第二章

描述了天主向某人揭示的大罪中的靈魂的醜陋外表：對自知之明進行了一些評論：本章很有用，因為它包含一些需要注意的要點。對居所的解釋。

1. 大罪的影響。 2.它阻礙靈魂獲得功德。 3.靈魂比喻為一棵樹。 4、大罪中靈魂的混亂。 5. 罪惡靈魂的異象。 6. 實現這些教訓的好處。 7. 祈禱。 8. 城堡之美。 9. 自知之明 10. 透過默想神聖的完美而獲得。 11. 這種默想的好處。 12. 基督應該成為我們的榜樣。 13. 魔鬼會誘騙初學者。 14.我們的力量必須來自天主。 15. 罪蒙蔽了靈魂。 16.世俗。 17. 迴廊裡的世界。 18. 魔鬼的攻擊。 19. 魔鬼藝術的例子。 20. 完美在於慈善。 21. 不謹慎的熱心。 22. 注意力分散的危險。

1. 1. 在進一步討論之前，我希望您考慮一下大罪⁴⁶將這座宏偉而美麗的城堡，這顆東方的珍珠，這棵生命樹，種植在像徵著天主本身的生命活水旁邊的狀態。沒有哪個夜晚可以如此黑暗，沒有哪個陰暗或黑暗可以與它的晦澀相比。可以這麼說，靈魂中心的太陽，賦予靈魂如此輝煌和美麗，卻完全黯然失色，儘管靈魂就像水晶反射太陽一樣適合享受天主的存在。 ⁴⁸

2. 2. 當靈魂犯了不可饒恕的罪時，沒有任何事物能對它有益。它的任何善行都不值得永恆的獎賞，因為它們不是來自天主作為其首要原則，而唯有天主才是我們的美德真正的美德。與他分離的靈魂在他眼中不再討喜，因為犯了大罪後，它不再尋求取悅天主，而是寧願滿足魔鬼，黑暗之君，因此分享他的黑暗。我認識一個人，我們的主向她揭示了一種致命罪的後果⁴⁹，她說她認為沒有人意識到它的後果，就不會犯這種罪，但為了避免它會遭受難以想像的折磨。這個異象使她非常渴望所有人都能掌握這個真理，因此，我懇求你們，我的女兒們，為那些生活在盲目之中、行黑暗事的罪人熱切地向天主祈禱。

3. 3. 在恩典的狀態下，靈魂就像一口清澈的水井，從中隻流出最清澈的水晶溪流。它的作品令天主和人類都喜悅，它從生命之河中升起，像一棵樹一樣紮根於生命之河旁。否則，它既不長葉，也不結果子，因為恩典之水滋潤它，不致因乾旱枯萎，結出好果子。但靈魂因犯罪而脫離了生命之流，在黑色惡臭的水池旁生長，只能結出令人厭惡和不健康的果實。

請注意，噴泉和燦爛的太陽並沒有失去它們的輝煌和美麗，因為它們位於靈魂的正中心，無法剝奪它們的光澤。靈魂就像陽光下的一塊水晶，上面蓋了一塊厚厚的黑布，所以無論陽光多麼明亮，水晶都無法反射它。

4. 4. 被耶穌基督的寶血救贖的靈魂啊，請牢記這些事；憐憫自己！如果你認清自己的可憐處境，你怎麼能不嘗試去除靈魂水晶中的黑暗呢？請記住，如果死亡現在奪走你，你將永遠無法再享受這太陽的光芒。耶穌啊！一個靈魂被剝奪了光明，這景像是多麼悲傷啊！這座城堡的房間狀況多麼糟糕！城堡裡的居民、城堡的行政長官、統治者和管家的靈魂的力量，是多麼盲目和不受控制，多麼混亂啊！總之，現在種樹的土壤是在魔鬼的領域，它所結出來的果子怎麼可能不是邪惡的呢？一位具有偉大精神洞察力的人曾經告訴我，他對這樣一個靈魂的邪惡行為並不感到驚訝，而是對它沒有犯下更嚴重的罪惡感到驚訝。願天主以祂的仁慈保佑我們遠離如此巨大的邪惡，因為今生沒有什麼比這更配得上邪惡的名字，它將我們帶入永恆的邪惡之中。

5. 5. 這就是我們必須害怕並祈求天主救我們脫離的，因為我們本身就是軟弱，除非祂看守這座城市，否則我們將徒勞地保衛它。 ⁵⁰我所說的人⁵¹說她從賜給她的異像中學到了兩件事。第一個是非常害怕得罪神；看到後果有多可怕，她不斷地懇求天主保佑她免於陷入罪惡。其次，它是一面教導她謙卑的鏡子，因為她看到，我們身上沒有任何好的東西來自於我們自己，而是來自於恩典之水，靈魂就像種植在河邊的一棵樹一樣，靠近恩典之水，來自為我們的工作賦予生命的太陽。她如此生動地意識到這一點，以至於當看到自己或其他人所做的任何善行時，她立即轉向天主作為善行的源頭——她清楚地知道，沒有天主的幫助，我們將一事無成——並爆發出讚美天主的歌曲。一般來說，她會忘記自己，只在做任何有功德的事情時才想到天主。

6. 6. 如果它教會了我們這兩個真理，那麼花在閱讀或寫作這個主題上的時間就不算浪費；因為儘管有學問、聰明的男人對她們瞭如指掌，但女人的智慧卻很遲鈍，需要各方面的幫助。也許這就是為什麼我們的主向我提出這些比較；願祂賜給我們恩典，使我們能夠從中受益！

7. 7. 這些屬靈的事是如此晦澀難懂，以至於像我這樣無知的人要想解釋它們，就必須在進入正題之前說很多多餘的，甚至與主題無關的東西。我的讀者必須對我有耐心，就像我在寫我不理解的東西時對自己有耐心一樣；事實上，我常常像個傻子一樣拿起報紙，不知道該說什麼，也不知道如何開始。毫無疑問，我有必要盡力向你們解釋這些精神主題，因為我們經常聽到祈禱對我們的靈魂是多麼有益；我們的憲法要求我們每天祈禱很多小時，但卻沒有告訴我們我們自己可以在其中扮演什麼角色，也沒有告訴我們天主透過它在靈魂中所做的工作很少。 ⁵²以各種方式將它擺在你面前，考慮一下我們內心的這座天堂居所，人們對它知之甚少，儘管他們經常接近它。當我以前寫過這些問題時，我們的主給了我恩典，使我能夠理解一些事情，但我想我現在有了更多的亮光，尤其是在更困難的問題上。不幸的是，我太無知了，無法在不說太多眾所周知的情況下討論這些主題。

8. 8. 現在讓我們最後轉向我們的城堡及其許多居所。你一定不要想到連續放置的一套房間，而要把目光集中在城堡上，也就是國王居住的宮廷。 ⁵³就像棕櫚仁一樣，⁵⁴在進入可食用部分之前必須除去幾層外皮，這個主要房間被許多其他房間包圍。無論你想像這座城堡有多大、多麼宏偉、多麼寬敞，都不能誇大其詞；靈魂的能力超出了我們的理解，這座宮殿裡的太陽照亮了它的每一部分。

9. 9. 一個獻身於祈禱的靈魂，無論多或少，都不應該被限制在狹窄的範圍內。既然天主賦予了它如此偉大的尊嚴，那就讓它在城堡的各個房間裡隨意漫步，從最低層到最高層。讓它不要強迫自己在同一個居所裡停留太久，甚至是自我認識的居所。然而，請注意，自知之明是必不可少的，即使對於那些被天主帶入與自己同住一處的人來說也是如此。沒有其他東西，無論多麼崇高，都無法使靈魂變得完美，靈魂永遠不能忘記自己的虛無。讓謙卑始終發揮作用，就像蜜蜂在蜂巢中一樣，否則一切都會失敗。但是，請記住，蜜蜂離開蜂巢去尋找花朵，靈魂有時應該停止思考自己，而應該默想天主的偉大和威嚴。這樣，它會比透過自我默觀更好地了解自己的卑鄙，並且會更免受進入第一個獲得自我認識的房間的爬行動物的影響。雖然自我省察是天主賜予的極大恩典，但正如人們所說，「太多和太少一樣不好」；相信我，在天主的幫助下，透過默觀神性，我們會比把眼睛盯著自己——地球上可憐的生物——取得更大的進步。

10. 10.我不知道我是否說清楚了；自知之明是如此重要，以至於我不希望你忽視它，儘管你可以透過祈禱被提升到天堂，因為在地球上沒有什麼比謙卑更需要的了。因此，我再說一遍，努力從練習謙卑的房間第一個進入，這不僅是一個好方法，而且是所有方法中最好的方法，這比立即衝向其他人要好得多。這是一條正確的道路；－－如果我們知道走在這條路上是多麼容易和安全，為什麼還要要求有翅膀來飛翔呢？讓我們試著學習如何快速進步。我相信，除非努力認識天主，否則我們永遠無法學會認識自己，因為，看到祂的偉大，我們就會被自己的卑鄙所震驚，祂的純潔顯示出我們的骯髒，而透過默觀祂的謙卑，我們發現我們離謙卑有多遠。

11. 11. 這種做法有兩個優點。首先，很明顯，當白色靠近黑色物體時，看起來會更白，相反，黑色永遠不會像靠近白色物體時看起來那麼暗。其次，當我們從自己轉向天主時，我們的理解力就會變得更加崇高，並且能夠在各方面行善：永遠不要讓我們的思想擺脫我們自己過錯的泥潭，這是非常有害的。我描述了從犯了大罪的靈魂的源頭湧出的溪流是多麼渾濁和惡臭。 ⁵⁵因此（雖然情況並不完全一樣，但天主禁止！這只是一個比較），當我們不斷地專注於思考我們塵世本性的弱點時，我們行動的源泉永遠不會擺脫膽怯、軟弱和懦弱的思想的泥潭，例如： 「我想知道人們是否注意到我！如果我這樣做的話，會對我造成傷害嗎？我敢開始這項工作嗎？豈不是太放肆了？像我這樣有缺陷的人談論崇高的精神話題是正確的嗎？ ⁵⁶如果我讓自己變得與眾不同，人們會不會對我評價太好？ 極端是不好的，即使在美德方面也是如此。

12. 12. 唉，我的女兒們，魔鬼因這些想法給許多人的靈魂造成了多大的損失啊！它認為這些想法和我可以提到的許多其他同類想法都源於謙遜。這是因為我們不了解自己的本性；自我認識變得如此扭曲，除非我們把自己的想法從自己身上轉移開，否則我對這些和許多更糟糕的恐懼威脅到我們並不感到驚訝。因此，我的女兒們，我主張我們應該把目光集中在我們唯一的良善基督和祂的聖徒身上。在那裡，我們將學習真正的謙卑，我們的思想將變得高尚，這樣，自知之明就不會使我們變得卑鄙和懦弱。雖然只是第一處，但這座府邸卻蘊含著巨大的財富，寶藏如此之多，只要靈魂能夠避開居住在這裡的爬行動物，就不能不前進。魔鬼用來阻止人們意識到自己的弱點並發現他的網羅的詭計和計謀是可怕的。

13. 13. 根據個人經驗，我可以向您提供有關這些第一座居所中發生的事情的很多資訊。我只想說，你一定不要想像只有幾個房間，而是有很多個房間，因為靈魂通過許多不同的方式進入它們，並且總是帶著良好的意圖。魔鬼對此非常憤怒，以至於他在每個房間裡都隱藏著大量的邪靈來阻止基督徒的進步，而基督徒卻對此一無所知，因此他以一千種方式陷入了陷阱。他不能像欺騙那些仍然沉浸在這個世界、沉浸在它的快樂之中、渴望它的榮譽和榮譽的初學者那樣輕易地欺騙那些與國王更親近的人。由於他們靈魂的附庸，天主賦予他們的感官和力量都很弱，所以這樣的人很容易被征服，儘管他們不想得罪天主。

14. 14. 那些意識到自己處於這種狀態的人必須盡可能經常求助於陛下，以聖母和聖徒為他們的擁護者，為他們而戰，因為我們生物缺乏自衛的力量。事實上，在生命的每一種狀態下，我們所有的幫助都必須來自天主；願祂憐憫我們，阿門！我們過著多麼悲慘的生活啊！正如我在其他著作⁵⁷中更充分地談到了由於忽視謙卑和自知之明的需要而導致的疾病，我的女兒們，我將不再談論它，儘管它是最重要的。願天主保佑我所說的話對你有用。

15 你必須注意到，從王宮發出的光線在這些最初的居所中幾乎沒有照耀；雖然不像犯了大罪的靈魂那麼陰暗和黑色，但它們處於半黑暗狀態，裡面的居民幾乎看不到任何東西。我無法解釋自己；我並不是說這是居所本身的錯，而是說城堡外的蛇、毒蛇和有毒爬行動物的數量使進入城堡的靈魂無法看到光明。它們就像一個人進入一個充滿燦爛陽光的房間，眼睛被灰塵堵塞，半閉著。儘管房間本身很亮，但由於他自己設置的障礙，他看不到東西。同樣，這些兇猛的野獸也會蒙蔽初學者的眼睛，讓他除了它們之外什麼也看不見。

16. 16. 在我看來，這樣的靈魂雖然沒有犯大罪，但卻如此世俗，專注於塵世的財富、榮譽和事務，以至於正如我所說，即使它真誠地希望進入自己並享受城堡的美景，它也會被這些幹擾所阻止，並且似乎無法克服如此多的障礙。為了進入第二宮，最重要的是退出所有不必要的關心和事務，只要與自己的生活狀態的職責相適應。這是非常重要的，除非立即採取行動，否則我認為任何人都不可能到達主要房間，甚至留在原地而不冒失去已經獲得的東西的巨大風險。不然的話，雖然在城堡之內，但也難免會被周圍的一些劇毒生物咬傷。

17. 17. 我的女兒們，如果像我們這樣的宗教人士在擺脫了所有這些障礙，並進一步進入了更加秘密的居所之後，由於她自己的過錯，又回到了所有這些混亂之中，那麼，她會變成什麼樣子呢？由於她的罪孽，許多其他蒙天主賜予偉大恩典的人也將罪孽深重地陷入悲慘的境地。在我們的修道院裡，我們沒有這些外在的邪惡。願天主祝福我們的心靈擺脫這些痛苦，願祂將我們從這些痛苦中拯救出來。

18. 18. 我的女兒們，不要為與你們無關的事而煩惱。你必須注意到，與惡魔的鬥爭幾乎貫穿了這座城堡的所有居所。誠然，其中一些守衛，正如我所解釋的，是靈魂的力量，具有戰鬥的力量，但我們必須敏銳地警惕魔鬼的藝術，以免他以光明天使的形式欺騙我們。他以無數的方式逐漸潛入，給我們帶來了很大的傷害，儘管我們發現時已為時已晚。 ⁵⁸

19. 19. 正如我在其他地方所說的，⁵⁹他的工作就像一把銼刀，秘密地、默默地磨損著它的方式：我會給你一些例子來展示他是如何開始他的詭計的。例如：一位修女非常渴望懺悔，除非她以某種方式折磨自己，否則她不會感到平靜。 ⁶⁰ 這本身就是好的；但假設女修道院院長禁止她在沒有特別許可的情況下實行任何禁慾，而這位修女認為，在如此有功德的事業中，她可能會冒險不服從，秘密地過著這樣的生活，以致她失去了健康，甚至無法滿足她統治的要求——你會看到這種善意的表現是如何表現的善意。另一位修女非常熱衷於宗教的完美。這是非常正確的，但可能會讓她認為她姐妹們的每一個小錯誤都是嚴重的罪行，並不斷地觀察她們是否做錯了什麼，以便她可以跑到女修道院院長那裡指控她們。同時，也許她從來沒有註意到自己的缺點，因為她對別人的宗教儀式非常熱心，而她的姊妹們也許沒有看到她的意圖，只知道她對她們的監視，並不認為她的行為有什麼好處。

20. 20. 魔鬼在這裡的主要目的是冷卻慈善事業並減少修女們的相互感情，這會嚴重傷害她們。我的女兒們，請確信，真正的完美在於對天主和我們鄰居的愛，我們越好地遵守這兩條誡命，我們就會越完美。我們的規則和憲法的唯一目的是幫助我們遵守這兩項法律。

21. 21. 不可對他人表現出不明智的熱心；它可能會給我們帶來很大的傷害；讓每個人自己審視一下自己。然而，正如我在其他地方詳細討論過這個主題一樣，⁶¹我在這裡不再贅述，只是懇求您記住這種相互感情的必要性。如果我們總是批評一些瑣碎的行為，而這些行為往往根本不是真正的缺陷，但由於不了解他們的動機而錯誤地解釋它們，我們的靈魂可能會失去平靜，甚至擾亂他人的平靜。看看要達到完美需要付出多少代價！有時，魔鬼會用這種方式引誘修女們談論女修道院院長，這更加危險。然後需要非常謹慎，因為如果她違反了規則或章程，則此事不能總是被忽視，而應該向她提及；⁶²如果此後她不修改，則應將此事通知騎士團的上級。在這種情況下說話是真正的仁慈，就像我們看到我們的姊妹犯了嚴重的錯誤一樣。保持沉默，因為擔心言論會成為慈善事業的誘惑，這本身就是一種誘惑。 ⁶³

22. 22.不過，我必須鄭重警告你們，不要互相談論這樣的事情，以免魔鬼欺騙你們。你這樣做會讓他受益匪淺，因為這會導致你養成分心的習慣。相反，正如我所說，向有責任糾正問題的人陳述問題。感謝天主，我們這裡幾乎永遠保持沉默的習慣幾乎沒有機會進行這樣的談話，不過，我們最好永遠保持警惕。

DESCRIBES THE HIDEOUS APPEARANCE OF A SOUL IN MORTAL SIN AS REVEALED BY GOD TO SOME ONE: OFFERS A FEW REMARKS ON SELF-KNOWLEDGE: THIS CHAPTER IS USEFUL AS IT CONTAINS SOME POINTS REQUIRING ATTENTION. AN EXPLANATION OF THE MANSIONS.

1. Effects of mortal sin. 2. It prevents the soul’s gaining merit. 3. The soul compared to a tree. 4. Disorder of the soul in mortal sin. 5. Vision of a sinful soul. 6. Profit of realizing these lessons. 7. Prayer. 8. Beauty of the Castle. 9. Self-knowledge 10. Gained by meditating on the divine perfections. 11. Advantages of such meditation. 12. Christ should be our model. 13. The devil entraps beginners. 14. Our strength must come from God. 15. Sin blinds the soul. 16. Worldliness. 17. The world in the cloister. 18. Assaults of the devil. 19. Examples of the devil’s arts. 20. Perfection consists in charity. 21. Indiscreet zeal. 22. Danger of detraction.

1.

1. BEFORE going farther, I wish you to consider the state to which mortal sin⁴⁶ brings this magnificent and beautiful castle, this pearl of the East, this tree of life, planted beside the living waters of life⁴⁷ which symbolize God Himself. No night can be so dark, no gloom nor blackness can compare to its obscurity. Suffice it to say that the sun in the centre of the soul, which gave it such splendour and beauty, is totally eclipsed, though the spirit is as fitted to enjoy God’s presence as is the crystal to reflect the sun.⁴⁸

2.

2. While the soul is in mortal sin nothing can profit it; none of its good works merit an eternal reward, since they do not proceed from God as their first principle, and by Him alone is our virtue real virtue. The soul separated from Him is no longer pleasing in His eyes, because by committing a mortal sin, instead of seeking to please God, it prefers to gratify the devil, the prince of darkness, and so comes to share his blackness. I knew a person to whom our Lord revealed the result of a mortal sin⁴⁹ and who said she thought no one who realized its effects could ever commit it, but would suffer unimaginable torments to avoid it. This vision made her very desirous for all to grasp this truth, therefore I beg you, my daughters, to pray fervently to God for sinners, who live in blindness and do deeds of darkness.

3.

3. In a state of grace the soul is like a well of limpid water, from which flow only streams of clearest crystal. Its works are pleasing both to God and man, rising from the River of Life, beside which it is rooted like a tree. Otherwise it would produce neither leaves nor fruit, for the waters of grace nourish it, keep it from withering from drought, and cause it to bring forth good fruit. But the soul by sinning withdraws from this stream of life, and growing beside a black and fetid pool, can produce nothing but disgusting and unwholesome fruit.

Notice that it is not the fountain and the brilliant sun which lose their splendour and beauty, for they are placed in the very centre of the soul and cannot be deprived of their lustre. The soul is like a crystal in the sunshine over which a thick black cloth has been thrown, so that however brightly the sun may shine the crystal can never reflect it.

4.

4. O souls, redeemed by the Blood of Jesus Christ, take these things to heart; have mercy on yourselves! If you realize your pitiable condition, how can you refrain from trying to remove the darkness from the crystal of your souls? Remember, if death should take you now, you would never again enjoy the light of this Sun. O Jesus! how sad a sight must be a soul deprived of light! What a terrible state the chambers of this castle are in! How disorderly must be the senses—the inhabitants of the castle—the powers of the soul its magistrates, governors, and stewards—blind and uncontrolled as they are! In short, as the soil in which the tree is now planted is in the devil’s domain, how can its fruit be anything but evil? A man of great spiritual insight once told me he was not so much surprised at such a soul’s wicked deeds as astonished that it did not commit even worse sins. May God in His mercy keep us from such great evil, for nothing in this life merits the name of evil in comparison with this, which delivers us over to evil which is eternal.

5.

5. This is what we must dread and pray God to deliver us from, for we are weakness itself, and unless He guards the city, in vain shall we labour to defend it.⁵⁰ The person of whom I spoke⁵¹ said that she had learnt two things from the vision granted her. The first was, a great fear of offending God; seeing how terrible were the consequences, she constantly begged Him to preserve her from falling into sin. Secondly, it was a mirror to teach her humility, for she saw that nothing good in us springs from ourselves but comes from the waters of grace near which the soul remains like a tree planted beside a river, and from that Sun which gives life to our works. She realized this so vividly that on seeing any good deed performed by herself or by other people she at once turned to God as to its fountain head—without whose help she knew well we can do nothing—and broke out into songs of praise to Him. Generally she forgot all about herself and only thought of God when she did any meritorious action.

6.

6. The time which has been spent in reading or writing on this subject will not have been lost if it has taught us these two truths; for though learned, clever men know them perfectly, women’s wits are dull and need help in every way. Perhaps this is why our Lord has suggested these comparisons to me; may He give us grace to profit by them!

7.

7. So obscure are these spiritual matters that to explain them an ignorant person like myself must say much that is superfluous, and even alien to the subject, before coming to the point. My readers must be patient with me, as I am with myself while writing what I do not understand; indeed, I often take up the paper like a dunce, not knowing what to say, nor how to begin. Doubtless there is need for me to do my best to explain these spiritual subjects to you, for we often hear how beneficial prayer is for our souls; our Constitutions oblige us to pray so many hours a day, yet tell us nothing of what part we ourselves can take in it and very little of the work God does in the soul by its means.⁵² It will be helpful, in setting it before you in various ways, to consider this heavenly edifice within us, so little understood by men, near as they often come to it. Our Lord gave me grace to understand something of such matters when I wrote on them before, yet I think I have more light now, especially on the more difficult questions. Unfortunately I am too ignorant to treat of such subjects without saying much that is already well known.

8.

8. Now let us turn at last to our castle with its many mansions. You must not think of a suite of rooms placed in succession, but fix your eyes on the keep, the court inhabited by the King.⁵³ Like the kernel of the palmito,⁵⁴ from which several rinds must be removed before coming to the eatable part, this principal chamber is surrounded by many others. However large, magnificent, and spacious you imagine this castle to be, you cannot exaggerate it; the capacity of the soul is beyond all our understanding, and the Sun within this palace enlightens every part of it.

9.

9. A soul which gives itself to prayer, either much or little, should on no account be kept within narrow bounds. Since God has given it such great dignity, permit it to wander at will through the rooms of the castle, from the lowest to the highest. Let it not force itself to remain for very long in the same mansion, even that of self-knowledge. Mark well, however, that self-knowledge is indispensable, even for those whom God takes to dwell in the same mansion with Himself. Nothing else, however elevated, perfects the soul which must never seek to forget its own nothingness. Let humility be always at work, like the bee at the honeycomb, or all will be lost. But, remember, the bee leaves its hive to fly in search of flowers and the soul should sometimes cease thinking of itself to rise in meditation on the grandeur and majesty of its God. It will learn its own baseness better thus than by self-contemplation, and will be freer from the reptiles which enter the first room where self-knowledge is acquired. Although it is a great grace from God to practise self-examination, yet ‘too much is as bad as too little,’ as they say; believe me, by God’s help, we shall advance more by contemplating the Divinity than by keeping our eyes fixed on ourselves, poor creatures of earth that we are.

10.

10. I do not know whether I have put this clearly; self-knowledge is of such consequence that I would not have you careless of it, though you may be lifted to heaven in prayer, because while on earth nothing is more needful than humility. Therefore, I repeat, not only a good way, but the best of all ways, is to endeavour to enter first by the room where humility is practised, which is far better than at once rushing on to the others. This is the right road;—if we know how easy and safe it is to walk by it, why ask for wings with which to fly? Let us rather try to learn how to advance quickly. I believe we shall never learn to know ourselves except by endeavouring to know God, for, beholding His greatness we are struck by our own baseness, His purity shows our foulness, and by meditating on His humility we find how very far we are from being humble.

11.

11. Two advantages are gained by this practice. First, it is clear that white looks far whiter when placed near something black, and on the contrary, black never looks so dark as when seen beside something white. Secondly, our understanding and will become more noble and capable of good in every way when we turn from ourselves to God: it is very injurious never to raise our minds above the mire of our own faults. I described how murky and fetid are the streams that spring from the source of a soul in mortal sin.⁵⁵ Thus (although the case is not really the same, God forbid! this is only a comparison), while we are continually absorbed in contemplating the weakness of our earthly nature, the springs of our actions will never flow free from the mire of timid, weak, and cowardly thoughts, such as: ‘I wonder whether people are noticing me or not! If I follow this course, will harm come to me? Dare I begin this work? Would it not be presumptuous? Is it right for any one as faulty as myself to speak on sublime spiritual subjects?⁵⁶ Will not people think too well of me, if I make myself singular? Extremes are bad, even in virtue; sinful as I am I shall only fall the lower. Perhaps I shall fail and be a source of scandal to good people; such a person as I am has no need of peculiarities.’

12.

12. Alas, my daughters, what loss the devil must have caused to many a soul by such thoughts as these! It thinks such ideas and many others of the same sort I could mention arise from humility. This comes from not understanding our own nature; self-knowledge becomes so warped that, unless we take our thoughts off ourselves, I am not surprised that these and many worse fears should threaten us. Therefore I maintain, my daughters, that we should fix our eyes on Christ our only good, and on His saints; there we shall learn true humility, and our minds will be ennobled, so that self-knowledge will not make us base and cowardly. Although only the first, this mansion contains great riches and such treasures that if the soul only manages to elude the reptiles dwelling here, it cannot fail to advance farther. Terrible are the wiles and stratagems the devil uses to hinder people from realizing their weakness and detecting his snares.

13.

13. From personal experience I could give you much information as to what happens in these first mansions. I will only say that you must not imagine there are only a few, but a number of rooms, for souls enter them by many different ways, and always with a good intention. The devil is so angry at this that he keeps legions of evil spirits hidden in each room to stop the progress of Christians, whom, being ignorant of this, he entraps in a thousand ways. He cannot so easily deceive souls which dwell nearer to the King as he can beginners still absorbed in the world, immersed in its pleasures, and eager for its honours and distinctions. As the vassals of their souls, the senses and powers bestowed on them by God, are weak, such people are easily vanquished, although desirous not to offend God.

14.

14. Those conscious of being in this state must as often as possible have recourse to His Majesty, taking His Blessed Mother and the saints for their advocates to do battle for them, because we creatures possess little strength for self-defence. Indeed in every state of life all our help must come from God; may He in His mercy grant it us, Amen! What a miserable life we lead! As I have spoken more fully in other writings⁵⁷ on the ill that results from ignoring the need of humility and self-knowledge, I will treat no more about it here, my daughters, although it is of the first importance. God grant that what I have said may be useful to you.

15 You must notice that the light which comes from the King’s palace hardly shines at all in these first mansions; although not as gloomy and black as the soul in mortal sin, yet they are in semi-darkness, and their inhabitants see scarcely anything. I cannot explain myself; I do not mean that this is the fault of the mansions themselves, but that the number of snakes, vipers, and venomous reptiles from outside the castle prevent souls entering them from seeing the light. They resemble a person entering a chamber full of brilliant sunshine, with eyes clogged and half closed with dust. Though the room itself is light, he cannot see because of his self-imposed impediment. In the same way, these fierce and wild beasts blind the eyes of the beginner, so that he sees nothing but them.

16.

16. Such, it appears to me, is the soul which, though not in a state of mortal sin, is so worldly and preoccupied with earthly riches, honours, and affairs, that as I said, even if it sincerely wishes to enter into itself and enjoy the beauties of the castle, it is prevented by these distractions and seems unable to overcome so many obstacles. It is most important to withdraw from all unnecessary cares and business, as far as compatible with the duties of one’s state of life, in order to enter the second mansion. This is so essential, that unless done immediately I think it impossible for any one ever to reach the principal room, or even to remain where he is without great risk of losing what is already gained; otherwise, although he is inside the castle, he will find it impossible to avoid being bitten some time or other by some of the very venomous creatures surrounding him.

17.

17. What then would become of a religious like ourselves, my daughters, if, after having escaped from all these impediments, and having entered much farther into the more secret mansion, she should, by her own fault, return to all this turmoil? Through her sins, many other people on whom God had bestowed great graces would culpably relapse into their wretched state. In our convents we are free from these exterior evils; please God our minds may be as free from them, and may He deliver us from such ills.

18.

18. Do not trouble yourselves, my daughters, with cares which do not concern you. You must notice that the struggle with the demons continues through nearly all the mansions of this castle. True, in some of them, the guards, which, as I explained, are the powers of the soul, have strength for the combat, but we must be keenly on the watch against the devils’s arts, lest he deceive us in the form of an angel of light. He creeps in gradually, in numberless ways, and does us much harm, though we do not discover it until too late.⁵⁸

19.

19. As I said elsewhere,⁵⁹ he works like a file, secretly and silently wearing its way: I will give you some examples to show how he begins his wiles. For instance: a nun has such a longing for penance as to feel no peace unless she is tormenting herself in some way.⁶⁰ This is good in itself; but suppose that the Prioress has forbidden her to practise any mortifications without special leave, and the sister thinking that, in such a meritorious cause, she may venture to disobey, secretly leads such a life that she loses her health and cannot even fulfil the requirements of her rule—you see how this show of good ends. Another nun is very zealous about religious perfection; this is very right, but may cause her to think every small fault she sees in her sisters a serious crime, and to watch constantly whether they do anything wrong, that she may run to the Prioress to accuse them of it. At the same time, may be she never notices her own shortcomings because of her great zeal about other people’s religious observance, while perhaps her sisters, not seeing her intention but only knowing of the watch she keeps on them, do not take her behaviour in good part.

20.

20. The devil’s chief aim here is to cool the charity and lessen the mutual affection of the nuns, which would injure them seriously. Be sure, my daughters, that true perfection consists in the love of God and our neighbour, and the better we keep both these commandments, the more perfect we shall be. The sole object of our Rule and Constitutions is to help us to observe these two laws.

21.

21. Indiscreet zeal about others must not be indulged in; it may do us much harm; let each one look to herself. However, as I have spoken fully on this subject elsewhere,⁶¹ I will not enlarge on it here, and will only beg you to remember the necessity of this mutual affection. Our souls may lose their peace and even disturb other people’s if we are always criticizing trivial actions which often are not real defects at all, but we construe them wrongly through ignorance of their motives. See how much it costs to attain perfection! Sometimes the devil tempts nuns in this way about the Prioress, which is still more dangerous. Great prudence is then required, for if she disobeys the Rule or Constitutions the matter must not always be overlooked, but should be mentioned to her;⁶² if, after this, she does not amend, the Superior of the Order should be informed of it. It is true charity to speak in this case, as it would be if we saw our sisters commit a grave fault; to keep silence for fear that speech would be a temptation against charity, would be that very temptation itself.⁶³

22.

22. However, I must warn you seriously not to talk to each other about such things, lest the devil deceive you. He would gain greatly by your doing so, because it would lead to the habit of detraction; rather, as I said, state the matter to those whose duty it is to remedy it. Thank God our custom here of keeping almost perpetual silence gives little opportunity for such conversations, still, it is well to stand ever on our guard.