Finally, thou art to know that temptation is thy great happiness. The greatest Temptation is to be without Temptation. Molinos.

The habitual conviction of the presence of God is the sovereign remedy in temptations; it supports, it consoles, it calms us. We must not be surprised that we are tempted. We are placed here to be proved by temptations. Every thing is temptation to us. Crosses irritate our pride, and prosperity flatters it; our life is a continual warfare, but Jesus Christ combats with us. We must let temptations, like a tempest, beat upon our heads, and still move on; like a traveller surprised on the way by a storm, who wraps his cloak about him, and goes on his journey in spite of the opposing elements.

In a certain sense, there is a little to do in doing the will of God. Still it is true that it is a great work, because it must be without any reserve. This spirit enters the secret foldings of our hearts, and even the most upright affections, and the most necessary attachments, must be regulated by his will; but it is not the multitude of hard duties, it is not constraint and contention that advances us in our Christian course. On the contrary, it is the yielding of our wills without restriction and without choice, to tread cheerfully every day in the path in which Providence leads us, to seek nothing, to be discouraged by nothing, to see our duty in the present moment, to trust all else without reserve to the will and power of God.

DANGEROUS MOMENTS.

23

Let us pray to our heavenly Father that our wills swallowed up in his.

may be

Fenelon, translated by Mrs. Follen.

A weak mind sinks under prosperity, as well as under adversity. A strong and deep one has two highest tides, when the moon is at the full, and when there is no moon. Hare.

St. Paul constantly refuses to be placed alone in matters of trust, into which, from the absence of examination and inspection, it was possible abuse might creep. Here is a great example: here is the rarest of unions, the mixture of Prudence and Enthusiasm. This should be a principle with all men in matters of Trust. We should put our Integrity into safe Custody. No man should lay himself open to a possible temptation of unknown power, or feed the evil spirit of suspicion and calumny by rash and inconsiderate self-exposure. Thom.

An accession of wealth is a dangerous predicament for a man. Presumptuous carelessness venturing on the borders of danger, - popularity-self-indulgence - a disposition to gad about like Dinah - stupidity of conscience under chastisement all these are symptoms of spiritual danger. A man is in imminent danger when, in suspected circumstances, he is disposed to equivocate.

A man often gives evidence to others that he is giddy,

though he is not aware of it, perhaps, himself. Whoever has been in danger himself will guess very shrewdly concerning the dangerous state of such a man. Cecil.

It is better, (saith St. Augustine) to deny entrance to just and equitable Anger, than to entertain it, be it never so little, because being once admitted, it is hard to be quit of it, for it entereth as a little Twig, and in a moment groweth greater, and becomes a Beam. If it can but once gain the Night of us, and that the Sun shall set upon our Anger, (which the Apostle forbiddeth,) converting it into Hatred, there is almost no means to be freed from it; for it nourishes itself with a thousand false persuasions, since there never was any angered man that thought his Anger unjust.

But thou wilt say, how shall I resist it? Thou must, my Philothea, at the first touch thou shalt feel of it, speedily reassemble thy forces, not violently, but mildly, and yet seriously; for as we see in the audiences of divers Senates or Courts of Justice, the Ushers crying Peace make more noise than those whom they would silence; so it happeneth many times, that endeavoring with violence to oppress our Choler, we stir up more trouble in our Hearts than the Choler had done; and the Heart thus troubled is no more master of itself.

The Prayer against present and pressing Choler must always be meek and calm, and not violent; and this Rule is to be observed in all remedies which we use against this Evil. Moreover, as soon as thou perceivest that thou

hast done any act of Choler, repair the fault by an act of Mildness, exercised cheerfully toward the same person against whom thou hast been moved. For as it is a sovereign Remedy against a Lie, to unsay it presently; so it is a good Remedy against Anger, to repair it instantly by a contrary act of Mildness.

Again, when thou art in tranquillity, and without any occasion of Choler, make great provision of Meekness and Gentleness, speaking all thy Words and doing all thy Actions little and great in the mildest manner thou canst. Neither must we have only this sweetness of Honey which is pleasant and fragrant, that is to say, sweetness of civil Conversation with Strangers, but also the sweetness of Milk among those of our Family, and our near Neighbors; wherein they greatly fail, who in the Street seem Angels, and in their houses Devils.

One of the best exercises which we can perform of meekness, is that whereof the subject is in ourselves; that is never to be vext against ourselves, nor our imperfections. For though reason requires that we should be displeased and sorry when we commit any Faults, yet we must always avoid all Malicious, Spiteful, and Choleric displeasure, wherein many do highly offend, who stirred up to Choler, are Angry and Vexed to see themselves Vexed; for by this means they keep their heart steeped in Choler; and though the second Anger seem to destroy the first, yet notwithstanding, it serves to open a passage of a new Choler to the first occasion that offers. Besides, these Angers, Fretting, and Vexations against ourselves tend to

Pride, and have no other source than Self-love, which troubleth and disquieteth itself to see us imperfect. We must then have a dislike of our Faults, which may be quiet, sober, and moderate. For Repentance done with violence is never according to the quality of our Faults, but according to our inclinations.

Believe me, Philothea, as the reproofs of a Father given sweetly and affectionately, have far more Power with the Child to reclaim him, than Choler and Anger; so, when our heart shall have done any Fault, if we reprehend it with a quiet and sweet Admonition, having more compassion upon it than Passion against it, and gently encouraging it to amendment, the Repentance following thereupon will penetrate further, and strike deeper, than a vexing, angry, and storming Repentance.

Raise up then thy Heart fair and softly when it shall fall, humbling thyself profoundly before God by acknowledging thine own misery without astonishment at thy fall, for it is no wonder that weakness should be feeble, or misery wretched; detest nevertheless from thy heart that thou hast offended God, and with great courage and confidence in his Mercy, return to the way of Virtue which thou hadst forsaken. De Sales.

To have erred in one branch of our duties does not unfit us for the performance of all the rest, unless we suffer the dark spot to spread over our whole nature, which may happen almost unobserved in the torpor of despair. This kind of despair is chiefly grounded on a