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flesh; he went farther than the majority of saints。  He; who by



an extraordinary protection of God's grace was never tempted;



measured all his steps as if he were threatened on every side by



particular dangers。  Thenceforward he never raised his eyes;



either when walking in the streets; or when in society。  Not only



did he avoid all business with females even more scrupulously



than before; but he renounced all conversation and every kind of



social recreation with them; although his father tried to make



him take part; and he commenced only too early to deliver his



innocent body to austerities of every kind。〃'211'







'211' Meschler's Life of Saint Louis of Gonzaga; French



translation by Lebrequier; 1891; p。 40。















At the age of twelve; we read of this young man that 〃if by



chance his mother sent one of her maids of honor to him with a



message; he never allowed her to come in; but listened to her



through the barely opened door; and dismissed her immediately。 



He did not like to be alone with his own mother; whether at table



or in conversation; and when the rest of the company withdrew; he



sought also a pretext for retiring。 。 。 。  Several great ladies;



relatives of his; he avoided learning to know even by sight; and



he made a sort of treaty with his father; engaging promptly and



readily to accede to all his wishes; if he might only be excused



from all visits to ladies。〃 '212'







'212' Ibid。; p。 71。















When he was seventeen years old Louis joined the Jesuit



order;'213' against his father's passionate entreaties; for he



was heir of a princely house; and when a year later the father



died; he took the loss as a 〃particular attention〃 to himself on



God's part; and wrote letters of stilted good advice; as from a



spiritual superior; to his grieving mother。  He soon became so



good a monk that if any one asked him the number of his brothers



and sisters; he had to reflect and count them over before



replying。  A Father asked him one day if he were never troubled



by the thought of his family; to which; 〃I never think of them



except when praying for them;〃 was his only answer。  Never was he



seen to hold in his hand a flower or anything perfumed; that he



might take pleasure in it。  On the contrary; in the hospital; he



used to seek for whatever was most disgusting; and eagerly snatch



the bandages of ulcers; etc。; from the hands of his companions。 



He avoided worldly talk; and immediately tried to turn every



conversation on to pious subjects; or else he remained silent。 



He systematically refused to notice his surroundings。  Being



ordered one day to bring a book from the rector's seat in the



refectory; he had to ask where the rector sat; for in the three



months he had eaten bread there; so carefully did he guard his



eyes that he had not noticed the place。  One day; during recess;



having looked by chance on one of his companions; he reproached



himself as for a grave sin against modesty。  He cultivated



silence; as preserving from sins of the tongue; and his greatest



penance was the limit which his superiors set to his bodily



penances。  He sought after false accusations and unjust



reprimands as opportunities of humility; and such was his



obedience that; when a room…mate; having no more paper; asked him



for a sheet; he did not feel free to give it to him without first



obtaining the permission of the superior; who; as such; stood in



the place of God; and transmitted his orders。







'213' In his boyish note…book he praises the monastic life for



its freedom from sin; and for the imperishable treasures; which



it enables us to store up; 〃of merit in God's eyes which makes of



Him our debtor for all Eternity。〃  Loc。 cit。; p。 62。















I can find no other sorts of fruit than these of Louis's



saintship。  He died in 1591; in his twenty…ninth year; and is



known in the Church as the patron of all young people。  On his



festival; the altar in the chapel devoted to him in a certain



church in Rome 〃is embosomed in flowers; arranged with exquisite



taste; and a pile of letters may be seen at its foot; written to



the Saint by young men and women; and directed to 'Paradiso。'



They are supposed to be burnt unread except by San Luigi; who



must find singular petitions in these pretty little missives;



tied up now with a green ribbon; expressive of hope; now with a



red one; emblematic of love;〃 etc。'214'







'214' Mademoiselle Mori; a novel quoted in Hare's Walks in Rome;



1900; i。 55。















I cannot resist the temptation to quote from Starbuck's book; p。



388; another case of purification by elimination。  It runs as



follows:







〃The signs of abnormality which sanctified persons show are of



frequent occurrence。  They get out of tune with other people;



often they will have nothing to do with churches; which they



regard as worldly; they become hypercritical towards others; they



grow careless of their social; political; and financial



obligations。  As an instance of this type may be mentioned a



woman of sixty…eight of whom the writer made a special study。 



She had been a member of one of the most active and progressive



churches in a busy part of a large city。  Her pastor described



her as having reached the censorious stage。  She had grown more



and more out of sympathy with the church; her connection with it



finally consisted simply in attendance at prayer…meeting; at



which her only message was that of reproof and condemnation of



the others for living on a low plane。  At last she withdrew from



fellowship with any church。  The writer found her living alone in



a little room on the top story of a cheap boarding…house quite



out of touch with all human relations; but apparently happy in



the enjoyment of her own spiritual blessings。  Her time was



occupied in writing booklets on sanctificationpage after page



of dreamy rhapsody。  She proved to be one of a small group of



persons who claim that entire salvation involves three steps



instead of two; not only must there be conversion and



sanctification; but a third; which they call 'crucifixion' or



'perfect redemption;' and which seems to bear the same relation



to sanctification that this bears to conversion。  She related how



the Spirit had said to her; 'Stop going to church。  Stop going to



holiness meetings。  Go to your own room and I will teach you。'



She professes to care nothing for colleges; or preachers; or



churches; but only cares to listen to what God says to her。  Her



description of her experience seemed entirely consistent; she is



happy and contented; and her life is entirely satisfactory to



herself。  While listening to her own story; one was tempted to



forget that it was from the life of a person who could not live



by it in conjunction with her fellows。〃







Our final judgment of the worth of such a life as this will



depend largely on our conception of God; and of the sort of



conduct he is best pleased with in his creatures。  The



Catholicism of the sixteenth century paid little heed to social



righteousness; and to leave the world to the devil whilst saving



one's own soul was then accounted no discreditable scheme。 



To…day; rightly or wrongly; helpfulness in general human affairs



is; in consequence of one of those secular mutations in moral



sentiment of which I spoke; deemed an essential element of worth



in character; and to be of some public or private use is also



reckoned as a species of divine service。  Other early Jesuits;



especially the missionaries among them; the Xaviers; Brebeufs;



Jogues; were objective minds; and fought in their way for the



world's welfare; so their lives to…day inspire us。  But when the



intellect; as in this Louis; is originally no larger than a pin's



head; and cherishes ideas of God of corresponding smallness; the



result; notwithstanding the heroism put forth; is on the whole



repulsive。  Purity; we see in the object…lesson; is NOT the one



thing needful; and it is better that a life should contract many



a dirt…mark; than forfeit usefulness in its efforts to remain



unspotted。







Proceeding onwards in our search of religious extravagance; we



next come upon excesses of Tenderness and Charity。  Here



saintliness has to face the charge of preserving the unfit; and



breeding parasites and beggars。  〃Resist not evil;〃 〃Love your



enemies;〃 these are saintly maxims of which men of this world

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