in eternum non peccabis; Remember thy latter end, and thou shalt never do amiss. The third is, to beseech Christ not to go from us, as the disciples did, "because the night of death draweth nigh"." The fourth is, humble, devout, and continual prayer, according to that of our Saviour, Orate, ne intretis in tentationem; Pray, that ye enter not into temptation and sure, none falleth into temptation but first he falleth from prayer. Wherefore, that of St. Paul, to the Thessalonians, is always to be remembered and practised, Orate semper: Pray continually". The fifth is, to fly all allurements to evil, wanton talk, wandering cogitations. The sixth is, often to hear the word of God, which doth collect the heart of man, allay passions, and replenish the will with good desires; the reading of religious books, and often meditating of the benefits of God. Joseph saith, How can I sin against my master, seeing he hath put all that he hath into my hands a? The seventh is, in the beginning diligently to resist temptation, to nip vice in the bud, to kill the serpent in the egg, and to dash the little ones, or small sins, against the stones. If a man's enemy y Luke xxiv. 29. 21 Thess. v. 17. a Genesis xxxix. 8. stood at the door pressing to enter in, and hurt him, who would not keep him out? who so careless of his safety as to receive in such an one? The eighth is, often to call to mind the happiness of good men, the calamity of the evil, and the vanity of the world: Qui bene vivit, saith Origen, est verus homo, immo est quasi angelus; He that lives well is a true man; yea, rather an angel. The ninth and last is, a daily and devout meditation of the Passion of Christ our Lord, calling to mind that of the Apostle St. Paul, that obstinate sinners crucify again the Son of God". From the remedies of sin in general, let us come, in the next place, to the remedies of several vices or sins in particular. CHAPTER XLIV. REMEDIES AGAINST PRIDE AND VAIN GLORY, To repress pride and vain glory, it shall help a man, 1. That he daily meditate how vile he himself is in body and mind. 2. That he is raised from low estate by the favour of God. Hom. xiv. in Levit. • Hebrews xi. 6. 3. That what good soever he hath, he hath it from God. 4. That pride makes a man contemptible to men and hateful to God. 5. That God resisteth the proud, as appeareth by Lucifer, Rehoboam, Nebuchadnezzar, Antiochus, Sennacherib and others. And ruina præcedentium, it is admonitio subsequentium; the fall of them that go before, it should be the admonition of them that follow after. 6. That it depriveth them of spiritual goods, especially of grace, whereof being deprived, they fall into an ocean sea of evils. 7. That Christ our Saviour hath said, Discite ex Me, quia humilis sum; Learn of Me, for I am humble. CHAPTER XLV. REMEDIES AGAINST COVETOUSNESS. 1. LET every one consider, that the mind of man is no more satisfied with much than it is with little; and, therefore, the desire of having brings the mind to a perpetual agitation. 2. That covetousness is the root of all evil; from di Timothy vi. 10. hence come wars, hatred, enmity, seditions, and innumerable evils, which turn away the mind from spiritual things, and from God. 3. That he consider the shortness of his life, and that no man's life consisteth in the abundance of his riches, as our Saviour admonisheth ®. 4. That he trust in God, who feedeth the sparrows and young ravens. 5. That he is a steward, and not a lord, of temporal riches. 6. That he set before his eyes the example of Christ, and all holy men, who despised earthly riches to be rich in God. 7. That he remember it was spoken by our Saviour, "It is a blessed thing to give rather than to receive!" 8. That the best riches are treasures in Heavens. CHAPTER XLVI. REMEDIES AGAINST LUXURIOUSNESS OF LIFE. I. THAT from hence come diseases of body, and griefs of mind. 2. That idleness is the cause of this evil. • Luke xii. 15. f Acts xx. 35. g Matthew vi. 20. |