with the children of men. And not only does it make the soul fair, but also strong; for the virtues which proceed from grace, like Samson's hair, (Judges xvi.), give not only beauty but strength. And the soul is praised for both these qualities in the Song of Songs, where the Angels, marvelling at its beauty, say, "Who is she that looketh forth as the morning, fair as the moon, clear as the sun, and terrible as an army with banners?" (Cant. vi. 10.) Thus grace is like a coat of mail, that guards a man from head to foot, and makes him strong and beautiful : so strong that, as S. Thomas says, "The smallest degree of grace is sufficient to overcome all the sins in the world."

Another effect is to make a man so pleasing to GOD, and of such importance in His eyes, that every deliberate act done by him that is not a sin is pleasing to GOD, and helps to gain him eternal life. So that not only acts of virtue, but natural actions, such as eating, drinking, or sleeping, are pleasing unto GOD, and help towards obtaining this great good, because the dōer is so acceptable to GOD that everything that he does that is not sin is acceptable, and obtains reward from Him.

Another effect is to make a man the child of GOD by adoption, and an inheritor of His kingdom, and to write His name in the Book of Life, wherein all the righteous are written, whereby he obtains a right to the rich inheritance of Heaven. The greatness of this privilege the SAVIOUR impressed on His disciples, when they returned again with joy, because even the devils were subject unto them in His Name, and He said unto them, “In this rejoice not, that the spirits are subject unto you; but rather rejoice because your names are written in heaven.” (S. Luke x. 17, 20.) And truly this is the best thing that the heart of man can desire in this life.

Finally, to conclude, grace gives capacity for all good, smooths the way to heaven, makes the yoke of GOD easy, enables a man to run in the way of virtue, restores and heals diseased nature, and thus makes that light to it which before was heavy, and, by the virtues which proceed from it, reforms and strengthens all the faculties of our soul in an unspeakable manner, enlightening the understanding, enkindling the will, refreshing the memory, strengthening the free-will, moderating the concu

piscible part that it may not lust after evil, and strengthening the irascible that it be not timid in good. And besides this, as all the natural passions of these two inferior powers of our nature are but stepfathers to virtue, and serve as gates and entrances whereby the devils find a way into our souls, He has sent an infused virtue from heaven, to stand as a guard and captain at each of these gates, and to secure us against the evil that might find entrance by that passion. Thus, to defend us against the appetite of gluttony, He has set the virtue of temperance; against the lust of the flesh, chastity; against the desire of honour, humility; and so with all the rest.

And above all these things, grace causes GOD to dwell in the soul, ruling, defending, and guiding it to heaven; abiding there as a King in His kingdom, as a Commander in His army, as the Father of a family in His home, as a Master in His school, and as a Shepherd in His flock, to perform spiritually all the functions, and to exercise all the care of these different offices. Then, if this pearl of great price, from which we gain so much good, always accompanies virtue, who will not most gladly imitate the wise merchant man in the Gospel, who “went and sold all that he had, and bought it?" (S. Matt. xiii. 46.)

CHAPTER XIV.

Of the Supernatural Light and Knowledge which our Lord gives to the Virtuous.

THE

HE third privilege that is granted to virtue is an especial light and wisdom which our LORD communicates to the righteous, and, like those we have been speaking of, it proceeds from grace. The reason of this is, that it belongs to grace to heal nature; and therefore, while it heals the desire and will diseased by sin, it likewise cures the understanding darkened by the same cause, so that the man may both know what he ought to do, and also have power to perform it. In accordance with this, S. Gregory says in the Morals, "It is a punishment for sin that man cannot do what he knows, and it is also a punishment that he knows it not." And therefore the Prophet said, "The LORD is my Light" against ignorance, "and my Salvation" against impotence. (Ps. xxvii. 1.) As Light He teaches us what to desire, as Salvation He gives power to obtain it, and thus both the desire and the power proceed from grace. And besides the habit of faith and of infused prudence, which enlightens our understanding and shows it what to believe, and what to do, the gifts of the HOLY GHOST are given also to complete this cure. The four first gifts belong to the intellectnamely, that of wisdom, to give us knowledge of high things; that of knowledge, for lower ones; that of understanding, whereby we penetrate into the divine mysteries, and see their fitness and beauty; and that of counsel, to teach us how to act in the manifold perplexities that befall us in this life. All these bright rays of light proceed from grace, and therefore it is called

in Holy Scripture "an unction," which S. John says "teacheth us of all things." (1 John ii. 20, 27.) For as oil is the liquid which especially serves to feed light and to heal wounds, so this divine unction heals the wounds of our will and enlightens the darkness of our understanding. This is that oil, more precious than all sweet ointments, in which the holy king David rejoiced when he said, "Thou hast anointed my head with oil, (Ps. xxiii. 5); for plainly he spake not here of the material head, nor of material oil, but of the spiritual head, that is, the higher part of the soul, wherein the understanding resides, as Didymus declares on this passage, and of spiritual oil, that is, the light of the HOLY GHOST, which feeds this lamp. And the light of this oil the holy king possessed in great abundance, as he declares in another Psalm, saying, "Thou shalt make me to understand wisdom secretly." (Ps. li. 6.)

There is another reason, too, for this. It is the office of grace to make a man virtuous, and this cannot be done but by leading him to sorrow and repentance for his past life; to love of GOD, abhorrence of sin, desire for heavenly things, and contempt of the world. Now, it is evident that the will cannot entertain these affections unless the understanding has proportionate light and knowledge to awaken them; for the will is a blind power, and cannot take a step without the understanding going before to enlighten it, and show it the good and evil of things, that it may love or hate them accordingly. And therefore S. Thomas says, that as the love of GOD grows in the soul of the righteous, the knowledge of GOD'S goodness, of His loveliness, and of His beauty, grows in the same proportion; if the one increases by a hundred degrees, the other grows by as many; for he who loves much knows many grounds for love in the beloved object, and he who loves little knows few. And what I say of the love of GOD I say also of fear, of hope and of abhorrence of sin, which no man would abhor above all things unless he knew it to be so great an evil that it deserved this extreme hatred. For, as the HOLY GHOST wills that these effects should exist in the soul of the righteous, He must also will the existence of the causes that produce them, even as, willing a variety of effects upon the earth, He willed a variety of causes and influences in heaven.

Moreover, if grace indeed brings GOD to dwell in the soul of the righteous, as we have declared above, and GOD, as S. John so often tells us, is "the Light which lighteth every man that cometh into the world,” (S. John i. 9; iii. 19–21; viii. 12), it is plain that the more pure and clean He finds the soul the more will the rays of His divine light shine in it, as those of the sun do in a mirror that is very clean and polished. And therefore S. Augustine calls GOD the Wisdom of the purified soul, because He enlightens such a soul with the rays of His grace, teaching it all that is needful for its salvation. Nor is it marvellous that He should deal thus with men, for He does the same with all other creatures, which know all that is needful for their preservation by instinct given by the Author of Nature. Who teaches the sheep which of the many varieties of plants in the field will harm it and which will do it good, so that it feeds on one and leaves the other? Who makes the sheep know its friend from its enemy, so that it flees from the wolf and follows the dog, but this same LORD? If GOD then gives this knowledge to the brutes to preserve their natural life, much more will He give better knowledge to the righteous to preserve their spiritual life, for man needs it no less for things above his nature than the brute does for those which are in conformity with his. And if the providence of GOD has been so careful concerning the works of nature, how much more careful will it be concerning those of grace, which are so much more excellent, and so far exalted above man's capacities.

And this illustration not only proves that such knowledge exists, but also declares of what kind it is; not speculative, but practical knowledge; not given that we may know, but that we may act; not to make learned reasoners, but virtuous doers. And therefore it does not remain only in the understanding, like knowledge acquired in the schools, but communicates its virtue to the will, inclining it to all those things to which it awakens and invites it. For this is the property of the instincts that proceed from the HOLY GHOST, Who, being a most perfect teacher, is able perfectly to instruct His scholars in what they ought to know. In accordance with this the bride says, in Solomon's Song, "My soul failed when He spake." (Cant. v. 6.)