Himself whatever we do 
 for the relief of Hia poor members. " (To Daughters of Charity, 
 \.»v. 1549.) 
 
 In the following advices given to a newly appointed superior 
 we and, admirably abridged, both the Saint's own method of 
 rnment and that which he prescribed for other-. 
 
 "Oh, my dear air, what and how great, think you, la thia 
 office of governing booIb to which God has called you? What 
 profession, imagine you. is that of the Priesta of the Mission, 
 who are obliged to manage and guide minds whose movementa 
 
 ; alone know-: '/'/,,■ ari <•/ oris, th\ government of a 
 Thia was the employment of the Son of God while on earth; for 
 this He descended from Heaven, was born of a virgin, g 
 
 every momentof his life, and finally suffered a moat ignominious 
 death. You, consequently, should conceive n very asm 
 
 for what you are about to undertake. 
 
 •• Bnt what arc the means to properly fulfil] the duties of this 
 
 office! To lead souls to God? To oppose the torrent of the 
 vices of a people, or the faults of a seminary) To inspire senti- 
 
 ments of Christian or ecclesiastical virtue in those whom God 
 will confide to your care,to contribute to their salvation or their 
 perfection 1 Certainly, sir. in this there [a nothing human; hi 
 is not the work of man. it is the work of God. .1 gnai IQOrfe 
 
 the continuation of the work of .' ri-t. and, conse- 
 
 quently,, human Industry, can do nothing here but ruin all, un- 
 less God interfere -. No. my dear sir. neither philosophy nor 
 
 theology , nor eloquence operatea in semis. Jeans Chrhri m 
 
 unite with OS, <>r we with Him; we must work in Him and lie 
 inns; we must speak and in His spirit, jttBt as lie 
 
 Himself was in the Father, and preached the dodtrine which the 
 
378 VIRTUES AND DOCTRINE OF ST. VINCENT DE PAUL. 
 
 Father had taught Him. This is the language of Sacred 
 Scripture. 
 
 "You must then, sir. divest yourself of yourself, and clothe 
 yourself with Jesus Christ. You will easily understand how 
 ordinary causes produce effects of like nature; for instance, a 
 sheep begets a sheep, and man begets man. So, too, if he who 
 guides others, who forms them, who speaks to them, is animated 
 only with a human spirit, those, who will behold him, who will 
 listen to him, who will aim to imitate him, will become all 
 human. He w r ill infuse into them, no matter what he says or 
 what he does, only the shadow, and not the substance of virtue; 
 he will communicate to them the spirit with which he himself 
 is animated, just as we see masters impress their maxims and 
 their manner of action on the minds of their disciples. 
 
 ''On the contrary, if a superior be all in God, if he be 
 thoroughly imbued with the maxims of our Lord, his every word 
 will be efficacious, there will go out from him a virtue that will 
 edify, and all his actions will prove so many salutary instruc- 
 tions which will influence all those who may become cognizant 
 of them. 
 
 "But to attain to this, sir, our Lord, Himself, must imprint 
 on yoii His mark and His character. For, as the grafted wild- 
 stock bears fruit according to the nature of the graft, so we, 
 miserable creatures, who are but flesh, hny,^and stubble, do 
 what our Lord has done on earth, when once he imprints on us 
 His character; He gives us, so to speak, the sap of His spirit 
 and of His grace, and unites us to Himself as the branch of the 
 vine is united to the vine. I mean that we do divine actions, 
 and, like St. Paul, who was full of His spirit, we beget children 
 for our Lord. 
 
 "A very important thing, and one to which 3-011 must devote 
 yourself with care, is to have frequent communication with God 
 in prayer. This is the reservoir wherein you will find the in- 
 structions necessary for you in the duties of the position 'you 
 are about to assume. When doubt arises, have recourse to God, 
 and say to Him: 'Oh, my Lord, Thou Who art the Father of 
 light, teach me what I must do in this circumstance. 
 
 "I advise this not only in regard to difficulties that will oc- 
 
MKTlini) OK DUtECTU 
 
 lion you trouble bat also that you may Learn directly from 
 
 Go 1 wh to teach, in imitation of H06M who 
 
 announce. 1 t<> the people of [srael only wl ';a I inspired 
 
 hiin : • Thus 8txUh th 
 
 ■• And again, ould havi I In prayer to 
 
 preset \ 1 r and in Ef.ni 1 1 am 
 
 bound to tell .1 you ought to know, ■ pi >ften lost 
 whilst (ontributing to the 
 
 very well in private, but. occupied outride, he forget* him-elf. 
 
 kingly dignity, because he led q 
 good lite in the house of his father; and yet. after having I 
 
 • the throne, in- miserably fell away from the 
 God. St. Paul chasl 1 body, le bed 
 
 toothers and Inc. ■ .-. n them the I on. he him- 
 
 self should become s reprobs 
 
 '- But, to avoid falling into the misfortune of Saul and Judas, 
 we most unite ou inseparably to our Lord, and. 
 
 our minds and hearts, oflb 'O, my Lord, do not 
 
 that in savin ! tiould hccouic miserably Lost myself) 
 
 be Thou Thyself my paston and deny me tie 
 
 which Thou I Ofl Otlu >Ugh 
 
 the functions of my ministry. " 
 
 " You Bhould again L0 demand of 
 
 our Lord th< - necessary f under your chat 
 
 irmly persuaded that by this n 1 will reap more fruit 
 
 than by any other. Jesua Christ, Who should I pie 
 
 11 your actio: ot content with preaching, with la! 
 
 . with fasting, with shedding H with i]\\ 
 
 toreorer, He united prayer. He had n 
 Himself ; it was | for us that I! I to 
 
 i DJ to db the BSSne as well in our own need-, a^ lor ' 
 nece tf those of whom, with II be the 
 
 :• thing which I recommend to you is the humility 
 
 Of our I. . what have i d 
 
 merit such an emphn I es- 
 
 pond to the 1 ur«i I upon my shoulders! Ah, m 
 
 I will spoil all if Thou,Thyself,dost not od 
 
380 VIRTUES AND DOCTRINE OF ST. VINCENT DE PAUL. 
 
 all my works.' Let us always look at all that is human and 
 imperfect in us and we will find only too much reason to hum 
 ble ourselves not only before God, but before men, and in the 
 presence of our inferiors. 
 
 u Above all, do not give way to the desire of appearing the 
 superior or master. I am not of the opinion of a person who 
 said to me, some days ago, that to govern well and to main- 
 tain authority, one should show that he was superior. Oh, my 
 God! Our Lord Jesus Christ has not thus spokeu ; He has taught 
 us the entire contrary both by word and example, declaring to 
 us Himself that He had not come to be ministered unto, but to 
 minister, and that he, who would be master, must become the 
 servant of all. 
 
 " Be inspired with this holy maxim, and act towards all with 
 whom you will dwell as one of themselves; tell them, first of all, 
 that you have not come to be their master, but rather to be 
 their servants. Do this both within and without, and you will 
 experience its good effects. 
 
 "Still more, we ought always refer to God the good that is 
 done through our instrumentality, and, on the contrary, attribute 
 to ourselves all the evil that happens in the community. Yes, 
 bear in mind that all the disorders arise principally from the 
 superior, who, by his negligence or his bad example, introduces 
 irregularity^ as the members of the bod}^ languish when the head 
 is unsound. 
 
 " Humility should also induce you to shun all complacency, 
 which easily insinuates itself, especially in occupations that at- 
 tract attention. Oh, sir, how dangerous to all good works is 
 the poison of vain complacency! It is a bane that corrupts the 
 most holy actions and that soon superinduces a forgetfulness 
 of God. In the name of God, beware of this defect; I 
 know of none more dangerous to progress in spiritual life, and 
 to perfection. 
 
 "For this purpose give yourself to God that you may speak 
 in the humble spirit of Jesus Christ, avowing that your doctrine 
 is neither yours nor of you, but of the Gospel; imitate, especial- 
 ly, the simplicity of language and comparison which our Lord 
 employs in the Hoty Scriptures when speaking to the people. 
 
minimi. Off DHKKCTIOX. 
 
 Ah! what marvellous things He could have taught the- people! 
 
 Wnal lie. Who was the Eternal Wisdom of the Father, 
 
 Could have told Of the Divinity Mid its admirable perfections! 
 
 And yet, you see how Intelligibly He how He him 
 
 use of familiar comparisons, of a husbandman, of a vinedresser, 
 of a held, of a vinevand, and of a grain of mustard seed. Thus 
 you must speak, if you desire to he understood by the people 
 when you announce to them the word of Cod. 
 
 •■ Another thing to which you must give Special attention [s 
 
 dependence on the conduct of the Son of Cod. I wish to - 
 that when you :ire called upon to act, you should make this re- 
 flection: • Is this conformable to the maxims of the Son ( 
 
 if you find it to be, say: 'Very well, let us act. 1 if the contrary. 
 say: ' I will not touch it.' 
 
 '• Again, when then- will be .picstion of doing some good 
 work, say to the Son of Cod: *<) Lord, well Thou in my place 
 how wouldst Thoa act in this case? How wouldst Thou Instruct 
 this people I How Console this person, sick both in body and in 
 
 mindt' 
 
 " This dependence should also include a great deference to 
 those who represenl I >ur Lord and who hold the p. SOC 
 
 riors in yout regard* Believe me, their experience, being ds 
 
 rived from their position, has tanght them I great many thing! 
 relative to their manner of OOndOOt I lay this to induce you 
 
 neither to do anything of importance, nor undertake anything 
 extraordinary without Acquainting us. If the thing be so orgent 
 
 that you have not the time to await OUT decision, address your- 
 self to the nearest superior, and ask him: "Sir. what would you 
 do In such circumstances? ' We know from SX] 
 has pleased those who have thus acted, and. on the contian. 
 those who have done otherwise have embarked In affairs that 
 have not only placed them-. Ives in difficulty but also have 
 
 embarrassed us. 
 
 "I pray you also to banish the w guishing your 
 
 self in your government. I d esire that you alfect nothing llngU 
 
 tar, but that you always follow A "I route. 
 
 in order to walk surely and without blame. I mean by thisthat 
 you conform in all thingfl to the rules and pious < ustoms of the 
 
382 VIRTUES AND DOCTRINE OF ST. VINCENT DE PAUL. 
 
 Congregation. Introduce nothing new, but follow the instruc : 
 tions that have been drawn up for the use of those who are 
 charged with the government of the houses in the Congrega- 
 tion, and abridge nothing of what is practised in it. 
 
 " Be not only faithful yourself in the rules, but also be exact 
 in having them observed, for if 3-011 fail in this all will go wrong. 
 And, as you will hold the place of Our Lord, so must you, in 
 imitation of Him, be a light that both lightens and warms. 
 'Jesus Christ,' says St. Paul (Heb. X — ill ) 'is the splendor of 
 His Father' and St. John says that He is 'The light which en- 
 lighteneth every man that cometh into the world.'" (John l--ix) 
 " We see that superior causes influence inferior. For exam- 
 ple: The angels that belong to a superior hierarchy enlighten, ■ 
 illumine, and perfect the intelligence of an inferior hierarchy. So 
 too, should the superior, the pastor, or director, purify, illu- 
 mine, and unite to God the souls whom He commits to them. 
 
 "And, as the heavens diffuse their beneficent influence on the 
 earth, so must those who are above others infuse into them the 
 chief spirit that is to animate them. To do this you will require 
 to be replete with grace, with light, and with good works; 
 just as we see the sun, of its plentitude, communicate to the 
 other luminaries their brightness. 
 
 " Finally you must be like salt: You are the salt of the earth, 
 preventing corruption among the flock of which you are the pas- 
 tor." 
 
 At this point of the conference a brother, who had something 
 to say about some temporal concerns, entered. The brother, having 
 left, Vincent took occasion to add the following remarks: "You 
 see, sir, how from the things of God, of which we w r ere just now 
 speaking,I must turn my attention to temporal matters. From" 
 this you should understand that not only is it the duty of the 
 superior to attend to spi ritual things, but he must also ex- 
 tend his care to temporal affairs. For; as those whom he di- 
 rects are composed of body and soul, he must, consequently, 
 provide for the wants of both the one and the other. And he 
 should do this in example of God, Who, though occupied from 
 all eternity in begetting His only Son, and the Father and Son 
 in producing the Holy Ghost, yet, besides these operations 
 within Himself, has created the world outside of Himself, and is 
 
Mi ON. 383 
 
 constantly occupied in pn it and its dependencies, pro- 
 
 ducing every year new grain on the earth, new fruit on the tn 
 and such like. And this care of His Adorable Provide 
 tends so far as not to allow a leaf to Call without His order; lie 
 counts the In the smallest worm, 
 
 even the flesh wdi'in. This COnsid L8 to me well cab 
 
 Culal you that cue ought let only to apply himself 
 
 t<> what the functions that regard spiritual 
 
 thing8, l»ut also that a superior, who. in some measure, rcpre 
 presents the 1. >honld de\ 
 
 to the Least of t» mporal affairs, and not imagine such can un- 
 worthy his position. Give yourself, theq, to God to procure 
 
 the spiritual good of the house to whieh you 
 
 '* The Son of God recommended to His disciples, when first 
 Be sent them out, to possess no money; hut i rhen 
 
 the numberof His disciples in , He directed thai one of 
 
 them should have charge ol* the purse, vllOSe duty it would be 
 COt only to assist the poor, but also to provide for the wan' 
 
 His family, still m suffered pioc -How iu 
 
 Bis company for the same purpose . ito Hun. [f 
 
 ini 1 He ordains that we be not truuhh iheinor- 
 
 row. it should be under.-' ■ autioning us against too much 
 
 anxiety ami solicitude for the goods of this world, and not as 
 
 meaning that we absolutely neglect the means to pr< 
 ance and raiment ; other* i 
 
 •-With this I finish; this is enough for to-day. I repeat 
 
 anew thai you are about to undertake:: rand 
 
 work. I pray our Lord to impart His blec your mans 
 
 ment. and do yon, in nturn. pray Him, with me, to forgive all 
 the fault- committed iu the position I hold." 
 
 
LETTER S 
 
 L'N JM BX 1 SB ED I- i: A < • M i: N TS 
 
 ■ XMOISXXXX SiRAS. 
 
 «" 
 
 LOVE 
 
 the word of Oar Lord : "And /,///• 
 
 l John, xti.32.) 
 
 '• This word of our dear M 
 
 can and ought to aim at the peri it la His 
 
 ctearlj -«-d Intention to draw us to Him. and H 
 
 with power bo isea. Ea thej f anything 
 
 ..•1. to cause Thee to be loved above all I 
 How is it that vanity lias prevailed* and still p; tgainst 
 
 i bays m >xa courage, 
 plish, as far :is po Or, rather, pray 
 
 Him to fulfil] in us the promise H»' b of drawing all to 
 
 Himself; this will \uthor 
 
 of all. Is (t not j with God 
 
 In the execution of H u, bow to the will 
 
 of our , that His word may J>e verified in us. What 
 
 would it be it', seeiog Him i earth for the pur- 
 
 pose of dr. main ><> bound that the 
 
 ties of our earth! all the power and 
 
 charm of Hia pure love: Draw Mi then,OLoi I We will 
 
2 LETTERS OF MADEMOISELLE LE GRxVS. 
 
 run, and the odor of Thy ointments will hold us so firmly that 
 nothing will ever separate us from Thy charity. Thou, Thyself, 
 dost wish to draw us; grant that we be strongly impressed with 
 this word. If we belong to Thee, we will no longer be our own, 
 for it would be a theft to withdraw ourselves, ever so little, 
 from the possession of Thy love. Thou desirest to draw us to 
 Tlryself : I, too, wish it, my dear Spouse; I desire it ; and in proof 
 I follow Thee to the foot of the cross, which I select as my 
 cloister. There I wish to abandon to earth all the affections of 
 earth, being invited thereto by Thy voice telling my heart to incline 
 my ear, and forget my people and the house of nry father, that I 
 may be filled with the greatness* of Thy love. At the foot, then, 
 of this sacred and holy cross, never expecting any joy save 
 subject to Thy good pleasure, I sacrifice all that can alter 
 the purity of the love Thou desirest of me. 
 
 " Be not frightened, my dear sisters. The Spouse of the 
 Canticles, who has preceded us in this holy love and whom we 
 should regard as our .abbess, has said that the well-beloved was 
 white and ruddy. Let not the thorns of these two roses pre- 
 vent us from wearing the bouquet; but rather, since the prop* 
 erty of love is to form a resemblance with the object loved, imi- 
 tate His purity and His charity, the one represented b}^ the 
 white, and the other by the crimson of the rose: purity of God 
 in Himself as indicated by His simplicit} r , in His favors and 
 graces by His disinterestedness; charity of God in Himself 
 shown in the unity of His essence and the distinction of the 
 Divine Persons, love of God for men proved by His having 
 willed that His Divine Son should become man, because His 
 delight is to be with the children of men, and in order, by ac- 
 commodating Himself to the manner of men, to show in all His 
 human life that God has loyed them from all etemitj^, Then, 
 let us love this Love, and hold fast to it since the retaining of it 
 depends on us. Let the actions of our Beloved be often present 
 to our memory; He is not content with the love of all whom 
 He calls in general; He desires, moreover, some who will 
 be very dear to Him, who will be elevated to a singular love, a 
 love more pure and perfect. Admire in this the goodness of 
 our Beloved; and, in the simplicity of the dove, ask Him .if He 
 desires that we be of these privileged souls. Oh, my Lord, I 
 
ITERS OF MADEMOISELLE LI 3 
 
 have bad a certain Inexpressible >n of a love not com- 
 
 mon which Thou desires! of i that they maj 
 
 hibit on earth tin- purity of Thy I 6 are here a little 
 
 group; : r mp to me all our 
 
 hearts have the desire. But tr weakm 
 
 derived from our past Infidelitie that 
 
 Thou mayesl refuse us^ 5fet, the recollection that Thou hast 
 not limited the Dumber of times to pardon 1 
 
 enemies leads na to believe that Thou wilt do the like in 
 our regard This being so. we believe thai Thou lovesl us. 
 Thou truly lovest us 1. ; art bat one with Thy 
 
 Father, and Thy Father has wished to love by giv- 
 
 ing us Thee. His <»iily Son. \\Y arc convineed thai ThbU wUI 
 
 we should love Thee, since both Thy ancient and Thy new law 
 command it. and because Thou, Thyself) has promised thai, if 
 we love Thee, we will Ik- loved by ier, and that He, 
 
 with Thee, will come and dwell with us. ( )h, the power of loi 
 Oh, the wonderful treasure bidden in the inmost n the 
 
 soul! Oh/ pure love, how I love thee ! As thou art strong 
 death, oh. take from me all that is opposed to thee ' ft hold us, 
 then. oh. my Lord, at tin- foot of Thy cross, ready to be drawn 
 to Thee, a- Thou hast promised I Were it not that Thy word 
 
 is all powerful, I WOUld dread the weight of earthly affections; 
 
 but Thou well knowest all, since Thou re^uircM neither our con- 
 
 sent nor our effort Act, then, mightily, and unite our love to 
 
 Thy love, our life to Thy life, and our death to Thy death.*' 
 
 II 
 
 ui u.i. i'i: \( m ; B OJ i'i VOTIOX. 
 Irst, our interior converse with God OUgttt to I 
 
 Seems to me, In the th< ' His holy presence, in adoring 
 
 Him at all hours, and in eliciting acts of love toward* His divine 
 goodpess,recallingto mindasmucnas we can the motives that most 
 impressed ui in prayer, and especially the affeotiona and resolu* 
 we made. in order thus to correct oar faults and advance in 
 
4 LETTERS OF MADEMOISELLE LE GRAS. 
 
 His holy love.Second,on all occasions painful to nature we should 
 consider the paternal bounty of God, Who, like a good father, 
 permits us to feel His divine justice ; sometimes it is for the pur- 
 pose of testifying greater love for us by giving us a share in suf- 
 fering in order,to apply to us the merit of the sufferings ol His Son, 
 and to excite us to acts of gratitude. Third, when we meet with 
 what pleases us, and when things succeed as we desire, we should, 
 before entertaining the proffered joy, turn interiorly to God and 
 express our gratitude for His mercy, which, through pure love, 
 gives us this consolation, and/accepting it in this view, elicit an 
 act of love. Fourth, we should do all that depends on us to 
 make every object that presents itself to our senses an occasion to 
 elevate our hearts to God; at times, regarding them as created by 
 the all-powerful hand of God; then, again, reflecting on the de- 
 sign of Godin their creation, remembering that all has been cre- 
 ated for the use of man that man might show himself grateful. 
 Fifth, think, again, on the excellence of the being God has given 
 us, and, then, let us lift ourselves above the baseness to which 
 corrupt nature inclines us in engaging our affections in number- 
 less vanities that are not worthy to occupy our mind, and let us 
 protest that we desire nothing on earth but God alone. Sixth, 
 when borne down, as it seems to us, with great difficulties, we 
 desire or hope for aid from creatures, and this aid does not come, 
 either through a dispensation of Divine Providence, or through 
 the fault of others, we should immediately think of the Divine 
 Will, and, accepting it in this privation, elevate our heart and 
 have recourse to God alone. From all eternity He has been, 
 and now is,self-sufficing and,consequently,we should reflect that 
 He can and ought to suffice for us. Since we are so blessed as 
 to be in a state wherein we should love Him as our only con- 
 solation, we ought to form an act of this love by accepting cheer- 
 fully the privation of what is wanting to us, though the object 
 may seem very reasonable and very necessary. Let each of us 
 remain in peace with God without a murmur against creatures, 
 for, not all united could give us the slightest cause of annoyance 
 did not God permit it. But to place our hearts at the disposi- 
 tion of the divine pleasure in all the above-mentioned occasions, 
 we must often produce acts of desire to know God and to know 
 ourselves, and, hence, acts of love for God and of hatred for 
 
LKTTEB80J MADEMOISELLE LE OBAS. 6 
 
 ourselves,in order to give to God what we owe Him and refuse 
 is displeasing to Him. We must frequently 
 make so sol of abandonment and show Him oar hearts overflow- 
 ing with love and gratitud< 
 
 III 
 
 wiin ; on \ pii oxuiaoa. 
 
 '•Tlr a creating souls d them on this 
 
 earth as pilgrims, for their bodies are their companions only f'<>r 
 a time. Senoethe majority of our forefathers did not hai 
 lasting habitation, but often went on pilgrimages through d< 
 tion, perhaps, in order to keep before their eyes the mot that 
 their true home was not on earth. And, to confirm them in 
 this truth, (Jo<l has been pleased to often accompany them with 
 His holy angels. This should induce me to cheerfully accept 
 changes of place when it will please His Providence t«> permit 
 
 it. ami I should interiorly join company with my angel guar 
 
 dian. 
 
 "Our first father, haying contravened the designs of <;<>.!. by 
 wishing to become immortal in eating the forbidden fruit, in 
 plac grasped death, and t.» remedy this the Son of € 
 
 came Himself to be a pilgrim; for his life, which should be 
 example, was a constant pilgrhnagi 
 
 IV 
 
 " We should go to the m-w place with the intention oi houor- 
 ing the Divine luoti as thither and he dis- 
 
 I I to then do whatever this P s will permit to he 
 
 our duty. We should honor in this change that of Jesus and 
 Mary from Bethlehem to Egypt and other 
 
 no more than they, any irth." 
 
LETTERS OE MADEMOISELLE LE GRAS. 
 
 SOME ADVICES AND SOME STRENGTH. 
 
 First: Fidelity to the rule of rising and morning meditation : 
 " God be praised, my dear Sister, for it is the manna that God. 
 gives to those who rise early. Oh, if you knew the joy I feel 
 when I hear you coming to the chapel in the morning ! Oh ! 
 the sweetness there tasted well recompenses the difficulty ex- 
 perienced in overcoming self. We ought to rise promptly, 
 without bargaining with the pillow, and then kneel, <fcc." 
 
 Second: In beginning a conference : " God be blessed,my dear 
 Sister, because Ave have reason to hope that our Lord is with us, 
 since He has said : ' When two or three are gathered in My name 
 there am I in the midst of them.'' (Matt, xviii., 20). What do you 
 think He does, my dear Sister ? He darts forth His beams, as 
 a Divine Sun, to enlighten and warm our hearts. We, then, 
 should meet here to honor the assemblies that have gathered in 
 the presence of our Lord, and with the desire to perfect our- 
 selves and correct the faults of which Ave accuse ourselves." 
 
 Third: " If you only knew, my dear Sister, Iioav consoled I 
 Avas the other day when I learned that a poor person had beaten 
 a sister, and she, by the grace of God, did not defend herself! 
 Oh, well ! He was a master someAvhat rough ; but it was 
 necessary to surfer correction from him, for Ave are the servants 
 of the poor and must endure everything from them." 
 
 Fourth: When giving "the simple and poor habit of the 
 Daughters of Charity," she recommended love, purity of in- 
 tention, and interior as Avell as exterior divesting of self; and, on 
 putting on the cornette, she said : "Let us have our ears closed 
 to Avorldly discourse and open to the eternal truths. Let this 
 white head-dress be the symbol of purity. It is given last because 
 the last thing we give up is our OAvn judgment which has its seat 
 in the head." 
 
 VI 
 
 ADVICE IN REGARD TO RECREATION. 
 
 First : ' : Let us keep in view the presence of God and the 
 thought of the equality of all rational creatures in their crea- 
 
LI : ISf I. U LI . 
 
 (ion ; tl nun being oftentimes the most beloved by 
 
 I." 
 
 Let p I ok upou tliis time as given cm by the 
 • (Jud, that we may beootite united by a sincere In- 
 terchange of thooghts,of \\ ords,and of actions, and thus honor the 
 unity and distinction of the divine persons, ami imitate the 
 anion of I in Heaven. 11 
 
 Third: *■ Letonr ition be, witha! 9 truly eheeriol and oor 
 
 dial, making no distinction between those who please ami ti 
 whom we think able : let ooT anawen be kind, and let 
 
 without cont >r taking anything in ill part, hear in 
 
 mind themeekn< Chriit in His word* and act; 
 
 when, aa frequently occurred, lie waa blamed. We onght not 
 to belittle those who speak less correctly, unless a ired 
 
 they will not lie displeased, ami always without any thought 
 
 against eharitj 
 
 i part all little pleasantries, looking 
 upOn "in- ^ters a^ better ami more beloved in the sight of God 
 than we. ami let ns consider it arhappiness i«> serve t loin." 
 Fifth: •• L-t as elevate our hearts t<> (o.d. reflecting that it. i> 
 
 a time of relaxation given us that we may he the better aide to 
 
 as think of the joy of Heaven, and reflect thai 
 
 the hon<l of love is the blood poured out from the heart of Jn 
 
 rhrist.- 
 
 Sixth: •• Let the example of JeanS Christ ami the spirit Of 
 
 charity regulate our discourse, seeking the interests of "tlurs, 
 without curiosity in regard to motives and actions, and flying 
 all particular friendships. 
 
 ath: Lei oa be kind to all; honor the superioress, who, 
 in .mi- regard, n • Jeans Christ on earth, blaming neither 
 
 her action nor her regulations, for it is rather the spirit <»t* (. 
 than her own that gOVernS. tl 
 
 Eighth: "We onght to defend the absent, thinking of our 
 
 ! in their :;d of our <>\\ n faults.** 
 
 Ninth: 'Tie' Bubjects of < ition should be such a? 
 
 are calculated to foster a love tor the observance of the rule, for 
 
 ber devotion, without this,ia more prejudicial than profit 
 able, as all our words should giv< 
 
8 LETTERS OF MADEMOISELLE LE GRA.S. 
 
 VII 
 
 TO THE SISTERS IN POLAND ON THE OCCASION OP SENDING OTHER 
 
 SISTERS. 
 
 " At last the moment has come which Divine Providence has 
 chosen for the departure of our sisters, and it is with grief Ave 
 endure this, because we thus become separated, but, again, it is 
 with joy because of the assurance we have that they go to do the 
 will of God and to unite with you in the accomplishment of his 
 designs in the kingdom of Poland. Oh, my dear sister, of what 
 great importance these are ! I pray the goodness of God to 
 grant you the grace to know it, because I am sure this knowl- 
 edge will give rise within you to a great humility and confusion 
 when you reflect that you are chosen for such a work, and will 
 also inspire you with the desire to become less unworthy. And 
 how will you do this, my very dear sisters, and I with you? 
 We must, by the mortification of the senses, cause our passions 
 and inclination to die within us; and also, empty our hearts of 
 everything in order, by the grace of God, to have them filled 
 with love, that thus His Divine Bounty may accept the sacrifice 
 of yourselves, which you will often offer to His Majesty, and 
 the services which, under the direction of the queen, you will 
 render to the poor. Our Sister Margaret will tell you in regard 
 to this all that our most honored father will have instructed her. 
 " My dear sisters, you have always informed me that you were, 
 in the name and honor of the Most Holy Trinity, but one heart 
 in your three persons. Now, I beg you to enlarge this heart and 
 let our three other sisters enter this cordial union so that there 
 will be no distinction between the first three and the last three. 
 I assure you -they go to you in the £ure disposition of always 
 trying to please God, and are not attached to their own interests, 
 nor even their own satisfaction. Not that nature does not, at 
 times, furnish even the most perfect with occasions for struggling ; 
 but you know that it is the test of the fidelity of souls that 
 desire to belong to God. Do not, my dear sisters,be astonished 
 at them; it is then our hearts should be all the more generous 
 and, notwithstanding nature, practise virtue in the exercise of 
 humility, thus proving that we wish to be really Christian, and 
 
MAl.KMu: 9 
 
 to honor Jesus Christ in the practice of the virtues His sacred 
 humility lias taught us. 
 
 " Would you like, m\ that I <lra\v your attention 
 
 to a point tl. to me Bseentialr Ii is thai you, when 
 
 • of the Polish language without explain- 
 ing your conversation toonr This, besides being a means 
 ibr them the sooner t<> ham the language; will obviate many in* 
 
 COni - that otherwise might aiif 
 
 I app vn to me that I will be imable t.» luffioiently rejoice 
 
 at the union which I helieve will exist anions you in wor<l ami 
 
 i will be a source of edification both 
 for yourselves and fortl lide who may be witnesses of it. 
 
 Lett! among you six no secrets, but guard religiously 
 
 ill externs whatever transpires in the bouse, In thj 
 what good may we not expect I I supplicate our Lord in Hi* 
 bounfrj tow on you abundant graces for all that He re* 
 
 quirt - and I remain in His lo 
 
 VTI1 
 
 l BBTSTMA'I 
 
 t Bufficientto have our intelligence enlightened by 
 the know ; our fault ; we must ir will 
 
 purified so that we may reject them. Tl »to cleanse 
 
 iul in preparation for the birth <>f Christ in us. ami the 
 lorn and beautifj iption. The purifi- 
 
 cation is effected \> : if all our sins, and the 
 
 ly by 
 prayer, bj and almsgivinj will, in some sort, 
 
 i in the world, take tl 
 
 ig will represent poverty, fasting 
 \i<1 prayer obedience : w e q 
 
 in union with the gifts of the th: Kj 4 alms with the go hi. 
 
 lasting with the myrrh, and prayer with the frankin- 
 
 again present the three lo I Trinity : prayer to the 
 
 Fajbher, lasting to the Son, and 
 
J LETTERS OF MADEMOISELLE 1.E GRAS. 
 
 in this way Ave will adore the Incarnate God in prayer with the 
 angels, in alms with the Kings, in fasting with the shepherds, 
 and God, in turn, will bless us," 
 
 IX 
 
 MCTI'AL AFFECTION. 
 
 "I see you both, it seems to me, in great peace and animated 
 with the desire of exciting one another to union and cordiality 
 which consist in being open with each other, telling each other 
 what each has done when alone, and informing one another 
 whither you go when- you leave the house, one through submis- 
 sion and the other through kindness and condescension. Act thus 
 in all your little exercises, as, for instance, when one happens 
 to be sad and melancholy let her overcome herself that she may 
 contribute to the recreation of the other, and let her that is 
 cheerful moderate her joy in order that, humoring the other for 
 the love of God, she may. little by little, chase away her melan- 
 choly. You should do this that you may not listen to the 
 temptation of seeking comfort elsewhere, and discharging the 
 burden of your poor heart on strangers, a thing that would be 
 the total ruin of the holy friendship that should exist between 
 two sisters. 
 
 X 
 
 AGAINST DIVISION DK'IWEEX SUlMIttOR AND INFERIOR. 
 
 "How is it, my Sister Barbe, that, by the little cordiality you 
 manifest towards the sister God has given you, by your little 
 disdains and the wants of kindness to her in her weaknesses, 
 you have come to forget that, when you were"appointed her 
 
!.!.[ ! BBS 01 JCADEM0I8EIXE i.K RAS. 11 
 
 superior, yon assumed the obligati spiritual mother which 
 
 are far greater than those of u Datura] mother, for you, more 
 than sh< m I to care for the salvation ami perfi 
 
 those under your ohs This, too, < » l . 1 1 ?_r * - * I you to 
 
 great meekuesi and charity such a> the Son of God recommend 
 ed while on earth. Did you not, when accepting this charge, 
 immediately perceive what humility it required <>n your part, 
 since you have so much reason to know your own incapac 
 
 :ht you. not always have before your eyes, when yon give 
 any command, that it ise obedience requirea it. and hot 
 
 that you, of yourself, have any right to command? Bat now, 
 1 trust the evil is qo< beyond remedy. Resolutely place your 
 limits before you without tryi •«- them in anyway; 
 
 for, of the evil we do there is, in truth, no other cause than our 
 selves. Acknowledge tiiis troth before God. Excite in your 
 heart a greal love for our sister Louise; ami, in view of the 
 merciful justice of our good God, throw yourself a1 her feet and 
 her pardon for all your coldness and all the pain yon have 
 asioned her. promising that, with God'a help, you will love 
 her. Christ wishes, show her all the consideration 
 
 which you should have for her, and. with this feeling really in 
 your heart, embrace her. 
 
 "And you, my dear Sister Loui >c are fallen again 
 
 into your bad little ways ! What do you think your condition 
 fa it ,i life of liberty? Far from it. It ought to beacon 
 I mission and obedience. N it possible yon never re 
 fled on ■ •, if yon do, have you s«» little love of* God and 
 
 little fear of your salvation that you neglect to do what you 
 are < .My daughfe a little violence with your-' 
 
 . .*. Do you not remember a should do nothing 
 
 ay where without the permission of m; Barbe,whom 
 
 re leaving, you accepted as your superior and whom 
 ought to love aa much or i n your own moth 
 
 u In not ir faults my own rise up before me, and this 
 
 impi y danght rpress wl most in 
 
 my mind. It is the bad example I have given you in I 
 
 of the virtues I have recommended. I mygood 
 
 it and ask pardon for me, • thai I 
 
f* LETTERS OF MADEMOISELLE LE GRA.S. 
 
 XT 
 
 DISUNION AMOMG SISTERS, AND DISCOURAGEMENT IX CONTRADIC- 
 TIONS. 
 
 " The principal object of this letter is to testify the displeasure 
 I feel in seeing the evil disposition of our sisters and the want of 
 union that appears among you. I am also very niuch astonished 
 that by reason of some'little contradictions some have listened to 
 the desire of coming to Paris before obedience calls. Oh, my 
 >iear sisters, there is great reason to say that they do not know 
 what they demand. Oh, well, you are a little hurt when these 
 gentlemen, our fathers, (the poor) mortify you in the pres- 
 ence of the poor, who are your masters. Give them no cause, 
 and do your duty so well that they can have no fault to find. 
 When sometimes you think you have done something wrong, or 
 when any of these gentlemen criticise you too harshly,according 
 to your idea, and you imagine that that will injure you with the 
 sick, humble yourselves by patiently enduring it, and then, 
 afterwards, go and quietly tell them your reasons, begging them 
 to quietly admonish you of your faults. ... I pray you, my 
 dear sister, to first give the example of the virtue you desire to 
 see in all. I have noticed the little aversion that you mention, on 
 the part of one of our sisters. Oh, my God, your charity must 
 have great compassion and patience with her. Do you not 
 know that, ordinarily, this is in our natural feelings, and that we 
 are not always masters of it ? But it is the duty of those in 
 charge to try, without being perceived, to help them in banish- 
 ing this antipathy. We must not be so tender as to worry if 
 some neglect to speak to us, or if all do not meet us with a 
 pleasant face, but should endeavor to win all hearts by patience 
 and cordiality. Finally, my dear sister, those who have the care 
 of others should look to their own satisfaction no more than it 
 
 they were insensible I know, my dear sister, there is a 
 
 i^reat deal of difficulty in properly discharging the duties of our 
 office; but God Who has imposed them will not refuse us His 
 grace. To obtain it, let us humble ourselves very much by a 
 holy diffidence in ourselves and a great confidence in His mercy, 
 a confidence that will make us ask of Him in all simplicity 
 whatever He wishes we should give our dear sisters whom we 
 
19 
 
 will regard a* 1 lis dear e 
 Tare 24th. 1643), 
 
 XII 
 
 • 1 1 'V. I which appear d< of ohoking the 
 
 good grain led in being introduced amoi Qh 
 
 1 fear very much thai my bad example has 
 given rise to these dangerous impressions in your minds. If ii 
 do me the charity to ask pardon of < i . » « I for me, and <lo 
 you yourself pardon me by doinj en me 
 
 do, in order no Longer I 
 
 enemy what belongs to Him, and also that you may aot lose 
 the recompense His bounty promu ing in His 
 
 perforin works of in jectS t };< 
 
 rhom He sees filled with their own will . . . . 
 Finally, my de we must belong to God,and entirely to 
 
 and t.» b* i properly we mo 
 
 from our own k And, believe me, ithout an; 
 
 dattery, probe our troubles and difficu will find that 
 
 self-love alone is our g - tin- cause of our 
 
 finding so much mult with others, and tl a why we so 
 
 : ratify ourselves in everytl 
 
 XIII 
 
 •• At last ii has pi • i d our go ■•! ( ! relief to 
 
 the pains you all have, for bo I lured, snd especially y< 
 
 my. ter, whom our Lord bear this heavy 
 
 yoke But as i: :il:«l<nt. I [it 
 
 mercy has sided much. holy 
 
 nam. ' I I pace will agth 
 
14 LETTERS OF MADEMOISELLE LE GKAS. 
 
 and courage until He, in His goodness, will perfect this 
 work .... You know that our happiness consists in entirely 
 abandoning ourselves to His guidance. 
 
 '•I have been wonderfully consoled with the hope that our 
 Lord would have diffused great blessings, general as well as 
 particular, on your family. I desire it with all ray heart, and I 
 pray you not to be uneasy if you do not obtain, as soon as you 
 would like, by a firmly established tranquility, entire repose and 
 consolation. You know that good is done only little by little. 
 The evil one tries his hand, but he will not win, provided you 
 gather yourselves together and become closely united at the 
 foot of the cross, as the little chickens under the mothers wing 
 when the cat is on the watch." 
 
 XIV 
 
 TO THE SAME, ON MUTUAL SUPPORT. 
 
 "Alas, my dear sisters, from whom will we suffer if not from 
 those with whom Ave live ? Will it be from persons at a distance., 
 from those whom we have never seen, and probably never will 
 see? From what does a member of the body suffer if not from 
 the evil caused it by another member ? From whom and through 
 whom has our Lord suffered if not through His Apostles, His 
 Disciples, and the people among whom He lived, who were the 
 people of God? This is to show you, my dear sisters, that our 
 daily crosses come from those only with whom we constantly 
 are." ( April 24th, 1649.) 
 
 XV 
 
 TO THE SAME IN SENDING THEM A LETTER OF S P. VINCENT 
 
 I must, my dear sisters, tell you, in all simplicity ,the thoughts 
 that came to my mind whilst reading this letter. Oh, my deai 
 
15 
 
 d the grac< a (i"«l 
 has bestowed onyou^and onus too,and the instruct ions his charity 
 all have inspired me with such a dread that 
 1 eannot express it. For 1 recall how often, through him, (i<».l 
 has warned us of oar obligations, how often he knew and kindly 
 overlooked ourfaulta and shortoomii trying in in- 
 
 citing and encouraging us, taking all father: and giv- 
 
 ing himself aa much trouble for ua aa if we were persona of 
 merit. What return have we made him, unfruitful soil thai we 
 are? Nothing but dispteasnre and am our 
 
 infidelities towai whom he \\ i ~ 
 
 t iiii- the departure of some member of 
 
 amunity, or some mmitted against 1. 
 
 tion; at others ii was the declii f the entire body that 
 
 worried him. W I stupid, [t seems that all the admon- 
 
 itions <> iven aa have proved only ^<> many 
 
 usel .'ii to the wind; and, what is woi atly 
 
 fear that, having been pronounced in the p land 
 
 His angels, they will, t<< our onfusion, reappear at our 
 
 judgment. ; son thatmy heart aed with 
 
 tear and just apprehension? Do not imagine that I say all this to 
 frighten youjiorto v I to myself and t<> all who, 
 
 like me, >od use of their vocation, I beseech 
 
 yon all/or the love of the death <>t' our Master, to renew your- 
 Belves in His resurrection, and ften 
 
 ii ua in the | remark, Be d 
 
 not give it to them while idle, but while laboring and in memory 
 of the wounds He ha bing ua l 
 
 it is impossible for ua to have peace with God, with our neigh- 
 bor and ourselves, on it, and, moreoi 
 that Be will not -rant it but through the merits of his worn 
 and suffering I merits will never beapplii 
 
 Lhe mortificat and thia we will acquire 
 
 by imitating Him in doing tl holy will How 
 
 v yon are in comparison, not only with otl 
 
 like you. bul R Itfa l:i«l'- ik, who be em- 
 ploye. 1 iii tie inch 
 an ardent d< do the will - assisted therein] 
 Yet they cannot obtain thia com i nothing 
 
10 LETTEBS OF MADEMOISELLE LE OKAS. 
 
 wanting; still you seem dissatisfied, and, instead of making use 
 of the means God gives you for your perfection, you spurn them. 
 Forgive me, my dear sisters, if my affection for you employ 
 such language ; for I, myself, have often been guilty of faults, 
 similar to those of which I suspect you. But, once for all, I 
 wish to be faithful to God and I will for this often ask His 
 grace. Do likewise; esteem and read, with affection, your rules 
 and instructions desiring to put them in practice, and labor in all 
 earnestness to do so for the love of God; especially, profit by 
 the advice, the last, perhaps, that God gives you concerning 
 what He desires of you. I have no thought, my dear sisters, of 
 menacing you with the judgment of God; but let you and me 
 fear His indignation if we neglect to accomplish His will." 
 
 XVI 
 
 PATIENCE IN TRIALS. 
 
 In the name of God, my dear sisters, do not grow tired o 
 your troubles nor become disconsolate in seeing yourself de- 
 prived of all consolation save in God. Oh, did we know the 
 secrets of God in placing us in this condition, we would perceive 
 that it should be the occasion of our greatest consolation. Eh, 
 well, you see a number of poor whom you cannot succor ! God 
 also sees them and He does not relieve them. Bear their bur- 
 den with them; do your best to give them some little aid, and 
 then remain in peace. Perhaps you share in the distress. If so 
 that is a consolation for you ; for, had you plenty, your hearts 
 would be pained in enjoying it whilst seeing our lords and 
 masters suffer much. Besides, God chastises His people for our 
 sins. ; Is it nob reasonable that we should suffer with others ? 
 Who are we that we imagine we ought to be exempted from the 
 public miseries? If the m/ercy of God do not permit us to ex- 
 perience the most severe distress let us be heartily grateful, arid 
 believe that it is solely through His goodness and not from any 
 merit on our part. . . . The majority of our sisters in the 
 environs of Paris have been obliged to seek shelter elsewhere: 
 
- >l MADEMOISII.I.K LI G 1 I 
 
 but, thank- k>d,up to th< they have suffered no 
 
 injury or vexation. 5Ton know tin- beautiful ceremony thai 
 takes place to-day at the exposing of the shrine of St. Genevieve. 
 
 Oh, how good it ii to be faithful to God,Who,ssa mark of His 
 
 - such honor to be render. .1 HU iaith- 
 ter Barbe, Ar $2.) 
 
 XVI I 
 
 B ami . -: r.. 1 1 | l -DAXGIB 01 01 
 
 •• I have learned thai I 11 contin 
 
 your infirmities to keep yoa eonstani company, 
 and that, at times, as I believe at present, th 
 suffering. V< 
 
 to Him is His royal road of the cross. I am Bare you wiD 
 cheerfully and willingly allow yourself to be i d in this 
 
 In order to do His holy will, as I also hope you have done 
 when Ili> Providence imposed open you the care ofy< ar little 
 family It is only our ignorance is to believe 
 
 o be an honor and a pleasure. Did we but undei 
 what it is to be a sister servant — oh, how We, in receiving the 
 office, would be humble 1. knowing what a burden we are to the 
 
 hOnse, and what need 1 be supported by all; and also. 
 
 when we reflei ad bj 
 
 ire to all to good 
 
 example in everything; and, too, th. ar duty 
 
 we ii! : hat the otl hearl 
 
 must include them all. try, my 
 
 ■ 
 
 lv will of 
 . Rich 
 
 (II 
 
 — • Bbould be >f the 
 
 Common il 
 
18 LETTERS OF MADEMOISELLE LE GRAS. 
 
 — "I believe you have the pleasure of the Queen's presence 
 at Fontainbleau. If her Majesty should desire to speak with 
 you do not raise any difficulty, though the respect you owe give 
 you a fear to approach her. Her kindness and charity inspire 
 the most humble with confidence to represent to her their 
 wants. Do not forget to truly present those of the poor. I 
 need not recommend modesty and reserve with those high 
 personages. I know you have a singular esteem for those 
 virtues; but do all you can for your poor, particularly in regard 
 to the spiritual service you owe them. " 
 
 — ,; I think you do all you can to comfort our Sister Jf*, and 
 that you look upon her as a young plant from which you may, 
 one day, hope good fruit to present on the eternal table of our 
 good God." 
 
 XIX 
 
 ADVICES TO SISTERS SUGGESTED BY THEIR NAMES. 
 
 My good Sister, are yon very brave? Do }^ou do, as the 
 good shepherd, who risks his life for the welfare and security 
 of the flock entrusted to his care? Yes, I believe so; for, if we 
 have not always the opportunity of exposing our lives we have 
 those in which we are required to give up our own will in order 
 to accord with others, to overcome our habits and inclinations 
 that we may give example to our sisters, and to conquer our 
 passions so as not to excite those of others. This is what we 
 are obliged to do, my dear sister, in order to maintain cordiali- 
 ty, to exercise patience, and to be in the close union of the 
 charity of Jesus crucified, which I implore God to give us. 
 Please nay to Sister Mary Martha that I trust that she will be 
 Mary Martha in effect a^ well as in name, that the name Mary 
 obliges her to great purity, meekness and modest}', and 
 requires her to be ever ready to do a favor for others; that her 
 name Martha calls for great exactitude to the rule in all its 
 points. As for Sister Cecilia, oh, what calm and tranquility 
 she should possess that, after thf example of her patron saint, 
 

 M A ! 
 
 to 
 
 she may aweetly Bing the praii I Ami our Sister 
 
 Bridget > 1 1 o 1 1 1 < I love tho dai / In the continuance 
 
 ami accomplishment of tin- >f God upon her. I hope 
 
 God will o iter Frances lha< Ih of mind may 
 
 supply for the weak I bid al In ess of her body, bat, f<>r this. 
 
 tell her, m I sincerely 
 
 that her la entirelj and that thor- 
 
 oughly cured What Is good 5 tacrine doing! Do the 
 
 r terrify berl Rai she sufficient love 
 \. like her dear patroness, to resist alii Tell her I 
 all depends on herself, and that the same dear 5 much 
 
 and love I ber. provided Bhe be faithful, as Hi 
 
 [ne. I - >\ Barbe, to 
 
 whom I wish | snee and an Inon ase hi 
 
 Be alwajS mindful of the wants 
 
 of the community, for it 1 ofyoui ecially 
 
 ns done for the i f the 
 
 XX 
 
 ■• My dearly love 
 Divine Providence in tho disposition r - to wish t<» 
 
 make of your life. If il - holy will to Call to Ilim 
 
 r soul, blessed be His Holy Name! H(e knows I t I 
 
 feel in being unable to assist you in this la which I 
 
 know you will make in very willingly returning your son 1 to 
 
 nal Father in the to honor the death 
 
 ( )ai b will g[ive ; of the 
 
 all oni Sisters, 
 ber them in heaven, when and 
 
 ticularly of our Sister Anne Marl 
 
 nnof be vritb Rememl 
 
 dea ' I baa 
 
 called you. may 
 
20 LETTERS OF MADEMOISELLE LE ORA9. 
 
 please Him to accomplish His designs in regard to it. And, 
 if His bounty permits, beg our good angels to help us. Good 
 evening, my very dear sister, I pray with all my heart that 
 Jesus crucified may bless you with all the virtues He has prac- 
 tised on the Cross." 
 
 XXI 
 
 PETITION FOR THE APOSTOLIC BENEDICTION, 1652. 
 
 Louise de Mariilac, twenty -seven years a widow, servant of 
 Jesus Christ, and in will, if not in reality, of His members, the 
 poor, most attached by obedience to the Holy Father, in 
 quality of Roman Catholic, and on account of the desire, long 
 cherished, wished to receive, at least once in her life time, the 
 Apostolic Benediction. She, therefore, humbly asks M. Berthe, 
 a Priest of the Mission, to present her in spirit at the feet of 
 the Most Holy Father, true vice-gerent of Jesus Christ, on 
 account of the zeal which His Holiness displays for the faith of 
 the Church. She begs this in order that she may obtain the 
 grace from our good God of doing, in all things, for the rest of 
 her da3 f s. His holy will. In return for this charit3 r , she will 
 consider herself obliged to pray to God for His Holines*. 
 
 XXII 
 
 WILL OF MADEMOISELLE LE OR AS. 
 
 'In the Name of. God the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. 
 
 Prostrate in all humility, in the belief that God is every 
 where, sole being and Creator of all immortal souls, with the 
 true knowledge of my own nothingness and inability, without 
 His grace, I very humbly implore His mercy on my miseries 
 which have made me culpable of such ingratitude towards His 
 goodness. And, though I have so often offended this goodness 
 

 M \i»KM« : kS. 2] 
 
 by my wretched sins thai ttome unworthy lo participate 
 
 In the merit! I. yet in ;ly place 
 
 all my hope. I Virgin to be to me i true 
 
 mother and me, at the moment of 
 
 my (hath, pardon for the abuse I luv ea of 
 
 God. I, lift I pleasure of God, implore 
 
 my holy angel guardian, St. | id all Lb . to help 
 
 me, by their info Ami. 
 
 ild I. for the love of God, 
 
 >mit in honor of the moment ofthe separation of the I tivine 
 
 leslree the salvation of mine, that I 
 
 may eternally glorify Him, with EJia and the Holy 
 
 Gho 
 
 •■l proto rod, and before all creatures, that 1 
 
 wish to die in ih I itho 
 
 lie Church, and I command my Bon, as farai 
 I believe it to 1 >nly path to 
 
 paradise, for which we have b [n the hope that 
 
 God will grant him this grace 1 beseech His bounty to . 
 full and entire po i of all that he i In him and 
 
 with him HU -ill. I I pray Him to water 
 
 with Hiseffi< . for time and for eternity, the bl< 
 
 ing, which, to jive, and 
 
 which l mow give him, in the I of the 
 
 Bon „ and of the Holy Gh Lmen. I implore the Bscred 
 
 humanity of our Savior to have pity on inful souls a( the 
 
 hour of our death. 
 
 " I very humbly ask pardon of my guardian angel and of my 
 t honored father and director, by whom >' the 
 
 mercy of God to hold me, willing >mplish 
 
 ment of His most holy will, lor t and 
 
 fidelity I have shown for the charit with which they h 
 
 honored me ii to my salvation. I it, with 
 
 I 
 from l 
 
 •• I. also, very humbly demand r<> all my dear 
 
 neighbor* whom, by andscandalii 
 
 of those whoi led in a 
 
22 LETTERS 01" MADEMOISELLE LE GRAS. 
 
 whatsoever, and of all creatures of which, contrary to the holy 
 will of God, I have made bad use. I abandon myself to God 
 to make such restitution, in this world or the next, as it will 
 please His merciful justice to ordain. 
 
 "The obligation of mother, together with the strong natural 
 affection I always had for my son, urges me to recommend to 
 him to remember the care which, for his salvation, the good- 
 ness of God had of his education, and to be grateful to Him all 
 his life, and strive never to do anything contrary to His most 
 holy will. To aid you in this, my son, take counsel in all your 
 affairs of persons who are capable and of good life. And that 
 the advice you will receive may be of greater use to 3*011, alwa}'s 
 ask it before you take any decision; otherwise, 3*011 will not 
 freely give your reasons for and against the thing 3*011 propose, 
 and then you will 01113* deceive \ r ourself. I rely so much on 
 thi generosity of M. Vincent that, I am certain he will neverrefuse, 
 3*011 his assistance in 3*our wants, whether temporal or spiritual. 
 
 ' • You well know the obligation under which both 3*011 and I 
 are to him, and hence I entreat 3*011, should 3*011 ever be so 
 happy as to have the opportune* of serving his community, to 
 do so with all 3*our heart, remembering that 3*011 are particular- 
 ly obliged, not only by gratitude for the benefit we both have 
 received, but also 03^ reason of the service he renders the 
 Church, our mother 
 
 " I beseech my son to often remember to pray to God for 
 the repose of the soul of his father, and to recall to mind his 
 good life, how he greatly feared God, and was scrupulous in 
 keeping himself irreproachable; especially should he remember 
 his patience in the great sufferings that fell upon him in his 
 last 3*ears, and during which he practised veiy great virtue . . . " 
 , Here follow the different legacies: First, to the Priests of 
 the Mission for masses and good works for the benefit of her 
 and hers, on the anniversaiy of her death, "and this to honor 
 the moment of the death of Our Lord on the Cross, that the 
 merit of this perpetual divine sacrifice ma3* be applied to those 
 in the agonies of death, and to those persevering hi mortal sin, 
 in order, therein*, to obtain for them, from the mercy of God, 
 efficacious grace to withdraw them." Second, toherconfessoi\ 
 
i i . tA& 8 I 
 
 Third, to her irth, to I fraternities 
 
 of which s member, "asking pardon of God for having 
 
 so often failed in the devotions they recommend, and this 
 believe that H ii i enroll ours* Ives in few and 
 
 be more faithful to their i Fifth, to the S 
 
 of Cbariti : the n m ey use 
 
 for the 'heir hoe I affirm that 
 
 or them bad < Sod given me the 
 means. Hence I Implore my son to be grateful to them for the 
 charity they hi upon it i 
 
 i Bhonld give him anj do them n 
 
 kindness, I exhort bim most II in this*" 
 
 Sixth, to the poor, ti. charitable priest will preach b 
 
 • ) to them, ' ; bim, in the name of Our Lord, to 
 
 only for their instruction, teaching them their obligation 
 
 to know God t the difference bet ind bad poor, and 
 
 l to their eternal welfare is poverty if they only 
 
 know bow to use it: moreover, what they should do I 
 
 Becking alms; in what humility they Bhonld request it; their 
 
 obligations of serving God and hearing i Sundaj 
 
 re to induce them to say their night and 
 morning i and all for the glory of God and the sab 
 
 ills win. - 
 
 and of their obligation -on, BS 
 
 will at my death «nj.>\- my property after my 
 
 shall have been paid: at his death all I leave 
 
 bim will pass to the poor whom I substitute my b< r bim. 
 
 : ie he marries and has 1 his children will 
 
 telawregulatii tituted successions; 
 
 but I intend and will that, should be have no legitimate 
 
 :• inherit the little < tod bas given i. for 
 
 this purpose. I humbly beg II. VTn< rider and general of 
 
 : ' . i ■ and. after bim, his bucc< 
 
 attei d to 1 ihould the substitution take 
 
 they may collect the revenue and maki aal distri- 
 
 bution;for I ki their principal fun For the 
 
 which purpose I would, were it pos- 
 sible, willii e up my life. But i firm 
 establishment to the Community of th< 
 
24 LETTERS OV MADEMOISELLE LE ORAS. 
 
 the parishes, or if it can subsist, as it has done for several 
 years, remaining under the direction of the above named gen- 
 tlemen of the Mission, my intention and last wish is that, with 
 the exception of a 3'early rent of a hundred francs which these 
 same Gentlemen of the Mission will enjoy, the Sisters of Charity 
 inherit, for the ends and on the conditions aforesaid, the little 
 that I leave, that thus that may have more means wherewith to 
 assist the sick poor in those con ntiy places where they may find 
 less aid. I pray the goodness of God, should He please to give 
 any merit to this disposition, to apply it as a means to bring 
 down His mercy, of which we have great need for our salva- 
 tion, on the soul of my son, and on m} r own, at the moment of 
 death 
 
 "I very humbly pray M. Vincent, by the charity God has 
 given him for his neighbor, and by the love he bears the Sacred 
 Humanit} 7 of Our Redeemer, to pardon me all neglect of grati- 
 tude for the honor he has done me in exercising so much 
 charity towards my son and myself. 1 now thank him from 
 the bottom of my heart, and I beg him to continue his holy 
 affection for my son and be to him a father, giving him good 
 counsel and aid in all his needs. I also ask him to grant the 
 prayer which, for the love of God, I make him, and his succes- 
 sor, should God call him away before me, of being, with my 
 Hon, to whom I have proposed the substitution, the executor of 
 this, my will. In return for the charity they will exercise in 
 this point I promise, should God be pleased to show me mercy 
 and permit me to enter His Paradise, to do for them all that a 
 soul can do. 
 
 •'Irenit, and willingly abandon, my soul into the hands of 
 God, its creator and last end : I freely leave my body to earth 
 to await its resurrection. As to the place of my sepulture, I 
 leave it entirely, under the disposition of Divine providence, to 
 the direction of M, Vincent* si mply begging him. to remember 
 the great desire J have testified to be buried alongside the wall 
 at the foot of the Church of St. Lazarus, in the little court, which, 
 from the bones found there, appears to have once been a 
 cemetery. I still greatly desi«C to be interred there, and I ask 
 it of his charity, for the love of God. I also request that there 
 
20 
 
 bo placed, us s<m ainst the wall, a lame wooden 
 
 bed, end an inscription at its foot 
 bearing the title : •' Only 11 entile to be a1 the e.\| < 
 
 of the little I leave, and 
 
 in this my testan* 
 
 •• l-'nr m\ ■ funeral. 1 declare tffcll I do SOt wish any g i 
 
 konrred than what is nana! in the Interment 
 our . and that, ahonld any desire to 
 
 otherwise, I >w, that he never had mrd 
 
 for me, B( my mis* 
 
 which so often offended God and ■ should 
 
 be held in no consideration. Hoi longfa lam anworthy, 
 
 that would be to pronoinur me undeserving to anneal 
 basing died i irity. 
 
 •• Behold, oh, M\ ( kid, Thy poor 
 feet of Thy Grandeui lowledging i. 
 
 criminal and meriting bell, to which Thy ould 
 
 have condemned me, were it not for the immense love that has 
 made Thy s me man to deliver me. May il Thy 
 
 Divine Goodm m that I, with my son, be of the number of th 
 who, through Him, will eternally glorify Thcc : and deign to 
 
 kindly 1- . and dispositions made in this 
 
 intent, drawn up in the belief that, BUCh is Thy divine will, 
 which has always directed mine, and without which, I pro!. 
 
 with all my strength, never to will anything, and iii which I 
 
 affirm I wish to terminate my lift as I \i-aw this writing, which 
 
 I ha < d with my hand, this Friday, the 15th 
 
 day of December. B Manila- 
 
 rod, sound of body and mind." 
 The 28th of I I rfM added to 
 
 this will a codicil, necessitated by the marriage of her son. 
 She terminated thus: l *Thou knowest, oh, my God, that I am 
 
 all Thine, and that Thy Providence, through Thy mercy, has 
 1m en the guide of rev entire life, I thank ! d, lor 
 
 this and humbly ask anew, and from t!. m of my heart, 
 
 pardon for all my m ■■ tude. Iloved I 
 
 will, and renouncing every other consideration, l offer Thee 
 
 this litU( ;u- 
 
26 LETTERS OP MADEMOISELLE LE GRAS. 
 
 cified, to give me, my son, find his family, Thy blessing that we 
 may glorify Thee eternally." 
 
 • Finalty, on the 11th of May, 1656, a little daughter having 
 been born to her son, she revoked before a notary the substitu- 
 tion which she had confirmed in the codicil of 1653: " Having 
 every reason to be satisfied with the conduct of Michael Le 
 Gras, esquire, her only son, bailiff of St. Lazaius and advocate 
 of the mint, and of Gabrielle Le Clerc, his wife, in token of 
 the respect and proof of friendship she has received since their 
 marriage, being assured that her above named son, dying 
 without children, will have care to assist the poor with the 
 goods he has, and will have, of the above named lady, his moth- 
 er," she added a special legacy of eighteen livres a year, in 
 favor of her grand-daughter, ' ' to use in giving a little dinner to 
 the poor of her parish, at which she will serve them." 
 
 GETHSEMANI ABBEY, 
 GETHSEMANI, P.O. KY. 
 
 THE END. 
 
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