Part 3

Avarice was this Rival’s name, and she is the Immoderate Desire of acquiring and holding Riches. But they called her by a holier Name, so that it might not seem that they had abandoned me, by whose Gift they had been raised from the Dust and lifted up out of the Mire. So they spake gently of her to me, but there was Craft and Anger in their Hearts. And though the Desolation of a City which is set upon a Hill {Matt. v. 14.} cannot be hid, yet they gave her the Name of Discretion or Foresight, though such Discretion were better named Confusion, and such Foresight a pernicious Forgetfulness of all Good Works. And they said unto me: Thine is the Power; thine the Kingdom: fear not. It is good to use Charity and labour for Good Ends, to succour the Needy and give to the Poor. But I answered: What you say is just, Brothers, but I beseech you, consider {1 Cor. i. 26.} your Calling. Do not look back. Do not come down {Matt. xxiv. 17.} from the house-top to take anything out of your Houses, neither return back from the fields to take your Clothes. Do not be busied about this World’s Affairs, nor be entangled again in its Pollution, {2 Pet. ii. 20, 21.} which you have escaped through the Knowledge of the Saviour. For those who are entangled therein a second time must needs be overcome, and the latter End is worse with them than the Beginning, if by a Pretence of Piety they turn from the Holy Commandment which has been delivered unto them. And after I had thus spoken, there arose a Dissension among them, for some said that I was good and spoke the Truth, but others that I desired to seduce them into following me, in that I was wretched, and wished to make them wretched with me.

XIV

HOW THE LADY POVERTY SPOKE OF GOOD RELIGIOUS

My Rival could not yet drive me out of their Land, for there were still many Men among them in all the great Zeal and Charity of their First Fervour, who assailed Heaven by their Cries, and penetrated to the Throne of God by their Perseverance in Prayer, rapt in Contemplation and despising all Things which were of the Earth. Then the {Eccli. xxiv. 12.} Creator of All Things commanded me, and He Who created me said: Let thy Dwelling be in Jacob, and thine inheritance in Israel, and take thou Root in My Elect. All which Things I most diligently obeyed. And while I abode with them, and we walked together on the Royal Road, they became, on my {Wisdom viii. 10, 11.} account, of good Repute among the People, and admirable in the Sight of the Mighty. They were honoured by all Men, and reputed as Saints, though they could not endure to be thus called, remembering what the Son of God had said: I seek no {John viii. 50.} Glory from Man; therefore they refused all Honour offered them by Men.

XV

HOW AVARICE TOOK THE NAME OF DISCRETION

But whilst my Disciples were thus walking in so great Fervour of the Love of Christ, Avarice, taking to herself the Name of Discretion, spake and said unto them: Do not show yourselves so severe to Mankind, nor thus contemn their Honours, but have a kindly Countenance for them, and do not outwardly reject the Honours offered to you: be content to do so inwardly. It is a good thing to have the Friendship of Kings, the Acquaintance of Princes, the Intimacy of the Great, for if they honour and venerate you, if they rise up to meet you, many seeing this shall follow their Example, and be the more easily turned to God. And my Friends, acknowledging these advantages, but not guarding themselves from the Snare which {Ps. cxlii. 4.} had been set in the Way, in the End embraced Honours and Glory with all their Heart. They thought themselves to be inwardly such as they seemed outwardly, but they gloried in the Praises they received, and were like the Foolish Virgins without Oil, profitless servants upon the Earth. And Men who believed them to be interiorly that which they seemed exteriorly, freely offered them their Goods in Remission of their Sins. In the beginning they had counted all these {Phil. iii. 8.} Things as dung, saying: We are Poor Men and always desire to be Poor; we do not desire your goods but you. We have Food and wherewithal {1 Tim. vi. 8.} to cover ourselves and desire no more, for Vanity of {Eccl. i. 2.} Vanities and All is Vanity. Wherefore the devotion of Men towards them increased still more, so that many held in small Regard the Goods which they saw thus despised of the Saints.

XVI

HOW AVARICE TOOK THE NAME OF PRUDENCE

That cruel Enemy of mine, Avarice, seeing this, began to grow exceeding angry, and to gnash her teeth, and in vexation of Spirit said to herself: What shall I do? For all the World is going {John xii. 19.} after her! I will take, said she, the Name of Prudence, and will speak in their Hearts, and perchance they shall hear and consent. And she did as she had said, speaking unto them humble words, and saying: What do you here all {Matt, xx. 6.} the Day idle and making no Provision for the Morrow? In what could it hurt you to have the necessaries of Life, so long as you lack all Superfluities? For in Peace and Quietness could you work out your Salvation and the Salvation of Mankind, if you were supplied with all Things Needful to you. Therefore, while you have Time, provide for yourselves and those who shall come after you, for Men may not always be so generous to you, nor give you the customary Gifts. It would be good for you to be always as you are, but that is impossible, for God causes you daily to increase and multiply. Would God reject you because you had Wherewith to give to the Needy, and could remember the Poor, when He Himself has said: It is more blessed to {Acts xx. 35.} give than to receive? Why, therefore, do you not receive the Goods which are offered you, and not defraud the Givers of their Eternal Reward? You need fear no harm from the possession of Riches, so long as you account them as Nought. There is no Evil in Things themselves, but only in the Soul of Man, for God {Gen. i. 31.} saw All Things and they were good. To the Good, all Things are good, all Things serviceable, for them All Things were made. O how many having possessions use them evilly, which had they been yours, would have been put to a good use, for holy is your Purpose, holy your Desire. You do not wish to enrich your Relations who are already rich enough, but simply to have All Things necessary, so that your Conversation may be the more honest and orderly. These, and similar things, she said unto them, and some having already a corrupt Conscience, gave a ready Assent. But others turned a deaf ear to her Sayings, and by shrewd Answers refuted her Reasoning, alleging, as did also their opponents, Arguments from Holy Writ.

XVII

HOW AVARICE CALLED IN THE AID OF SLOTH

But Avarice, seeing that she could not, unaided, attain her ends upon my Disciples, changed her plan, that she might better fulfil her Purpose. So she called in Sloth, who neglects to begin good Works, or to finish those begun. And Avarice made a Treaty with Sloth, and entered into a Compact with her against the Religious. They were not intimate, these two, nor closely affined, but they readily made Common Cause in Evil-doing, as formerly did Pilate with Herod against the Messiah. And when their Plan was laid, Sloth began her Ravages, and having given Assault with her Satellites, she entered the Domain of the Religious, and by sheer Force carried off their Arms and extinguished their Charity, reducing them to Tepidity and Sluggishness. And so, a little also by Pusillanimity of Spirit, they became altogether dead of Heart.

XVIII

OF THE RELIGIOUS WHO WERE CONQUERED BY SLOTH[25]

After a While some of the Religious began to sigh most lamentably for the Flesh-pots of Egypt which they had left behind, and ignobly to seek what with noble Heart they had abandoned. They fretted at having to walk in the Ways of God’s Commandments, and followed His Injunctions with a barren Heart. They grew faint under their Burden, and for Want of the Spirit could scarcely breathe. Compunction they rarely felt, and never Contrition; at Obedience they murmured; their Thoughts were Earthy, their Joy carnal, paltry their Sorrow and their Speech imprudent, their Laughter easily provoked. Mirthful of Visage, their Carriage full of Vanity, their Garments soft and delicate, carefully cut, and still more carefully fashioned, they slept inordinately, ate overmuch, and drank intemperately. Their talk was full of Jests, and Railleries, and Idle Words. They engaged in Story-telling, changed the Rule, disposed of Patronage, and were busily occupied about the Affairs of the World. Of Spiritual Exercises there was no Care or Thought; but rarely Exhortations to save the Soul; they had become lukewarm in Celestial Things. In the Hardness of their Hearts they began to envy one another, to provoke one another, to domineer over one another, one Brother eagerly bringing the vilest Accusations against another. They shunned Gravity, and sought false Sources of Joy, seeing that they could not have the true. Nevertheless they kept up some show of Sanctity, so that they might not be utterly despised, and by holy Talk they sought to hide their wretched way of Life from the Simple. But so great was the Ruin of the Interior Man, that, unable to contain themselves, their evil Life burst forth in exterior Manifestations. In short they began to fawn upon the World, striking bargains with Worldlings that they might empty their Purses, and they enlarged their Buildings and multiplied those Things which they had forever renounced. They bartered their Words to the Rich, and their Courtesies to Noble Ladies. They eagerly frequented the Courts of Kings and Princes, that they might join House to House {Isa. v. 8.} and lay field to field. And now they have become great {Jer. v. 27.} and rich, and have waxed strong, because they have {Jer. ix. 3.} proceeded from Evil to Evil and have not known God. They were cast down when {Ps. lxxii. 18.} they were lifted up; they fell to the Earth before their Birth, and yet they say unto me: We are thy Friends.

XIX

HOW THE LADY POVERTY SORROWED OVER CERTAIN RELIGIOUS WHO WERE POOR IN THE WORLD, AND YET MORE PRONE THAN OTHERS TO SELF-INDULGENCE IN RELIGION

In my Sorrow I sorrowed all the more over certain Religious who had been poor and contemptible in the World, and yet grew rich after they had come to me. And when they had waxed fat and gross {Deut. xxxii. 15.} beyond the rest, they spurned and derided me. They in the World were thought unworthy of Life, being destitute through Need and Hunger. Once they ate Grass and the Bark {Job xxx. 4.} of trees, they were disfigured {Job xxx. 31.} by their Calamity and Misery, and now they are not content with the Community Life, but separate themselves without shame, eating of special Meats. Their Example in this is hurtful to the rest, and, moreover, they aspire to Honour among the Disciples of Christ, who in this World were held most worthy of Contempt. They who often wanted for Barley-bread and Water, and were glad to lie under the Hedges, were the Sons of the Ignorant and Mean and Unknown, on a level with my own Wretchedness. Now they hate me and fly far from me, and are not ashamed to spit in my face. I have suffered Contumely and Terrors at their Hands, {Jer. xx. 10.} and those who were my Friends and stood by my side have insulted me. They grew ashamed of me, and cast me off all the more that they knew they had been enriched by my Favours, so much so that they even scorned to hear my Name.

{Jer. iii. 22.} In my Sorrow I sorrowed and said unto them: Return, ye rebellious Children, and I will heal your Backslidings. Take heed and beware of {Luke xii. 15, and Ephes. v. 5.} Avarice, which is the Service of Idols, for the Avaricious Man shall not be satisfied with {Eccl. v. 9.} Silver. Call to Mind your former Days in which, being {Heb. x. 32.} illuminated, you endured a great Fight of Afflictions. Do not be of them who draw {Heb. x. 39.} back unto Perdition, but of them that believe to the Saving of the Soul. He who made void the Law of Moses died {Heb. x. 28.} without Mercy under two or three Witnesses. How much {Heb. x. 29.} more, think you, doth he deserve sorer Punishment, who hath trodden under Foot the Son of God, and hath accounted the Blood of the Covenant, by which he was sanctified, an unclean thing, and hath done despite to the Spirit of Grace? Return, then, ye Transgressors, {Isa. xlvi. 8.} search your Hearts, for a Man’s life consisteth not in the abundance of Things which he possesseth.

{Job xix. 21, 22.} But they were angered, and said: Go to, depart from us, thou miserable thing. We desire not the knowledge of thy Ways. And I answered and said unto them: Have {Luke xii. 15.} pity upon me, have pity upon me, at least, O ye, my Friends. Why do you persecute me without a Cause? Did I not tell you that your Ways and mine would not agree? It repenteth me that I have ever seen you.

{Cant. vi. 12.} And the Word of the Lord came to me, saying: Return, return, O Shulamite, return, return, that we may look upon thee. These are the Children of Wrath; they will not hear thee, because they will not hear Me. Their Hearts have become stubborn and unbelieving; they have departed and gone away, but they have not rejected thee without rejecting Me. For thou hast {Jer. xiii. 21.} taught them against thee, and instructed them against thine own Head, for if they had never received thee, they would never have been made rich. They pretended to love thee, so that having received thy Benefits, they might depart from thee. Wherefore under adverse Temptation they have turned away, and having laid {Jer. viii. 5.} hold on Lying, they would not return. Do not again believe those that speak thee fair, for they despise thee and seek thy Life. Do not offer Prayers or Hymns for them, for I will not hear thee: I have cast them off because they have despised Me.

XX

HOW THE LADY POVERTY SHOWED THE BLESSED FRANCIS THE PERFECT WALK IN THE RELIGIOUS LIFE.

{Prov. iv. 25.} Lo! then, dear Brothers, I have told you a long story, so that your eyes may behold where you go, and that you may see what you should do. It is perilous to look back and attempt to deceive God. Remember Lot’s wife, and do not believe every Spirit. But I have {Luke xvii. 32, and 1 John iv. 1.} confidence in you, dearest Brothers, for I see better Things in you than in any others, and you are nearer to Salvation. You seem to have abandoned Everything, and to have freed yourselves from all Burdens. And the best proof is this, that you have ascended this Mountain, which it is given to so few to do. But I tell you, dear Friends, that the Wickedness of many others hath made me suspicious of the Virtues of the Good, for I have too oft had experience of ravening Wolves in Sheeps’ Clothing.

I desire that each one of you should become a Follower {Heb. vi. 12.} of the Saints, who by Faith and Patience have come into my Inheritance. But because I dread lest the Fate of others should overtake you, I give you this salutary Counsel: that you should not in the Beginning aim at the Higher and more Hidden Things, but that, setting Christ before you, you should little by little come to the Highest. Take heed lest, when the dung of Poverty has been laid about your Roots, you should after all be found barren, for then there will remain nothing but the Axe. Do not trust entirely to the Love which you now have, for Man is more prone to Evil than to Good, and the Soul easily returns to former Habits, even though it may long have been separated from them. I know that with your great Fervour all Things seem easy to you. But remember what is written: Behold they that serve Him {Job iv. 18.} are not steadfast, and in His Angels He found Wickedness. At first it will seem sweet to you to bear Anything, but after awhile, lulled in Security, you will become careless of the Blessings you have received. You will imagine that you can return to Him whenever you wish, and find the old consolation. But the Spirit of Negligence, once admitted, is not so easily got rid of. Your Heart will turn after other Things, but Reason will call you to return to the Former Things. Lapsed into Sloth and Idleness, Words of Excuse will rise easily to your Lips: We cannot be strong as we were in the Beginning, and now the Times are changed; not knowing that it is written: When a Man hath come to {Eccli. xvii. 6.} his End then would he make a Beginning. For a voice will always dwell in your Hearts, saying: To-morrow, and To-morrow, we will return to the former Man, for it was better with us then than it is now. Behold, I have foretold you many Things, my Brothers, and many other things have I {John xvi. 12.} to say unto you, which ye cannot bear now. But the Hour cometh when I shall {John xvi. 25.} speak to you plainly of All Things.

XXI

HOW THE BLESSED FRANCIS MADE ANSWER TO THE LADY POVERTY

And when my Lady had made an end of speaking, the Blessed Francis, with his Companions, fell upon his Face, giving Thanks to God, and said: Thy Sayings, O Lady, are well-pleasing unto us, nor in ought that thou hast said can we find any Fault. All that we have {3 Kings x. 6.} heard in our Land concerning thy Words and thy Wisdom, is most true; nay, far greater is thy Wisdom than the Fame thereof. Blessed are thy Servants and Disciples, who dwell forever with thee and hear thy Words of Wisdom. May the Lord thy God, to Whom thou wast pleasing from all Eternity, be forever blessed, Who loved thee and made thee Queen, that thou mightest execute Judgment and Mercy on thy Servants. O how good and how sweet is {Wisdom xii. 1.} thy Spirit, chastising the Erring, and admonishing Sinners. Behold, O Lady, by the Love wherewith the Eternal King did love thee, by the Love wherewith thou didst love Him, we beseech thee do not despise our petition, but deal with us according to thy Mercy {Wisdom xvii. 1.} and Loving-kindness. Great are thy Works, and beyond the Tongue of man to tell, wherefore undisciplined Souls fly from thee, for thou walkest alone in rocky Places, terrible {Cant. vi. 3.} as an Army set in Array,[26] and Fools cannot dwell with thee. But we are thy servants and {Ps. xcix. 2.} the Sheep of thy Pasture Forever, and Forever and Ever, have we sworn and {Ps. cxviii. 106.} determined to keep the Judgments of thy Justice.

XXII

HOW THE LADY POVERTY GAVE HER CONSENT

At these Words my Lady Poverty was deeply moved, and as her Property is {Collect from the Litany of the Saints.} to have Mercy and spare, she could restrain herself no longer, but having speedily embraced them, and given to each the Kiss of Peace, she said: Behold, my Brothers and my Sons, I will come with you, because I know that through you I shall win many more.

XXIII

HOW THE BLESSED FRANCIS THANKED GOD FOR THE CONSENT OF THE LADY POVERTY

But the Blessed Francis, beside himself for joy, began to praise Almighty God with a loud Voice, for that He had not abandoned those who trusted in Him, saying: Bless the Lord, all ye {Tob. xiii. 10.} His Elect, keep Days of Rejoicing, and give Glory {Ps. cv. 1.} unto Him, for He is Good and His Mercy endureth Forever. And coming down from the Mountain they brought my Lady Poverty to the Place where they dwelt. And it was about the Sixth Hour.

XXIV

OF THE SOJOURN OF MY LADY POVERTY WITH THE BROTHERS

And when the Brothers had made all Things ready, they urged the Lady Poverty to eat with them. But she said unto them: Show me first your Oratory, the Cloister and Chapter House, the Refectory, Kitchen, Dormitory, and Stables, your fine Seats and polished Tables and noble Houses. For I see none of these Things, and yet I do see that you are blithe and cheerful, abounding in Joy, filled with Consolation, as if you expected all these Things to be supplied to you at will. But they made answer and said: O Lady and Queen, we thy Servants are weary with the long Journey, and thou in coming with us hast endured not a little. Therefore, if it please thee, let us eat first, and thus refreshed, we will do thy Bidding. And my Lady answered: It pleaseth me well. But first bring Water that we may wash our Hands, and a Cloth wherewith to dry them. And they brought forth a broken earthenware Vessel--for they had no sound one--full of Water. And having poured the Water on her hands they searched on all sides for a Cloth. But when none could be found, one of the Brethren offered the Habit he wore, that therewith my Lady might wipe her Hands. And giving Thanks she took it, magnifying God with all her Heart Who had given her such Men as Companions.

And after this they led her to the Place where the Table was made ready. But she looked round about, and seeing Nothing save three or four Crusts of Barley-bread laid upon the Grass, she marvelled exceedingly within herself, saying: Who ever saw the {Wisdom xii. 13, 18, 19.} Like in the Generations of Old? Blessed art Thou, O Lord God, Who hast care of All, for Thy Power is at hand when Thou wilt, and Thou hast taught Thy People, that by such Works they may please Thee. And thus they sat a while giving Thanks to God for all His Gifts. Then my Lady Poverty commanded them to bring in Dishes the Food which they had cooked. But they fetched a Basin full of cold Water, that all might dip their Bread therein, for here was there no abundance of Dishes or superfluity of Cooks. My Lady Poverty then begged that she might at least have some uncooked savoury Herbs, but having neither Garden nor Gardener, the Brethren gathered some wild Herbs in the Wood, and placed them before her. Who said: Bring me a little Salt, that I may savour these Herbs, for they are bitter. But they answered her: Then must thou tarry a while, Lady, until we go into the City to obtain it, if haply there should be any one who would give us some. Then she asked them, saying: Fetch hither a Knife that I may trim these Herbs, and cut the Bread, which verily is hard and dry. Who answered: O Lady, we have no Smith to make us knives. For the present, use thy Teeth in the place of a Knife, and afterwards we will provide. Whereupon she said: Have you a little Wine? To which they answered: No, Lady, we have no Wine, for the necessaries of {Eccli. xxix. 28.} Man’s Life are Bread and Water, and it is not good for thee to drink Wine, for the Spouse of Christ should shun Wine as Poison.

And when they were satisfied, rejoicing more in the Nobility of Want than if they had had an Abundance of All Things, they blessed the Lord, in Whose Sight they had found such Favour, and led my Lady Poverty to a Place where she might sleep, for she was weary. And she lay down upon the bare ground. And when she asked for a Pillow, they straightway brought her a Stone, and laid it under her Head. So after she had slept for a brief space in Peace, she arose and asked the Brothers to show her their Cloister. And they, leading her to the Summit of a Hill, showed her the wide World, saying: This is our Cloister, O Lady Poverty. Thereupon she bade them all sit down together, and opening her Mouth she began to speak unto them Words of Life, saying:

XXV

HOW MY LADY POVERTY BLESSED THE BROTHERS, EXHORTING THEM TO PERSEVERE IN THE GRACE WHICH THEY HAD RECEIVED