(gloru to tt|e Jgloob of
TORONTO
_
SPIRITUAL READING
AD MAJOREM DKI SANCT.EQUE MARINE GLORIAS*.
Saints anti Sitfmnt* of
LIVES OF THE CANONIZED SAINTS,
AND
Serbantg of C5oD,
BEATIFIED, Oil DECLARED VENERABLE BY AUTHORITY,
And others who are commonly reputed among Catholics to have died
in the odour of sanctify, especially in modern times.
1. It is proposed to publish a Series of such Lives, translated
from the Italian, French, Spanish, German, and Latin, in small
8vo. volumes, of about 400 pages each, and to bring out at least
six volumes in the year.
2. The Editor and Translators not making any profit on toe
work, the volumes will be sold as cheaply as possible. Each vol.
will be sold separately, and will be complete in itself, except when
one Life occupies more volumes than one, and the price not ex
ceed 4s.
3. The works translated from will be in most cases the Lives
drawn up/or or from the processes of canonization or beatification,
as being more full, more authentic, and more replete with anec
dote, thus enabling the reader to become better acquainted with
the Saint s disposition and spirit ; while the simple matter-of-fact
style of the narrative is, from its unobtrusive character, more
adapted for spiritual reading than the views and generalizations,
and apologetic extenuations of more recent biographers.
4. The objects of the friends who have jointly undertaken this
task have been 1. To supply English Catholics with a cabinet-
library of interesting as well as edifying reading, especially for
families, schools, and religious refectories, which would for many
reasons be particularly adapted for these times, and would with
God s blessing act as a counter influence to the necessarily deaden
ing and chilling effects which the neighbourhood of heresy and the
consequent prevalence of earthly principles and low views of grace
may have on the temper and habits of mind even of the faithful ;
2. To present to our other countrymen a number of samples of the
fruit which the system, doctrine, and moral discipline established
by the holy and blessed Council of Trent have produced, and
which will be to inquirers really in earnest about their souls, an
argument more cogent than any that mere controversy can allege ,
and 3. To satisfy a humble desire which they feel to spread the
honour and love of the ever-blessed Queen of Saints, by showing
how greatly an intense devotion to her aided in forming those
prodigies of heroic virtue with which the Holy Ghost has been
pleased to adorn the Church since the schism of Luther, more than
in almost any previous times, and whose actions, with a few excep
tions, are known to English laymen only in a very general way,
and from meagre abridgments ; while the same motive will prevent
the Series being confined to modern saints exclusively.
5. The work is published with the permission and approval of
superiors. Every volume containing the Life of a person not yet
canonized or beatified by the Church will be prefaced by a protest
in conformity with the decree of Urban VIII., and in all Lives
which introduce questions of mystical theology great care will
be taken to publish nothing which has not had adequate sanc
tion, or without the reader being informed of the nature and
amount of the sanction.
S. Philip Neri, 1595, 2 vpls. S. Alphonso Liguori, 1787, 5
Companions of St. Philip Neri, vols.
1 vol. _; Companions of S. Alphonso
B. Sebastian Valfre, 1710, ) Liguori, in 1 vol.
Father De Santi, 1650, J> -, B. Sebastian of Apparizio, 1600,
Father Matteucci, 1629, j a 1 vol.
S. Thomas of Villauova,) ^ Yen. Father Claver, S. J. > -
1555, l 1654, (2
S. Francis Solano, I ~ Cardinal Odescalchi, S. J. I**
1610, .,, & 1841, 3.2
S. Rose of Lima, 1617, ") -s S. Ignatius, 1556, 2 vols.
B. Columba of Rieti, 1 501 A Father Anchieta, S. J.
S. Juliana Falconieri, I - y. Alvera von Virmundt,
1340, .9 V. John Berchmans,SJ 1621
3Lifce* in jjantu
S. Stanislas Kostka, S. J., 1568. S. Teresa, 1582,
S. John of God, 1550, S. Veronica Giuliani, 1727,
S. Felix of Cantalice, 1587, S. Peter of Alcantara, 1562,
S. Camillus of Lellis, 1614, S. Giovanni Colombini, Founder
S. Gertrude, 1292, m of the Gesuats, 1367,
S. John Francis Regis, S. J. 1 640, Ven. Fabrizio d Aste, Founder
S. Francis Jerome, S. J., 1716, of the Oratory of ForJl, 16.55,
S. Jane Frances de Chantal, 1641. V.Benedict Joseph Labre, 1783,
S. Vincent of Paul, 1660,
S. Francesca Romana, 1440,
S. Cajetan of Thienna, 1547,
S. Turibius of Lima, 1606,
S. Francis of Assisi, 1226,
S. Charles Borromeo, 1584,
S. Philip Benizi, 1 285,
S. Mary Magdalene de Pazzi, 1607
S. Pascal Baylon, 1592,
S. Catherine of Bologna, 1463,
S. Joseph Calasanctius, 1648,
S. Catherine of Siena, 1380,
S. Francis Borgia, S. J. 1572,
S. John Capistran, 1456,
S. Francis Xavier, S. J., 1552,
S. James de la Marche, 1476,
S. John of the Cross, 1591,
S. Louis Bertrand, 1581,
The Martyrs of Gorcum, 1572,
S. Mary of Oignies, 1213,
S. Pius V. 1572, [1684,
V. Camilla Borghese Orsini,
V. Margaret Mary Alacoque,
1690,
V. Mariana of Gesii, 1645.
V. Cardinal Bellarmine,S. J. 1621
V. Paul of the Cross, 1775,
V. Yvan of the French Oratory,
and Founder of the Order of
our Lady of Mercy, 1653,
F. Auger, S. J., 1591,
F. Vincent Caraffa, S. J., 1649,
F. Segneri, S. J., 1694,
F. Pinamonti, S. J., 1703,
F. Balthasar Alvarez, S. J.,
1580,
M. Olier, Founder of the Senii-
nary of St.. Sulpice, 1 657,
F. Licinio Pio, Founder of the
Oratory of Bologna, 1632,
F. Bini, Founder of the Oratory
of Florence, 1635,
B. Bonaventura of Barcelona, F. Dionisio Pieragostini, of the
B. Angela of Foligno, Oratory of Camerino,
B. Ambrosio Sansedoni, Domini- F. Pi ever, of the Oratory of
can, Turin, 1751,
B. Julian of Augustin, 1606,
B. Baptiste Varani, 1527,
B. Bernard of Offida, 1694,
V. Maria Clothilda, Queen of
Sardinia, 1802,
B. Peter Urraca, 1657,
F. Sozzini, of the Oratory of
Rome, 1680,
Sister Bernardino Roussen of
Boulogne, 1823.
Florence de Werquignoeuil,
Benedictiness, 1638,
B. Leonard of Port Maurice, 1751, Tlie Fioretti of S. Francis,
B. Giambattista della Con- F. Prosper Airoli, of the Roman
cezione, 1613, Oratory,
B. Laurence of Brindisi, 1619, Flaminia Papi, Roman Lady.
ILifag co
S. Aloysius, S. J., 1591,
S. Fidelis of Sigmaringa, 1622,
S. Jerome ^Emiliani, 1537,
S. Laurence Giustinian, 1455,
S. John Cantius, 1473,
S.Seraphino di Monte Granario,
1604,
S. John of Matha, 1213,
S. Margaret of Cortona, 1297,
S. Nicolas of Tolentino, 1 306,
S. Andrew Avellino, 1608,
S. Elzear of Salvan, 1323,
S. Lidano, Abbot, 1118,
S. Andrew Corsini, 1373,
S. Delphina, \vif e of S. Elzear,
S. Bruno, 1 125. $ 1369,
S. Juliana of Retinne, 1258,
S. Lidvvine, 1380,
S. Joseph of Cupertino, 1663,,
S. John Nepomuc, 1383,
S. Louis of France, 1270,
S. Bonaventure, 1274,
S. Raymund of Pennafort, 1275,
S. Peter Paschal, 1 300,
S. Benedict XI., 1304,
S. Elizabeth, Queen of Portugal,
1336,
S. John Bridlington, 1375,
S. Joachim of Siena, 1380,
S. Peter of Luxembourg, 1387, .
S. John of Pisa, 1435,
S. Joanna, Queen of France 1505,
S. Bernardin of Siena, 1444,
S. Peter Regalati, 1456,
S. John of Sahagun, 1479,
S. Casimir of Poland, 1483,
S. James of Sclavouia, U85,
S. Veronica of Milan, 1497,
S. Joseph of Leonissa, 1612,
S. Marie de Secours,
S. Francis Caracciolo, 1608,
S. Louis of Toulouse, 1297,
S. Natalie,
S. Francis of Sales, 1622,
S. John the Calybite, 450,
S. Thomas Aquinas, 1247,
S. Dominic, 1221,
S. Clare of Montefalco, 1308,
S. Zita, 1272,
B. Giovanna Maria Bonomi,
1670,
B. Nicolas Albergati, 1643,
B. Gregory Louis Barbadigo,
1697,
B. John Marinoni, 1562,
B. Hippolito Galantini, 1619,
B. Joseph Oriol, 1 602,
B. John Ribera, 1611,
B. Cardinal Tomrnasi, 1713,
B. Maria Vittoria Fornari, 1617,
B. Mary of the Incarnation, 1618
B. Elizabetta Picenardi,
B. Catherine Thomasia, Angus-
tinianess, 1574,
B. Andrea Dotti, 1315,
~. ^.L., ^i*, B. Henry Suso, 1365,
S. Agnes of Montepnlciano, 1317 The Seven Blessed Founders of
S. Catherine di Ricci 1590, the Servites,
S. Pacificus, 1721, B. Felice,
S. Angela de Merici, 1540, B. Giacomo Filippo Bertoni,
S.John Joseph of the Cross 1734 B. Simon of Roxas,1624,
S. Antoninus, 1459,
S. Giacinta Mariscotti, 1640,
S. Vincent Ferrer, 1419,
S. Catherine of Genoa, 1510,
S. Clare of Assisi, 1253,
S. Francis of Paula, 1508,
S. Benedict of Philadelphi, 1539 can, 1486,
S. Emidins, Martyr,
S. Bridget, 1373,
S. Dinacus, 1463,
S. Colette, 1447,
S. Antony of Padna, 1231,
S. Peter Nolasco, 1258,
S. Raymond JSonnatus, 1240,
B. Peter Fourrier, 1636,
B. Alexander Sauli, 1592,
B. Albert of Villacontenis,
B. Bernard of Corleone, 1667,
B. Gioachino Piccolpmini,
B. Francesco Patrizi,
B. Peter de Caputiis, Domini
can, 1445,
B. Angelo Porro,
B. Bernard Scamacca, Domini-
B. Joanna Soderini, 1367,
B. Michael de Sanctis, Bare
footed Trinitarian,
B. Bernardino a Fossa, 1503,
B. Pietro Cresci of Foliguo,
B. Margaret Colonna,
B. Jeremias Lambertenghi,
Franciscan, [auess,
B. Magdalen Albrici, Augustiui-
B. Stephen di Gio. Agazzari,
B. Margaret of Savoy,
B. Bernard Tolomei, 1348,
B. Tommaso da Cori,
B. Paul Burali of Arezzo, 1578, B. Cristina, Augustinianess,
B. Louis Alamanno, B. John of Parma,
B. Bonaventura of Potenza 1711 B. Peter of Magliano, [tyr,
B. Niccolo Fattore, 1583, V. Pierre du Moulin Borie, Mar-
B. Gasparo de Bouo Spagnolo, V. John d Avila, 1569,
1604, V. J Bartholomew de Martyribus,
B. Niccolb di Longobardi, 1709, 1590,
B. Andrew Ibornon, 1602,
B. Catherine Tomas, 1574,
B. Crispin of Viterbo, 1750,
B. John Massias, 1645,
B. Martin Porres, 1 639,
V. Catherine de Raconis,
V. Emily Bicchieri,
V. Sybillina di Pavia,
V. Catherine Vanina,
V. Paula da Foligno, 1674,
B. Francesco de Posadas, 1713, V. Anne de St. Bartelemi,
B.Alphonso Rodriguez, S.J. 161 7V. Mary Villani, 1670,
B. Rezzonica, V. Maria d Escobar,
TJ /P A ^vn iln * \ T \ 1 /i-n C trt .-t^tti "Onc^oi/
B. d Aguilar,
V. Mgr. Strambi, Passionist,
V. Maria Crocifissa, Benedic- V. Ignatius Capizzl, Secular
tin ess, 1699, Priest, 1783,
V. Holtzhauser, 1 65^, [tf. 1674, V. Florida Cevoli, Capuchiness,
V. Rosa Maria of St. Antonio, 1777,
V. Giovanni Leonardi, lb % 09, V. Francis Xavier Maria Bian-
V. Louis da Ponte, 1624, [ment, chi, Barnabite, 1815,
V. Margaret of the Holy Sacra- V. de la Salle, Founder of the
V. Condren, of the French Ora- Christian Brothers, 1719,
tory, 1640, V. Caesar de Bus, Founder of
V. Cardinal Ximenes, 1517, the Congregation of Christian
V. Grignon de Montfort, 1716, Doctrine in France,
V. Canisius, S. J. V. Andrew Bobola, S. J., 1657,
V. Antony, Dominican, V. Juvenal Ancina, of the Ro-
V. Cardinal de Berulle, Founder man Oratory, 1604,
of the French Oratory, 1629, V. Leopoldo a Gaichi, Francis-
V. Boudon, 1702, can, 1815,
V. F. Bernard, 1641, V. Theophilus a Curte, Francis-
V. Cretenet, 1666, can, 1740,
V. Josepha Maria of St. Agnes, V. Clara Isabella Furnari, Poor
V. Louis of Granada, 1588, Clare,
V. Maria Dolado, 1632, V. Andrew a Burgio, Capuchin
V. Agnes of Jesus, Dominica- Lay-brother, 1772,
ness, 1634, V. John the Sinner, companion
V. Angelo ab Acrio, of St. John of God,
V. Theresa Redi of the Heart V. Peter Francis Scarampio, of
of Jesus, Carmelitess, 1766, the Roman Oratory, 1656,
V.Maria Crocifissa Satellico, V. Mariano, Arciero, Sec. Priest,
Poor Clare, 1741, V. Giovanni Tommaso Eusta-
V. Antonio Margil a Gesu, chio, of the Oratory of Naples,
Franciscan, 1726, [1720, V. Angela Maria Astorch, Capu-
V. Angelo de Paulis, Carmelite, chiness, 1665,
V. Joanna de Lestonac, Found- V. Pompeo di Donato, cf the
ress of the Daughters of Oratory of Naples,
Mary, 1640, V. Mary of the Angels, Carmeli-
V. Charles Caraffa, Founder of tess,
the pious Labourers, 1633, V. Antonio Grassi, of the Ora-
V. Maria Fraucesca a Vulneri- tory, of Lucca,
bus, 1791, V. Raphael Chylinski, Francis-
V. Francis of St. Antony, 1716, can, 1741,
V. John Palafox, 1659, [can, 1754 V. Francis An tony Fasani,Fran-
V. Philip of Velitri, Francis- ciscan, 1742,
V. Antony of the Conception, V. Clara Isabella Gherzi, 1800,
Secular Canon, [1758, V. Bartholomew de Quental,
V. Antony Alfonso Bermejo, Founder of the Oratory of
V. Bernardino Realino,S.J. 1616 Lisbon, 1698,
V. John Baptist de Rubeis, V. Felix a Nicosia, Capuchin
Canon of Santa Maria in Lay-brother, 1787,
Cosmedin, 1764, V. Febronia Ferdinand a Gesu,
V. Catherine de Bar, 1694, Poor Clare, 1718,
V. Tomaso Eustachio, of the V. Biagio Morani,
Naples Oratory, 1641, V. Nicolas Molinarus, Capuchin,
V. Francis Camacho. of the Or- 1792,
der of St. John of God, 1698, V. Benedict of Poggibonzi,
V. John Sarcander, Secular V. Alessandra Sabini di Rocca-
Priest, 1620, contrada,
V. Peter Dominic of Civita V. Angelo Fiorucci,
Vecchia, Franciscan, 1738, V. Bartholomew Tanari,
6
V. Anna de Jesus, 1621, F. Saintpe, of the French Ora-
V. Philip Franci of Florence, tory, [17S8,
V. Lavinia Senarcli, Sfctir de la Nativite, Fougeres,
V. Matthew Giierra of Siena, F. Girolaino Gabrielli, Founder
V. Cecilia Castelli Giovanelli, of the Oratory at Fano,
Franciscaness, F. Francesco Cabrini, Founder
V. Serafina, di Dio, of the Oratory at Brescia,
V. Serafina di Gesu of Capri, F. Baldassare Nardi, Founder
/. Lavinia Senarcli, of the Oratory at Aquila,
V. John Andrew tie Afflictis, of F. Giovanni Battista Magnanti,
the Oratory of Aquila, of the Oratory at Aquila, Q>
V. Felix Angelico Testa di Be- F. Alessandro Borla, J592, <*>
vagna, F. Antonio Talpa, 1624, >^
V. Alexander Lusago, F. Trojano Bozzuto, 1625, a o
V. Antonio Maria Zaccaria, F. Donate Antonio Martucci^- 2
Barnabitc, 1639, F. Antonio Glielmp, [16S(i, * Q
V. Bartholomew Ferrari, Bar- Don Lelio Sericchi, 1719, *e
nabite, 1544, Don Gregorio Lopez, 1 596, [1720,
V. Giacomo Antonio Morigia, F. Antonino Cloche, Dominican,
Barnabite, 1546, Brother Felix, Capuchin,
V. John Peter Besozzi, Barna- BartplomeaCapitanio diLovere,
bite, 1584, Francesco Picenardi,
V. Augustin Tornielli, Barna- F. Lanuza,
bite, 1622, Albina Ligi,
V. Charles Bascabe, Barnabite, F. Philip Strozzi,
1615, Paolo Piazzesi, ) Roman Schol
V. Cosiino, Dossena, Barnabite, Luigi Corradiui, ) ars,
1620,. [1651, Angela Pozzi, [of Charity,
V. Baptist Crivelli, Barnabite, Felice Moschini, of the Institute
V. Bartholomew Canale, Bar- Mechitar, Founder of the Arme-
nabite, 168], nian Benedictines, 1746,
V. Ignatius Delgado, Bishop of F. Surin, S. J., 1665,
Melipotamns, 1838, F. John Chrysostom,
V. Maria Vittoria Augelini, Ser- Sister Maria Felice Spinelli,
vite, 1659, Capuchiness of Venice,
V. FrancescaclelSerrone, Fran- John Baptist Magnanti, of the
ciscaness, 1600, Oratory of Aquila,
Vincent Maria Morelli, 1812, Charles Gianni, of Florence,
Cardinal Baronius, of the Ro- Sebastian Pi^ani Patrizio of
man Oratory, 1619, AUssandra Savina, [Venice,
Livia Vipereschi, Roman Lady, F. Santi della Ripa,
Giuseppe, Anchieta, [1675, F. Louis Gaetan Feneroli, of the
Count Louis of Sales, 1654, Oratory of Bologna,
F. Caravita, Csesar Louis Canali of Bologna,
Countess Torella, F. Francis d Anna, of the Oia-
Canonico Rossi, tory of Naples,
F. Zucchi, Sister Clare of the Angels,
F. Nobletz, 1C52, Domenico Gambera,
F. Eudes, Buonsignore Cacciaguerra,
Duchess of Montniorency, 1666, AgathaBelfiorediS. Paterniano
F. Bourdoise, 1655, Rosa Maria Martini of Florence,
F. Brydayue, 1767, Countess Vittoria Valvasona
Cardinal Cheverus, Beltrame,
Girolaino Mazzola, S. J. Anna Maria Emanuela Buona-
M de Lantages, mici,
F. De Ranee, 1700, F. Joseph Vaz, of the Portu-
De Renty, 1649, guese Oratory in Ceylon.
This list is not put forward as by any means complete, or as
intending to exclude other Lives, especially those of the older
Saints, The Editor will be glad to hear from any who may wish
to satisfy their devotion, and employ their leisure to the greater
glory of God and our dear Lady, by contributing translations of
the Lives either of older Saints or of those mentioned in this list, or
any others who have died in the odour of sanctity, and are not
named here. The arduousness of the undertaking makes it very
necessary for him earnestly to repeat his petition for coadjutors
in his labours ; and perhaps he may at the present time urge it
more forcibly than before. Eight volumes of the Series are now
published; the work has obtained an extensive circulation both
in America and England; besides the many testimonies to its
utility received from very various quarters among Catholics, not
a few who are still unhappily out of the One Fold have borne
witness to its attracting influence upon them ; the increasing de
mand for books of devotion and ascetical divinity, while it proves
the growing thirst after Christian perfection amongst us, shows
how necessary as well as useful a Series of Lives of the Saints at
length and in detail must be : these are all so many grounds on
which the Editor may rest his claim for co-operation. Although
many Lives are advertised as being in hand, yet the translators
have in most cases so many other important avocations that a
still larger number of labourers are required to feed the press
steadily, and to enable the Editor to go on keeping his promiss
to the public.
Circumstances have hitherto delayed the publication of Pope
Benedict XIV. on Heroic Virtue, but the project has not been
abandoned, and some progress has been made in the work. It
is a portion of that pontiff s great book on the Canonization of the
Saints, and contains a most interesting account of the tests used
by the Church in examining ecstasies, visions, raptures, the higher
degrees of mental prayer, and the practice of bodily austerities,
and supernatural penances. It will be bound and lettered uni
formly with the Series of the Modern Saints, and will be found
replete with most interesting anecdotes, as well as being of im
mense use to spiritual directors, and to all students of ascetical
theology and Christian philosophy. An original dissertation on
Mystical Theology will be prefixed to one of the future volumes of
the Series, in which an attempt will be made to distinguish be
tween the heights of Catholic contemplation and the vagaries of
recent heretics, and the doctrine of the most judicious and discreet
Mystics will be stated and explained from the authors most ap
proved among theologians, and such general information given on
the subject as will be interesting and edifying to ordinary readers.
8
A. number of the portraits of the Saints prefixed to most of
the volumes are to be had separately, on sale at the Publishers,
for those who may wish to increase their collection of religious
engravings, or to distribute pictures of the Saints to whom they
may have a devotion ; and the Essay on Canonization, published
with the first volume of St. Alphonso, may now be purchased
in a separate form. The editor will be glad to receive any
suggestion which may assist him either in meeting the wishes
of subscribers, or in making the Series a more complete and
perfect Library of Catholic Biography.
F. W. FABER,
PRIEST OF THE ORATORY.
Mary vale,
Feast of St. Alphonso Liguori, 1848.
TO THE TRANSLATORS AND SUBSCRIBERS.
St. Wilfrid s, Feast of St. Martin, 1848.
It has become my duty to inform you that I have suspended
the publication of this series, which you have so kindly en
couraged, whether by subscription or by taking part in the
labour of translation. A few words will suffice to explain the
circumstances which have led to this suspension. When, in
February last, I entered the Congregation of the Oratory, I
submitted my work to the Fathers with a view to obtaining
their judgment on its continuance. They, for various reasons,
put off their determination till the close of the year, and upon
what grounds they have at length made it will appear from the
following letter which I have received from the Father Superior.
Mart/vale, Oct. 60th, 1848.
My dear Father Wilfrid, I have consxilted the Fathers who
are here on the subject of the Lives of the Saints, and we have
come to the unanimous conclusion of advising you to suspend
the series at present. It appears there is a strong feeling
against it on the part of a portion of the Catholic community in
England, on the ground, as we are given to understand, that the
lives of foreign saints, however edifying in their respective
countries, are unsuited to England, and unacceptable to Protes
tants. To this feeling we consider it a duty, for the sake of
peace, to defer. For myself, you know well without my saying
it, how absolutely I identify myself with you in this matter;
but, as you may have to publish this letter, I make it an oppor
tunity, which has not as yet been given me, of declaring that I
have no sympathy w at all with the feeling to which I have
alluded, and, in particular, that no one can assail your name
wilhout striking at mine.
Ever your affectionate friend and brother,
in our Lady aud St. Philip,
J. H. MEWMAN,
Cougr. Orat. Presb.
Rev. F. Faler, St. Wilfrid s.
That this determination will be a great disappointment to you,
who, as subscribers and purchasers number nearly one thousand,
and especially to the sixty-six friends, who, in our colleges and
elsewhere, are engaged in the kind labour of co-operation with
me, I cannot doubt; but I am sure you will at once submit
with the most perfect confidence, that what has been done BO
religiously will turn out for the best. It is, in fact, a great gain
to have to give up a plan for the good of others upon which our
hearts were bent; and if we have for the present to see removed
from us what we knew was profiting so many, and looked upon
as an additional help to perfection for ourselves, we must not
therefore think that it will come to nothing, or be labour lost.
Allow me to thank you all most sincerely for your willing and
affectionate support and co-operation in this arduous and ex
tensive undertaking. Meanwhile, you with me will find no
little comfort in the words with which mother church has been
haunting us for many days past, and which have only just died
away upon her lips. O quam gloriosum est regnum, in quo
cum Christo gaudent omnes Sancti, amicti stolis albis, sequun-
tur Aguum quocumqueierit.
F. W. FABER,
Congr. Orat. Presb.
The life of F. Claver, which is in the press, will appear in
December, and the Lives of S. Alphonso, and S. Ignatius, will,
in justice both to the publishers and subscribers, appear in
successive volumes at the usual periods until they are concluded.
Htbcs of tlje Canont^ti Saints.
The Congregation of the Oratory in now enabled to take upon
itself and to continue the Series of Lives of Saints, which was
begun some time since by the Rev. Father Faber, and has
lately been suspended.
The Fathers have never yet been formally responsible for
that Series; their connexion with it being limited to the acci
dent that, when it was already in course of publication, its
Editor joined their body. On taking this step, the Editor felt,
as they did, that some new arrangement was required by the
10
altered position in which he stood, and that either they must
take his work upon themselves, or he must bring it to a close.
They postponed the determination of so important a question
to the end of the current year; when, by accidental coincidence,
a strong opposition to the Series manifested itself in one quarter
of the English Catholic body, resting for support, as was
supposed, on venerable names, which necessarily commanded
their most serious attention and deference. Anxious not to
involve the Congregation in a party contest at the commence
ment of its course, the Fathers forthwith came to the decision
of not committing themselves to the publication for the present;
and in consequence recommended the Editor to suspend it.
It is both a surprise and a great consolation, and they give
thanks and praise to the Father of mercies, and to the interces
sion of the Saints, whose Lives were the subject in dispute,
that they are enabled, after so short an interval, with the kind
wishes of their ecclesiastical superiors, of the heads of Colleges
and Religious bodies, and of all generally whose good opinion
they covet, and by whose judgment they desire to be guided,
nay, at the express instance of those parties who had been
foremost in the opposition, to take upon themselves a responsi
bility, from which, without such general countenance and en
couragement, they felt themselves justified in shrinking. And
they hope they may without presumption accept it in some sort
as a reward for the readiness with which they gave up their
own wishes to the claims of Christian charity and peace, that
the very suspension of the Series has been the means of elicit
ing an expression of sympathy towards themselves and it, so
cordial and unanimous, and testimonies to the good it was
effecting so decisive, as to allow of their undertaking it consist
ently with the edification of their brethren, and with comfort
to themselves.
Accordingly they propose, in the ensuing August, when the
last volume promised by F. Faber is to be published, to transfer
the Editorship from him to themselves; and meanwhile they
earnestly beg of the good friends who have given them so zeal
ous a support, to assist them also with their prayers, that they
may continue this important work with that wisdom and discre
tion which become the glorious Saints to whose honour it is
dedicated.
The following Lives will form, the first volumes of the re
sumed Series: St. Charles, St. Francis Borgia, St. John of
God, St. Francis Jerome, St. Jane Frances de Chantal, St.
Vincent Ferrer, Ven. Paul of the Cross.
St. Wilfrid s,
Feast of the Epiphany, 1849.
FEINTED BY KICHAfii- SON AND SON, DEEBT.
HEROIC VIRTUE:
A PORTION OF THE
TREATISE OF BENEDICT XIV.
ON THE
BEATIFICATION AND CANONIZATION
OF THE
Servants of ffiotr.
TRANSLATED INTO ENGLISH FROM THE ORIGINAL LATIN.
Gaude Maria Virgo, cunctas haereses sola interemisti in
uuiverso mundo." Antiph. Ecclesice.
VOL. I.
LONDON:
THOMAS RICHARDSON AND SON,
172, FLEET ST. } 9, CAPEL ST. DUBLIN ; AND DERBY.
M.DCCC.L,
PREFACE.
The series of " Lives of the Saints 55 now
in course of publication by the Fathers of
the Oratory, seemed to many, on its first
appearance, to require some explanation;
partly because of the circumstances of this
country, and partly also because of the very
startling character of its contents. It
seemed to many a departure from Christian
prudence, to expose to the gaze of heretics
the inner life of the servants of God, and to
publish in an unbelieving land, operations
of grace which are necessarily beyond the
material experience of a sceptical and indif
ferent generation. Without discussing this
objection themselves, the editors deter
mined to meet it by reference to the writ
ings of Benedict XIV., who had with the
most solid learning profusely illustrated the
whole question. He does not professedly
resolve the doubt of which we have spoken,
but his treatise on the beatification and
canonization of the servants of God, answers
indirectly, and by implication, the principle
on which those objections proceed. In addi-
Vlll PREFACE.
tion to this minor and secondary advan
tage to be derived from the knowledge of
his work, the editors are aware that it will
also help materially to diffuse sounder views
on the Christian life, and enable those who
are too weak to imitate the saints, at least
reverently and gratefully to admire them.
It will serve also to wean persons from
criticising the lives and actions of canonized
saints, and to make them less forward to
judge in living men principles and practices
which appear strange, but which may be,
for all we know, special inspirations of the
Holy Ghost. The life of ordinary chris-
tians is supernatural, for it is in the order
of grace; but the life of those who are
called to perfection is supernatural in a
higher degree, and realises visibly the
words of the apostle, " Our conversation is
in heaven."
In the life which is in the order of nature,
we see that the great majority remain in
the ordinary condition of human life, con
tented with their circumstances ; or if dis
contented, failing to rise out of them and
above them, partly through their own fault
and want of energy, and partly also through
difficulties which it is not granted them to
overcome. It is the same in the order of
grace. The multitude is content to remain
where it finds itself; makes no effort to
PREFACE. IX
attain to perfection, or makes them so fit
fully and without system, that it eventually
fails, and acquiesces in its low attainments.
As in the natural world some dissipate
their inheritance, and fall into a state
lower than that in which they commenced,
so in the supernatural life, which is that of
a Christian, men waste their " substance
living riotously," fall away from their inno
cence, and never rise again. We see too,
that persons who are reduced from wealth
to poverty, by vigorous efforts and resolute
exertion of their natural energies, rise again
to high places, to influence, honour, and
worldly respect. So it is also in the order
of grace ; men fall from grace, give them
selves up to the vices of the world, and
afterwards, like St. Camillus de Lellis,
moved by the Spirit of God, have recourse
to the sacrament of penance, labour per-
severingly and systematically, and rise
again from their spiritual poverty, to the
possession of spiritual treasures, and are
honoured on the altars of Holy Church.
All men have not the same natural gifts,
and all men do not equally cultivate what
they have received ; and they are but few
in every generation who rise up to great
heights above their fellows. Those in
whom the world recognises great natural
endowments, receive from it that honour
X PREFACE.
which is their due, but more especially if
they have greatly cultivated their gifts.
The philosophers, poets, and orators of
heathendom are still remembered with
respect, and the influence of their authority
still remains. They are held forth under
certain conditions, for the imitation of those
for whom similar qualities are necessary, or
by whom their gifts are appreciated. They
were not common men, and unlike common
men, their memory survives upon earth in
the grateful or admiring recollections of
posterity.
So is it in the kingdom of grace. Some
rise above the level of the common crowd,
and are distinguished by great and super
natural gifts. " Many are called and few
are chosen. 5 These are they who are, in
a special sense, servants of God, who with
drawing themselves from all created things,
give up themselves wholly to lead the super
natural life, and in a supernatural way.
They are marked out from the rest of their
fellow Christians as distinctly as the great
men of the world are marked out from the
crowd that surrounds them. There is
about these a certain influence and dignity,
a certain power and clear insight, which
would be called genius, were it not a token
of God s presence, and of His sanctifying
grace. In what this consists, and what
PREFACE. XI
are the exterior marks of its existence, and
in how great a degree it ought to be found
in persons whom the sovereign Pontiffs
number among the saints, will be found
discussed in the present work.
All Christians must lead a virtuous life,
or lose the inheritance which our Lord has
purchased for them in heaven. But those
whom the Vicar of Christ proposes for our
example and admiration must have been
distinguished for their virtues. In them
the theological and cardinal virtues must
have been eminently conspicuous, and
have been exercised in a supernatural de
gree, which is called heroic. This is the
first and indispensable condition of canon
ization, except in the case of martyrs ; for
in their case the proof of martyrdom is
equivalent to the proof of the virtues in the
case of confessors.""
It is well known, that in this country the
great majority of people listens with incre
dulity to the acts of the saints, and that it
hesitates not to brand them as lies and
blasphemies, or to attribute them to the
operations of the devil ; thus unconsciously
fulfilling the words of our Lord : " If they
have called the goodman of the house
Beelzebub, how much more them of his
* See " Essay on Canonization and Beatification," by the
Rev. F. Faber.
Xll PREFACE.
household?" (Matt. x. 25.) Perhaps, also,
from the inevitable contagion of heresy,
even Catholics may feel less acutely on this
subject than they ought to do, and acqui
esce in lower views than the truth requires,
and so give occasion to our enemies to
speak more boldly against the saints. But
it must be kept in mind that we are dealing
with facts ; that the acts of the canonized
saints have been examined, discussed, and
admitted for true. The sacred congrega
tion of Bites requires and obtains clear and
undisputed proof, and leaves nothing to
imagination, conjecture, or probability.
The facts that are proved in the processes
are strange, and beyond the range of ordi
nary experience. They are not usual,
neither are they natural or human, in the
strict sense of those words. They could
not be so, for they are done by persons who
lead a superhuman life, have superhuman
aids, and tend to superhuman ends. But
this is no argument against them ; on the
contrary, it suggests at once a probability
in their favour. They are supernatural
effects of a supernatural principle ; outward
evidences of that principle, and in a certain
way preservative of it. The Church began
with miracles and divine gifts, and being
one she continues the same. As the
ancient dispensation began with Moses,
PREFACE. Xlll
and was inaugurated with miracles, so it
continued from age to age, to the pond of
Probatica, (S. John, v. 2.) The dispensa
tion of the gospel is more glorious than
that of the law, (2 Cor. iii. 9.) and is ful
filled in measure beyond the capacity of its
predecessor. The "ministration of justice"
is more magnificent than the " ministration
of condemnation," and we naturally look
under it for clearer and more illustrious
manifestations of the presence of God. If
the miracles of the law ceased not at the
death of Moses, and if the record of them is
not confined to the Pentateuch, but is con
tinued through the history of kings and
prophets, much more are we to expect a
similar result in the history of Holy Church.
The Acts of the Apostles do but carry on
the miraculous record of the Four Gospels ;
and is there any reason that we should sup
pose that marvellous gifts, graces, and
miracles ceased with the apostolic age ?
This would be the reasoning of the Saddu-
cees, who confined themselves to the five
books of Moses, and disowned the prophets.
They had closed their hearts against the
perpetual evidence of their temple, and
refused to believe in the interference of
God, and His dealings with that economy
under which they were living. Sadducees
in principle and spirit are the modern ene-
XIV PREFACE.
mies of the saints, and those who rebel
against the Holy See, or are only cold and
captious subjects.
It is not only consistent with reason, that
in the Christian economy marvels and mir
acles should be found, but it is also a fulfil
ling of a type going before. Christians are
the true Israelites, of whom the inhabitants
of Palestine under the old law, were only a
figure. What happened to them, and what
is written of them, is, according to St.
Paul, written for our learning and correc
tion. If, then, the successors of Moses,
such as Josue, the judges, and the kings
and prophets of Israel, led strange and un
natural lives, and were the objects of divine
gifts and visitations, much more are we to
expect Pontiffs, priests, and monks, who
walk in the footsteps of One greater than
Moses, should in like manner, but in a
greater and nobler way, be favoured and
visited.
The Apostles of our Lord were endowed
with the gift of miracles ; and there is no
hint that this gift was personal, or to be
confined to a certain age. On the con
trary, S. Paul speaks of these extraordi
nary gifts as if they were to continue in the
Church for ever, for he gives rules for their
exercise, and a test to discern them from
the counterfeit likenesses of them with
PREFACE. XV
which the evil spirit would endow the chil
dren of perdition. The greatest enemies
of the truth have admitted the possibility of
this, and even its actual existence. The
so-called Jansenist miracles, attributed to
the Abbe Paris, are a case in point. But
as in many other instances of opposition to
the Church, men rest on a priori objec
tions ; so in this. They assume, that be
cause they are not cognizant of miracles
themselves, therefore none have ever been
wrought. So then it will be a step gained,
in the way of receiving the truth, if this
a priori foundation be destroyed. And this
is easily done. Our Lord s promise or pro
phecy is conclusive on the subject; and
this admitted, its fulfilment will be easy of
belief. " Believe you not that I am in the
Father, and the Father in Me ? otherwise
believe for the very works 3 sake. Amen,
amen, I say to you, he that believeth in Me,
the works that I do, he also shall do, and
greater than these shall he do." (S. John
xiv. 11, 12.) Nothing can be more express
than this. He promises that His followers
shall do, not only the works that He] did
Himself, but works greater than those.
The condition is faith, as He said on ano
ther occasion, when the disciples wondered
at the withering away of the fig-tree:
"Amen, I say to you, if you shall have
XVI PREFACE.
faith, and stagger not, not only this of the
fig-tree shall you do, but also if you shall
say to this mountain, take up and cast thy
self into the sea, it shall be done. And all
things whatsoever you shall ask in prayer
believing, you shall receive." (S. Matt.
xxi. 21, 22.) It is obvious that the faith
necessary for these things must be strong :
stronger than that of the mass of Christians,
and beyond what is necessary for salvation.
This is the faith of canonized saints, which
we call heroic, and of this Pope Benedict
XIV. treats in the commencement of this
volume.
The miracles of our Lord were followed
by those of His Blessed Apostles, and
these by those of the saints in every suc
ceeding age of the Church. The salt of
the earth has not lost its savour. Our
Lord lives in His saints, and in them,
and by them, performs His wonders.
What He does in them we cannot see,
but we see from time to time evidences
of His presence in the miraculous virtue
that flows out of them, as it did from
Himself when the diseased touched but
the hem of His garment, and were made
whole. (S. Matt. xiv. 36.) We see the
same miracles in S. Paul, for "there
were brought from his body to the sick
handkerchiefs and aprons, and the diseases
PREFACE. XVI I
departed from them, and the wicked spirits
went out of them." (Acts. xix. 12.) In
the case of S. Peter we read of miracles
done in a more wonderful way still, for the
sick were cured, and unclean spirits ex
pelled, by his shadow passing over them.
(Acts v. 15, 16.) We do not read of, such
miraculous influences in the Gospel itself,
as if our Lord had delegated to His ser
vants a more extensive exercise of super
natural power than He had been Himself
pleased to use. So we have in the lives of
saints, from time to time, proofs of this mi
raculous virtue in curing the sick, and in
expelling evil "spirits. A penitent of S.
Philip Neri took refuge in the saint s room
from pressing temptation, which came from
evil spirits, and was delivered from them
just as were those over whom passed the
shadow of S. Peter. Our Lord raised per
sons to life who had been dead, but the
Gospels record only three cases; His Apos
tles did the same, canonized saints have
been distinguished by the same gift, such,
among others, as S. Raymund de Penna-
fort, S. Dominic and S. Philip, and S.
Francis Xavier, who restored five-and-
twenty persons to life.
Again, the Apostles on the day of Pen
tecost received the gift of language, so that
(e every man heard them speak in his own
XV111 PREFACE.
tongue/ The same is read concerning S.
Vincent Ferrer, S. Francis Xavier, and S.
Lewis Bertrand. S. Peter walked on the
sea, as our Blessed Lord had done; and S.
Peter of Alcantara crossed the Tagus as if
it was dry land, and S. Benno the Elbe.
S. Raymund de Pennafort crossed the open
sea from Majorca to Barcelona on his cloak,
which he had spread over the waters, and
on which he sat as if it had been an ordi
nary boat. All the miracles both of the
Prophets of the Old Testament, and of the
Apostles in the New, have been repeated
over and over again by the same hand of
God in the persons of His saints.
The miracles wrought by the Saints do
not appear to many to be difficult of belief,
compared with the lives they led. The
temptations to which they were subjected,
the trials they endured, and the patience
with which they bore them, are in the eyes
of many incredible. Then we must re
member their mortifications, their volun
tary penances, the cruelties which they wil
lingly and joyously inflicted on their own
bodies: then again the spiritual afflictions :
dryness of spirit, distaste for religious exer
cises, and strong impulses to infidelity and
blasphemy. And on the other hand, inte
rior consolations, the language in which
they are described being almost unintelligi-
PREFACE. XIX
ble visions, ecstasies, and a burning love
of God. These things are strange, and be
yond the reach of human strength, endur
ance, or skill : they are not common, and
perhaps most men have not any sympathy
with those who were subject to them, or
can in any way comprehend how they
could happen to any person living in the
world or the cloister.
In the first place it is necessary to re
mark, that all these matters have been
rigidly examined, discussed, and proved.
Of the fact there is no doubt whatever.
They do not become known to us on mere
report, nor on secondary evidence. Clear
proof of them is always required, and if
that fail, the alleged fact is dismissed, not
indeed as if it were denied, but no account
is made of it in the process. But are these
things so incredible as many suppose ? Is
there anything in them or about them that
should make us distrust the solemn rela
tions in which they occur? The case is
this. Our blessed Lord is the model upon
which the souls of the elect are perpetually
gazing, and the fashion of His life is that
to which they would conform themselves.
S. Paul was tried with strange temptations;
he chastened his body, and suffered cruel
persecutions, and he also saw visions and
had revelations; "he was caught up into
b
XX PREFACE.
Paradise and heard secret words." (2 Cor.
xii. 4.) S. John saw visions, and so did S.
Peter. The Church is a supernatural so
ciety, instituted for a supernatural end, and
such of her children as correspond with the
grace of their vocation, will be raised be
yond those who do but imperfectly fulfil
their functions. These souls will have their
senses purified, and their intellectual nature
illuminated ; and will therefore become cog
nizant of matters beyond the range of hu
man sense and understanding. We see in
the world some persons who have so keen
a sense of moral honesty, that they need no
law to compel them to the observance of
human justice : while others, who at the
same time are held in respect, guide them
selves only by the express provisions of
positive law. It is the same in the Church;
the multitude is content to remain satisfied
with the observance of precepts, but the
few of more generous dispositions strive to
rise to that elevation which counsels of per
fection alone can insure. It is of these
that Benedict XIV. treats in the present
work; and it is obvious that they who rule
themselves after a manner beyond that of
the multitude, must not be judged as if
they formed a portion of it. They are in
deed bound by the same laws, and are par
takers of the same sacraments, but the key
PREFACE. XXI
that unfolds the mystery of their life is not
to be found in the precepts alone, but in
the counsels of the evangelical law, which
they have undertaken as the sweet yoke of
Christ. They follow Him, and He gives
them from time to time the knowledge of
Himself. They go forth into the desert as
He did, " and was tempted by Satan, and
He was with the wild beasts, and the an
gels ministered to Him/ (S. Mark i. 13.)
And in the agony in the garden " there
appeared to Him an angel from heaven,
strengthening Him." (S. Luke xxii. 43.)
Here we have the foreshadowing of those
temptations, trials, and consolations, which
the servants of God have experienced. The
temptations of Satan in the wilderness, and
the agony in the garden, the cruel treat
ment of the soldiers, and the blasphemy of
the Jews, have been again and again re
peated in His servants according to the
measure of their grace.
Our blessed Lord was innocent, and pure
from all stain; yet He endured torments
greater than any of the martyrs. His suf-
ering was voluntary, and, if it be lawful to
say so, superfluous, for the least of His
agonies was more than sufficient to re
deem the world. So again, saints who
never lost their baptismal innocence, have
voluntarily punished themselves, and en-
XX11 PREFACE.
dured torments of incredible severity.
They might have perhaps abstained from
all these inflictions; yet such was their
love of God, that they must enter into
the communion of His sufferings, and
offer up their own bodies, cruelly pun
ished, in imitation of Him, and in depreca
tion of His wrath, deserved by the sins of
their fellow creatures.
It was heroic charity that led innocent
souls like S. Aloysius and Cardinal Baro-
nius to punish their bodies, and tender wo
men like S. Mary Magdalene de Pazzi and
S. Rose of Lima to put crowns on their heads
that drew blood from their pierced flesh. It
would be tedious to enumerate the penances
and strange austerities of the servants of
God, which they willingly underwent for
their own sins, and in reparation for the
wickedness of others, who thought not of
God and His holy laws which they were
daily transgressing. The contents of these
volumes will supply abundant illustration of
this matter.
It may suggest itself to some that this
account of the saints and their actions
which Benedict XIV. has given us is tech
nical, and reduces too much to rule and
system the supernatural workings of the
Holy Spirit. But what is the fact? He
has but collected together the recorded acts
PREFACE. XX111
of the saints, and referred them to their
several heads. The virtues which the Gos
pel enjoins are definite and known; and
the saints who observed them are known,
and so also the history of their lives. He
has but compared the facts with the theory,
and if the theory becomes clearer and more
definite, that is the case with every other
theory or system whatever. He had the
advantage of the labours of others who pre
ceded him in this discussion, and also the
results of his own experience as Promoter
of the Faith, and was, consequently,
minutely conversant with the very details
of the subject. He has done with the
practice of the Church what S. Thomas
and the Schoolmen did with reference to
the Faith. These saw the records of our
Saviour s life and doctrine, and con
structed therefrom that wonderful and har
monious system which we revere, and the
ignorant and the wicked ridicule the scho
lastic philosophy of Holy Church. That
system was begun before Peter Lombard,
but he reduced it to its proper heads, and
then the sanctified intellects of the Domini
can and Franciscan Orders raised it in its
grand proportions, and at the Council of
Trent it proved to the Church an impregna
ble fortress, against which heresy raged in
vain. Perhaps, too, in the present form of
XXIV PREFACE.
unbelief, and the prevalence of strange su
perstition which has taken possession of psy
chological inquirers, this systematic discus
sion of moral and intellectual phenomena
which are displayed in the lives of the
saints, may prove to many a solution of dif
ficulties, and a safe guide to lead them out
of danger. Learning is in our circum
stances become a matter of necessity, and
those who dwell much on the simplicity of
the evangelical law, and on the danger of
subtle discussions and minute investiga
tions, will do well to remember that our
Blessed Lord was once found "sitting in
the midst of the doctors."
The present volume begins with the
twenty-first chapter of the third book on
the Beatification and Canonization of the
Saints, and concludes with the thirtieth.
The two volumes still to be published will
contain the rest of the discussion on Heroic
Virtue, and will make their appearance
with as much speed as is consistent with a
careful and accurate publication of them.
CONTENTS.
BOOK I.
CHAPTER PAGE
I. On heroic virtue J
II. Wherein are proposed and explained certain
questions touching the heroicity of virtues - 44
III. Of the theological virtues, faith, hope, and chari
ty, and of the heroicity of each of them - -74
SECT. I. Of the virtue of faith, and of its hero
icity 74
II. Of the virtue of hope, and its heroic
degree 91
III. Of the virtue of charity towards God,
and its heroicity. - - - - 105
IV. Of the virtue of love towards one s
neighbour, and its heroicity - - 119
IV. Of the cardinal or moral virtues, prudence, jus
tice, fortitude, and temperance, and of those
annexed to them, and of the heroicity of each 136
SECT. I. Of the virtue of prudence, and its parts,
and of the heroic degree of the same 136
II. Of the virtue of justice, and its parts,
and of the heroic degree of the same 15 1
III. Of the virtue of fortitude, its parts, and
its heroicity 16G
IV. Of the virtue of temperance, its parts,
and its heroicity - - - - 181
V. Of prayer; the different kinds of it, and the
necessity of it in the servants of God who are to
be beatified or canonized - - - -231
VI. Of mental prayer; of the three sorts of life,
active, contemplative, and mixed ; of the state
of those who are beginning, of those who are
making progress, and the perfect ; and of some
other things that relate to vocal and mental
prayer ... 253
VII. Of the frequentation of the sacraments of the
eucharist and of penance, required in the ser
vants of God to be canonized or beatified - 288
, VIII. Of the mortification of the flesh and the body. - 322
IX. Of the measure of bodily mortifications - -352
BENEDICT XIV.
HEROIC VIRTUE.
BOOK I.
CHAPTER I.*
ON HEROIC VIRTUE.
1. So far we have treated of the causes of
martyrs : we now proceed to treat of the causes
of confessors, whether bishops or not bishops,
and also of virgins, and of those not virgins,
and of widows ; in all which cases the question
turns upon their virtues, and a doubt about these
corresponds to a doubt about martyrdom, and
the reason of martyrdom in causes of martyrs.
The commentators on the canon law teach
that manifold excellence of life is required both
for beatification and canonization. To this effect
write in cap. Audivimus Joannes Andreas, n. 4.
Ancaran, n. 5. Zabarella, n. 5. and Fagnan, n. 3.
de Reliquiis et venerations Sanctorum, who also
treat of the text, in can. Miramur, dist. 61 ; and
* In the original this volume begins at book iii. ch. 21.
1
2 BENEDICT XIV. ON HEROIC VIRTUE.
again of that in Can. Quatuor, 12. qu. 2. Theo
logians teach that for beatification and canoniza
tion virtues are indispensable, but they must be
in the heroic degree. So Scacchus,* and Cas-
tellinuSjt who tells us that "not all the just
are to be canonized by the Church, but those
who have shone forth with heroic virtues."
The same rule is laid down in the Report
to the secret consistory before Gregory XV. of
blessed memory, by Francis Maria, Cardinal a
Monte, Bishop of Porto, in the year 1622, on the
life, holiness, acts of canonization, and miracles
of the Blessed, now Saint, Teresa. " However, as
canonization, which is now the question, requires
virtue of a heroic and preeminent degree, what
I shall presently say will prove that the virtues
of Teresa fully attained to it." The like had pre
viously been said by the Auditors of the Rota, in
a Report of the same cause. :f " And although any
just person may receive from God all that com
bination of grace, virtues, and gifts, yet it is not
any just person that reaches that degree which
the Church demands for canonization, but such
an one only as, by many stages of progress, hath
proved eminently just in the exercise of heroic
virtues. To this end therefore are heroic virtues
required in those who are to be canonized."
And although theologians and canonists do not
express themselves in precisely the same way
still the sense both of theologians and jurists
* De not. et sign, sanctit. 2. c. 4.
t De Certitud. Glor. Sanctor. in app. ad c. 4.
J Tit. de Sanctitate vitse B. Teresiae in specie.
BENEDICT XIV, ON HEROIC VIRTUE. 3
is one and the same on the matter we are
now discussing, as is well explained by Conte-
lorus.* But as the words of theologians are best
adapted for its purpose, the Holy See uses them
in discussing the causes of the beatification and
canonization of /the servants of God ; and the
question proposed for discussion is this: "An
constet de virtutibus theologalibus, Fide, Spe et
C/taritate, ac de Cardinalibus Prudentia > Justitia,
Fortitudine, ac Temperantia, et annexis, in gradu
heroico in caste et ad effectum [de quo agitur~\"
" Whether there is sufficient proof of the theo
logical virtues, faith, hope, and charity, and of
the cardinal virtues, prudence, justice, fortitude,
and temperance, and of those things which be
long to them, to the purpose and effect of this
process."
2. Of the virtue of Faith mention is made,
Wisd. iii. 14, " That hath not wrought iniquity
with his hands for the precious gift of faith
shall be given him." Ecclus. xlv. 4, "He sanc
tified him in his faith and meekness ;" and of
Stephen, Acts, vi. 5, that he was full of the
Holy Ghost and of faith. Of Hope, Psalm iv.
10, " Thou, Lord, singularly hast settled me
in hope." Of Charity it is said, Rom. v. 5,
"The charity of God is poured forth in our
hearts;" and the apostle says, 1 Cor. xiii. 3, "If
I should distribute all my goods to feed the poor,
and if I should deliver my body to be burned,
and have not charity, it profiteth me nothing."
* De Canoniz. SS. c. 15. n. 9.
4 BENEDICT XIV. ON HEROIC VIRTUE.
Of Prudence, Prov. iv. 5, 6, " Get prudence,.... for
sake her not, and she shall keep thee ; love her,
and she shall preserve thee." Of Justice, Prov.
xi. 4, "Justice shall deliver from death." Ecclus.
xiv. 17, " Before thy death work justice." Of
Fortitude, Isaias, xl. 31, " They fchat hope in the
Lord shall renew their strength." Job, xvii. 9,
"The just man shall hold on his way, and
he that hath clean hands shall be stronger
and stronger." Lastly, of Temperance, Ecclus.
xxxvii. 32, "Be not greedy in any feasting, and
pour not thyself out upon any meat." Eccl. x. 17,
"Blessed is the land whose princes eat in
due season for refreshments, and not for riotous-
ness."
3. And as, according to S. Dionysius,* holiness
is nothing else than a purity free from all un-
cleanness, and perfect, and altogether stainless ;
and according to S. John Chrysostom, (or whoever
is the author of the homily, undoubtedly an an
cient one,) on Luke, c. 1, holiness is apta circa
Deum cequitas, every one will see that to consti
tute it are required the theological virtues of
Faith, Hope, and Charity, which are immediately
conversant with God, as S. Thomas teaches, /. 2,
qu. 62, art. 1. in corp. and is borne out by Ecclus.
ii. 8, "Ye that fear the Lord, believe Him ...
hope in Him ... love Him."
These virtues are called Theological, either
because, as we have just said, they are con
versant with God as their proper object, or be-
* De Divinis Nominibus cap. 12. p. 866.
BENEDICT XIV. ON HEROIC VIRTUE. 5
cause they in a manner transform man into God,
and make him divine, or because they are in
fused by God alone, or lastly, because they are
delivered to us by divine revelation alone in the
Holy Scripture, and were not known to the phil
osophers of old, as Estius well observes.* The
other virtues are either intellectual or moral : by
the former the intellect is perfected, by the latter
the appetite ; by reason of the former no one
can be called simply good, by reason of the latter
he can. Amongst these, some are called princi
pal, or cardinal virtues, to wit, Prudence, Justice,
Fortitude, and Temperance, either because they
are four genera of virtues, under which the rest
rank as species, or because they are severally
conversant with what is most important in each
subject-matter of virtue ; so that the other vir
tues do not hold to them the relation of species
to genera, but of the less principal, to the more
principal, as Estius goes on to say,t and these
also directed to God, as their ultimate end, are
necessary to constitute holiness. This is implied
by B. Peter Damiani^J in these words : "We
in our measure are provided with wings, that
is to say, spiritual virtues, which if we use with
a good courage, we are raised aloft unto hea
venly things ; " and Hugh of S. Victor I ex
plains as follows the theological and cardinal
virtues requisite for holiness. "But Faith, the
first of the virtues, is added to humility, be-
* 3 lib. Sent. dist. 23. 1. f 3 lib. Sent. dist. 33. 2.
t De Bon. Rel. Stat. c. ii.
T. 2. in opusc. de fructibus carnis, c. i. p. 114.
BENEDICT XIV. ON HEROIC VIRTUE.
cause without Faith it is impossible to please
God, and the just lives by Faith. But what
profit have you in Faith, if you do not seek
by Hope what you embrace by Faith? For
what we see not as yet, we hope for, and
Hope confoundeth not. But because by ho
ping we love that which we possess by Faith,
Charity succeeds to Hope, and so Faith, which
worketh by Charity, proceeds aright. Now
Prudence teaches and informs us how these
three virtues, that is to say, Hope, Faith, and
Charity, are to be distinguished and held, Jus
tice adorns and completes them, Fortitude re
tains and strengthens, and Temperance regulates
and determines, lest they should run out to
excess, or be inadequately straitened within
their limits. If therefore you add these four
virtues to the three former ones, that sevenfold
number of virtues brings to those who fulfil it
t! e plenitude of sevenfold grace, whereby the
framework of vices is broken up, the body of
the devil vanquished, and the fountain and source
of all the virtues attained unto by the path of
justice." This is well explained by the Auditors
of the Rota in the I eport of the cause of the
servant of God, Nicolas Factor.
4. Virtue, as we learn from S. Augustin,* is
" a good quality of the mind, whereby we live
rightly, which no one uses amiss, which God work
eth in us, without ourselves;" a definition of vir
tue which S. Thomas adopts and amplifies, /. 2.
qu. 55. art. 4. It is not our object here to write
* Lib. 2. de libero arbitrio.
BENEDICT XIV. ON HEROIC VIRTUE. 7
a treatise on the virtues in general, or on the
theological or cardinal virtues. All the theologians
treat of them ; wherefore our present discourse
shall merely treat of the heroicity of virtues, (if
we may use the word,) so far as is required in
discussing the causes of beatification and canon
ization ; and we shall also throw out a few hints
on the virtues in particular, whether theological
or moral, but only in passing, to refresh the
reader s memory on what theologians in ample
volumes have said concerning them. And, in
order to proceed systematically, we shall first
speak of the heroicity of virtues among the Gen
tiles, then of the same amongst us, and, lastly,
state wherein consists this same heroicity with
regard both to the thing itself, and the effect
of which we are treating.
5. Mention is made amongst the Gentiles of
heroes, and heroic virtues, and they have given
the name of heroes to such as Hector, Hercules,
Achilles, (Eneas, Fabricius, Fabius, Scipio Afri-
canus, Regulus, Cato, Socrates, Plato, Diogenes
the Cynic, &c. Aristotle* treats of heroic virtue,
and says that as man stands midway between
God and the higher intelligences on one side, and
the brute creation on the other, so if he be so
preeminent in the long and perfect exercise of
virtue, as to follow throughout the guidance of
reason, he puts off the sensual condition, and is
brought into that which is purely spiritual, in
such wise that his virtues are not thought to be
* Ethic, lib. vii. c.l.
8 BENEDICT XIV. ON HEROIC VIRTUE.
human, but heroic and divine : but if he is the
slave of his vices, and is impotentlj carried away
by the unrestrained impulse of his passions, he
seems altogether to throw off humanity, and in
a manner to degenerate into a brute ; in which
case his vice appears not so much human as
bestial.
This doctrine of Aristotle s is illustrated by
Cardinal de Aguirre,* and before him was ex
plained by S. Thomas with his usual acuteness,f
where he says as follows : " We must consider
that the human soul stands midway between
those superior and divine substances with whom
it communicates by the intellect, and the brute
creatures with whom it communicates by the
sensitive faculties. As therefore the affections
of this sensitive part in man are sometimes so
corrupted as to approach to the similitude of
the brutes ; so also the rational part is at times
formed and perfected in man beyond the ordinary
measure of man s perfection, as it were after the
similitude of the superior substances, and this is
called divine virtue, beyond human and ordinary
virtue." He adds besides, that the Gentiles for
this reason called the souls of their deceased
illustrious men, heroes. So too Francis Piccol-
omini : J " Heroes are illustrious men, who by
some eminent virtue, have attained to a con
dition which is more effulgent than that of or
dinary humanity, whereby they either lead a
* Philosophia Moralis, part 2. lib. vii. c. 1,
t Ad lib. vii. Aristot. Lect. 1. litt. c.
t Tract, de moribus. grad. 6. c. 2.
BENEDICT XIV. ON HEROIC VIRTUE. 9
glorious life, or after death their fame is much
in the mouths of men." And concerning heroic
men, he in like manner says, according to Aris
totle s doctrine, "These are said to be elevated
above the condition of man, because (so far as
it is permitted unto man) they have shown them
selves like gods : they are said to derive their
descent from the gods."
6. Even theologians treat of the virtues of
the Gentiles, and their heroicity. For they ask
whether unbelievers, using only the light of na
ture, could have one or more virtues, true and
perfect in their kind, although not meriting eter
nal life, since for this justifying grace is requi
site ; and whether the virtues aforesaid could
ascend to the heroic degree of natural virtue,
so that a man furnished therewith could be truly
called a hero, and, lastly, whether any of them
ever had them in the heroic degree, and was of
right a hero, not in name only, but in reality.
And indeed as to the question whether unbe
lievers, using only the light of nature, may have
one or more moral virtues, true and perfect in
their kind, although not meriting eternal life ;
we may truly and certainly answer it in the
affirmative ; for if unbelievers can do good and
honourable actions, and practise them frequent
ly, they can also acquire and obtain for them
selves habits of such actions, and consequently
have moral virtues true and perfect in their
kind. St. Ambrose,* in Psal. 1, "And his leaf
* Tom. 1. opp. col. 757.
10 BENEDICT XIV. OX HEROIC VIRTUE.
shall not fall off," has these words: "For virtues
without faith are leaves; they seem to flourish,
but they can do no good ; they are driven by
the wind, because they have no hold. How
many Gentiles are there, who have compas
sion, who have sobriety, but they have no
fruit, because they have no faith And some
Jews ^have chastity, much diligence in read
ing, but they are in like manner destitute of
fruit." S. Ambrose therefore does not deny
that they are virtues, but only says that they
are void of the fruit of salvation, because they
do not avail to them for everlasting salvation.
To prove that unbelievers may without faith do
some works morally good, theologians use the
text of Exodus, c. 1 ; where when the Egyptian
midwives had received a command from Pharaoh
to kill all the male children of the Hebrews as
soon as they were born, they feared God and
did not do according to the orders of the king,
but saved the males alive ; which compassion
indeed Scripture praises, and God did not leave
it without a temporal recompense, for, v. 20,
" Thereupon God dealt well with the midwives,
and because the midwives feared God, He
built them houses ;" that is, he gave them a
numerous offspring. They also apply the text of
Ezechiel xxix. 20 ; where king Nabuchodonosor,
for having prosperously carried on the war against
the Tyrians, as God had commanded, received a
temporal reward, viz., the land of Egypt, and
its spoils : " I have given unto him the land of
Egypt, because he hath laboured for me, saith
BENEDICT XIV. ON HEROIC VIRTUE. 11
the Lord God;" on which S. Jerome well ob
serves, t. 5. col. 353, "Because Nabuchodonosor
received the reward of his good deed, we learn
that even heathens who do well are not unre
warded by the judgment of God, and because
Nabuchodonosor obeyed the will of God against a
sinful people, he is called by Jeremiah the Dove
of God." [xxv. 38.] We may refer to S. Thomas
2. 2. qu. 10. art. 4, and to a mass of similar
evidence in Suarez,* and Tournely.f Amongst
the condemned propositions of Michael Baius,
and others proscribed in like manner afterwards,
we find some, from the condemnation of which
we gather, that the works of unbelievers though
they are not good, in the sense we call works
good which merit eternal salvation, still are
not all bad, or indifferent, but may be good
in the sense of moral goodness. The 25th of
the propositions of Baius is as follows : " All
the works of unbelievers are sins, and the vir
tues of the philosophers are vices." The 27th,
" Freewill without the help of God s grace avails
only to sin." The 37th, "Whoever recognises
any natural good, that is, any which arises from
the powers of our nature alone, thinks with Pe-
lagius." The 38th, "All love of the reasonable
creature is either that vicious cupidity loving
the world, which is forbidden by S. John, or
that laudable charity infused into the heart
by the Holy Spirit, whereby God is loved."
The 4Jth, " The sinner in all his actions is a
* Tract, de Fide, Spe et Charitate. disput. 17. 3.
t I rselect. Theolog. torn. 2. de gratia Christi.
12 BENEDICT XIV. ON HEROIC VIRTUE.
slave to the dominion of concupiscences." The
62nd, " That distinction is to be rejected, where
by a work is called good in a two-fold sense,
either because it is right and good in its object
and in all its circumstances, (which they were
wont to call morally good,) or because it is meri
torious of the kingdom of heaven, inasmuch as it
proceeds from a lively member of Christ through
the spirit of charity." Among the proposi
tions proscribed by Alexander VIII., this is the
8th, "An unbeliever necessarily commits sin in
every work he does." Other propositions of a
like kind are proscribed in the Constitution of
Clement XL, which begins with the word Unigen-
itus* viz., the 39th, " That will which grace doth
not prevent, has no light but to go astray ;
no ardour, but to cast itself headlong ; no
strength, but to wound itself; it is capable of
every evil, incapable of any good." The 40th,
"Without grace we can love nothing except to
our condemnation." The 41st, "All knowledge
of God, even that natural knowledge which the
heathen philosophers possessed, cannot come from
any source but God, and without grace produces
nothing but presumption, vanity, and opposition
to God Himself, instead of the affections of ado
ration, gratitude, and love." The 48th, " What
else can we be but darkness, error, and sin,
without the light of faith, without Christ, and
without charity?"
7. Granted then, that true moral virtues
* Bullar. torn. 10. part 1. p. 342.
BENEDICT XIV. ON HEROIC VIRTUE. 13
might be found in the Gentiles, after the man
ner we have explained, it remains to inquire,
whether any of the virtues in them could ascend
to the degree of heroicity ; and next, whether
any of these Gentiles actually had them in the
heroic degree, so that they might, properly
speaking, and not by an abuse of the term,
be called heroes. And indeed, looking at the
nature of the thing, there appears to be no
reason why an unbeliever might not, for exam
ple, from the impulse of merely natural virtue
expose himself not once, but many times to
death, for the preservation either of conjugal or
virginal chastity: in which case one could not
doubt his having heroic virtue ; for by so act
ing according to the dictate of right reason,
he excels all others however chaste and cou
rageous, in the virtue of chastity and fortitude.
But whether there were any among the Gen
tiles, who so excelled in virtues to the heroic
degree as to be truly called heroes, this is
a question which belongs to history, not to
theology: and therein it is a general opinion,
that they were not possessed of moral virtues
in the heroic degree, and could not truly be
called Heroes. Because to constitute a hero,
there is required the union of all moral virtues
whatever, and all who among the Gentiles
obtained the name of hero because of their
eminence in some one moral virtue, were for
the most part destitute of others, and even
stained with vices, and consequently could not
be called heroes in the strict sense of the
14 BENEDICT XIV. ON HEROIC VIRTUE.
word. Cardinal de Laursea,* after proving that
true moral virtues may be found in unbelievers,
has laid down as a rule, that they cannot have
all the moral virtues collectively ; and concludes
that none of those who are called heroes, ever
did attain thereto ; again,! after proving that
nothing hinders but that some heroic virtue
might be found among unbelievers, he says, that
although some heroic virtue did appear in cer
tain unbelievers, it was imperfect, since it could
not in any respect be called perfect, even view
ed as merely natural moral virtue. Cardinal de
Aguirre pursues this same argument at length, J
where, after demonstrating with great learning
that heroic moral virtue only existed apparently,
and not really in those heathens whom the Ro
mans venerated as of chiefest rank in wisdom
and virtue, or even in the Greek philosophers,
all of whom, he contends, were stained with
vices ; in Disp. 12. qu. 2. 3. he lays down, and
proves it to be philosophically possible, that heroic
virtue may exist in a mortal man, so that they
make a distinction between possibility, as they
say, and actuality; or reality; admitting the for
mer, but rejecting the latter ; and Cardinal de
Aguirre also says, " Certainly, if we diligently
considered the virtues of certain heathens above-
mentioned, which were reckoned heroic and di
vine, we should find, not only that they did not
deserve epithets so magnificent, but that they did
* 3 lib. sent. torn. 2. Disput 5. art. 2. t Disp. 32. art. 7.
J Tract, de virtutibus et vitiis, disput. 12. quaest. 3 and 4.
Philosoph. Moral, lib. 7. cap. 1. n. 6,
BENEDICT XIV. ON HEROIC VIRTUE. 15
not even reach that degree of solid and perfect
virtue, which constitutes a man simply good,
&c. For those who were esteemed to possess
heroic virtue, exhibited before men s eyes, works
which seemed very far to surpass the ordinary
measure of goodness, although if they were ex
amined seriously, and by the standard of truth,
perhaps they would not even deserve the sim
ple appellation of virtue." To the same effect
at very great length writes Theophilus Ray-
naud.* In the works of S. Basil f we have a
learned discourse of the holy father addressed
to young men, to show how they might derive
profit from the works of heathen writers ; in
which, after relating how Socrates with the ut
most patience allowed a drunkard to strike him
in the face, he says, " This of Socrates is akin
to that precept which teaches that far from
avenging ourselves, when a man would strike one
cheek, we must turn to him the other." Refer
ring to Alexander, who would not look at the
captive daughters of Darius of surpassing beauty,
he says, " This conveys the same lesson as the
precept, he that looketh after a woman to lust
after her, although he has not actually commit
ted adultery, yet as he has admitted concupi
scence in his heart, is not without sin." Lastly,
he relates that Clinias, a Pythagorean, would not
swear to avoid a fine of three talents, though
the oath would not have been a false one, on
which he observes, "He had learnt, it seems,
* Tom, 4. de virtutibus et vitiis, lib. 1. c. 1. 2. n, 82.
t Tom. 2. p. 173. et seq.
16 BENEDICT XIV. ON HEROIC VIRTUE.
the precept which bids us not to swear at all."
Those acts of the heathens are commended by
the holy doctor; "But let us return to the ex
amples of good actions." He thinks that through
them a way is opened to observe the Christian
precepts ; " Wherefore he who shall have been
trained in them will not withhold belief in ours
as if they were impossible." But he sees clearly
that those who kept them were so stained with
vices, that they could not be called heroes; "But
let us return to what I spoke in the beginning ;
we must not receive everything as a matter of
course, but only what is profitable. It were un
becoming us to reject unwholesome food, and
make no account of instructions which train the
soul, but like a torrent carry away with us what
ever comes in our way, and treasure it in our
heart."
8. So far we have spoken of heroes and of
heroic virtue with reference to heathens. Passing
on to the Christian religion, we shall proceed to
offer some remarks on the same subject with re
ference to beatification and canonization. S. Au
gustine,* after observing that the persecutions of
the faithful, so far from hurting the Church, were
useful to it, as they increased the number of mar
tyrs ; says of martyrs, " These we might call much
more elegantly our heroes, if the ecclesiastical
mode of speaking permitted that term." And
a little further on, "But on the contrary, the
martyrs would be called our heroes, if, as I said,
* Lib. 10. de Cio, Dei. r. 21.
BENEDICT XIV. ON HEROIC VIRTUE. 17
the usages of ecclesiastical language permitted it,
not because they had any companionship with
the demons in the air, but because they van
quished the same demons, that is, the powers of
the air." Coquseus in his notes on this chapter
of S. Augustine well observes, that the name of
hero carried with it a certain show of "Vain
glory, which holy men despised, and which the
Christian religion rejects ; in which sense it
is that S. Augustine says, that he would call
the martyrs our heroes, if ecclesiastical lan
guage permitted it. Coquseus goes on to say
very truly, that if so many of Christ s martyrs
who despised death, and poured out their blood
for the Faith, were not heroes in name, they
were so in reality ; heroes too, if not in name,
yet in reality, were so many Christian virgins
who most bravely overcame the temptations of
the devil, the assaults of the flesh and of the
world ; heroes, lastly, were those confessors who
lived upon earth a life not human, but altogether
angelic, as Scacchus shows at length.* It follows
from hence, as we said in the first book of this
treatise, that the cultus of the saints had its origin
from the martyrs, and was afterwards extended to
confessors, so we now say that the name of hero
was first given to martyrs and afterwards to con
fessors, the profane term being hallowed, and
its later use approved of. Whence Cardinal
de Aguirre,t after quoting the above passage
of S. Augustine, adds, " Thus far Augustine ;
* De not. et sign, sanctit. 2, c. 4.
t De virtutibus et vitiis, disput. 12. qu. 1. 1. n. 10.
2
18 BENEDICT XIV. ON HEROIC VIRTUE.
after whose example long custom has now ap
plied that name of heroes not to martyrs only,
but also to such confessors as by their eminent
and admirable virtues and good works, have very
far surpassed the rest of mankind, not merely the
wicked, but also virtuous and just persons who
have -folio wed with slow foot-steps after holiness."
Esparza also rightly observes,* "But, upon this
hint of S. Augustine, later writers without any
scruple constantly give the name of heroes,
not only to Christ s martyrs, but also to con
fessors of all classes on a parity with martyrs,
because of the resplendent excellence of their
virtues, and in like manner they call by the
appellation heroic, the virtues themselves, and
their operations, as distinguished by a peculiar
brightness of the last and highest degree."
In martyrs, for the most part, it is in their
death alone that the heroic character resides;
because therein such heroicity is sometimes im
plied as may fairly be extended to all their life
antecedent, or that they might have had still
to spend. But in confessors the heroic character
is not contained in any particular part, but it
respects the whole life, it respects the death,
and must be manifold, pervading many acts and
habits, as will appear as we proceed.
9. The object answers to the name. For vir
tue truly heroic, and, as it were, divine, which,
as we have shown, had hardly a place, if it had
one at all, amongst heathens, was preserved for
* De virtutibua moralibus in communi, qu. 5. illat. de virtute
heroica, art. 5.
BENEDICT XIV. ON HEROIC VIRTUE. 19
the one people of God in the old law, and for
the Catholic Church in the law of grace : where
fore before the Evangelic law, Abraham is prais
ed as the special example of constancy and faith,
Joseph of chastity and modesty, Job of invincible
patience, David of meekness, and the Maccabees
of admirable fortitude ; and after the coming of
Christ John the Baptist set forth a wonderful
model of innocence of every kind, the apostles
of Christian perfection, the martyrs of fortitude,
the confessors of constancy, the virgins of unsul
lied modesty. The divine and theological kind
of heroic virtue is limited to those virtues only
which God infuses into our minds, beyond all
the requirements of nature, with a view to some
end or object above nature. Such are not
only those virtues imparted by God alone, such
as faith, hope, and charity, which are specially
conversant with God Himself as their immediate
end and object, but also other moral virtues of
the same supernatural class, which are not im
mediately conversant with God Himself, but
with some other supernatural, inferior and crea
ted object, although they mediately tend and
are directed to God as their ultimate superna
tural end. But as the idea and nature of hero-
icity is not inseparably conjoined with divine or
theological virtue, for in that case as many as
are endowed with the theological virtues because
of the grace of justification, nay, even Christians
in a state of sin, retaining theological faith and
hope, would be accounted to possess heroic virtue,
which would be absurd; it follows from hence
20 BENEDICT XIV. ON HEROIC VIRTUE.
that in these virtues naturally divine or theo
logical, then only the idea of heroic virtue is
found, when they reach that crowning point of
perfection, where a man very far surpasses the
goodness of other just persons, who aspire more
languidly after Christian perfection : and this,
as Cardinal de Aguirre* observes, is applicable
to the moral virtues. Of those who attain the
crowning point of perfection, and surpass the
goodness of other just men, that text of Eccle-
siasticus is spoken, xxxi. 9, "Who is this, and
we will praise him ? for he hath done wonderful
things in his life." Every one looks up to them,
praises, admires, and, as it were, reveres them at
a distance, as the people of old did the apostles.
"And they were all with one accord in Solo
mon s porch, but of the rest durst no man join
himself unto them ; but the people magnified
them," Acts, v. 12, 13, their virtue seemed so
far eminent above the rest. They are also said
to be "made partakers of the divine nature,"
as we have in St. Peter, ii. 1, 4, and to have a
similitude unto Christ, as S. Thomast and S.
BonaventureJ speak. All which however must
be understood with limitations, as we shall show
hereafter, because the perfect participation and
similitude of God and Christ, is altogether im
possible, and however great man s perfection
may be, the interval which separates the creature
from the Creator is always immeasurable and
infinite. Hence S. Augustine speaking of Pela-
* De virtut. et vitiis disput. 12. qu. 1. 2. no. 19.
t In lib. moralium c. 3, J In 3. sent. dist. 34. qu. 1.
BENEDICT XIV. ON HEROIC VIRTUE. 2L
gius,* says, "God forbid we should tell him, as
he says some of his opponents have, that man
is comparable with God, if he be asserted to be
void of sin, as if even an angel, because he is
void of sin, could be comparable with God. My
opinion is, that if our justice was incapable of
increase, the creature is not equal to the Cre
ator."
10. Agreeably to the foregoing, writers on can
onization say that heroicity is a certain excellence
in an action arising from, the habit of charity,
and a certain intention of the same degree, where
by the operations of our faculties, depending on
the dominion of the will, are so directed to an
exceeding lofty supernatural end, as very closely
to attain unto it. This definition is given by
Scacchus.f Matthseuccius proves that " theologi
cal and supernatural heroicity is a certain eminent
and splendid degree of virtue, at which a man
arrives by the special grace and motion of God,
in such sort that he is joyfully moved to the
higher and more perfect supernatural degrees,
with an abnegation of himself, that is, with a
dismissal of his own likings about the goods and
advantages of time and sense. "J Father Antonio
Gonzalez, a Dominican, the learned and most
diligent postulator of the cause of S. Rose of
Lima, in his elaborate Information on her virtues,
No. 10 and 11, says that heroicity "is a certain
eminence of virtue in the highest degree, to which
* De Nat, et Grat. c. 33, col. 143. torn. 10. opp.
t De Not. et Sign. Sanctit. 2. c. 4. p. 144.
t Pract. Theolog. Canonic, tit. 2. c. 1. n. 3.
22 BENEDICT XIV. ON HEROIC VIRTUE.
men rise by the grace of God, or with more than
human strength." Peter Francis de Rubeis, for
merly Promoter of the Faith, in his observations
in relation to the doubt whether the virtues of
S. John of the Cross were in the heroic degree,
laid it down that he was a Christian hero who
practises Christian virtues in a more exalted way
than the generality who practise the same." And
Prosper Bottini, Archbishop of Myra, also for
merly Promoter of the Faith, in his remarks on
the question of the heroic virtues of the servant
of God, Nicholas Factor, before the Sacred Con
gregation of Rites, after proving that not all ope
rations and acts enjoined by a habit of infused
virtue can be called heroic else all the faithful
in general, living in grace and acting worthily,
might be called heroes, as we observed before
reduces the quality of heroicity to those acts
which exceed the mode of working which is
followed by even estimable men.
To the like effect the Consultors of the Sacred
Congregation expressed themselves, whose suffrages
appeared in print on the question of the heroic
virtues of the servant of God, Cardinal Bellarmine,
in the Report of the same cause, which ought
to have been propounded, but was not actually
so, when I held the office of Fidei Promoter.
In the suffrage of Cardinal Capisucchi, of il
lustrious memory, then Master of the Apostolic
Palace, are these words: "We must premise that
heroic virtue is that which, either because of the
excellence of the work, or the presence of some
circumstance which makes the work very difficult,
BENEDICT XIV. ON HEROIC VIRTUE. 23
exhibits itself in some act which surpasses the
ordinary human standard of working, so that a
man is then said to work heroically when he works
beyond the ordinary measure even of men work
ing virtuously." In the suffrage of the Father
Abbot de Mier, a Benedictine, we learn that
heroic virtue ought to excel ordinary virtue, in
the same proportion that magnificence excels
liberality. F. Martin de Esparza* admits that
he is a hero who surpasses in the splendour and
fame of virtue other men who do well, but adds
that this is not enough for the perfect knowledge
of heroicity, for it does not reach to the sub
stance of it, but only to a certain accidental
comparative property of it. There must then be
something absolute for the foundation of hero
icity. In the same work the author has more
to the purpose, but is more full on the ques
tion on his suffrage upon the cause aforesaid,
as follows : " It is not in holy confessors, as
in martyrs, that heroicity of virtue is discover
ed in some one or other exterior work very ar
duous, difficult, and admirable, because such a
particular act can seldom fall in the way of holy
confessors, or of many of them, to do ; and where
it has fallen in their way, and they have done
such things, they are not for that reason espe
cially esteemed and reputed heroes of holiness,
but because, before and after it, but particularly
up to the time of their death, they have persevered
in a continuous, uninterrupted course of inno-
cency of life, doing everything according to the
* De virt. raor. in communi, q. 5. illat. de virt. heroica, ar. 10.
24 BENEDICT XIV. ON HEROIC VIRTUE.
evangelical precepts and counsels, with those cir
cumstances in each action which tend to the
summit of perfection, as to their substance and
manner, with a firm and intense contempt of all
earthly things, and a corresponding adhesion to
God and to things divine. Now this way of life,
pursued uniformly and invariably for a long time,
far surpasses the condition of human nature left
to itself. That is truly variable and inconstant
for many reasons, but above all, because of the
continual assaults of passions, conflicting at in
tervals with each other, yet always in league to
seduce unto pleasure, and at last drawing men
away from all virtue, much more from the highest
degree of virtue. Whereas that sublime and long
unvaried rule of action doth so far transcend the
condition of man s nature, that it approaches
closely to the essentially changeless holiness of
the Divine Nature, and therefore of itself suffices
for evangelical heroicity, because it of itself
constitutes a man perfect after the manner that
our Father in heaven is perfect. But in Bellar-
mine, so remarkably stainless was his course in
such a life, and so entirely perfect in each thing
his mode of action, almost from mere infancy
to his seventy-ninth year inclusive, the last of
his life, that throughout that long time no one
was able to discern in him any sin, even venial,
with perfect deliberation, nor yet any trace of
imperfection respecting the evangelical counsels
or the rules of religion. There is no occasion
to produce any single witness to prove this,
because our whole summary is full of such pan-
BENEDICT XIV. ON HEROIC VIRTUE. 25
egyrics on oath, and others not indeed on oath,
but well worthy of belief, and certainly convinc
ing, on account of the eminent qualities of the
deponents. What can be said to the fact that
in the general confession of his whole life, made
upon his death-bed, the confessor could scarcely
find sufficient matter for a valid absolution?
This long course of action therefore and way of
life, unstained, perfect, and exemplary in every
condition, time, and place, does of itself prove
conclusively the heroicity of all the virtues of
Cardinal Bellarmine."
There were also edited at Rome in the year
1722, some suffrages of the academies or the
ological universities of Paris, Salamanca, and
Padua, in the cause of a certain servant of God,
Apparitius, of which hereafter. Moreover, in the
suffrage of Father Nicolas de Buico de Spinazzola,
a Franciscan, and primary theologian of the Scot-
ist philosophy in the University of Padua, p. 185,
we read, "I remind you that the term heroic
is derived to Christians from heathenism. But
it signifies amongst us that degree of perfection
and excellence of virtue by which a man in the
matter of any virtue surpasses all others, and
through this becomes and seems like unto God."
And in the suffrage of Michael Veri, Doctor in
Theology, and public Professor of Dialectics in
the same university, p. 216, we find, "Heroic
virtue therefore is a general habit, comprehend
ing all that is loftiest in every virtue, and it
creates a dominion of human reason over the
passions in everything, of such a nature and
26 BENEDICT XIV. ON HEROIC VIRTUE.
extent, that no object has the power of forcing
the hero to swerve from what is sanctioned by
right reason. Hence it is that heroic virtue
seems rather divine than human."
11. So far the writers on beatification and
canonization. It remains for us to explain the
usage of the Holy See and the Sacred Congrega
tion of Rites, when a question occurs concern
ing virtues and their heroicity. Now through
out the present inquiry, it must be remembered
(1) that the question before us does not regard
virtue or virtues merely civil, but only Christian
virtues ; because the former have in view only
the goodness of virtue, considered within the
limits of moral goodness, but the latter are re
ferred either actually, or virtually, to God Him
self, as to a supernatural end : (2) that the gist
of the question lies not simply in Christian
virtues as such, but in their heroicity: (3) that
heroicity is nothing else than the excellence of
the work, the cause and origin of which is de
rived in general from the difficulty of the work
itself ; for things which are common and ordi
nary are not excellent, and do not excite admi
ration, as Maderna well observes:* (4) that the
excellence and difficulty of the work must be
judged of with reference to the circumstances ; for
if, to take an instance, a child fasts, as we read
of S. Nicholas, Bishop of Myra, that certainly
would be a work of excellence, but it would
not be so, if the fast were made by a person of
full age ; if a king or a prince ministers to the
* Quasst. Theolog. t. 2. tr. 6. q. 3. a. 2. n. 6, 7.
BENEDICT XIV. ON HEROIC VIRTUE. 27
sick in a hospital, as we read to have been
done bj S. Louis king of France, such an act
will be accounted excellent ; not so however,
when it is done by a man of the lowest rank :*
(5) that in practice, and for the effect in ques
tion, a few acts, although heroic, are not enough ;
since manifold excellence of life is required in
those who are to be canonized, as the canonists
above referred to affirm, and since it cannot be
said that proof has been given of virtues in the
heroic degree, to use the technical term of the
ology* unless manifold actions, endowed with
the quality of heroicity, are stated to have been
done by the servants of God, as Rosignoli
well suggests,! where he speaks as follows : " The
fourth means of preserving virtue, is its perpe
tual use and exercise, for virtue is that talent
in the Gospel, which God doth in nowise allow
to lie idle. Wherefore, in order that virtuous
duties may be discharged, very great watchful
ness is necessary, and every occasion which
offers eagerly caught at, because in the race
of virtue, whoever is not going forward, is going
backward:" (6) that a multitude of actions, al
though heroic, is not enough to prove the virtues
of him who is to obtain beatification and canon
ization, for it is not enough, for example, if the
heroic habit of faith be proved by several heroic
acts of the virtue of Faith, but it is further
requisite that the heroic habits of other theo
logical and cardinal virtues be proved by other
* Scacch. de not. et Sign. Sanct. 2. c. 1.
t De discipl. Christiana; perfectionis, lib. iii. c. 1.
28 BENEDICT XIV. ON HEROIC VIRTUE.
acts in the way we shall hereafter explain. So
Scacchus :* " It remains therefore that the con
sideration of all the virtues and actions to be
considered in the acts of the servants of God,
ought to be reduced to seven heads, namely, to
the habit of the infused virtues, which are Faith,
Hope, and Charity, and to the habit of the four
acquired moral or cardinal virtues, which are
Prudence, Justice, Fortitude, and Temperance.
For all the other acts of the same virtues are
reduced to these heads, either as subjective
parts of them, or potential parts of them, or
as species to their genera, according to the
definition and nature of which, their object,
circumstances, and end, the acts of the servants
of God come in practice separately to be weighed
and examined." We must not however under
stand by this, that in every case of beatifica
tion and canonization, it is necessary to prove
the existence of both the theological and cardi
nal virtues in the heroic degree, by manifold
heroic acts of the same kind, proceeding from
each of the virtues aforesaid : but that in every
such case, by manifold heroic acts must be proved
the existence of the theological virtues, and
above all, of Charity, in the heroic degree : be
cause those, who by reason of their admirable
perfection in theological virtues, have wholly de
voted themselves to God, as to a supernatural
end, like most faithful servants and dear sons,
whilst on the one hand they exercise them
selves with the whole energy of their soul, in
* De not. et sign. Sanct. 2. c. 3, p. 133.
BENEDICT XIV. ON HEROIC VIRTUE. 29
the theological virtues, on the other, by the
illumination and control of those virtues, they do
with all their might elicit acts of the moral vir
tues, as Cardinal de Aguirre* writes ; and again,
because charity is the bond of perfection, as the
Apostle testifies, (Col. i. 14 ;) of which St, John
says, (I. iv. 16,) "He that abideth in charity,
abideth in God, and God in him;" and it is also
greater than the other virtues, according to the
doctrine of St. Thomas,t where he has the fol
lowing words: "But as all the three theological
virtues relate to God, as their proper object, it is
impossible to call one of them greater than the
others, by reason of its being conversant with a
greater object ; it can only so be called, be
cause it is nearer to its object than the rest,
and this is the way in which charity ir greater
than the rest, because the others by their very
definition imply a certain distance from their
object ; for faith is of things not seen, hope
of things not possessed ; but the love of cha
rity is of that which is already possessed, for
the object loved is in a manner in him who
loves it, and he is by affection drawn on to a
union with that object." And, lastly, because
on the eminence of charity, the splendour and
eminence of the other virtues depend ; as F.
Antonio Gonzalez the Dominican, in his disser
tation on the heroicity of the virtues of S. Rose
of Lima,J and Castellinus, show at length. But
* De virtut. et vit. Disp. 12. q. 1. 2. n. 20.
t I. 2. qu. C6. art. 6. in corp.
t Tit. De principle forma et radice ex qua virtutis promanat Lero-
icitas.
De Certitudine Glorias Sanctorum, app. ad. c. iv. 1. n. 12.
30 BENEDICT XIV. ON HEROIC VIRTUE.
the theological virtues in the heroic degree hav
ing been proved in the manner aforesaid, it is
necessary that the existence of the cardinal or
moral virtues should be proved, not always how
ever, but sometimes, by heroic actions, and some
times by ordinary ones, the necessity of he
roic actions being restricted to those virtues in
which the servant of God, whilst he lived, was
able to exercise himself, according to his state
and condition of life. This we deduce from the
doctrine of S. Thomas:* "For nothing hinders
but that a virtuous man may be furnished with
the material of one virtue, but not with that of
another, as a poor man has the material of tem
perance, but not the material of magnificence."
This doctrine is illustrated by the fathers of
Salamanca, t where they teach that the matter of
any virtue may be impossible in the case of cer
tain persons, in two ways, viz., absolutely, where
the subject is naturally incapable of such and
such acts, as an angel is void of passions, which
are the subject-matter of temperance and for
titude ; and as the Divine Being is incapable of
sin, which is the subject-matter of penance ; or
else accidentally, by reason of some accidental
condition, as a married person, from the condi
tion of that state, cannot have the means of a
virgin life, of which however, irrespectively of
circumstances, he was capable ; and a poor man,
the loss of riches being presupposed, cannot be
at large expense, which is the subject-matter of
* 2 2. qu. 152. art. 3, ad. sec.
t Curs. Theolog. t. 3. tr, 12. de virt. disp. 4. dub. 2. 1. n. 23.
BENEDICT XIV. ON HEROIC VIRTUE. 31
magnificence, for which however he is not, as
before, per se, necessarily incompetent. To the
same effect, Rosignoli* says, "The fifth rule is,
that we should practise those virtues most, at
which we are the most ready either by nature or
by grace ; for such readiness, God has either
implanted in our nature, or graciously given us
for this end, that we should excel in those very
virtues ; and therefore it is highly probable, that
God calls us first to perfection in them, that
being well confirmed therein, we may the more
easily afterwards overcome whatever difficulty
and labour there may be in the exercise of other
virtues. And the same principle applies to the
virtues of any particular state or vocation, for
God wills us to cultivate those virtues, whereon
depend the functions of the vocation in which
we are placed by Him, and whereby they are
perfected." Matthseuccius t well observes, that
if heroicity had to be proved in respect of
all the virtues separately, there would be an
end to the causes of hermits, religious, mar
ried persons, and poor, because by reason of
their state, hermits cannot assist neighbours with
temporal relief, nor can religious, who are bound
by the vow of poverty, give alms to the needy,
nor the poor exhibit acts of Christian magnifi
cence. Wherefore F. Garzoui, formerly Procurator
General of the order of the Servites, has thus writ
ten in his suffrage on the virtues of the servant
of God, Cardinal Bellarmine, in his last Report
of that cause : " Further, although for a person
* De discipl. Christian, perfect. III. 1. t Loc. cit. n. 37.
32 BENEDICT XIV. ON HEROIC VIRTUE.
to be canonized, the possession of all the virtues
aforesaid is required, still it is not necessary that
they should be verified or proved to be eminent,
each by separate acts, because not all the saints
have been resplendent with this excellence in the
several virtues, in the same way, but one or
other more in this than in that ; so we praise
the humility of one saint, the patience of a se
cond, the poverty of a third, because they were
more pre-eminent in those virtues, and greater
trial was made of them therein. Wherefore, for
a person to be canonized, it is enough to estab
lish his eminence and heroicity in those virtues,
opportunities for the practice of which had been
given him, according to his condition, grade, and
circumstances. Such is the opinion of all the
doctors."
(7) We must also observe, that excellence in
the virtues cannot be said to be proved by acts,
however manifold and heroic, unless such acts
were elicited promptly, easily, and with delight,
as Scacchus shows at length, as follows:* "An
ease and readiness in the power of producing
virtuous acts is the mark and sign of a habit
already acquired. Further, pleasure in producing
the act is the mark of a habit already acquired,
and intense in degree. Lastly, if with this plea
sure there be united a sweetness felt by any one
in eliciting any act of virtue with a view to some
supernatural end, prompted by charity, such
sweetness and delight is a mark and sign of
heroicity, which doth naturally cause a certain
* De notis et sign, sanctit. 2. c. 4. p, 150, 19.
BENEDICT XIV. ON HEROIC VIRTUE. 33
readiness and delight, together with sweetness, in
the faculties producing special acts." In fine, to
answer in the affirmative to a question as to the
existence of heroic virtues, it is necessary that
the hero should always have been the same, that
is, that he should not have strayed from the path
of virtue, as Cardinal de Aguirre teaches:* "But
in whatever degree," says he, "heroic virtue is
possessed, it not only does not permit any vice,
or deliberate bad actions of any kind, but not
even the omission of any action, most admirable
and perfect, according to the several circumstan
ces of person, time, and place, wherein it ought
to be exercised. Wherefore it never allows of
anything low, anything mean, or any even par
donable imperfection of manners, on full delibera
tion, but at all times and places retains that
sublimity of soul, tending with all its might to
the highest goodness, and to the following of God ;
although herein, as we said, there are degrees
the highest, the middle, and the lowest, accord
ing to the highest, middle, and lowest intensity
of the habit of heroicity, which may heighten its
intensity more and more without any certain
limit." See further F. Martin de Esparza,t and
Mattha3uccius,J which we shall explain elsewhere,
when we shall treat of sins, on which sometimes
a question occurs in examining the causes of the
servants of God.
* Tract, de virt. et vit. disp. 12. qu. 2. 2. n. 25.
t Tract, de virtutibus moral, in communi. qu. 5. de virt. heroica.
t Curs. Theol. T.2. tr. 6. de virt. in communi. q. 3. de virt. heroica,
a. 2. 2. n. 35.
3
34 BENEDICT XIV. ON HEROIC VIRTUE.
12. It may occur to the reader, that both the
philosophers and the fathers of the Church say
that the virtues are connected with each other
in such a way that whoever has one of them
may be said to have all the others, and he may
infer from hence that it is not necessary to pro
duce particular proofs of each virtue, but it is
enough if only one of them should be proved,
as in its existence that of the rest is implied.
It cannot be denied that the philosophers thought
that whoever has one virtue has others also, as
it is laid down in Cicero* and in Aristotle,! where
he says, " The argument that the virtues are sepa
rate because the same person is not happily con
stituted by nature for all the virtues in the same
measure, might be refuted in this way, it held good
for the natural virtues, but not for those with re
gard to which a man is called absolutely good, for
all these will be present together with the single
virtue of prudence." With which opinion some
of the fathers coincide, as S. Ambrose, J who says,
"Yet we more readily trust ourselves to a just
man, than to a prudent one, to use the ordinary
way of speaking. But according to the defini
tion of the philosophers, in whomsoever there is
one virtue, the others go with it, nor can justice
exist without prudence;" and S. Jerome,^ "The
Stoics describe the four virtues so closely link
ed and united together, that whoever is with
out one amongst them, is destitute of them all,
* De off. lib. iv. t Ethic, lib. vi. c. ult.
J De off. ii. 8. n. 43.
Ep. 66. ad Pammach. opp. 1. 1. n. 3. col. 362.
BENEDICT XIV. ON HEROIC VIRTUE. 35
Prudence, Justice, Fortitude and Temperance. *
Nevertheless, if the matter be examined with
proper diligence, it will be sufficiently apparent,
either that what has been stated, does not alto
gether hold good, or, at least, is in nowise incon
sistent with the assumption already laid down.
13. Of the habits of the theological virtues,
i. e. Faith, Hope, and Charity, there was former
ly a question amongst theologians, whether they
were infused together with grace in baptism. For
before Innocent III. it was the general opinion,
that in adults, habits of the virtues, particularly
the theological virtues, were infused, together
with justification ; although some for special rea
sons, denied that such habits are infused in
infants at baptism ; as appears from the chapter
Magores. de Baptismo., and as Suarez proves.*
At the Council of Vienne under Clement V. it
was held as the more probable opinion, that
grace and the virtues are then infused in
adults, as is stated in Clementinis.^ And since
after that, it was thus decreed at the Council of
Trent, J " Whence in justification itself, along with
the remission of sins, man receives through Jesus
Christ, in Whom he is implanted, all these things
infused simultaneously, Faith, Hope, and Cha
rity," it is considered by some as very probable,
that since the Council of Trent, it is matter
of faith, that the infused habits of Faith, Hope,
and Charity, are given to the justified. So
* Lib. vi. de gratia, c. 8.
t De summa Trinitate et Fide Catholica.
t Sess. vi. c. 7. de justificat.
36 BENEDICT XIV. ON HEROIC VIRTUE.
Suarez,* and Vega.f Again, when charity is lost
by sin, it is certain that faith still remains, unless
perchance there is the sin of infidelity in the case ;
and this is true faith, although it is formless and
devoid of life. Whence it is thus decreed in the
Council of Trent :J "If any one shall say, that
when grace is lost by sin, faith also is invariably
lost at the same time ; or that the faith which
remains, is not true faith, although it be not liv
ing; or that, whoever has faith without charity,
is not a Christian, let him be anathema." And
although the holy Council speaks there only of
the virtue of faith, yet from its doctrine recog
nising hope in the sinner, "They are raised
unto hope, trusting that God will be merciful to
them through Christ," we gather sufficiently,
that when charity is lost by sin, hope as well
as faith remains, unless there be present the sin
of desperation ; which being premised, the mutu
al connexion of the theological virtues is proved
by their first infusion, not to be necessarily im
plied in their nature, but to arise from the loving-
kindness of God, who, when He heals any one,
heals him perfectly.
14. Dismissing therefore the necessity of a
mutual connexion between the theological vir
tues, we are to consider the connexion of the
virtues aforesaid with the moral virtues, and the
connexion of the moral virtues with each other.
It is as yet a disputed point whether there is
an infusion of the moral virtues together with
* Loc. cit. 14, f Cone. Trid. lib. vii. c. 6.
J Sess. vi. de justificat. can. 28.
BENEDICT XIV. ON HEROIC VIRTUE. 37
the theological virtues. S. Thomas* discusses
the question, "Whether any moral virtues are
given to us by infusion?" which he answers
affirmatively, because it is necessary that ef
fects correspond proportionately to their causes
and principles : whence, just as all the virtues
both moral and intellectual which are acquired
by our acts, proceed from certain natural prin
ciples already existing in us ; so to the theolo
gical virtues, whereby our life is ordered unto a
supernatural end, which virtues are conferred
upon us by God, other habits formed in us by
divine power, necessarily correspond. And these
are related to the theological virtues, as virtues
moral and intellectual are to the natural princi
ples of virtues.! Scotus on the other hand de
nies the infusion of moral virtues in the faithful
in addition to those acquired.^ He and his
disciples, premising that an unbeliever coming
to the faith, and being justified, knows everything
that the faith dictates, both that one ought to
live justly and chastely, and act with fortitude,
sometimes as a matter of necessity, sometimes in
order to obtain some final end beyond nature,
known by faith, and desired by charity ; infer
from hence, that the infusion of these moral vir
tues is not to be admitted, since without that,
their acts may be directed to a supernatural end,
by the dictation of faith, and the determining
direction of charity. A gloss on the decree of
* I. 2. qu. 63. art. 3.
t So, at length the fathers of Salamanca, in cursu Theolog. III.
tr. II. disp. 3,
J In III sent. dist. 3G. qu. unic, art. 3.
38 BENEDICT XIV. ON HEROIC VIRTUE
Clement V. quoted above,* gives both the afore
said opinions ; by the contrariety of which every
one of course will see, that it cannot be main
tained positively that there is a connexion be
tween the habits of the theological and the moral
virtues, chiefly because of the case of infants,
who, (as we have observed,) receive in baptism
the habits of the theological virtues by infusion,
but, according to the opinion of those who do not
admit the infusion of the moral virtues, undoubt
edly cannot receive those.
15. The like judgment is to be given about
the mutual connexion of the moral virtues, since
experience proves that some men are humble,
but not brave. For S. Gregory the Great ob
serves,! "It has often been our lot to see per
sons who were chaste, but not humble, and some
who were in a manner humble, but not compas
sionate ; others who were in a manner compas
sionate, but in nowise just ; others again, in a
manner just, but trusting rather in themselves
than in the Lord." The mutual connexion of
the virtues seems therefore only necessary to
constitute them altogether perfect ; as St. Gre
gory goes on to say, " One virtue therefore
without the rest, is either no virtue at all,
or it is imperfect. For, to use the fourfold
division of virtues, prudence, temperance, for
titude, and justice are so far severally perfect,
as they are mutually in conjunction with each
* Clement, unic. in verb. Sanctorum et Doctorum, de Summa
Trinitate et Fide Catholica.
t Lib. 22. moral, c. 1, n. 2. opp. 1. 1. col, 697.
BENEDICT XIV. ON HEROIC VIRTUE. 39
other, but they can in nowise be perfect, when
they are disjoined." So S. Thomas, * where
he teaches, that we may view the moral virtues
in their imperfect state, and so out of connexion
with each other ; on the contrary, if viewed
in their perfect state, that then they are in
connexion. And he also says,t that by the
habit of a vice the virtue opposed to it is lost,
and by the loss of that, other virtues are lost,
so far as regards their theoretical and formal
perfection. And since, for beatification and
canonization, the virtues ought not to be im^
perfect, but perfect, hence it is necessary that
inquiry be made concerning their connexion, in
order to determine whether they were perfect
or imperfect. This does not imply that the
servant of God must have actually exhibited
heroicity in all things, since it suffices as we have
said, if he was a hero in faith, hope, and charity,
and in like manner was a hero in those moral
virtues in which his state of life enabled him to
exercise himself, with a readiness of mind to do
the like in others, if occasion were given him to
put them in practice. Wherefore St. Jerome,
who as we have seen, admitted the connexion
of virtues, so that whoever has one, must be
said to have the rest, makes Critobulus ask,J
"And how read we, whoever hath one, seems
to have all the virtues?" To which Atticus
replies, "It is by participation, not special pos
session ; for of necessity each person excels in
* I. 2. qu. 65. art. 1. in corp. f Qu. 73. art. 1. ad sec.
I Lib. I. contr. Pelag. n. 19. opp. t. 2. col. 700.
40 BENEDICT XIV. OX HEROIC VIRTUE.
some." The same is to be learnt also from S.
Thomas,* where he explains the connexion of
the virtues, and shows that it is to be understood
not in reference to acts, but to dispositions of
mind. The Fathers of Salamanca,! often quoted,
treat of this most copiously. EstiusJ writes as
follows: "What the fathers have sometimes said,
that all the virtues do not exist in one man, even
a saint, though this is to be understood of the
excellency of virtue, for some have surpassed
others in goodness ; yet nevertheless it may be
understood of virtues in so far as they are certain
habits by which men work easily and with plea
sure. For iii this way they who have charity
have not all virtues, but only in the preparation
of their will to perform the acts of the virtues,
time and place demanding them. They may be
said therefore to exist in charity as in their root,
according to S. Gregory, who in his twenty-seventh
Homily on the Gospels says, As many branches
grow from one root, so many virtues proceed
from charity. That this is a sufficient account
of Christian virtue, which rooted in charity is
connected with the others, I have already shown
in my twenty-seventh distinction of the second
book."
Cardinal de Laursea \ concludes that in a man
simply or perfectly moral the virtues are neces
sarily connected, and that the moral virtues are
connected together in this sense, that whoever
* 2. 2. q. 129. a. 3. ad. sec,
t Tom. 3. in 1. 2. D. Thorn, q. 65. disp. 4.
t 3. Sent. dist. 36. 2.
In 3 lib. sent. torn. 2. disp. 4. art. 5. n. 76.
IBRARY 1>1
BENEDICT XIV. ON HEROIC VIRTUE. 41
has one virtue truly, must also have the rest,
at least in the preparation of his mind, that is,
with an intention either implicit or explicit, of
exercising them, if occasion offered. To this he
adds in the same place, that in the process for
beatification and canonization, according to the
practice of the Apostolic See, all the virtues must
be proved. " This is evident from the fact, and
practice of the Church, which in the beatification
and canonization of saints who are proposed for
our imitation, is not content with the proof of
any one virtue, but requires proof of all, though
it is not necessary that the servant of God should
have at all times practised them, nor that all of
them should have been in the heroic degree, for
S. Jerome thinks that never happened. It is
sufficient however to know that those are con
sidered perfect by the Church who had all the
virtues, and that these are worthy of beatification."
With this agrees Matthseuccius.* So S. Thomas,!
after proposing the question, "Whether all the
virtues existing at once in the same person are
equal," and solving it by a distinction between
equality of species and equality of proportion, pro
duces in the second place, an argument against
himself. "Moreover, if all the virtues were equal
ly intense in one and the same person, it would
follow that whoever exceeded any one in a single
virtue, would also exceed him in all the rest.
But this is manifestly false, because different
saints are especially praised for different virtues,
as Abraham for faith, Moses for meekness, Job
* Loc. cit. tit. 2. c. 1. 1. 1 1. II. q.u. CG. art. 2.
42 BENEDICT XIV. ON HEROIC VIRTUE.
for patience ; whence the Church sings of every
confessor, Non est inventus similis illi, qui con-
servaret legem excelsi, because every one of them
had some particular virtue as his prerogative.
It is not true then, that all the virtues are equal
in one and the same person." To this S. Thomas
answers, "We reply that one saint is specially
praised for one virtue, and another for another,
because of their more excellent readiness in the
acts of one virtue, than in the acts of another."
St. Jerome had said before St. Thomas, that he
who had one virtue had all by participation, and
that therefore it was not necessary that each
should excel in each separately. So Solomon
excelled in wisdom, David in meekness, Elias and
Phinees in zeal, Abraham in faith, Peter in per
fect love, Paul in the labours of preaching.
S. Gregory the Great well observes,* "To the
end therefore that a ray of star-light coming
forth in his season, and successively changing,
might illumine the dark clouds of the night of
this world. Abel came to show us innocence,
Enoch came to teach us purity of life, Noe came
to insinuate the lesson of long-suffering in faith
and good works, Abraham came to manifest obedi
ence, Isaac came to give an example of holiness
in wedded life, Jacob came as a pattern of en
durance of toil, Joseph came to return good for
evil, Moses came to show forth meekness, Josue
came to instruct us to have confidence under
adversity, Job, amid strifes, to show forth pa
tience. Behold! what refulgent stars we see
* Przefat. in expos, libri. Job. c. 6.J
BENEDICT XIV. ON HEROIC VIRTUE. 43
in the heavens, that in this our journey by night
we may walk without stumbling." Wherefore
S. Antony, the father of the saints of the desert,
said, according to Cassian,* that we should not
look for all the acts of all the virtues in the de
gree of excellence, in every holy man, " For it is
an old and admirable saying of B. Antony, that
a monk ought by no means to look in any one
man, however eminent, for every kind of virtue
alike. For one man is adorned with the flowers
of knowledge, another is more strongly guarded
by discretion, another has the settled foundation
of patience, another is remarkable for the virtue
of humility, another for that of continence, the
ornament of another is the grace of simplicity.
This saint excels the rest in his magnanimity,
that in his pitifulness. In zeal for watchings
one, for holy silence another, for labour a third/
Theophilus Raynaud t speaks on the same subject
thus : " Some saints are adorned with all the vir
tues of their state. However, as every sort does
not produce everything, but has some fruit pecu
liar to itself ; so the saints generally are eminent
for the brightness of some one especial virtue,
and notwithstanding the connexion subsisting be
tween the virtues, one virtue there will be which
sends forth a conspicuous and surpassing light. *
* Lib. v. de Inst, Csenob. c. 4.
t De cultu Sanctorum special), punct. 2. p. 485.
44 BENEDICT XIV. ON HEROIC VIRTUE.
CHAPTER II.
WHEREIN ARE PROPOSED AND EXPLAINED CERTAIN
QUESTIONS TOUCHING THE HEROICITY OF VIRTUES.
1. FROM what has been said in the foregoing
chapter, Christian virtue, in order to be heroic,
must have this effect, that he who possesses
it works with ease, readiness, and delight,
above the ordinary measure, for a supernatural
end, and so without human reasoning, with an
abnegation of self, and with an entire subjection
of the passions. Whence, St. Ambrose,* explain
ing that text, "Many rising up in those days,
went into the hill country with haste," says, "The
grace of the Holy Spirit knows nothing of slow
delays." And of the Apostles it is said, (Acts, v.
41,) " They indeed went from the presence of the
council rejoicing that they were accounted worthy
to suffer reproach for the name of Jesus ;" and
Wisd. v. 4. " We fools esteemed their life mad
ness." For all these things show that it is the
property of heroic Christian virtue, to make
him who hath it work with ease, readiness, and
delight, and with self-abnegation. But the ques
tion arising from the above, consists herein,
whether heroic Christian virtue, in order to do
this, must have annexed to it some one of the
gifts of the Holy Spirit, concerning which Isaias
speaks, (ch. xi. 2, 3,) "The spirit of the Lord
* Lib. II. in Lucam n. 19, (opp. t. I. col. 1288.)
BENEDICT XIV. ON HEROIC VIRTUE . 45
shall rest upon him ; the spirit of wisdom and of
understanding ; the spirit of counsel and of for
titude ; the spirit of knowledge and of godliness ;
and he shall be filled with the spirit of the fear
of the Lord." Which gifts of the Holy Spirit are
habits, whereby a man is made perfect in readily
obeying the Holy Spirit, according to the doc
trine of S. Thomas.* The same author teaches,f
that the connecting-link of these gifts is charity,
so that he who has charity has all the gifts of
the Holy Spirit, none of which can be had with
out charity : and further on he proves that the
theological virtues are to be preferred to the gifts
of the Holy Spirit, since they direct and govern
them ; but in the moral virtues, the said gifts
are preferred above the virtues, since they per
fect the powers of the soul with reference to the
Holy Spirit which moves them. But, to return
to the question we proposed, Cardinal de LaurseaJ
answers it in the affirmative, for by common
virtue one is enabled to do works in the way
common to others, but by heroic virtue, above
the common way, and with the qualities we
have described, which cannot arise, except from
a principle higher, and nobler, and more effi
caciously exciting, or which is the same thing,
from one or more gifts of the Holy Spirit. In
this he is followed by Michael Angelus Lapius.
On the other hand, Maderna,[| admits indeed,
that in Christ, all His workings were by the
* I. 2. qu, 68, art. 4. f Art. 5.
t In 3 lib. sent. t. 2. disp. 32. art. 6. de virtute hcroicd.
Dissert, de virt, heroic, in Beat, et Canon, p. 57.
II Cursu Theolog. t. 2. tr. 6. qu. 3. art. 2.
46 BENEDICT XIV. ON HEROIC VIRTUE.
gifts of the Holy Spirit, since, from the passages
in Isaias it is of faith that all the aforesaid gifts
were in Him. Pie also admits that sometimes
some gift of the Holy Spirit concurs to produce
heroic acts, but contends that it is not neces
sarily implied in heroic virtue, that it should
have annexed to it some gift of the Holy
Spirit, whereby he who hath it works with
ease and delight according to God s inspira
tion, but that virtue itself which is intense and
perfect beyond the ordinary measure, has the
effect of making him who has it, act beyond
the ordinary measure of operation, with ease,
promptitude, and pleasurable feeling. The first
opinion moreover is agreeable to the doctrine of
S. Thomas,* and is well explained by Rosignoli,t
"For then doth God Himself alone move the mind
of a man, not only by the infusion of the theo
logical and moral virtues, but also by the gifts of
the Holy Spirit, which are enumerated in the book
of Isaias, wisdom, understanding, counsel, forti
tude, knowledge, godliness, the fear of the Lord,
which are the most excellent supernatural habits,
and which always accompany charity. For al
though God always has an open entrance into
the soul of man, by the infused virtues, whether
theological or moral, yet for the exercise of the
highest offices of virtue, he imparts to man those
highest gifts, whereby, as it were by chains bind
ing it to Himself, He turns the soul in all direc
tions, whither He wills. Such as these the philo-
* I. 2. qu. 68, art. 1. II. 2. qu. 159. art. 2.
t De Discipl. Christian, perfect, lib. 3. c. 2.
BENEDICT XIV. ON HEROIC VIRTUE. 47
sophers happily called heroic actions, or the
actions of a purified soul. But the holy fathers
called them spiritual, deific, and divine. For
they who are breathed upon by this Divine Spi
rit, are not so much men, as in a manner gods,
such as were so many patriarchs, prophets, apos
tles, and apostolic men, who by reason of these
most admirable gifts, are looked up unto by
mortals., as persons greater than ordinary, as
heavenly men."
2. There is another similar question, whether
heroic virtue differs in species from that which
is. not heroic. This Cardinal de Laursea answers
in the negative,* as Christian virtue, both heroic
and ordinary, aims at the highest supernatural
good, and heroicity is only the perfection of vir
tue, which cannot therefore constitute a differ
ence in species between the two. This is also
the opinion of S. Thomas,! who after proposing
the question, "Whether the virtues were in
Christ," and solving it in the affirmative, starts
the following objection : " According to the
philosopher, Ethic, lib. vii., virtue is contradistin
guished from a certain god-like and heroic habit
which is attributed to god-like men ; but this
especially belongs to Christ, wherefore Christ
had not the virtues, but something higher than
virtue." This objection he answers as follows:
" That heroic or divine habit does not differ from
virtue commonly so called, except in its more
perfect way, inasmuch as a person is disposed
to good in a certain higher way than the gen-
* Loc. cit, art. 8. i III. qu, 7. art. 2.
48 BENEDICT XIV. ON HEROIC VIRTUE.
erality. Whence this does not prove that Christ
had not the virtues, but that He had them in
the utmost perfection, beyond the ordinary way,
as also Plotinus has laid down that there is a
certain sublime order of virtue, which he calls
the virtues of a purified soul." With this agrees
Scotus,* who, speaking of the opinion of Aristotle,
says, "in all goodness he finds four degrees,
perseverance, continence, temperance, and what
is heroic. The most perfect virtue therefore in
the same species is heroic." Similarly Suarez :f
"Heroic virtue does not essentially differ from
common virtue, because both are concerned with
the same matter, and come under the same for
mal cause or motive ; and perfection, which is
the addition supplied by heroic virtue, is merely
this, that it has little or no admixture of the
contrary vice, and has an ease and readiness in
eliciting fervent and perfect acts of virtue, which
perfection is manifestly accidental."
3. A third question arising from the above con
siderations is, whether heroic virtue, to be such,
ought to be the virtue of a purified soul, so that
virtue not belonging to that class cannot be
heroic. In order to the solution of this, we must
premise that according to the Platonists, the car
dinal virtues are divided into four classes ; those
belonging to the civil state, to the process of
purification, to the purified soul, and to the
ideal or exemplar goodness. The moral or car
dinal virtues in Almighty God are eminently
* 3. Sent. d. 34. q. unic. n. 22,
t In III. S. Thorn, t. 1. qu. 7, art. 2.
BENEDICT XIV. ON HEROIC VtRTUE. 49
of the last-mentioned class, ideal or exemplary ;
thus of Justice we read in Ps. x. 8, "The
Lord is just, and hath loved justice : His coun
tenance hath beheld righteousness" [cequitatem.]
Of Fortitude, Gen. xlvi. 3, " I am the most mighty
God." Of Temperance, Exod. xxxiv. 6, "The
Lord patient and of much compassion, and
true." Of Prudence, Job, xxvi. 3, "Thou hast
shown Thy very great prudence." Wherefore S.
Thomas,* after admitting this fourfold distinction,
teaches that the ideal of human virtue is pre-
existent in God, as also in Him the forms of all
things are pre-existent, and so the virtues, ac
cording as they exist in God, as ideals or exem
plars, are called ideal. The holy doctor proceeds
to teach that the same virtues, as they exist
in man, are called civil, because according to
them man conducts himself aright in carrying
on human affairs ; whence it is said of Solomon
governing his kingdom prudently, 3 Kings, iv. 29,
" God gave to Solomon wisdom and understanding
exceeding much." Of Justice, Ps. Ixxi. 1, 2,
"Give to the king Thy judgment, God, and
to the king s son Thy justice, to judge Thy people
with justice." Of Fortitude, Ecclus. vii. 6, "Seek
not to be made a judge, unless thou have strength
enough to extirpate iniquities ; and of Temper
ance, Eccles. x. 17, "Blessed is the land whose
king is noble, and whose princes eat in due season
for refreshments, and not for riotousness." From
civil virtues, the holy doctor passes on to the
virtues of purification, by the help whereof a war
* I. 2. qu. 61. art 5.
50 BENEDICT XIV. ON HEROIC VIRTUE.
is carried on to subjugate the passions of the soul
unto reason. To these the following texts apply.
Of Prudence we read, Proverbs, iii. 13, "Blessed
is the man that is rich in prudence;" and Matt.
x. 16, "Be ye therefore wise as serpents." Of
Temperance, Tobias, iii. 16, "Thou knowest, O
Lord, that I never coveted a husband, and have
kept my soul clean from all lust;" and Job, xxxi.
9, 10, "If my heart hath been deceived upon a
woman let my wife be the harlot of another."
Of Justice, Ecclus. iv. 33, " Strive for justice
for thy soul, and even unto death fight for jus
tice." Of Fortitude, Tobias, v. 13, "Be of good
courage, thy cure from God is at hand." Next
to these virtues of purification come lastly, the
virtues of a soul already purified in such wise,
that prudence gazes only on things divine, tem
perance knows no earthly longings, fortitude
is ignorant of passion, justice is allied to the
Divine Mind by a perpetual covenant, that is
to say, by imitating it, as the holy doctor ob
serves in so many words. The sacred Scrip
tures give us examples of this virtue of the
purified soul, for when Job having suffered so
many and so great evils in the goods of this
natural world, had received the news of his ca
lamities, without any disturbance, he saith, (ch.
i. 21.) "The Lord gave, and the Lord hath
taken away ; blessed be the Name of the Lord."
Other instances are collected by Cardinal de
Laursea.* It is enough for us to have hinted at
the afore-mentioned division of the virtues, of
* In 3 lib. sent. t. 2. disp, 5. art. 3.
BENEDICT XIV. ON HEROIC VIRTUE. 51
which S. Bonaventure* speaks as follows : " The
cardinal virtues have respect to this fourfold
division. For some of them are ideal, some
civil, some purifying, some belong to a soul al
ready purified."
4. F. Antonio Gonzalez the Dominican! teach
es that heroic virtue does not belong to the pro
cess of purification, but to the purified soul, and
is thus virtue in the state of union. For having
premised that heroic virtue is a certain eminence
of virtue in its highest degree, and divided vir
tues into those of the civil class, of purification,
and of the purified soul, and observed that ordi
nary virtue corresponds to the via purgativa,
virtue of purification to the via illuminativa, and
virtue of the purified soul to the via unitiva, he
concludes as follows : " We infer from hence, that
virtue in the path of illumination is not heroic,
inasmuch as it acts not with readiness and de
light, but with difiiculty, because of the indolence
of the will, which is not yet inflamed by the ardent
union of love. Only therefore virtue in the state
of union has this facility, inasmuch as it worketh
above the ordinary measure, easily, and without
violence or opposition of the will. Wherefore just
as any virtuous man ordinarily acts in things of
small and trifling account, so he who has attain
ed to the happy state of union, deals with things
most difficult, for the love of God, with continual
readiness, with a tranquil mind, and, as it were,
naturally. Accordingly S. Thomas and other
* 3. Sent. dist. 33. q. 6,
t In cit. dissert, de virtutibus heroicis S. Kosro de Lima.
52 BENEDICT XIV. ON HEROIC VIRTUE.
authors saj that heroic virtue docs not belong
to the process of purification, but to the purified
soul, i. e., it is virtue in the state of union. But
the union with God, in which heroic virtue con
sists, is not that union which is ordinarily made
by grace in the path of purification, but it is the
mode of union that exists between the already
purified soul and God, by a certain substantial
contact, whereby He is felt to be present and
united with it. Then is that union, when the
spiritual powers of the soul, so far as the con
dition of this life permits, do cling unto God ;
the intellect too, by almost continual, and, as it
were, evident knowledge of Him ; and, lastly, the
will by the love not merely of desire, but, in a
manner, of enjoyment, since it is the possession
of God, although imperfect, because He is not
clearly seen."
5. To understand the above some explanation
ought to be given here of the states of commence
ment, progress, and perfection, and also of the
threefold path of purification, illumination, and
union : but some hints will be given on these
subjects when we proceed to treat of prayer.*
Meanwhile it is sufficient to know, that heroicity
of the moral or cardinal virtues, in the sense of
this author whom we have quoted, cannot exist,
unless it be the virtue of a purified soul ; an
opinion which Peter Francis de Rubeis maintains
in his observations on the cause of S. John of the
Cross. These are his words, "We must also
consider that the cardinal virtues are in the
* Chapp. 5, 6.
BENEDICT XIV. ON HEROIC VIRTUE. 53
heroic degree, when the passions being purified,
they keep the soul in God alone, and in the high
est perfection in such a way that temperance
knows nothing of earthly concupiscence ; forti
tude of suffering ; prudence shall be intent on
God only, and justice keep the mind in a per
petual covenant with Him. This the Gloss on
the last Clementine, de Hcereticis, says, is the
condition of men wholly purified from the as
saults of passion, and in this life most perfect."
Cardinal de Aguirre* speaks to the same pur
pose when he says, " That is generally considered
to be heroic virtue which is said to be that of a
purified soul."
6. But admitting the virtue of the purified soul
is excellent and heroic, as the Auditors of the
Rota said in their Report of the cause of S. Tere
sa,! " These things being taken for granted, the
virtues of the Blessed Teresa were so great that
in our opinion they have reached the heroic de
gree, and ought to be numbered with those which
S. Thomas calls the virtues of a purified soul."
Nevertheless it cannot be inferred from hence
that virtue not of that order cannot be heroic.
To begin with the Gloss on the last Clementine
de H&ret.: it does indeed distinguish between
virtues of purification and virtues of the purified
soul, teaching that the former belong to men
not yet purified from the assaults of passion, and
therefore not yet in the highest degree of per
fection, but tending to it with their utmost en-
* Tract, de virt. et vit. disp 12. q. 3. 2. n. 18.
t Tit. de sanct. vit EC in specie.
54 BENEDICT XIV. ON HEROIC VIRTUE.
deavours ; but that the virtues of a purified soul
are those with which men are endowed who are
altogether purified from the molestation of the
passions ; after which the Gloss subjoins, that
this is peculiar to the blessed in their true coun
try, or to a very few most perfect persons in this
life. But the Gloss next proceeding to teach
that the virtues of the state of purification are
the virtues of imperfect men, limits this imper
fection to a deficiency in the greater perfection,
which, as aforesaid, is found either in the blessed
in heaven, or in a very few most perfect persons
in this life, but it does not extend its meaning
to apply to a deficiency in the heroicity requisite
for canonization. Here are the words of the
Gloss: "It must next be observed of the propo
sition, that it is the part of an imperfect man
to exercise himself in the acts of the moral vir
tues, by repressing the assault of passions by
the judgment of reason and the sovereignty of
the will, this is rightly said, if we take imper
fect to signify one not yet possessed of that
highest perfection which the blessed have in hea
ven, and which a very few have had in this life,
such as Christ, the Blessed Virgin, our first pa
rents in the state of innocence, and perhaps some
others by a special privilege. But it would be
heretical to take imperfect to mean faulty,
or devoid of the perfection necessary for salva
tion. For the Apostle, who was most perfect
in this pilgrimage, had to repress the assaults
of fleshly passions, as he says in the first epis
tle to the Corinthians So too Jeremias and
BENEDICT XIV. ON HEROIC VIRTUE. 55
John the Baptist, who, according to theolo
gians, were sanctified in the womb, had, as
it were, the fuel of venial, though not of mor
tal sin, and they fought against such assaults ;
whence the Church sings of John the Baptist :
Antra deserti teneris sub annis
Civium turmas fugiens petisti,
Ne levi saltern maculare vitam
Famine posses.
Of St. Martin it is said that he was compel
led to subject the flesh to the spirit, and Gre
gory writes of S. Benedict, that he repressed
the attacks of carnal temptation by casting
himself amongst nettles and thorns, that by the
wounds of his body he might clear away the
wounds of the soul." St. Thomas agrees with
this view,* where he teaches that the vir
tues of a purified soul belong to the blessed, or
to a few most perfect persons in this life. And
the same is witnessed both by the writers on
beatification, canonization, and heroic virtue, and
by others who have given their suffrages, as
members of the Congregation of Sacred Rites,
on the heroic virtues of the servants of God.
To the former class belong the following : Almai-
nus, who says,t "The ancients say that the
heroic degree is that where the passions have
been so allayed by a virtuous reason, that, be
yond the ordinary power of man by a long prac
tice of virtuous actions, they do not rise, or
* I. 2. qu. 61. art. 5.
f Tract. 3. de virt. moral, et vitiis opp. c. 12, fol. 56.
56 BENEDICT XIV. ON HEROIC VIRTUE.
rise very little ; for that the passions should
not rise at all, or, as it were, not at all, is
beyond the ordinary power of man ;" Maderna,*
Clericatus,f Matthseuccius,J and Cardinal de
Laur8ea, who teaches, first, that a similitude
unto Christ which arises from the heroicity of
virtue, does not consist in such an entire and
perfect purification of the passions, that these are
quiescent, without any perturbation at all, as
they will be in the blessed, and as they were
in Christ our Lord and in the Blessed Virgin ;
secondly, that this similitude unto Christ may
consist in a certain relative purification (secundum
quid) which, without taking away absolutely the
fuel of sin, and the passions, restrains them so
that they hardly rise at all, or very slightly."
It may be useful to refer to S. Gregory : || " Some
persons of great resolution think it philosophy
when being corrected by rough disciplines, they
do not feel the pain of the blows : some, on the
other hand, are too sensible to the lash, so that
they cannot help shrieking, if suffering immoder
ate pain. But whoever wishes to keep to the
true philosophy must necessarily take a middle
course between them ; for insensibility of heart is
not true virtue, because those limbs are surely
unsound and deadened which cannot feel pain
when they are cut. He again deserts the custody
of virtue who feels the pain of blows more acutely
* Curs. Theol. torn. 2. tr. 2. q. 3. de virtute heroica, a. 2. n. 11.
t Decis. Miscell. Dec. 108. n. 11.
J Pract. Theol. can. ad causas Beat, et canon, tit. 2. c. 1. n. 12.
In 3. lib. sent. torn. 2. disp. 32. art. 4.
II Moral, lib. ii. c. 16.
BENEDICT XIV. ON HEROIC VIRTUE. 57
than is necessary, because the mind then breaks
out into impatience and abuse ; and thus, whereas
the scourge should have made a man amend his
wicked actions, he acts so that his wickedness is
increased by it. It is against insensibility in those
who are stricken that the prophet* saith, Thou
hast struck them, and they have not grieved ;
Thou hast bruised them, and they have refused
to receive correction. But against pusillanimity
in the like case is that of the Psalmist,! In
miseries they shall not be able to stand.
7. To the second class belong and indeed
Cardinal de Laursea and Mattha3uccius, who
were consultors of the Sacred Congregation, may
be said to be of it the Auditors of the Rota,t
in their report in the cause of S. Peter Rega-
lati, who thus write : " The virtues are possessed
in two ways ; firstly, in a common and human
way, and thus are the virtues called civil, as
man is a social being ; secondly, in a way excel
lent and eminent, and, as it were, divine, and
such virtues are called heroic or divine. The
way in which these heroic virtues are possessed
is also twofold ; one, when man is striving to
wards perfection, and thus are they purifying
virtues ; the other when man has already attain
ed to it as far as is possible in this life, and then
they are called the virtues of a purified soul,
like those of the Most Blessed Virgin, and some
who in the world have reached perfection. For
the purpose of canonization however, theso vir-
* Jerem. v. 3. f Ps- cxxxix. 11.
$ Tit. de virtut. in genere.
58 BENEDICT XIV. ON HEROIC VIRTUE.
tues of a purified soul are not necessary, but it
is enough that they should belong to the course
of purification, which are equally heroic." Car
dinal Capisucchi, in his suffrage in the cause
of the beatification of the venerable servant of
God, Cardinal Bellarmine, says : " Nor must it
be supposed that heroic virtue is that whereby a
man works so virtuously as not to feel the motions
of the sensitive appetite. For, as S. Thomas well
teaches, if by passions we mean inordinate af
fections, these certainly cannot exist in the vir
tuous man in such a way as for him to consent
to them after deliberation : but if we mean any
motions of the sensitive appetite, these may
exist in the virtuous man, so far as they are
controlled by reason. Whence Aristotle says,
(Ethics. II. 3.) that some define the virtues to be
certain apathies and quietudes, but erroneously,
because they use those terms absolutely, and
without reference to the manner, the time, and
other accessory circumstances. Heroic virtue
then does not remove the passions, but restrains
and conquers them, and therefore the Apostle
Paul supposes in Christian heroes, and in the
saints, a conflict against their own passions, that
they may gain an everlasting crown, where he
says, He also that striveth for the mastery, is not
crowned except he strive lawfully. And this same
thing the Apostle affirms that he experienced in
himself, saying, There was given me a sting of
my flesh, to buffet me. So the idea of heroic
virtue consists in this, that a man both restrains
his own passions, and works so virtuously as
BENEDICT XIV. ON HEROIC VIRTUE. 59
to surpass the ordinary condition of men who
do work virtuously, and that moreover with a
certain ease and alacrity." F. Garzoni, Pro
curator General of the order of the Servites,
speaks to this effect in the same cause :
" To establish the sanctity of the servants
of God, according to the sacred canons and
the decrees of the Sovereign Pontiffs, such
heroicity in virtue is sufficient, as a man
may have in the state of pilgrimage, that, name
ly, by which the soul is elevated to a certain
perfection and participation in the divine nature,
and by the gift and inspiration of God, works
towards a supernatural end, above the ordi
nary measure of mankind. Yet so, that such a
one must always strive against the powers of
the world and of darkness, against which the
pilgrim has always a secret, unceasing battle ;
nor doth his soul become free or altogether pu
rified, because power is made perfect in infirmity,
and so all the saints and the elect have fought
as if in the arena, even unto the end." This
conclusion then must be maintained, that it is
not necessary for heroic virtue to be the virtue
of the purified soul ; which will be confirmed
also by what will follow, when we shall treat
of the griefs and tribulations of the servants of
God. In a word, the readiness, alacrity, and
pleasurable feeling requisite, for a man to be
said to work heroically, do not exclude the pas
sions, but are compatible with them, and so
much the more if they be in a low degree ; as
appears on consideration, and as it is explained
60 BENEDICT XIV. ON HEROIC VIRTUE.
by Rosignoli,* "Virtue is the bridle of human
affections. This belongs to all virtues, but es
pecially to those by which the passions are re
strained, such as fortitude and temperance.
Therefore when virtue is said to be all perfec
tion, it is so called, not because it uproots the
passions, or quenches them, but because it breaks
their violence and strength, and corrects what
ever is excessive in them." With this agrees
the teaching of S. Thomas.t
8. Promoters of the Faith, observing the dif
ficulty in what is to be done requisite to consti
tute a heroic action, have disputed whether a
Christian action, to be heroic, need be matter
of counsel, in such a way as to make it insuf-
ficient, if it be matter of precept. I have heard
some over-rigid judges sometimes assert, that
whatever works are done, either in obedience to an
institute that is, if a religious observes the things
laid down in his rule, if a bishop does what the
sacred canons enjoin him to do or by virtue of a
vow previously made, are indeed good and lauda
ble, and deserving of everlasting life, supposing no
thing is absent necessary to constitute merit, but
that they cannot reach to the summit of heroicity,
according to that of St. Luke, xvii. 10, "When
you shall have done all those things that are com
manded you, say, We are unprofitable servants, we
have done that which we ought to do ;" and again,
S. Matthew, xix. 21, "If thou wilt be perfect,
go sell what thou hast, and give to the poor, and
come, follow Me." But this does not prove the
* De Discipl. Christ, Terf. lib 3. c. 3. 1 1. 2. q. 59. art. 2. 3.
BENEDICT XIV. ON HEROIC VIRTUE. Gl
above conclusion, because the passage of St.
Luke was uttered to exhort unto humility, as
St. Bernard implies,* "You think yourselves
unprofitable, and you are found to be humble.
To do what is right, and yet think oneself un
profitable, is found in few, and therefore many
admire it. This I say, this it is that makes
you already illustrious, more illustrious, already
holy, more holy, and everywhere is that saying
spread abroad, He hath filled all things with the
savour of sweetness. Elsewhere! he says that
the passage of St. Luke must be spoken "with
respect to humility." So too Cardinal Bellar-
mine,t "Add, that our Lord saith not, Ye are
unprofitable servants, but say, We are unprofita
ble servants. For He desires us to be humble,
and not to boast of our merits. But He Himself
says afterwards, Well done, good and faithful
servant, but He only calls that servant unpro
fitable who has not obeyed the precepts, Matt,
xxv. 30, in the parable of the talents ; The un
profitable servant, says he, cast ye out into the
exterior darkness. " But that of S. Matthew was
indicated by the Lord as something conducing
to perfection, not that perfection consisted simply
in it, as St. Thomas explains it, where after
proposing the question, " Whether perfection con
sists in the precepts or in the counsels ?" he thus
answers the objection founded on St. Matthew :
" In those words of our Lord, Go and sell all
* Epist. 142. ad monach. Alp. f Serm. de diversis. 17. n. 1.
t Controv. t. 2, lib. 2. de monach. c. 13. n. 3G.
II. 2. qu. 184. art. 3.
62 BENEDICT XIV. ON HEROIC VIRTUE.
that thou hast, and give to the poor, as it were,
a road unto perfection is laid down. But some
thing else is subjoined, wherein perfection consists,
namely, Follow me. Whence St. Jerome says,
in his commentary on St. Matthew, that it is not
enough merely to leave all things, and St. Peter
therefore adds, We have followed thee, which
is perfection. And St. Ambrose on Luke v.,
* Follow me, says, He bids us follow Him, not
by bodily movement, but by the affection of the
mind, and this is wrought by Charity. And so
it appears by the very mode of speaking, that
the counsels are certain instruments for arriving
at perfection, where it is said, If thou wilt be
perfect, go and sell, &c., as if He should say, By
doing this, thou shalt arrive at this end." The
same holy doctor teaches,* that perfection does
naturally and per se consist in charity, and there
fore in the precepts, but secondarily in the coun
sels, which are all, like the precepts, directed
towards charity. He also, upon the question,
whether it is more laudable and meritorious to
do anything under a vow, or without one,t says
that the former way is the more laudable and
meritorious, for a threefold reason ; first, because
to make a vow is an act of the highest worship
(latria,) 2ndly, because he who vows anything
and does it, subjects himself more to God, than
he who does the same without a vow ; and 3dly,
because by a vow the will is immoveably fixed
upon good, which he explains at greater length in
his book against the heathen.! Again, after say-
Loc. cit. t II. 2. qu, 88. art. 6. J Lib. 3. c. 138. n. 1.
BENEDICT XIV. ON HEROIC VIRTUE. 63
ing* that martyrdom does not belong to the class
of precepts, except in such cases as where a man
is seized by a persecutor, and asked concerning his
faith, which he is bound to confess, he elsewhere!
tells us, "To suffer death for Christ s sake, is,
in itself, a work of supererogation, for not every
one is bound to confess his faith before a perse
cutor, only there are cases where it is necessary
to salvation, (as the above,) but it does not follow
from thence that he does not deserve the crown.
For the crown is not due to a work of superero
gation, as such, but only so far as it has a cer
tain perfection ; wherefore, such perfection be
ing supposed a person would deserve the crown,
although there were no supererogation." It is
in the degree of perfection, according to the same
doctor, not in the essence, that heroic virtue
differs from ordinary virtue. On the whole then
we infer, that for an action to be heroic, its
matter need not necessarily be of counsel, nor
are actions excluded from that class which are
done in obedience to precepts, rules, or vows,
provided only the other necessary characteristics
of heroicity be present. S. Vincent Ferrer has
said of the rule of S. Francis,^ "He who keeps
it is a saint, and when he dies might be can
onized ; but scarcely one out of a thousand keeps
it." With this agrees Martin of Navarre, who
says, "I so respect and venerate that most ex
alted rule of S. Francis, that I cannot but look
on those who observe it accurately and according
* II. 2. qu. 124. art. 3. f In Suppl. 3. q. 96. a. 6.
t Serm. de S. Francisco, p. 403. Comment. 4. de Eegul. n, 17.
64 BENEDICT XIV. ON HEROIC VIRTUE.
to the intention of the saint, as unbloody martyrs
of Christ." Jacob Simoneta, once Auditor of the
Rota, then Cardinal of the Holy Roman Church,
in his report in the cause of S. Francis of Paula,
writes thus : " I think it also a most important
consideration that his order was extremely severe,
and established in the strictest poverty, which he
from his youth had practised, and constantly ob
served to the day of his death. Those who have
profited by such observance S. Augustine con
siders better than all other men.* For they who
by a vow shall have subjected their own will
and influence to God, and so compelled to good
by a happy necessity, are to be accounted more
meritorious than others who have made no such
profession or vow." Again, such an absurdity as
this would follow from a contrary supposition, viz.
that no heroic action was ever done by S. Teresa,
when we know that she bound herself by a special
vow, always to do that which she knew to be the
most perfect. It is an old argument of the secta
ries when they attack vows, to say that heroicity,
and indeed holiness, does not consist in obliga
tion, but in liberty, according to that in Psalm
liii. 8, "I will freely sacrifice and will give
praise, O God, to Thy Name ;" for, say they, vows
take away this liberty, impose necessity, and thus
take away heroicity and holiness. This is largely
and learnedly refuted according to his custom,
by Cardinal Bellarmine.f His answer amounts
to this; that a vow does not take away that
liberty which is required for praise, for merit,
* Dist. 47. Quantum libet. t De Monach. c. 18.
BENEDICT XIV. ON HEROIC VIRTUE. 65
for heroicity : because for the most part, a thing
is done more readily and willingly under a vow
than without one. For a vow does of itself pro
duce joy, inasmuch as it proceeds from great
charity, as we read,* "And the people rejoiced,
when they promised their offerings willingly, be
cause they offered them to the Lord with all their
heart." And when the matter itself gives plea
sure to the person, and his vow gives pleasure
also, then his merit in working is increased by
the vow, and surpasses the merit of him who
does the same thing without a vow, as S. Thomas
well teaches.f
9. To conclude this chapter, it remains for
us to examine the assertion of F. Esparza, in his
suffrage quoted above, viz., whether a person
is a hero, who has preserved his baptismal
innocence throughout the whole course of his
life, so that that stedfastness is enough to con
stitute evangelical heroicity. Of this contro
versy the Auditors of the Rota have treated, in
their Report in the cause of S. Aloysius Gonzaga.
"As it is regularly ascertained," say they, "that
this blessed youth never sinned mortally through
out the whole course of his life, and that in him,
as we shall presently show, both the theological
and the cardinal virtues eminently shone forth, we
have thought that we shall not err, if we con
clude, from the fact of the holy youth s never
having stained himself with mortal sin, that the
virtues aforesaid did exist in him." They then
* I. Paralip. xxix. 9.
t Opusc. c. 18. de perfect, c. 10 & 12.
66 BENEDICT XIV. ON HEROIC VIRTUE.
proceed to deduce the heroicity of his virtues from
his innocent life, his confessors, as appears from
the Report, having borne ample testimony in proof
of his never having committed mortal sin through
out his life. This assumption of the Auditors of
the Rota is defended, with undoubtedly strong
reasoning, by F. Andrea Budrioli, a theologian of
the Society of Jesus, whom we elsewhere men
tion with respect, and who was a most diligent
postulator of the cause of S. Aloysius. This
he has done in an elaborate and learned paper
on the virtues of the saint, and the cause in
general, which he presented to the Congrega
tion of Sacred Rites, when I held the office of
Promoter of the Faith, and deliberations were
to be held on the decision of that cause. He
premised, that all the saints are esteemed to
be such, either by reason of their innocence or
their penance, and thus that there are in the
Church two ways, or titles, for canonizing men,
viz., innocence and penance, but that innocence
is a safer ground for proceeding than penance.
For he observes, that in canonizing any one, the
Church affirms, that he died in the grace and
friendship of God, and therefore is to be num
bered among those of whom it is said,* "Blessed
are the dead who die in the Lord ;" and, as the
Church ought first to be certain, at least of this
final sanctity in a person to be canonized, that
she may define prudently, and not rashly, he
makes this inference ; that in determining that
a man died in the grace and friendship of God,
* Apocal. xiv. 13.
BENEDICT XIV. ON HEROIC VIRTUE. 67
who all along kept His grace and friendship, by
constant innocence of life, the Church will make
a more prudent and a safer decision, than in pro
nouncing the same judgment upon a person,
who having been formerlj an enemy to God,
and a stranger to His grace, afterwards recover
ed His grace and friendship by penance. He
adds, that if constant innocence of life is es
tablished, then are established also the theologi
cal and cardinal or moral virtues, as the church
requires for canonization. For Faith, Hope, and
Charity are all infused in baptism, and St. Tho
mas teaches that all the moral virtues are in
fused together with Charity, and are not lost,
except by mortal sin. But as this learned wri
ter foresaw the objection to this, viz. that it
would prove that all infants dying after baptism
and before the use of reason, might be canon
ized, he explains his doctrine thus : " It is also
evident that he must have had the virtues in a
heroic degree. For surely, for a grown-up per
son to abstain throughout his whole life, from
every grievous sin whatever, of every description,
is of all heroic works the most heroic, both be
cause of the length of the time, and the abun
dance of matter, and the extreme difficulty of
forcing on human frailty the necessity of flying
from all occasions of every kind, of destroying
allurements to sin, of vanquishing temptations.
This is proved by so few among the saints hav
ing attained to it, so that Ecclesiasticus doth
well ask with astonishment, Who is he, and we
will praise him? for he hath done wonderful
68 BENEDICT XIV. ON HEROIC VIRTUE.
things in his life, he that could have transgress
ed, and hath not transgressed ; and could do evil
things, and hath not done them. * Who does
not see that such a summit of heroicity could
not be arrived at, except by the heroic exercise,
if not of all (which is not necessary) at least of
most virtues, and the principal ones?"
10. This theory, though learned, and ably
maintained, could not, I think, be safely reduced
to practice in the matter we are discussing. For
granted, that the theological as well as the car
dinal virtues certainly follow from constant in
nocence ; granted that it is heroic, not to trans
gress when a man could have transgressed, and
not to do evil things, when he could have done
them, granted lastly, that this is a most diffi
cult thing, when there are so many occasions of
sinning in this mortal life, we ask, how the
Church ought to be certified of this constant in
nocence of life, she being bound to rest upon
most certain proofs, in order to enrol any ono
in the company of the blessed or of the saints.
All the proof would have to depend on the testi
monies of confessors, by which it could only
appear whether the Servant of God had ever
sinned mortally ; and certainly by the attesta
tions aforesaid, S. Aloysius s innocence of life
was proved by F. Budrioli. Further, although
we have said and admitted, that the attestations
of confessors should not be rejected in these
causes, but esteemed of great value, still it
might seem, to those who weigh matters pru-
* Ecclus. xxxi. 10.
BENEDICT XIV. ON HEROIC VIRTUE. 69
dently, a very hard thing to determine so grave
a business on their testimony alone. In order
therefore for the Church to proceed safely, it ap
pears needful, that beside the assertions of con
fessors testifying to innocence of life, many other
witnesses should be added, who may testify to
particular outward acts, and the way in which
they were done ; in order that it may safely be
decided, that the servant of God was a hero,
and endued with heroic habits of the virtues. For
this reason, S. Bernard, in writing the Life of S.
Malachy, Bishop, produces witness in proof of
his innocence and sanctity, who had seen and
known his external acts.* "For, to be silent
about his inner man, the beauty, fortitude, and
purity of which were sufficiently shown by his
manners and life, he governed his exterior, always
in one and the same way, and that most modest
and becoming, so that nothing whatever appear
ed in him, which could offend the beholders.
But in Malachy, what man ever, watching
him very narrowly, could perceive, I will not say
merely, an idle word, but even an idle gesture ?
When was he ever seen to move hand or foot
without a purpose? When was aught disedify-
ing seen in his gait, his aspect, his manner, or
his countenance ? Everything in him was under
discipline, everything was the very criterion of
virtue, the very form of perfection." But if
the question be confined to innocence of life
proved by the true testimonies of confessors
only, every one will easily see, that the assump-
" C. xix. col. 682. vol. 1.
70 BENEDICT XIV. OX HEROIC VIRTUE.
tion just given would only prove at most holi
ness in the sight of God, not in that of the
Church.
11. And indeed this explanation appears to
be based even on the doctrine of those writers,
who seem to think that innocence of life proved
by the testimony of confessors, is enough of
itself to constitute heroicity. Father Esparza in
the suffrage above-mentioned, will have the he
roicity of the virtues in holy confessors, to de
pend, not as in martyrs, on one or other very
arduous and difficult exterior work, but on the
continuous and uninterrupted course of an inno
cent life. And as he makes this innocence to con
sist in performing everything according to the
evangelical precepts and counsels, with the cir
cumstances implied in persons attaining to the
highest summit of perfection, and, as having
proved innocence of life in the case of Cardi
nal Bellarmine, by the attestations of his con
fessor, he has in the same suffrage afterwards
deduced his observance of the precepts and
counsels, from special and particular acts proved
by the testimony of other witnesses, we infer
that he did by no means dissent from the view
which we have set forth. Cardinal de Aguirre*
says, "Since the existence of implanted virtues
cannot make itself appear externally of itself,
as a certain supernatural impression on the soul,
nor by internal supernatural acts towards which
it immediately tends, it remains that the virtues
should become known only by their effects or
* In tract, de virt. et vitiis. disp. 12. qu. 3. 5.
BENEDICT XIV. ON HEROIC VIRTUE. 71
operations, or external acts and words, accord
ing to the saying of our Lord, By their fruits
you shall know them A good tree cannot
bring forth evil fruit, neither can an evil tree
bring forth good fruit. Every Catholic who is
seen to act in the daily and constant course of
his life, according to the precepts common and
peculiar to his condition, and never omits to
observe them, is justly considered to be en
dowed with all implanted virtues. Whosoever
also is found to have observed not the precepts
only, but the evangelical counsels also, at all
times with his whole soul, to the last moment of
his life, and has never swerved from that diffi
cult and strait road by word, deed, or omission,
and that in the judgment of those who admire
such great perfection in man, is with every pro
bability believed to have been endowed with
the implanted virtues in a heroic degree, yea
moreover, with the acquired virtue in the same
degree, for in a great man the habit of good
actions living and strong, and without interrup
tion, increases at the same time, the implanted
virtues morally, and the acquired virtues physical
ly." This eminent writer in these words requires
the general opinion of men, and this of course
cannot be had, except in the testimonies of
many witnesses, who depose to a continued
course of external acts, with their circumstances.
Lastly, the Auditors of the Rota, and Father
Budrioli, Postulator of the cause of S. Aloysius
Gonzaga, coincide. For after proving the saint s
innocence of life, and freedom from mortal sin,
11 BENEDICT XIV. ON HEROIC VIRTUE,
by the evidence of his. confessors, both they and
he have shown at length by other testimonies,
that he exhibited heroic virtues in the obser
vance of the precepts and counsels.
We must then distinguish three cases, for
the sake of clearness, (1) where innocence of
life, and consequent freedom from mortal sin,
is proved only by the testimony of confessors.
This proof is not sufficient for canonization, so
far as relates to the Church militant. (2) Where
the same is proved by the evidence of confes
sors, and confirmed by other witnesses, who say
that such and such acts were done by the ser
vant of God, which show that he fulfilled the
precepts and counsels. This too is insufficient
to prove the virtues for the purposes of beati
fication and canonization, because the witnesses
in this case do not prove the qualities of rea
diness, ease, and pleasurable feeling necessary
to make an action heroic. (3) Where the same
is proved by confessors, and confirmed by other
witnesses, who speak to acts with those qualities,
and with the observance of the precepts and
counsels according to the condition of the ser
vant of God, or beatified person, and according
to the circumstances in which he was placed
during his life. In this third case nothing is
wanting to a proof sufficient for the purposes
in question. For although we were not told of
the arduous actions in particular, which caused
admiration, still innocence maintained through
the whole course of a life, in the midst of
all those dangerous occasions to which men are
BENEDICT XIV. ON HEROIC VIRTUE. 73
exposed in the world, and besides this, an
exact observance of the precepts and counsels,
does constitute difficulty enough to surprise
those who consider it. As Father Bartoli*
well observes, it is a popular and even a more
general error, to suppose those only are saints,
who have afflicted their bodies for a long space
of time with arduous penances. "Many," says
he, "would think they heard a miracle of vir
tue, if we told them that for seventy-nine years
Cardinal Bellarmine wore a hair-shirt, and that
his loins were girt with a heavy iron chain,
which he wore all his life. But they would
not think the same, if we told them, what in
fact is true, that for seventy-nine years of his
life, he never stained, even by the least spot
of venial sin, committed deliberately, the inno
cence of his baptismal robe ; and yet much
less perfection of virtue is required for a man
to subjugate and tame his body by fastings,
watchings, and bloody scourgings, than in every
variety of accidents to keep the affections of his
mind so subject to the spirit, as that they
never stir, never make themselves felt, or show
their life, except only so far as and when ho
pleases. It is not the perfection of virtue that
it should be visible or create a stir; great riv
ers, the deeper they are the more silently they
flow." (4) The last case is, where evidence
not being given of perpetual innocence, much
more if any sin, especially a grievous one, be
known to have existed, witnesses nevertheless
* In vita. Ven. Card. Bellarm. lib. iii. c. 9.
74 BENEDICT XIV. ON HEROIC VIRTUE.
testify to subsequent penance and a holy life,
and in special acts of the observance of the
precepts and counsels with the qualities of ease
and pleasurable feeling ; without however making
mention of any difficult and arduous works per
formed by the servant of God. In this case
there is not sufficient evidence for the purposes
required, since, as we shall show hereafter,
more is needed in the eyes of the Church for
the sanctity of the penitent, than for the sanc
tity of the innocent.
CHAPTER III.
OF THE THEOLOGICAL VIRTUES, FAITH, HOPE, AND
CHARITY, AND OF THE HEROICITY OF EACH OF THEM.
SECTION I.
OF THE VIRTUE OP FAITH, AND OF ITS HEROICITY.
As we hinted in the foregoing chapter, we
desire to treat of each of the theological virtues,
and of their heroicity, severally ; but in order
to avoid confusion, we begin with the virtue of
faith. Faith, then, is thus denned by the Apostle,
Heb. xi, 1 : " It is the substance of things to be
hoped for, the evidence of things that appear
not." All other definitions of faith are explana
tions of this definition given by the Apostle.
Such is that of S. Augustine: "Faith is a virtue,
whereby things are believed which are not seen."
BENEDICT XIV. ON HEROIC VIRTUE. 75
Such is that of S. John Damascene: "Faith is a
consent not minutely searched out." Such also
that of S. Dionysius: "Faith is the abiding
foundation of believers, setting them in the truth,
and showing forth the truth in them," as S. Tho
mas proves,* where he quotes these definitions.
In the same place he enters on several other
discussions, and teaches that charity is called the
form of faith, in so far as an act of faith is per
fected and formed by charity.! Again, after pre
mising that belief is an act of the intellect assent
ing to truth by command of the will, and that
two things are requisite to make this act per
fect, one of which is, that the intellect should
with the utmost certainty tend to its object,
which is truth, and the other, that the will
should with the like certainty be directed to
the final end, on account of which it assents
to the truth, he teaches us that both these
things are found in an act of formal faith,
(fides formata). Because by the definition of
faith itself, the intellect is always carried on
ward towards truth, and by charity, which
is the form of faith, the will is most cer
tainly directed towards a good end. He then
concludes, that formal faith is a virtue, and
that informal faith is not a virtue, because,
although an act of informal faith has the requi
site perfection on the part of the intellect,
yet it has not perfection on the part of the
will.J Lastly, he proves, that faith is per
* II. 2. qu. 4. art. 1. t Art. 3.
t Art. 5. Art. 7.
76 BENEDICT XIV. ON HEROIC VIRTUE.
se, the first among all the virtues, because the
final end must necessarily be first in the in
tellect before it can be in the will ; for the
will cannot tend to anything except in so far
as that thing is apprehended by the intellect.
The same distinction of formal and informal
faith is accepted by other theologians ; the first,
as conjoined with charity, the second, as apart
from it, Not that charity is the essential form
of faith, otherwise faith could not be distin
guished from charity, but because charity ren
ders acts of faith meritorious, meritorious, I
say, of eternal life and bliss, according to that
of the Apostle, (Gal. v. 6.) " In Christ Jesus,
neither circumcision availeth anything, nor un-
circumcision, but faith that worketh by cha
rity ;" and (1 Cor. xiii. 2,) " If I should have all
faith, so that I could remove mountains, and
have not charity, I am nothing."
2. By the works therefore, which proceed from
charity towards God and towards our neighbour,
formal faith is proved to exist, according to S.
James (ii. 26,) where he concludes, "For even
as the body without the spirit is dead, so also
faith without works is dead." To this effect Scac-
chus speaks,* with reference to our subject,
" As then faith is a necessary condition for enroll
ing any servant of God in the catalogue of the
saints, such faith, namely, as is formal, living and
true, besides a certainty of faith in the bliss and
glory of the servant of God after death, so far as
that is possible ; and as wherever this certainty
* De not. et sign, sanctit. 3. c. 1.
BENEDICT XIV. ON HEROIC VIRTUE. 77
of faith is not present in a man s actions, we can
not suppose his works to be good ; therefore
from the works alone of any servant of God, is
the mark of his sanctity apparent, by virtue of
the definition of faith. The Apostle asks, What
shall it profit, my brethren, if a man say he hath
faith, but hath not works ? Shall faith be able
to save him ? As though he should say, It can
in nowise save him. If then faith without works
can save no one, it is evident that the mark of
true faith which saves a man, must be sought
for in good works done after baptism ; and
amongst these external good works, such a habit
of faith as is required for the canonization of the
servants of God, must be sought for especially
in those works, which proceed from charity,
whereby the acts of all the virtues have that
which constitutes their heroicity. For if these
works shall be present in the acts of any servant
of God, they will establish the certainty, that in
that servant of God formal faith existed."
3. To turn from hence to works and external
acts, on which only the Church can determine,
some of them consist in deeds achieved. St. Leo
extols the faith of S. Peter, because of that out
ward confession of faith, which he made of the
divinity of Christ.* " He is first in the con
fession of his Lord, who is first in Apostolical dig
nity. To him, when he had said, Thou art Christ,
the Son of the living God, Jesus answered,
Blessed art thou, Simon Barjona, because flesh
and blood hath not revealed it to thee, but My
* Serm.de nativit. app, Fetr. et Paul.
78 BENEDICT XIV. ON HEROIC VIRTUE.
Father Who is in heaven. Therefore art thou
blessed, because My Father hath taught thee,
because thou hast not been deceived by earthly
opinion, but instructed by heavenly inspiration,
because not flesh and blood hath shown Me unto
thee, but He, whose only-begotten Son I am." S.
Maximus of Turin* infers the faith of the
holy thief from the confession of faith, whereby
when upon the cross, he confessed that Christ
was the Son of God : "0 wonderful event ! A
thief confesses Him, Whom a disciple denied.
wonderful event ! A thief honours Him in His
suffering, whom Judas betrayed by his kiss. By
the latter the blandishments of peace are sold for
a price ; by the former the wounds of the cross
are praised. Here is devotion full of faith, in
that when blood is seen flowing from the wounds
of the Lord, there is pardon asked of His power ;
when His humility is seen, then the rather is His
Godhead apprehended ; when He is thought to be
given over unto death, then are offered Him the
honours of a king." The same saint t in
another place writes, " Great and perfect was
the faith of that thief. Great indeed and ad
mirable was that faith which believed Christ
to be glorified rather than punished in His
crucifixion." S. Jerome j proves the faith of
S. Paula by external acts wherein she showed
her opposition to heretics. "I will merely
allude," says he, "to the way in which she
* Serm. 1. de Sancto Latrone. (Bibl. Tatr. t. vi. p. 22.)
t Serm. 2. loc. cit.
t Opp. 1. 1. col. 709. Epitaph. Paulae. Vid.
BENEDICT XIV. ON HEROIC VIRTUE. 79
avoided the muddy waters of the heretics, and
esteemed them to be no better than heathens.
A certain crafty knave, who thought himself very
learned and wise, began, without any knowledge,
to put questions to her, and ask, What sin hath
an infant done, that it should be seized by the
devil ? Of what age shall we be at the resur
rection ? because if we rise at the same age at
which we die, then there will be need of nurses
after the resurrection. But if otherwise, then
it will not be a resurrection of the dead, but a
transformation. " Then he goes on to mention
other cavils of the same miserable description,
suggested by the heretic to Paula, which he says
that she answered according to Catholic truth,
and then adds, " From that day forth she so de
tested that man, and all of the same opinions,
that she publicly proclaimed them to be enemies
of the Lord.... And so much I have said, to show
the faith of this woman, who preferred to endure
the constant enmities of men, rather than pro
voke the anger of God, by dangerous friend
ships."
Lastly, S. Thomas of Villanova* finds argu
ments for S. Augustine s faith, in the doctrine
wherewith he confuted the heretics. " How re
splendent was he in faith ! How much service
did not Augustine render to the faith! For
martyrs confirmed the faith of believers in those
towns or cities where they suffered. But Au
gustine defended the faith, not in one city only
but throughout the whole world. Whence as
* Concio. 1. de S. Augustino, p. 502.
80 BENEDICT XIV. ON HEROIC VIRTUE.
the merit is greater, to defend the faith with
one s own blood, than with one s words, so is
the advantage greater to defend it throughout
the world, than in a single city. For the Church
was first attacked by the lion when tyrants as
sailed her, and then by the snake when heretics
appeared, nor was the persecution of the lion
greater than that of the snake. But as the
lion was vanquished by the martyrs, so was
the snake by the holy doctors. how fierce
a battle had Augustine with that snake ! how
zealous an up-rooter was he of heretics! For
who did ever defend the faith like Augustine?
Who composed so many books against heretics ?
Who drove heretics from the Church, vanquish
ing them in every way, by arguing, preaching,
and writing, like Augustine ? most firm
pillar of the Church ! O mighty bulwark of the
faith ! Well therefore has he been called by
the Church, malleus hcereticorum."
4. According to the doctrine of S. Antoninus,*
great faith may be shown to exist in a person,
first, if he has great thoughts of God ; secondly,
if he despises things transitory for the sake of
an eternal reward ; thirdly, if in adversity he
trusts in God and does not fail ; fourthly, if he
does not desist from good works. Hugh de S.
Victorf gives a different view : " There are then
two things," ho says, "in which faith consists
knowledge and love. The faith of some persons
is great in knowledge, but small in love : of
others it is great in love, but small in knowledge.
* Summa, part. 4. tit, 8. c. iii. 7. t Tom, ii. serm. 35.
BENEDICT XIV. ON HEROIC VIRTUE. 81
Some have a faith great in both others, small
in both. But our Lord has evidently shown that
it is more praiseworthy to have great love in our
faith, than to have great knowledge, where he
compares faith to a grain of mustard-seed, which
is small in bulk, but not in fervour. Hence it
was said to the Chanansean woman, who knew
but little as yet, but who trusted much,
woman, great is thy faith. "
But in order to proceed clearly in our subject,
which is to explain the rules necessary for form
ing a safe judgment concerning the heroicity of
the virtues of the Servants of God, and especially
of faith, we say that the ordinary habit of the
ological faith is discerned, (1.) by the external
confession of those things which are believed in
the heart by faith ; for as, according to the Apos
tle, (Rom. x. 10,) "with the heart we believe unto
justice, but with the mouth confession is made
unto salvation ;" and since confession of the faith
is an affirmative precept, there are times when
it is necessary to salvation to confess one s faith,
viz., when by the omission of this confession the
honour due unto God, and even our neighbour s
edification,* would be lessened. (2.) Faith is
discerned by the observance of the precepts ; (3.)
By prayer unto God ; (4.) By a submission of the
heart, and by obedience to God, to the Catholic
Church, and its visible head, the Roman Pontiff,
in all things which must be believed and done
for eternal salvation ; (5.) By the increase of
faith, or at least a desire of its increase ; (6.) By
* S. Thorn. II, 2. qu. 3. art. 2.
82 BENEDICT XIV. ON HEROIC VIRTUE.
the fear of God ; (7.) By the worship of God
and of His saints ; (8.) By a horror of sin, and
penance done for it when committed ; (9.) By
patience in adversity ; (10.) By joy fulness in
good works ; (11.) By humility and humiliations.
We observe further, that the heroic habit of
faith is discerned by the same acts, that is, if
there be a frequency in their performance, if they
are accompanied with ease, readiness, and plea
surable feeling, and if in the circumstances under
which they are done there be something eminent
ly arduous, to excite admiration, and so to elevate
the agent above the ordinary manner of working,
even of good men. With these things assuredly
concurs that gift of the Holy Spirit which is
called "the gift of understanding," concerning
which is said, (Ps. xv. 7,) " I will bless the Lord,
Who hath given me understanding," and (Ps. xxxi.
8,) "I will give thee understanding, and I will
instruct thee in this way, in which thou shalt go ;
I will fix my eyes upon thee." S, Bonaventure
has well explained the nature of this gift : *
" Since the truths necessary for salvation are
hidden from us, and, as it were, veiled as well
in the nature of things as in the Sacred Scrip
tures, and the divine Sacraments and figures,
insomuch that man s understanding cannot, with
out the aid of supernatural light, fully attain to
lay hold upon them, it was plainly necessary that
the Holy Spirit should add unto man s under
standing some supernatural light, whereby it
might penetrate the veils of those truths, and
In tract, de dono Intellects c. iii. (opp. torn. vi. p. 263.)
BENEDICT XIV. ON HEROIC VIRTUE. 83
lay hold of hidden truths, and so manifest them
unto us, which assuredly the Holy Spirit does,
when He inspires us with the gift of understand
ing."
5. For proofs of the foregoing, we refer the
reader to Cardinal de Laursea* and Maderna.t
We shall afterwards say somewhat on diligence
in prayer, the frequentation of the sacraments,
humility, and patience in adversity, but at pre
sent only quote some examples from the acts of
canonization, by which what is said by the au
thors alleged may be illustrated and confirmed.
6. From the acts therefore of the canoniza
tion of S. Teresa, and especially from the report
of the Auditors of the Rota upon her virtues,
we extract the following : " She had so cer
tain a conviction of the mysteries of the faith,
that no certainty, however clear and manifest,
could come up to it. This she has herself re
corded in her Life in the following words.... and
has frequently confessed in conversation, as the
witnesses prove .... It appears that the Blessed
Teresa clung the more firmly and undoubtingly
to the mysteries of the faith, the more lofty and
obscure they appeared to her to be. Beside
this certain conviction, her knowledge of these
mysteries was so great, that, as the Bishop of
Tarazona observes, she, like another Moses, saw
God invisible with a faith as lively as if she had
beheld him plainly ; whence she was wont to say,
that she did not envy those who merited in this
* Tom. 2, in III. lib. sent. disp. 32. art. 9.
t QQ. Theol. tr. 6. qu. 3. art 3.
84 BENEDICT XIV. ON HEROIC VIRTUE.
life to see Christ our Saviour with their bodily
eyes. For it seemed to her that with the eyes
of faith she saw God Himself present in the
Most Holy Sacrament of the Altar, so that she
so far rejoiced in His Divine Bodily Presence. "
From the Acts of the Canonization of S. Peter
of Alcantara, and especially from the Report of
the Auditors of the Rota, we learn this : " The
exterior confession of the faith, very frequently
and earnestly made by this servant of God, leads
us to the same conclusion. For it is testified
that Brother Peter of Alcantara had so great a
firmness in the faith, as the foundation of all
the other virtues, and the principle of our jus
tification, that, had an occasion presented itself
he would not have hesitated dying for a single
point of the faith. In his mind no certainty,
evidence, or clear conviction, could even distant
ly approach to the certainty which he had of
the infallible truth of our holy faith, against
which he never had any temptation, but rather
felt sure that the enemy of mankind could not
delude a soul diffident of itself, and firm and
strong in the faith, and that not even revelations
could make him waver, or swerve in the slightest
degree from what the Catholic Church holds and
sets forth, and the sacred Scriptures teach."
Lastly, the acts of the canonization of S.
Paschal Baylon, and especially the Report of the
Auditors of the Rota, contain the following argu
ments for the greatness of his faith: "That great
faith shone forth in the venerable servant of God,
may be understoood from this, that a brother,
BENEDICT XIV. ON HEROIC VIRTUE. 85
otherwise ignorant, brought up in a rustic way
of life, imbued with no letters, spoke with a
wonderful depth concerning heavenly things, and
the most profound secrets of the faith, and par
ticularly the most Holy mystery of our Redemp
tion. This also he left in writing, and used to
confirm in the faith those who heard him, as
the witnesses depose."
7. We see therefore how the external pro
fession of faith is an act of faith, and how a habit
of faith is distinguished by it, and how the exter
nal profession of faith exhibited in a certain high
perfection, may indicate the heroic habit of
faith.
8. What has been said of the external profes
sion of faith, may be applied to the other acts
above alluded to, and which relate to the habit
of faith. Amongst these we have reckoned the
propagation of the faith, or the desire of it, and
consequently a zeal for the salvation of souls.
It will now be useful to mention the circumstances
considered in the above causes of canonization,
on which was grounded the greater perfection of
the work, and therefore its heroicity. In S. Peter
of Alcantara and in S. Teresa, heroicity of faith
is grounded on their desire that the faith should
be propagated, and manners reformed. Of the
first, the report says, " In proof of the excellence
of his faith, we must consider the desire of pro
pagating the faith and converting infidels, which
inflamed this servant of God, and was evinced
in the reform of the province of S. Gabriel, and
the restoration of its primitive rule, and in the
86 BENEDICT XIV. ON HEROIC VIRTUE.
foundation of the province of S. Joseph, with
such austerity and strictness, from which, as
we have related, so many other provinces branch
ed out. All these things were directed to the
exaltation of the faith and the conversion of
infidels, to which end his Religious, instituted
in the zeal of ardent charity, and in the utmost
poverty, by their penances, prayers, example, and
doctrine, furthered the salvation of souls through
out the world, and the conversion of all infidel
countries." Of the second it is added, " The same
is shown by the immense desire with which she
burned to propagate the faith, grieving greatly
for heretics and infidels, who were lost for want
of this divine light. And as she saw that she
could not, being a woman, employ herself in thus
spreading the faith amongst heretics and infidels,
she did what she could in founding and erecting
so many churches, and monasteries of monks and
nuns, of that sacred order. This she did, not
without the divine counsel, chiefly intending that
in them the primitive rule of our Blessed Lady
of Mount Carmel should be perfectly observed,
and that Christ our Lord should be adored by
her Religious in continual prayer, fastings, and
other penitential works prescribed by the rule ;
and that they, being thus bound to the service of
God, His acceptance and favour might the rather
be vouchsafed to those supplications and pen
ances which she offered herself, and took care
should be offered in her order, for the exalta
tion of the holy faith, and the conversion of in-
BENEDICT XIV. ON HEROIC VIRTUE. 87
fidels and heretics, and for the defenders of the
same Catholic faith."
9. The offices moreover which were discharged
by the servants of God during their life, and the
occasions in which they were placed, and in
which they did anything energetic, and above
the ordinary measure of working, have supplied
arguments for the heroicity of their faith. St.
Pius V., Pope, discharged, when in minor orders,
the office of inquisitor in the city of Como, and
obtained special powers from the supreme In
quisition at Rome, that he might institute a
judicial process against a heretic called Planta,
who was trying to obtain the bishopric of Coire,
and that he might also do the same at Bergamo
against Giorgio Medolaco, a man so powerful
because of his eloquence and his dependents,
that the inquisitors were afraid of inflicting on
him the penalties he deserved. And as not only
at Como, but in Switzerland and Bergamo also,
the holy man did whatever was commanded him,
despising all risk of imprisonment or death, these
things were rightly said in the Report of the
Auditors of the Rota to show excellence of faith.
See the Report at large in Bzovius,* S. James
of La Marca fulfilled the office of a preacher for
forty years, and that not carelessly, but with a
zeal so efficacious, that he restored the fear of
God and the divine worship, which were languish
ing amongst his hearers. In the time of Pope
Martin V. he by his sermons extirpated the
heresy of the Fratricelli, (called so from their
* Annal. Eccles. t. ult. col. 1162.
88 BENEDICT XIV. ON HEROIC VIRTUE.
opinions,) out of the province of the March of
Ancona, and having been appointed inquisitor in
Pannonia and Hungary by Eugenius IV. he dis
charged his duty, with almost infinite labours,
and to the great profit and increase of the
Catholic faith, all which things the Auditors of
the Rota, in the Report of his cause, have given
as proofs of heroic faith.
Wonderful things are told us of the preaching
of S. Lewis Bertrand, by the Auditors of the
Rota, in their Report in his cause. How he
propagated the faith, not only in foreign countries
at the hazard of his life, and converted fifteen
thousand souls, but that once when he had in
the country church of Albaida preached the word
of God and sharply rebuked the vices of the
people, a certain officer sent him a message by
his servant, threatening to kill him unless he
retracted what he had said. The saint, with
the greatest gentleness and meekness, replied,
that he was willing to die, but could not retract.
On the following day the officer, with a carbine
in his hand, endeavoured to fire at the saint,
saying, "Dost thou, wicked Friar, dare to rebuke
me ?" The weapon was changed into a crucifix,
and the officer seeing this fell humbly at the
saint s feet, who made the sign of the cross on
his breast and commanded the officer to tell no
one what he had seen, for thirty years were to
elapse before any inquiries would be made of him
on the subject ; and so it came to pass.
S. Francis Xavier, at the request of King
John III. of Portugal, was made Apostolic nuncio
BENEDICT XIV. ON HEROIC VIRTUE. 80
by Pope Paul III., in order that he might, by
word and example, confirm all the Christian con
verts in the islands, provinces, and places we
shall presently name, and that he might invite
and lead on those who as yet did not know the
faith, to acknowledge, embrace, and keep it.
Further, on the coast of the Pearl Fishery, at
Cape Comorin, on the coast of Travancore, in the
islands of Manar and Ceylon, in Coromandel,
Malacca, and Amboina, in the island of Moro, in
Japan, in China, and in many other regions of
Asia very widely apart, he laboured with such
fruit, that he is reckoned to have made in some
places twelve thousand converts, in others twenty-
five thousand, in others whole cities and districts,
and in others as many as even one hundred thou
sand. Amongst these many were of high rank,
kings and nobles. He was very often in great
danger of his life, as may be supposed, in the
midst of such barbarous and ferocious people,
and at last caught a deadly fever, of which he
died, occasioned by a very laborious journey
which he had undertaken into China. These
things with others the Auditors of the Rota in
serted in their Report, and refer to them as
eminent signs of heroic faith. Of the zeal in
converting heretics shown by S. Charles Borro-
meo and S. Francis de Sales, we shall speak else
where.
But as it is not every servant of God who has
occasion to be inquisitor, or preacher, or Apostolic
nuncio, and missioner, as Scacchus observes,*
* De not. et Sign. Sanct. 3. c. 1.
90 BENEDICT XIV. ON HEROIC VIRTUE.
we may adduce some other instances of faith
which are exhibited by the servants of God, ac
cording to the circumstances in which their state
of life placed them. S. Philip Neri passed his
life at Rome. He, in the zeal of his faith, had
an ardent desire to go into the Indies, and
preach the Gospel there with some of his dis
ciples, but after he had asked counsel of a certain
holy Cistercian monk, who told him, after many
prayers to God, that Rome must be his Indies,
he exercised heroic acts of faith in that city,
converting there Palseologus, an apostate and
heresiarch, and also several Jews, as the Auditors
of the Rota mention in their Report. In the cause
of S. Cajetan the Auditors of the Rota give as
proofs of heroic faith, that he almost died of
grief when the city of Naples rejected the tribu
nal of the holy Inquisition ; and again, that he
was afflicted with an inexplicable sadness when
the holy Council of Trent was interrupted ; and,
lastly, that he was most active in detecting the
heresy of Giovanni Uvaldosi, and Bernardino
Ochino. In the reports of the causes of S.
Ignatius, S. Mary Magdalene de Pazzis, and
the Venerable Servant of God, now the Blessed,
Jerome uEmiliani, they adduce in evidence their
long, remarkable, and laborious diligence in teach
ing Christian doctrine, and instructing the igno
rant in the faith.
10. The other works above alluded to will
prove heroic faith, when exercised, not in the
ordinary, but in the more perfect manner which
we have so often explained.
BENEDICT XIV. ON HEROIC VIRTUE. 91
SECTION II.
OF THE VIRTUE OF HOPE, AND TTS HEROIC DEGREE.
1. NEXT to faith comes Hope, which is defined
by theologians to be "a theological virtue, where
by the will is borne on towards God, as our true
happiness, difficult indeed to reach, but which
nevertheless may be obtained by Divine assist
ance, and therefore by the means divinely insti
tuted for that end;"* or, "a certain expectation
of future happiness, arising from grace and pre
ceding merits;"! or again, "an infused habit,
whereby the will doth constantly tend unto God,
as unto an arduous future Good, which it is pos
sible to reach by the help of God Himself, "f
2. S. Thomas, in treating of Hope,f proves
that it is a virtue when it makes an act good,
and conformable to its proper rule. For as what
ever is possible for us is possible in two ways,
first through ourselves, and secondly through
others ; when we hope for anything as possible
for us by Divine assistance, our hope reaches
unto God Himself, on whose assistance it rests;
then he shows that it is a theological virtue, as
its principal object is God ; and that it is a vir
tue distinct from other theological virtues, as
charity attaches a man to God because of Him
self, faith, because He is the Source of our know-
* Valent. t. 3. disp. 2. qu. 1. p. 1.
t Gerson, t. 3. p. 3. de Virt. Spei. col. 297.
t Patr. Salmantic. t. 3. in arbore praedicam. 3. n. 18.
II. 2. qu. 17.
92 BENEDICT XIV. ON HEROIC VIRTUE.
ing the truth, whilst hope attaches a man to God,
as He is to us the Source of perfect goodness,
because it is by hope that we rest in the Divine
assistance to enable us to attain unto happiness.
Lastly, the holy doctor demonstrates that faith
absolutely precedes hope, and that, in order of
birth, hope is prior to charity ; which is also ex
plained at length in the holy Council of Trent.*
3. According to S. Bonaventure,t hope may
be elicited in two ways, formally and virtually,
and a formal act also may be either interior or
exterior. Interior, when a man, elevating his
mind to the contemplation of eternal glory, longs
to gain it by Divine assistance, wherein he con
fides ; but an exterior act of hope is elicited when
a man unfolds himself in words, and says that
he hopes for life everlasting, and this with the
proper circumstances, and on the proper grounds.
We say that a man virtually elicits an act of
hope when he does some external work, in which
an act of hope is included ; suppose, for instance,
that he does from his heart sorrow for his sins,
or earnestly asks anything of God, with a view
to gain happiness ; for he would not do this if
he had not hope in God. Putting aside therefore
internal acts, of which (as we have said) the
Church doth not judge, a habit of hope, in the
causes of the servants of God, may be presumed
from external acts, either formal or virtual, as
we have just explained them.J
* Sess. vi. c. G. de Justif.
t In 3. lib. sent. dist. 26. qu. 4.
t Scacchus, de not. et Sign. Sanctit. 3. c. 2.
BENEDICT XIV. ON HEROIC VIRTUE. 93
4. S. Basil the Great, in his eighteenth homily
on S. Gordius the Martyr,* infers his lively hope,
not only from his deeds for example, his pa
tience under torments but also from the words
he uttered, expressive of lively hope in the midst
of those torments. "But the martyr, lifting up
his eyes unto God, was soothing his soul with
these words of the holy Psalmist :t The Lord
is my helper ; I will not fear what man can do
unto me; and again, J I will fear no evils, for
Thou art with me ; and other things of the
same kind, which encourage us to fortitude, and
which he had learned out of the sacred Scrip
tures. But he was so far from yielding to
threats, or being terrified, that he even challenged
his tormentors: Why do you delay, he said,
* why do you stand still ? Let my body be man
gled, my limbs tortured, let them suffer whatever
agonies you will. Grudge me not my blessed
hope ; for the more you increase my torments,
the greater reward will you obtain for me.
To the same effect S. Athanasius speaks in his
Life of S. Antony, Abbot, I where he ascribes to
hope in God that famous victory which Antony
won, after he was oppressed by a multitude of
demons, and left well-nigh dead with the blows
inflicted on him. " Here am I, Antony ; I fly
not from your blows, even though you were to
inflict more of them. Nothing will separate me
from the love of Christ. If armies in camp should
stand together against me, my heart shall not
* Opp. t. 2. p. 146. t Ps. cxvii. 6.
% Ps. xxii. 4. Qpp. t. 1. p. 2. p. 803.
94 BENEDICT XIV. ON HEROIC VIRTUE.
fear." And S. Jerome tells us* that S. Paula,
in the midst of her tribulations and anguish,
uttered that of Isaias, " Ye who are weaned from
the milk, who are taken away from the breast,
expect tribulation upon tribulation, hope upon
hope ;" and quoted other sayings from the Di
vine words: "Knowing that tribulation worketh
patience, and patience trial, and trial hope, and
hope confoundeth not."t The holy doctor adds,
"By these and similar testimonies, as by the
armour of God, she defended herself against all
wickedness, but most of all against the rage of
envy, and by patience under wrong she softened
the fury of a maddened breast."
5. Hope is effective of love. For, as he who
hopes to obtain some good, if he cannot obtain
it by his own strength, or by himself, loveth him
by whose strength and assistance he can obtain
it, hope of a reward in heaven is a cause of our
loving the saints, and much more does it make
us love God, as the principal object of our future
happiness. Hope is productive of delight. For
he who hopes is delighted with the good which
he hopes for ; and although it is said in Prov.
xiii. 12, "Hope that is deferred afflicteth the
soul," yet the cause of the affliction arises from
the delay of the reward which is hoped for. In
the same way a mother both rejoices and sorrows
for her absent son ; she rejoices because she
hopes that he whom she loves will return with
great honour ; she sorrows for the delay, con
sidering chiefly the dangers which may impede
* In Epitaph. PaulsB. opp. 1. col. 703. t Rom. v. 3, 4.
BENEDICT XIV. ON HEROIC VIRTUE. 95
his return. Hope perfects the process of a work,
as it excites one to make efforts and to work,
that future happiness may be obtained. Lastly,
Hope tends unto the acquisition of the reward,
as S. Augustine explains the passage in Ps. xxxix.
5, "Blessed is the man whose trust is in the
name of the Lord." It means, according to him,
that he is blessed who does not hope for temporal
things from God, but only hopes for everlasting
salvation from Him. S. Antoninus gives this
enumeration of the qualities of hope,* with others,
which S. Gregory felicitously explains! as fol
lows : " The elect numbers his days as those of
a hireling ; he reaches forward unto his prize,
the more confident in hope, the more steadfastly
he endures under the increase of toils. He watch
es the flowing away of this present time ; he
reckons up his days and his work ; he fears lest
any movement of his lip should glide away with
out its appointed labour ; he rejoices in adversity,
he is restored by suffering, he is refreshed by
sorrow, because he sees that he shall more large
ly be repaid by the rewards of the life to come,
the more truly he renders himself up, for the
love thereof, unto a daily death."
6. But, to turn to our present purpose, the
ordinary habit of hope does first and principally
help and incline a man to hope for the ultimate
end, which is to see God Himself and to enjoy
Him; but secondarily, to hope for the concom
itants of this end, that is, for the means and
* Summa. p. 4. tit. 7. c. 2. 4.
t Lib. 8. in Job, c. 7. opp. t. 1. c. 247.
90 BENEDICT XIV. ON HEROIC VIRTUE.
aids necessary to obtain it. It also helps and
inclines a person to place his hope in God in
every necessity, and to endure patiently all ad
versities for the sake of everlasting life. But
the heroic habit of faith helps and inclines a
person to hope for the ultimate end and the
means to it, but with the utmost confidence and
security that he shall obtain them, to place his
trust in God in every necessity, but unceasingly,
with alacrity, and with the utmost firmness, with
out any doubt whatever of the event, and to
bear with alacrity and undisturbed constancy any
evils, even of the sorest kind, for the sake of
life eternal, with assiduity, readiness, pleasurable
feeling, and perseverance in the acts aforesaid,
or at least with a disposition of mind towards
them. Lastly, all good works argue the exist
ence of hope, and all good works of an eminent
and sublime description prove the existence of an
eminent, sublime, and heroic hope, as the authors
we have above quoted show at length.*
7. The Auditors of the Rota, in their Report on
the virtues of S. Teresa, have proved the hero-
icity of her life from the fact, that she placed
her hope and love in God Himself as the End,
but in all other created goods only as means
either necessary or most conducive towards ob
taining the Eternal Good ; that she hoped in
God with all her heart, with full security, and
without any doubt or hesitation, but with a firm
ness which excluded any vain fear or superfluous
solicitude ; that she flew to Him alone in every
* Vid. Card, dc Launch, loc. cit. art. 10. Maderna. loc. cit. art. 4.
BENEDICT XIV. ON HEROIC VIRTUE. 97
necessity and every danger, by humble prayers
and persevering supplications, with all the trust
fulness of her soul ; and that in Him and for
Him she hoped for and achieved most difficult
things, namely, the reform of her religious order,
although she was a woman, poor, in bad health,
and destitute of all human aid, although she was
impeded by powerful obstacles, and dangers were
hanging over her. The Report on the virtues
of S. Peter of Alcantara speaks in much the
same way, quoting testimonies to prove that in
all his necessities he most fervently sought God,
in Whom alone he hoped, that he attempted dif
ficult things for the sake of God, and that after
having gone through many labours in the Lord,
and overcome dangers by His help, he then
exerted himself in reforming the province of
S. Gabriel, and reducing it to its primitive rule,
and in founding the province of S. Joseph, and
many other monasteries ; that he induced the
religious in them to embrace perfect poverty,
forbidding any revenues, or human assistance of
any kind, and placing most firm hope in God
only. The Report upon S. Cajetan is also to
the same effect. In it the Auditors of the Rota
speak of his instituting and founding the Thea-
tine order of Clerks Regular, with constitutions
of such a nature, that they might not possess
settled property even in common, nor seek alms,
but placing their sole hopes in God, were to
live on charitable offerings.
8. We quote the following from other Reports
of causes by the same Auditors. In that of St.
7
98 BENEDICT XIV. ON HEROIC VIRTUE.
Ignatius, the severe penance which he did for
his sins, as he knew by faith that a sinner has
no entrance to eternal bliss but by penance, nor
would any one do penance unless he hoped for
forgiveness ; his perfect renunciation of temporal
things, because from his despising earthly and
present things for the sake of future and eternal
goods, and from his following Christ and placing
all his trust in Him alone, he is said to have had
a firm and excellent hope ; his great mistrust of
himself, as he never in anything rested on his
own prudence, but betook himself suppliantly in
prayer to God ; the admirable and difficult things
which he ventured on, attempted, and accom
plished for the glory of God and the salvation
of souls ; moreover the cheerfulness and joy of
heart which he had in the midst of the labours,
sufferings, and persecutions which he underwent
for Christ s and for justice sake. In the Report
on S. Francis Xavier, after mention made of his
contempt for things temporal, his voluntary en
durance of labours, his attempting difficult things,
which could not have been hoped for, or achieved,
by human strength or assistance, his sense of
security in dangers, his joyfulness in adversity
the Auditors of the Rota conclude as follows :
" And all these things prove that he had an
exalted hope with respect to the principal object,
which is eternal bliss, whereunto we tend, and
the Divine assistance on which we trust. But
there are many other proofs that he had the
same hope with respect to objects of a lower
degree, which however bear upon eternal bliss,
BENEDICT XIV. ON HEROIC VIRTUE. 99
such, for instance, as the forgiveness of sins, &c.
Nor is there a stronger argument of hope than
that built upon the exercise of good works and
virtuous actions, as S. Paul * says, Let us
live soberly, and justly, and godly in this world,
looking for the blessed hope, &c. For he signi
fies by this, that the exercise of virtues is insep
arable from the hope of everlasting life." So too,
with others, the Report on S. Louis Bertrand:
" We have inferred the existence of hope in the
blessed man, as he, having entered into religion,
trusted in God alone when in danger of death,
even after having swallowed poison, he, without
any alarm, placed his hope in God, and with
the utmost patience endured sufferings of various
kinds, partly brought on him by sickness, partly
by the enemies of the Christian faith, always
saying these words in his sorrow, Lord, here
burn, here cut, that Thou mayst spare me in
eternity ; and he desired to suffer the more, so
certain was his hope of future bliss."
Concerning entrance into a religious order,
and making profession in the same, with a sur
render of all temporal goods, and concerning joy
of heart at the news of the near approach of
death, it may be asked whether these are in
stances of heroic hope. In the former case, if
the proper circumstances are not absent, if,
namely, it is not done for any human end, but
only to serve God more freely and perfectly,
every one must see that hope may be inferred
to exist, and even heroic hope, provided only
* Tit. ii. 13.
100 BENEDICT XIV. ON HEROIC VIRTUE.
that no comparatively unworthy or human mo
tive impels or attracts a person to profession ;
as the Auditors of the Rota have observed in
the Reports of the causes of S. Francis Borgia,
Paschal Baylon, and others. But there will be
more evident tokens of heroism if other cir
cumstances are added. Some examples will
evince this with greater clearness. The en
trance of S. Aloysius Gonzaga into the Society
of Jesus was rightly accounted amongst his he
roic acts of hope, by the Auditors of the Rota,
for he, cheerfully resigning the marquisate of
Castiglione, (which was afterwards made a prin
cipality,) and putting aside the pleasures and
delights of this world, embraced the aforesaid
institute. Some prelates of the Church, to meet
the wishes of the Marquis his father, urged him
to enter some other religious order, as it is a
rule of the Society of Jesus that no dignities,
such as that of a cardinal, may be accepted
in the Society, unless by the special command
of the Supreme Pontiff, and the father was de
sirous that these honours should be within his
son s reach. But he courageously began his
journey on foot, and after his arrival at Rome,
being hospitably received by Scipio Gonzaga,
patriarch of Jerusalem, and afterwards cardinal,
he would not defer his entrance into religion
even for a single day. In the Report on the
cause of S. John of God, the foundation of his
order and his entrance into it are related as
something heroic, as a wonderful conversion to
God preceded it. For after hearing a sermon of
BENEDICT XIV. ON HEROIC VIRTUE. 101
the great Avila, he cast aside the flesh and the
devil, cleansed himself from the filth of sin, and
rolling himself in the mire of the public streets,
he beat his breast with a stone, and besought of
God mercy and pardon for his sins. Being look
ed upon as deranged and taken to a mad-house,
he was there beaten with cruel blows, but bore
it all with calmness, nor did he fear what man
could do unto him, as he " hoped in the Name
of the Lord, and had not regard to vanities and
lying follies," because the Name of the Lord was
his hope. In the Report of the cause of S. Pas
chal Baylon, it is given in proof of the eminence
of his hope, that although he could only expect
a slender inheritance from his father, yet he
refused a rich inheritance that was offered him
in another quarter, and in order to follow Christ
he entered into the most strict order of Discalced
Franciscans.
Finally, in the Life of S. Hyacinth, of the
order of Preachers, written by Severinus of Cra
cow, Master in Theology, we read as follows of
his entrance into the order of S. Dominic : " Hy
acinth, hitherto detained in the conversation of
the world, by the operation of a miracle, and
inflamed by the splendour of the most Blessed
Dominic as of a burning sun, communicates his
purpose to the Blessed Ivo, his bishop, and de
termines in his heart to break through the net
of human society, and to bind himself with the
bonds of Apostolic perfection. Neither the great
ness of his family, nor the number of his kindred,
nor his old friendship with the bishop, nor his
102 BENEDICT XIV. ON HEROIC VIRTUE.
love for his canonry, nor the abundance of his
wealth, nor, lastly, all the pleasures of the whole
world, were able to withdraw him from his holy
resolution."
9. On gladness at the news of the near ap
proach of death, and on the thought of death
itself, we refer to the Reports already cited, and
to others of the Auditors of the Rota. In that
in the cause of S. Philip Neri we have this :
"By the virtue of hope Philip hoped with the
utmost certainty that he would obtain eternal
life, and therefore he very willingly talked of
death, and for some days before he departed
this life he spoke of it so willingly, that from
all he said and did it was manifest that he
rejoiced with great joy." From the Report on
S. Teresa : " Finally, it is proved that B. Teresa
had that excellent hope and persevered in it to
the last, from her most burning desire to depart
from this life that she might enjoy the Supreme
Good. And of this most perfect hope she gave
sufficient evidence, when, very near her death,
being about to receive the divine Viaticum, she
said, as it were languishing with love, my
Lord ! my Spouse ! the wished-for time has
come at last. It is meet that I should see Thee ;
it is time, my Lord, that I should depart from
this life ; I pray of Thee that Thy will be done.
The hour has come at length when I shall be
taken out of this exile and enjoy Thee, Whom I
have so ardently longed for." ; In the Report
in the cause of S. Ignatius we read this : " We
consider it proved that the blessed father had a
BENEDICT XIV. ON HEROIC VIRTUE. 103
firm and excellent hope." After other allegations
it thus proceeds : " From the sweet delight which
he continually had in meditation upon death, as
the witnesses depose, one of whom heard from
the Blessed Ignatius himself, that it was so fre
quent that he was obliged to distract his mind,
lest he should injure his health, for that con
tinual meditation on his own death without any
fear and sadness, yea, even with the highest joy
and delight, could not be without a sure, cer
tain, and most perfect hope of attaining unto
happiness." From the Report on S. Peter of
Alcantara : " He showed that he had this most
perfect hope with all his heart in God only,
and in the degree of heroicity, when being sick
and nigh unto death, and told of it by the
physician, he, cheerfully kneeling and lifting
up his eyes to God, said that verse of the
Psalmist, I rejoiced at the things that were
said to me, We shall go into the house of the
Lord. Here we should notice the joy with which
he was affected when he heard the news of his
approaching death, and this because, as he said,
We shall go into the house of the Lord; as
though certain of the glory, to obtain which he
had fought through so many years, and through
the whole course of his life, and because now he
saw the end of his labours and the haven of his
voyage, and himself near unto Paradise, where he
might satiate his constant longing of seeing God
face to face ; all which things arose from that most
perfect hope which he had in God, and in His
promises made to those that love Him." From
104 BENEDICT XIV. ON HEROIC VIRTUE.
the Report on S. Aloysius Gonzaga : " At the
close of his life, when there was no hope of its
being prolonged, Father Antony Guelfucci tried
to persuade him to wish for longer life, in order
that he might serve God for a greater length of
time. But he answered with the Apostle, It is
better to be dissolved/ Then he asked that in
order to awaken his hope the more they should
repeat to him that verse of the Psalmist, Blessed
is the man whose hope is in the Name of the
Lord, and who hath not had regard to vanities
and lying follies. When the great Cardinal Bel-
larmine urged him to ask God for a longer life,
that others might be instructed by his example,
he craved his pardon, and said that he could
not do so, because, said he, no greater grace
can be given by God to a man, than that He
should call him to Himself whilst he is found in
grace, in which state of grace he hoped that he
was at that time." Finally, in the Report con
cerning S. Catherine Ricci : " Thirdly, from her
meditation upon death without sadness, as well
as her most joyful hastening towards it, and her
consolation witnessed by the bystanders, which
could not be without a sure and most perfect
hope that death would be to her a salutary de
parture and the greatest gain."
10. To theological hope answers the gift of
fear ; that is to say, not worldly, not servile fear,
which, although it may come from the Holy
Ghost, still may be combined with a sinful will ;
but filial and chaste fear, whereby we reverence
God Himself, and avoid withdrawing ourselves
BENEDICT XIV. ON HEROIC VIRTUE. 105
from Him, From this we infer, that filial fear
and hope are mutually connected together, since
by filial fear we do not dread lest that should
fail us which we hope to obtain by Divine assist
ance, but we dread lest we should deprive our
selves of that assistance, according to the doctrine
of S. Thomas.*
And as the gift of fear answers to the virtue
of hope, and for heroicity there is required the
influx of some gift of the Holy Spirit, it follows
that the influx of a gift for the heroic degree of
the virtue of hope will be the influx of the gift
of fear, not however every sort of fear, but of
that which we have just described.
SECTION III.
OF THE VIRTUE OF CHARITY TOWARDS GOU, AND ITS
HEROICITY.
1. CHARITY is defined to be a supernatural
habit, inclining one to love God above all things
with the love of friendship ; which definition the
Doctors of Salamanca explain at large. t S. Tho
mas, in treating of charity,! proves that it is a
virtue, because it reaches unto God and joins us
to God, according to the saying of S. Augustine,!
" Charity is a virtue which, when our affection is
right, unites us to God, by which we love Him. *
Then he shows that charity is the most excellent
of the virtues, (according to that in 1 Cor. xiii. 13,
* II. 2. qu. 19. art. 9. ad prim. t Loc. cit. 4. n. 21. sqq.
i II. 2. qu. 23. et seq. De mor. Eccles. c. xi.
106 BEJ?EDICT XIV. ON HEROIC VIRTUE.
"But the greater of these is charity,") and adds
that it reaches unto God Himself, that it may
rest in Him, not to obtain anything from Him.
Again, that true virtue cannot exist without cha
rity ; for although we might suppose a certain
virtue directed to some particular good, which
really was good in itself, this would be a true,
but not a perfect virtue, unless it were referred
to the final and supreme good. Lastly, the holy
doctor says that charity is the form of the vir
tues, since by it the acts of all other virtues are
directed to their ultimate end.
Cardinal Bona writes concerning charity* as
follows : " Holiness therefore consists in purity
of every description, and in an immoveable union
with God, which is perfected by the closest bond
of love, when the soul being purged from all the
rust of earthly affections, and elevated above all
things, has reached that perfection of justice
that it may truly and safely say with the Apos
tle, Who shall separate me from the love of
Christ? Shall tribulation? or distress? or fam
ine 1 or nakedness ? or danger ? or persecution ?
or the sword ? For I am sure that neither death,
nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers,
nor things present, nor things to come, nor might,
nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature,
shall be able to separate me from the love of
God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. (Rom.
viii. 35 39.) Fasting, alms, the chastisement of
the flesh, the use of the Sacraments, and other
exercises of the same kind, avail much towards
* De princip. vit. Christianse. part 2. c. 49. opp. 1. 1.
BENEDICT XIV. ON HEROIC VIRTUE. 107
obtaining holiness, but without chanty they do
no good, although all our goods be distributed to
feed the poor, and though our body be delivered to
be burned, as the Apostle teaches." (1 Cor. xiii. 3.)
2. S. Thomas further inquires* whether charity
can be perfect in this life, and he teaches that
perfection may exist in three ways : first, when
a man s whole heart is at all times actually fixed
on God ; and this is the perfection of charity in
our true country, which is not possible in this
life, where, because of the weakness of human
nature, we cannot always be actually thinking of
God and moved with love to Him ; secondly, when
a man bestows all his efforts to attend to God
and divine things, laying aside everything else,
except so far as the necessities of the present
life require ; and this perfection of charity is
possible in the present life, but is not common
to all persons who have charity ; thirdly, when a
man habitually places his whole heart on God,
so that he thinks and wills nothing that is con
trary to the Divine love ; and this perfection is
common to all who have charity. With him
agrees S. Antoninus.t
3. The degrees of charity or love towards God
are enumerated and explained by S. Thomas, :
S. Bernard, and S. Bonaventure. || The first is
a salutary languishing, according to that of the
Spouse in Canticles : " Stay me up with flowers,
compass me about with apples, because I languish
* Qu. 24. art. 8. f Summ. p. 4. tit. 6. c. 2. 2.
t Opusc. 61. Lib. de diligendo Deo, col. 589. vol. 1.
II Pharetra Divini Amoris II. 25. p. 145. opp. t. 6.
108 BENEDICT XIV. ON HEROIC VIRTUE.
with love." The second is, unceasingly to seek
after God. Ps. civ. 4, "Seek ye the Lord and
be strengthened ; seek His face evermore." The
third is, to labour perseveringly. Gen. xxix. 20,
" So Jacob served seven years for Rachel, and
they seemed but a few days, because of the great
ness of his love." The fourth, to endure without
weariness ; whence Christ said, (Matt. v. 10,)
" Blessed are they that suffer persecution for
justice sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven."
The fifth is, an impatient desire. Ps. Ixxxiii. 2,
" How lovely are Thy tabernacles, O Lord of
Hosts ! My soul longeth and fainteth for the
courts of the Lord." The sixth, to run swiftly.
Ps. cxviii. 32, " I have run the way of Thy com
mandments, when Thou didst enlarge my heart."
The seventh, to dare with vehemence ; whence
the prophet, crying unto God, saith, Ps. Ixxii. 25,
26, "For what have I in heaven? and besides
Thee what do I desire upon earth ? For Thee
my flesh and my heart hath fainted away. Thou
art the God of my heart, and the God that is
my portion for ever." The eighth, to bind in-
dissolubly ; whence the Apostle says, Phil. i. 21,
"For to me to live is Christ ;" and iii. 20, "But
our conversation is in heaven ;" and Gal. ii. 20,
" And I live now, not I, but Christ liveth in me."
The ninth, to burn with sweetness. Ps. xxxviii. 4,
" My heart grew hot within me, and in my med
itation a fire shall flame out." The tenth, per
fect similitude to God, in such a manner as is
competent to a creature in this life, concerning
which similitude we read, 2 Peter, i. 4, "By whom
BENEDICT XIV. ON HEROIC VIRTUE. 109
He hath given us most great and precious pro
mises ; that by these you may be made partakers
of the Divine nature." Peter here speaks of those
things which God hath given us by Christ, and
they are whatsoever things make men originate
operations supernatural and morally perfect, in
respect of which he is assimilated in his mode of
working to the supernatural Divine Nature, and
declines the operations of concupiscence and cor
ruption, as the passage in full shows : " Grace
to you and peace be accomplished in the know
ledge of God and of Christ Jesus our Lord : as
all things of His divine power, which appertain
to life and godliness, are given us, through the
knowledge of Him who hath called us by His
own proper glory and virtue. By whom He hath
given us most great and precious promises, that
by these you may be made partakers of the Di
vine nature." And because he who is partaker
of the Divine Nature, and like unto God in work
ing actions morally good and supernatural, ought
to decline the works of concupiscence and cor
ruption, he presently adds, "flying from the
corruption of that concupiscence which is in the
world."
4. As charity exists in the will, Scacchus wise
ly teaches* that it must be inferred from external
acts, particularly from zeal for God s honour and
worship, that God may be honoured and adored
by all ; from the desire of death, that by death a
complete union may be made with God ; from
internal joy expressed by external signs, when
* Be not. et sign, sanct. 3. c. 3.
110 BENEDICT XIV. ON HEROIC VIRTUE.
there is talk about God ; from peace in every
sort of adversity, and from joyfulness, if it hap
pened to one to suffer aught for God. So the
Apostle, as already quoted, Rom. viii. 35 39,
and the Auditors of the Rota, in their Report on
the cause of S. Francis Xavier, say that his love
to God was proved by those chief tokens which
show it most clearly latent in the soul ; and
these are the performance of the works of obli
gation and counsel, the love of our neighbour,
divine conversation, neglect of a man s own self,
the extinction of fear, contempt of life and death,
and a perpetual remembrance of God.
5. Conformably to these S. Maximus of Turin*
thus explains the ardent love of S. Peter towards
Jesus : " For it was rather by love than on foot
that Peter walked on the sea. For he saw not
where he placed the stoppings of his feet, but he
saw where he placed the foot-prints of charity.
For when in the ship he gazes on the Lord, and
led by His love, descends into the sea. He
thinks not of the gliding waters or the flowing
waves, and looks not at the element while he
looks at Christ." The author of the Acts of S.
Agnest introduces her thus speaking to the youth
captivated by her love : " Depart from me, O
food of death, because I am already espoused to
another Lover. I cannot, dishonouring my first
Lover, even look at a rival, and desert Him, to
whom I am bound by love." And S. Jerome,
describing the departure of S. Paula from Rome,
* Horn. 4. p. 24. t. 6. Bibl. Pair.
+ Ap. Surium ad diem 21 Mali.
BENEDICT XIV. ON HEROIC VIRTUE. Ill
for the purpose of visiting the sacred places of
Bethlehem, adds a noble example of her love of
God above all things :* " She went down to the
port, her brother, her friends and relatives, and,
what is more, her children accompanying her,
and desiring to conquer their kind mother by
their affection. The sails were now set, and the
ship was being rowed away into the open sea.
The little Toxotius stretched his hands in sup
plication on the shore. Rufina, now of marriage
able years and expecting her nuptials, made silent
entreaty by her tears. Yet Paula lifted up her
tearless eyes unto heaven, overcoming affection
to her children by affection to God. She knew
not herself as a mother, that she might prove
herself the handmaid of Christ. Her heart was
wrung, and she contended with sorrow, as though
she would be torn asunder more admirable here
in, that she conquered great love. Amidst hostile
hands and the sad necessity of captivity, nothing
is more cruel than the separation of parents and
children. This, contrary to Nature s laws, a full
faith endured, yea, a joyful soul longed for; and
she, despising the love of her sons, in greater
love towards God, rested on Eustochium alone,
who shared both her purpose and her voyage.
Meanwhile the ship was ploughing the waves,
and whilst all on board kept looking back to the
land, she fixed her eyes the other way, that she
might not see those whom she could not see
without sorrow. No one, I confess, loved her
sons so much, on whom, before she departed, she
* Opp. t. 1. col. 688.
112 BENEDICT XIV. ON HEROIC VIRTUE.
lavished all, disinheriting herself on earth, that
she might find an heritage in heaven." We might
accumulate many other instances here if we were
treating of martyrs, for S. Laurence thus ad
dresses the tyrant, in the sermon of S. Leo :
"Fierce cruelty, thou dost not succeed, thou
dost not prevail. The mortal substance is with
drawn from thy instruments of torture, and thou
perishest, while Laurence ascends to heaven. The
flame of the love of Christ could not be overcome
by thine, and the fire which burnt without was
less vehement than that which burned within."
Of the same S. Laurence we read thus in the
sermons of another :* " The Blessed Laurence is
in bodily fire ; here he is inflamed by the love
of Christ, then tormented by the fire of the
persecutor. But the divine fire of his Saviour
quenches the natural fire of the tyrant." But
as our present question relates to confessors, the
habit of ordinary love towards God may be de
duced from all the acts above cited from Scac-
chus ; f and the habit of heroic charity may be
inferred from the same acts, if they be done fre
quently, promptly, with alacrity and pleasurable
feeling, in difficult circumstances, and at the risk
of life or property. The frequency of the acts are
thus explained by him : " Because those acts of
charity can be more frequent in some and less
frequent in others, it will therefore be necessary
to consider, in these servants of God, whether the
acts of charity and of divine love were frequently
* S. August, opp. in append. Tom, v. serm. 206.
t L. c p. 208.
BENEDICT XIV. ON HEROIC VIRTUE. 113
or rarely exerted, for from the frequency of these
acts the habit of charity will be more or less in
tense, and of the acts themselves some will be
more intense, others less so, and some of an op
posite kind." Cardinal de Laursea* explains at
large the greatness of the work when it is ac
companied with the risk of life and goods :
" Another sign of ordinary charity is the ob
servance of the divine law, but of heroic char
ity it is observance at the risk of all one
possesses, and even of life." And again, "Ano
ther sign of ordinary charity is zeal for God s
honour, but of heroic charity it is a fervent zeal,
which fears nothing, not even the risk of life,
provided it be for the honour of God." This
promptitude and sensation of ease and delight
which accompanies the heroic degree of charity,
is ascribed to the gift of wisdom, which, as being
most excellent, answers to charity, the noblest
of the virtues.! Because wisdom, a gift of the
Holy Spirit, is that taste and sweet savour which
is felt in the knowledge and contemplation of
divine things, or of matters of faith to be believed
and acted upon, according to Ps. xviii. 10, 11,
" The judgments of the Lord are true more to
be desired than gold and many precious stones :
and sweeter than honey and the honey-comb."
Wherefore the Abbot William has said,J "But
the taste is followed by a certain sweet relief,
* 3. Lib. Sent. Tom. ii. disp. 32. a. 11. n. 330.
+ Patr. Salmantic. 1. c. 4. n. 23.
t Guill. Abb. de nat. et dign. Amor, (inter opp. S. Bernardi, vol. "2.
col. 268.) c. 10. n. 29.
8
114 BENEDICT XIV. ON HEROIC VIRTUE.
which the soul feeling inwardly in a way singular,
and not communicated by the other senses, doth
discern and judge whatever it receives, and ani
mates and strengthens itself and all its senses."
6. To this we may refer whatever is said of
the love of God in the Acts of Canonization, and
particularly in the extant Reports of the Auditors
of the Rota. They are reducible chiefly to the
following heads, viz., the keeping of the mind
always intent upon God ; frequent and pious
talking of God ; the continual consideration of
the Divine Goodness and the mysteries of our
religion, and especially of the Passion of our
Lord Jesus Christ ; meditations for exciting in
one the love of God ; the referring to Him of all
thoughts, words, and actions ; heavy distress on
account of the absence of Christ ; observance of
the precepts and counsels ; ecstasies and raptures
(concerning which elsewhere) ; and some external
signs whereby God has occasionally vouchsafed
to manifest the internal charity of His servants,
some of which we shall relate here, and reserve
others for another part of the work.
7. We quote then the following from the Re
port of the cause of S. Peter of Alcantara, tit. de
charit.: "The same is inferred from the way in
which he perseveringly kept his mind intent upon
God, so that he scarcely ever departed from a
sense of His presence, from divine meditation
and prayer, like ardent lovers, who day and
night think faithfully and intently of the beloved
object ; all which the witnesses prove to have
been true of him. This is moreover confirmed by
BENEDICT XIV. ON HEROIC VIRTUE. 115
the efficacious purpose and continual care he main
tained of himself and his actions and thoughts, so
as not to offend God, Whom he loved so much,
of which amongst other proofs he gave this, that
for three consecutive years he always walked
with his eyes shut, that he might not behold
anything to occasion his offending God, or to
distract his sense of God s presence." In the
Report of the cause of S. Isidore the same words
are used. From the Report on S. Louis Ber-
trand : " He found time for very frequent con
templation ; he persisted without weariness in
prayer ; when he spoke of divine things, his
soul and breast were so fervent with the flame
of divine love, that he showed himself ready
for all things, whether prosperous or adverse,
and, in fine, directed all his actions to God s
honour." From the Report on S. Mary Mag
dalene de Pazzi : " Whatsoever she spoke or
thought, she directed to God, to Whose will she
subjected all things, saying that she would never
do anything that was beside it, or in any way
contrary to it. Nothing gave her greater delight
than the desire that the worship and knowledge
of God should constantly grow and increase in
men s minds ; wherefore as often as she heard
read the deeds of men remarkable for Christian
holiness, who laboured either for the worship of
God or the increase of religion, she seemed to
leap with holy joy, and gave thanks unto God,
who had vouchsafed to do more wonderful things
by means of others than by her, because she
thought that greater glory would accrue to God
116 BENEDICT XIV. ON HEROIC VIRTUE.
from others than from her. On the other hand,
she was grievously distressed when she saw re
ligious communities grow cold in the Divine wor
ship, and withdraw from that strict path which
their first leaders began." From the Report on
S. Andrew Aveilini : " We have thought that
the eminent love of Andrew towards God is proved
by his great devotion to the Passion of our Lord
Jesus Christ ; for, as witnesses testify, he was
inflamed with very great devotion towards it, so
that he was wont to pour forth a flood of tears
when he spoke of it, which must be taken for a
very great sign of love, as tears flow from inti
mate affection in a person languishing with love."
In the Report of the cause of S. Teresa we read :
"In the first place, a clear proof of that divine
love is derived from the other virtues with which
God adorned her. Secondly, this is shown by the
fact of Blessed Teresa having her mind so per-
severingly fixed on God, that she scarcely ever
retired from His presence, and divine consider
ation and contemplation, like ardent lovers, who
faithfully and intently think of the beloved one
day and night. Thirdly, the same thing is clear
from this, that Blessed Teresa so loved God for
Himself alone, above all things, that she burned
with desire for the glory of God Almighty, and
laboured in the highest degree for its increase,
as well in the reformation of her order and its
propagation, as in the admirable doctrines which
she left us in her writings, and in all her actions
and heroic virtues. This also she showed in the
deep affliction which she suffered on account of
BENEDICT XIV. ON HEROIC VIRTUE. 117
the multitude of heretics, and her earnest desire
for their conversion, and the continual anxiety
in her prayers for them, that the glory of God
might be increased. Fourthly, her efficacious
resolution, her continual care of herself, of her
thoughts and actions, that she might not offend
God, so loved by her, not only by light and venial
faults, but even by an act short of perfection,
from which proceeded that rare vow and worthy
of observation, of always choosing to do that,
among many others, which should appear to her
to be more pleasing and acceptable to God.
Fifthly, the exceeding strength of the love of
God in Blessed Teresa is manifested by that
grievous sorrow which she felt during the absence
of Christ, so that her heart was, as it were, pierced
by an arrow, and she seemed to breathe out her
soul, and utter words expressive of her love, when
she could not endure the pangs of His absence
Eighthly, that which showed most clearly the ines
timable love of God for His spouse Teresa, was that
great and final violence of her love sensibly felt
by her at the approach of death, from which, ra
ther than from the strength of disease, she died."
In the Report on S. Ignatius, his eminent love
towards God was proved, 1st, by the extreme
zeal wherewith he took care, for the sake of God,
to benefit his neighbour in spiritual and temporal
things ; 2ndly, from the excellence of his other
virtues ; 3rdly, from the great diligence with
which he studied to keep his heart pure, so that
he examined his conscience most minutely sev
eral times a day, even concerning the trifling
118 BENEDICT XIV. ON HEROIC VIRTUE.
defects of his daily meditation ; 4thly, from his
meditations, and especially that which he was
wont to make to excite spiritual love in himself,
when, calling to mind all the benefits and special
gifts conferred upon him by God, he offered with
the greatest affection himself and everything he
had unto God ; lastly, from the direction of all
his thoughts, words, and actions to God, as his
last end. The same Auditors of the Rota, in
their Report in the cause of S. Francis Xavier,
have remarked as signs of the highest love of
God, strenuous observance of precepts and coun
sels, fervent colloquies with God, a casting away
of all fear in encountering perils and in under
taking arduous labours, a contempt of life and
death for the sake of God, and continual thinking
of Him. Some of the foregoing are recounted in
the Report on the cause of S. Francis Borgia ;
from that of S. Aloysius Gonzaga we extract
as follows : " This also shows the perfect love
towards God of that most loving youth, that
when he heard any one speak of God his face
kindled up vehemently, so that sometimes he
poured forth tears ; wherefore his companions
were obliged to turn the conversation, and his
superiors to forbid him to direct his thoughts
without intermission to divine subjects, in order
to avoid great injury to his bodily health."
Lastly, to mention some external signs of fervent
inward love and charity, beside tears, and other
remarkable signs, which we shall examine here
after more conveniently ; in the Report on S. Mary
Magdalene de Pazzi it is related that she was
BENEDICT XIV. ON HEROIC VIRTUE. 119
sometimes so carried away by the flame of divine
love, that she ran through the gardens and clois
ters, rent her garments, and with a holy rapture
would demand of the nuns that met her, whether
they too were consumed with this ardour of love ;
if they assented, she would embrace them ; but
if they denied it, then she would vehemently ex
cite them ; sometimes even she would seek the
fountain or the well, to bathe her arms and hands
in the cool wave, and sprinkle it on her bosom.
And in the Report in the cause of the servant of
God, Nicholas Fattore, we read, "The flame of
that love burnt so brightly in the breast of Nicho
las that he could not keep still, but when the
waters were frozen by the winter s cold, he would
go impatiently to lakes and fountains to assuage
the heat that consumed him, and casting himself
in the waves, would seek for coolness, whilst the
waves seemed to boil up from their very depths,
as though fire had approached them."
SECTION IV.
OF THE VIRTUE OF LOVE TOWARDS ONE S NEIGHBOUR, AND
ITS HEROICITY.
1. IN S. John (1 Ep. iv. 21) we read, "This
commandment we have from God, that he who
loveth God, love also his brother ;" from which
place S. Thomas infers that the habit of charity
does not only pertain to the love of God, but
that it also extends to the love of one s neigh-
120 BENEDICT XIV. ON HEROIC VIRTUE.
bour.* Elsewhere he teaches us t the reason,
and the manner of loving our neighbour ; the
reason, in that from charity we are bound to love
others, as they are very close to us, both because
of their being made naturally in the image of
God, and because of their being capable of glory.
The manner, in that we ought to love our neigh
bour for the sake of God, even as we ought also
to love ourselves for the sake of God ; since it is
right to yield to our neighbour in good, but not
in evil, just as we should please our own will
only in what is good ; and again, that we ought
to love our neighbour, not for our own profit or
pleasure, but in the way we desire what is good
for ourselves.
2. The precept of the lovo of our neighbour
resounds throughout the whole of the sacred
Scripture. Thus in Lev. xix. "Thou shalt love
thy friend as thyself," where the word "friend "
is not taken in a limited sense, but signifies
"neighbour," and Christ our Lord in S. John,
xiii. 34, says, " A new commandment I give unto
you : That you love one another, as I have loved
you, that you also love one another. By this
shall all men know that you are my disciples, if
you have love one for another." More may be
found in the commentaries on the sacred scrip
tures, and especially in those of Cornelius a Lapide
on this text, who discusses why this commandment
of love is called "new" by Christ. It is also
repeated in the same Gospel according to S. John,
xv. 12, "This is my commandment, that you love
* II. 2. qu. 25. art. 1. f II. 2. qu. 44. art. 7.
BENEDICT XIV. ON HEROIC VIRTUE. 121
one another, as I have loved you ;" which argu
ment the same Apostle pursues in his first canoni
cal epistle, (iv. 7,) " Dearly beloved, let us love one
another, for charity is of God. And every one
that loveth is born of God, and knoweth God.
He that loveth not knoweth not God ; for God is
charity. By this hath the charity of God ap
peared towards us, because God hath sent His
only-begotten Son into the world, that we may
live by Him. In this is charity ; not as though
we had loved God, but because He hath first
loved us, and sent His Son to be a propitiation
for our sins. My dearest, if God so loved us, we
also ought to love one another."
3. Certain so-called potential parts are assign
ed to the virtue of charity, viz., benevolence,
beneficence, and mercy : but the first, in its
supernatural aspect, is not distinguished from
charity, and beneficence implies acts correspond
ing to benevolence, and so elicited from charity ;
wherefore mercy alone will be a distinct virtue.
S. Thomas inquires* "Whether mercy is a vir
tue ;" and answers that mercy signifies sorrow
for another s misery ; then, so far as this sorrow
is a motion of the sensitive appetite, he says
that mercy is not a virtue, but a passion ; on
the other hand, it is a virtue if the motion of
the intellectual appetite, according to which any
one is pained by another s misfortune, be govern
ed by reason. The same holy doctor teaches,
that by charity we being united to God, are like
unto Him, and by a similitude of operation we
* II. 2. qu. 30. art. 3.
122 BENEDICT XIV. ON HEROIC VIRTUE.
are also assimilated to God, which takes place by
mercy, and he shows* that beneficence is an act
of charity, and is not a special virtue.
4. S. Thomas also (to follow out his doctrine)
explains! in what way almsgiving is an act of
charity. For he asserts that almsgiving is a
work whereby something is given to a needy
person from pity for God s sake, and so such an
act is properly speaking an act of mercy ; but
as mercy is an effect of charity, it follows that
almsgiving is an act of charity exercised by
mercy. Then he distinguishes the different kinds
of almsgiving, some of them being corporal, such
as feeding the hungry, giving drink to the thirsty,
clothing the naked, ransoming captives, harbour
ing the homeless, visiting the sick, and burying
the dead. Others are spiritual, such as instruct
ing the ignorant, counselling the doubtful, con
soling the sorrowful, correcting the sinner, sparing
those who offend us, bearing with the troublesome
and disagreeable, and praying for all. ScacchusJ
sets forth these works of mercy at length, and
infers that from these acts of charity in the heroic
degree towards one s neighbour an excellent argu
ment of holiness may be drawn, according to that
of Christ our Lord, Matt. xxv. 34, "Come, ye
blessed of My Father, possess you the kingdom
prepared for you from the foundation of the
world," where the reason he assigns is also drawn
from works of mercy ; and Scacchus adds
wisely, that inquiry is to be made concerning
* Qu. 31. art. 14, t Qu. 32.
t De not. et sign, sanct. 3. cap. 4.
BENEDICT XIV. ON HEROIC VIRTUE. 123
those in the causes of the servants of God, but
according to the state and condition of each.
For actions of this sort, which could be done by
a bishop, a prince, a secular clergyman, a parish
priest, or a servant of God in the married state,
-would of course be impossible for a servant of
God, as a cloistered nun, or a servant of God as
a regular, dependent on the will of his superior.
5. S. Gregory Nazianzen supplies us with an
heroic example of the love of our neighbour,
taken from the corporal works of mercy, in his
oration on S. Basil the Great. After describing
the miserable condition of the city of Csesarea
during a grievous famine, and the cruelty of the
wealthy in that calamity, he thus proceeds : " The
storehouses of the wealthy being laid open through
his prayers and entreaties, he does what the
Scripture speaks of, he breaks his bread to the
hungry, and satiates the poor with food, he feeds
them in famine, and fills the hungry souls with
good things. But how ? For this is no slight
portion of his praise. He gathered together all
those whom the famine had afflicted, some even
scarcely alive ; men and women, old men and
children, and the miserable of every age, and
having placed before them all kinds of food, herbs
and the salted meats of his country, well adapted
for filling the hungry, he then imitated the service
of Christ, who, having girt himself with a towel,
did not disdain to wash His disciples feet, and
by the help of his servants, refreshed the souls
and bodies of the poor, doing them honour while
he gave them their necessary food, thus both ways
124 BENEDICT XIV. ON HEROIC VIRTUE,
soothing them in their afflictions. Such was our
new procurator and second Joseph ; nay, we have
even more to say of him. For out of famine he
seeks gain, and by his goodness purchases Egypt,
disposing the season of plenty to meet that of
famine, and through the negligence of others be
comes himself well provided to meet it. He how
ever was charitable, and sought not for gain in
the disposal of timely food, considering only how
to obtain mercy for himself through the mercy
he showed to others, and how through the gift of
present food he might obtain for himself future
good." Like deeds are recorded of S. Paula by
S. Jerome, of S. Odilo by S. Peter Damiani, and
of S. Martin by S. Thomas of Villanova. S. Jer
ome says,* "Why should I tell of almost all
the riches of a great and noble house, once most
opulent, spent upon the poor ? Of a mind most
generous to all, and a goodness which even ex
tended to those whom she had never seen?
Which of the poor in dying was not wrapped in
garments supplied by her ? Which of the bed
ridden was not supported by her charity ? Then
indeed she sought out most diligently through
the whole city, and thought it a loss if any weak
and hungry person was maintained by food given
by any other. She lessened her sons inheritance,
and when friends reproached her, she would say
she left them a greater inheritance, even the
mercy of Christ." Again he says, " Her liberality
was beyond measure, and that she might refuse
assistance to none who sought it, she practised
* In epitaph. Paulse matris ad Eustoch. opp. 1. 1. n. 5. col. 687.
BENEDICT XIV. ON HEROIC VIRTUE. 125
usury upon usury. I confess my error ; when
she was so profuse in giving, I would reprove
her in the words of the Apostle, For I mean
not that others should be eased and you bur
dened, &c., (2 Cor. viii. 13,) and many things
of this kind, which she at once answered with
wonderful modesty and reserve, invoking God to
witness that she did all for His Name s sake, and
that this was what she wished, that she might
die a beggar, leave not a piece of money to her
daughter, and at her funeral be wrapped in a
winding-sheet given by another. At last she used
to say, I, if I am to beg, will find many who
will give to me. Yonder beggar, if he does not
get from me what I have it in my power to give
him, even from another s property, and if he dies
in consequence, from whom will his soul be re
quired? I wished her to be more cautious in
her domestic economy, but she, more ardent in
faith, was joined with her whole soul to her Sa
viour, and, poor in spirit, followed her poor Lord,
returning Him what she had received, being made
poor for His sake. In fine, she obtained what she
wished, and did leave her daughter in great debt,
which, though owing to this day, she is confident
that she will pay off, not by her own strength,
but by Christ s mercy." Again he says, "What
is more wonderful than this virtue, that a woman
of a noble and opulent family should through
faith give away all things, and be reduced almost
to extreme want!"
S. Peter Damiani, in the Life of S. Odilo,*
* P. 328.
126 BENEDICT XIV. ON HEROIC VIRTUE.
speaks thus : " Further, in almsgiving he was so
profuse, that some, when they saw him lavishing
everything without hesitation, called him not a
dispenser, but a prodigal. At one time especially,
when a severe famine was miserably afflicting the
territory of Aquitain, and reducing most of the
French provinces to great straits, the treasury
having been exhausted, and the stores of all kinds
of provisions almost spent, he broke up very many
of the sacred vessels, took away the splendid
church ornaments, and even did not spare the
crown which the emperor Henry had left him as
a memorial. To relieve, therefore, as far as he
could this bitter famine, he spent all he could
scrape together in sustaining and feeding the nee
dy." S. Thomas of Villanova* says of S. Martin,
bishop and confessor : " This therefore is a tes
timony of the excellent piety of S. Martin, that
beside all his episcopal revenues consumed in
charity alone, when he was catechumen he gave
half his cloak to a poor man, and again a whole
one when bishop offerings so grateful and ac
ceptable to God, that on the first occasion, Christ,
appearing with His angels in triumph, said to
those standing by, Martin, yet a catechumen,
hath clothed Me with this garment ; and on the
second, angels covered his bare arms with most
precious bracelets of gold and jewels."
6. Instances of heroic charity towards our
neighbour in spiritual works of mercy may be
easily found ; not to speak of others, in the ser
mon of S. Fulgentius on the first martyr, S. Ste-
* Cone. 2. p. 548.
BENEDICT XIV. ON HEROIC VIRTUE. 127
phen,* where, after observing that he prayed for
his enemies and blamed their cruelty, he says,
" That holy charity observed a patient endurance
in prayer which held forth a severe censure of
rebuke, and therefore that gentleness in prayer
deserved to be heard, for without charity there
was no severity in the rebuke ; and by this where
in praying or rebuking blessed Stephen main
tained charity, for every way he thought of the
salvation of those who were in error, and in the
condemnation which his prayer implied he showed
that his rebuke proceeded not from hatred, but
from love. Doing this, the blessed martyr showed
charity to those who were present, and left to
posterity a most profitable example ; for he show
ed the two-fold anxiety of the ecclesiastical dis
penser, that for the correction of the sinner, the
word of rebuke be not wanting together with
earnest prayer for him to God, that he who has
done evil may by correction be turned aside from
his evil ways, and by prayer to God may be help
ed ; and thus charity may utter justice with the
mouth that the sinner may be corrected, and
maintain patience in heart, that prayer for the
sinner may go forth with pure affection of love."
There are sermons on this subject by S. Peter
Damiani, one of which we shall quote, on S. Fi-
delis the martyr,t who, when he served in the
armies of this world, converted several of his
fellow-soldiers to the Christian faith. "He car
ried the standard of a celestial warfare whilst he
was in the camp, and whilst he seemed to serve
* Biblioth. Patr. Tom, ix. p. 108. t Opp. 1. 1. p. 277.
128 BENEDICT XIV. ON HEROIC VIRTUE.
amidst the troops of armed men, he was doing
all he could to win over his comrades to the
army of Heaven ; promising them not the belt
of earthly service, or the donation of a temporal
pay, but the citizenship of the heavenly court."
In another on SS. Donatus and Hilarion, where,
after saying that Donatus was disowned by his
heathen parents, he thus proceeds:* "But after
wards he brought them to the sacraments of the
Christian faith, and moreover by a fitting dispen
sation he sent them before him to martyrdom.
Wherefore is he rightly counted illustrious among
the blessed martyrs, who is at once the son and
the father of martyrs, a son indeed in the order of
nature, but a father in that of grace through the
gift of faith." Another he tells us of, S. Vitalis,
martyr, who when Ursicinus was beginning to
waver under the torture, encouraged and fortified
him by his exhortations, saying, "0 what effi
cacious and living words came out of his mouth !
What a burning flame of charity rolled in his
breast ! Do not, do not/ said he, physician
Ursicinus, who wert wont to heal others, wound
thine own self with the dart of death eternal.
Nor could that descend coldly into the heart of the
hearer, which by words of exhortation proceeded
from the fire of the Holy Ghost." S. Ambrose, or
whoever he was who wrote the fifty-third sermonf
on the Feast of the Apostles Peter and Paul, ex
plains that passage in the Acts which relates how
when Peter, having prayed about the sixth hour,
was hungry, and saw a certain vessel descending,
* P. 235. t S. Ambros. opp. Tom. ii. append, col. 464.
BENEDICT XIV. ON HEROIC VIRTUE. 129
as it were a great linen sheet let down from
heaven, and heard a voice say to him, "Arise,
Peter, kill and eat," and, taking occasion from
thence, describes in these words the burning spiri
tual charity of Peter : " It is worthy of admira
tion that the saint was hungry after prayer, for
hunger is usually dispelled by prayer. But to
me it appears that Peter hungered not for the
food of men, but for their salvation, and that he
was not tormented by bodily hunger, but by the
dearth of believers. For when the Jewish people,
faithless and unthankful, did not, at his preach
ing, believe in Christ, Peter suffered in some way
that hunger which his function produced within
him. For when he was hungry, that is, thinking
in the "higher parts" of his heart of the salvation
of the Jews, then was the vessel offered to him
filled with animals of diverse kinds, God, as it
were, speaking to him, Thou art hungry for the
Jews alone, behold I satisfy the hunger of thy
faith with various Gentile nations, for in truth,
the diverse animals collected in one vessel signify
the gathering together of the diverse nations of
the world into one church." Again, S. Gregory
Nazianzen,* speaking of S. Basil the Great, after
describing the errors which infected the people,
says that he not only poured forth fervent prayers
to God, but also severely rebuked those present
who erred, confuted the absent by his writings,
and became all things to all men, that he might
gain all unto Christ. " Those who engaged with
him he confounded by the weapons of his mouth,
* In. cit. orat. in S. Basil, m. p. 346.
130 BENEDICT XIV. ON HEROIC VIRTUE.
those at a distance by his writings Lastly,
because action is imperfect without speech, and
speaking is far removed from acting, he added
the aid of action to speech, going to some,
sending embassies to others, summoning others,
admonishing, reproving, rebuking, threatening, re
proaching, taking on himself a struggle for na
tions, for cities, and even for individuals, devising
every kind of salutary measures, from every
quarter applying a medicine to disease."
7. Other instances might easily be produced ;
but to return to the practical rules of beatification
and canonization. Amongst the signs of the or
dinary love of one s neighbour are the spending
of temporal goods in helping others, the under
taking of bodily labours in their behalf, the cor
recting of those in error, and bringing them back
to the way of salvation, the forgiving of injuries,
the caring for the salvation of souls, and the
wishing for them what we wish for ourselves.
Wherefore we read in S. Matthew, v. 7, " Blessed
are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy ;"
and xviii. 15, "But if thy brother shall offend
against thee, go and rebuke him ;" and Psalm
cxl. 5, " The just man shall correct mo in mercy,
and shall reprove me ;" and Matt. v. 44, " Love
your enemies, do good to them that hate you,
and pray for them that persecute and calumniate
you." And as one of the precepts is, "Love thy
neighbour as thyself," it follows that in the way
a man is bound above all things to provide for
the salvation of his own soul, according to that
of S. Matthew, xvi. 26, " For what doth it profit
BENEDICT XIV. ON HEROIC VIRTUE. 131
a man, if he gain the whole world, and suffer the
loss of his own soul ? Or what exchange shall a
man give for his soul ?" so also is he bound to
provide for the salvation of his neighbours. And
the signs and effects of heroic charity will be the
doing the same, whenever occasion offers, prompt
ly, easily, expeditiously, pleasurably, not once or
twice, but frequently, and above all, if the works
which are done be difficult ; so that from the
whole collectively it may be inferred, that the
man so working surpasses the ordinary mode of
working even in good men, as it is explained at
large by the authors cited, Cardinal de Lauraea
and Maderna.
8. The Auditors of the Rota are wont in their
Reports to separate the spiritual from the tem
poral works of mercy. Thus in the Report on
S. Teresa,* they have observed first her immense
desire for the salvation of her neighbours, whom
she longed to reconcile to God, and above all, to
convert heretics to Him ; secondly, her propaga
tion of the Reformed Order of Carmelites, that
the labours, penances, and continual prayers of
the religious might obtain from God the salva
tion of perishing souls ; thirdly, her conversion
of several noble persons, who were living in sin ;
fourthly, the extreme grief which oppressed her
when any distinguished preacher of the word of
God and labourer in the salvation of souls, de
parted this life, which grief she especially showed
at the death of S. Pius V., Pope, and of that
apostolical man, John Avila ; fifthly, her singular
* Tit. de immensa charitate erga Proximos.
132 BENEDICT XIV. ON HEROIC VIRTUE.
love of her enemies and persecutors, inasmuch
as she made all the excuses she could for their
defects, and would not let any one speak against
them, entreated God for their pardon, and inces
santly prayed in their behalf.
In the Report on S. Mary Magdalene of Pazzi
they relate in reference to spiritual works of mercy,
that before she was more than twelye years old,
and before she entered a convent, she was in the
habit of teaching ignorant girls the rudiments of
the Christian faith, and on every festival, assem
bling together a rustic multitude at her house,
she would explain to them the Lord s Prayer, the
Angelic Salutation, and the Apostles Creed. In
early youth, when she was living with the nuns
of the order of S. John, she constantly visited
the sick, exhorted them to frequent the sacra
ments, and comforted them with spiritual reading.
Also she assiduously commended to God the souls
of sinners and infidels, and gave salutary instruc
tion to the servants, male and female, of her rela
tives and kinsfolk whenever they came to her ; and
when two criminals, who were about to be hanged,
would not be converted to God, by her earnest
prayers she obtained from God that they should
change their minds, entreat pardon for their sins,
and die piously in the Lord, so that in an ecstasy
she saw one of them in the flames of Purgatory,
and the other more happily translated into the
empyreal habitation. In the Report on S. Igna
tius the Auditors have extracted from the pro
cesses, that he declined no labour when it was a
question of the honour of God and the salvation
BENEDICT XIV. ON HEROIC VIRTUE. 133
of souls ; that lie endeavoured to reconcile his
neighbours when disputing among themselves ;
that he took great pains that ignorant people and
children might learn Christian doctrine ; that he
studied, by word and example, to urge all whom
he could to penance and the way of salvation ;
that when thirty years of age, with a view to his
neighbour s edification, he applied himself to lite
rature ; and to defend the glory of God and procure
his neighbour s salvation, when he was severely
scourged at Barcelona, and being brought almost
to death s door, he blessed God, spared those who
smote him, and prayed for them. In the Report
on S. Francis Xavier, we read that throughout
his whole life he taught children the elements
of the Christian faith, more fully expounded the
Christian law to ignorant adults, recalled sin
ners with all his might to their duty, and dis
sipating the clouds of error, opened to infidels
the light of day by the preaching of the Gospel.
Of St. Peter of Alcantara they say, that he was
an unwearied and illustrious preacher of the
Gospel, and spent many years in preaching it,
from a zeal for the glory of God and the con
version of souls ; and that very often, or almost
always, when the poor came for alms to the gate
of the monastery, he not only relieved them
with alms, but taught them Christian Doctrine,
and nourished them with most holy admonitions
and counsels. To the effect we are now speak
ing of, the Auditors of the Rota have considered
in their Report of his cause the wonderful and
glowing sermons of S. James de la Marca, and
134 BENEDICT XI V. ON HEROIC VIRTUE.
his conversion of abandoned women. In the
Reports also in the cause of the Saints Philip
Neri and Cajetan, many things are related of the
conversion of sinners by their exhausting labours
and prayers to God. In the Report on the
servant of God, (now beatified,) Jerome JSmiliani,
mention is made of the conversion of harlots, and
the reclaiming of boys rambling about the streets,
to whom he supplied not only temporal but
spiritual relief. Of this latter work of mercy
something is said in the Report on S. Lewis Ber-
trand, and also of his sighs, tears, and the bloody
scourgings he inflicted on his body, which so
struck a certain woman of bad character, that
she was brought to amendment of life. Lastly,
it is noticed in the Report on S. Andrew Avel-
lini, that when he was appointed by the Arch
bishop of Naples to reform a convent of nuns,
that he did not desist from that work, though
struck on the face by a wicked man because of
it ; and that mindful of the Lord s precept to
love our enemies, he heartily forgave the mur
derers of his nephew.
10. This work would swell to an endless size
if we were to mention generally the arduous
and heroic acts of spiritual charity towards one s
neighbour, which occur in the Acta Sanctorum,
or speak of those acts which are related in the
bulls of canonization, or those in the Reports
of the Rota we have quoted, or in the Processes
which we have read with admiration on SS.
Francis Regis, Vincent of Paul, Camillus de
Lellis, B. Hyacinthe de Marescotti, and the
BENEDICT XIV. ON HEROIC VIRTUE. 135
Ven. Servant of God, Joseph d Matre Dei, all of
whose virtues were examined and approved by
the Supreme Pontiffs, whilst we discharged the
office of Promotor Fidei.
Wherefore, to conclude this chapter, the fol
lowing corporal works of mercy towards one s
neighbour, viz., continual visiting of the sick,
service done in hospitals, and infections caught
in that way, and the care of the sick undimin-
ished for that reason, frequent visiting of pris
ons, alms distributed to the poor, not in small
but in large quantities, the withdrawal of things
necessary for oneself, in order to help our neigh
bour, the founding and instituting of hospitals
for the sick, alms for the purpose being collected
in all quarters, and again of colleges for the right
education of youth, are all mentioned as argu
ments and signs of heroic corporal charity to one s
neighbour, in the Reports on S. Mary Magdalene
de Pazzi, S. Francesca Romana, SS. Peter of
Alcantara, Paschal Baylon, Andrew Avellini,
Felix de Cantalicio, Philip Neri, Cajetan, John
of God, Lewis Bertrand, Isidore, Ignatius, Xavier,
Aloysius Gonzaga, Francis Borgia, B. Jerome
jEmiliani, and the servants of God Nicholas Fat-
tore, and Julian & Sancto Augustino, not to men
tion those in the Reports on S. Charles Borromeo,
Thomas of Villanova, and in the Acts of S. Francis
de Sales, and S. Alphonso Mogrobesi, of which we
shall treat when we come to speak of the virtues
peculiar to the state of bishops.
136 BENEDICT XIV. ON HEROIC VIRTUE.
CHAPTER IV.
OF THE CARDINAL OR MORAL VIRTUES, PRUDENCE, JUS
TICE, FORTITUDE, AND TEMPERANCE, AND OF THOSE
ANNEXED TO THEM, AND OF THE IIEROICITY OF EACH.
As in the preceding chapter, in treating of the
theological virtues, to avoid confusion, we treated
of each separately, in the same way we shall here
treat of the cardinal or moral virtues separately
in order.
SECTION I.
OF THE VIRTUE OF PRUDENCE, AND ITS PARTS, AND OF THE
HEROIC DEGREE OF THE SAME.
PRUDENCE is denned to be right reason applied
to moral action ; and its object is whatever can
be reduced to action, and falls under choice and
free will. There is one prudence of the flesh,
and another of the spirit. We accordingly read
in Romans, viii. 6, "The wisdom of the flesh
is death ; but the wisdom of the spirit is life
and peace, because the wisdom of the flesh is
an enemy to God, for it is not subject to the
law of God." The meaning of these words, ac
cording to Estius in his commentary thereon, is
this, " to be wise, to care for, to be prudent in
those things which belong to the flesh, brings
death, deserves death, namely, eternal. To be
wise in, to care for those things belonging to the
BENEDICT XIV. ON HEROIC VIRTUE. 137
Holy Spirit, which desireth things contrary to
the flesh, brings us everlasting life." S. Augus
tine* observes, that bad men are sometimes
called in Holy Scripture prudent, but never
innocent. S. Basil treats of both kinds of pru
dence, .that of the flesh, and that of the spirit.!
" There is one prudence, the guardian of its
own advantage, and the observer of its neigh
bour s fraud, such as the serpent hath, which,
whatever danger it sees imminent, guards its
head above everything. Such seems to be that
shrewdness which is prone to secure its own
profit, and cheat the simple ; with such pru
dence was that wise one of this world and steward
of injustice in the Gospel endowed. But true
prudence is the knowledge of what ought and
what ought not to be done, which if any one
shall have righly pursued, he will never depart
from the path of duty and virtue." S. Thomas}
distinguishes prudence into three kinds ; the first
he says is a false, or so called prudence ; for
whereas a man is prudent who rightly disposes
of what is to be done towards a good end, he
who disposes for a bad end, of means adapted
to such an end, has a false prudence. The se
cond he calls a true kind of prudence ; for it dis
covers means adapted to a good end ; but it is
imperfect, either because that good which it takes
for an end, is not the universal end of the whole
of man s life, but one of some special and isola
ted business, or because it is deficient in the
* Lib. i. contr. Gaudent. c. 5.
t Homil. xi. in Proverb. * H. 2. qu. 47. art. 13,
138 BENEDICT XIV. ON HEROIC VIRTUE.
chief act of prudence, because the man endow
ed with it judges well, even of matters pertain
ing to the whole of life, but does not teach effec
tually concerning them. Lastly, he sajs the
third kind is true and perfect prudence, which
directs, judges, and teaches by right counsels
to a good end pertaining to the whole of life ;
and that the first prudence is found in sinners
only ; the second, which is imperfect, and applies
only to a particular end, is common to the bad
and the good ; and the third is found in the just
alone. This is treated of at length by the Au
ditors of the Rota, in their Reports in the causes
of S. Lewis Bertrand, S. Peter of Alcantara, and
S. Teresa. Of true prudence it is said in Proverbs,
iv. 5, " Get wisdom, get prudence ; forget not,
neither decline from the words of my mouth.
Forsake her not, and she shall keep thee ; love
her, and she shall preserve thee. The beginning
of wisdom, get wisdom, and with all thy posses
sion purchase prudence. Take hold on her, and
she shall exalt thee : thou shalt be glorified by
her, when thou shalt embrace her. She shall
give to thy head increase of graces, and protect
thee with a noble crown."
2. This last prudence, of which alone we
speak, is the law of all the moral virtues, ac
cording to S. Thomas,* and of the theological
virtues also is it the rule, and it administrates
their exercise, as Bernardino Rosignoli,! of the
Company of Jesus, shows at length, speaking as
II. 2. qu. 166. art. 2.
t In tract, de actionibus virtutis lib. ii. cap. 2. et. sqq. cap. f>. p. 244.
BENEDICT XIV. ON HEROIC VIRTUE. 139
follows : " The actions of all the other virtues
belong to prudence ; for neither is Christian pru
dence perfect, if the other virtues are absent, yea,
if even one of them is wanting. As, therefore,
prudence is, as it were, a mark and token of
each of the virtues, so in turn, the actions of
each of the virtues are witnesses and heralds of
prudence:" for which cause S. Gregory places
the measure of prudence in the actions of the
other virtues, for from the influence of these its
greatness is understood.
3. The acts of prudence are three : consulta
tion, decision, and command ; for to search out
the means adapted to gain the formal end of
such and such a virtue, pertains to prudence by
an act of consultation. Decision follows consul
tation, for as soon as the intellect has weighed
the reasons on both sides, as to choosing this or
that means, it immediately makes a decision that
such and such means are to be chosen. Lastly,
by an act of command, it orders that this means
be used, that the operation of any virtue may
be directed to its due end. And although these
three acts relate to the virtue of prudence, yet
an act of command, as S. Thomas explains at
length, is properly elicited by the habit of pru
dence.*
4. Of the parts of prudence, some are inte
gral, others potential, others subjective, to use
the language of the schools. The integral, or
quasi-integral parts, are memory, which is the
knowledge of things past ; understanding, or the
* IT. 2. qu. 47. art. 8.
140 BENEDICT XIV. ON HEROIC VIRTUE.
knowledge of things present ; docility, or the
knowledge of something by the help of another s
teaching ; sagacity, or the knowledge of it by
one s own discovery ; reason, or knowledge gained
by inference ; foresight, or the appointment of
fit means to the right end ; circumspection, or
the observation of the circumstances of the bu
siness ; caution, or the devising of stratagems
against any obstacles or hindrances to the pro
duction of an act of virtue.*
5. The potential are, as it were, certain instru
ments by which acts of prudence are perfected ;
and they are good counsel, [evpovKla] the work
of which is to advise well ; judgment, (avveais) the
work of which is to judge according to ordinary
laws ; discernment, (71^97) the work of which is
to judge from higher principles beyond ordinary
laws, according to natural reason, as cases or
circumstances may demand.f
6. The subjective parts of this virtue are four :
monastic prudence, which is concerned with the
good of the individual ; economic, with the good
of the house or family ; political, with the good
of the city, commonwealth, or kingdom ; and
military, which directs in warfare a multitude
assembled for a time to defend a country from
enemies, and to repel their attacks, according to
S. Thomas, \ with whom the Auditors of the Rota
agree in their Report in the cause of S. Pius V.,
printed in the last and posthumous volume of
the Annals of Bzovius, and in their Report in the
* S. Thorn, ii. 2. qu. 48. art. 1.
t Ib. qu 51. art. 14. i Ib. qu. 50. art. 1. sqq.
BENEDICT XIV. OX HEROIC VIRTUE. 141
cause of S. Thomas of Villanova after Conte-
lorims.*
7. Those who treat of the canonization of saints,
and especially of the heroicity of prudence con
gruously with what we have said of heroicity in
general, teach that the acts of ordinary Christian
prudence are, to consult, decide, and enjoin, con^
cerning means to a supernatural end ; acts of
heroic Christian prudence, are to exercise the
same acts to the same end, but in circumstances
of difficulty, with ease, dispatch, and pleasurable
feeling. f The more common opinion among them
is, that this ease, readiness, and pleasure originate
in the habit of prudence, and in the gift of the
Holy Spirit, called the "gift of counsel," as that
word in Holy Scripture signifies decision and com
mand as well as consultation. Thus Eph. i. 11,
"According to the counsel of His will;" which
is explained to this effect by Rosignoli,J Cardinal
de Laursea,! an( ^ Matthseucci.|| Lastly, they con
clude that inquiry need not be made of all the
subjective parts of prudence, in every cause of
every servant of God, but of those only which
the servant of God, according to the tenor of
his life, had an opportunity of exercising. H
8. Instances of the monastic, economic, and
political prudence have been collected by Cardinal
* De canoniz. SS. p. .552.
t Cardin. de Laursea, 3. lib. Sent. Tom. xii. disp. 32. ar. 13. num.
386 ; Maderna, Theolog. Tom. ii. tr. 6. qu. 3. a. 7. num. 7.
t De action, virtut. lib. ii. c. i. p. 179.
Ib. disp. 32. art. 3. i. num. 381, 383.
H Practic. Theol. Canon. Tit. ii. c. 3. 2 1. num. 28.
1 Scacch. de not et sign..Sanct. sect. iv. c. 1, p. 234.
142 BENEDICT XIV. ON HEROIC VIRTUE.
de Laursea,* who well observes, in accordance
with what we have said above, that the acts of
all the other virtues in the heroic degree are
directed by prudence in the heroic degree, and
hence whatever is said of the heroicity of the
other three moral virtues, justice, temperance,
and fortitude, applies also in proof of this. Of
the prudence of S. Adelard, Abbot of Corbey, we
read this in his Life, by S. Paschasius Radbertus,
in the Bollandists :f " Moreover, so great was
his prudence that it seemed like a fountain of
wisdom to flow forth from his soul. He saw at
once the past, the present, and the future ; so
that he saw beforehand in details what the coun
sel of God declared should be done and followed."
S. Gregory Nazianzenj thus commends the pru
dence of S. Basil, "Who, like him, had grown
grey in prudence even before grey hairs : for by
these does Solomon describe old age. Who among
young men or old was equally venerable ? I speak
not of those within our memory, but of those
also who lived in past ages. Who abounded more
than he in doctrine, by reason of good habits of
life? Who united greater learning with good
ness of living ?" S. John Chrysostom^ extols the
heroic prudence of S. Paul. Where the Apostle,
teaching the Romans, reproved them for passions
which ought not to be named, Chrysostom, ad
miring his prudence, says, "Here indeed the
prudence of Paul is deserving of admiration ;
* In 3. lib. sent. t. 12. disp. 32. art. 13.
t Jan. 2. cap. v. num. 16. p. 99.
1 Orat. 20. de laud. S. Basil.
Horn. iv. in cap. i. ad Romanes.
BENEDICT XIV. ON HEROIC VIRTUE. 143
having to speak of two contrary things, he ac
quitted himself therein with all exactness ; he
was anxious to speak chastely, and at the same
time to sting his hearers. Both these it was
not possible to accomplish, for one was in the
way of the other. For if you make use of chaste
expressions you cannot touch the hearers, and if
you would speak with vehemence, you will be
compelled to speak nakedly and distinctly. But
that prudent and holy soul was able to do both
perfectly, in the name of nature and in the strength
of his accusations, and using that, as it were, a
veil, that the form of his speech might be chaste.
Then after he had first rebuked the women, he
proceeded to do the same with the men." Many
other illustrations of heroic prudence will be pro
duced in the progress of this work, and some
will be drawn at once from the Acts of Canoni
zation. In the Report on the cause of S. Isidore
the husbandman, the Auditors of the Rota
observed, that having chosen the honest and
laborious work of agriculture, to support him
self and his family, he so distributed his time
during the day, as to devote the first hours
of the morning to hearing mass, visiting the
churches, to most fervent prayer, and to the
worship of God, whilst the rest of the day ho
spent in his labours as husbandman. In the
Report in the cause of the servant of God, (now
the blessed,) ^Emilian, they say that he, to de
liver himself from the mire of sins, wherewith
he was overwhelmed, attempted the business, not
by setting upon them all at once, but, as it
144 BENEDICT XIV. ON HEROIC VIRTUE.
were, weakening their force by division, and so
planning their destruction. This he happily
effected, so that when one had been completely
vanquished and overthrown, then he challenged
another to the conflict, and did not desist till,
having completely cleared it away by the exer
cise of the opposite virtue, that virtue was firmly
seated in his soul, and then in like manner he
proceeded successfully to the rest. In the Report
in the cause of S. John of God, his heroic pru
dence is proved by this, among other things, that
he arranged his course of life in such a way as
to remove all the obstacles which might have
either embarrassed him, or made him less active
in the way of the Lord. Matthseucci* prosecutes
the same subject as follows : " Hence he is to
be considered a hero in monastic prudence who
shows it forth in the government of his sensual
and rational appetite, in his contempt for earthly
things, and in the direction of his thoughts and
works towards a supernatural end. If by the
example of his life, by his humility, devotion,
and his exercise of other virtues he wins for him
self the admiration, respect, and reverence of
wise and good men. If beyond this he adds the
more difficult and arduous counsels and extra
ordinary works, as the most preferable helps to
faith, to the exactest observance of precepts, or
performs similar deeds, which by those who are
only ordinarily prudent are not usually done."
9. The same Acts of Canonization also supply
us with instances of economic prudence, espe-
* Cit. op. tit. 2. c. 3. 1. n. 23.
BENEDICT XIV. ON HEROIC VIRTUE. 145
cially in the Reports on S. James de la Marca,
Cajetan, Ignatius, Teresa, Philip Neri, and Mary
Magdalene de Pazzi ; either because they found
ed regular orders, or because they so governed
the regulars subjected to them, as to bring them
by deeds and examples to the path of salvation ;
or because they gave salutary counsels, by the
help of which sinners were converted to God, or
the good made wonderful progress in the ex
ercise of Christian virtues. In the Report Jin
the cause of S. Ignatius, the testimony of the
Supreme Pontiff, Gregory XIII., is introduced,
who says, in his Bull of Confirmation of the
Society of Jesus, that the blessed Father Igna
tius had, by the co-operation of the Holy Spirit,
adapted suitable means to the end he proposed to
himself ; viz., the defence and propagation of the
Catholic religion, and the profit of souls. In the
Report in the cause of S. Teresa, it is stated,
that she, with a sweet prudence and dexterity,
undertook the great work of the reform of the
order of S. Mary of Mount Carmel, foresaw that
many would oppose her, overcame all the
hinderances of the devil, perfected her work
in the Lord, enacted laws and constitutions,
with such a mixture of sweetness and austerity,
that it may surely be believed, that in making
them she had the Divine illumination ; and, fi
nally, by precept and exhortation used them
wonderfully in governing monasteries of religious
men and women. In the Report in the cause of
S. Philip Neri, it is related that he was most
prudent in giving spiritual counsel ; that the
10
146 BENEDICT XIV. ON HEROIC VIRTUE.
supreme pontiffs themselves, Gregory XIII.,
Gregory XV,, and Clement VIII., many car
dinals and prelates of the Roman court, and
others received from him most salutary and holy
advice in difficult matters, which advice proved
felicitous. Lastly, in the Report in the cause of
S. Mary Magdalene de Pazzi, it is said, that she
furnished most apt remedies to get rid of faults,
and made the largest room for virtues, and that
she frequently restored to solid peace of mind
young persons subject to temptations, whom their
confessors put under her direction. For we read
in Exodus xxviii. 3, " And thou shalt speak to
all the wise of heart, whom I have filled with
the spirit of wisdom, that they may make
Aaron s vestments, in which he being conse
crated, may minister to Me." Whence the Gloss
says, " Who made these vestments, because they
were the foremost in the study of the virtues,
and gave examples to others." On this head,
Matthseuccius observes,* "In the government of
a family, he is said to be possessed of the heroic
degree of prudence, who is most eminent in
directing it with a view to a supernatural end,
who most diligently educates all his household
in the fear of the Lord, and in moral discipline,
who has such an urgent and anxious zeal for
their salvation, that he pretermits nothing where
by they may be continually directed towards
God."
10. Lastly, examples of political prudence are
to be found in the Reports in the causes of
* Loc. cit. n. 25.
BENEDICT XIV. ON HEROIC VIRTUE. 147
SS. Pius V., Charles Borromeo, and Thomas of
Villanova, of whom hereafter.
11. In S. Matthew s Gospel Christ says, x. 16,
"Be je therefore wise as serpents, and simple
as doves ;" and in the epistle to the Romans, xvi.
19, we read, "I would have you to be wise in
good, and simple in evil." S. Thomas thus
describes simplicity,* "It is the opposite of
duplicity, whereby a man has one thing in his
heart, and showeth another outwardly." Of
the same in conjunction with prudence, S. Gre
gory says in one of his sermons,t " On the
other hand, the wisdom of the just is to feign
nothing for ostentation, to open their meaning
by their words, to love the truth as it is, to
avoid falsehood, to do good freely, rather to
bear evil than to inflict it, to seek no revenge
for injury, to count reproach for the truth s sake
as gain. But this simplicity of the just is de
rided, because by the wise ones of this world
the virtue of purity is believed to be folly." And
S. John Chrysostom, j when he had extolled
simplicity, said, " For who doth not marvel when
he sees a man simple in his ways ? Or who
would not be bound unto him that hath no
craftiness?" He then adds, "But say you there
is need of prudence? What also, I ask, is sim
plicity but prudence ? for when you suspect
no evil, no evil can touch you. When nothing
troubles you, you cannot remember injuries.
If any one insults you, you feel no pain ; or
* II, 2. qu. 109. art 2.
t Lib. 10. in Job. opp. te, i. c. 29. col. 360.
t Horn. 7, in Act. app. t. 9. p. 59.
148 BENEDICT XIV. ON HEROIC VIRTUE.
speaks against you, you suffer not ; or envies you,
you do not take it ill. Simplicity is a certain
compendious road to philosophy." Simplicity
therefore seems necessary to constitute perfect
prudence : and true simplicity of the heart con
sists in this, that all duplicity being excluded,
whereby a man says one thing, and means an
other, nothing of our own is sought in any
of our actions, but only the glory of God, or
the salvation of our neighbour, or both.
12. Now the first mark of simplicity is this,
that a man show a certain evenness of man
ner to all, and in the presence of all, according
to that in Prov. x. 9, " He who walketh sincere
ly, walketh confidently." The second, that he
have the same readiness to serve in works of
charity, as he shall be able, the small as well
as the great, the poor as well as the rich, with
out any respect of persons. The third, that ho
always conduct himself in the same way, in
whatever place, public or private. The fourth
mark of simplicity consists in a continual cheer
fulness and alacrity of countenance, which hath
its origin in alacrity of the conscience : " Tis
tranquil, because he is sweet to all, and grievous
to none, using his friend for favour, his enemy
for patience, all to wish well unto, and whom
he can, to benefit," says Hugo.* And Mattaf
well observes, "Nor must we omit among the
marks of simplicity, that a man excuse not his
sin or fault, but candidly confess it." S. Gregory J
* Lib. 3. de anima. c. 9. opp. t. 2.
t De Canon. SS. p. 2. c. 16. num. 22.
* 3 Part. Pastoral, c. 11. opp. t. 2. col. 47.
BENEDICT XIV. ON HEROIC VIRTUE. 149
uses the similitude of a hedge-hog on this subject,
when he says, commenting on the words of Isaias,
"There the hedge-hog had its den," "By the
name of hedge-hog is signified the duplicity of
an impure mind, craftily defending itself, because
at the moment the hedge-hog is being caught,
you see its head and feet, and its whole body ;
but afterwards when it has been caught, it coils
itself up into a ball, hiding its head, and dou
bling its feet inwards, so that its form is lost in
the hands of him who holds it. Such truly,
such are impure minds, when they are found
out in their excesses. The head of the hedge
hog is discerned, because the commencement
of the sinner s fault is seen, again the feet are
visible, because all the steps which led to his
crime are known ; and yet by sudden excuses,
the impure mind, as it were, doubles its feet
inwards, when it hides all the footsteps of ini
quity ; it hides its head, when by wonderful
defences of itself, it contrives to show that it
never even began any evil, and remains, as it
were, coiled up in the hand of him who holds
it. For when he would reprove, he suddenly
loses possession of everything he knew, and
holds the sinner rolled up in his own conscience ;
but now, and he saw it all plainly, an instant
after, a wicked defence has taken away his know
ledge of the fact. The hedge-hog therefore has
its den in the wicked, because the duplicity
of a malicious soul coils itself up and lies hid
in the darkness of its defence." Finally, not to
omit altogether the writers on Canonization, we
150 BENEDICT XIV. ON HEROIC VIRTUE.
cite what follows, on the subject of prudence and
simplicity, from the Report in the cause of S.
Francis de Paula, by James Simoneta, Auditor
of the Rota, and afterwards Cardinal : " Divine
truth, in Matth. x. 16, teaches us that man ought
to be wise as the serpent and simple as the dove.
The wisdom of the serpent is to take heed of the
snares of those who would entangle it, to leave
no room for violence or fraud ; but the simplicity
of the dove is to injure no one, to lay no snares
or deceive ; for holy men do whatever they do in
the presence of God." And in the Report on
S. Philip Neri, after stating that he was en
dowed with the greatest prudence they go on
to speak of his simplicity, and say that from
his mouth was always heard the pure truth
without any fiction or fraud, that he had
an absolute horror of lies, and that he severe
ly reproved liars, or those who excused them
selves for any faults committed, and was ex
ceedingly glad when any one thought him a
fool. The same thing we read at length in his
first Life by Galloni in the Bollandists,* "God
adorned Philip with the greatest prudence, which
chiefly shone in transacting things for the glory
of God, and in giving counsel. To hide this vir
tue, he used to feign himself simple and fool
ish, that he might say with the Apostle, " We are
fools for Christ s sake." This one thing there
fore he tried with all his might to attain, to
conceal the highest prudence with a certain
show of feigned simplicity and folly."
* Ad diem 26. Maii c. 19. n. 227. p, 524.
BENEDICT XIV. ON HEROIC VIRTUE. 151
SECTION II.
OF THE VIRTUE OP JUSTICE AND ITS PARTS, AND OF THE
HEROIC DEGREE OF THE SAME.
1. To prudence succeeds justice, which may
be taken in a twofold sense, a wide and a con
fined signification. If in the former, it is taken
to signify any act of virtue done in perfect rec
titude, and in this sense the good men of the
Scripture are called just, for Christ our Lord
says to His disciples, Matt. vi. 1, "Take heed
that you do not your justice before men," and
again, v. 20, "Unless your justice abound more
than that of the Scribes and Pharisees, you shall
not enter into the kingdom of heaven." Where
fore, when in Genesis, vi. 9, Noe is called a just
man, S. John Chrysostom subjoins, "Under this
appellation he includes all virtue; for we are
wont to give this name just to those who ex
ercise virtue of every kind." S. Jerome* says,
that all the virtues are summed up under the
one name of justice. To justice, taken in this
sense, which is called legal justice, pertains the
keeping of all laws ; and hence arises a remark
able controversy among philosophers and theolo
gians, whether this legal justice is a special vir
tue, and therefore separate from the others, or
rather indistinguishable from them, and arising
from the union of them all. Cardinal d Aguirre,t
treating of the subject at length, teaches that
* Ad Demetriaclera.
t In tract, de virt. et vitiis disp. 10. qu. 4. ? 1. et sqq. See further
S. Thos. in lib. 5. Eth. lect. 2. and Summa II. 2. qu. 58 art. 5, 6.
152 BENEDICT XIV. ON HEROIC VIRTUE.
legal justice may be understood in two senses,
first, as a certain special virtue, which looks at
the general good as its proper object, and directs
to that general good all the other particular
virtues, like a universal cause ; secondly, not
as a universal cause within the class of virtues,
but as an effect, namely, as any particular virtue
whatever, ordered or directed by legal justice,
to the general good of the state ; which being
premised, he infers that legal justice, although
in its nature and essence it is a particular
virtue, and of a certain species, yet by extension,
that is, by its office of commanding and directing,
it is nothing else but virtue in general. For
though legal justice, which is universal virtue
in operation, commands or directs particular
virtues, such as fortitude and temperance, to
wards a general good prescribed by laws, it
does not thence follow that the virtue of forti
tude or temperance is changed, but only that
there is added to them an express direction to
the good of the commonweal, their species and
essence remaining unaltered.
2. But if justice be taken in a more confined
signification, we define it to be " a constant and
perpetual will to give unto every one his right ;"
which definition is taken from Ulpian,* and is
approved of and explained by S. Thomas,!
where he says, that this definition would be com
plete, if instead of act, (implied in the word will,)
habit be substituted. "It is a complete defi-
* In 1. justitia. ff. de justitia et jure.
+ II. 2. qu. 58. art. 1.
BENEDICT XIV. ON HEROIC VIRTUE. 153
nition of justice, except that it puts the act
instead of the habit, which is specified by the
act, for a habit is designated according to the
act. And if we wished to reduce this definition
to the proper form, we might say that justice
is a habit, according to which a man renders
to each person his right, with a constant and
perpetual will. This in a manner is the same
as that given by Aristotle, who says, (Ethics, v.
5,) justice is a habit, according to which a man
is apt to do as a just man would choose to do."
3. S. Thomas further observes, that as the
name of justice signifies equality, justice neces
sarily is a relative virtue, for nothing is equal
to itself, but to another object ; and therefore
justice is distinguished from fortitude and tem
perance, not merely in its subject-matter, for
titude being concerned with bearing pain, tem
perance in restraint from pleasure, and not in
an equality between two distinct terms ; but
also in that fortitude and temperance are virtues
of a man with reference to himself, justice with
reference to another, as contradistinguished from
himself.
4. The parts of justice are divided into sub
jective and potential. The former, which are
related to justice as species to their genus, re
tain, and participate in, the true idea and defi
nition of particular justice in a twofold respect,
either in that of the whole to its parts, or in
that of one part to another, as S. Thomas acutely
shows.* And hence it is that particular jus-
* II. 2. qu. 61. art. 1.
154 BENEDICT XIV. ON HEROIC VIRTUE.
tice is either commutative or distributive. Com
mutative justice preserves absolute equality be
tween two parties ; distributive preserves the
equality of proportion, so that each party receives
according to his merits or necessity ; and of both
kinds of justice, distributive and commutative, the
Apostle speaks, (Rom. xiii. 7,) " Render therefore
to all their dues, tribute to whom tribute is due,
custom to whom custom, fear to whom fear,
honour to whom honour : owe no man anything."
5. The potential parts of justice are given by
S. Thomas and the theologians as follows : re
ligion, piety, observance, obedience, gratitude,
vindication, truth, friendliness, affability, and
liberality. For all these virtues, since they
exist between two parties, and stand relatively,
are referred to the virtue of justice, although
on another head they fall short of the idea of
justice ; as some of them imply something due,
and due in the strict sense of the word, but
fail of constituting equality ; others constitute in
deed an equality, but are not due and obligatory
in the full sense of the word, as will be apparent
on consideration, and is well explained by S.
Thomas,* who also teaches! that the precepts
of the Decalogue pertain to justice, as the
first three concern acts of religion, the fourth
acts of piety, and the other six acts of ordinary
justice, which applies to parties who are equal.
6. Of religion, S. Thomas treats at length,}
and shows that religion is properly in order
* II. 2. qu. 80. art. unic. t Id. qu. 122, art. 6.
t Id. II. 3. qu. 81. art. 1. sqq.
BENEDICT XIV. ON HEROIC VIRTUE. 155
unto God ; wherefore it is defined to be a
virtue, which gives unto God the worship due
to Him, as the first principle of all things.
Of piety he remarks,* that even as religion is
a certain protestation evincing the faith, hope,
and charity whereby man is primarily directed
unto God, so also piety is a certain protestation
evincing the charity which a man has to his
parents and country. Observance is a virtue di
rected to superiors and other eminent persons who
govern men, or are qualified to govern them.
Obedience, the same Angelical doctor defines to
be a virtue, whereby we discharge acts enjoined
by a superior, because they are enjoined.! Grati
tude is a virtue which returns a favour to bene
factors ; and because we do not owe to every
one from whom we receive a benefit, that which
we owe to God, or to our father, or to any per
son of excellent dignity ; it follows hence that
next after religion, whereby we pay unto God
the worship due to Him, and piety, whereby we
honour our parents, and observance, by which we
honour persons of dignity, comes gratitude, which
returns favours to our benefactors, as we have
said, and as S. Thomast well explains. Vindi
cation is a special virtue, and is among the po
tential parts of justice, and per tains to the amend
ment of sinners, and the maintenance of justice
and the honour of God ; whence it is said in
1 Peter, ii. 13, "Be ye subject therefore to every
human creature for God s sake ; whether it be
* II. 2. qu. 101. art. 1. sqq.
+ Qu. 104. art. l. j II. 2. qu. 106. art. 1.
156 BENEDICT XIV. ON HEROIC VIRTUE.
to the king as excelling, or to governors as
sent by him for the punishment of evil-doers."
Truth is that whereby a man shows himself
both in his manner of life and discourse to be
exactly what he is, and does not affect either
more or less than the reality. Of this we read
in Ps. xiv. 2, "He that walketh without blem
ish, and worketh justice ; he that speaketh truth
in his heart, and hath not used deceit in his
tongue." Friendliness or affability is a virtue
which keeps up propriety of demeanour ; for
man being naturally a social animal, it is right
that he should demean himself fitly with respect
to others, in the ordinary intercourse of words
and deeds. Lastly, as according to S. Augus
tine,* it pertains to virtue to make a good use
of those things of which we may make a bad
use ; and as we may make a good and a bad use,
not only of those things which are within us,
such as the faculties and passions of the mind,
but also of those things which are without us, viz.,
things of this world given us for the sustentation
of life, and this pertains to liberality, it follows
that liberality is to be numbered among the
virtues and the potential parts of justice.
7. These things are all taken out of S. Thomas,t
who also explains how all these virtues are po
tential parts of justice. This doctrine is illus
trated at great length by the fathers of Sala
manca,! Maurus,^ and others who have written
* In lib. de libero arbitrio.
t S. Thos. II. 2. qu. 108, 109, 117.
i Salmantic. in cursu Theolog. t. 3. in arbore prsedicamentali.
Curs. Theolog. torn. ii. qu. 193.
BENEDICT XIV, ON HEROIC VIRTUE. 157
on canonization, such as Scacchus,* Cardinal do
Laursea,t Matta,J Matthseucci,^ Maderna,|[ and
the Auditors of the Rota, in their Reports in the
causes of S. Andrew Avellino, S. Thomas of Vil-
lanova, S. Lewis Bertrand, S. Pius V., S. Paschal
Baylon, S. Cajetan, S. Peter Regalati, and S.
Mary Magdalene de Pazzi, and in their Reports
in the causes of the Blessed Jerome JEmilian and
the servant of God, Nicholas Fattore.
S. It has been well observed by Scacchus,H
that it is necessary in the causes of the ser
vants of God to inquire concerning justice and
its parts, yet this is to be done with a proper
regard to their condition and state of life seve
rally, as we have said before. "Wherefore in
discussing the actions of the servants of God,
it remains to be considered how they demeaned
themselves in the observance and practice of
justice, distributive as well as commutative, ac
cording to the laws of the state in which they
dwelt. Yet so, however, as not to require by
any means from every servant of God that he
shall have practised every act of justice ; for
what acts of justice shall a solitary, far removed
from the commerce of men, be able to perform ?
but with reference to the circumstances and con
dition of each, those acts only which belong to
his rank and condition, whether a subject or a
* De not. et sign. Sanctit. 4. c. 2.
t In 3 lib. sent. t. 2. disp. 32. art. 14.
t De canoniz. SS. part ii, c. 8,
Pract. Theol. Canon, tit. 2. c, 3. I 2.
II Curs. Theolog, torn, ii. tr. 6. art. 8.
T De not. et sign. Sanctit. 4. c. 2. p, 247.
158 BENEDICT XIV. ON HEROIC VIRTUE.
prelate, who ought to have at heart in a special
manner the practice of distributive justice."
Thus in the Report of the cause of S. Alojsius
Gonzaga, the Auditors of the Rota say, that hav
ing proved his prudence, they will treat of his
justice, so far as that virtue could be exempli
fied in him, considering his character, condition,
and time of life ; and in that in the cause of
Nicholas Fattore, they say of his liberality,
(which is a potential part of justice,) that as
he could not, being a poor religious, give money
to the needy, he at least did what he could for
his neighbours, with the means with which charity
supplied him, and enriched their souls with high
er goods. To take the instance of gratitude, it
would be absurd to look in every servant of God
for such gratitude as that evinced by S. Pius V.,
who, when elevated to the Papacy, exhibited gra
titude and liberality to very many for trifling
kindnesses they had done him, which they them
selves had forgotten. As he had been made
cardinal by Paul IV., he caused his body to be
removed from an obscure place where it had
been buried, and to be splendidly entombed in the
church of S. Maria sopra Minerva ; he restored
their rank to the Caraffas, kinsmen of Paul IV.,
who were in disgrace ; he supported the members
of his household and his servants, some of whom
he maintained, and others he kept about his own
person ; John Jerome Albano, Count of Bergamo,
and a most noble defender of the sacred tribunal
of the Inquisition, and through whose means
he had escaped death at the hands of heretics,
BENEDICT XIV. ON HEROIC VIRTUE. 159
he sent for to Rome, and made Protonotary
Apostolic, governor of Ancona, and a cardinal ;
he recognised, on the day in which he took
possession of the Lateran Basilica, while passing
the royal court, a poor countryman among the
surrounding throng, who sixteen years before had
concealed him in his cottage when heretics were
seeking for him that they might kill him, and
having sent for him, gave him one thousand
pieces of gold to portion his daughters, and five
hundred for himself, as we learn from Gabutius
and Catena, and the acts of his canonization.
8. S. Bernard,* speaking of justice, says, " One
kind of justice is so narrow that you cannot stir
without falling into sin, and it consists in not
placing ourselves above our equals, or on a level
with our superiors, and its definition is, to ren
der to each man his own. Another larger and
wider kind, is not to place ourselves on a level
with our equals, or above our inferiors, for as
it is great and grievous pride to claim superiority
over our equals, or equality with those above
us, so to place ourselves lower than our equals,
or on a level with our inferiors, is a sign of great
humility. But the greatest and fullest justice,
is to take a lower place than those really beneath
us, as it is the most intolerable pride to prefer
ourselves to those above us. What John said, I
ought to be baptized of Thee, was an instance
of the first kind of justice ; he submitted himself
to his superior. What Christ did was of full
justice, as He bowed Himself under the hands of
* Serra. in Oct. Epiph. n. 4. col. 811. opp. 1. 1.
160 BENEDICT XIV. ON HEROIC VIRTUE.
His servant." S. Bernard alludes to the words
of our Lord when He said to John, Matth. iii. 15,
" Suffer it to be so now : for so it becometh us
to fulfil all justice." Here the saint speaks of
justice in the largest sense, in which it is co
extensive with every act of virtue, and so also
with the virtue of humility, of which we shall
speak later on. In its more limited acceptation
S. Peter Chrysologus* speaks of it on the pas
sage of S. Matthew, "Joseph being a just man,"
&c., where he rightly connects it with piety, which
is one of its potential parts. " How was he just
who undertook not to investigate the conception
of his bride ? He does not examine the cause
of suspected modesty, the good reputation of
marriage he does not vindicate, but demands.
He was minded to put her away privately. This
seems to be the part of a pious, not of a just
man, and to agree rather with human than with
Divine judgment. In God piety is not without
justice, nor justice without piety. In the spiritual
sense equity is not without goodness, nor good
ness without equity. The virtues come to nothing
if they are separated. Equity without goodness
is severity, and justice without piety is cruelty.
Joseph therefore was rightly called just, because
pious, and pious, because just. Finally, while he
was meditating piety he was free from cruelty ;
while he pondered his cause, he kept judgment ;
while he delayed punishment, he refrained himself
from accusing ; and while he refused to become
an accuser, he avoided pronouncing condemna
tion."
* Serm. 145. de Gen. Christi. t. 7. Bibl. PP. p. 95G.
BENEDICT XIV. ON HEROIC VIRTUE. 161
9. We subjoin some other instances belonging
to the potential parts of justice. S. Jerome bears
witness to the eminence of the virtue of religion
in S. Paula, when she was visiting the holy
places:* "Having come to Bethlehem, and en
tering the cave of our Saviour, after she saw
the holy place where the Virgin sojourned, and
the stable * Where the ox knew its owner, and
the ass its master s crib, she protested in my
hearing, that she saw with the eyes of faith the
Child wrapped in swaddling-clothes, the Lord
wailing in a crib, the Magi adoring, the star
shining on high, the Virgin- mother, the watchful
foster-father, the shepherds coming by night that
they might see the Word which was made
flesh; and with joyful tears she said, Hail,
Bethlehem, House of Bread, where was born that
Bread which came down from heaven ! And
am I, a sinner, deemed worthy to kiss the crib
where the Lord uttered His infant cries, to pray
in the cave where the Virgin-mother brought forth
the Lord, her Child? This is my rest, because
it is the Lord s country ; here will I dwell, as
the Saviour hath chosen it."
10. Of the observance of the same S. Paula,
which is a potential part of justice, S. Jerome
goes on to say, "When she met the holy and
venerable Bishop of Alexandria, Isidore, a con
fessor, and innumerable monks, many of whom
were dignified with the priesthood and diaconate,
she rejoiced indeed at the glory of the Lord,
but confessed herself unworthy of so great an
* In Epitaph. S. Paulas, ad Eustoch. loc. cit.
162 BENEDICT XIV. ON HEROIC VIRTUE.
honour. Why should I mention the Macarii, the
Arsenii, the Serapions, and other columns of
Christ? Into whose cell entered she not? At
whose feet did she not bow down? In each saint
she believed she saw Christ, and she rejoiced in
having given to the Lord whatever she gave to
them."
11. Obedience likewise is a potential part of
justice. Of heroic obedience, we have the in
stance of the patriarch Abraham, which S. Zeno,
Bishop of Verona, and martyr, eloquently extols.*
" The only son, yet an infant, to whom tender
ness and compassion is due, of the anxious old
man is demanded for a victim, even he, to whom
if through human frailty any illness should befall,
or any earthly calamity, his father could scarcely
live, if in his tender years he should die. This
infant, then, in whose life the affections of his
father and mother were centred, is demanded, for
a trial of his faith, by the Divine voice, for a
victim. It is My will, said God, that thou, Abra
ham, should with thine own hand sacrifice thy
son to Me on the mount ; this victim pleases Me ;
with his blood I will be appeased ; he must be
offered up in My rites ; go and sacrifice, I com
mand thee now. The countenance of most devout
Abraham is not made sad, nor does grief make
the father weep: he rejoices and is glad. He
was not afraid of being called the murderer of
his child, but in obedience to his devotion rather
rejoiced that God had commanded him thus to
act. The child was prepared for a ready victim.
* Sera. 1. de Abraham, p. 10.
BENEDICT XIV. ON HEROIC VIRTUE. 163
They ascend the mountain; the mysterious
rite and the sacrifice is arranged. my breth
ren, what secure devotion ! Behold a father
obeying the spirit, but despising the body and
death itself; one who so remembered that he
was a servant of God as not to know himself
to be a father." How acceptable unto God is
this virtue of obedience, we read in the Life
of S. Dositheus the monk.* "Not many days
after the decease of Blessed Dositheus, a cer
tain holy man of great age desired to see
the saints who had departed this life in that
community, and gone to their rest. He there
fore besought God that He would vouchsafe to
show him what he wished, and he did see them
all standing as in the choir, and amongst them
he also saw a certain youth ; and he said,
Who, I pray, was that youth, whom I saw
standing amongst the other holy fathers ?
But when he had described accurately his fea
tures and appearance, they all knew at onco
that it was Dositheus, and glorified God, mar
velling what must have been the conversation, and
first condition, and way of life, from which, by
mere unhesitating observance of obedience, and
the denial of his own will, he had merited, in so
short a time, to attain unto such a stature, and
such a reward."
12. Truth also and liberality we have number
ed, with S. Thomas, among the potential parts
of justice. S. Maximus, Bishop of Turin,! thus
* Ap. S. Dorothei. serm. p. 139.
t In anecdotis Muratorii. t. 4. p. 69,
164 BENEDICT XIV. ON HEROIC VIRTUE.
speaks of the veracity of S. Cyprian : In him,
of heart and tongue, there was a simple consent
and indivisible union ; for whatsoever the spirit
of his heart suggested to him to say, this did
his holy lips utter, as our Saviour saith, A good
man out of the good treasure of his heart bring-
eth forth good things. Terrible indeed were the
cries of Cyprian, which poured forth both the
integrity of his heart, and the dreadful judgments
of God upon sinners ; he gave himself out so en
tirely in holy speech, that he left nothing what
ever lying hid in the secrecy of his bosom."
Very celebrated among the fathers is the
liberality of S. Paulinus, Bishop of Nola.
S. Ambrose, speaking of him,* says, "I have
heard that Paulinus, a man second to none
throughout Aquitane for splendour of birth,
having sold all the property he inherited and
received at his marriage, has had such faith as
to give all the money to the poor, and being
himself made poor instead of rich, like one who
bids farewell to his house, country, and kindred,
that he may serve God alone." With this agrees
S. Augustine.! " S. Paulinus, Bishop of Nola,
once most wealthy, became most poor in will,
and most abundantly holy for there he had
all things, where He that is, Christ had shown
him to lay up his treasures." Most admirably
to the same effect writes S. Jerome :J "Nor is
there anything that can excuse nobility and the
* Cp. 58. col. 1013. opp. t. 2. ad Sabin.
t De civit. Dei. lib. i. c. 10.
J Ep. 118. ad Julianum.
BENEDICT XIV. ON HEROIC VIRTUE. 165
weight of riches. Behold that holy man, Pam-
machius, and the priest Paulinus of most fervent
faith, who offered not only their wealth, but
themselves to God. Thou art noble, so are they,
but more noble in Christ ; thou art wealthy and
honoured, so are they, yea, from being wealthy
and honoured, they became poor and inglorious,
and therefore more wealthy and renowned be
cause for Christ s sake poor and unhonoured."
In the Life of S. Anthony, S. Athanasius relates
of him as follows:* "It happened that he entered
a church, and the Gospel was read, and he heard
that the Lord had said to the rich man, If thou
wilt be perfect, go and sell all thou hast, and
give to the poor, and come, follow Me ; and thou
shalt have treasure in heaven. Then Anthony,
as if the recollection of the saints had come by
inspiration into his mind, and as if that Gospel
had been read for himself, went as soon as pos
sible out of the church, and gave to the poor
villagers all the property he had inherited, (now
it was three hundred acres of fertile and beau
tiful land,) that it might not molest himself or
his sister. Then he sold all his moveable goods,
and distributed the large sum they brought among
the poor, only reserving a little for the sake of
his sister. But going again to the church, he
heard in the Gospel the Lord say, Be not
solicitous for to-morrow, and not being able to
stay any longer he went out, and bestowed also
what he had reserved upon those still poorer.
But having commended his sister to certain
* Opp. t. 1. p. 2. p. 706.
166 BENEDICT XIV. ON HEROIC VIRTUE.
faithful virgins whom he knew, and placed her
in a convent where she was to be brought up,
he thenceforward applied himself to the ascetic
life, close to his old house."
13. Other instances, drawn from the sacred
text, of heroic acts of justice and of the virtues
belonging to it, may be seen in the work of Car
dinal de Laursea which we have now referred to.
In the progress of this work we shall have occa
sion to relate from the acts of canonization many
deeds of justice and of the virtues pertaining to
it. Meanwhile it is sufficient to notice, that those
are heroic acts of justice which pertain to it, or
to the virtues belonging to it, and are performed
promptly, easily, and with delight, and especially
so if in an arduous matter ; as is shown at
length by Cardinal de Laursea, Maderna, and
Matthseucci.
SECTION III.
OF THE VIRTUE OF FORTITUDE, ITS PARTS, AND ITS HER01CITY.
1. NEXT after justice we must treat of Chris
tian fortitude, concerning which S. Gregory
says,* "There is one fortitude of the just, and
another of the reprobate. For the fortitude of
the just is to conquer the flesh, to resist one s
own inclinations, to extinguish the delights of
the present life, to love the hardships of this
world for the sake of eternal rewards, to despise
the blandishments of prosperity, to overcome the
* Lib. vii. Moral, (opp. t. l. c. 21. col. 221.)
BENEDICT XIV. ON HEROIC VIRTUE. 167
fear of adversity in the heart. But the fortitude
of the reprobate is incessantly to love transitory
things, to hold out without fearing against the
stripes of their Creator, not even in adversity to
rest from the love of things temporal, to arrive
at empty glory, even at the cost of life, to seek
for means of augmenting iniquity, to attack the
life of the good, not only with their words and
their ways, but also with the sword, to place
their hopes upon themselves, to commit sin daily,
with a full intention of doing so."
2. Further, Christian fortitude may be taken
in an extended and a limited signification. If
in the former, it embraces all the virtues, and
therefore S. Prosper* says, "That ought to be
considered fortitude of soul which not only re
mains unshaken when tormented by diverse anx
ieties, but which does not fall lost in the allure
ments of pleasure." But if in the latter, fortitude
may be defined to be a habit, or virtue strength
ening the mind to do or to suffer those things
which are agreeable to right reason. Of fortitude
in its limited sense, as a special virtue, S. Thomas
treats at length,! and having shown that it is
that virtue of a man which makes the man good,
and his work good, he says that this may hap
pen in three ways : first, by means of the rea
son itself being sanctified, which is through the
intellectual virtues ; secondly, by right reason
operating in human affairs, which pertains to
justice ; thirdly, by the removal of impediments
* De vita contempl. lib. 3. c. 20.
+ II. 2. qu. 123. art. 1.
168 BENEDICT XIV. ON HEROIC VIRTUE.
to such operation : and since man s will is im
peded in two ways from following right reason,
either by something pleasant, or bj something
difficult, the holy doctor concludes, that the re
moval of the first impediment pertains to the
virtue of temperance, of the second, to that of
fortitude.
3. Again, the same holy doctor, after premising
that the name of fortitude may be understood in
two senses; first, as absolutely signifying a cer
tain firmness of mind, and secondly, as a firmness
only in enduring and repelling those things, with
respect to which it is especially difficult to have
firmness, says that fortitude in the first sense
is a condition of every virtue, but in the second,
it is a special virtue ; then, going on to explain
the properties of this virtue, he proves that for^
titude is concerned with fearfulness and daring,
that it represses the former, and moderates the
latter ; and that its subject-matter consists of
those fears created by the danger of death,
because among all bodily evils, death is the
most terrible, as it takes away all bodily goods ;
and this he proves to be the case not only
with the danger of death which occurs in war,
but of the danger of any other kind of death.
Lastly, after stating the question, whether endu
rance is the principal act of fortitude, he an
swers, that it is more difficult to repress fear
than to regulate daring, and so, that endurance,
that is, the standing unmoved, is a more princi
pal act of fortitude than aggression.
4. According to the teaching of the same
BENEDICT XIV. ON HEROIC VIRTUE. 169
holy doctor,* there are no subjective parts of
fortitude, as it is a particular virtue. The in-
tegral parts are these : confidence, that a man
keep his mind prepared for the onset ; noble-
heartedness, (magnificentia,) which relates to the
execution, and prevents a man from giving way
in the execution of those things which he has
begun with confidence ; patience, which keeps the
mind from being broken down with gloom, and
from falling from its own greatness ; and, lastly,
perseverance, which is the carrying on the good
work to its completion. For if these are re
stricted to the proper matter of fortitude, that
is to say, the danger of death, the angelical
doctor calls them the integral parts of fortitude,
whereas if they are referred to any other mat
ter in which there is less danger, they will then
become virtues distinct in their species from
fortitude, although they are united to it, as that
which is secondary is to that which is the prin
cipal.
5. Rosignolius, in his treatise on the actions
of virtue,t so often quoted, illustrates the teach
ing of the holy doctor. In the beginning of his
book, after showing that the name and glory
of fortitude had been attributed by philosophers
to bravery in battle, he proceeds to say, (p. 296,)
" The Christian religion, however, gives to for
titude a wider battle-field than perhaps even
philosophy has done. For if we will let the
matter be determined by its own weight, there
is no reason why personal bravery in war should
* 2. 2. qu. 128. f Lib. 2. cap. 11.
170 BENEDICT XIV. ON HEROIC VIRTUE.
be restricted to the limits of a single public
battle. Every Christian in the world has, or
is liable to have, a battle of his own to fight,
and every devout man lias dangers of his own
to encounter from the enemy of the Christian
faith and of virtue. We must stand each one
in the ranks, and even if the enemy is not to
be attacked sword in hand, yet certainly his
onset must be stood against, and we must risk
even our lives for virtue and the faith. When
circumstances call for it, our very life and blood
must be yielded up. But Christian fortitude
goes still farther, since it arms and fortifies a
man against all the other dangers of life." In
the relation of the cause of S. Mary Magdalene
of Pazzi, the Auditors of the Rota have pursued
the same idea still farther, as may be seen by
a reference to the document under the head of
fortitude. These are their words : " Fortitude,
when it imports firmness of mind, is divided into
two acts, that of aggression, and that of endu
rance. For the first, two things are necessary,
one of which pertains to preparation of the mind,
and for this we have confidence ; the other per
tains to the execution of a work, so that a man
fail not in the performance of that which he has
confidently begun, and for this we have noble-
heartedness. These two, if they be confined to
the proper matter of fortitude, that is, to danger
of death, will be, as it were, integral parts of it,
without which there is no fortitude. For the
other act of fortitude, that is, endurance, two
things also are necessary ; of these the first is,
BENEDICT XIV. ON HEROIC VIRTUE. 171
that the mind break not down with sadness at
the difficulty of impending ills, and so fall away
from greatness ; for this we have patience. The
other is, that a man be not so wearied as to de
sist through the daily suffering of his difficulties,
and for this we have perseverance. The integral
parts of fortitude are therefore four : confidence
and noble-heartedness in respect of aggression,
and in respect of endurance, patience and perse
verance." The same Auditors of the Rota have
prosecuted the same subject in the Report of the
cause of the servant of God, Nicholas Fattore,
and in that of S. Thomas of Villanova, after the
treatise of Contelorius on canonization. And all
who have written on the canonization of saints
agree with them, as, for instance, Scacchus,*
Cardinal de Laursea,t Maderna, and Matthseucci. |
6. Acts of Christian fortitude, in so far as it
is a common virtue, consist in attempting diffi
cult things agreeably to right reason and from
a supernatural motive, and this in all matters,
whether of precept or counsel. But acts of he
roic fortitude will consist in attempting the same
things easily, readily, and with pleasure, even at
the risk of the loss of all one s goods, or of life
itself. Again, to suffer patiently for God s sake
evils, calamities, and pains, are acts of common
Christian fortitude ; but acts of heroic Christian
fortitude, as the above-mentioned writers con
clude, consist in bearing cheerfully and readily,
* De not. et sign. Sanct. 4. c. 3.
t 3 lib. sent. torn. 2. qu. 3. art. 9.
t Pract. Theol. Canon, tit. 2. c, 3. 1 3.
172 BENEDICT XIV. ON HEROIC VIRTUE,
for God s sake, these and the like things, or even
much more difficult ones, and death itself, when
there is need of it. But beside that fortitude
which is a virtue, there is also another fortitude,
which is a special gift of the Holy Spirit, and
which serves to brace our resolution and to put
to flight our natural timidity, so that he who is
possessed of it would undergo death itself without
any fear, nay, with joy. This, however, seems
to be beyond the power of the virtue of fortitude
to effect of itself, for though it inclines us to
overcome what is difficult, yet it cannot, as S.
Thomas thinks,* of itself strengthen our natural
weakness. His words are, " The virtue of forti
tude is concerned with the most difficult things
as to their own kind, but not when compared
with him who has to do them, inasmuch as they
do not exceed his strength. But fortitude is
likewise a gift which is concerned with those
things which exceed human power." Maderna,
in the passage already quoted, says that the
heroic virtue of fortitude is, generally speaking,
accompanied with the gift of fortitude, but that
heroic fortitude might possibly exist without the
gift. Cardinal de Laursea, however, adhering
closely to the general principles elsewhere laid
down about heroic virtue, with greater probabil
ity denies this.
7. We have already related many wonderful
instances of heroic Christian fortitude when treat
ing of martyrdom. S. Leo the Pope, in his 83rd
sermon concerning S. Laurence the Martyr, (ch. 2,)
* 3. dist. 34. qu. 3. art. 1. quaestione 1. ad tertium.
BENEDICT XIV. ON HEROIC VIRTUE. 173
writes as follows : " Even his persecutors were
able to feel what a glorious dignity he was pos
sessed of, since the wonderful fortitude of his
soul, arising chicly from his love of Christ, not
only would not itself give way, but even strength
ened others by the example of his great endu
rance." So S. Augustine in his sermon on S.
Vincent the Martyr:* "So great was the cruelty
to which the martyr was exposed, and so silent
was his voice ; so great was the severity of the
pain inflicted on his members, that we might
in wonder suppose, that while Vincent was suffer
ing, another who did not speak was tormented."
And if we had to speak here about the martyrs,
a great number of illustrious examples might
be taken from S. Ambrose,! when he speaks of
S. Agnes, S. Basil, j the Blessed Peter Damian,^
and many others, who have spoken of the mi
raculous fortitude of martyrs. But since we are
here treating of confessors, examples of their
fortitude shall be given hereafter, when we come
to speak of the trials and troubles of the ser
vants of God. We shall then have to relate
the trying circumstances, the grief, the infamy,
and hardships received from their country, their
friends, and relations, and other like things, all
which fortitude has enabled them to overcome.
We shall likewise have occasion to speak of holy
Job, of whom S. Ambrose || says, " What fault
* Serm. 276. f Lib. i. de Virginibus. cap. 6.
J Horn, in Gordium Mart. Horn, de Barlaam Mart.
Serm. 17. 1 de S. Vitali Mart. Serm. 31. 2 de S. Apollinari, Ep.
et Mart.
II Lib. 1. officior cap. 39.
174 BENEDICT XIV. ON HEROIC VIRTUE.
was there in holy Job, and what virtue was there
not ? What hardship of cold, hunger, and mental
trial had he not to endure ? How did he despise
the risk of his own well-being ? Were the riches
which provided him with such a superabundance
of good things gotten by plunder ? Or did he
stir up in himself the lust of avarice, or of plea
sure? Did the unkind speeches of the three
kings, or the insults of his servants, move him
to anger? Who, then, was so mighty as holy
Job ?" In the meantime a few words shall be
said of the patience and perseverance of the
confessors, since these, as it has been shown, are
integral parts of fortitude ; and some things re
lating to fortitude shall be selected, after our
usual way, from the acts of past canonizations.
8. S. Gregory,* speaking of the passage of
Romula, the servant of God, out of this world,
says, "Romula was struck with that bodily af
fliction which the physicians call by the Greek
name of paralysis, and lay for many years bed
ridden and almost entirely deprived of the use
of her limbs. Yet this scourge had never moved
her to any impatience ; on the contrary, the loss
of her limbs became the increase of her virtue,
because, in proportion as she was prevented from
doing anything else, so much the more anxiously
did she make progress in the exercise of prayer."
S. Jerome, in his Epitaph on Paula, which he
wrote to Eustochium, commends her invincible
patience under pain : " In the midst of the tor
tures of pain, which she endured with extraor-
* Dialoq. lib. 4. ch. 15.
BENEDICT XIV. ON HEROIC VIRTUE. 175
dinary patience, as if she saw heaven opened to
her, she used to say, Who will give me wings
like those of a dove, and I will fly away and be
at rest ? " An extraordinary thing is related by
B. Peter Damian* of S. Romuald, proving his
invincible patience. "He (Marinus) being an
ignorant person, and in no way instructed in any
particular rule of life, used frequently to leave
his cell with his disciple, and wander about over
the wide extent of the desert, chanting under one
tree twenty Psalms, under another perhaps thirty
or forty. But as Romuald had left the world
as an illiterate person, he could hardly, when he
opened the Psalter, spell the syllables of the
verses when it was his turn to recite. Upon this
Marinus, who was sitting opposite him, struck
him frequently on the left side of the head with
a switch he held in his right hand, until after a
long time Romuald, compelled by necessity, at
last said in a humble tone, Master, if you please
strike me for the future on the right side, for
the hearing of my left ear is entirely gone.
Whereupon the other, marvelling at such great
patience, began to abate somewhat of his indis
creet severity." And in the 49th chapter of the
same Life he gives an account of a false accusa
tion of a most abominable crime that was raised
against him by a pretended disciple. "Upon
this," he continues, "all his disciples were filled
with anger against him, and their feelings being
roused, they some of them cry out that the wicked
old man ought to be immediately hung up, while
* Opp, t. 2. ch. 4.
176 BENEDICT XIV. ON HEROIC VIRTUE.
others condemn him to be burnt to death in his
cell. It was not a little to be wondered at that
spiritual persons could believe so horrible an ac
cusation against a decrepit old man of more than
a hundred years of age, to whom, even if he had
possessed the will, yet nature, and his cold blood,
and his weak dried-up frame would have utterly
refused the power. Yet we are not left to doubt
that to increase the merits of this holy man, this
heavy trial was permitted by Heaven to happen
to him ; for he himself declared that it had cer
tainly taken place in the desert which he had
lately come from, and that he had eagerly em
braced the opportunity of suffering such an in
dignity."
9. Of perseverance, S. Bernard* speaks in the
following glowing terms : "And now what remains,
my most dearly beloved children, but to remind
you of perseverance, which is of itself the high
est glory of men and the crown of all virtues ?
Without perseverance neither can the combatant
gain the victory, nor the victor the palm ; per
severance is the essence of all strength and the
consummation of all virtue. She is the foster-
mother of merit, the mediatrix of reward, the
sister of patience, and the daughter of constancy ;
she is the friend of peace, the bond of all friend
ship, the link of concord, and the bulwark of
sanctity. Take away perseverance, and neither
has any service a reward due to it, nor good
offices any thanks for them, nor fortitude any
praise." S. Jerome, in his epitaph on S. Paula,
* Epist. 129.
BENEDICT XIV. ON HEROIC VIRTUE. 177
before quoted, speaks of her great perseverance,
" Thy mother heard with Abraham, * Go forth
out of thy country, and from thy kindred... and
come into the land which I shall show thee ;
and the commandment of the Lord by the mouth
of Jeremias, Flee ye from the midst of Baby
lon, and let every one save his own life ; and
until the day of her death she returned not to
Chaldaea, neither did she long for the flesh-pots
of Egypt, nor the poison of the flesh, but attend
ed by a choir of virgins, dwelt in the city of
the Saviour." And in his Life of S. Hilarion,*
after relating his wonderful abstinence and aus
terity of life, he subjoins that "he was possessed
of incredible fervour of spirit, so that at that
time, when other persons are generally accus
tomed to relax their rule of life, he went on in
the service of God with all the zeal and fresh
ness of a beginner." Lastly, S. Athanasius, in
his Life of S. Anthony, the abbot, f says of his
heroic perseverance, "From these things con
sider well how great a servant of God Anthony
must have been, since he persevered from his
youth up to so great an age, in a fervent but
even course of asceticism, and was neither led
by his increasing years into a desire for better
food, nor by his bodily infirmities to change the
form of his habit, or to wash his feet ; and not
withstanding this, he continued sound in body
up to the very last ; his eyesight was good and
perfect, and not one of his teeth had fallen out,
* Tom. 2. oper. col. 17. t Opp. 1. 1. part 2. p. 864,
12
178 BENEDICT XIV. ON HEROIC VIRTUE.
though on account of his great age they were
worn down almost to his gums. He was quite
strong too in the use of his hands and feet,
and was more lively and generally robust than
all those who made use of all sorts of food and
clothing, and who washed themselves."
10. It now remains to relate a few things
concerning the virtue of fortitude, taken out of
the Acts of past canonizations. In the Report
of the cause of S. Francis Xavier, under the
title de insigni Fortitudine, there is an account
given of all the travels and voyages which he
undertook for the love of God and the salvation
of souls, from the year 1541, when he set sail
for India, till the year 1552, when he closed his
career. It is related in particular, how, after
surmounting the greatest difficulties, he reached
Japan ; how he not only attempted with the
greatest eagerness most troublesome and arduous
undertakings, but also, how, after going through
most heavy and continual labours with the
greatest constancy, he at length overcame them
by his cheerfulness, his fearless energy, and his
continual trust in God, even in the most ex
treme and certain dangers. In the Report on
S. Pius V., under the same title, there is the
following observable passage respecting his perse
verance, which is a part of fortitude: "This virtue
Pius showed forth by the uniform tenor of his
life, even to his death, by the difficult things
he undertook for the glory of Christ and the
good of the Christian world. And in doing this
BENEDICT XIV. ON HEROIC VIRTUE. 179
he did not hesitate to expose his life very often
to manifest dangers." In the Report of the
cause of S. John of God, under the title de quatuor
virtutibm Cardinalibus, among other things
brought forward to prove his heroic fortitude, it
is shown that he fearlessly endured for the love
of God many trials and calamities ; that by day
and night, and in the extremes of heat and cold,
he went about with bare head, feet, and legs, to
seek alms for the poor, that he carried them on
his shoulders to the hospital ; and that when the
royal hospital was on fire at Grenada, he threw
himself into the flames in order that he might
rescue the sick out of them. In the Report of
the cause of S. James de la Marca, it is related
that he offered himself for Christ s sake to the
tumultuous rage of some seditious persons, and
that unmoved by the impending danger of
death, he boldly preached the Gospel to the bar
barians. In the Report on S. Cajetan, under the
same title, it is mentioned with approval, that
when the city was sacked under Pope Clement
VII., he betook himself with some of his com
panions to the Pincian hill, when a soldier, who
had been his servant when he was in the world,
came up and demanded money of him. He an
swered, that whilst he was in the world he was
rich, but that four years back he had become poor
for Christ s sake. Upon this, the soldier and his
comrades, filled with rage, tortured him in the
most cruel way, and at length hung him up
by a rope that was passed through the most
180 BENEDICT XIV. ON HEROIC VIRTUE.
tender parts of his body. He endured this tor
ture, however, with wonderful fortitude of body
and calmness of mind for the love of Christ.
Again, a little after, when amidst the weeping
and wailing throughout the city, he was lying
prostrate and praying before the Most Holy Sa
crament in his church, which was decently orna
mented as far as the dreadful calamity of the
times permitted, the barbarians again made a
furious attack on him and threw him into prison.
Here, however, he behaved with extraordinary
calmness and patience, and endeavoured to in
stil the spirit of religion into the minds of the
soldiers themselves. Though loaded with chains
he went about with as much coolness as if he
had been in his own college still, so that one of
the commanding officers having observed him
reciting the divine office with his companions,
and wondering at the great tranquillity of mind
he was in, so that it could not have been greater
had he been in his own choir, would not suffer
him to be kept any longer in custody, but set
him at liberty. To bring to an end these ex
amples of the virtue of fortitude, besides those
that will be related in another place, it will be
sufficient to refer the reader to the other Reports
of causes made by the Auditors of the &ota,
as in those of S. Ignatius, S. Philip Neri, S.
Lewis Bertrand, S. Peter of Alcantara, and S.
Aloysius Gonzaga.
BENEDICT XIV. ON HEROIC VIRTUE. 181
SECTION IV.
OF THE VIRTUE OF TEMPERANCE, ITS PARTS, AND ITS HEROIClTY,
1. THE last place among the cardinal or moral
virtues is given to temperance. S. Ambrose*
has the following words on Christian temperance,
which rests on charity: "By the bond of holy
charity, and by the contemplation of heavenly
mysteries, it makes us overlook and neglect the
pleasures of the body." S. Augustine toot says,
" The office of temperance consists in restrain
ing and calming our eager desires after those
things which turn us away from following the
laws of God and the fruit of His goodness ;"
and in another placej he says, "Temperance is
an affection which restrains and withholds the
appetite from those things which are disgracefully
desired." S. Prosper also, or whoever the author
is, describes this virtue thus: "Temperance makes
a man temperate, abstemious, sparing, sober, mo
derate, chaste, serious, silent, and modest. In the
mind it restrains our lusts, moderates our affec
tions, multiplies holy desires, and checks all
vicious inclinations ; it sets in order all that is
confused within us, and strengthens that which
is well-ordered, removes wicked thoughts, insinu
ates those that are holy ; it extinguishes the
fire of lust; and inflames our tepidity by a de-
* Lib. unic. de virginit. torn. 2. cap. 18.
t De moribus Eccles. opp. 1. 1. cap. 19.
* De Liber, arbitr. lib. 1. cap. 13.
Lib. 3. de vita contemplativa, cap. 19. p. 92.
182 BENEDICT XIV. ON HEROIC VIRTUE.
sire of future reward ; it composes the soul in
a calm tranquillity, and keeps it entirely free
from the storms and heats of passion."
2. S. Thomas, in treating of temperance,*
proves that it is a virtue, since it inclines most
to that which is agreeable to right reason, and
next shows that it is a special virtue. For
though it belongs to every moral virtue to lay
down that which is according to reason in hu
man actions and passions, yet since temperance
restrains the appetite in those things which hold
out the greatest allurements to men, it is a
special virtue, seeing that it has a special sub
ject-matter. In the following article the ques
tion is proposed, " Whether temperance is con
cerned solely with our desires and pleasures;"
and he answers that as the virtue of fortitude,
whose office is to supply us with firmness, is
chiefly engaged with that passion which leads us
to avoid corporeal ills, that is to say, with fear,
and consequently with audacity, which leads men
to attempt what is fearful with the hope of some
good ; so likewise temperance, which means a
kind of moderation, is chiefly employed about
those passions which tend to the enjoyment of
sensible goods, that is to say, with desire and
pleasure, and so by consequence with the sadness
which arises from the absence of such gratifica
tions. But because those natural operations by
which the nature of the individual is preserved by
meat and drink, and the nature of the species by
the union of male and female, and the pleasures
* 2. 2. qu. 141. art. 1.
BENEDICT XIV. ON HEROIC VIRTUE. 183
attendant upon both regard the sense of touch,
and as there are some things regarding the
use of each which render the pleasure more
keen, as the beauty and elegance of the female,
or the delicious taste and smell of the food ;
hence the holy doctor infers, that temperance is
concerned with the pleasures of eating and drink
ing, and also with the pleasures of the flesh, in
such a manner that it has to do chiefly and
primarily with the pleasures of touch, and secon
darily with those of taste, smell, or vision, but
more with taste than the others, inasmuch as
taste approaches more nearly to the nature of
touch than the other senses. He afterwards
continues, and says, that accordingly temperance
takes the actual requirements of this life as the
rule about the pleasures it enjoys ; that is to say,
it makes use of them so far as this life calls for
them. In art. 7 he lays down that temperance is
a principal or cardinal virtue, inasmuch as the
pleasures of touch are more natural to us, and
therefore it is more difficult to refrain from them,
and to restrain our desires after them. And
in art. 8 he says that temperance, since it
moderates the desires of, and pleasures in, those
things which belong only to the individual him
self, is a virtue less excellent than justice and
fortitude, since these relate to the good of our
fellow-men, and is likewise less excellent than
prudence and the theological virtues.
3, The integral parts of temperance are what
are called certain perfections, which accompany
each act of temperance as well internally as ex-
184 BENEDICT XIV. ON HEROIC VIRTUE.
tern ally, in such a way that every such act
proceeds from the habit of temperance. The
integral parts, then, of this virtue are, self-re
spect, (honestas,) and a sense of shame, (verecun-
dia.) Its subjective parts are certain virtues,
which are referred to temperance as their genus.
These are abstinence, sobriety, and chastity,
which is also called purity and virginity. Its
potential parts are certain other virtues, which
in one respect are akin to temperance, while in
another they fall short of its true nature. For
these virtues are concerned with restraining
certain appetites, with respect to some particular
objects, which are not possessed of that keen
pleasure which the objects of touch and taste
possess. There are eight virtues which are
enumerated among the potential parts of tem
perance, viz., continence, mildness, clemency,
modesty, humility, attention to oneself, (studi-
ositas,) affability, (eutrapelia,) and simplicity.
It will be of service to read what S. Thomas him
self says on the matter.* And both what has
been said in the present paragraph, as well as
in the last, has been very fully handled by those
who have written on the canonization of saints ;
as Scacchus,t for instance, Cardinal de Laursea,J
Maderna,g Matthseucci,|| and the Auditors of
the Rota, in almost all the published relations,
but especially those of S. James de la Marca,
* 2. 2. qu. 143. art. unic.
t De not. et sign. Sanct. 4. c. 4.
t 3 lib. sent. torn. 2. disp. 32. art. 16.
Curs. Theolog. torn. ii. tract. 6. qu. 3. art. 10.
II Pract. Theol. Can. tit. 2. cap, 3.
BENEDICT XIV. ON HEROIC VIRTUE. 185
S. John of God, S. Felix of Cantalici, S. Aloysius
Gonzaga, S. Peter Regalati, and in the Reports
of the causes of Blessed Jerome ^Emilian, and of
the servant of God, Nicholas Fattore.
4. Self-respect, or honestas, is so called, as
being the state of honour, as S. Isidore says.*
And since nothing beside virtue is worthy of
honour, it so happens that self-respect generally
coincides with virtue. Taken in this sense, how
ever, it is not a part of temperance or of any
virtue, but stands in the relation of genus to them
all, since it passes by and rises above them. But
since moral beauty or self-respect shines forth
most conspicuously in that virtue which repels
what is disgraceful as contrary to its own nature,
and since it is temperance which keeps a man
free from carnal and brutal lusts and pleasures,
it would follow from this that self-respect would
be seen most in temperance, and be attributed
to it in an especial manner, so as even to be
reckoned as a part of it.
5. S. Thomas in treating of self-respect (hon
estas)! says, that what is honourable (honestum)
is, strictly speaking, identical with virtue, and
thenf shows that this honour or self-respect be
longs in an especial manner to temperance, not
as its subjective part, or as a virtue connected
with and joined on to it, but as an integral part
and condition, inasmuch as it belongs to tem
perance to repel that which is disgraceful and
unbecoming a man, as brutal pleasures. The holy
* Lib. 10. origin.
t 2. 2. qu. 145. art. 1. et seqq. % Art. 4.
186 BENEDICT XIV. ON HEROIC VIRTUE.
doctor likewise treats of the sense of shame, (vere-
cundia,) and the question being put,* "Whether it
is a virtue," he replies, that, strictly speaking, it
is not a virtue, since a virtue is a sort of perfec
tion, while a sense of shame is inconsistent with
perfection. For it consists in the fear of what is
disgraceful, and for which one would be liable to
reproach. Yet in a loose way of speaking, it
might be called a virtue, since it is a praise
worthy passion, and in human actions and pas
sions everything which is good and praiseworthy
is commonly called a virtue. In art. 4 (ad quar-
tum) he learnedly remarks, that a sense of shame
is not a part of temperance, but something that
disposes towards it, for it lays the first founda
tions of temperance, and strikes into us a horror
of what is disgraceful. He alsof draws a dis
tinction between a sense of shame and penitence,
(psenitentia,) for while they both regard the same
sort of evil, the former regards the disgraceful
action as present, and fears confusion on account
of it, while penitence looks back on it as being
past. Now it is contrary to the perfection of
virtue for a man to commit a disgraceful deed
at the very time when he ought to have a sense
of shame about it ; but it is not contrary to this
perfection that a man should once have done
what is disgraceful, for which he should feel
penitent, in order that he may change from vice
to virtue.
6. There is a good deal in S. Thomas respect-
* 2. 2. qu. 144. art. 1.
t 3. par. qu. 95. art 1. ad secundum.
BENEDICT XIV. ON HEROIC VIRTUE. 187
ing abstinence. He observes,* that in its proper
acceptation, the word signifies restraint from food,
but that in this sense it does not of itself desig
nate a virtue or an act of virtue ; and that
it only signifies a habit or act of virtue when
it is governed by right reason, so as to make
us abstain in the proper manner, that is to say,
with cheerfulness, and from the proper end, that
is to say, for God s glory and not our own. The
question is proposed,! " Whether abstinence is
a special virtue," and he answers it in the af
firmative, since the pleasures of the table draw
a man away from the excellence of reason, and
it must needs be a special virtue to contend
against the force of this passion. The holy
doctor treats in the same place of sobriety, and
shows that it is a special virtue, and likewise a
special part of temperance, since it preserves
the good of reason from a particular impediment,
arising from the use of too much wine, the vapours
of which disturb the brain. There are like
wise some very striking things said respecting
chastity and purity, (pudicitia,) as well as virgin
ity, by S. Thomas, J who observes that chastity
is a virtue, since it is by it the power of lust
is restrained ; but that it is a virtue distinct from
abstinence, for this latter regards the pleasures of
eating and drinking, while chastity is concerned
with those of the flesh ; that purity (pudicitia)
is directed towards chastity, not, however, as a
virtue distinct from it, but as endeavouring to
* 2. 2. qu. 146. art. 1. + Art. 2,
t 2. 2. qu. 151. art. 1. et seqq.
188 BENEDICT XIV, ON HEROIC VIRTUE.
give expression to some of the circumstances of
chastity, for chastity refers to sexual intercourse,
but purity to its attendant signs and circum
stances, as, for example, impure looks, kisses, and
touches. He afterwards remarks,* that virginity
is a special virtue, which stands in the same re
lation to chastity that noble-heartedness does to
liberality ; as it preserves a man free from the
experience of fleshly pleasures, and possesses a
sort of excellence beyond the virtue of the man
who only keeps himself free from what the holy
doctor calls, inordinate pleasures of the flesh.
7. In the same place he discusses at some
length the potential parts of temperance ; and in
speaking of continence, he says continence is not
a virtue, but is something of a mixed character,
possessing something of virtue, and yet showing
in part a deficiency of it. But taking virtue in
a larger sense, as the principle upon which any
sort of good works are done, it may be called a
virtue. After showing that continence is, properly
speaking, engaged with the desires of the pleasures
arising from the sense of touch, he proves that
continence resists these pleasures, but does not
moderate them, which is the office of temperance.
Clemency and mildness agree in this respect,
that they both restrain the violence of anger,
but they differ from one another, inasmuch as
clemency moderates external punishments, whilst
mildness lessens the passion of anger. They
are both of them virtues, since they subject an
appetite to reason, and both of them parts of tem-
* Qu, 152. art. 3.
BENEDICT XIV. ON HEROIC VIRTUE. 189
perance, since, from what has been said, they
consist in a sort of self-restraint, according to the
doctrine of S, Thomas so often quoted. Modesty
is likewise a part of temperance, and is connected
with it as with its principal part. For temper
ance is employed about those things which it is
difficult to keep within bounds, as the pleasures
of touch, and modesty restrains within due limits
those things which are but moderately violent,
and to which it is not so very difficult to put
bounds, as the same holy doctor proves.* Hu
mility shall be treated of hereafter. It will be
sufficient to have so far noticed it here as to
observe, that it is a virtue, inasmuch as it governs
and restrains the mind from tending immode
rately to what is high and exalted, and that it is
a part of temperance, since it keeps down the
motions of hope, which, according to the holy
doctor, is the motion of a spirit that strives
to raise itself on high. Next comes recollection
or attention to oneself, (studiositas,) which S.
Thomasf determines to be a potential part of
temperance, like a virtue subject to it, since it
calls the will and appetite away from vain curi
osity, so that a person cares not to be acquainted
with, or to take notice of, anything but that
which belongs to and befits his own state and
condition. There may also be a virtue which
has to do with sports and play. For it is
right sometimes to apply a remedy to weariness,
by indulging in some amusement, and intention
ally intermitting the strain upon our reason;
* 2. 2. qu. 160. art. 1. t Qu. 1G6. art. 2.
190 BENEDICT XIV. ON HEROIC VIRTUE.
and this, when accompanied with some honest
amusement, is a relaxation and rest to our minds.
In order, then, that a man may be restrained from
immoderate attention to play, there is a virtue
concerned with sport, which is called affability,
(eutrapelia,) of which the holy doctor speaks.*
Lastly, contentedness, (parcitas,) or moderation
and simplicity, is a virtue which leads a man
to use with moderation the external things that
relate to the body, such as ornament and ap
parel, that all his way of living may be agree
able to his condition of life, as S. Thomas ex
plains and sets forth at length.
8. These things being premised in general,
that we may enter into those particulars which
relate to our present purpose in the causes of
those servants of God concerning whose virtues
inquiry is made, a judgment must be formed
concerning the virtue of temperance and the
matters connected with it ; yet, withal, such
moderation must be exercised as we have be
fore mentioned, that due regard may be had
in it to their condition and state of life, as
Scacchus well observes.! The acts of ordinary
Christian temperance consist in the practice of
those things which belong to that virtue itself, as
well as those connected with it. And the acts of
heroic Christian temperance consist in the prac
tice of the same things, but readily, quickly, and
cheerfully, with due regard had to our bodily life
and health, and this by the special gift of the
* Qu. 168. art. 2.
t De not et Sign. Sanct. 4. cap. 4. no. 281.
BENEDICT XIV. ON HEROIC VIRTUE. 191
Holy Spirit ; for, according to S. Thomas,* the
gift of fear answers to the virtue of temperance ;
and, in the same place, he proposes the above-
mentioned question, " Whether temperance is a
virtue ? J then, in the third place, he states the
argument. " To every virtue there is some cor
responding gift, whereas there is no gift that
seems to correspond to temperance, for all the
gifts have been already assigned to other virtues
in what has gone before, so that temperance can
not be a virtue ;" and answers it as follows : "To
the third argument we must answer, that there
is a gift to answer to temperance likewise, viz.,
the gift of fear, by which a person, is restrained
from indulgence in the pleasures of the flesh,
as it is said in the Psalms, Pierce Thou my
flesh with Thy fear. Now, the gift of fear pri
marily regards God, Whom it strives to avoid
offending, and in this capacity corresponds to
the virtue of hope. But in a secondary sense,
it may regard whatever a person avoids in order
that he may not offend God. Now, man requires,
most of all, Divine fear, in order to avoid those
things which are most alluring, and with which
temperance is concerned, and thus the gift of
fear corresponds to temperance."
9. A good deal will be said hereafter of acts
of heroic temperance when we come to speak of
the mortification of the flesh and body. Some
thing shall now be said of the fasts of some of
the saints, and the austerities which they put
into practice against the allurements of the flesh,
* 2. 2. qu. 141. art. 1.
192 BENEDICT XIV. ON HEROIC VIRTUE.
and all of which belong to heroic temperance.
S. Ambrose* has the following passage on S.
John the Baptist: "He was truly a man given
to fasting, humble, abstemious, and withal, a vir
gin. His food was locusts and wild honey. What
higher kind of abstinence can there be than to
despise the luxuries of this life, and to feed on
chirping locusts and wild honey ?" S. Gregory
Nazianzenf speaks of S. Basil. "Did any one
ever live in such great want, I had almost said,
so destitute of flesh? Gluttony and satiety he
had cast away from himself to those who approach
to the nature of brute animals, and whose life is
slavery, and prone to earthly things. He sup
ported life, so far as it was lawful, with only the
necessary food. His most pleasant feast and food
was bread and salt, that new condiment, his drink
was sober and most abundant, and was that which
the fountains pour forth to us who do not labour
for it" So too in the works of S. Gregory the
Pope,J there is an account given of the wonder,
ful fasts of S. Benedict, who remained for three
years in a most dismal cave, known only to a
monk of the name of Romanus, and thus con
tinued to live for three years a most hard and
austere life, and with only the bread which this
monk brought him for his food. Blessed Peter
Damian, in his Life of S. Romuald, bears the
following testimony about him : " Lastly, in Syria
the venerable old man remained in solitude for
nearly seven years. Notwithstanding his age was
* Opp. t. 2. serin. 52. + Orat. 20. in laudem S. Basil.
} Tom. 2. dial. lib. 2. cap. 1.
BENEDICT XIV. ON HEROIC VIRTUE. 193
now extreme, yet he lived exceedingly strictly at
a time of life when even persons of great per
fection are accustomed to be more indulgent to
themselves, and to relax somewhat of the rigour
of the rule they have proposed to themselves.
For the space of one entire Lent he took abso
lutely nothing, either in the way of food or drink,
except a little poor broth which he made from
some meal and a few herbs, and upon this he
supported life, after the example of Hilarion,
For five weeks he abstained from everything else,
and restricted himself to a little broth made of
vetches. If at any time he felt the vice of
gluttony in the least degree stirred within him
by any more savoury food than usual, he used
to give orders for it to be very carefully pre
pared ; after applying his lips and nostrils to
it, so as to inhale the smell only, he would say,
* Ah, glutton ! glutton ! how sweet and nice
would this taste, but, alas ! for you, you shall
never taste it, and so he would send it back
to his cell untouched." S. Bonaventure,* in
the Legend of S. Francis, thus testifies of his
abstinence : " He scarcely allowed himself dressed
food when he was in health, and that but rarely.
What he allowed himself he either mixed with
ashes, or by the application of water rendered it
unsavory. What shall I say of that which he
drank? for even of cold water when he was
burning with thirst, he scarcely took enough."
10. Next come other austerities taken up to
subdue and bring under the flesh, and of these
* Opp. torn. 7, cap. 5.
13
194 BENEDICT XIV. ON HEROIC VIRTUE.
likewise we shall speak hereafter when we come
to treat of the mortification of the flesh and of
the body. And then likewise we will give a col
lection of notable examples, not only of fasts
and abstinences, but likewise of other austerities
taken from the acts of canonizations. In the
meanwhile it will be sufficient to quote a passage
out of S. John Climacus,* where he describes
very vividly a place he saw which they used to
call the Prison of Penance: "I saw," he says,
"some of those innocent criminals standing
during the whole night till morning in the open
air, and that without once stirring their feet,
and wrestling most piteously with sleep and na
ture, so that they were almost broken down with
the violence of the penance, since they gave
themselves absolutely no rest, but on the con
trary were continually upbraiding themselves*
and stirring themselves up with self-reproaches
and insults. I saw others gazing up to heaven,
and imploring help from thence with most mov
ing words and groans. Others again, who con
tinued intent in prayer, with their hands tied
behind their back like criminals, and their faces
full of grief, and turned towards the earth, as
persons who considered themselves unworthy
of looking up to heaven. Others were sitting
down on the pavement upon sackcloth and ashes,
hiding their face between their knees, and beat
ing the ground with their foreheads, whilst others
continually beat their breasts as they called to
remembrance their original state and their past
* In seal, paradisi grad. 5. p. 115.
BENEDICT XIV. ON HEROIC VIRTUE. 195
life, which, however, they had spent in the great
est innocence. Some of these, then, were be
dewing the pavement with their tears, and some
who wanted the gift of tears were scourging
themselves, and others were bewailing, as at
the funeral of a friend, over their own souls,
and could not contain within their breasts their
great and excessive grief, and showing other
signs of this sort." He afterwards continues,
"You might see some among them with their
tongues all red and parched, and hanging out of
their mouths like dogs. Some were torturing
themselves by exposure to the heat of the sun ;
others by the pangs of cold. Some, after just tast
ing a drop of water, in order that thirst might not
kill them, left off immediately ; and others did the
same with regard to food, speaking of themselves
as unworthy to live on the food of men after hav
ing done the deeds of beasts. Where could there
be seen among them the least sign of laughter?
Where, any idle tales? Where, any rage or
anger ? Where, any regard for the body ?
W T here, any mark of vain-glory ? When did any
of them look forward to self-indulgence ? When
did they think about wine ? or the taste of fruit ?
or the luxury of cookery and prepared meats?
or the pleasures of the table ? All hope of these
things in the present life was quite blotted out
and extinguished in them." Farther on he
adds, "There were among them persons whose
knees had become quite hard and horny from
their continual habit of kneeling, their eyes
wasted, sunk back, and without eye-lashes, their
196 BENEDICT XIV. ON HEROIC VIRTUE.
cheeks macerated and worn with the continual
flow of fervent tears ; their features emaciated
and their whole countenance pale, so that they
would have been found to differ very little on
a comparison from the appearance of the dead ;
their breasts were livid with stripes, and in
consequence of the frequent blows which they
give to themselves they continually spit blood.
When were they known to indulge in a peace
ful rest? Or when did they allow themselves
the comforts of cleanliness and sufficient clothing
to protect them against the cold? Everything
about them was torn and tattered, alive with
vermin, and covered with filth."
11. Among the potential parts of temperance
we have enumerated humility, and among its
subjective parts, chastity, purity, and virginity,
so that it would seem necessary to say a few
words on each of them. Respecting humility,
there is a passage in S. Matthew, (xi. 29,) " Learn
of Me, because I am meek and humble of heart ;"
with reference to which S. Thomas* says, " Christ
is to be thought to have recommended to us
humility above all things, because by this the
chief impediment to the salvation of man is re
moved. For in this way it is, that when a man
tries to rise to heavenly and spiritual things,
he is kept back from them by the desire of
exalting himself. And so our Lord, in order
to remove this obstacle to our salvation, showed
us by the example of His humility, that exter
nal greatness ought to be despised. Thus hu-
* 2. 2. qu. 161. art. 5. ad. 4,
BENEDICT XIV. ON HEROIC VIETUE. 197
utility is a certain disposition in a man towards
readily embracing divine and spiritual goods.
Inasmuch, then, as perfection in a thing is better
than a disposition towards it, so also charity
and other virtues, which lead a man directly
to God, are better than humility."
12. That inquiry ought to be made, in causes
of beatification and canonization, concerning the
virtue of humility, is the unanimous opinion of
the doctors.* The Auditors of the Rota have
said the same thing in the Report of the cause
of S. Francis Xavier, and in that of S. Raymund.
And Scacchusf well observes, "This virtue of
humility is so eminently essential and necessary
in the followers of Christ, that it is believed to
be the foundation of the entire spiritual edifice,
to be constructed according to the commands of
Christ on the evangelical rule. And since acts
of several virtues in an heroic degree are neces
sary to prove perfection of virtue in any one of
the faithful, it is for this reason that in seeking
for proofs of sanctity in any of the servants of
God, the greatest regard is had to the virtue of
humility ; for this is the most solid foundation
for the spiritual edifice, as well as the most ex
cellent and special gift of the Saviour of mankind,
whence it is to be particularly looked for in any
servant of God."
13. There are two sorts of humility; one purely
philosophical, known by the light of nature, and
not directed to a supernatural end ; and the other
* In cap. Audivimus, de Reliq. et venerat. Sanctorum.
t De not. et sign. Sanct. 5. cap. 5. p. 351.
198 BENEDICT XIV. ON HEROIC VIRTUE.
is called Christian humility, that is, known
by faith, and directed to a supernatural end.
This latter is likewise two-fold, being either or
dinary humility, which is a matter of precept to
every Christian, and this it is which destroys
pride, renouncing those praises and honours which
one is not entitled to ; or the humility of the
perfect, by which a man rejects not only the
honours to which he is not entitled, but likewise
those to which he is, and looks upon himself as
unworthy of any honour when he considers his
own imperfections, his proneness to sin, and the
insufficiency of his virtue to enable him to per
severe without sin.
14. The steps to the virtue of Christian hu
mility are many. According to the Gloss on
those words in the third chapter of S. Matthew,
"For so it becometh us to fulfil all justice,"
there are three steps of humility, which regard
him to whom the humble man submits himself.
"The first is, to submit oneself to a superior,
and not to prefer oneself to an equal ; the second
step is, to submit oneself to an equal, and not to
prefer oneself to an inferior ; the third is, to
submit oneself to an inferior." If, however, we
consider these steps with reference to the order
of the actions by which we arrive at the most
perfect degree of humility, there will be found,
according to S. Anselm, seven steps. The first
s, to know oneself to be a sinner and worthy
of being despised; the second is, to lament for
our sins and imperfections ; the third is, to con
fess them not only in the tribunal of penance,
BENEDICT XIV. ON HEROIC VIRTUE. 199
but also out of it ; the fourth is, to be willing
that others should see our defects, and believe
that we are possessed of them ; the fifth is, pa
tiently to suffer them to be published by others,
and that we ourselves should be reproached with
them, for some there are, says S. Anselm, who
condemn themselves and confess their fault suf
ficiently, who yet could not endure that anything
of the kind should be said of them by others ;
the sixth is, patiently to suffer oneself to be
treated with contempt on account of one s faults ;
the seventh is, to rejoice at this. Then, lastly,
we may make steps of humility with reference to
a comparison between our interior acts and the
exterior actions in which they manifest them
selves, or between our exterior actions and the
interior acts to which they dispose us. And con
sidered in this way S. Bernard enumerates twelve.
The first step is, ever to manifest humility in our
feelings and outward behaviour, keeping our eyes
fixed on the ground, and to this is opposed curi
osity ; the second grade is, for a man to utter but
few words, and those full of reason and with a
subdued voice, and to this is opposed levity of
mind ; the third is, for a person not to be over-
ready for or much given to laughter, the opposite
to which is foolish and empty mirth ; the fourth is,
a disposition to silence until one is questioned,
the contrary of which is boasting ; the fifth is, to
keep to what the rule of the community and the
convent directs, to which is opposed singularity ;
the sixth step is, to believe and speak of oneself
as of less account than the rest, and to this is
200 BENEDICT XIV. ON HEROIC VIRTUE.
opposed arrogance ; the seventh is, to confess
and believe oneself useless and unworthy of
everything, to which is opposed presumption ; the
eighth is, to acknowledge our sins, the contrary
of which is to defend them ; the ninth is, to be
patient under trials and hardships, and to this
is opposed feigned professions ; the tenth is, obe
dience, the contrary to which is rebellion ; the
eleventh is, that a man should not follow his own
will, the opposite of which is liberty ; and the
twelfth is, the fear of God, opposed to which is
the habit of sin. All this is treated of at length
by S. Thomas.*
15. Lest, however, any occasion of ambiguity
should be given from thence, it is of consequence
to observe, that according to the more correct
opinion, the virtue of Christian humility also
lies between two extremes, that is to say,
between excess and defect. Hence a person
would do wrong who should bow his head down
to the ground to every one he met, or who, in or
der that he might be held up to laughter and
contempt, should on all occasions cry out that he
was worse than any sinner. So too a person
would commit sin, who knowing upon most cer
tain principles that a thing was wrong, should
from excessive dejection of mind assent to
one, however, ill-informed, who asserted that it
was right, on the ground that he was inferior
to all men in wisdom and knowledge. This is
an excess, and is opposed to the rules of
prudence. With regard, however, to internal
* 2. 2. qu. 161. art. C. and qu. 162, art. 4.
BENEDICT XIV. ON HEROIC VIRTUE. 201
acts towards God, since humility, more than the
other moral virtues, consists especially in that
habit of mind which leads a man to despise
himself, and to submit himself to God as the
Author of all the goods which he is possessed
of, and to whom therefore all honour and glory
is to be ascribed ; since, I say, this is the case,
there cannot possibly be in this submission any
excess, nor will any man ever arrive at the
highest pitch of submission, since the distance
between God and a creature is infinite, nor could
any creature ever so submit itself to God that
He would not still be worthy of greater sub
mission, and this to an infinite degree. The
Cardinal de Aguirre* says this in so many
words, in his treatise on virtues and vices.
S. Thomas agrees with him, and proposes the
question,! "Whether a man ought to submit
himself in humility to all," and he answers, (ad
tertium,) that in the exterior acts of humility,
as in those of the other virtues, we must use
moderation, and more particularly if our sub
mitting ourselves through humility to another
should be to his detriment to whom we submit
ourselves, and so he should either grow proud
or despise the other.
16. In unison with these grades of humility,
which we have enumerated, there are certain acts
which come more especially into notice in the
examination of the causes of the servants of God,
of whose virtues we are treating. The first is, a
sincere and entire casting off of oneself, leading
* Disp. 4. 4. nuram. 42, 43. + 2. 2. qu. 161. art. 3.
202 BENEDICT XIV. Off HEROIC VIRTUE.
a man in the midst of his good works to esteem
himself "an unprofitable servant," as it is said
in S. Luke, (xvii. 10,) "When you shall have done
all the things that are commanded you, say,
We are unprofitable servants, we have done that
which we ought to do." The second is, openly
to speak of oneself as inferior to and more vile
than all men, and further, to believe this in one s
innermost heart, and show it by our actions.
This is what is said in the Psalms, (xxi. 7,) " But
I am a worm and no man, the reproach of man,
and the outcast of the people." Yet this too
is to be understood with moderation, for a man
ought not, in order to be humble, to think him
self a worse sinner than any one else ; for the
Apostle says, without prejudice to his humility,
" We are by nature Jews, and not of the Gen
tiles, sinners."* But a man may believe that
there is some good in his neighbour which there
is not in himself, and that there is some evil in
him that there is not in another, and in this
way he may rank himself beneath him, as S.
Thomas explains.! The third act is to renounce
our own will, and to submit it to the divine
will, according to that in S. Luke, (xxii. 42,)
"Nevertheless, not My will, but Thine be done."
The fourth is, to keep patience in obedience itself,
and never to lose it because of the injuries that
are put upon us, agreeably to what is said
in the first epistle to the Corinthians, (iv. 12,)
" We are reviled, and we bless ;" and likewise
in that to the Philippians, (ii. 8,) " Christ hum-
* Galat. ii. 15. t Qu. 161. art- 3, in corpore.
BENEDICT XIV. ON HEROIC VIRTUE. 203
bled Himself, becoming obedient unto death,
even the death of the cross. Wherefore God
also hath exalted Him, and hath given Him a
name which is above every name." The fifth
is, in our intercourse with others and in public
assemblies to choose the lowest place, with due
regard, however, to our station and office ; as we
are taught in S. Luke, (ch. xiv.) " When thou art
invited to a wedding, sit not down in the high
est place, but sit down in the lowest place."
The sixth is, to grieve from one s heart at the
honours and praises that are offered to one, and
to avoid them, after the example of the same
Apostle, who sajs (1 Cor. xv. 8,) of himself,
"And last of all He was seen also by me, as
by one born out of due time ; for I am the
least of the Apostles, who am not worthy to
be called an Apostle." The seventh is, to do
nothing for the sake of human glory, as it is
said in S. John s Gospel, (ch. viii.) " But I seek
not mine own glory." The eighth is, not to
receive offices and dignities except when com
pelled by obedience, or at the call of our su
periors, agreeably to what is said in the epistle
to the Hebrews, (v. 4,) " Neither doth any man
take the honour to himself, but he that is
called by God as Aaron was." The ninth is,
to restrain the use of the tongue, unless the
glory of God or the necessity of one s own or
one s neighbour s affairs compels one to break
silence, according to what is said in the Psalms,
(xxxviii. 2,) "I said, I will take heed to my
ways, that I sin not with my tongue. I have
204 BENEDICT XIV. ON HEROIC VIRTUE.
set a guard to my mouth." The tenth is, not
to be easily moved to laughter and foolish joy,
since the Holy Ghost says, (Ecclus. xxi. 23,)
" A fool lifteth up his voice in laughter ; but
a wise man will scarce laugh low to himself."
The eleventh is, to avoid ostentation in disputes
and contentions, and in transacting business,
as it is directed in Eccles. (v. 13,) "Be meek
to hear the word, that thou mayest understand
and return a true answer with wisdom ;" and
again in the fifteenth, " Honour and glory is in
the word of the wise." The twelfth is, to make
use of modest and poor clothes, yet with due
regard had to our dignity and condition in life,
hence we find it said in Eccles. (xi. 4,) " Glory
not in apparel at any time, and be not exalted
in the day of thy honour." The last is, in
all that we do, in our gestures and words, to
appear submissive and low in our thoughts
of ourselves, as David says, (Psal. cxxx. 1,) "Lord,
my heart is not exalted, nor are my eyes lofty,
neither have I walked in great matters."
17. These different sorts of acts having been
enumerated, Matthseucci * subjoins, that if
there is sufficient proof of them, we ought
not to doubt of the virtue of humility. As to
heroicity, however, all the forementioned acts
will be heroic, if they are not only directed to
a supernatural end, but are done cheerfully,
readily, and with pleasure, and further, if they
are exercised under difficult circumstances, as
* In pract. theolog. canon, tit. 2. cap. 3. 4. num. 87.
BENEDICT XIV. ON HEROIC VIRTUE. 205
the Cardinal de Lauraea adds,* He also in the
same place ascribes heroic humility to the gifts
of the fear of God, or wisdom, and of counsel.
And to the same purpose S. Bernard, in his
thirty-fourth sermon on the Canticles,! has
the following passage : " Some there are who
suffer humiliations with uneasiness, some with
patience, others even with pleasure. The first
sort are guilty, the second guiltless, the third
just." And again a little after, "Would you
see a humble man glorying in a right way,
and truly worthy of glory? Gladly, he says,
will I glory in my infirmities, that the power
of Christ may dwell in me. Mark, he does
not say that he suffers his infirmities patiently,
but that he even glories, and gladly glories in
them ; showing thereby that it was a good
thing for him to suffer humiliations ; and that
he was not at all satisfied to possess his soul
in patience under them, unless he also received
them willingly and as a favour."
18. S. Ambrose, in his sermon on S. John the
Baptist,:]: speaks in terms of the greatest admira
tion of his humility: "What greater humility was
there," (he says,) "in the prophet than to despise
soft clothing, and to clothe himself with rough
hair garments!" So likewise S.John Chrysos-
tom| on those words of S. Matthew, "I indeed
baptize you in water unto penance, but He
that shall come after me is mightier than I,"
* In 3. lib. sent. torn. 2. disp. 32. art. 16. 1.
t Opp. vol. 1. num. 3.
* Opp. torn. 2, num. 4. t Horn. 11. in cap. 3. v. 11.
206 BENEDICT XIV. ON HEROIC VIRTUE.
enters into a very careful consideration of the
humility of the Baptist: "Afterwards/ he says,
"in order to show how great a distance there
was between them, and that he might not seem
to have spoken merely from affection and good
will, after a comparison of the gifts that proceed
ed from them both, he added these words. Ob
serve that he did not say at once, The latchet
of whose shoes I am not worthy to loose, but
after he had shown the simple character of his
own baptism, and that he could do nothing far
ther than lead them to penance, he next point
ed out that the baptism of Christ was replete
with ineffable gifts. Do not, he said, when
you hear that He has come after me, think light
ly of Him on that account, but learn the mighty
power of what He gives you, and then you will
know that I said nothing extraordinary, and no
thing that was not true in itself, when I said,
The latchet of whose shoes I am not worthy to
loose. When, therefore, you hear that He is
mightier than I, think not I spoke this by way
of making a comparison between us ; for I am
not worthy to be numbered among His servants,
not even the lowest and meanest of them, nor to
fulfil the most menial office towards Him. Where
fore he did not merely say His shoes, but not
even the latchet of His shoes, which would seem
the lowest office of all. : The same father also,
in his exposition of the llth verse of the 1st
chapter of the Epistle to the Romans "For I
long to see you, that I may impart unto you some
spiritual grace, to strengthen you, that is to say,
BENEDICT XIV. ON HEROIC VIRTUE. 207
that I may be comforted together in you, by
that which is common to us both, your faith and
m i ne thus speaks of the humility of S. Paul:
"He did not say simply comforted, but com
forted together with you, Nor was this enough
for him, but he added this also, that which is
common to us both, your faith and mine. O
what great humility ! He showed that he had
need of these, and that they had need of them,
and needed not him only ; he raised the disciples
to the rank of masters, leaving to himself no
prerogative, but showing a great equality. It is
a common profit, he says ; we need comforting,
you from me, I from you. And how is this?
through our mutual faith, yours and mine."
19. We should never bring this chapter to an
end if we were to relate all the examples that
occur of heroic Christian humility, as shown forth
in endeavours to escape from fame and high
station, when great opportunities for their attain
ment have offered themselves. For the present,
however, we will content ourselves with some few
examples. There is a well-known case in S.
Jerome s Life of S. Hilarion the Hermit.* His
words are, " Some may wonder at the miracles
which he did, others at his incredible abstinence,
his knowledge and humility. For my part there
is nothing that so astonishes me as his having
been able so to tread under foot all the honour
and reputation which surrounded him. Bishops,
priests, and great numbers of monks and clerics,
and what was a still greater temptation, of Chris-
* Opp. t. 2. no. 30.
208 BENEDICT XIV. ON HEROIC VIRTUE.
tian matrons likewise, and besides a great mul
titude of the common people, as well as judges
and men in power, flocked together out of the
towns and the country to receive some bread or
oil blessed by him ; while he in the meantime
was thinking of nothing but how he could attain
to greater solitude." And farther on, "At that
time, in consequence of a universal earthquake
which happened after the death of Julian, the
sea passed its bounds, and ships were carried up
and left hanging on the steep parts of moun
tains, as if God was threatening a second deluge,
and all things were going to return to their
ancient chaos. The inhabitants of Epidaurus,
seeing all this, the raging sea and mountainous
waves which rolled on to their shores, and fearing
lest their city should be entirely overthrown, as
it seemed on the point of being, came to the old
man, and marching forth with him as if to battle,
placed him on the shore. Upon this he made
three crosses on the sand, and raised up his hands
towards the sea, and, wonderful to relate, the
swelling waves rose up to a great height before
him, and after raging furiously for some time,
as if to show their indignation at the barrier
placed in their way, they at length fell back
little by little into themselves. The whole city
was in a state of amazement. When, however,
the old man saw this, he fled away by night in
a little sailing boat, and having in the course of
two days found a merchant vessel going to Cyprus,
he went by her." Pope Gregory the Great*
* Dialog, lib, 2. c. 1.
BENEDICT XIV. ON HEROIC VIRTUE. 209
relates that, by the prayers and intercession of
S. Benedict, while yet a boy, his nurse s sieve,
borrowed by some women, her neighbours, for
winnowing wheat, being broken by accident, was
made whole again, so that no trace of the frac
ture could be discovered. After this he adds^
"But Benedict, desiring rather to endure the
afflictions of the world than its praises, and to
be more wearied in labours for God than to be
exalted by the prosperity of this life, fled from
his nurse secretly, and went to a lonely and de
serted place, called Subiaco, which is distant
from Rome about forty miles, and where the
waters are cold and clear." S. Peter Damian,
in his 65th sermon on S. Barbatian, priest and
confessor, shows how he used to conceal the
miracles of healing which God worked at his
intercession. "To the same purpose he often
bestowed on those whom he wished to restore
to health some plaster, or something to eat, as
a medicinal antidote, which he did, I think, for
this purpose, that the cure might be ascribed
to the virtue of the herbs and specifics, and not
to his sanctity ; and that since they received me
dicine from him, he might be looked on more
as a physician than a saint." Alanus, in the
second Life of S. Bernard, relates the judgment
which the saint gave of certain marvellous opera
tions which God wrought at his intercession :
"Signs have been sometimes wrought by men
holy and perfect, and by hypocrites. I am con
scious neither of perfection nor of hypocrisy.
For I know that I have not the merits of the
u
210 BENEDICT XIV. ON HEROIC VIRTUE.
saints which are made manifest by miracles. I
trust, however, that my portion is not with them
who do many wonderful works in the name of the
Lord, and whom the Lord knows not. Such
conferences as these he had frequently and se
cretly with spiritual men. Very lately he seemed
to have found a convenient occasion. I know,
he said, that signs like these belong not to the
sanctity of one, but to the salvation of many ;
and that God regards in him through whom He
works, not so much his perfection as the reputa
tion of it, that He may commend to men that
virtue which they believe to be in him. " Lastly,
we read the following of S. Francis, in the Legend
of S. Bonaventure : * " When the people extolled
the great merits of his sanctity, he desired one
of the brothers that he would from time to time
speak to the contrary effect, repeating to him
vilifying and reproachful speeches. And when
accordingly this brother against his own will
called him a hireling, a rustic, and a useless
fellow, his spirits were raised as appeared in his
countenance, and he replied, * God bless thee,
my beloved son, for thou sayest what is most
true, and what it is fit that the son of Peter
Bernardo should hear. " If any one desire to
see more examples of heroic humility, he may
refer to the collected instances in the works of
Cardinal de Laursea,t and in the Reports of the
Auditors of the Rota in the causes of Canoniza
tions, especially those of S, Peter of Alcantara,
* Opp. t. 7. cap. 7. p. 304.
t 3 lib. gent, torn, 2. disp. 32. art. 16.
BENEDICT XIV. ON HEROIC VIRTUE. 211
S. Francis Xavier, and S. Francesca Romana,
where each particular act is considered.
20. To pass on now to purity and chastity.
Purity stands in relation to chastity, not as a
virtue distinct from it, but as expressing certain
circumstances of chastity, namely, an abstaining
from certain exterior signs and actions ; among
which ought undoubtedly to be reckoned fre
quent conversation with persons of a different
sex: upon this subject the writings of Theophi-
lus Raynaudus* will supply abundant matter.
Chastity is a virtue which restrains us in
the use of carnal pleasures, and it is of it that
the Apostle speaks in his second epistle to the
Corinthians, (vii. 1,) " Let us cleanse ourselves
from all defilement of the flesh and of the spirit;"
and also in 1 Timothy, (ii. 2,) "That we may
lead a quiet and peaceable life in all piety and
chastity." Chastity is threefold, conjugal, vidual,
and virginal. Of virginal chastity S. Augustin,
in his treatise de sancta Virginitate,t says, "Vir
ginal integrity, however, and purity from all car
nal intercourse by means of holy continence, is
the state of angels, and is a continual meditation
on incorruption while in the corruptible flesh."
Virginal chastity was also held in the highest
veneration among the Romans, so much so, that
it was esteemed an act of impiety to use violence
to one from any cause whatsoever. And accord
ingly if a virgin was sentenced to death, she was
not killed until she had been corrupted by the
executioner or some one else, and so was a vir-
* Opp. torn. 12. p. 270. f Opp. torn. 6. cap, 13.
212 BENEDICT XIV. ON HEROIC VIRTUE.
gin no longer. Suetonius* says, "Girls who
were not yet arrived at mature age, because ac
cording to the custom handed down to us it was
a sacrilege to hang virgins, were first corrupted
by the executioner and then hung." And Ta
citus confirms this in speaking of the daughter
of Sejanus, who was condemned to death. As,
however, a great many Christian virgins suffered
martyrdom at Rome without this injury to their
modesty, it must be confessed that this wicked
practice became after a time obsolete, as Car
dinal Baronius observes.! Johannes FrontoJ has
collected with great learning many examples of
the honour in which virginity was held among
the heathens. Lastly, virginal chastity takes
precedence of the other two kinds ; and accord
ingly S. Thomas \ says, that virginity is the
most excellent species of chastity, and that vir
gins are spoken of as the more illustrious part
of Christ s flock, when compared with widows
and married persons. To this agrees the Ven
erable Bede as quoted by S. Vincent Ferrer in
his sermon on S. Martha. " Conjugal chastity,"
he says, " is good ; vidual chastity is better ;
but the highest perfection is virginal chastity."
Cardinal de Laursea|| has a collection of instan
ces of heroic chastity, as well virginal as conju
gal and vidual ; and he there says, that acts
of heroic Christian chastity, whether virginal,
conjugal, or vidual, are produced from a super-
* In Tiberio. cap. 61.
t In notis ad Martyrol. Rom. ad diem 3. Septem.
t Dissert. Philol. de Virginita. 2. 2. qu. 152, art. 5.
|| In 3 lib. sent. torn. 2. disp. 32. art. 16. 2.
BENEDICT XIV. ON HEROIC VIRTUE. 213
natural motive, and consist in flying both in body
and in mind from any sensual actions, although
at the risk of great personal inconvenience or
even of death, and this promptly, cheerfully, and
readily, without any human reasoning on the
matter. The same author (loc. cit.) proposes the
question, "Whether in order to chastity s being
designated heroic, the danger of death ought to
be joined to it, or at least the risk of loss of pro
perty or other inconvenience," and he answers
in the negative, inasmuch as most of the saints
have been heroically chaste. And although they
have not been driven to preserve chastity at such
risks, yet they have very frequently resisted
great internal and external temptations by the
grace and Spirit of God, and that cheerfully ;
and, moreover, in order to repel these tempta
tions, have used various means very painful to
the senses. This is what the Apostle says in
his second epistle to the Corinthians, (xii. 7,)
"There was given me a sting of my flesh, an
angel of Satan to buffet me." And S. Jerome*
writes of himself to Eustochium, " I used to
subdue my rebellious flesh by a weekly fast."
And again, " My face was pale with fasting, and
my mind inflamed by desire."
21. Conjugal chastity may be considered
under two heads, that is to say, in the actual
state of matrimony, and in that state when
consummated by conjugal acts. That the Bless
ed Virgin and S. Joseph were actually married
* Epist. 22. opp. torn. 1.
214 BENEDICT XIV. ON HEROIC VIRTUE.
is certain from the holy Scripture, especially
from those words of S. Matthew, (i. 16.) " Jacob
begot Joseph the husband of Mary ;" and verse
19, "Joseph her husband being a just man," &c.;
and again, verse 20, " Joseph, son of David, fear
not to take unto thee Mary thy wife," and "he
took unto him his wife ;" and from those words,
verse 19, " Whereupon Joseph her husband, being
a just man, and not willing publicly to expose
her, was minded to put her away privately." He
had, therefore, taken her for his wife, since no
man would be said to send away what he has not
got. And although the angel, when he was calm
ing the suspicion which Joseph felt on account
of her being found with child, said, " Fear not
to take unto thee Mary thy wife ;" yet this is a
Hebrew phrase, signifying a continuation of an
act, and not the beginning of one. So that it
is just the same as if he had said, " The wife
whom thou hast taken, preserve and keep, and
do not send her away." That her virginity,
however, was preserved untainted in matrimony,
is the steadfast faith of the Catholic Church, and
even the Lutherans and Calvinists admit that the
Blessed Virgin preserved her virginity, though
not, they say, under any vow. This, however,
is opposed not only to the unanimous authority
of the Fathers, but likewise to the Virgin her
self, who when she was told that she was to
conceive the Christ, "Behold, thou shalt con
ceive in thy womb, and shalt bring forth a son,"
answered, "Eow shall this be done, because I
BENEDICT XIV. ON HEROIC VIRTUE. 215
know not man?" that is to say, "How can I
conceive in mj womb and bring forth a son if
I have made a vow of virginity?" It is also
a pious tradition, that neither had S. Joseph
ever contracted marriage with any other wo
man before the Virgin Mary, and that he, there
fore, also died a virgin. Hence S. Jerome against
Helvidius* says, "You say that Mary did
not remain a virgin. But I lay claim to more
than this ; for I say, that through Mary Joseph
too was a virgin, so that a virgin son was born
from virginal wedlock ; for fornication is not
what we would ascribe to a holy man, nor are
we told that he ever had another wife." And
S. Peter Damianf likewise speaks thus : " And
lest this should not be enough, that His mother
only should be a virgin, it is the faith of the
Church that he too who was His reputed father
was a virgin." Theologians ask how it could
have been real and true matrimony between the
most Blessed Virgin and S. Joseph without the
vow of virginity, which she had made before com
ing in the way. A reasonable answer, however,
is given them, that the Virgin, before she was
married to S. Joseph, had been told by certain
revelation from heaven, that he would never
use the power given him over her body, either
because he too was going to make a vow of
virginity, or because God would turn away his
thoughts from so doing. They are golden
* Oper. torn. 2. num. 19.
t De Caelibat. Sacerd. Opusc. 17. c. 3.
216 BENEDICT XIV. ON HEROIC VIRTUE.
words which S. Thomas has on the subject :#
"The blessed Virgin before she contracted mar
riage with Joseph, was divinely certified that
he was of the same purpose that she was, so
that she did not commit herself to any dan
ger by marrying. And the same holy Doctor
teaches usf that the Mother of God had not
made an absolute vow of virginity before she
was betrothed to Joseph, but had only wished
and desired to do so, and had committed this
wish of hers to the will and determination of
God; and that she only vowed it absolutely,
when it became known to her that it was ac
ceptable to God, and this was manifested to her
before the Annunciation ; and then after having
received her spouse, she made together with him
a vow of virginity. There have also been other
marriages in the Church, in which those who
were married have preserved their virginity un
stained, and lived a holy life. The Virgin Ce
cilia, for instance, under the protection and de
fence of the angel guardian of her virginity, was
married without any danger to Valerian, know
ing for certain that the angel would protect her,
and all, in fact, turned out well. In the Bull of
the canonization of S. Chunegund the Empress,}:
there are these words: "They" (i. e. the witnesses
who were examined,) "said on their oath, that
they knew from general report, as well as from
* In 4. sent. dist. 30. qu. 2. art. 1. quaestiunc. 2, ad. sec.
t 3. part, quaest. 28. art. 4.
J Constitut. 29. p. 38. cod. Canonizat.
BENEDICT XIV. ON HEROIC VIRTUE. 217
authentic documents, that though the blessed
Chunegund was united to S. Henry the Emperor
in the bond of matrimony, yet that she was
never carnally known by him. And, accordingly,
when our lord the Emperor was dying, he
said to the princes and her parents, Such
as she was when you gave her to me, such do
I resign her to you. You gave her to me a
virgin, and a virgin I return her. Beside
these, there are many other cases of matrimo
nial virginity in Ecclesiastical History, as for
instance, that of S. Boleslaus V. king of the
Poles, who was hence surnamed the Chaste ; of
Chunegund, the daughter of Bela, king of Hun
gary ; of S. Conrad the king, son of the Em
peror Henry IV., with Matilda, and many others,
as may be seen in Scacchus."* We read in
Nicephorusf and in Cardinal Baronius,J that
Pulcheria was married to Marcian and died a
virgin. The same is reported by Suriusg of the
saints Julian and Basilissa, and it is added, that
a voice from heaven was heard to say, "Thou
art victorious, Julian, thou art victorious." In
another place something shall be said of the mar
riage of the blessed Lucia of Name, who preserved
her virginity in it. In the meantime, it is right
to mention that the resolution of a doubt is now
pending before the Congregation of Sacred Rites,
respecting the virtues in the cause of the ven
erable servant of God, Sebastian of Apparizio, a
* De not. et sign. Sanct. sect 6. c. 6. t Lib. 15, c. 15.
Ad an. 450. num. 17. 453. n. 20. Jan. .
218 BENEDICT XIV. ON HEROIC VIRTUE.
professed religious laic of the Order of Minors.
For as it happened, he had twice, before giving
himself up to religion, contracted marriage,
and in neither had fulfilled the conjugal duties.
The Archbishop of Myra of happy memory, and
I myself, as his successor in the office of Pro
moter of the Faith, said that he had committed
a sin ; not because marriages, which by mutual
consent of both parties are not consummated,
ought not to be esteemed praiseworthy, and
even heroic, but because it was not sufficiently
established that either his first or his second
wife had consented to this, and there were not
wanting complaints on the part of the relatives
of these women, that the obligations of marriage
had not been fulfilled, from whence a want of
consent had been inferred. Many arguments
were brought forward by the Postulators, to
satisfy the difficulty. The opinions likewise of
the Universities of Paris, Salamanca, and Pa
dua, (as has been already said in another place,)
were obtained and published in Rome in the
year 1722 ; and they were all agreed, that the
marriages were not only valid, but worthy of
high commendation ; that the consent of the
women, either implicit or explicit, could not have
been wanting, and that the complaints had only
been raised by the relations, not because the
wives thought of the conjugal duty, but because
they themselves eagerly desired that the rich in
heritance of the servant of God might come to
the children that would be born of their own
BENEDICT XIV. ON HEROIC VIRTUE. 219
relations. The writings of the Postulators and
the opinions of the Theologians may be exam
ined ; but the judgment of the Sacred Congre
gation, to be determined most chiefly by the
particular circumstances of the case, is yet to
come.
22. Chastity, or matrimonial continence, is
the gift of God, as has been well explained by
S. Augustine :* " First of all," he says, " we affirm
and are ready to prove, that chastity is the gift
of God ;" and then after a few words he sub
joins, " inasmuch as conjugal chastity itself, unless
it restrains from unlawful embraces, cannot be
preserved, the Apostle declared that both were
the gift of God ; for be is speaking of both kinds
of life, that is to say, both of that in wedlock
and that which is without, when he says, I
would that all men were like me myself, but
each one hath his proper gift of God, one in
one way, and another in another." Of conju
gal chastity in the state of consummated mar
riage, there are not wanting examples. Nor
does this mean merely abstaining from forbid
den pleasures, for this is a state of things which
would have in it no excellence beyond that of
common chastity, as S. Thomas well teaches
us,f but^ abstaining even from lawful pleasures.
The Apostle says in his first epistle to the
Corinthians, (vii. 4.) "The wife hath not power
over her own body, but the husband. And in
* Lib. de Continentia. cap. 1. opp. torn. 6.
1 2. 2, quaest. 152. art. 3. ad quintum.
220 BENEDICT XIV. ON HEROIC VIRTUE.
like manner, the husband also hath not power
of his own body, but the wife. Defraud not
one another, unless, perhaps, by consent for a
time, that you may give yourselves unto prayer,
and return together again, lest Satan tempt you
for your incontinency. But I speak this by in
dulgence, not by commandment," The Apostle,
we see, exhorts married persons to contain them
selves for a time, that they may be more free for
prayer and fasting, from which it is to be in
ferred, that this is laudable and heroic, if they
contain themselves during their lives, that they
may be free for prayer and fasting : provided
there is no danger of incontinency, or falling into
adultery or other impurities. This at least is the
explanation of the text by Estius and Cornelius
a Lapide. The Church* allows every married
person to suspend the consummation of their
marriage for two months, in order that they
may deliberate whether they will enter religion,
and make their profession. So again in Tobias,
(viii. 4.) Tobias the younger speaks to his
bride as follows : " Sara, arise, and let us pray
to God to-day and to-morrow, and the next
day, because for these three nights we are joined
to God : and when the third night is over, we will
be in our own wedlock. For we are the chil
dren of saints, and we must not be joined to
gether like heathens that know not God." And
in the sixth chapter we are told how the angel
* In cap. Ex publico, de convers. conjug.
BENEDICT XIV, ON HEROIC VIRTUE. 221
Raphael had admonished him to do this. " But
thou when thou shalt take her, go into the
chamber, and for three days keep thyself con
tinent from her, and give thyself to nothing
else but to prayers with her. And on that night
lay the liver of the fish on the fire, and the devil
shall be driven away. But the second night
thou shalt be admitted into the society of the
holy patriarchs. And the third night thou shalt
obtain a blessing that sound children may be
born of you. And when the third night is past,
thou shalt take the virgin with the fear of
the Lord, moved rather for love of children
than for lust, that in the seed of Abraham
thou mayest obtain a blessing in children."
Agreeably to this example of Tobias and Sara,
S. Bridget and Ulfo her husband ordered their
life in piety and holiness, as we find it declared
in the Bull of the canonization of S. Bridget.*
"And when they were to consummate their mar
riage, although they were now at an age when the
passions are developed, he being eighteen years old,
and she thirteen, yet by mutual consent they
imitated the younger Tobias and the daughter of
Raguel, and for a whole year and more restrain
ed from intercourse with one another, humbly
praying God, that if it was expedient that they
should consummate the marriage, they might
not fall into any sin in so doing, and that He
would give them such offspring as would give
themselves up to His service. Afterwards they
came together with fear and trembling, not for
* Constitut, 66. p. 153. cod. Canoniz,
222 BENEDICT XIV. ON HEROIC VIRTUE.
the purposes of lust, but for the procreation of
children, and the devout woman in the mean
time did not intermit her fasts and prayers,
and other pious works which she was accustomed
to do."
All these instances prove the excellence of
the virtue of conjugal chastity in consummated
marriage, when the married persons abstain
for a time in order to be more free for prayer,
and without danger of lust. When the cause
of the Blessed Peter Fourier was going on,
and the inquiry was being made into his vir
tues, I remember that, as Promoter of the Faith,
I raised a doubt among other things, respect
ing his prudence, because through his advice
many married persons had abstained from the
conjugal act for several years, and even for
the rest of their life, to the imminent danger
of their own continence, as it seemed with re
gard to some. But the Postulator, taking up
the matter with great earnestness, laid down
what has just been said respecting conjugal
chastity, and proved that he had not given this
advice to any but those of whose continence
there was no room to doubt, and that his counsel
had been crowned with very happy effects. And
thus the cautious scrutiny made into the vir
tues of the blessed man, from the obligation of
a particular office, turned to his praise and
commendation.
23. S. Jerome in the first book of his work
against Jovinian, has made a collection of instan
ces out of various nations, to show that even
BENEDICT XIV. ON HEROIC VIRTUE. 223
among the heathen vidual chastity, that is to
saj, restraining after the first marriage from any
further one, was held in great esteem. This
subject is treated at great length by Espencseus.*
According to the civil law,t the surviving wifo
was ordered to mourn for her departed husband,
and abstain from a second marriage, for a year.
Since, however, according to what the Apostle
says, the wife, when her husband is dead, is
freed from the law of her husband, and may
marry whom she pleases in the Lord ; the sacred
canons : have very justly determined, that the
wife, after her husband is dead, may, without any
note of infamy, pass on to a second marriage
within the year of mourning, yet so that the
parish priest is forbidden to give the benediction
to the second marriage, which the Church directs
to be given to the first ; thus showing that she
does not approve of the second marriage equally
with the first. S. Augustin, in his treatise de lono
viduitatis, or in his epistle to Juliana the widow,
proves at some length, that widowhood is to be
preferred to second marriages, while, at the same
time, these latter are not to be disapproved of.
He says, " First, then, it is well you should know
that while second marriages are not condemned,
they are less honoured than the good state you
have chosen. For as the excellent state of holy
virginity which your daughter has embraced,
does not lay any stigma on your marriage, so
* De continent, lib 3. c. 17.
t Ad tit. Cod. de, secundis nuptus,
t De secundis nupt. cap. 4, 5,
224: BENEDICT XIV, ON HEROIC VIRTUE.
neither is your widowhood any reproach to ano
ther who has entered into a second marriage.
Extol not the good you possess, so as to con
demn as bad in another what is not bad, but
rejoice all the more over the good you possess,
inasmuch as you see that by it not only you
avoid states that are bad, but likewise surpass
some states that are good." There have been
some widows admitted into the number of the
saints by different Supreme Pontiffs, as, for ex
ample, Elizabeth, who, after the death of her
husband, gave a name to the nuns of the Third
Order of the Minors, and of whom Gregory IX.
speaks in the Bull of canonization, as follows :
"0 most illustrious widow, most fruitful in the
offspring of virtues, who didst apply thyself to
obtain by grace what nature could not afford
thee ! Thus it was that she rendered herself
amiable in the eyes of her immortal Spouse."
Hedwigis, likewise, who after the death of Henry,
her husband, became a Cistercian nun, and of
whom Clement IV. in the Bull of her canon
ization thus speaks: "At last, at the death of
the most Christian duke, as it is asserted, she
forthwith, as one free and released from the
law of an earthly husband, aimed at a more in
timate companionship with Him Whose beauty
the sun and the moon admire." S. Bridget, too,
of whom many heroic actions are related in the
Bull of her canonization by Boniface IX., as
having been performed after the death of her
husband. Lastly, Francesca Romana, of whom
Pope Paul V. in the Bull on canonization
BENEDICT XIV. ON HEROIC VIRTUE. 225
speaks as follows : " Accordingly, after the death
of her husband, and for the few remaining
years of her life, she did not cease to serve
Christ in various offices of servitude. Desiring,
moreover, most anxiously to fulfil her holy de
sign of retiring to the cloister, she forthwith
went with naked feet, and a chain hanging from
her neck, to the Oblates which she herself had
brought forth in Christ, and throwing herself
on the ground with many tears, not like their
foundress, but as a most unworthy sinner, she
most suppliantly besought them that they would
receive her into their number."
24. So much concerning vidual chastity. To
return to virginal chastity, we have still, in
order to complete the subject, to inquire how
it can be proved ; since this enters into con
sideration in the causes of the servants of God.
Medical men, proceeding on the principles of
physics, bring forward a great many signs of
virginity, both in the male and female, which
may be seen in the writers themselves, especially
Gaspar Rejes,* and Zacchias.f This question
was entered into in the cause of S. Thomas of
Villanova, and in the relation of his cause the
Auditors of the Rota received the proof of his
virginity from public fame and report, and the
concurring testimony of all, judging that in a
matter difficult of positive proof, this was suffi
cient. All this may be seen in the Report in
* Jucund. Quaest. Elys. Camp. q. 38, 39.
t Qusest, Medicolegal, lib. 4. tit. 2. qu. 1.
15
226 BENEDICT XIV. ON HEROIC VIRTUE.
question. In the Report of the cause of S.
Pius V. they pursued this inquiry still farther ;
and after admitting the difficulty of proving vir
ginity, they gave a great deal of weight to
the attestations of his confessors, who said, that
having heard his confessions, they had never
found in them anything amounting to mortal
sin. Added to this, were other probable rea
sons taken from his early entrance into re
ligion, from the vow of chastity which he made,
from his hatred against sins of the flesh and wo
men of impure life, from his eminent modesty,
since when even his life was endangered, he would
not suifer the physicians to make the necessary
examinations, even by inspection, in order to
cure him of the pains from which he was suf
fering ; and, lastly, from his great sobriety and
frequent reception of the Blessed Eucharist.
Virginal chastity is also treated of in the cause
of S. Philip Neri, and it may be inferred,
both from what was brought forward in the Re
port of his cause, as well as from the other
things that have been mentioned, that it is a
matter difficult of absolute proof, but that it
must be proceeded in by probable reasons, one
or two of which are not sufficient, but that
several are necessary, from all of which united
a judgment can be made, of whether virginity
has been preserved or not. The passages from
the Report of the Auditors of the Rota in the
cause of S. Philip Neri, are as follows : " Philip
preserved to the last his virginal chastity, as he
BENEDICT XIV. ON HEROIC VIRTUE. 227
himself declared to Francesco Bucca, his spi
ritual son, in order to lead him to chastity, and
to Cardinal JBaronius, his confessor, as is set
forth in the Summary. By the common con-
jjent likewise of all his friends, he was ever con
sidered a virgin, as twenty-nine witnesses depose
in the Summary. When as yet he was a young
man, he converted to a good life some who en
deavoured to draw him into impurity, as it was
deposed in the Summary. In the same place
it is proved, that while he was still a laic, two
young women entered into his chamber, and
endeavoured to lead him to commit impurity,
but that he fortified himself with the sign of
the cross, and so was wonderfully delivered by
God. Philip was sent for to the house of a
woman, called Cesarea, to hear her confession,
and when he came there was openly tempted
by her to sin, whereupon, like another Joseph,
he immediately fled away, and although she
threw a stool after him as he was going down
the stairs, yet through the Divine protection
he escaped unhurt. When first he began to
hear confessions, he used seldom to hear those
of women, and then used to address them
roughly and severely, never looking them in
the face. His purity was so bright, that he
would not, even when he was ill, suffer any part
of his body to be seen. And when his body was
dissected, he more than once concealed with his
hands those parts which it would have been
indelicate to allow to be seen if he had been
228 BENEDICT XIV. ON HEROIC VIRTUE.
alive. The same thing happened before when
he was being washed, as we find also in the
Summary. The splendour of his purity shone
forth in his eyes and countenance ; and those
who approached him perceived a scent of chas
tity and purity emanating from his body. We
also find in the Summary, that those who con
versed with the Blessed Philip, obtained them
selves also a portion of his eminent sanctity.
His extraordinary purity gave him the power of
perceiving the smell of it in others, as well as
the contrary smell of impurity. He was con
tinually exhorting his children to preserve chas
tity, and gave them many admonitions useful
for that purpose."
25. The virginity of S. Philip Neri, then, is
proved among other things that come in to the
help of that conclusion, by his own word, as we
have it related in the same account. In another
place it will be seen that the same thing took
place in the case of S. Dominic. And, indeed,
it would be highly absurd if the word of those
whose sanctity is proved in so many other ways,
were not to be believed. S. Ambrose in his
funeral discourse on his brother,* speaks of his
virginity, and proves it from conjectures and pre
sumptive arguments. " His features," he says,
" were suffused with a sort of virginal modesty ;
he seldom raised up his face, or took his eyes
off the ground, or spoke, and when he did so,
it was with a bashful modesty that accorded well
* Opp, torn. 2. lib. 1.
BENEDICT XIV. ON HEROIC VIRTUE. 229
with the chastity of his body. He preserved un
blemished his baptismal grace in a pure body
and still purer soul, fearing the defilement of
unclean discourse, no less than that of body, and
thinking, that as high honour was done to mo
desty by sound and pure discourse, as by cor
poreal purity. Lastly, he so loved chastity, that
he did not seek to be married, although he had
not only the desire of chastity, but likewise the
grace of warm affections. Moreover, he dissem
bled about marriage most wonderfully, and avoided
all ostentation in the matter. And so strong was
his wish to conceal his feelings, that when we
urged on him this course, he seemed rather to
delay than altogether to avoid it. For it was
this alone that he would not entrust even to
a brother s heart, not through the hesitation of
delay, but on account of the modesty of virtue."
In like manner also, S. Gregory Nazianzen, in
his discourse in praise of S. Basil, commends his
virginity. "Who was there," he says, "who
either held virginity in higher estimation than
he, or who put greater restraints on the flesh ;
and this not merely by his own example, but
likewise by the great work which he took in hand ?
Whose work are the convents of nuns? To
whom do we owe all those written directions how
to restrain all the senses, and to carry modestly
all our members, to cultivate real virginity, and
to convert the beauty of those things which are
seen, to that beauty which shrinks from the
gaze of men, weakening that which is external,
and so withdrawing fuel from the fire, but of-
230 BENEDICT XIV. ON HEROIC VIRTUE.
fering, on the other hand, that which is hidden
and internal, to be tried by God, Who is alone
the Spouse of pure souls, and Who leads in with
Him to the marriage those watchful souls who go
forth to meet Him with clearly burning lamps
and with a copious supply of oil?"
Lastly, the privileges of virginity are not
taken away from her who suffers violation by
force. When the tyrant threatened S. Lucy that
he would have her taken to the public brothel,
the Saint replied, "That if he ordered her to
be denied against her will, her chastity would
win a double crown. * For since the integrity
of our bodies is only an accidental part of vir
ginity, while abstaining from taking pleasure in
sensual movements is the material part, as the
schools speak, and the purpose and design of
abstaining in this manner perpetually is the
complete and formal character of virginity ; from
all this it follows, that if a virgin is deflowered
against her will, such defilement is of no greater
prejudice to her virginity, than if her hand or
her foot were defiled. Such at least is the doc
trine of S. Thomas.*
* 2. 2. qu. 152. art, 1.
BENEDICT XIV. ON HEROIC VIRTUE. 231
CHAPTER V.
OF PRAYER ; THE DIFFERENT KINDS OF IT, AND THE
NECESSITY OF IT IN THE SERVANTS OF GOD WHO
ARE TO BE BEATIFIED OR CANONIZED.
1. IN treating of the virtue of faith in the
foregoing chapters, we made mention of prayer.
For faith is the foundation of prayer, since he
who asks anything of God professes there-
by his belief that God is able to give that
which he asks for, and that He is the primary
Author of all good. Nay, he must also believe
that God is faithful and true to His promises.
Hence the Apostle (Rom. x. 14) says, " How then
shall they call on Him in Whom they have not
believed." Mention was also made of prayer,
at least implicitly, in what we said above when
speaking of the virtue of religion. For since
the desire of praying proceeds from the im
pulse to worship God, and to offer Him our
thoughts and affections, by recognizing, and in a
manner protesting in our prayers our own po
verty, and the homage that we owe to Him, as
well as our duty to serve and to be subject to
Him ; and, on the other hand, His power, provi
dence, and goodness to us ; the affections that
arise from these considerations, form an act of
religion, the proper office of which is to render
worship to God, Such is the doctrine of S.
232 BENEDICT XIV. ON HEROIC VIRTUE.
Thomas,* which Suarez t enters into more fully ;
and Cardinal Bona likewise, in a treatise on the
principles of Christian life, to be cited again be
low, has the following passage on prayer :J "In
it," he says, "all the virtues are put in practice.
First of all comes faith, for no one would pray
unless he believed that God was present and
heard the prayers of those who called on Him,
and was both able and willing, if we ask what
is right, to grant our requests. Hope, too, is
called into exercise, since we must needs have
the greatest confidence in the power and mercy
of God. Charity is excited by the consideration
of the goodness of God, which urges us to love
Him above all things. By prayer we learn to
fulfil all justice, and to weigh all things with
the prudence of the just. Fortitude is exercised,
because he who prays has firmly determined to
serve God, and to endure all adversities and
trials for the sake of His love. Acts of temper
ance are also made, inasmuch as the mind of
him who prays, is drawn into a distaste for all
earthly and corporeal things, and tastes the de
lights of heaven, and so of the rest. He, then,
who applies himself to prayer, is adorned with
many virtues." As, however, there is frequently
reason for inquiry into the habit of prayer of
the servants of God in causes of beatification
and canonization, it seems to me necessary to
say something in this and the following chapter
on this subject.
* 2, 2. qu. 83. art. 3. &c.
t De Religione, torn. 2. lib. i. c. 7.
J De Princip. Vit. Christ, part 1. c. 50.
BENEDICT XIV. ON HEROIC VIRTUE. 233
2. Those who write on the canonization of
Saints, say that the zealous practice of prayer
is to be thought a great deal of in those who
are to be canonized. Thus Cardinal de Laursea,*
in his work on heroic virtue, and Matthseucci,t
and the matter is discussed at length by the
Auditors of the Rota in the Reports of the
causes of the SS. Paschal Baylon, Felix of Can-
talici, Francis Xavier, John of God, Peter of
Alcantara, Francis Borgia, James de la Marca,
Charles Borromeo, Pope Pius V., Francesca Ro-
mana, and Mary Magdalene de Pazzi. The
same thing is to be seen in the Bulls of can
onization. As, for instance, in .that of S. Thomas
of Hereford, " He applied himself continually to
prayer." Of S. Lewis of Thoulouse, "In con
tinual and devout prayer he kept his soul ele
vated to God." Of S. Peter Celestine, "This
blessed man, the desires of the flesh being mor
tified by the spirit, and restrained, kept his
soul aloft, firmly raised to God by continual
prayer." Of S. Philip Neri, "Among other
means by which he attained to so great a height
of charity, the chief was his great ardour in
prayer." Of S. Cajetan, " He was so given up
to prayer, that whatever time remained over and
above the care of his domestic affairs and the
salvation of souls, he gave up to prayer and
meditation." Of S. Paschal Baylon, "Whatever
time according to his rule remained to him, he
spent in prayer and meditation." But that
* 3 lib. sent. torn. 2. disp. 32. de virtut. heroic, art. 9. unic. num. 36.
t Pract. Theol. Can. ad caus. Beat, et Can. tit. 2. c, 3, 2. num. 22-27.
234 BENEDICT XIV. ON HEROIC VIRTUE.
these may be explained in due order, it is neces
sary to make a few prefatory remarks.
3. Prayer, which may be defined a raising
of the mind to God, according to S. John Da
mascene, or holding discourse with God, as S.
Basil says, is formally divided into mental and
vocal, into meditative and contemplative, into
public and private, and, lastly, into prayer of
praise, prayer of thanksgiving, and prayer of
petition.
4. Vocal prayer is that which is expressed
by the voice ; yet so, that the act of the mind
is united to that of the voice. For otherwise,
if it were done without either attention or in
tention, it would be only worthy of the Divine
displeasure, as we find it said in S. Matthew s
Gospel, (xv, 8,) "This people honoureth Me
with their lips, but their heart is far from Me."
And S. Augustine remarks to the same pur
pose, (in serm. 118.) "Who is there that doubts
that the cry that is raised to God by those
who pray, if it is done with the sound of the
corporeal voice only, and not with the lifting
up of the whole heart, is vain and useless ? But
that which is the act of the heart, even though
the voice should be silent, may escape indeed
the notice of men but not that of God." But
mental prayer is accomplished without external
utterance. And indeed every body experiences
how he may, if he pleases, say inwardly to him-
self everything which he is accustomed to say
aloud.
5. We have said that this mental prayer was
BENEDICT XIV. ON HEROIC VIRTUE. 235
divided into meditative and contemplative. Medi
tative mental prayer is nothing more than an
attentive consideration of any mystery of faith or
anything revealed, and this is done by reasoning
on it, and proceeding from one part of it to an
other. Suppose, for instance, one should medi
tate on the Nativity of Christ : he turns over in
his mind Who it is that is born, and considers
that it is God, Who became man, and he thinks
on this with wonder : he considers the place,
a stable, and is amazed at this : he considers
the time also, the depth of a severe winter, and
wonders at this : he considers the poverty of
Him Who was born ; He was wrapped in vile
rags and lay in a manger, and this too excites
his wonder: he considers next that He came
forth from His mother s womb without offence
to her virginal chastity and without pain, and
at this he wonders : and so he considers the
other circumstances connected with the Nativity,
and from the consideration of all these things
he draws forth an act of love towards Christ Who
was born, and towards God Who accomplished
all these wonders.
6. Contemplative prayer, or contemplation, is
defined by S. Thomas* to be a gazing upon
Divine truth. In order to explain this clearly, let
us suppose that some one reads, or hears another
read, this article of faith, " The Son of God was
incarnate." By the assistance of the Divine grace
he believes it to be true. He turns over in
his mind the Incarnation and the manner of it,
* 2. 2. qu. 180. art. 4.
236 BENEDICT XIV. ON HEROIC VIRTUE.
and having made an act of believing he medi
tates on and carefully considers that truth, viz.,
that the Son of God was incarnate, fixing on
it the eje of his mind by simply gazing on it.
He then adds to this act of the intellect one
of the will, that is to say, an act of love and
affection respecting this mystery. Hence, S.
Thomas* in answer to the first argument in which
it was contended, that contemplation was an act
of the intellect alone, says, that "inasmuch as
truth is the end of contemplation, it has from
this cause the character of a good that is desir
able and amiable, and that causes delight, and in
this respect it belongs to the appetitive faculty."
7. Lastly, public prayer is that which is made
by the ministers of the Church in her name ;
private, that which is made by any private per
son, either for himself or for others. And so it is
plain from the very terms what is meant by the
prayer of praise, what by that of thanksgiving,
and what by that of petition. Some Psalms,
for instance, belong to the prayer of praise, as
the Psalms, "Confitebor tibi Domine ; Benedictus
Dominus Deus Israel," and " Benedictus Dominus
Deus meus." Others have reference to the prayer
of thanksgiving, as "Laudate pueri, Laudate Do-
minum de coelis, Laudate Dominum omnes gen-
tes," and "Confitemini Domino." Of the prayer
of petition Christ speaks in the Gospel of S.
Matthew, (vii. 7,) "Ask, and it shall be given
you; seek, and you shall find ; knock, and it shall
be opened to you:" and again, verse 11, "Your
* 2. 2. in cit. quaest. 180. art. 1.
BENEDICT XIV. ON HEROIC VIRTUE. 237
Father who is in heaven will give good things
to them that ask Him."
8. Thus much having been premised, which
has been taken from the eight smaller works of
Cardinal de Laursea on Christian prajer, as far
as it regarded our purpose, two things are certain.
First, that prayer is necessary in order to our
obtaining eternal salvation, as may be seen by a
reference to the section on the necessity of prayer,
in the Catholic Instructions of Francis Amat
Pouget ;* and likewise according to the doctrine
of S. Thomas.f The words of the holy doctor are
as follows : " Every one is bound to pray, from
the fact, that he is bound in this way to obtain
spiritual goods, which are not given except by
God, and which cannot be obtained except by
asking for them from Him." And in his answer
to the first argument he adds, "Love, which is
above all things voluntary, is necessary in order
to our obtaining our salvation, and it is in this
way that prayer is likewise necessary, and it is
a matter of precept with respect to those whose
will is subject to the forementioned necessity."
The other thing is, that we are not allowed to
doubt of the utility of vocal prayer, according
to the same holy doctor, who teaches^ that vocal
prayer is useful ; first, in order to excite interior
devotion ; secondly, in order that man may serve
God with that whole being which God has given
him ; and, thirdly, from a sort of overflowing
that there is of the soul into the body, as it is
* Tom. 2. p. 613. + In 4. d. 15. qu. 4. art. 1. qusestiunc. 3.
\ 2. 2. qusest. 8-3. art. 12.
238 RENEDICT XIV. ON HEROIC VIRTUE.
said in the Psalms, (xv. 9,) "Therefore my heart
hath been glad and my tongue hath rejoiced."
This is discussed by the Dominican Father llde-
fonsus Manriquez, in his treatise on the condi
tions of prayer, in his exposition of the text of
S. Thomas. On the necessity of prayer the pious
Cardinal Bona writes as follows in his treatise
on the principles of Christian life :* " The ne
cessity of prayer is such, that it is a matter
of Faith, that no one can without it obtain his
eternal salvation. For who can follow the voca
tion that God gives him unless he is assisted
by the gift of grace ? And who can merit His
help without prayer ? And hence, the Scriptures
teach us, that we ought always and without inter
mission to pray, because we always and in all
things need the grace of God. And he may be
said to pray always who never for a day passes
by the times of prayer."
9. The question, then, which there is among
theologians is reduced to this, whether there is
any precept of private vocal prayer. Some theo
logians contend that there is no precept, either
of natural or Divine, or ecclesiastical law, bind
ing us to pray to God in private vocal prayer,
since the precept of praying may be sufficiently
fulfilled by mental prayer, as Suarezf proves at
length. This too seems to be the opinion of S.
Thomas,:}: where he says, " Private prayer (oratio
singularis) is that which is offered by a simple
*.Ch. 44. part. 1. p. 43.
t De relig. torn. 2. lib. 3. de Orat. vocal, in communic. cap. 6.
J 2. 2. cit. quaest. 83. art. 12.
UENEDICT XIV. ON HEROIC VIRTUE. 239
person praying either for himself or for others.
And it is not necessary that this prayer should
be vocal." But others among the same theo
logians, teach that the precept of vocal prayer
was laid on every Christian who is capable of
it, and that it rests on the example of Christ,
and the practice of the universal Church, as Car
dinal de Laurasa shows at length in his foremen-
tioned work on prayer. For Christ our Lord often
prayed vocally, and when he was asked by His
Apostles, (Luc. ii. 1,) " Lord, teach us to pray,"
He answered, "When you pray, say, Father, hal
lowed be Thy name ;" in which place He clearly
speaks of vocal prayer. In S. Matthew too, He
says, (vi. 7,) "And when you are praying, speak
not much as the heathens do ;" (and verse 9,)
" You therefore shall pray in this manner ; Our
Father, who art in heaven," &c.
10. But however this question is settled,
it seems superfluous to examine into it in con
nexion with the subject which we have at pre
sent in hand, inasmuch as it connot be conceived,
that the question should be entertained of beati
fying or canonizing any servant of God who did
not in his life-time use vocal prayer. It will be
sufficient to remark, that in the process of be
atification or canonization, regard is not had
to every sort of vocal prayer, but it is only to
that which possesses a high degree of excellence
and perfection or to heroic vocal prayer that
weight is to be attached. Now although as S.
Thomas shows at length, in order to judge of
this, attention must be paid to the words, to
240 BENEDICT XIV. ON HEROIC VIRTUE.
the sense of the words, and to the end, both
God, that is to say, and the thing which is pray
ed for, and all these things are internal, and
so cannot be known by the Church directly ;
yet indirectly the perfection and excellence of
vocal prayer may be collected from external
acts, as for instance, from tears, of which here
after, from the position and gestures of the
body, from the place, from the time in which
prayer is made, from the frequency of it, as
Scacchus explains in his work ;* this continu
ance in prayer ought not, however, to be mea
sured by any set space of time, since, as regards
private vocal prayer, it ought to be persevered in
as long as is required to excite interior fervour.
So S. Augustine says, " There may not be much
speaking, but there will not fail to be much
praying, if only there is a perseverance in the
intention." And this is fully explained by S,
Thomas,t Suarez.f and Rosignoli.g
11. Passing by many other instances which
might easily be collected together, we find in the
Life of S. Luke Thaumaturgus the younger, in
the BollandistsJ the following passage to our
purpose, taken from the account of the same
disciple: "I have known him," he says, "to
fix his knees on the ground and strike his fore
head against the earth ; and at each genuflexion
he uttered publicly those words. And then, as if
growing warm with fervour, he "made more fre-
* De. not. et sign. Sanctit. ? 5. c. 4,
t Loc, cit. t De relig- lib. 3. c. 7. De action virt. lib. i. c.
|] Ad diem 7. Feb.
BENEDICT XIV, ON HEROIC VIRTUE. 241
quent genuflexions, and continued in them until
at length, all his strength being exhausted, (for
his body was not endowed with vigour sufficient
to respond to the quick motions of his ready
spirit,) he fell down on his back and remained a
long time without motion. Yet, even in this
position, he did not give way to sloth, but ex
erted himself. He did not yield to sleep, but
raised up his hands, and the eyes of his body
as well as^of his mind, and thus, with the effort
of his whole soul he uttered his accustomed
prayer, Lord, have mercy upon me. And then,
after a little rest to his body, he rose up and
stood again on his feet, and so gave himself up
to prayer till break of day."
12. In the Life of S. Eomuald in the Bolland-
ists,* we read as follows : " Truly, because the
holy father Romuald was thus dead to the flesh,
thus wholly estranged from the world, continually
employed in devout prayers, and in praising God."
13. In the Life of S. Pius V., in the same
Bollandists,t it is said, "He was, moreover,
extremely assiduous in the practice of holy
prayer, of which he used to say, that as it was
an aid and protection to all others, so was it in
an especial manner to Pontiffs. Accordingly, he
was accustomed to rise before day-break, and to
remain so fixed in that exercise reciting certain
prayers for priests, that he sometimes scarcely
heard those who approached to interrupt him,
unless he were restored to himself by having his
* Feb. 7. c. 2. n. 7. p. 126.
t Tom. 1. Mali. lib. 6. n. 320. p. 697.
16
242 BENEDICT XIV. ON HEROIC VIRTUE.
clothes pulled ; and when he retired from prayer
he was often rapt in Divine contemplation, and
did not fully answer those who asked him about
anything ; a certain mark of a burning charity
towards God of a soul filled with Divine influ
ence." In another place we find, "that while
he was engaged in any more weighty or impor
tant affairs, Pius always kept to this method of
prayer. He also provided that the Litanies and
other stated prayers should be recited every day
at even in the apostolical palace, and that in his
own presence, unless he was particularly hin
dered, and that of his whole household. In the
meantime, however, he overlooked nothing that
belonged to his own particular office. For he
considered that the duty of a Pontiff lay chiefly
in making intercession before God for the faults
and necessities of his people, and that he ought,
therefore, to be intimate with, as well as ac
ceptable to, Him with Whom he was appointed to
intercede. After the example, therefore, of Moses,
who frequently went in and out of the taber
nacle, he retired from business from time to time
in order to discourse with God, that he might
learn from God within what he should teach to
the people without, and that having been rapt up
in contemplation of God within, he might be
able on coming out to bear the burthens of all,
and provide for their salvation. He used to
say, that in order to sustain properly the burden
that had been laid on him, he stood in the great
est need of the prayers of holy persons, and
he took great care, therefore, that supplications
BENEDICT XIV. ON HEROIC VIRTUE. 243
should be continually offered, both in public and
by holy communities, as well as by private persons,
to God for himself and the whole of Christendom.
He was so devoted to the Most Blessed Virgin
Mother of God, that even when he was Supreme
Pontiff, and occupied with such weighty affairs, he
would never let a day pass in which he did not
recite the devotion of what is called the Holy
Rosary, and he granted many additional indul
gences, as we have already said, to this method
of prayer. And further, he was accustomed to
pray devoutly and carefully for the dead every
day, and bears witness that this was of great
service to him in many great dangers."
14. In the Life of S. Simon Stylites the
younger, which is to be found in the Bol-
landists,* his habit of prayer is thus described :
" He used to give up the whole day almost, as
far as to three o clock, to continual prayer. At
three o clock came the office of thurification,
another kind of prayer. Afterwards at sunset
he began afresh, and only left off at last when
the sun was bringing back day again. Then it
was that he at length called sleep to his service,
and singing those words, In peace in the self
same I will sleep, and I will rest ; for Thou,
Lord, singularly hast settled me in hope ; he
only indulged in it so far as the absolute neces
sity of his body required it. The prayers he
used were the whole of the Psalter, and the
Songs of Moses; his left hand was stretched
out in supplication to God ; with his right he
* Tom. 5. Maii. no. 46. p. 324.
244 BENEDICT XIV. ON HEROIC VIRTUE.
inflicted the most severe blows on his breast,
while rivers of tears soaked his ragged and
threadbare cassock. After this followed spiritual
reading and meditation on the Divine oracles.
He often offered incense to God, which he held
in his right hand, and the smoke of which (0,
who shall tell the wonders of the Lord!) ascended
on high without the aid of any live coals. At
other times he was heard to sing psalms with
the multitude, and at the same time to add
continually in an under tone, Alleluia. He fre
quently went for a very long time without suf
fering his eyes to see any sleep, so that some-
times for the space of thirty entire nights and
as many days, he would lead a sleepless life,
passing all his time in prayer to God. But,
grace speaking within, he heard a mysterious
and secret answer, It is fit thou shouldest take
a little rest. "
15. Since, however, the servants of God have
sometimes not been able to find time for vocal
prayer when they have wished to make it, in
consequence of being so incessantly occupied
in the active life, they have endeavoured to de
vote other hours, though very inconvenient ones,
to this exercise, in order that they might not
give up the practice of vocal prayer. There is an
example of this in the Life of S. Stephen, founder
of the order of Grandmont.* " Beside the regu
lar ecclesiastical offices of obligation, namely,
the office for the day, that of the Blessed Virgin,
and of the faithful dead, he always from the
* Apud. Bolland. torn. 2. cap. 3. Februar. 8.
BENEDICT XIV. ON HEROIC VIRTUE. 245
first day he came into the desert to the last day
of his life, recited with the greatest devotion the
order of the Holy Trinity with the nine lections,
and the canonical hours every day and night.
He loved the Psalter and the ordinary prayers
to such a degree, and possessed so abundantly
the grace of that high kind of contemplation
in which God is best known, that being at one
time rapt in the sweetness of the latter, and
at another occupied with the former, he fre
quently went two or even three days without
having time to eat. If, however, he was at any
time so taken up with his engagements to those to
whom he could not in charity be wanting, that he
could not fulfil all that he was accustomed to
do in this way, at their appointed times or hours,
he in that case permitted himself to defer them,
but not to omit them. For as soon as those
who had come to him retired, whatever hour
it might be, before he would eat or sleep, he
would supply with great devotion all that he had
been obliged to interrupt of his usual prayers.
And so it was often not till the next day that
any food was taken by this true imitator of the
disciples of Christ, who, by reason of the mul
titudes who went and came, had not time even
to eat."
16. These examples and others like them may
be of service to those who have to give their
suffrage in causes of beatification and canoniza
tion, enabling them to decide by arguments taken
from external marks, when private vocal prayer
may be called excellent, perfect, and heroic.
246 BENEDICT XIV. ON HEROIC VIRTUE,
For, as we have already said, it is not of every
sort of private vocal prayer that account ought
to be taken ia this matter. We have, moreover,
to take into consideration who is prayed to. For
prayer is addressed to God as the chief Author
of grace and glory, as well as of all those bene
fits which lead to it, and also as to the first
cause of all things. It is addressed to the Saints
that they may be our intercessors with God,
and may obtain things from Him according to
what we have laid down in the first chapter of
the first Book, and agreeably to the doctrine which
Suarez sets forth.* It will not then be out of
place to give an account here of a controversy
which arose in the Congregation of Sacred Rites,
from an alleged improper invocation of an inter
cessor, at the time that I exercised the office of
Promoter of the Faith.
17, A servant of God who lived in the Floren
tine territory, and of about eighteen years of
age, had commended herself in private vocal
prayer to brother Jerome Savonarola of the
Dominican order, then dead, that she might be
delivered from a disease with which she was
troubled. I, as Promoter of the Faith, contended
that she had sinned in so doing. For although
it is true that apologies were put forth in behalf
of Savonarola by John Francis Picus Mirandula,
by Marsilius Ficinus, and by many others, whose
sayings have been learnedly collected by Abraham
Bzovius in his Annals ;t yet it is certain that he
* De relig. torn. 2. lib. 1. cap. 10. num. 6.
t Tom. 18. ad ann. 1498, no. 10.
BENEDICT XIV. ON HEROIC VIRTUE. 247
as well as two more of his companions were
delivered over to the secular power, strangled,
and afterwards burnt in the city of Florence,
in the year 1498. This was done after process
issued against them by the Father General, the
Master of the Order of Preachers, and by Bishop
Romolino, afterwards Cardinal Surrentinus, the
judges delegated by Pope Alexander VI. to in
quire into the matter. And although it was by
no means established by this process, that Savon
arola had procured the sacramental confessions
of their penitents to be revealed to him by his
companions, or that he had lived in an impure
manner, as many, both after and before his death,
ventured to assert, yet it was proved by sufficient
evidence, as well as by the confession of the
accused, that he had refused to obey the com
mands of the Supreme Pontiff, that he had often
harangued the people from the pulpit against the
vices of the Roman court, and had said that he
was a prophet sent by God, besides having done
many other things, which may be seen in
Raynaldus* and Spondanus.t
18. A great deal was said by the postulators,
to show that the fact had not been clearly proved
that the servant of God had offered prayers
to Brother Jerome Savonarola, then dead. And
besides this, omitting the mention of all that
had been written to prove his innocence, they
went on to say that during his lifetime he had
obtained a great reputation for sanctity, as is
* Annal. ad an. 1497. n. 17. 1498. n. 10.
t Contin. Annal. Baron, ad an. 1498. nn. 7, 8.
248 BENEDICT XIV. ON HEROIC VIETUE.
witnessed by Philip Coramines * in his Memoirs.
This is discussed at greater length by Gotofredus,
in his observations on that passage ; by Francis
Guicciardini, in his History of Italy; by Scipio
Ammirato, in his History of Florence ; by Antonio
Maria Gratian, in his book on the misfortunes of
illustrious persons ; by John Fischer, Cardinal,
and Bishop of Rochester ; by Timothy Bottini
of Perugia, in his Life of Savonarola ; by Sixtus
Senensis, in his Bibliotheca ; and, lastly, by Ray-
naldus and Spondanus, in the places already
cited. We pass over for the present the letter
of S. Francis de Paula concerning which see the
observation of John Quetif, Dominican, in the
additions to the Life of Savonarola formerly
preserved in the sacristy of the church of S.
Cecilia, and now in the Chigi Library, but which
is considered spurious by Papebroch, and vindi
cated as genuine by the then learned Bishop of
Ravello and La Scala, Joseph Maria Perimezzi.t
They urged, moreover, that Savonarola had
died in the communion of the holy Roman
Church, that both he and his companions had
cleansed their consciences by a most humble
confession, that they had received the Eu
charist, and accepted with the greatest thank
fulness a plenary indulgence, in articulo mor
tis, which had been offered them by the
Supreme Pontiff. All this is declared by John
Picus, Timothy Bottom, Jacob Nardi, and Bzovius.
Upon these and other grounds, they drew the
conclusion, that the servant of God might without
* Lib. 8. c. 2.
t Dissert. 10. ad vitam. S. Francis de Paula.
BENEDICT XIV. ON HEROIC VIRTUE. 249
sin have made private prayers to Savonarola,
For it is sufficient for the matter which was
then in hand namely, that the servant of God
might be freed from the imputation of sin that
the person who privately worships and venerates
any one who is dead, and whom he thinks to
be interceding with God for him, should have at
least a highly probable opinion of his salvation,
according to the well-argued opinion of Suarez.*
19. The same postulators added that many
other discreet and holy men had done the same
thing as the servant of God here spoken of.
Bzovius tells us, that according to the testimony
of approved persons, St. Philip Neri kept in
a part of his chamber, set apart for sacred pur
poses, an image of Savonarola, with the head
surrounded with rays. It is also said of the
same saint, that a very grave controversy hav
ing arisen in the time of Pope Paul IV. con
cerning the doctrine and writings of Savonarola,
and that the same dispute having been carried
on in the time of Pope Pius IV. with a good
deal of heat, he offered prayers to God that
the works might not be prohibited, and that
the doctrine contained in them might stand
unshaken. And that God revealing it, to him,
he knew of the victory that was gained before
the news of it was brought to him, upon which
he exclaimed, " Good news, we have conquered,
my brethren. Let us all return thanks to the
Most High. Our adversaries have hurled their
darts in vain against Jerome and his doctrine.
* De relig, torn. 2. lib. 1. cap. 10. sub, num. 24.
250 BENEDICT XIV. ON HEROIC VIRTUE.
It stands unshaken, and is approved by the judg
ment of our most holy Lord the Pope." Thus
we read in his Life by Father Galloni. And al
though the fact is narrated without the name of
Jerome being mentioned, yet that the revela
tion was actually made on the occasion of the
discussion respecting Savonarola, and the victory
gained therein being reported to him, is borne
witness to by the writer, who enlarges the Life
of the Saint written by Picus, as well as by some
witnesses who are mentioned in the process of
his canonization.
20. The majority of those who gave their suf
frages, and almost the whole of them, acknow
ledged the force of the answer. As, however,
some, carried away by the heat of disputation,
had begun to speak by the way of the virtues
of Savonarola, as shown in his life and at the
close of it, as well as of the death to which he
and his companions had without just cause been
condemned ; although this argument of his hav
ing been put to death without just and sufficient
cause was not only without foundation, but
could have been of little or no service in vin
dicating the servant of God for all that was,
or could be, required for this, was, that Savo
narola had lived piously, that he had at death
given indubitable signs of penitence, that he
had accepted death with that humility that
was befitting a Christian, and that before and
after his death the opinion of his sanctity had
gained ground this, we say, having been refer
red to Pope Benedict XIII, of happy memory,
BENEDICT XIV. ON HEROIC VIRTUE. 251
his Holiness was pleased, after he had with
the greatest care and wisdom considered every
thing, and had attentively read what had been
said on either side all which had been faith
fully taken down in brief by me as Promoter of
the Faith in order to prevent the old question
respecting the justice or injustice of Savonarola s
condemnation being once more revived, to issue
a decree, imposing silence respecting the prayer
of the servant of God to Savonarola, so that
nothing should be inferred from it, either for or
against her cause, and ordering them to proceed
to what came next. And this decree was con
firmed by Pope Clement XII. of happy memory.
21. Having finished the account of the ques
tion discussed in the Congregation of Sacred
Rites, return we now to our subject. Next, then,
to private vocal prayer comes public and com
mon prayer, of which S. Thomas says,* " Com
mon prayer is that which is offered to God in
the person of all His faithful people by the
ministers of the Church, and it is fit, therefore,
that this sort of prayer should be known to
the people for whom it is offered, and this could
not be unless it were vocal. It is, therefore, most
reasonably ordained, that the Church s ministers
should recite these prayers with a loud voice,
that they may come to the knowledge of all." It
is quite plain respecting it, that the precept is
binding on some persons, as may be evidently
gathered from the obligation laid, for instance,
on clerics and professed religious to recite the
* 2. 2, quaest. 83, art. 12.
252 BENEDICT XIV. ON HEROIC VIRTUE.
divine office. There is nothing, however, which
it seems necessary to say in connexion with our
present subject, respecting this kind of common,
public, and vocal prayer ; for what has just been
said of private vocal prayer, may very fitly be
applied to it. Pope Clement V., in his Bull
of canonization of S. Peter de Morono, has thus
spoken of the fervour and excellence of his public
and common vocal prayer : " This blessed man,
having mortified and subdued by the spirit all
the desires of the flesh, being entirely devoted to
God, kept his mind continually elevated to God
in prayer. At midnight he rose to matins, and
having finished these, he read the Psalter with
the Litanies and a great many collects, crucify
ing his flesh with its lusts and affections, by
frequent genuflexions and severe disciplines. At
day-break he celebrated mass, and then again
betook himself with great devotion to his Psalter,
nor did he cease from prayer till the third hour."
The same may be read in the Bull of canonization
of S. Lewis, Bishop of Thoulouse. So, too, S.
Bonaventure speaks in the Legend of S. Francis :*
"The holy man was accustomed to render to
God his daily task of the canonical hours, with
a scrupulous devotion almost amounting to
fear. For although he suffered from weakness
in his eyes, his stomach, his spleen, and his
liver, yet he would not even lean against the
wall while he recited them ; but always stood
upright and without his cowl in performing this
duty, nor would he suffer his eyes to wander or
use any abbreviation."
* Opp. torn. 7. cap, 10. p. 313.
BENEDICT XIV. ON HEROIC VIRTUE. 253
CHAPTER VI.
OF MENTAL PRAYER ; OF THE THREE SORTS OF LIFE,
ACTIVE, CONTEMPLATIVE, AND MIXED ; OF THE
STATE OF THOSE WHO ARE BEGINNING, OF THOSE
WHO ARE MAKING PROGRESS, AND THE PERFECT ;
AND OF SOME OTHER THINGS THAT RELATE TO
VOCAL AND MENTAL PRAYER.
1. ALTHOUGH something has already been said
in the foregoing chapter respecting mental prayer,
meditation, and contemplation, yet there are
some other things which ought to be added
concerning mental prayer in particular, and
what is connected with it, so far as it has
reference to causes of beatification and canoni
zation.
2. Mental prayer is more excellent than vocal
prayer. Hence, S. Thomas says,* " The more
closely a man unites his own soul or that of ano
ther to God, so much the more pleasing is his
sacrifice to God. From this cause it is that
it is more acceptable to God, that a man should
apply himself to contemplation than to action."
And so David teaches us, Ps. cxviii. 34, " Give
me understanding, and I will search Thy law ;
and I will keep it with my whole heart ;" and
verse 18, "Open Thou my eyes, and I will con
sider the wondrous things of Thy law ;" Ps. Ixii.
7, " I will meditate on Thee in the morning ;"
* 2. 2. qu. 182. ar. 2.
254 BENEDICT XIV. ON HEROIC VIRTUE.
Ps. Ixxvi. 13, "I will meditate on all Thy works j"
and Ps. cxviii. 117, "I will meditate always on
Thy justifications." It has been said above,
that it is necessary for all to pray to God, and
this is confirmed by the words of Holy Scripture.
In Eccli. xviii. 22, we read, " Let nothing hinder
thee from praying always ;" and in S. Luke,
xviii. 1, "We ought always to pray, and not to
faint." Respecting this necessity of praying, S.
John Chrysostom* speaks thus : " He who does
not pray to God, and desire continually to enjoy
discourse with God, is dead, and wants life and
sense." And further on he adds this : "It must,
I think, be plain to all, that it is altogether im
possible to lead a life of virtue without prayer."
It was also mentioned above, that theologians dif
fered in their opinions as to whether there is any
precept for private vocal prayer. There is a sim
ilar question among them as to mental prayer,
that is to say, meditation or contemplation. To
suggest something on which question I should
say, that contemplation and meditation are not
necessary to eternal salvation, simply speaking ;
for our Saviour being asked, "What must I do
to possess eternal life?" answered, "Keep the
commandments ;" and when the speaker asked
Him again which were the commandments, He
replied to him by enumerating the command
ments of the second table only, for He was
speaking to a Jew, who already believed in one
God, and kept holy the Sabbath. Our Saviour
again being questioned by the lawyer, which
* Opp. torn, 2. horn. 1. de precatione, p. 780.
BENEDICT XIV. ON HEROIC VIRTUE. 255
was the great commandment in the law, said,
"Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with thy
whole heart, .... and thou shalt love thy neighbour
as thyself. On these two commandments depend-
eth the whole law and the prophets." And upon
his replying, " All these things have I kept from
my youth; what is yet wanting to me?" our
Lord added, " If thou wilt be perfect, go sell
what thou hast and give to the poor." This is
explained at length by Suarez,* and Theophilus
Raynaudf also. And so we find in Hurtado,J
that tha note of temerity is affixed to the pro
position, that no one can be saved who does not
give up some time every day to mental prayer.
3. We should say, moreover, that there was
no universal precept of mental prayer, so that
to speak generally, every one may adequately
fulfil the divine and natural precept of prayer
to God, by praying either mentally or vocally.
The whole matter is minutely discussed by Fa
ther Sebastian g of the Conception, a Discalced
Carmelite, of the Spanish Congregation, From
this rule, however, those are excepted who are
bound to this exercise by some grave particu
lar precept, either from a special vow which
they have made, or by the religious institute
to which they have given themselves up. As,
however, these same theologians often speak of
another sort of necessity, which they call "se-
cundum quid," or, relative necessity, and as a
* Tom. 2. de relig. lib. 2. c. 4, f Heteroclit. Spiritual, p. 158.
t In tr. de vero Martyrio digression, 4. de Choro. Ecclesiastico. 2,
p. 304.
Theolog. Mystico-Scholast. torn, 2. disp. 2. q. 3.
256 BENEDICT XIV. ON HEROIC VIRTUE.
thing which is said to be necessary, "secundum
quid," is not absolutely requisite in order to its
obtaining its effects, but by way of obtaining it
better and more easily ; if we speak of this sort
of necessity, we shall have to confess that con
templation and meditation are necessary, and are
contained implicitly under what is, to say the least
of it, a counsel. It is quite certain that a counsel
is given us to acquire perfection. "Be ye, there
fore, perfect," says our Lord, " as your heavenly
Father is perfect. And S. Paul, in his epistle to
the Corinthians, xii. 31, says, "Be zealous for
the better gifts;" and in the Apocalypse, xxii. 11,
we read, "He that is just, let him be justified
still ; and he that is holy, let him be sanctified
still." Now, if a counsel of acquiring perfection
is given us, a counsel of meditating and con
templating is by consequence given us implicitly,
though it is one which chiefly regards religious,
as Hurtado (loc. cit.) also confesses. " It is
true," he says, " that religious, although there is
no divine precept of mental prayer, or medita
tion, with respect to them, are bound to it by
greater obligations by reason of their state, in
asmuch as it is one of perfect charity, and fer
vour, and spiritual sweetness, and readiness for
all good works, and especially for such as
belong to the Divine worship and to piety."
4. In order that this may be the more easily
explained, one or two things must be premised.
First, that there are three sorts of life, the active,
the contemplative, and the mixed ; that the con
templative life is preferable to the active, and
BENEDICT XIV. ON HEROIC VIRTUE. 257
that the mixed is more perfect than both. Now
that there are these three sorts of life, the active,
the contemplative, and the mixed, is evident.
For those among the faithful who give them
selves up to the continual, or at least, very fre
quent practice of spiritual and corporal works
of mercy, and to the constant exercise of vir
tue, both towards God and their neigbour, whe
ther they are works of precept or of counsel, are
said to live the active life. Hence, an uncertain
author, in a treatise " On the way of living well,"*
says, "There is the greatest difference, beloved
sister, between the active and the contemplative
life. The active life is to give bread to the hun
gry, to teach thy neighbour the word of wisdom,
to correct the wanderer, to bring back the proud
into the path of humility, and those who are at
enmity into the way of peace, to visit the sick,
to bury the dead, to redeem the captives and
prisoners, to dispense to each that which is best
for him, to provide for the necessities of all."
Those who give themselves up to the continual
or very frequent consideration of God, and the
things of God, and of everything that has been
revealed to us ; who are endowed with charity,
together with a total renunciation of the world,
with purity of heart, and complete subjugation
of their passions, are said to live the life of con
templation, of which the same author goes on to
speak as follows: "The contemplative life is to
keep warm in our heart the love of God and
* Inter opera. S. Bernard!, vol. 2. cap. 53.
17
258 BENEDICT XI V. ON HEROIC VIRTUE.
our neighbour, to rest from external action, and
to desire the Creator alone ; and this in such a
manner, that the soul is now no longer free to do
anything, but despising all the cares of the world,
burns with the desire of seeing the face of her
Creator ; has learnt how to bear the burden of
this corruptible flesh with pain and grief, and
to desire most earnestly to take part in the hymns
of praise which the choirs of angels sing ; to
mingle among the citizens of heaven, and to
rejoice in the gift of immortality in the presence
of God." Lastly, those who go through all this,
and who now exercise themselves in the active
life, now in the contemplative, are said to live
a mixed life. Concerning these the above writer
speaks thus : "Some holy men there are who come
forth from secret contemplation into active life,
and then return again from active life to the
hidden life of inward contemplation, so that when
they have received the grace to advance the glory
of God abroad, they return to praise God in re
tirement at home. And as God wills that con-
templatives should sometimes come forth into
active life, that they may profit others, so He
sometimes wills that no one should disquiet them,
but that they should rest in the secret joy of
sweet contemplation." This it is which is said
in the Canticle, "I adjure you, daughters of
Jerusalem, that you stir not up nor awake the
soul that is given up to divine contemplation,
that is occupied with prayers and devout lec
tions." We learn that the contemplative life
is more perfect than the active from S. Gregory
BENEDICT XIV. ON HEROIC VIRTUE. 259
on Ezekiel,* where with reference to those words
of Christ, Luke, x. 42, " Mary has chosen the best
part, which shall not be taken away from her,"
he says, "These two women, Martha and Mary,
are very well made to signify the two kinds of
life, inasmuch as the former was busily engaged
in much serving, while the latter sat at our Lord s
feet and listened to the words that proceeded out
of His mouth. And when Martha complained,
our Lord answers her, Mary hath chosen the
best part, which shall not be taken away from
her. Nor does He say, Mary has chosen the
good part, but the best part, that the part
of Martha might be pointed at as good likewise."
Many arguments are brought forward by S. Tho
mas,! to prove that a life of contemplation is the
more perfect. It may, it would seem, be gather
ed from Holy Scriptures, that while Peter loved
Christ more than the rest, yet that John was
more beloved by Him. Accordingly, S. Augus
tine writes as follows :J "Who is there that
is not moved to inquire respecting these two
Apostles, Peter and John, why it is that our
Lord loves John the more, when it was Peter that
loved Him the more. For wherever John makes
any mention of himself, in order that it may be
secretly understood who is spoken of, he adds,
Him whom Jesus loved, as if He loved him
alone, so that he might even be known by this
sign from the rest, all of whom shared our Lord s
* Lib. 2. horn. 2. num. 9.
t 2. 2. qu. 182. art. 1. in corpore.
t Opp. torn. :j. in Joan. tr. 124. n. 4. col. 820,
260 BENEDICT XIV. ON HEROIC VIRTUE.
love. What is it then that he intends to signify
by this, but that he was more loved than the
others?" S. Augustine himself answers the ques
tion ; we find his answer expressed in S. Thomas*
in a few words: " The active life, which is signified
by Peter, loves God more than the contempla
tive life, which is signified by J[ohn. And this,
because it feels the trials and pains of this life
more, and more ardently desires to be delivered
from them, and to enter into the presence of God.
But God loves the contemplative life the most,
because He preserves it the more, since it does
not, as the active life, come to an end with the
life of the body."
Lastly, it is easily proved that the mixed life
of the active and contemplative together is more
perfect than either. Since if each kind of life
is good and perfect by itself, that which is
made up of both will be more perfect. Moreover,
Christ our Lord, who is our Master and Teacher,
the example and prototype of all virtues, thought
it meet to exercise Himself most perfectly in
either kind of life. And the same thing was
done by the Apostles, and occasionally by other
Saints. Accordingly S. Augustine in his book
De Civitate Dei, (lib. 19. c. 19,) says at the out
set, "Now of these three kinds of life, the active,
the inactive, and that which is made up of
both, although a man may with a safe conscience
lead his life in any one of the three and obtain
everlasting rewards, yet there is a difference
between that which a man holds through the
* 1. part. qu. 20. art. 4.
BENEDICT XIV. ON HEROIC VIRTUE. 261
love of the truth, and, on the other hand, that
which he bestows in offices of charity. Nor
ought any one to be so inactive as not during
this time of freedom from worldly cares, to think
of his neighbour s good, as neither ought he to
be so much taken up with active business, that
he has no time to seek after the contemplation
of God." After citing the words of the Apostle,
"He that desires the office of a bishop desireth
a good work," he shows at some length, that
a bishop, who is in a condition to follow up per
fection, ought, as circumstances call for it, to
lead at one time an active, and at another a
contemplative life, in short, a mixed life. In
the Bull of the canonization of S. Cajetan, we
read as follows of this mixed kind of life : " He
was so given to exercises of devotion, that what
ever time he could find to spare from his domes
tic affairs and the salvation of souls, he gave
up entirely to prayer and meditation ; he an
ticipated his morning prayers, and prolonged them
in the evening to a very late hour ; he continued
with his mind elevated to God, in fixed attention
before the high altar." There is a poem by
S. Gregory Nazianzen on his own life, which
Daniel Garden has rewritten in prose, and which
is to be found in the Bollandists.* In this it
is set forth, how when he was deliberating on
his course of life, and had thought much on
the advantages of an active life, and much on
those of the contemplative, he at last chose a
mixed one. "When," he says, "I had thought
* Tom. 2. ad, diem. 9. Mai.
262 BENEDICT XIV. ON HEROIC VIRTUE.
over these things a good deal with myself, I at
length determined to keep the middle path, be
tween the life of solitaries and those given up to
action, that so I might reap the benefits which
the one obtain from contemplation, and the other
from action."
5. The second thing to be premised is, that
in theologians who treat of prayer, we often
find mention made of those who are in the state
of beginners, of others who are in the state of
making progress, and of others who are in the
state of perfection. We also find mention of a
threefold way, the purgative way, as they call it,
the illuminative way, and the unitive way. Ac
cordingly, among other propositions of Michael
de Molinos condemned by Innocent XL, the
twenty-sixth is the following : " Those three
kinds of way, the purgative, illuminative, and
unitive, are the greatest absurdity in mystical
theology." Those are in the state of begin
ners who have obtained justification, but have
not their passions in such a state of subjuga
tion that they can easily overcome temptations,
so that in order to preserve and exercise cha
rity and the other virtues which are essential
to it, they have to keep up a continual warfare
within themselves ; and to this state belongs the
purgative way, which of itself tends to dispose
the soul for justification as regards past sins,
to lead her to make satisfaction for them, and
to preserve her from them for the time to come.
Those are in the state of progress who have their
passions reduced to a greater degree of modera-
BENEDICT XIV. ON HEROIC VIRTUE. 263
tion, so that they easily keep themselves from
mortal sin, but do not so easily avoid venial
sins. And this happens because they take great
pleasure in temporal things, their minds are
disturbed by various phantasies, and their hearts
with numberless desires. To these belongs the
illuminative way, leading them as it does to
make proficiency in virtue, and to a more
complete subjugation of their passions, giving
them a facility not only in avoiding great sins,
but also in lessening the number of smaller
ones, as well as in practising the moral virtues.
They, lastly, are in the state of the perfect,
who have their mind so drawn away from all
temporal things, that they enjoy great peace,
and are neither agitated by various desires, nor
moved by any great extent of passion, but have
their mind chiefly fixed on God, and their at
tention turned either always, or very frequently,
to Him. To these belongs the unitive way, which
is chiefly employed in union with God by love, by
the actual experience and exercise of it. Suarez*
explains these things at length, and they are clear
ly derived from the doctrine of S. Thomas, who
says,t "The first duty which is incumbent on
man is, to give up sin and resist concupiscence,
which are opposed to charity; this belongs to
beginners, in whose hearts charity is to be nursed
and cherished lest it be corrupted. The second
duty of man is, to apply his energies chiefly
to advance in virtue; this belongs to those who
* Tom. 2. de relig. lib. 2. de Oratione, c. 11. n. 3.
t 2. 2, qu. 24. art. J).
264 BENEDICT XIV. ON HEROIC VIRTUE.
are making progress, and who are principally
concerned that charity may be increased and
strengthened in them. The third endeavour
and pursuit of man should be, to rest in God
and enjoy Him ; and this belongs to the perfect,
who desire to be dissolved and to be with Christ ;"
which the holy doctor repeats again.
6. The third thing to be premised is, that a
certain union with God may be obtained by
meditation, one that is suitable to the quality
and condition of the person meditating. If
a man often thinks of God, and makes acts
of love to Him, he may acquire a habit of
meditating, of thinking of God and of loving
Him, so as to think of Him and to love
Him easily, readily, and without intermission,
and so obtain a union with God, agreeably
to what we read in the Gospel of S. John, (xiv.
23,) " If any one love Me, he will keep My
word, and My Father will love him, and We
will come to him, and will make our abode with
him." By contemplation, however, the perfect
contemplative attains to a union with God so
perfect, that a more perfect one cannot be sup
posed in this world. This union is called mys
tical, that is to say, secret, most excellent, and
supernatural. It is of this S. Gregory Nazianzeri
speaks in his eleventh Oration, where he illus
trates it by various examples. "As," he says,
" a little drop of water poured into a great deal
of wine, seems to fall away altogether from its
own nature, since it assumes the colour and taste
of wine, and as iron heated in the fire and made
BENEDICT XIV. ON HEROIC VIRTUE. 265
red hot loses its own form and character, and
as, again, the air which is irradiated with the
light of the sun seems not merely illuminated,
but turned into light itself, so it must needs
be, that then that is, when the soul is closely
united to God all human affection must,
in some ineffable manner, have faded away in
the Saints, and their will entirely transform
ed into that of God." This perfect mystical
union is properly found in the perfect contem
plative, who having been long exercised in the
purgative and illuminative, or, which is the
same thing, the meditative and contemplative
life, has, by the special favour of God, been
raised to the life, of infused contemplation. This
union makes the soul one with God by the unity
of spirit, according to what the Apostle says,*
" He who adheres to a harlot is made one body,
but he who adheres to the Lord is one spirit."
On the part of the soul, the moral and prox
imate causes of this union are two, namely, per
fect contemplation, and perfect charity or love
of God. So teaches S. Thomas,! " Our union
with God is by working ; it results, that is to
say, from our knowing God and loving Him ;"
and in another place, " The union of the soul with
God by fruition, consists in the operations of the
intellect and the will." On the part of God, how
ever, the proximate cause of union is an influx
into the soul that contemplates Him, by which He
shows Himself to her in a special way in the
midst of darkness by the gift of the Holy Spirit ;
* 1 Corinth, vi. 16. f In 3. part, qusest. G. art. 6.
266 BENEDICT XIV. ON HEROIC VIRTUE.
enlightening the intellect to know Him in a
higher way, inflaming the will to love Him more
ardently, and at the same time Himself loving
that soul. Of this sublime union we read as
follows in the Bull of Canonization of S. Rose
of Lima : "At the twelfth year of her age she
was exalted to that high degree of contemplation,
which in mystical theology is called unitive. In
the midst of her manual labours she kept the
eye of her soul steadfastly fixed on God, so that
neither when asleep nor awake was the presence
of her heavenly Spouse out of her sight. And
this filled the interior powers of her mind with
such sweetness, that while she held converse with
her Maker within, she gave her attention to other
things which were necessary without.
7. The fourth thing necessary to be premised,
is, that there is a twofold kind of contempla
tion, namely, acquired and infused. Infused
contemplation is called mystical theology, the es
pousal of the soul with God, the loving embrace
of God, the entrance of the soul into the Divine
darkness, silence, and rest, the melting of the
soul, annihilation, and the experimental know
ledge of God, received from God by the em
brace of unitive love. Infused and supernatural
contemplation is defined, or rather described,
in the following words : "A simple intellectual
gazing at, together with a delicious love of Di
vine things, and whatsoever is revealed ; pro
ceeding from God s moving the understanding, in
an especial manner to gaze at, and the will
to love the things revealed, and adding such
BENEDICT XIV. ON HEROIC VIRTUE. 267
acts by the gifts of the Holy Spirit, under
standing and wisdom, together with a greatly
enlightened intellect and an inflamed will." For
the gifts of understanding and wisdom are gifts
of the Holy Spirit, of which the first consists
in a certain light by which the intellect, when
endowed with faith, understands the things that
are revealed by God so clearly as to gaze at
them without obscurity ; while the other, that
of wisdom, consists in a certain infused quality,
by which the soul beholding the revealed object,
perceives a most sweet and delicious taste in
the knowledge of that truth. Such is the doc
trine of S. Thomas,* who says of the gift of un
derstanding, " That it is the property of un
derstanding to know the supernatural things that
lie hid in what is revealed, as it is the property
of the human understanding to know the nature
of the substance by the accidents, the meaning by
the words, and the truth which is shadowed forth
in figures and similitudes." And speaking of the
gift of wisdom, he says, " It is fitly called wisdom,
as if it were the knowledge of the wise," according
to what is written in Ecclesiasticus, vi. 23, " The
wisdom of doctrine is according to her name."
Both of these then come into this contemplation,
and cause the object revealed by God to be more
clearly known and more sweetly and ardently
loved.
Theologians teach that acquired and infused
contemplation are alike in many respects, and
that in many respects they differ. They are
* 2. 2. quaest. 8. art. 1.
268 BENEDICT XIV. ON HEROIC VIRTUE.
alike in certain dispositions to be found in
those who possess them ; inasmuch as contem-
platives of both sorts must be persons well ex
ercised in the moral virtues and the purgative
way. In both are required purity of heart,
or a state of grace, impulses of charity and the
help of God, efficaciously calling and aiding them.
They differ, inasmuch as infused contemplation,
properly speaking, requires many more disposi
tions in him who contemplates than that which
is acquired. It requires that he should not only
have passed through the way of purgation, but
moreover have exercised himself a long time in
it, and have subjected the senses to reason by
the exercise of all the moral virtues. Whereas
too, in acquired contemplation, a man after a
good deal of labour and difficulty by previous read
ing or contemplation, draws himself away from
other things in meditation, in order that he may
gaze upon and love that which is revealed ; but
in infused contemplation, on the other hand, after
reading, or thinking of, or meditating upon,
some object of revelation without any labour or
trouble on his part, a man throws off all thought
of other things, and is raised by God to the
sight, love, and desire of the object revealed.
Besides, by acquired contemplation other objects
are not known beyond those which were before
believed by faith; but by that which is infused,
God not only shows those things which were
already believed, but either shows them with
new circumstances and perfection, or reveals new
objects, by infusing in the mind their new forms
BENEDICT XIV. ON HEROIC VIRTUE. 269
and appearances (species.) Further also, while ec
stasy or a perfect alienation of the senses seldom
happens in acquired contemplation, it frequent
ly takes place in infused, and after an act of
acquired contemplation a man may remember
the things which he contemplated, and give an
account of them to others ; but after an act of
infused contemplation, he who has had it seldom
remembers what he has seen, as is borne witness
to by the Blessed Angela de Fulgineo, S. Theresa,
S. Peter of Alcantara, and S. John of the Cross.
Lastly, the forementioned theologians teach, that
infused contemplation is granted sometimes to
the perfect, sometimes to those who are not per
fect. For it is granted occasionally to beginners,
and to those who are making progress, who are
neither of them in a state of perfection. Hence,
S. Gregory* says, "The grace of contempla
tion is not one which is given to the highest
and not to the lower ones. But oftentimes those
who are the greatest and those who are the
least receive it, oftener those who are in retire
ment, sometimes even those who are married.
If, then, there is no rank or condition of the faith
ful, from which the grace of contemplation is
excluded, whosoever keeps his heart within him
may also be enlightened with the light of con
templation." And a little after: "Let no one
glory in this grace, as if he possessed some singu
lar privilege. Let no one think that he has a
private gift of the true light, for it is often the
case that in that which he thinks he has the
* Lib. 2. horn. 5. in Ezekiel, n. 19,
270 BENEDICT XIV. ON HEROIC VIRTUE.
chief share of, another is richer than he, and
one, too, of whom he thought within himself that
there was no good in."
8. All this has been taken out of the often-
cited work of Cardinal de Lauraea, and indeed
we have not found any one who has explained
the subject of prayer more clearly, more minutely,
and more safely. It is given here, not with the
design of professedly treating of prayer, nor with
the intention of treating professedly of contempla-
tives, nor, lastly, with that of determining that
they alone are to be numbered among the Saints
and the blessed ; and this because we have
already set down some things above respecting
the perfection of the active life, and also be
cause we know that many have been enrolled
in the catalogue of the Saints and the blessed,
who never were contemplatives, as has been
remarked by Cardinal de Lauraea:* "Although,
according to the words of our Saviour, the
contemplative life is the best, and therefore more
perfect than the active life, yet it does not
follow from this that Christian perfection con
sists in it alone. For but very few have time
for contemplation, as it is notorious, especially
for infused contemplation, but a great many have
time for meditation. And yet we find a great
many perfect persons canonized, although in their
processes there is no mention made of infused
contemplation, while proof is always required of
their other virtues in an heroic degree, as well
as of their miracles." But we have taken all
De Oratione opusc. 7. cap. 2.
BENEDICT XIV. ON HEROIC VIRTUE. 271
this from him and transcribed it here, in order
that the consultors of the Congregation of Sa
cred Rites may be able to have before them some
compendium relative to meditation and contem
plation, when a question arises concerning them
in the causes of the servants of God, who have
been contemplatives, or indeed of those who have
not been contemplatives, since to contemplate,
only implies the act, while to be a contemplative,
denotes a state and habit, according to S. Tho
mas.* "Although all," he says, "may ordinarily
be called religious who worship God, yet they
are called so more especially, who keeping them
selves away from all worldly business, give up
their whole life to the service of God. And so
they are called contemplatives, not merely who
contemplate, but who dedicate their whole life
to contemplation."
9. The examination of confessors and spiri
tual directors, which we have elsewhere commend
ed, will be of the greatest service in causes of
this sort, in order to determine whether the ser
vants of God have given themselves to medita
tion and contemplation ; of what character their
meditations and contemplations have been ; what
fruit they have derived from them ; whether in
the course of them they have had visions and
revelations, and if so, of what sort. Of these,
however, we will treat in their proper place.
This information may likewise be obtained from
the writings of the servants of God themselves,
if by the command of their superiors they have
*2. 2. qures, 81. art. 1.
272 BENEDICT XIV. ON HEROIC VIRTUE.
committed to paper what refers to their medita
tions, contemplations, visions, and revelations.
From all these it may be discovered whether
they have been assiduous in meditating and
contemplating, how they have behaved them
selves in distractions and aridities, of which we
shall speak hereafter, such being very common
to contemplatives. The following passage is
taken from the second Report of the Auditors
of the Rota respecting the virtues of S. Theresa.
"If, then, we wish to inquire of witnesses who
may be depended on, we have the testimony
of the blessed woman herself, in what she has
left written in her books respecting her own
prayer and divine contemplation. The frequent
abstractions of her mind, her profoundest repose,
her closest union with God, the ecstasies which
she so often fell into, the wounds of her interior
charity, the violent impetuosity of her love, her
sweet colloquies with God, and the most tender
language with which her writings are filled, prove
beyond doubt the sublimity of her angelic pray
er, and the perfect skill and knowledge which
was infused into her from above, for the instruc
tion of others. We have likewise other most
unexceptionable witnesses, well furnished with
evidence on the matter during different periods ;
men of gravity, of learning, of spirituality and
devotion, most of whom were the confessors of
the blessed woman, and among them not a few
Bishops of the highest character, whom we have
mentioned more than once in this relation, and
who make very striking and copious depositions
BENEDICT XIV. ON HEROIC VIRTUE. 273
on the matter. For to these she was always
careful, for the greater security and better direc
tion of her soul, to communicate most faithfully
her method of prayer, the effects and stages of
it, the graces and favours of God to her, and
the state to which she had arrived by means
of prayer. And after testing the spirit and doc
trine of the books of this great and noble virgin,
they all affirm that she is deservedly considered
as the mistress of spiritual doctrine given by
Gt)d to His Church."
Should these proofs fail or be insufficient,
when the matter must be decided by external
proofs, the first will be from ecstasies and trances
if there have been any ; of these we shall speak
in another place. S. Bonaventure tells us, in the
Legend of S. Francis, " That he was often held in
such an ecstasy of contemplation as to be carried
out of himself, and being sensible of something
beyond the reach of sense, he was quite ignorant
of what was going on about him. For passing
once through the fortress of the Holy Sepulchre,
a very numerous garrison, and being carried
on an ass by reason of his weakness, he met
great crowds of people who rushed out to him
from devotion. Though pulled and held back
by them, and squeezed and handled in all sorts
of ways, he seemed quite insensible to all, and
his body, just as if it were lifeless, perceived no
thing of what was done about him. Afterwards
when he had passed the garrison and left the
crowd behind, he arrived at a certain house
of leprous people, upon which the heavenly
18
274 BENEDICT XIV. ON HEROIC VIRTUE.
contemplative returned to himself, and inquired
anxiously when they would come near to the for
tress." Judgment may also be formed from the
time during which the servant of God remained
in prayer, either meditating or contemplating.
Mental prayer, whether of meditation or contem
plation, cannot continue long, considering the
weakness of the present life. Hence we read
in the Apocalypse, that "there was silence in
heaven, as it were, for half an hour ;" and S. Gre
gory on the passage says, "By heaven is meant
the soul of the just, as the Lord says by the
prophet, * Heaven is my seat, and again, the
heavens show forth the glory of God. When,
therefore, there is the quiet of the contemplative
life in the soul, there is said to be silence in hea
ven, because the tumult of earthly acts ceases in
the thoughts, so that the mind applies her ear
to interior secrets. But because this rest of the
mind cannot be perfect in this life, it is not
said that there was silence in heaven for a whole
hour, but, as it were, for half an hour ; and this
expression, as it were, shows that not even that
time was fully obtained, because by and by,
when the mind begins to raise itself, and to be
surrounded with the sight of inward repose,
the tumult of thoughts rushes in upon it, it
is first confounded and then blinded by the
confusion." This, however, and similar passages,
if taken in their proper sense, ought to be un
derstood of acquired meditation and contempla
tion, which cannot be protracted except by the
special favour of God. But infused contem-
BENEDICT XIV. ON HEROIC VIRTUE. 275
plation not being liable to the impediments of
earthly thoughts, remains as long as it is pre
served by God, as Cardinal de Laurasa explains.
Accordingly, in the Bull of canonization of
S. Lewis Bertrand, we find, " That among those
things by, which he arrived at so great a pitch
of perfection, the chief was, that he spent four
whole hours daily in mental prayer, calling to
mind with great fervour and joy of heart the
mysteries of our Lord s passion. To these he
added half an hour in the afternoon, for contem
plating the joys of the most Blessed Virgin."
In the Bull of canonization of S. Paschal Baylon,
" He worships the whole night long without sleep,
and though wearied, and well-nigh broken down
by continual labours and afflictions, he returns
not to his cell till after day-break, having spent
the whole time in choir or in the church in
the joys of meditation." In the Report of the
cause of S. Francis Xavier, * we find the fol
lowing passage : " From his assiduity and long
continuance in prayer, it is plainly proved
that he had an especial gift of it, for he was
never so hard pressed with troubles, but that
always and everywhere he was dwelling inter
nally with himself and with God ; there was
no place, or time, or company unsuitable for
this. From this, no occupations, no business,
however arduous, called him away, or diverted
his attention. He had, therefore, a certain
time and a fixed hour every day for prayer
and for ^editation, which he never omitted,
* Tit. de. orandi, studio.
27G BENEDICT XIV. ON HEROIC VIRTUE.
except when driven by extreme necessity. And
lie exacted most severely from those under him,
that this rule which he observed so religious
ly himself, should be kept likewise by them, as
may be seen by a letter contained in his Life.
But if from any cause this stated time passed
by, during some occupation which when once
begun he could not break off, he made it good
at some other time, and if he could not manage
otherwise he took time from his sleep, and this too
according to a certain set method and rule which
he observed. Sometimes he would pass whole
nights in prayer, or the greater part of them,
and when he was able he betook himself to a
church for this purpose." In the processes in
the cause of S. Aloysius Gonzaga, we read that
he continued whole nights in prayer, and in
the Bull of canonization of S. Peter of Alcantara,
we find the following said of him : " It would be
sufficient testimony for any one to relate what
that most holy virgin Theresa, the founder of
the reformed Carmelites, said of this most holy
man, namely, that during no moment of the night
or day did Peter cease from praying ; lest
sleep should creep over him as he was praying, he
used, when he was at length obliged to rest, to
kneel down and lean his head against a piece
of wood that was fixed in the wall. According
to the testimony of the same Saint, we learn
that his cell was not more than four feet and a
half long, and so low that he was obliged to
kneel down and to stoop his shoulders in order
to stay in it."
BENEDICT XIV. ON HEROIC VIRTUE. 277
10. Other external circumstances likewise
seem worthy of the required consideration, such
as if the face of the servant of God had been
lighted up, as it were, with a flame, during
the time of prayer. The venerable servant
of God, Cardinal Bellarmine, who was call
ed in as a witness in the cause of S. Aloy-
sius Gonzaga, said of him, "I have often seen
his countenance all on fire, and this I believe
to have arisen from the fire of the love of God,
which burned within his heart. This was the
common opinion of his spiritual fathers, and this
was the cause they assigned for this inflamed
appearance." So again, if the mind of the ser
vant of God has been so elevated in prayer as
to continue in it during the middle of win
ter, without suffering thereby from the cold,
which all others were suffering from. Father
Jerome Flatus, in the Life which he wrote of
the same Aloysius Gonzaga, who was his peni
tent, relates of him that he was accustomed to
rise by night to pray, with only a single linen
garment on. And when he shivered all over with
the cold, and his prayer was disturbed by this,
"he attempted," he says, "to do what he also
by the grace of God accomplished. For as if
he thought it a disgraceful thing to yield to
the body or the flesh in anything, he first en
deavoured to force his mind to more fixed at
tention, and then, afterwards, when his poor
little body grew more and more cold, and es
pecially his feet, he continued nevertheless in
prayer without any sense of the cold. And this
278 BENEDICT XIV. ON HEROIC VIRTUE.
he did every night." Regard should be paid,
both in mental and vocal prayer, to tears. In the
Lives of the Fathers collected by Rosweyd* is
that of Paul of Nazarbi, Abbot, of whom we read,
" I do not remember to have seen any one so
endowed with the grace of consolation and tears.
Tears flowed continually from his eyes." In
the Life of the Abbot Thallelseus, the Cilician,
we are told that he passed sixty years in monas
tic life, during the whole of which time he never
ceased to weep, saying continually, "This pre
sent time has been granted to us for penance,
and truly if we neglect it, it will be required
at our hands." In the Life of S. Lawrence
Justinian, written by Bernard Justinian, and
contained in the beginning of the Saint s works,
we read this of his gift of tears : " He possessed
the gift of tears in such a way as we suppose
no one else has. After dinner, he would sit
and talk sometimes familiarly on divine subjects,
as was his wont. And turning with the great
est earnestness to those who were present, he
would say, What shall I do, what shall I do,
my brothers, when I am led before my Judge ?
What have I done? miserable wretch that I
am, in what can I hope ? I can do nothing but
throw myself at the root of that most sacred
Tree, and weep. Having said this, he was
completely dissolved into tears, which he pour
ed forth abundantly ; then standing up and
seeing that we who were present were moved,
and wondered at his tears, and fearing lest
* Lib. 10. C. 41. p. 867.
BENEDICT XIV. ON HEROIC VIRTUE. 279
he might gain any human praise from them,
You see, he said, these tears; they were
not the emotions of true devotion, from which
I am the farthest possible removed, but of a
sort of physical affection. In the Life of S.
Thomas Aquinas in the Bollandists,* we read,
" That when during Lent that verse was sung in
Compline, Cast me not off in the time of
old age, when my strength shall fail, he fre
quently seemed to be in an ecstasy, and while
he prayed tears flowed, which he seemed to
draw forth from the eyes of his devout soul."
And again a little after : "As often as he was
going to dispute, to read, to write, or to dictate,
he first betook himself to secret prayer, and
with copious tears entreated the grace to dis
cover the Divine secrets in truth. And by the
merit of this prayer, he came forth ready fur
nished with answers on those points which he
had before been doubtful about." We read too
of S. Poppo the Abbot, in the Bollandists,f that
"After a short time he obtained his desire,
(namely, of the gift of tears,) and received from
God so great a grace of compunction, that while
he made a hundred genuflections a day, and
gave up the night to prayer, he moistened the
whole pavement with his tears. In celebrating
Mass, likewise, he made his chasuble wet with
his tears. At dinner he loved to feed on his
reading more than on the meat set before him;
and truly so plentiful were the tears which
* Mart. torn. 1. c. 6, n. SO. p. 609.
t Jan. 25. torn. 2. c. 14. n. 58. p. 650.
280 BENEDICT XIV. ON HEROIC VIRTUE.
he was wont at this time to shed, that he
might say with the Psalmist, My tears have been
my bread day and night. " S. Bonaventure
relates of S. Francis, that he was accustomed
to weep so much in his prayers, that his eyes
grew dim, not with old age, but with tears.
" The man of God remaining in solitude and
peace filled the forest with his groans, bedewed
the earth with his tears, beat his breast with his
hands, and having found a more secret place,
there held communion with his Lord." We have
instances, likewise, in the Old and New Tes
taments. There is that of S. Mary Magdalen in
the New, (S. Luke, vii. 38,) and in the Old that
of David, who wept as he prayed. " I will water
my couch with my tears." (Psalm vi.) And
again, "Thou hast set my tears in thy sight."
(Ps. Iv.) When Bethulia was besieged, Judith
exhorted the people to prayer and to tears.
"Let us," she says, "ask the Lord with tears,
that according to His will, so He would show
His mercy to us ;" (viii. 17.) In the great siege
of Jerusalem, the prayer of Ezechias was heard
when he prayed with tears and clothed in sack
cloth. Lastly, S. Maximus of Turin* thus speaks
of the tears of S. Peter : " Peter, without ma
king any vocal prayer, broke forth into tears.
For I find it narrated that he wept, but I find
not that he said anything. And rightly, in-
deed, did Peter hold his peace and weep, for
that which is wept for is not to be excused nor
defended. Silent tears are, I say, prayers in
* Bibl. Patr. torn. 6. p. 23.
BENEDICT XIV. ON HEROIC VIRTUE. 281
some sort; they ask not for pardon, yet they
merit it ; they do not plead the cause, yet they
obtain mercy."
11. Ascetic writers treat of the gift of tears,
and teach that weight is not to be given to
the mere fact of tears, but to their end and ob
ject, and that two extremes are to be guarded
against ; one of vain-glory and complacency, lest
the person who weeps should take any secret
satisfaction in his tears ; the other of pusillan
imity and diffidence, lest perchance he should
despair of his salvation or perfection if these
fail. On this subject, the seventh chapter of
Cardinal Bona s most valuable treatise on the
discernment of spirits, should be read. The Ab
bot Blosius* says, that in the matter of tears due
measure is to be observed, lest the spirit should
be bowed down too much ; but that there
are some, who by the aid of the Holy Spirit
are able to weep without ceasing. The bread of
tears is good and sweet, yet some there are
who depress the mind rather than refresh it with
this bread. For they continue in tears so long,
and are so agitated and depressed by them, that
at last, through this exercise being overstrained,
they break down both in body and spirit. Not,
however, that we deny that by discretion and
the assistance of the Holy Spirit many may con
tinue weeping for a long time with great ad
vantage. Stephen of Tournayt well advises,
"that spontaneous tears in prayer should not
* Specul. Monach. divis. 5. n. 5.
t Ep, 176. Bibl. Patrum. toin. 25. p. 39.
282 BENEDICT XIV. ON HEROIC VIRTUE.
be spontaneously rejected, lest they should have
to be forced out unwillingly." He also directs
that they should not be the object of attention
to other people; "For if," he says, "tears are
a spectacle to men, they become the objects of
offence, if not of ridicule, to the angels." John
Climacus* treats the subject at length, and The-
ophilus Raynaudt has collected together much
matter on the subject of tears. From these
things, and from others which may be found in
the writers whom we have cited, it will be easy
to see that it is not an affected or procured flow
of tears, which is an external sign and proof, not
of every kind, but of the most excellent kind of
mental or vocal prayer. Accordingly, S. Law
rence JustinianJ writes as follows : " Following
up these and similar means with redoubled
vigour," (he is speaking of the soul closely united
to God,) "it is rich in the tears of charity, be
cause it is not able to be where it knows that
He is whom it loves. It sends forth to Him
sighs and groans, witnesses of its love, and
these are the spiritual exercises of the soul
espoused to God, when it feels itself touched
with the remembrance of the love of the Word
towards it." See on this subject "The Spiritual
Guide," by the venerable servant of God, Lewis
a Ponte, of the Society of Jesus, the process for
whose beatification is already begun. That work
has been translated into Italian from the Spanish,
and enriched with various quotations from the
* Seal. Parad. gr. 7. t Heteroclit. Spiritual, torn. 15. p. 151.
J De casto connubio Verbi et animse, page 280.
BENEDICT XIV. ON HEROIC VIRTUE. 283
Holy Scriptures, by the pious prelate Alexander
Sperelli.
12. Lastly, sometimes God Himself, Who is
wonderful in His Saints, has deigned to show
by some supernatural signs how pleasing to Him
are the prayers of His Saints ; as, for example,
by a brightness in the countenance and other
signs of the same sort, which, as belonging to
miracles, will be treated of in their proper place.
We read of S. Philip Neri, that " while celebrating
mass his countenance seemed to send forth won
derful rays of light from all sides ;" of S. Martin,
Bishop, that " when he offered up the Sacrament
a globe of fire was seen on his head ;" of the
Blessed Ambrose Sansedonius we read, that " he
celebrated the sacrifice of the mass with so much
emotion and such violent agitation of mind, that
all his limbs trembled." In the process of the
cause of S. Rose of Lima, the witnesses gave
evidence that they had more than once "seen
her countenance on fire, and, as it were, throw
ing out flames of light ; and this to such a de
gree that the priest who was administering the
sacred host, and the server who held out the
lavatory after the usual manner, were obliged to
withdraw their hands, from the unwonted heat
which issued forth from her face." And here
it is in point to relate two supernatural signs ;
one taken out of the acts of the canonization
of S. Theresa, in the second Report of the Rota,
respecting her virtues : " This too was another
wonderful effect of her prayer, that the face of
the Blessed Theresa, when she was engaged in
284 BENEDICT XIV. ON HEROIC VIRTUE.
prayer, often became resplendant from her con
verse with God, as we read of Moses : this is
deposed in the first part of the inquiry made
at Toledo. Two other witnesses say, that on a
certain day they saw the face of the blessed
woman emitting a sort of splendour from her
face as bright as that of the sun. There were
also confessors of the beatified saint who saw her
face shine when they administered the Eucharist
to her. Another of the witnesses deposed that
one night he saw her face shining ; that light
went out from it, like golden rays ; that this
lasted for an hour ; and that when it ceased, he
saw that she was in the dark. There are other
witnesses on the subject of her appearance, who
say, that when the Blessed Theresa was writing
her books, her face shone. In the compulsory
process at Avila, a witness affirms that he saw
the face of the saint so shine as to illumine the
whole chapter when she was giving a spiritual
exhortation to her nuns." The other instance is
from the acts in the cause of S. Philip Neri, before
mentioned, out of a work of Angelus Victorius,
published at Rome in 1613, in which that cele
brated physician proves that the affections to
be presently mentioned were above nature. His
words are these : " The Blessed Philip Neri, a Flo
rentine and Founder of the Congregation of the
Roman Oratory, was from his childhood of a
good and healthful habit of body ; in his old age
he was slender, but without disease ; at every
period of life he was very moderate with regard
to food ; in countenance he was cheerful, pleasant
BENEDICT XIV. ON HEROIC VIRTUE. 285
in conversation, and very earnest in following
up the study of theology. When he was about
thirty years of age, and was filled with a vehe
ment desire after Christian perfection, he used
frequently and earnestly to invoke the Holy Spirit
that He would vouchsafe to replenish his mind
with all His gifts. At the time, then, that he
continued earnest in prayer, begging of God that
He would listen to his prayers, he was inflamed
with so violent and overflowing a love of God,
that, feeling that he was quite unable to bear it
for a continuance, he was obliged to throw himself
on the ground and lay bare his breast, as if to
seek for a remedy and refreshment from the ex
cessive heat he felt. Immediately after he was
raised up with a feeling of excessive joy and ex
ultation, and felt, but without any pain, some
thing of the bigness of a hen s egg in his breast
at the left side, which was manifest to all from
that time forth, and could not have happened
from chance, or a blow, or from any external
violence. After this, if at any time he contem
plated divine things, or a thought or a word
brought them to his remembrance, it was observ
ed that his heart began to grow hot, to jump,
and to palpitate, sometimes with greater, some
times with less violence, while his breast, and
occasionally his whole body, would be shaken and
grow warm. He was accustomed to subdue the
violence of the heat and the palpitation by vol
untarily distracting his mind and turning his
attention to earthly things. Sometimes he would
alleviate the heat by admitting the cool air to
286 BENEDICT XIV. ON HEROIC VIRTUE.
his breast, sometimes by taking a little cold water
to it. And in this way he continued till his
eightieth year, which was that of his death. All
these particulars of the affection I have myself
often heard by inquiries from the blessed old
man himself, who modestly related them to me
as there was a suitable or necessary occasion for
doing so, when he was attacked by any disease.
The blessed father also gave the same account to
Cardinal Frederic Borromeo, who asked him about
it, as Galloni bears witness in his Life of him,
and as I have myself heard from the Cardinal.
After the holy man calmly and almost without
pain gave up his soul to God, on the eighth of the
calends of June, on the festival of Corpus Christi,
at the sixth hour of the night, on the follow
ing night the body was dissected in the presence
of many eminent persons, for the sake of inspect
ing it, and inquiring into the causes of the above-
named affections, and the following appearances
were observed by them, as well as by myself.
First, in the anterior part of the thorax, where
the swelling that I have spoken of was manifest
to all, the two upper of what are called the false
ribs, that is to say, the fourth and fifth, were
found altogether broken, and the parts so entirely
divided that they stood quite separate from one
another. What is the more wonderful is, that
in so great an interval of time they had not be
come joined together in any way, as generally
happens in such cases, but continued separate
and raised up, so that externally they caused the
swelling that we have spoken of, while internally
BENEDICT XIV, ON HEROIC VIRTUE. 287
they left the chest enlarged. What we saw being
strange and beyond explanation, we were moved
with the greatest anxiety to make further re
searches, and so proceeded eagerly to the heart,
which this unusual fracture seemed to point to.
This we found larger than ordinary, and in the
density and contexture harder and more solid
than it is generally found. The pericardium, or
case that contains the heart, was without water,
which is generally found there. The arterial vein
was double the usual size, and harder ; the
lungs but a little different from their natural
state ; the liver unchanged. As to the other
parts lower down, we intentionally omitted them,
not only from the respect due to so great a
man, but likewise because there had been no
sign of any sort of affection in these, as was also
the case with the head, which for this reason
we left entire. This is the account which I wrote
down faithfully, and such was what I and the
others observed with great attention, when the
body was dissected in the church of S. Mary of
Vallicella, at the third hour of the night on the
seventh of the calends of June, 1595."
288 BENEDICT XTV. ON HEROIC VIRTUE.
CHAPTER VII.
OF THE FREQUENTATION OF THE SACRAMENTS OF THE
EUCHARIST AND OF PENANCE, REQUIRED IN THE SER
VANTS OF GOD TO BE CANONIZED OR BEATIFIED.
1. WITH prayer is naturally connected the
frequenting of the Sacraments, especially those
of Penance and the Eucharist. For the use of
these Sacraments is the note of internal sweet
ness and delight, and from the use of these con
sequently arises the virtue of religion in an
heroic degree, Scacchus* has collected a great
many observations on this subject. First, that
the greatest proof of sanctity is taken from the
frequent use of the Sacrament of Penance, pro
vided that this frequent use is not a mere
ceremony, and does not proceed from mere
custom, though the servants of God have only
been guilty of venial sins. Secondly, that par
taking frequently of the holy Eucharist is to
be commended in a person to be canonized, and
that in a servant of God who is a priest or
a bishop the frequent and almost daily celebra
tion of mass is not to be commended only, but
to be required for canonization. For, as he says,
p. 328, "As the faithful think it necessary to
supply food to the body every day, so the care
of supporting and nourishing the soul every day
with this Sacrament is not to be neglected by
* De not. et sign. Sanct. . 5. c. 3.
BENEDICT XIV. ON HEROIC VIRTUE. 289
the servants and handmaids of God, but is most
carefully to be attended to. And this Sacrament
is most eagerly to be sought after, in the case
of a laic who is a servant of God, by receiving
it frequently, or if he be a priest, by the frequent
or daily oblation of the sacrifice at the altar.
For whether it is a bishop or a simple priest
whose acts are examined, in either case the ob
lation of the daily sacrifice is to be commended ;
nor only to be commended, but it is to be re
quired of necessity in those servants of God
whose habits of religious devotion are inquired
into in order to their canonization or beatifica
tion." Lastly, Scacchus adds, that this note of
sanctity, taken from the frequent partaking of
the Holy Eucharist or the daily celebration of
mass, ought to have its due weight, provided it
is joined with fitting circumstances, that is to
say, with devotion and preparation before com
municating or celebrating.
2. What Scacchus says is confirmed by the
Bulls of canonization. In that of Boniface IX.
for the canonization of S. Bridget, we have the
following respecting her frequent use of the Sa
crament of Penance : " During her husband s life
time she was accustomed to make her confession
every Friday, but after his decease she made it
her study to renew her confession at least once
a day with great contrition, bewailing her light
faults with as much bitterness as others do their
heinous offences, and leaving nothing of her
words, her habits, her thoughts, or her actions
unexamined." In the Bull of canonization of
19
290 BENEDICT XIV. ON HEROIC VIRTUE.
S. Lewis, Bishop of Toulouse, by John XXII., it
is said of him before he was raised to the epis
copate, that "After sacramental confession he
used to hear mass with devotion." The frequent
receiving of the holy Eucharist is mentioned also
in the already cited Bull of canonization of S.
Bridget: "Every Sunday and solemn feast she
received with tears and devotion the venerable
Sacrament of the Body of Christ." Pius II., in
the Bull of canonization of S. Catherine of Si
enna, says of her, " She used to come to com
munion, which she received nearly every day,
with the greatest eagerness, as if she had been
invited to the nuptial feast in heaven." Of S.
Felix of Cantalici, a Capuchin lay-brother, we
read in the Bull of his canonization, that " the
directors of the conscience of this man of God,
who had been accustomed to receive the Lord s
Body three times a week, for fifteen whole years
before his death, thought it right, on account of
his burning charity, to permit him to communi
cate every day, which, however, he never did
without an abundant flow of tears." To this
may be added the acts of the canonization of
S. Theresa. For in the second Report of the
Auditors of the Rota on her virtues, we read as
follows respecting the virtue of religion in her :
" In the sixth place, we have been led to this
conclusion by the wonderful increase of grace in
the soul of this blessed virgin, by her increased
devotion to Christ, caused by her daily partaking
of the holy Communion, which, by the advice of
most learned men and the leave of her own con-
BENEDICT XIV. ON HEROIC VIRTUE. 291
fessors, she continued to do for the space of about
twenty-three years, as is deposed by many wit
nesses. Strengthened wonderfully by this Food,
in the worship and faith of Jesus Christ in the
Sacrament, she made the greatest progress, so
that through her lively faith she came for many
years to receive the Blessed Sacrament no
otherwise than if she saw Christ Himself with
her bodily eyes. How pleasing this devotion of
the Blessed Theresa was to our Lord, clearly ap
pears from hence, that frequently after Commu
nion her face shone very brightly, and she fell
into an ecstasy ; the pains, too, which she suffer
ed in her body were relieved through her interior
consolation. From the time she began to receive
Communion frequently, the vomiting ceased which
she used to be subject to every morning, and
which had often prevented her from receiving it.
Once, on Palm Sunday, after Communion, before
she had swallowed the Blessed Eucharist, she
was carried away into an ecstasy, but returning
to herself after a little, she felt her mouth full
of the Blood of Christ, and her body moist with
it also. Upon this, being united in the most
tender manner to Jesus Christ, she heard Him
say these words to her : * Daughter, I desire that
My Blood may be to thy profit ; never, then,
fear lest My loving-kindness should be wanting.
With many pains I shed forth this My Blood,
and thou, as thou seest, dost enjoy it with great
pleasure. This she herself relates in her Life,
and is deposed too also by two witnesses in the
process.
292 BENEDICT XIV. ON HEROIC VIRTUE.
3. From these same Bulls and acts of canon
ization may be supplied numerous instances of
simple priests as well as of bishops celebrating
almost daily. In that, for instance, of the ca
nonization of S. Thomas Aquinas, the holy father
says of him, "In order that he might have
strength for study, he used to give his first at
tention to divine things. Every day, before he
ascended the professor s chair to give lectures,
he would celebrate one mass and hear another."
In the Bull of the canonization of S. Lewis
Bertrand: "When he was going to celebrate
mass, he desired to emulate the purity of an
gels, so that with whatever mortification of the
flesh, or elevation of the soul to God he came
furnished, yet he never seemed to himself suffi
ciently prepared. When he was prevented from
offering the sacrifice, he would arm and refresh
himself with the holy Eucharist, so that he
might ever have Christ abiding in him, and that
he might ever abide in Him." In the Bull of
canonization of S. Raymuud de Pennafort : " The
most holy sacrifice of the mass he celebrated
daily." In the Bull of canonization of S. Philip
Neri, we are told, " that he ever worshipped the
adorable Sacrament of the Eucharist with a con
tinual and ardent zeal, and whether as a lay
man, or celebrating as priest, or when ill in bed,
he never failed to renew his strength by receiving
it daily." We read the same thing of S. Andrew
Avellino and S. Ignatius. In the Bull of can
onization of S. Lewis of Toulouse we read : " This
prudent and faithful servant of Christ fulfilled
BENEDICT XIV. ON HEROIC VIRTUE. 293
the functions of the episcopate with diligence,
saying mass continually, and conferring orders
with the greatest devotion." In the Bull of can
onization of S. Charles Borromeo we read : " He
offered sacrifice to God every day;" and more at
length in the Report of his cause : " Many wit
nesses affirm that Charles was accustomed to
celebrate mass daily, and after he had each day
confessed his slightest defects." To these may
be added two other examples. S. Vincent of
Paul, as we find in the processes, used to say
mass daily, and if his weakness did not per
mit of it at any time, yet he would at least
be present and communicate. He was so full
of devotion when he celebrated, that those who
were present at his mass, used to say after
their return home, that they had heard the mass
of a saint. In the processes of the cause of
the Blessed Alexander Sauli, who was at first
bishop of Aleria, and afterwards of Pavia, the
witnesses affirmed, that he used daily to cele
brate mass after preparing himself by pious
dispositions and sacramental confession.
Lastly, in the same Bulls mention is made of
some external divine signs of the devout cele
bration of mass. In that, for instance, of the
canonization of S. Thomas of Hereford : " He
was most unwearied in his practice of prayer,
and the tears that flowed in abundance from
his eyes, showed the fervour of his spirit in
prayer and the celebration of mass." In the
Bull of canonization of S. Peter of Alcantara :
"He celebrated mass every day, dissolved into
294 BENEDICT XIV. ON HEROIC VIRTUE.
a flood of tears, so that his eyes were as foun
tains, and a well of living waters, which flow
impetuously from Libanus." In the Bull of
canonization of S. Cajetan, it is related of him,
that "when he was about to celebrate the
divine mysteries, he was quite overcome with
tears, and accounting himself unworthy of so
great an office, he implored the aid of his
mighty Mother, to whom he had the greatest
devotion, that he might receive the living Lamb
with that reverence which was fitting ; conceiv
ing in his mind that the Mother of God was
doubtless there, and would with gracious and
bounteous hand extend her most precious Son
to him." In the Bull likewise of canonization
of S. Francis Xavier : " Oftentimes," it is there
said, "when he celebrated the holy sacrifice of
the mass, he was alienated to such a degree
from the things of sense, that it was not till
after some time that those who attended him
were able to rouse him by shaking his vestments.
Moreover, he was often seen raised more than
a cubit off the ground, to the great astonishment
of the whole multitude who stood by, and who
beheld the sanctity of the servant of God."
4. If it is asked on what theological principle
this rests, an answer is not wanting. For though
venial sins are not the necessary matter of
the Sacrament of Penance, as they say in the
schools, but only sufficient matter, yet, according
to the Council of Trent, the confession of them
is useful and pious. The words of the Council
are these : " Although venial sins, by which we
BENEDICT XIV. ON HEROIC VIRTUE. 295
are not shut out from the grace of God, and
into which we frequently fall, are rightly and
without any presumption mentioned in confes
sion, as is shown by the practice of good and
devout souls, yet they may without any blame
be passed over in silence, and be atoned for in
other ways."* We have an instance of the con
fession of venial sins in the eighth century in the
Acts of S. Segolena, abbess, related by Mabillon.f
It is there said, that this saint, not having any
mortal sins, confessed with tears all her small
and insignificant faults, such as we cannot live
without, to a certain monk who was a priest.
Although, then, those who are to be enrolled
among the saints or the blessed, have not been
guilty of any but venial sins, yet it is plain to
every one, that a sincere confession of these,
with all fitting circumstances, constitutes a mark
of sanctity, and all the more so, if it has been
done frequently. S. BonaventureJ says of venial
sins, " Although from their nature and character,
it is not necessary to confess them, yet it is
very fitting, especially for those who are in the
way of perfection, to do so, because it is very
useful, and the punishment that is due to them
is lessened by the power of the keys."
5. Next to frequent confession comes frequent
communion, which was without doubt in use
among the faithful in primitive times. Thus we
read in the second chapter of the Acts of the
* Seas. 14. de Paenit. cap. 5.
t Annal. Bedictin saec. 3. Praef. p. 1,
t 4 Sent. dist. 17. par. 3. art. 2. qu. l.
296 BENEDICT XIV. OX HEROIC VIRTUE.
Apostles, "That they were persevering in the
doctrine of the apostles, and in the communica
tion of the breaking of bread and in prayers."
In the fourth age of the Church, the practice of
communicating daily was observed at Rome, as
S. Jerome bears witness.* "I know," he says,
"that this is the custom at Rome, that the faithful
should always receive the body of Christ, which I
neither approve nor reprehend." And this custom
is supported at least in the Western Church by S.
Ambrose, the contemporary of S. Jerome, in his
book on the sacraments, if he is really the author
of it. His words are, " If this is our daily Bread,
why do you receive it but once a year, as the Ori
ental Greeks are accustomed to do? Receive
daily what may be of daily profit to you, and live
so as to be worthy of receiving it daily. He who
is not worthy to receive it daily, is not worthy to
receive it after a year," unless he changes his
life. The holy Council of Trent expresses its
desire for frequent communion : " The holy
Synod, with all paternal affection, exhorts, prays,
and entreats by the bowels of the mercy of our
God, that each and all who call themselves
Christians, would believe in and venerate these
sacred mysteries of His Body and Blood, with
such firmness and constancy of faith, that they
may be able to receive that supersubstantial bread
frequently."! And again,$ "Much would this
holy Synod wish that at every mass, the faithful
who are present would communicate, not only by
* Epist. 50. ad Pammachium.
t Sess. 13. cap. 8. t Sess. 22. cap. 6.
BENEDICT XIV. ON HEROIC VIRTUE. 297
spiritual thoughts and affections, but also by a
sacramental reception of the Eucharist, and so
reap in greater richness the fruit of this most
holy Sacrament." The subject of frequent com
munion, S. Thomas,* in his usual way, explains at
length. He remarks, that with respect to the use
of the Eucharist, there are two things to be con
sidered, one on the part of the Sacrament, whose
virtue is so salutary, that it is of great use to re
ceive it often, or even every day ; the other, on the
part of him who receives it, and of whom it is
required that he should approach with great de
votion, so that if a man finds himself prepared
daily, it is good that he should receive daily.
The holy doctor s words are these : " Concerning
the use of this Sacrament, there are two things
to be considered: the first, which regards the
Sacrament itself, the virtue of which is wholesome
to men, and, therefore, profitable for them to re
ceive it daily, that they may daily receive the
fruit of it, &c. In another way it is to be con
sidered as it regards the recipient, of whom it
is required that he should approach it with reve
rence and great devotion ; and, therefore, if any
one find himself prepared, it is praiseworthy that
he should receive it daily. But as there are often
found a great many hindrances to this devout
state in the way of most men, on account of
some indisposition of mind or body, it is not
good that every one should approach this sacra
ment daily, but only as often as he finds himself
prepared." With this agrees S. Bonaventure,t
* 3 Part. qu. 80. ar. 3. f 4 Sent. dist. 12. part. 2. qu. 1.
298 BENEDICT XIV. ON HEROIC VIRTUE.
and the decree of Innocent XL* on daily and fre
quent communion, in which he permits the pas
tors of flocks, on account of the many weaknesses
and relapses of consciences, to persuade some to
daily communion. From all this it will be seen
by every one to follow, that frequent or daily
communion in the servants of God to be canon
ized or beatified and whose virtues are already
proved in other ways, which show them to have
frequently exercised themselves in heroic virtues,
and to have kept themselves from sin is a note
and proof of sanctity, and especially if this fre
quent communion has been by the advice of their
confessor or spiritual director. Yet we would
not be understood to say, if it should happen
that any servant of God, has through the grace
of fear and holy reverence abstained from fre
quent or daily communion, that this should be ta
ken as a reasonable sign against his sanctity or his
fervour in receiving the Eucharist. There is a
well-known letter of S. Augustine,! in which he
commends by the example of Zacheus and the
Centurion, both those who approach and those
who keep away from the above-mentioned cause :
"For they did not," he says, "quarrel with one
another, nor did either Zacheus or the Centu
rion prefer himself to the other. While the one
received our Lord into his house with joy, the
other said, I am not worthy that thou shouldest
enter under my roof. Both honoured our Sa
viour in a different and, as it were, a contrary
way. Both were miserable through sin, and
* Feb. 12. 1679. t Ep. 54. torn. 2. col. 125.
BENEDICT XIV. ON HEROIC VIRTUE. 299
both obtained mercy." Next, S. Thomas, in the
passage already quoted from, says, "In answer
to the third question, we must reply, that reve
rence for this Sacrament consists in fear joined
to love ; hence, the fear of reverence, as we have
shown in the second part, is a filial fear where
it has God for its object. From love arises
the desire of receiving Him, from fear comes
humility, which reverences Him. Both, therefore,
arise out of a reverence to this Sacrament, name
ly, the receiving it daily, and sometimes abstaining
from it." With this agrees Claudius Espencceus.*
Joannes Majorf commends daily communion if
devotion is increased by it. "If," he says, "you
urge that S. Augustine J says of him who com
municates daily, I neither praise nor blame him.
Nothing can be proved from this, since it is
doubtless much more praiseworthy to commu
nicate daily, if a man finds that he has a great
devotion towards the Eucharist." So, too,
Joannes Raulinus, a monk of Cluny, in his
eighth sermon on the Eucharist, wisely reminds
us, that it is possible that a person by abstain
ing for a time from communicating, may after
wards do so with the greater reverence, but he
should be on his guard, lest in this way his ha-
bituation to good, as he expresses it, should
be lost. " But if any one shall say, that to ab
stain from the celebration or reception of this
Sacrament is good, in order that it may be done
* Lib. 1. de Adorat. Euchar. cap. 7.
t 4 Sent, distiq. qu. 1.
t Cap. Quotidie de consecr. dist. 2.
300 BENEDICT XIV. ON HEROIC VIRTUE.
with greater reverence and devotion, when it is
done less frequently, to this I reply, that this is
possible, but it may happen also on the contrary,
that abstinence may remove the habituation to
good, the effect of which is, according to the phi
losopher, to work with delight." Rodriguez, like
wise, in his "Exercise of Perfection, and of the
Virtues of Religion," shows that it is better and of
more use to us to celebrate mass frequently from
the love of God, than to omit to do so from fear
and reverence for Him. And S. Thomas coincides
with this opinion,* for after the words already
quoted, where he says, " that it is a part of reve
rence to the Sacrament, both to partake of it daily,
and also sometimes to abstain from so doing out
of reverential fear ;" he subjoins, " Yet, love and
hope to which the Scripture is ever inviting us,
are preferable to fear. Hence, when Peter said,
* Depart from me, O Lord, for I am a man who
is a sinner, Jesus answered, Fear not. " But,
although this is true, yet it does not interfere
with what has been said above, since we were
speaking there, not of long abstinence from com
munion, but of a certain intermission from re
ceiving it daily, and this from the grace of
fear and reverence towards the most venerable
Sacrament.
6. What has just been laid down respecting
frequent and daily communion, likewise holds good
witlf regard to the frequent or daily celebration of
mass in the case of priests or bishops, as may
be gathered from what has gone before. And,
* Loc. sup. oil. ad tertium.
BENEDICT XIV, ON HEROIC VIRTUE. 301
indeed, if in the time of the Apostles the faith
ful used daily to receive the body of Christ, why
may we not likewise assert that the bishops and
priests daily celebrated mass? S. Irenseus,* an
Apostolic man, and living in the age next to that
of the Apostles, bears testimony to this matter.
"Accordingly," he says, "he would have us offer
our gift at the altar without ceasing." We read
in Surius,f that S. Andrew the Apostle, when
the Proconsul was urging him to commit idolatry,
withstood him with these words, " Every day I
sacrifice to Almighty God, the one True One ;
not the smoke of frankincense, nor the flesh of low
ing oxen, nor the blood of goats, but I sacrifice
on the altar of the cross the Immaculate Lamb,
Who after all the faithful have partaken of His
Flesh, yet remains whole and living ; the Lamb
that has been sacrificed." Baronius, as well as
Alexander Natalis, believe the Acts from which
this is taken to be genuine, though Tillemont,
in his Life of S. Andrew, doubts of their au
thenticity ; principally, because no mention
is made of them before the eighth century,
but he allows that what is contained in them,
as said by S. Andrew to be consistent with
his meaning. S. Cyprian, (epist. 77,) thus con
soles the martyrs, who being condemned to the
mines, were grieved that they could not offer
the holy and unbloody sacrifice of the altar:
"But not even in this can you suffer any loss,
my beloved brethren, either of faith or religion,
* Lib. 4. Adv. Naeres. c. 18. n. 6. p. 251.
t Ad diem 30. Novera.
302 BENEDICT XIV. ON HEROIC VIRTUE.
because priests are not there permitted to offer
and celebrate the divine sacrifice. For you do,
indeed, celebrate and offer to God a sacrifice
alike precious and glorious, and one that will
hereafter be of good service to you in increasing
your eternal rewards. For thus the Scripture
speaks, A sacrifice to God is an afflicted spirit ;
a contrite and humble heart, God, Thou wilt
not despise. This, then, is the sacrifice you offer
to God, this is the sacrifice you celebrate day
and night without ceasing, being made your
selves sacrifices to God, and presenting your
selves holy and immaculate victims." As if he
had said, if you do not now daily celebrate mass
as you used to do, yet you daily offer to God
what you are able to offer, the sacrifice of an
afflicted spirit. It is said, that Cardinal Cajetan
taught in his commentary on S. Thomas, that a
priest who never celebrates is not to be condemn
ed as guilty of a deadly fault, but at most of a
venial ; but it is added, that this opinion of
Cajetan was expunged from the Roman edition
of S. Thomas s works, by order of S. Pius V.
Pope Innocent III.* however, speaks in very se
vere terms of those priests and prelates who cele
brate mass scarcely four times a year. The holy
council of Trent,! speaking of simple priests, has
the following: "Let the bishops take care that
they celebrate mass at least on Sundays and the
solemn feasts, and if they have the cure of souls,
sufficiently often to satisfy the obligation of their
* De celebr. Mirs. cap. Dolentes.
t Sess. 23. de. reformat, cap. 14.
BENEDICT XIV. ON HEROIC VIRTUE. 303
office." S. Thomas* asks the question, "whether
a priest may lawfully abstain altogether from the
consecration of the Eucharist ;" and he relates
the opinion of some, that a priest may lawfully
abstain altogether from consecrating, unless he is
bound, by the cure of souls which he has, to cel
ebrate, and to supply the sacraments to the peo
ple. This opinion, however, he condemns in
these words : " This is affirmed without reason,
for each one is bound to use the grace given to
him when a fit time for doing so offers itself,
according to what is said in the second epistle
to the Corinthians, vi. 1, And, we helping, do
exhort you, that you receive not the grace of
God in vain. Now, fit opportunity for offering
sacrifice is not to be understood only by reference
to the faithful in Christ, to whom the sacraments
must be ministered, but more chiefly with refer
ence to God, to Whom, by this consecration, sacri
fice is offered. Hence, a priest, even though he
should not have the cure of souls, is not per
mitted to cease altogether from celebrating, but
is bound, as it would seem, to do so on the
principal feasts, and especially on those days
when the faithful are accustomed to communi
cate." Accordingly, although on certain days
priests and bishops are bound to celebrate, yet
if a servant of God, who is a simple priest or a
bishop, celebrates on almost every day without
having an obligation to do so, provided only he
does it with due devotion, as he must doubtless
be believed to do; (for, indeed, the cause of
* 3 part. qu. 82, art. 10.
304 BENEDICT XIV. ON HEROIC VIRTUE.
beatification or canonization would never have
been introduced, if there had been any reason
able suspicion of irreverence in saying mass, or
at least it could not be proceeded with if proof
of his virtues be wanting,) from this practice,
we say, of celebrating mass every day, or nearly
every day, a note or mark of sanctity may be
derived.
7. In the Life of S. Ignatius, written by Father
Maffei, it is related, that in the year 1538 he
came to Kome with the other fathers of his So
ciety, and there began to instruct the children
and the people in the streets in the Christian
Catechism, and brought back the frequent use of
the holy confessional and of the Eucharist, first
to Rome and afterwards to the other parts of the
world. "They effected," it is said, "in that
Church, which is the mistress and queen of the
world, many things in a short space of time, and
especially the revival of the frequent use of holy
confession and the Eucharist, much to the benefit
of the Christian republic ; for this practice, than
which nothing is more salutary to mankind, had
been well-nigh extinguished by the fraud of the
devil. After this it was gradually brought about
by their exertions, that not only in Italy, France,
Spain, and the other Catholic countries of Europe,
but even in India itself, and the most extreme
parts of the earth, where before the dismal feasts
of demons and other impious and horrid orgies
had been carried on, now, to the great joy of all
men, souls were daily cleansed from their filth
by the Sacrament of Penance, and the divine
BENEDICT XIV. ON HEROIC VIRTUE. 305
feast of the Eucharist was everywhere celebrated."
Launoy, in his work on the practice and excel
lence of frequent confession and communion, con
tends that S. Ignatius, when he came to Paris
for the sake of his studies, did not restore the
frequent use of confession and communion, for
it had at that time already become common;
but that afterwards, when the Society was estab
lished there, he cherished and carried forward
the practice which had been introduced by others.
However this may be, the Church, in the lections
of his office, says, " Above all, it was his care to
excite the pious devotion of Catholics ; the beauty
of the churches, the extended knowledge of the
Catechism, the frequent attendance on sermons
and the Sacraments owe their increase to him."
It is, therefore, to Ignatius and the Society in
stituted by him that the universal Church owes
the propagation of the practice of frequent con
fession and communion. S. Cajetan, likewise,
who before he founded his own society had en
tered the Oratory of Vicenza, persuaded his com
panions to a frequent use of the Sacraments.
This we find in the Report of the Auditors of
the Rota, where there is the following passage :
"He used himself to administer the holy com
munion to his companions every month, though
before they were accustomed to receive it but
four times a year. And he was so urgent in his
exhortations to them on this matter, that a very
large number of them communicated not only
every week, but on all festivals and every Friday."
And this is also mentioned in the Bull of his
20
306 BENEDICT XIV. ON HEROIC VIRTUE.
canonization : " Above others, he attained this,
that he introduced a greater frequentation of the
Sacraments, among his companions first, and then
among others of a more fervent spirit, to their
great gain, who having washed away the filth
of their souls, drew near to the heavenly feast,
which he ministered to them with his own hands,
and at the same time kindled in them a love
and thirst for it with words of fire, abundance
of tears and sighs." Much has been collected
together by us in another work, to be found at
the end of the edition of the present treatise,
"On the Sacrifice of the Mass."
8. A question may be raised respecting the
primitive monks, anchorites, and solitaries of the
desert, whether and how they received the Sa
craments of penance and the Eucharist ; and in
asmuch as some of them have not received them,
or at least but seldom, how it is that some
have been enrolled in the number of the saints.
Scacchus* has resolved the question in the fol
lowing words : " It is certain, from the histories
of the old fathers, that the ancient hermits of
the East withdrew themselves from all inter
course with men into complete solitude, and there
remained for twenty, thirty, and even a still
greater number of years, altogether unknown.
We read that they were without the use of the
Sacraments of penance and the Eucharist, and
had no solicitude as to how they should hear
mass. This was the case with S. Paul the first
hermit, and S. Anthony, who are said to have
* De not, et sign, Sanct. C. c, 5. p. 458.
BENEDICT XIV. ON HEROIC VIRTUE. 307
lived in this way for many years. So, too, S.
Mary of Egypt, S. Macarius the Roman, as well
as S. Macarius the Egyptian, and many others,
whose acts are found everywhere written in the
Lives of the Fathers. All this might, then, per
chance be done and approved of, inasmuch as
the places belonging to the Christians were not
more frequented, nor was there a sufficient num
ber of priests." But to speak accurately, this
difficulty could not exist with respect to monks,
who lived in monasteries and convents under
the care of an abbot ; nor, again, with regard
to the Laurites, that is, those who went out from
the convents to live in Laurse, or separate cells
outside the building, under the care of one su
perior ; nor, again, as regards the inclosed, nor
even solitaries and hermits who used to live not
far off from monasteries, or villages, or towns ;
but it could only refer to anchorites living in
the desert, or those solitaries who lived quite apart
from other men, in caves and dens, and far dis
tant from towns and cities, and the habitations
of other men.
9. This difficulty, we have said, can claim no
place as regards monks. For although, accord
ing to ancient discipline, monks were for the
most part laics, and refused, through humility,
to be raised to holy orders, yet they used to
assemble together in the church, and at particu
lar times to send for a priest to administer the
sacraments to them. Palladius,* speaking of S.
John, the hermit, says, " One might see in the
* Hist. Lausiac. c. 46. p, 72.
308 BENEDICT XIV. ON HEROIC VIRTUE.
church a great number of those monks who were
with him, like so many choirs of the just, clothed
in shining garments and glorifying God with con
tinual hymns." And in the Life of S. Pachomius,
in Rosweyde, it is added, " that when the solem
nity of the season required that they should par
take, according to custom, in the divine mysteries,
they sent to the nearest villages for some priests
to fill them with spiritual joy belonging to the
festival. For this holy old man, (Pachomius,)
would not suffer that there should be any one
among them who fulfilled the priestly office ;
saying, that it was much more useful and con
venient for monks, not only to seek nothing in
the way of honours and promotion, but also to
cut off all occasions of anything of this sort
from convents ; for that oftentimes there arose
from hence contentions and unprofitable emu
lations. "
10. Added to this, moreover, the discipline of
keeping monks out of holy orders and the priest
hood, is neither perpetual nor universal. For
through the custom that prevailed of calling in
priests to minister the sacraments to the monks,
some used impudently to offer themselves who had
not been called. Now it occasionally happened,
that some who had been admitted into the mo
nasteries would not do penance for crimes they
had been guilty of, and so were expelled from
them. These persons returning to the city, were
fraudulently raised to the priesthood, came back
to the monastery from which they had been expel
led, and boasting of the dignity they had extorted,
BENEDICT XIV. ON HEROIC VIRTUE. 309
used to celebrate mass. This exceedingly grieved
the monks, who, conscious of the crimes these per
sons had been guilty of, refused to assist at the
holy sacrifice. All this we find in S. Cyril, in his
Epistles to the Bishops of Libya and Pentapolis.
From this the practice afterwards began, of ta
king some one out of the monks themselves to
be a priest, that he might minister the sacra
ment to the rest. This may be gathered from
the Life of S. Apollo, or Apollonius : " When the
holy hermit had now for forty years lived in
the desert supporting his life on herbs, he re
ceived a command from God, to choose for his
habitation a cave, and there to receive all who
gave themselves up to be instructed in monastic
virtue. When he had already several disciples,
on Easter day, he offered sacrifice to God in
the cave, and celebrated the Eucharist with
them." Agreeably to this Gennadius* witnesses
that Theodore, the successor of S. Pachomius in
the direction of the monastery, was adorned with
the priestly character : " Theodore, a priest, and
successor of the aforesaid abbot in grace and
government." And in Rosweydef we find the
following notice : " The monks who live in the
desert of Scythia agreed together, that Father
Isaac should be ordained priest for the church
that is in the desert, and where at a stated day
and hour a great multitude of monks who live
there assemble together."
11. Thus, as regards the monks who used to
* De Script. Eccles. c. 8.
f De vit. PP. lib. 3. p. 4S>9.
310 BENEDICT XIV. ON HEROIC VIRTUE.
live in monasteries and convents under the care of
an abbot or president, we have no scanty measure
of proof that they were within reach of the sacra
ments, and that they made good use of them. And
this is all the more evident, because we find in
the "Book of the Lives of the Fathers," that
the monks were accustomed to assemble together
at the church on every Sabbath and every
Sunday. In Rufinus of Aquileia, S. Pastor, the
monk, asserts, that the sacrifice of the altar is
the fountain of living water to which the monks
like thirsty stags repaired on the Sabbath-day
and the Lord s-day, that they might find there
refreshment for their souls, and medicine against
the poison of the serpent, that is to say, of lust.
Moreover, though the disciplina arcani has con
cealed from us many documents relating to sa
cramental confession, yet with respect to that of
monks, there is the distinguished testimony of
S. Basil,* who proposes the following question :
"Ought he who wishes to confess his sins,
to confess them before all, or only to some,
and if so, to whom ?" and he answers the
question thus : " He must needs confess his
sins to those who are entrusted with the dis
pensation of the mysteries of God." And he
again confirms this answer in another place,!
where he says, "The same principle is to be
observed in the confession of sins, which is ob
served in discovering the diseases of the body.
As, then, men do not discover their diseases to
all, nor to persons of all sorts, but to those who
* Regul. brev. qu. 287. t Ib. qu, 229.
BENEDICT XIV. ON HEROIC VIRTUE. 311
are skilled in the cure of them ; so the confession
of sins ought to be made to those who are able
to cure them."
1 2. Now there is no one who cannot see that
in these words S. Basil speaks of sacramental
confession, as having to be made, not to any
one whatever, but only to the priest. And in like
manner, with respect to what has been adduced
above, it may be very easily collected by every
one, that the monks who lived in convents and
monasteries under the direction of a superior or
abbot, were not without the advantage of the
Sacraments of Penance and the Eucharist. And
the same thing may likewise be said of those
who lived in the laurse as well as in cloisters.
13. We learn from S. Cyril, in his Life of S.
Sabbas, in Surius,* that the laurse differed from
convents in this, that the latter were inhabited
by those who lived in community, while the
former were occupied by persons who led a soli
tary and retired life each in his own separate
cell. Suriusf relates of the Abbot Gerasimus, that
he presided over a monastery with which was con
nected a laura of seventy cells. And although
the laurse were not always near a monastery,
yet it was a rule never deviated from, that no
one should remove to the laurse, or cells, who
had not laid the foundations of virtue in a
monastery, and strengthened himself in it by
long practice. This has been well remarked by
Thomassinus. j The same thing is also to be col-
* Dec 5. torn. 6. p. 159, n. 9.
t Jan. 20. torn. i. in vit. S. Euthym. n. 57. p. o . O.
J Eccles. Discipl. part. 1. lib. 3. c. 23. n. (i.
312 BENEDICT XIV. ON HEROIC VIRTUE.
lected from S. Cyril,* who relates that the man
ner of living in the laurse was as follows: that
for five days in the week each one was to re
main silent in his cell, tasting nothing but
bread, and water, and dates, and that on the
Sabbath and the Lord s-day, he should come to
the church, and having there received the Eu
charist, he should partake of some boiled food
(cocto) in the convent, and a little wine, which
is confirmed also by the same Life of Euthymius,
Abbot. So that it is sufficiently plain from this,
that those who lived in the laurae had the benefit
of receiving the Sacraments. Giballinusf follows
up this proof still farther, and likewise proves
that they lived under the direction of a superior
or abbot. And, moreover, that they used to as
semble as has been said, in the church on the
Sabbath and the Lord s-day for communion and
other religious purposes. We are also told that
no priest was sent for out of the neighbouring
towns to minister the sacraments to them, but
that this was done by the abbot or some monk
who had been admitted to the priesthood.
14. To say nothing of other instances, there is
at the present day at Monte di Lugo, near Spoleto,
one of these laurae. In the third book of the
Dialogues of S. Gregory, mention is made of S.
Isaac, the abbot, and there is also a memorial of
him in the Roman Martyrology, on the llth of
April. It is under his rule that some of the
* Act. SS. in Euthymio, Jan. 20. torn. 2. nn. 88, 89. p. 316.
t IMsqnis. Can, de claus. Regul. tit. de Ascet. inclus. dis. 3 c. :> .
1. n. 6.
BENEDICT XIV. ON HEROIC VIRTUE. 313
monks in this mountain live, but in separate
cells. The place is thus described in the Com
mentary of Pope Pius II.: "On the opposite
side," (he is speaking of Spoleto,) "there is a
high and precipitous mountain, in which, as in a
desert dedicated to religion, there are anchorites
who serve God. There are, moreover, some
convents of monks inhabited by men eminent
for their sanctity." These hermits of Spoleto
are subject to their bishop, but have also a
superior whom they obey. Each cell is separa
ted by no little space from the next. Some of
their inmates are admitted to the priesthood,
others not, and the number of the laics is
greater than that of the priests. They have a
church in common, repaired and adorned in our
own times by Cardinal Cybo of happy memory,
a man most eminent for his piety and learning ;
and into this church they all assemble to pray
and receive the sacraments. If there is any
difference between the ancient Laurites and these,
it seems to be this, that the hermits of Spoleto
do not live first in monasteries before they retire
to the desert, or at least, are not bound to do
so, as the ancient Laurites were ; which is to
be gathered from the Life of S. Euthymius, al
ready cited.
15. Let us now come to the inclosed, those,
that is to say, who in monasteries or out of them,
but if so, not far from them, used to choose out
a place to live in, and continued shut up in it
all their life. Of these there were three orders.
The first was that of monks, who by the leave
314 BENEDICT XIV. ON HEROIC VIRTUE.
of the abbot shut themselves up in a cell of the
monastery. The next was that of monks of the
same convent, who also by the leave of the abbot
used to retire from it, and going to a place in
which they could inclose themselves, gave up
their whole time to prayer and contemplation.
The third order was of those who, in order to pre
serve innocence of life, or to do penance for their
sins, used under a divine impulse, to shut them
selves up not far from some monastery or convent,
and there live under the direction of some spiri
tual father, Giovanni Chiericato* has collected
many instances of persons inclosed in his Deci
sions. The manner of life which these last led
is described by Palladius Galata in Rosweyde
in the following words : " They live in great
retirement, each one shut up by himself, nor do
they ever see one another except at communion."
Much more is to be found respecting them in
Giballinus, in the part of his work already
quoted from, where he proves that they used
occasionally to come out of their prisons in order
to assemble together in church, and especially
on more solemn festivals ; that they were also
accustomed to admit, occasionally, into their pre
sence men who were distinguished by their rank
or sanctity. Lastly, Chiericato proves abundant
ly, that all inclosed monks were able conveniently
to receive the Sacraments, both during their life
time and at their death, and that they actually
did receive them.
16. Next we have to speak of the solitaries
* Dec. 62. ad Decemb, cas. add. n. 23. 26.
BENEDICT XIV. ON HEROIC VIRTUE. 315
or hermits, who lived at no great distance from
monasteries, or towns, or villages ; and proofs
are not wanting to show that they frequent.
Ij assembled in the church of the monastery
that was near them, and there received the
sacraments. We find it related in Cotelerius s
Monuments of the Greek Church, respecting
the Abbot Isaac, that he drove out of the church
one of the solitary brothers who did not belong
to the convent, and wore a small cowl ; and
this he did because he took him to be a secular,
and upon this plea that this was the monk s
place. In "The Spiritual Meadow," and in
the author of the history of the Oriental monas
teries, and in Cassian,* there are documents
which speak of these solitary monks coming
to the nearest church, in order that they might
partake of the Sacraments. Morinus,t too,
adds his testimony to what has been said, in
the following words : " All the monks, likewise,
if they had occasion to be in the cities, or near
them, used to assemble together in church with
the rest of the people, but taking the first place
as the more honourable portion of the Lord s
flock." We may, therefore, conclude from all this,
that it is untrue to say that the ancient monks,
anchorites, Laurites, and inclosed, did not fre
quently partake of the Sacraments, seeing that
they were able to have a priest. Theophilus
RaynaudJ illustrates this by a great number of
* Collat. 18. cap. 15. Collat. 23. c. 21.
t De Sacram. Pzenit. lib. 2. c. 17, n. 12.
t Upp. torn. 16, n. 10. p. 47.
316 BENEDICT XIV. ON HEROIC VIRTUE.
examples, and adds, " That the assertion is a false
one, that very many of the ancient monks and
anchorites but seldom partook of the Eucharist,
seeing that they were within reach of a priest."
17. The difficulty, then, is reduced to those
solitary hermits or anchorites who, entering into
vast solitudes, and inhabiting secluded woods
and groves, used to live unknown to men at a
great distance from cities, and towns, and mon
asteries, living, all their life through, on herbs
and water. S. Jerome, Theodoret, and other
ancient writers, speak of these anchorites. And
their manner of life is described at length by
Peter Sutor.* "Let us now," he says, "add a
few words on the fourth kind of anchorites, those,
that is to say, who live in the utmost solitude.
For they could not even have a companion with
them, or live near other anchorites, but passed
their time in complete solitude. That they
might give themselves up more purely and per
fectly to contemplation and to an exalted life,
and might cling continually to the love of their
Maker, Whom they thirsted for, without having
anything to stand in the way of so holy an in
tercommunion, they used entirely to avoid the
sight and company of men. And some of these
lived in such concealment that their very exis
tence was unknown. Others known by report,
but not personally, used to inhabit the most
retired parts of the desert. Some continued to
persevere to the end of their days in this rigor
ous manner of life, whilst others, after having
* De vita Carthusian a, lib. i. c. 15.
BENEDICT XIV. ON HEROIC VIRTUE. 317
carefully followed it up for a long time, at last
abandoned it."
18. With regard to these solitaries, it certainly
cannot be proved that they came at stated times
to the churches, which were at a great distance
from them, or that priests had access to them.
And from this a difficulty arises how they were
able to cleanse their consciences by penance or
to receive the holy Eucharist. Their manner
of life is thus described by S. Augustine :* " I
will say nothing of those whom I have spoken
of above, those who, concealed entirely from
the sight of men, inhabit the most wild and
desolate regions, content with bread alone, which
is brought them at certain intervals of time, and
water, but enjoying the closest intercourse with
God, on whom their pure spirits rest, and most
happy in the contemplation of His beauty, which
cannot be perceived except by the intellect of
the Saints ; of these, I repeat, I will say nothing ;
for they seem to some, who little understand
how much we are benefited by their dispositions
in prayer, and by their life in the way of exam
ple, though we are not permitted to see them
with our bodily eyes, to have retired from human
things more than was their duty. But to discuss
this matter would be tedious and useless ; for
how can this exalted height of sanctity, if it be
not spontaneously honoured and admired, be so
through our speaking ?"
19. If, then, the life of the first anchorites
was, according to the testimony of S. Augustine,
* De Mor. Eccleg. lib. i. c. 31. n. 66. col. 710.
318 BENEDICT XIV. ON HEROIC VIRTUE.
so exalted, surely they did not stand in need
of the salutary Sacrament of penance, in order
to their salvation, even although they should
have fallen into some light faults ; for, accord
ing to our theologians, venial sins are not the
necessary, but only a sufficient, matter for this
Sacrament ; and everything which may be said
of the benefit of confession, especially at the hour
of death, suppose the presence of a priest to
whom venial sins can be disclosed in confession.
This argument I myself when I filled the ofiice
of Promoter .of the Faith, followed up in the
cause of the servant of God the Anchorite Gre
gory Lopez, which is still going on in the Sacred
Congregation of Rites. Moreover, if through
some misfortune, or the weakness of human
nature, any one of them had fallen into a grave
sin, who is there who would say for certain, that
he who had been guilty of it, did not go out
of his cave, in order that he might cleanse his
conscience by holy confession ? And this might
be, although it had never been committed to
writing that he had done so, or at least, was
not known to have been so committed ; since
those who have written their Lives have not men
tioned everything done by the servants of God,
as has been well observed by the Bishop Sar-
nelli, in a letter to Jerome a Basilica Petri, which
has been added by Chiericato to the Decision we
have quoted before, with respect to the very
point now in question. As to holy Communion,
Sozomen relates that the beginnings of this sort
of solitary life are to be referred to times of
BENEDICT XIV. ON HEROIC VIRTUE. 319
persecution, and that it was in order to avoid
this, and not to lose the precious deposit of
faith, nor God and eternal blessedness, that
some of the Christians were compelled to leave
the cities, and to betake themselves to dens and
caves. Afterwards, when the persecutors of the
Christians were, by the Divine Judgment removed,
he says that others embraced this manner of life,
that they might serve God with more freedom,
when separated from the cares of the world and
the intercourse of men. S. Basil,* however, relates,
that when in the time of persecution the Chris
tians withdrew from the cities, they took with
them the consecrated Bread for their use ; " And
it is unnecessary to show," he continues, "that it
is no grave sin if in times of persecution any one
should be obliged, in the absence of the priest or
deacon, to take the communion with his own
hand." The same S. Basil says, that this was
the custom of the anchorites : " All the monks
in the solitudes where there was no priest, re
served the communion at home, and administered
it to themselves with their own hands." This
portion of ecclesiastical discipline is discussed
by the two illustrious Cardinals, Baroniusf and
Bona.J Beside this, it was the custom then
to send the Eucharist to those who were absent
even by the hands of laymen. Dionysius Alex-
andrinus in Eusebius, tells us that a priest sent
a portion of the Eucharist to Serapion, by the
* Ep. ad Caesar. 93. col. 86.
t In not. ad Mart. Rom. Aug. 15.
Rev. Liturg. lib. 2. c. 17. n. 4. Lib. 6, c. 44.
320 BENEDICT XIV. ON HEROIC VIRTUE.
hands of a boy who was a laic, and who, after
dipping it in water, put it into the mouth of the
old man a little before he breathed his last. And
we find it related in Palladius,* that the monks
who in old times inhabited solitudes, were not
accustomed to take food until they had first sup
plied their souls with spiritual nourishment, that
is to say, with the holy Communion, which they
kept in their cells, and which the priests used
to give them at church, in case any of them
came there, or sent home to them if there were
any of them who used to lead an altogether
solitary life. Here there are two ways in which
anchorites who dwelt in solitude, and entirely
separate from other men, might and did frequent
ly receive holy Communion. Chiericato has
collected a great many examples out of approved
historians, showing that the Holy Spirit moved
and guided pious and religious persons to visit
solitaries, in order to minister the sacraments
to them ; and that angels themselves brought
them the holy Eucharist. Lastly, according
to the doctrine of theologians, with S. Thomas
at their head,t the holy Communion is necessary,
"necessitate medii" as a means, either in fact
or in desire. "There are two ways," he says,
" of receiving this sacrament ; one spiritual, the
other sacramental. And it is manifest that all
are bound to eat, for this is, to be incorporated
in Christ, spiritually at least. Now this spiritual
eating includes in it the wish and desire of receiv
ing the sacrament, so that without the desire of
* Hist. Lnusiac. c. 9. t 3 part, qusest. 80. art. 11.
BENEDICT XIV. ON HEROIC VIRTUE. 321
receiving it there can be no salvation. Nor would
the desire be of any efficacy, unless it were carried
into effect when opportunity offered." Accord
ingly Theophilus Raynaud, after a great col
lection of instances, says of our Anchorites,
" Others who lived in the depths of the wilderness
at a great distance from all inhabited places,
having been moved by the Divine Spirit to em
brace this kind of life, were excused from fre
quently communicating through want of a priest
to give them the Sacraments ; though when
occasion for doing so offered itself, they received
them eagerly." To prove that the Saints, with
whom we have to do, were not on all occa
sions debarred from the Sacraments, we have
sufficient proof in Palladius,* wherein i f is related
that Ptolemy retired into the desert, where he
remained fifteen years, "where saving become
a stranger to the instructions and intercourse
of holy men, and the reception of the Sacraments,
he so far departed from the right way, that he
came at last, miserable man, to profess what
some impious men have before now affirmed, that
all things happen by chance."
* Hist, Lausiac. c. 33.
21
322 BENEDICT XIV. ON HEROIC VIRTUE.
CHAPTER VIII.
OF THE MORTIFICATION OF THE FLESH AND THE BODY.
1. IN treating above of the virtue of temperance
something was said of the fasts and austerities
with which the Saints afflicted their bodies.
But since, according to the opinion of Scacchus,
to be presently quoted, a very careful and par
ticular inquiry ought to be made in the causes of
the servants of God to be canonized, or beatified,
respecting their mortifications of the flesh and
body, there are some few things to be added on
this head, in this and the following chapter.
The passage from Scacchus * is this : " In the
acts of the servants of God, not martyrs, which
are examined into in order to their canoniza
tion, those in which the desire of mortifying the
flesh is not apparent, are not to be regarded.
Accordingly, with respect to these, it is not un
reasonable to suspect their sanctity, nor is it, I
think, allowable to propose their worship or ven
eration in the Church of God. For with the ex
ception of martyrs, the Church venerates and
gives the sanction of her authority to the sanctity
of those only whom she finds to have been zeal
ous in the mortification of the flesh and senses.
Therefore we read the histories of no Saints in the
Church, or find Bulls of the Sovereign Pontiffs for
the canonization of holy confessors and virgins, in
which the great desire of mortifying and subdu
ing the flesh, as is fitting, is not commended."
* De not. et sign. Sanct. 5. c. 2.
BENEDICT XIV. ON HEROIC VIRTUE. 323
2. Fasting is spoken of in Tobias, xii. 8.
"Prayer is good with fasting and alms." At
the preaching of Jonas, the Ninivites fasted, as
we find in Jonas, iii. 7. For the king made a
command : " Let neither men, nor beasts, oxen,
nor sheep, taste anything ; let them not feed
nor drink water." Tirinua remarks, that the
king was Sardanapalus, and adds, " That though
he was a man of most abandoned morals, and
entirely given up to luxury, yet when he heard
the threatenings of the prophet Jonas, he was
struck with compunction and was converted, and
having done penance with all the Ninivites, his
subjects, they were in consequence spared by
God."
3. The first mention of hair-cloth is found in
Genes, xxxvii. 34 ; that the Patriarch Jacob
clothed himself with sack-cloth, when he believed
that his son Joseph, who had been sold by his
brothers to the Ismaelites, was devoured by wild
beasts. King David made frequent use of it, as
we read in the Psalms: "When they were trouble
some to me, I was clothed with hair-cloth," xxxiv.
13 ; "I made hair-cloth my garment," Ixviii. 12 ;
and when the plague raged among the people:
" Both he and the ancients, clothed in hair-cloth,
fell down flat on the ground. 1 Paralip. xxi. 16.
When King Joram heard that in the extremity of
the famine, a mother had eaten her son, " He rent
his garments and passed by upon the wall. And
all the people saw the hair-cloth which he wore
within next to his flesh." 4 Kings, vi. 30.
324 BENEDICT XIV. ON HEROIC VIRTUE.
When Judith was leading a life of penance
with her maidens in her widowhood, and re
mained shut up, "she wore hair-cloth upon
her loins, and fasted all the days of her life
except the Sabbaths." And so too, when Holo-
fernes was besieging Jerusalem, " the priests
put on hair-cloths," as we learn in the same book
of Judith, iv. 8. As often as the priests and pro
phets preached penance, they exhorted the peo
ple to put on hair-cloth. Thus, Jeremias, iv. 8,
" Gird yourselves with hair-cloth, lament and
howl." The Machabees, as we find in the second
Book x. 25, when they were in great straits on
account of the war, prayed to God " sprinkling
earth upon their heads, and girding their loins
with hair-cloth." Likewise John the Baptist,
the precursor of Christ, when he preached pen
ance had his garment of camel s hair and a
leathern girdle about his loins, as we find in
Matt. iii. We should know, however, that there
are two kinds of hair-cloth ; one which is a sort
of rough clothing made of the hair of goats or
camels, or any other animals, and which holy
men and penitents used to wear on their naked
flesh tied on to their shoulders and sides ; the
other is a sort of chain, invented about two
hundred years ago, very much like a girdle,
made of iron, brass, or silver wire, and which
the servants of God and penitents used to gird
about their loins. It is of the first sort of
hair-cloth, that John of Genoa speaks in Du
Cange, under the word " Cilicium:" "Hair-cloth
is a garment made of the skin of the goat or
BENEDICT XIV. ON HEROIC VIRTUE. 325
the taxus, from which tents are made, and in
which the dead are wrapped."
4. Thus much being premised as to fasting
and the use of hair-cloth, in order to return to
our subject and to proceed methodically, our
first inquiry must be, what the mortification of
the flesh and the body is ; secondly, in what it
consists ; thirdly, whether it is necessary ; fourth
ly, in what manner some of the saints have ex
ercised themselves in it ; and, lastly, whether,
and in what manner, it is so absolutely necessary
in those who are to be canonized, that without
it their causes cannot proceed.
5. Setting out then with an examination of
the first point, the answer is obvious and easy ;
for there is no one who cannot see that mortifi
cation of the flesh and the body is nothing else
than an anxious care, that by the use of fitting
precautions, the flesh may not stand in the way
of the spirit and have the mastery over it. For
S. Peter says, that the desires of the flesh war
against the soul ; S. Paul, that the law of our
members is at variance with the law of our mind ;
that the prudence of the flesh is at enmity with
God ; that the flesh lusteth against the spirit and
the spirit against the flesh. This is an intestine
war carried on within ourselves. Concupiscence
arises from sin and inclines to sin, and remains even
in those who have been born again in baptism, for
them to contend against. So speaks the Council
of Trent in its decree on original sin. S. Prospe-
rus, or Pomerius,* speaks thus of this inward
* De Vit. Contempl. lib. 3. c/2.
326 BENEDICT XIV. ON HEROIC VIRTUE.
battle : " Our pious endeavours are withstood by
vicious concupiscence, which is not natural, but
grafted on to our nature bj way of punishment,
having had its origin in sin, and leading, if it
gains the victory, to sin." Of the victory to be
gained over it, John Cassian* says, " An intestine
war is daily being waged within us. When once
this battle is won, all things that are without will
become weak, and all will be subdued by, and
made subject to, the soldier of Christ. We have
no external enemy to be feared, if only those
powers that are within are subdued to the
spirit."
6. Passing on from this to the examination
of the second question, namely, wherein morti
fication of the flesh and of the body consists,
we make answer that it consists in abstinence,
fasting, the use of the hair-shirt, in watching,
lying on the ground, voluntary scourgings,
which they call disciplines, and other like prac
tices which afflict the flesh. The Apostle Paul in
his first epistle to the Corinthians, ix. 27, says, " I
chastise my body and bring it into subjection :
lest perhaps when I have preached to others, I
myself should become reprobate." And in the
second epistle, vi. 5, speaking of the manner of
doing this, he says, "in labours, in watchings, in
fastings." Accordingly S. Jerome, in his com
mentary on the first of these passages, explains
it thus : " I chastise my body, and bring it into
subjection by abstinence, by afflictions, by labours,
* Lib. 5 de Spirit gastrimargise, c, 21. p. 115.
BENEDICT XIV. ON HEROIC VIRTUE. 327
as he says elsewhere, in many fastings, in hunger
and thirst, in cold and nakedness, in labours
and in prisons." In like manner the author of
the commentary on the epistles of S. Paul, as
cribed to S. Ambrose, says, "To chastise the
body is to afflict it with fastings, and to give
it those things that are profitable for life, not
for luxury:" and S. Augustine also; "Behold
that governor and traveller the Apostle Paul,
behold him subduing his own beast. * In hunger
and thirst, he says, in fastings often I chastise
my body, and bring it into subjection. So, then,
do thou who desirest to walk, tame thy flesh, and
walk, for thou dost walk if thou lovest, for we
do not run to God by steps, but by affections."
7. In the above-named fathers no mention
is made of voluntary scourging, nor is there any
trace of it remaining in the more ancient monu
ments of the Church to be presently referred
to. A doubt therefore is raised whether it is to
be reckoned as one of the many methods of mor
tifying the flesh approved of by the Church.
Morinus* acknowledges the use of a scourge appli
ed by the hand of another but not by one s own.
James Boileau published a History of the Flagel
lants, or " Of the right and the perverted use of
the scourge among Christians," in which he is bent
on proving, that the blessed Dominic Loricatus,
and the blessed Peter Damian, were the persons
who first introduced voluntary disciplines, or
stripes, inflicted by one s own hand ; and that be-
* De Sacram. Poeuiteatise, lib. 7. c. 14, n, 1,
328 BENEDICT XIV. ON HEROIC VIRTUE.
fore their time scourges were indeed in use, but
in such a way that one person was beaten by
another, but not so that he scourged himself.
It is in this ^ay that he seems somehow to hint,
that our custom of disciplining oneself is not
altogether to be approved ; for the blows of
the discipline on the back have first of all a
tendency to injure the eyes, and the method of
striking just below the loins to excite lust, as he
shows at length in that history ; which reason
ing is attempted to be made good by John
Henry Meibome the father, Henry his son,
and by Thomas Bartolini.* Cardinal Baroniusf
asserts that Peter Damian did not originate,
but only spread this method of voluntary self-
flagellation. "At the same time," he says,
" there was introduced into the Church, not
altogether by the instrumentality of this Peter,
but by his assistance in propagating it, and his
defence of it against those who impugned it,
that laudable custom of the faithful scourging
themselves for the sake of penance, with whips
prepared for the purpose, after the example of
the blessed Dominic Loricatus, a most holy her
mit who was subject to him." And when Peter
Cerebrosus the monk, who was also a disciple
of the same Peter Damian, and some monks of
Florence and Cassino, chiefly at the instigation
of Stephen, ex-monk of Monte Cassino, and Car
dinal of the Holy Roman Church, had shown
themselves averse to this manner of using the
* De usu Flagr. in re medica.
t Annal. Ecclesiast. ad arm. 10-30, ti. 7.
BENEDICT XIV. OX HEROIC VIRTUE. 329
scourge, Peter Damian took up the matter strenu
ously, and refuted their arguments in his writings.
It may further be remarked, that this manner
of self-flagellation, which is called the discipline,
was practised by Guido Pomposejanus the Abbot,
and also by the Abbot Poppo. And this is suf
ficient to prove that Dominic and Peter Damian
were not the authors of it, as has been well ob
served by Mabillon,* who says, "Neither, then,"
(he is speaking of Guido and Poppo) " could have
learnt it from the example of Dominic Loricatus,
younger than both, much less from Peter Damian
who had not yet written on the subject," Grave-
sonf in his Ecclesiastical History, agrees with
Mabillon.
8. But whatever is to be said of the first origi
nator of it, certain it is, that the ancient mon
astic rules laid it down, that the monk who had
done wrong was to be beaten with whips and
scourges. And according to the Books of Pen
ance, the penitents used sometimes to throw them
selves at the feet of their confessor, in order to
be beaten by him. Hence, we read in the Life of
S. Lewis King of France, by Gaufrid, " that after
his confession, lie always received the discipline
from his confessor." And afterwards we read:
" This discipline he used, I think, to have from
a certain confessor, who was accustomed to give
very hard and immoderate ones ; and his ten
der flesh suffered no little in such hands. Yet
he never would tell this confessor as long as he
* Prafat. 1. in Saec. vi. ord. S. Benedict, n. 3!).
t Tom. 4. par. 1. 10 et 11 Saec, colloq. 0. p. 121. seqq.
330 BENEDICT XIV. ON HEROIC VIRTUE.
lived of this suffering ; but after his death, he
humbly acknowledged it to his next confessor in
a laughing way as it were in jest." All this being
laid down, there is no one who will deny that
it is a pious, laudable, and holy practice to afflict
the body with selfinflicted scourgings. And
Mabillon, in the passage before quoted from, says,
"In short, I do not doubt that every species of
satisfaction and expiation which have been pre
scribed by the canons, and can be imposed by
priests, may be lawfully imposed and inflicted
by oneself."
9. Moreover, if Peter Damian, Rodolf Bishop
of Gubbio, Dominic Loricatus, Gualbert Abbot of
Pontoise, persons illustrious for their sanctity,
have afflicted their bodies with voluntary flagel
lations, as Boileau himself admits in his His
tory of the Flagellants ; and further, if some,
who have been numbered among the saints, have
done the same thing as will hereafter appear, is
there any one who will henceforth venture to say
anything against the use of the discipline and
this laudable custom? "No one," says Mabillon,
" can rightly say that it is a doubtful thing, or
implies a want of modesty, to follow such guides
as these, nay, rather it is safe and honourable."
It may be also added, that according to what
we find said by the Abbot Guido Grandus,* both
the ancient Avellinates and the hermits of Ca-
raaldoli agreed in the practice of receiving vol
untary flagellations in the public chapter, as well
* Dissert. Caraaldulens. diss. 4. c. 4, n. 7.
BENEDICT XIV. ON HEROIC VIRTUE. 331
as those which were self-imposed in the cells
in private. Also, that towards the close of the
thirteenth century, a certain devout hermit of
Perugia, called Rainerius, being moved .by the
Holy Spirit, declared to the people of that coun
try, in the name of God, that unless they did
penance they would all die a miserable and loath
some death ; and that they, moved by what he
said, took thongs of leather and went in proces
sion through the city scourging themselves, then,
out of the town, and going through all the neigh
bouring parts, they came from Tuscia into Mar-
chia : and this way of religious penance, handed
down from city to city, was received by the
inhabitants of Imola, and passed, as it were,
through them to those of Bologna. Here it in
flamed the whole city to begin a Sodality, which,
in the revived zeal of the pious persons who be
long to it, was now called "the Society." From
its great hospitality towards the poor, it after,
wards took the name of the " Hospital of the Life
of S. Mary ;" the pious Rainerius of Perugia,
above mentioned, having, as we learn from Sigo-
nius,* come to Bologna and given a great deal
of assistance to it. As to the objections raised
against it on the ground of its injuring the eyes
and exciting lust, no regard should be paid to
them. For whatever account is to be given of
the proofs and examples to be found in Thomas
Bartolini, and the History of the Flagellants,
as well as others that are alleged, it is beyond
doubt, that out of a hundred persons who scourge
* De Episcop. Bonon. lib. 3.
332 BENEDICT XIV. ON HEROIC VIRTUE.
themselves, not one, or scarcely one, will be found
who is excited thereby to lust. And as the other
ninety-nine restrain the rebellious motions of the
flesh by scourging themselves, no one can justly
impugn this pious practice on this score, and es
pecially because the one who experiences this re
bellion of the flesh, as the effect of using the dis
cipline, not only may, but ought to abstain from
it. And the same thing ought also to be done by
him who finds his sight injured from this cause,
unless perchance both the one and the other
can escape the danger by applying the discipline
to another part.
10. Nor can it be urged against us that
Clement VI. published a Bull against the Flagel
lants, by which the faithful are for the future
prohibited from using disciplines. For this Bull
was directed against those, both men and women,
who, being by nation Hungarians, throughout
the whole of Germany, both Upper and Lower,
as well as Poland, France, England, and Bel
gium, publicly scourged themselves to blood
twice a day, with disciplines armed with sharp
spikes, but generally in a scurrilous way. This
is related at length in Spondanus s Continuation
of Baronius,* and from him in Bingham s An
tiquities,! where there is also an account given
of the depraved morals of these people, and the
impious and heretical doctrines which they pro
fessed. From this line of argument every one will
easily see that no proof can be deduced against
* Ad. ann. 1349. n. 2.
t Bk. 7. c. 3., 12.
BENEDICT XIV. ON HEROIC VIRTUE. 333
the pious custom of the Saints of beating them
selves with whips and thongs, lest the flesh should
lust against the spirit. James Gretser* has a
passage " On voluntary discipline," very much to
our purpose. " To argue," he says, " that a thing
is wrong because heretics have done it, is very
weak and illogical reasoning. Or else if this
argument is allowed, I too can draw conclusions
of a similar character. In former times various
heretics, especially the Montainists, used to ob
serve Lent very carefully, and gave up other
times also to fasting ; therefore it is unlawful
to observe Lent and other stated fasts. Heretics,
again, worship Three Persons and one God ; the
orthodox do ill, therefore, in adoring the Unity in
Trinity. In short, if this principle is once re
ceived and approved, what conclusion can we not
draw from it, even against those who preach us
so long a sermon on the Flagellants. These
Flagellants were not condemned on account of
their scourging themselves, (for, indeed, the or
thodox of those times were not unacquainted
with the practice of the Saints, who have often
times beaten themselves in this way,) but it was
on account of the manner of scourging, and the
attendant circumstances, and the gross errors with
which that ignorant multitude was infected, that
they were rejected and condemned ; since it is
attested even by the heretic Munster, that as
many as forty- four articles contrary to the Ro
man Church were handed down and defended
by them." A little after he subjoins: "They
t Opp. torn. 4. de Spontan. disciplin. lib. 2. c, 4. p. 44.
334 BENEDICT XIV. ON HEROIC VIRTUE.
are then very foolish who would press Catho
lics with this example of the Flagellants. For
what is there so holy, or so deserving of praise
that it cannot be turned into an abuse by wicked
men ? Even the holy Sacraments themselves will
be in danger of being banished away if any one
should be thus pleased to rave against them.
If, says Seneca,* we estimate the benefits
which nature has bestowed on us by the pervert
ed way in which we use them, there is nothing
which we have not received to our own harm.
To whom is sight a benefit ? or speech ? Who
is there to whom life is not a torment? And
so you will find nothing of such manifest utility
which our faults and errors do not pervert to
the opposite. The winds were made for our good,
but we ourselves have perverted them to evil
purposes. They all lead us to some evil or
another. " Afterwards he proceeds : " Nor must
we pass over in silence the falsehood of Hospinan
the Calvinist, who in his book on the Feasts of
the Gentiles, where he is treating of the flagel
lations used by the Spartans, has the boldness
to say that Pope Clement V. forbade the Flagel
lants and all Christians, under pain of sentence
of excommunication denounced, to scourge them
selves in public for the future, but that he who
was doing penance might, if he pleased, discipline
himself in private, yet, nevertheless, this manner
of scourging is retained, especially throughout
Spain and Italy. The account of this Calvin
ist is false ; for Clement V. did not prohibit
* Lib. 5. Qurest. Xat. ad fin.
BENEDICT XIV. ON HEROIC VIRTUE. 335
all kinds of public flagellations whatsoever, but
merely those of the Flagellants who used to
wander about from one city to another, draw
ing after them great multitudes of people, with
great danger of sedition, and not only without,
but against the advice and consent of the
rulsrs of the Church, while the clergy and all
the religious orders were despised. This manner
of flagellation could not indeed be any longer
borne with, by reason of these and many other
disorders ; and more especially because these
Flagellants consisted chiefly of a rude, ignorant,
and motley assemblage of rustics, like the faction
and sect of the Anabaptists. And this is the
only kind of flagellation which Clement V., or, as
Nanclerus thinks, Clement VI. put a stop to.
Nor is it true, as he pretends, that the Italians
and Spaniards have retained it, since they do not
wander about through different regions in large
numbers like the Flagellants, much less are they
imbued with their perverse opinions respecting the
practice of scourging, but keeping within the same
city, they go in procession to various churches,
which they visit out of devotion, and as they
proceed, discipline themselves, especially in the
time of Lent, and on those days when we are
accustomed to call to mind the Passion and death
of our Saviour for us. And this manner of
scourging no Pope ever forbade, and those who
would detract from the merit of this discipline,
turn aside from the truth as often as they say
so."
11. Thus far Gretser, who accuses John Gersoii
33(> BENEDICT XIV. ON HEROIC VIRTUE.
of rejecting discipline self-inflicted as an inhuman
and cruel practice. But Theophilus Raynaud*
says, that Gerson was afraid lest, under the sha
dow of those penitents who, scourging themselves,
followed S. Vincent Ferrer, the heresy of the Fla
gellants should revive or extend itself; and that,
moreover, he did not approve of all the practices of
the multitudes who followed the saint, but yet
never disapproved of the laudable custom of self-
discipline. "Like the holy Fathers of old," he says,
" who, in order the more completely to extirpate
some error, seem to incline to the opposite side ;
so Gerson appears hardly to deal fairly with the
practice of scourging. And there were indeed
some attendant circumstances, which were dan
gerous and not to be approved, and to which
Gerson opposed himself. For at that time the dis
cipline used always to take place publicly, from
which vanity and an ostentatious spirit might
creep in. Great multitudes, likewise, used to
follow S. Vincent, and these excursions from place
to place were not free from inconveniences liable
to blame. But speaking simply and abstractedly,
Gerson did not, and could not, blame the practice
of scourging, even self-inflicted, and so as to draw
blood in moderation." Lastly, in the Report of
the Auditors of the Rota in the cause of S. Lewis
Bertrand, we find the following respecting the
laudable use of the scourge : " Not unmindful of
the precept of David in the second Psalm, Serve
ye the Lord with fear, and rejoice unto Him
with trembling. Embrace discipline, lest at any
* Opp. torn. 8. in Mantiss. ad Indicul. SS. Lugdunens, p. 99.
BENEDICT XIV. ON HEROIC VIRTUE. 337
time the Lord be angry, and you perish from
the just way, the Blessed Lewis used to scourge
himself to such a degree, that not only the dis
cipline, but the walls too were bespattered with
his blood. And this custom is wont to produce
many benefits. For as S. Cyprian teaches us in
his treatise on discipline, this is the guardian of
hope, the cable of faith, and the salutary guide
of our way ; this is the fuel which feeds our good
dispositions, and the mistress of virtue ; which
makes us to abide in Christ, ever and continually
to live to God, and to attain at last to the pro
mised rewards of heaven. All this, as well as
the passage of the royal prophet above quoted,
may not unfitly be understood of this scourging
of the flesh in such a way that he exhorts us to
restrain our senses, and not to suffer them to
wander beyond the bounds of right ; to keep
down our flesh, lest it grow wanton, to curb its
unbridled motions, and to chastise it. And this
truly is done by him who scourges his body with
stinging lashes ; and some religious are accus
tomed before scourging themselves to say the
verse quoted above, * Embrace discipline.
12. Next to the examination of the first and
second point, comes that of the third, namely,
whether mortification of the flesh and body is
necessary. The answer to which is, that if we
except fasts and the other things commanded
by the Church, it is not necessary in order to
a man s attaining eternal salvation. "It is not
necessary for all" they are the words of Cardinal
22
338 BENEDICT XIV. ON HEROIC VIRTUE.
Bellarinine,* "to lie on the ground, to scourge
one s own body to blood, to fast every day on
bread and water, to wear every day a rough
hair-shirt, or an iron chain next to our skin,
and to do other things of a like nature, in order
to subdue the flesh and crucify it with its vice,
and lusts," Yet in order to reach the summit
of Christian perfection, it is necessary in a way
to be hereafter explained. The Apostle, as we
remarked before, brought his body into subjec
tion by extraordinary afflictions, lest perchance
after preaching to others, he himself should be
reprobate ; that is, should be cast away as un
worthy of salvation, because he had lived accord
ing to the flesh, while he had preached against
it to others. If then the Apostle wrote this
of himself, after he had ascended to the third
heaven, and had heard in Paradise secret words
which it was not lawful for a man to utter, each
one may infer from this that extraordinary mortifi
cation of the body is not only useful, but actually
necessary to Christian perfection ; as is shown
by that most profound Doctor, Estius. This is
gathered from the doctrine of S. Prosper, who
shows that, Christ alone excepted, in all other
men, so long as the flesh lusts against the spirit,
and the spirit against the flesh, immutable
fortitude of mind cannot be found. This he
proves most evidently from the Lord s prayer,
in which God is supplicated not only by begin
ners, but also by the most advanced Saints,
among whom he counts Peter, in these words,
* De 7 Verbis Domini, lib. 2. c. 10.
BENEDICT XIV. ON HEROIC VIRTUE. 339
"Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us
from evil." Other testimonies of the Fathers
may be read in the sacred Ethics of Jerome
Dandini,* priest of the Company of Jesus, and
Bernardino Rosignoli,t the Jesuit theologian,
says in the same way : " lie who would make
progress, ought to have his mind very strongly
affected towards a more severe manner of life,
and to desire for his own body and his senses,
in short, for the old man within him, such mor
tification and vexation, that he cannot, or can
only with great difficulty, bring them about. And
again a little after he says, "Indeed, he who
reads the Gospel, will see that the life, that
is, the manner of living of our Lord Jesus was
of the same nature ; for there we see clearer
than the day, plainly set forth, what hunger, and
thirst, and want, our Lord endured, what vigils
He kept, with what hatred, so to speak, He
treated His most holy and innocent body, for
the sake of our salvation and instruction ; and
how most ready He ever was to await and sustain
all the most grievous evils for our good."
13. The same sort of thing is said by philo
sophers and theologians, respecting the virtue of
temperance. For, though it is not required in
order that a man may be said to be possessed of
Christian temperance, that he should altogether
abstain from those pleasures which are lawful,
though at the same time not necessary for pre
serving life ; yet it is necessary that he who
* Lib. 11. c. 2.
t De Disciplin. Christian Perfect, lib. 2. c. 12.
340 BENEDICT XIV. ON HEROIC VIRTUE.
would reach to the highest point of Christian
temperance, should abstain even from these.
This is well argued by Cardinal de Aguirre :*
" Christian temperance, or frugality, does not alto
gether turn away from those pleasures which are
lawfully necessary, either for preserving life simply,
or for preserving it in this or that office or condi
tion, or according to the plan which each has laid
out ; but rather it inclines us to moderate them,
and to use some restraint in them. For those
who are in a moderate degree temperate, allow
themselves these pleasures as often as they do
not stand in the way of what is honest and
becoming, or inconsistent with duty or right
reason ; and this although they are not neces
sary simply towards preserving life, or towards
procuring or keeping good health. But those
who are temperate in an excellent or extraordi
nary degree, abstain either from all or almost
all those permitted pleasures which are not ne
cessary, in order that they may apply themselves
to a higher and more detached way of life."
14. It follows, that we consider in what way
some of the saints have exercised bodily mor
tifications. Theodoret, the Bishop of Cyrus, a
man highly distinguished in the Council of
Chalcedon and the fifth General Council in the
cause of the three Chapters, has written a " Re
ligious History," in which he relates the lives
of thirty oriental solitaries. From him we learn
that S. James of Nisibis interdicted himself from
the use of fire the whole of his life, that he lay
* Desput. Ethic, disp. 6. de temperan. qu. 2. 3. n. 26. p. 290.
BENEDICT XIV. ON HEROIC VIRTUE. 34 L
on the ground, and refusing all woollen garments,
would only use what was made of the skins of
goats ; that S. Julianus lived on bran-bread,
and abstained almost entirely from every kind
of drink ; that S. Marcian, who continually sus
tained the pangs of hunger and thirst, used only
to eat once a day, and then very little; that S.
Eusebius wore an iron chain on his loins, and
abstained from drink for forty-two years ; that
S. Publius the elder, and Simeon, lived only on
herbs and fruits ; that S. Theodosius, the bishop,
burdened not only his loins but his neck and
hands with hair-cloth and an iron chain ; that S.
Macedonius supported life for forty years on bar
ley alone ; that the Bishop Abraham, through the
whole time of his episcopate, never tasted bread or
vegetables, or drank water ; and that S. Eusebius
became so emaciated with continual fasting, that
his loins fell in, and his girdle was continually
slipping down to his feet. S. Jerome* admiring
the abstinence of Paul, the first hermit, because a
palm tree supplied that servant of God with food
and raiment, in order that his words may obtain
belief, immediately adds, " Let not this seem im
possible to any one ; I call Jesus to witness and
His holy angels, that, in that part of the desert
by Syria and reaching to the Saracens, 1 have
seen and see monks, one of whom for thirty years
lived upon barley bread and muddy water. Ano
ther in an old cistern, which the Syrians in the
language of their country call Gubba, supported
himself on five dried figs a day. In his Life of
* Tom. 2. col. 5.
342 BENEDICT XIV. ON HEROIC VIRTUE.
S. Hilarion he says of him, " He used every third
or fourth day to support his sinking spirit with
the juice of herbs and a few dried figs." After
wards, he relates that he was tempted by the devil
with the fires of lust. "He caused, therefore,
his senses to thrill, and stirred up in his growing
frame the usual fires of unhallowed pleasures. The
young soldier of Christ was compelled to think of
that which he knew not, and to turn over in his
mind those vanities of which he had never made
trial. Angry with himself, and beating his
breast with his fists, as if he could with his
hands drive out the evil thoughts that haunted
him; I will teach thee, he said, ass of mine,
not to kick against me ; I will no longer feed
thee on barley, but on chaff. I will break thee
in with hunger and thirst, and load thee with a
great weight. Through cold alike and heat I will
make thee go ; so shalt thou think rather of food
than wantonness. " Of S. Anthony, the marvel of
the world, S. Athanasius* writes as follows in his
Life of him : " He was so patient of hunger and
watching as to surpass all powers of belief. He
very often passed the whole night in prayer, and
ate only once a day after sunset. Sometimes he
continued for two or three days without eating,
and at last took some little refreshment on the
fourth. His food was bread and salt, and a very
little water." And, a little after, "When he
allowed himself rest, he used to lie down on a
rush mat and hair-cloth, and sometimes even on
the bare ground." And if any one is desirous to
* Act. SS, 17 Jan. torn. 2. c, 2. p. 123.
BENEDICT XIV. ON HEROIC VIRTUE. 343
see other examples taken from the Ecclesiastical
Historians, he will find a collection of them in
Cardinal de Lauraea.*
15. The same accounts are to be found in
the Bulls of Canonization. Scacchus brings for
ward as instances, those of S. Bernard, S. Ed
mund Bishop of Canterbury, S. Thomas Bishop
of Hereford, S. Clare, and S. Catherine of Sien
na. To these, may be added the Bull of Can
onization of S. Francis of Assisi : " Like Jephthe,
he treated his flesh as an only-begotten daugh
ter that had deceived him, and setting to it the
fire of charity, offered it up as a holocaust
to God ; tormenting it with hunger, thirst, cold,
nakedness, and multiplied watchings and fasts ;
so that having crucified it with its vices and
lusts, he could say with the apostle, I live, but
now no longer I, but Christ liveth in me. " So
also the Bull of S. Peter of Alcantara: "Through
out the course of forty years he only allowed
himself an hour and a half for sleep. He was
so in love with fasting, that he prolonged his fast
ordinarily for three days, and not unfrequently
for eight. He was girt with hair-cloth of the
roughest kind ; for the space of twenty years
he lacerated his body with iron plates with sharp
spikes fixed on them ; twice every day he pun-
ished himself most cruelly with scourges. He
undertook the longest and roughest journeys with
his head uncovered, and his feet naked, in cold
alike and in hot weather, so that from exposing
his bare head to the rain and snow, his hair was
* 3 Lib. Sent. tom.u. disp. 32. art. 16. n. .550. et. seqq.
344 BENEDICT XIV. O.N T HEROIC VIRTUE.
frozen together and fell off; and in the burning
heat of summer, he was dreadfully tortured by
the scorching rays of the sun beating on his head.
When any asked him why he always went about
with his head uncovered, he was accustomed to
answer, that it was wrong to go about in God s
presence with one s head covered. Whenever he
washed his old and coarse sack-cloth, he used
to put it on again wet ; and oftentimes in
the depth of winter he would cast himself into
cold water. Besides all this, it was a common
practice of his in the middle of winter, and when
there was snow on the ground, to throw off his
cloak, and to open the window and door of his
cell, that the cold air might enter, and his flesh
might suffer all the more severely ; though pre
sently, as soon as he had closed the door and
window, he was about to exercise fresh torments
on it. He proceeded so far with this cruel usage
of his body, that, according to the account of S.
Theresa, it was all dry and bloodless, and present
ed the appearance of the roots of a tree. His eyes
were sunk deep in their sockets, and his cheeks
harrowed by the perpetual showers of tears that
fell from his eyes ; so that altogether he presented
a wonderful spectacle of penance." Likewise in
the Bull of Canonization of S. Rosa of Lima,
great things are told of her mortification of the
flesh ; and the same account is given by Cardinal
de Laursea, who, as consultor of the Sacred Con
gregation, gave his vote in her cause. The fol
lowing narration is taken from him :* " She fre-
* 3 Lib. Sent. Tom. 2, disp, 32, art. 16. n. 569.
BENEDICT XIV. ON HEROIC VIIITUE. 345
quently lived in a cell of five feet high and three
wide. Her whole body was covered with hair
cloth. Out of her cell she used to sleep in a bed
constructed of pieces of wood, stones, and tiles, and
a pillow filled with chips of wood. At night she
used to tie her hair by a cord to a large nail
above her, so that if overcome with sleep, her
head nodded or sunk down, she might be roused
by the pain. She was girded with iron chains
that penetrated to the living flesh. As her hands
appeared white and beautiful, she produced ul
cers on them with quicklime. She bound her
head round with a crown full of sharp needles,
which often drew blood. She disciplined her
self to blood with such cruelty, that her back
was always lacerated and full of sores. Her eyes
she tortured with pungent juices. Her watching
was almost perpetual. Her food was a very little
of the very worst bread, and sometimes, though
not always, she mixed up some bitter seeds of un
skilful physicians with her food. She mortified her
palate with the bitter leaves of the nasturtium,
and what they call the granadillo, and with a mix
ture of gall in her drink, and on one occasion
she drank a vessel of blood. She was heavily
afflicted with pains in the stomach, in her side,
and in the kidneys. But she had brought her
body into such subjection to reason, that far
from being disturbed, she prayed to God with
joy and exaltation that He would increase her
torments."
16. If all that is to be found in the Reports
of the Auditors of the Rota on this head
346 BENEDICT XIV. OX HEROIC VIRTUE.
were to be inserted in the present chapter,
it would swell to a huge size. Yet it is
our intention to bring forward some instances,
in order that it may be perceived that the Saints
who have attained to the honour of canonization,
whether pontiffs, confessors, or virgins, have
been very much given to mortification by self-
imposed afflictions. In the Report in the cause
of S. Pius V., published in the posthumous vol
ume of the annals of Abraham Bzovius, we are
told that he used, even when an old man, to ob
serve the holy fasts of Lent and Advent, and the
other days appointed by the Church. And that in
the pressing necessities of the Church, he often
imposed on himself a voluntary fast ; that he
would eat flesh only three days in the week, and
that when the time of his death was approaching,
on a day when he was accustomed to refrain from
flesh, he recognized the meat that was offered
him by his attendants though mixed up with
bruised almonds, in order that he might, not
perceive what it was and rejected it, saying
that he did not wish, for the sake of prolonging
his life for a day or two, to break through the
rule of life he had observed for sixty years. In
the Report in the cause of S. Charles Borromseo,
the Auditors of the Rota extracted these par
ticulars from the processes ; that he had begun
first of all to fast once a week, then that he fast
ed daily, next that he left off his evening colla
tion, and that afterwards he began by degrees
to abstain from flesh, wine, eggs, and fish, and
obliged himself three or four days of the week
BENEDICT XIV. ON HEROIC VIRTUE. 347
to fast on bread and water, that he passed
through the whole of Lent in this way, with the
exception of Sundays ; and that adding one
mortification to another, during this penitential
season, he gave up the use of bread, and lived
only on dry figs, and during Holy Week he
would only take lupines soaked in water. And
he persevered in this way of living to his death.
They add, moreover, that he sometimes abstain
ed from all food and drink for as much as forty
hours, during which time he persevered in
prayer, fasting, and preached every hour. They
also tell us that he wore hair-cloth and used the
discipline, and that in the later years of his life
he slept on straw, and sometimes on bare boards.
17. In the cause of S. Francis of Sales there
was no Report made by the Auditors of the
Rota, since, as we have elsewhere explained, the
custom of these Reports had then ceased.
There is, however, a distinguished testimony to
his abstinence and austerities in the Life of him
by his nephew, Charles Augustus de Sales : " He
would not by any means consent, as many do,
to indulge himself on account of his episcopal dig
nity. On the contrary, he observed the fasts most
rigorously. He scourged himself to blood with a
leathern thong, and often gave the scourge all
bloody to his confessor, a most upright and good
man, to be repaired." To return, however, to
the Reports. In that in the cause of S. Francis
Xavier, it is related on proofs taken from the
processes, that he did not make use either of
wine or flesh in his ordinary meals ; that when
348 BENEDICT XIV. ON HEROIC VIRTUE.
he was alone, and was not called upon to eat
with others, he refrained from using bread made
of wheat ; that he made his journeys barefoot,
walking through briars and brambles, and also
collecting alms ; that he scourged his body
with disciplines of brass wire platted toge
ther, so as to draw a great quantity of blood ;
that he reduced his sleep to four hours, and
spent the rest of the night in prayer, contem
plation, or visiting the sick. In the Report
on S. Lewis Bertrand, it is related that he ate
a small part of the food set before him, hardly
enough to sustain nature, and kept up this cus
tom even when he was performing the office of
preaching ; that he fasted so frequently as to
bring on a weakness of the stomach, which caus
ed him now and then to fall ill ; that he did
not use salt in his food, but almost always mixed
aloes, a very bitter fruit with it ; that before
his entrance into religion he either slept sitting,
or lay in a small chest, but that after he became
a religious he slept on a bench, and used two
books for a pillow ; and all this, to say nothing
of his self-inflicted scourgings and disciplines,
respecting which we have already quoted this
Report. Lastly, in the Report on S. Mary
Magdalene of Pazzi it is related, how she lived
for five years on bread and water only, with the
exception of Sundays, when she ate lenten
food ; that during the two following years she
lived in much the same way, using, however,
a little wine twice a week ; that from her ear
liest years she used a sack for a mattress, and
BENEDICT XIV. ON HEROIC VIRTUE. 349
for three years went about with naked feet,
without making any difference on account of
the cold ; that she passed whole nights in pray
er, and subdued her flesh with hair-cloth and
an iron girdle. Such and many [such-like
things are to be found everywhere in the Re
ports which the Auditors of the Rota have pub
lished in the causes of the Saints, Cajetan, Fran
cis Xavier, John of God, James de la Marca,
Francis Borgia, Paschal Baylon, Andrew Avel-
lino, Felix of Cantalici, Aloysius Gonzaga, Fran-
cesca Romana, and Catharine Ricci.
18. It remains for us to see whether, and how
far, mortification of the flesh and the body, is
necessary in order to canonization, in such sort,
that in the absence of it the cause cannot go
on. Now if the question is concerning those
who have abstained from mortifications of the
body, from an over love of, and care for, it,
and have nourished it with meat and drink, and
other sensible pleasures, beyond what was ne
cessary for its support, no one can fail to see
that this is an insuperable barrier to proceeding
further with the cause, although it may abound
with other noble and meritorious actions. For
as S. Gregory Nazianzen* says, " Sufficient for
the body is its own malice. What need of
a greater supply of fuel to the flame, or of
feeding the wild beast more plentifully, that it
may become still more untameable?" And S.
Basilf has these excellent remarks on the same
subject : " Neither should we pay more atten-
* Orat. 44. torn 1, p. 705. t Tom. 2. p. 181.
350 BENEDICT XIV. ON HEROIC VIRTUE.
tion to the body, than that it may be subservient
to the soul. For to spend all our labour in
taking care that the body may be in as good
condition as possible, is not the part of a man
who knows anything of his own nature. What
has ever been said respecting our not following
after the pleasures of touch and taste, but because
they compel those who give up their time to
them, to live like brutes, prone and obedient
to their belly and to still lower passions ? In
a word, whoever would not wallow in the slime
of carnal pleasures must learn to despise the body,
or at least only indulge it so far as may subserve
philosophy, as Plato says. And S. Paul says
very much the same sort of thing when he admon
ishes us that no care is to be taken of the body
to afford matter for lust. Quite on the contrary,
then, the body ought to be mortified and restrain
ed, and treated just as we should treat some
great beast that was ever ready to attack us.
The tumultuous passions which are excited by
it in the soul, are to be subjected, as it were,
by a scourge, to reason, nor is too much rein
to be given to pleasures, lest the mind should
lose its power, and be carried off like a chari
oteer who is hurried along by uncurbed and
high-spirited horses." The same judgment should
I think be come to respecting those servants
of God, who though they have not given the
like signs, and have kept from a too excessive
love of the body, have yet given no attention to
mortification of the flesh during their life-time.
For although it is certain, as we have shown
BENEDICT XIV. ON HEROIC VIRTUE. 351
above, that mortification in the way of long
and voluntary fasts, extraordinary watch ings, ly
ing on the ground, and voluntary disciplines,
is not absolutely necessary in order that one
may save his soul ; yet since it is necessary, in
order to reach the summit of Christian per
fection, and in the Church militant, it is not all
who die piously in the Lord who are enrolled
among the saints, but those only with regard
to whom it can be shown by clear proofs that
they have reached to perfection, we cannot
doubt of the correctness of what Scacchus lays
down when he teaches, that a stop should be
put to the cause of a servant of God who is a
confessor, if proof is wanting of a due arid fitting
amount of bodily austerities during his life.
19. We have already seen of how much service
prayer and contemplation are to sanctity. Now
if mortification of the flesh is wanting, it is very
difficult to open the way to contemplation. This
we are shown by Gerson.* "Bodily afflictions,"
he says, "exalt the mind to what is high and
great, while they nerve and brace it against fall
ing lower. It is in this way that the soul, not
finding anything whereon the foot of its affections
may rest, because the waters of tribulation have
overflowed the world of sensuality, is compelled
to return with the dove into the ark of interior
peace. It will, however, astonish me if he who
makes a practice of drawing back from the hard
ships of fasting and other mortifications, is not
found to be far off from exalted contemplation,
* Opp. torn. 2. de non esu Carnium apud Carthusienses, col. 726.
352 BENEDICT XrV. ON HEROIC VIRTUE.
and his soul continually to creep along on the
ground, content with the common thoughts of
ordinary Christians, just as he is with their way
of life, from which he does not, even for a time,
withdraw himself. You see, then, of how much
service hardness of life is to the virtue of con
templation, in which the philosophers placed the
perfection of happiness. Without this, too, what
will become of the virtue of fortitude, and of zeal
for gaining souls? what will become of faith, hope,
and charity, either that they may be kindled in
the breasts of men, or when kindled may be
preserved, increased, and strengthened ? In truth,
they value not, as I believe, the loss of their body,
so only that they obtain the end they have had
in view. But consider well what thou owest to
the health of the soul, and the cure of vicious
habits, when, as the poet Ovid* says, you will
bear cold steel and fire in order to save your
body. "
CHAPTER IX.
OF THE MEASURE OF BODILY MORTIFICATIONS.
1. MORTIFICATION of the body, according to
what has been said of it above, belongs to the
virtue of temperance. And the exact mean of
temperance, like that of all the other virtues, is
difficult to be found, inasmuch as it may be miss
ed in many ways, while it can be attained only
in one ; and hence that expression of the poet,
* De Jlemed. Amor. 229.
BENEDICT XIV. ON HEROIC VIRTUE. 353
Medium tenuere beati, became a proverb. In or
der, however, to explain the due measure of
bodily mortification with reference to our pre
sent subject, it is necessary to premise, that bodi
ly austerities are not virtues, but instruments
of virtue, and ought, therefore, to be exercised
with due moderation ; that it is not fitting that
all should be equal in all persons ; there is no
room whatsoever for some of them, when from
the use of the proper function of the other virtues
an impediment arises ; or the vice of singularity
from the practice of some austerities ; and, lastly,
those are praiseworthy which are applied accord
ing to the prudent counsel of a spiritual direc
tor.
2. We have said that bodily mortifications and
austerities are not virtues, but instruments of
virtue, and that therefore they should be used
with due moderation. After the Apostle Paul
in his epistle to the Romans, xii. 1, had said,
"I beseech you therefore, brethren,... that you
present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, pleas
ing to God ;" he adds, " your reasonable ser
vice." And the Interlinear Gloss on this passage
explains it : " With discretion, without being ex
cessive." And with this agree Lyra and Theodo-
ret. For Lyra explains the word "reasonable"
to mean, that the body is to be mortified, but in
such a manner as to preserve it and keep it free
from vice ; since the body ought not to be ren
dered unable to fulfil its own duties and offices.
Theodoret also says, " He exhorts us that our
bodies may become a sacrifice, and he calls it a
23
354 BENEDICT XIV. ON HEROIC VIRTUE.
living sacrifice. For he does not command that
our bodies should be slaughtered, but that they
should be dead to sin." And this is the common
opinion of ascetic writers. Rosignoli,* on the dis
cipline of Christian perfection, writes thus :
" Watchings and fasts, and other bodily austeri
ties, are not so much perfection itself, as instru
ments of perfection, as is taught by Cassian, and
confirmed by S. Thomas. For we do not subdue
the body and keep it low because we desire its
demolition and destruction, but that by morti
fying and keeping it down, we may rise a step
towards virtue and perfection. So that we ought
to mortify the body so far as this tends to our
perfection." So, too, the Abbot of Liessy, Lewis
Blosius :f " Let not the ascetic oppress his body
with too much abstinence, or with excessive watch
ing, or with austerities undertaken merely from
his own fancy; nor, on the other hand, let him
treat it too kindly, but let him preserve the rule
of holy discretion in all things, and acquiesce in
the wholesome counsels of others." , And Dandi-
no, in his "Sacred Ethics :"{ "Since no one
hates his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes
it, I willingly allow that it is to be moderately
chastened, and not to be killed or destroyed, but
to be subjugated with prudence and discretion."
And the teaching of S. Thomas agrees with this,
as will be hereafter shown. Nor must we pass
over what S. Catherine of Sienna^ says : " There
* De Discipl. Christian. Perfections, lib. 2, c, 12.
t Institut. Spiritual, c. 2. 2. p. 301.
t Lib. 12. c. 5.
2 Ep. 360. torn. 3. p. 737. n. 4.
BENEDICT XIV. OX HEROIC VIRTUE. 355
are many who deceive themselves sometimes in
their austerities. This is when the creature
makes austerities its principal object and desire,
and pays greater attention to the mortification
of the body than to that of the will ; whereas, it
ought rather to crucify the will than mortify the
body, and only to seek after this latter in so far
as it seems that without this mortification it can
not possess God. This is too weak a foundation
whereon to build so lofty an edifice ; nay, more, it
is very hurtful and dangerous to the soul, so that
it ought not to be used as a foundation, Penance
ought to be taken as an instrument, and to be
used for the increase of virtue, and not for the
mortification of the body as its principal object.
They who do otherwise, deceive themselves
greatly." And in another place,* " We ought not
therefore to be ignorant, but to see that perfec
tion consists not merely in mortifying, nor even
in crucifying, the body, but in crucifying our own
corrupt and perverse wills."
3. It has been said, that they are not re
quired to be equal in all the servants of God.
For will any one venture to assert that the ho
nours of canonization are not to be awarded to
those servants of God who have not lived forty
days without tasting either food or drink ? or
who have not waited every day for half a loaf
of bread to be brought them from heaven ? or
who have not lived on the holy Eucharist alone ?
or who have not lived for years standing on the
top of a column ? And this for the reason that
* Dialo. c. 104, torn. 4. p. 105.
356 BENEDICT XIV. ON HEROIC VIRTUE.
Moses, Elias, and Christ our Lord, prolonged
their fast to forty days without meat or drink ;
because, as S. Jerome informs us, S. Paul, the
first hermit, received every day miraculously from
God half a loaf of bread to support life ; be
cause some have taken for their food nothing
but the Eucharistic Bread ; and others have
remained for many years standing on the top of
a pillar, or have dwelt in sepulchres, prisons,
and workhouses. All this was indeed very hap
pily accomplished by some saints, but doubtless
it proceeded from a special inspiration of God;
and it has been committed to writing, not for our
imitation, but that we may show forth herein
the infinite power and wisdom of God, Who is
wonderful in His saints, and Who sometimes com
mands things to be fulfilled by some, while He
would have it in the meantime kept secret with
what design He does so, until we enter into His
sanctuary and understand concerning His last
ends ; as is well observed by Rosignoli. So, too,
there are some saints who for many years, or
even for the whole of their life, have abstained
entirely from the use of wine. Is there any
one that will for this reason require from a ser
vant of God, as indispensable for his canonization,
that he should have altogether abstained from
wine, when he may have suffered from weakness
of stomach, or from some infirmity of body or of
some of his limbs ? In his first epistle to Timo
thy, v. 22, the apostle says," Keep thyself chaste ;
do not still drink water ; but use a little wine for
thy stomach s sake, and thy frequent infirmities."
BENEDICT XIV. ON HEROIC VIRTUE. 357
And the passage is thus explained by Estius :
" Timothy, in order to keep himself chaste, used
to keep down the wantonness of the flesh by drink
ing water, and abstaining altogether from wine, not
without injury to his health. The apostle says to
him therefore, Although I admonish thee to pre
serve chastity, yet I would not that thou shouldest
fall into the other extreme, and do injury to thy
health by drinking water. " Some of the saints
have abstained throughout the whole of their
lives from eating flesh. Would any one, therefore*
find fault with a servant of God who eats flesh
in moderation ? We read in the Bollandists*
that S. Antoninus, Archbishop of Florence, was
accustomed to eat flesh on account of the weak
ness of his stomach, but that he did not recognise
partridges when placed before him. The Carthu
sian monks abstain from flesh, but eat eggs. The
religious of the order of Minims eat neither flesh
nor eggs, and live on Lenten diet. Is there any
one who can reasonably find fault with a servant
of God who is neither a Carthusian nor a Minim, if
he sometimes makes use of flesh and eggs ? Lastly,
a great many saints (as we have seen) have afflicted
their bodies by heavy and continual scourgings.
Who could reasonably ask for such a use of the
discipline in the cause of a servant of God who was
situated like S, Gregory,! when he wrote to Eulo-
gius, the patriarch of Alexandria, "It is now near
ly two years that I am confined to my bed ?" And,
again, in his letter to Marinianus,J "It is now a
* Act. SS. 2 Mai. torn. 1. p. 328.
t Ep. 35, lib. 10, torn. 2. col. 1164,
* Ep. 35. lib. 11. col. 1115. loc. cit.
358 BENEDICT XIV. ON HEROIC VIRTUE.
long time that I am iiot able to rise from my
bed. For sometimes I am tortured -by the pain
of the gout, sometimes it is as if a fire spread
itself throughout my whole body, causing great
agony ; and it generally happens that this
burning heat comes on together with the pain,
so that my mind and body sink under it." Who
would require in a servant of God who was worn
out with old age, the practice of all the bodily af
flictions which he used in his youth and strength?
S. Jerome,* in his epistle to Nepotian, writes
as follows : " Almost all the virtues of the body in
old men are changed ; and while wisdom alone in
creases, all other things, whether fasts, watchings,
alms, lying on the bare ground, going from one place
to another, the care of travellers, the defence of
the poor, perseverance in earnest prayer, visiting
the sick, manual labour in order to bestow on
the poor ; all these things decrease. And not
to be tedious, every good work that is done by
means of the body, comes to be done more sel
dom when the body is broken down."
4. It has also been said, that there is no place for
such fasts, abstinences, disciplines, and other bo
dily austerities, as are likely to offer an obstacle to
fulfilling the duties of our station, or to the exercise
of other virtues. According to the opinion of S.
Basil,t our self-denial ought to be proportioned to
our bodily strength. Rosignoli illustrates this opin
ion in a variety of ways, and at length says in con-
elusion : " The opinion, then, of this holy father,
* Opp. Tom. i. Ep, 52. n. 3. col. 254.
t Constit. Monert. p. 544. torn. 2.
BENEDICT XIV. ON HEROIC VIRTUE. 359
is, that the body should be supported so as to be
equal to the burthens of the Christian s vocation,
whatever they may be ; and that in our voluntary
fasts and watching, and other bodily austerities,
we should keep to the rule of not doing anything
which may stand as a hindrance to the duties
of that state of life in which we are placed by
God." In this agree the other fathers of the
Church. S. Jerome,"* for instance, in his Epistle
to Rusticus : " Let your fasts be moderate, lest
if they are carried to excess they should weaken
the stomach, and afterwards requiring a great
supply of food, they should engender crudeness,
which is the parent of lust ; a moderate and
regulated use of food is good both for the soul
and the flesh." And S. Gregory! the Great says,
"For so indeed it is necessary that each one
should so keep the citadel of continence as to
kill not the flesh, but the vicious inclinations
of the flesh. For it generally happens, that
when the flesh is kept down more than is
just, it is weakened towards good ; so that
in its anxiety to extinguish utterly all the mo
tions of evil, it has not strength sufficient for
prayer and for preaching. For this external man
which we carry about with us, acts as a hand
maid to our inward intention ; and in it we find
both the motions of lust and the affections to
wards what is good. And thus it not unfrequent-
ly happens, that while we are pursuing, as we
think, an enemy, we are really killing a citi-
* Ep. 125. n. 7. col. 930.
t Moral, lib. 30. c. 18. n, 63. torn, i, col, 984.
360 BENEDICT XIV. ON HEROIC VIRTUE.
zen whom we love." Lastly, the prince of theo
logians, S. Thomas,* explains the matter with his
usual exactness. For after proposing the ques
tion, " Whether a man can sin bj too much fast
ing and watching;" he answers, "that according
to the philosopher (Aristotle) we must judge dif
ferently of the end and of the means that con
duce towards that end. For that which is sought
as an end, is to be sought for without limit or
measure ; whereas in those things which we seek
as a means, we should keep to some measure or
limit, proportionate to the end we have in view.
Thus a physician strives to produce health, which
is his end, to the greatest possible amount ; but
he uses medicine so far only as it is fitted to
produce health. We should, therefore, keep in
mind, that in the spiritual life the love of God
is our end ; and that fasts, and watchiugs, and
other bodily exercises are not followed as an end :
for as it is said in the epistle to the Romans,
The kingdom of God is not meat and drink:
but they are made use of as necessary to the
end, that is to say, to tame the concupiscence
of the flesh. Thus the apostle says in his first
epistle to the Corinthians, *I chastise my body
and bring it into subjection. These latter ought
then to be applied with some measure of reason,
in order that while concupiscence is avoided, na
ture may not be extinguished, according to the
saying of the apostle to the Romans, Present
your bodies a living sacrifice, and afterwards
adds, your reasonable service. If, however, any
* Quod. lib. et. 5. art 18.
BENEDICT XIV. ON HEROIC VIRTUE. 361
one should so weaken the strength of his body
by fasts, and vigils, and other austerities, that he
cannot fulfil the duties of his calling, that he
cannot preach if he be a preacher, or teach if
he be a doctor, or sing if he be a chanter, and
so of the rest, without doubt he sins ; as also a
man would commit sin who should, by exces
sive abstinence, render himself too weak to fulfil
the duties of marriage. Hence, S. Jerome says,
he makes an offering to God of that which is
stolen, who afilicts his body with excessive fast
ing, or with immoderate watching." S. Bernard*
confesses " that he sinned in this, that he weaken
ed his body by excessive fasting and vigils." S.
Thomasf says the same thing in another place :
" The maceration of our own body, for instance,
by vigils and fasts, is not accepted by God except
so far as it is a work of virtue. And it is this in
so far as it is done with due discretion, in order
that concupiscence may be restrained and nature
may not be too heavily pressed on." In another
place, J where he is showing that abstinence is
not an act of virtue unless it is governed by
reason, he says, that this is the meaning of S.
Peter, when he says that we are to "minister in
knowledge, abstinence ;" the holy doctor inter
prets it thus ; " that a man may abstain from
food, according to the circumstances of the per
sons with whom he lives, as well as his own, and
the requirements of his health." He repeats this
* Ibid, in argum, ged. Contra.
+ 2. 2. doe. qu. 88. art. 2. tert.
I In qusest. 146. art. 1.
3G2 BENEDICT XIV. ON HEROIC VIRTUE.
again* and in many other places. The Abbot
Guigot too writes admirably on the subject : "There
are also other bodily exercises in which it is neces
sary for the body to labour ; such are vigils, fasts,
and observances of this kind, which are no hin
drance to spirituality ; but assist it, if they be done
in reason and with discretion. The body must be
sometimes punished, but not destroyed, for even
bodily exercise is profitable to little, but never
theless it is useful." And S. Francis of Sales,
in his Introduction to a Devout Life,J speaks
after the same manner : " The want," he says,
"of this moderation in the use of fasting, dis
ciplines, hair-cloths, and other austerities, renders
the best years of many unprofitable in the ser
vice of charity, as it did even with S. Bernard,
who repented that he had used overmuch aus
terity." And again, "Now provided the labour
you undertake contributes to the glory of God
and your own welfare, I had rather you would
suffer the pain of the labour, than that of fasting.
This is the sense of the Church, since, on account
of such labours as contribute to the service of
God and our neighbour, she discharges such as
perform them from the fasts commanded."
5. What, then, is to be said of those who tor
ture their flesh with such extraordinary austeri
ties, that they are not merely hindered from doing
those good works which by their profession they
are bound to do, but even hasten their death and
* Qu. 147. art. 1. ad sec. qu. 184. art. 3. in Corpore.
f De vit. Solit, ad fratres de Monte Dei, c. 11. n. 32. apud S. Bernard.
t Part 3. c. 23.
BENEDICT XIV. ON HEROIC VIRTUE. 363
shorten their time here on earth ? We read in the
Spiritual Meadow of Sophronius* of a certain Ab
bot Myrogenes : " There was in the same monas
tery of the Towers an old man named Myrogenes,
who by reason of the excessive austerity of his life
had become dropsical, and who used to say con
tinually to the old men who came to visit him,
* Pray for me, my fathers, that my inward man
may not become dropsical ; for as for myself I
pray God that I may continue in this infirmity. "
The author of the Life of S. Bernard! says, that
he excuses him for using such excessive fasts and
mortifications that he hastened his death: "Al
though," he says, "he perhaps went beyond the
bounds of moderation, yet surely to pious minds
he has left an example, not of excess, but of fer
vour. And why do we endeavour to excuse him,
where he himself, fearing as he does for all his
deeds, is not ashamed at this day to find fault
with himself, accusing himself of sacrilege, inas
much as by his indiscreet fervour he has withdrawn
himself from the service of God and his brother,
and rendered himself weak and well-nigh useless."
Cardinal Cajetan,J however, looks at the matter
theologically, and says, that he who abstains pur
posely that he may die or grow weak, does sin ;
and further, that he also sins, though but
lightly, who, knowing that he is in excess, yet
thinks that he does well ; while, on the other
hand, no sin is committed by him who does not
* Rosweyde. c. 8. p. 858.
t Opp. torn. 2. col. 1094. lib. 1. c. 5. n 41.
t 2. 2. dae. qu. 147. art, 1.
364 BENEDICT XIV. ON HEROIC VIRTUE.
think that he does exceed. However this doc
trine of Cajetan may be, the terms of our life
are various. Some are supernatural, such as
have been ordained in the wonderful providence
of God, and these cannot be drawn out by any
human art or counsel ; since, as it is said in the
book of Job, xiv. 5, "Thou hast appointed his
bounds, which cannot be passed." Others again
are natural, and are such as are assigned by the
gift of nature to each, according to his tempera
ment, the constitution of his body, and the strong
or weak principle of life which he has within
him. For there is not the same term to the life
of all ; but different people have different ones,
according to the excellence of their constitution,
their manner of living, and the salubrity of
the place and air ; and these natural terms may
by artificial means be somewhat extended. Then,
lastly, there are other terms to life, which, be
cause they are brought about through unforeseen
accidents, and are not, therefore, included within
any fixed limits of time, may fall out at any
single moment, and deprive a man of life by
means of any of these unforeseen accidents, such
as mortal wounds, falls, poison, or fire. These
terms are called by Avicenna shortened terms of
life, which, inasmuch as they cause death sud
denly, and have no determinate time in which
they happen, cannot be delayed by any precau
tions, as we learn from Baptista Codronchi.*
6. This having been premised, for the clear
solution of the question, three things have to be
* De Christian, et tuta mcdendi ratione, lib 2. c. 1.
BENEDICT XIV. ON HEROIC VIRTUE. 365
considered. First, whether a man may lawfully
practise immoderate abstinence, fasts, vigils, la
bours, disciplines, and other austerities, in such
a way as to cause his death, or at least to shorten
the natural term of his life. And with regard
to this, the common opinion of theologians, whom
we will presently enumerate, is in unison with
that of Cajetan, that it is not lawful, and can
not be done without grave sin. The second is,
whether death would follow from such excessive
vigils, fasts, and disciplines as we have spoken
of above, or even an abbreviation of the natural
term of our life ; and to this it may be answered,
that it is probable, but not certain, that it might.
And this may either happen according to what
Hippocrates lays down, " that those things which
we have long been used to, although they may
be prejudicial to us, yet become less injurious by
long habit ;" this Gaspar a Rejes,* confirms by
a long series of examples in his Questions ; or
because it is no new thing for it to fall out by the
special providence of God, that those who have been
the most rigorous in their penances have had their
lives prolonged beyond the ordinary term of man,
as it appears in the case of S. Paul the first hermit,
S. Anthony, S. Euthymius, S. Theodosius, S. John
the Silent, S. Quiriacus, S. Zosimus, and others,
who having been worn down with the greatest
hardships and inconveniences of this life, pro
longed their days beyond a hundred years, as the
author of Theologia Claustralisf published at
* Quaest. 93.
t Tom. 2. c. 22.qujesit. 6. p, 335.
366 BENEDICT XIV. ON HEROIC VIRTUE.
Rome in 173, declares on the subject. The third
question is, whether, without any intention of
shortening his life or hastening his death, a man
may lawfully embrace a hard manner of living
for a supernatural end, namely, that he may re
strain concupiscence and serve God, and this
although he foresees that it will, as a matter of
fact, accelerate his death. And to this the true
answer is given by theologians, that he may not
only do so lawfully, but likewise meritoriously.
So Azorius* De Lugo.f Filliucci,| Theophilus
Raynaud,^ and the author of the Theologia Claus-
tralis, who cites examples of saints and reli
gious orders approved by the Holy See. To
these may be added what we find in the Life of
S. Hilary, Bishop of Aries in Surius,|| "that by
abstinence from food, by hard work, and long
journeys on foot, he had so reduced, exhausted,
and worn out his frame, that he scarcely fulfil
led his forty-eighth year."
7. Lastly, it was said, that in bodily austeri
ties and mortifications, singularity should be
avoided, which happens chiefly in those things
which are done openly, and in the case of those
servants of God who lead their life in some reli
gious community. S. Bernard, 1[ thus addresses
his monks : " Avoid obstinacy, and the most wick
ed vice of singularity." And again,** after de-
* Inst. Moral, torn. 3. lib. 2, c. 3. qu. 13.
+ De Just, et. Jure. torn. i. diss. 10. . 1. n. 32.
i Opp. Moral, torn. 2. tract. 29, c. 4, n. 78. qu. 8.
I Opp. torn. 14. p. 275. n. 13.
|| 6 Mai. n. 11. p. 82.
f Serm. 1. Dom. 6. post. Pentecost, n. 3. col. 043.
* Tract, de. Grad. humil. c. 14. n. 42.
BENEDICT XIV. ON HEROIC VIRTUE. 367
scribing a monk infected with the vice of singu
larity, goes on thus : " It is a disgraceful thing
for a man to boast of himself as superior to
others, who does not do anything to make him
appear superior to the rest. Such an one is
not satisfied with the common rule of the monas
tery, or with the examples of those who have
gone before him. And yet it is not that he
studies to be better, but to seem so ; he is eager
not to live more strictly, but to seem to do so ;
so that he may have it in his power to say, I
am not as other men. He has greater self-com
placency over one fast which he makes while
others dine, than if he were to fast seven days
with the rest." Daniel the monk, in his Life
of S. John Climacus,* writes thus of him : " At
table he used to reject nothing which was not
at variance with the spirit and regulations of
the religious life ; but he partook of food with
such sobriety and moderation, that he seemed
rather to taste than to eat it. And in this man
ner it was that he broke the horn of pride by
his abstemiousness ; while, by the scantiness and
brevity of his meals, he conquered that mistress
pleasure which is the ruin of so many." To
the question, whether in a community of Bro
thers, any one ought to be permitted to ob
serve more fasts and vigils than the rest, of
his own will, S. Basilf answers as follows : " Since
the Lord has said, I came down from heaven
not that I may do My own will, but the will of
* Biblioth. Vet. Patr. torn. 10. p. 386.
t Reg. Brev. c, 138. p. 461.
368 BENEDICT XIV. ON HEROIC VIRTUE.
the Father Who sent Me, whatever any one
does of his own will, is alien to the spirit of
piety, inasmuch as it is his own." And Cassian*
likewise says, " Whatever is undertaken contrary
to custom, and that which is commonly done,
is always to be considered, according to the most
ancient tradition of the Fathers, as a thing
polluted with the disease of vain-glory and os
tentation." Accordingly we find, that certain
religious persons who have been enrolled among
the Saints, have been on their guard in their
fasts and abstinences, to avoid all singularity,
lest they might be stained with the vice of osten
tation. We read thus in the Bull of canonization
of S. Thomas Aquinas : " The man of God, content
with the food of the religious, their ordinary gar
ments, gentle conversation," &c. And in the pro
cesses in his cause published by the Bollandists,t
a witness thus speaks: "He was possessed of
great virtue, modesty, and sobriety. He never
sought for any particular food, but was con
tent with what was set before him, and used it
temperately and soberly." And another witness
says, " So great was his moderation in meat and
drink, that he never sought any special food,
nor ever cared for the fashion of his garments."
Maffei,J in his Life of S. Ignatius Loyola,
writes as follows : " He never directed any
one to prepare any kind of food or seasoning
for him, nor did he ever complain of anything
* Lib. 5. c. 23.
t Act. SS. 7. Mar. c. 5, n. 42. torn. 1. p. 690.
1 Lib. 3. c. 12.
BENEDICT XIV. ON HEROIC VIRTUE. 3G9
that was set before him, although it often hap
pened that, through the ignorance or careless
ness of the lay-assistants, the food was badly
cooked, and the wine insipid or sour. Then
he would never allow anything particular to be
brought to him, and on one occasion he gave
a heavy penance to the waiter for setting a bunch
of grapes before him rather than any one else.
Whoever is skilled in estimating such matters,
will consider this no little thing to do, if he looks
at the man and his time of life, to which a great
deal might be allowed, or the weakness of his
health, which demanded much, and, lastly, his
supreme authority, and the liberty he possessed
of living entirely, so to speak, as he pleased."
In the Life of S. Thomas of Villanova, by Michael
Salo,* we find it said, "That in point of food
he did not exceed that quantity which he had
been allowed as a religious, according to the
usage of his province ; but he desired a better
table to be prepared when he was to dine with
others." In the Life of S. Philip Nerif we read,
that he used to say, " That at table where men
eat together, they should partake of everything."
And again in the same place:! "He, therefore,
advised people to avoid all singularity, the source,
for the most part, and the incentive of pride, es
pecially that which is spiritual." Lastly, S. Tho
mas, speaking of the life of Christ and of S. John
the Baptist, says, "Each kind of life is lawful and
* Lib. 2. c. 2.
t Lib. 2. c. 14. n. 6.
t Ib. C. 17. n. 26,
24
370 BENEDICT XIY. ON HEROIC VIRTUE.
praiseworthy, both that he who is separated from
intercourse with other men should observe absti
nence, and that he who lives with others should
follow the ordinary course of life. And hence
it was, that the Lord would give to men an ex
ample of each sort."
8. Our conclusion, then, respecting those who
are to be canonized, in regard to the matter
of bodily austerities, is as follows : that, except
ing those who belong to any conventual institu
tion, since about these it must be proved that
they have not omitted those austerities which
are prescribed in their rule ; but that in regard
to other servants of God, the manner of their
bodily austerities is not one but many, accord
ing to the various constitutions of their body,
the various degrees of their strength, the various
dispositions of their minds, and the different oc
casions and incitements which they have to virtue,
since some have fewer impediments, and others
more. He who would not go wrong, must not
follow his own judgment, but the counsel of
others, in his practice of mortification. This is the
rule S. Basil gives: "If," he says, "any one
thinks that he has need of greater austerities,
either in fasts, or vigils, or in any other way,
let him disclose to those who are in authority,
the reason for which he thinks that he stands
in need of greater mortifications ; and let him
do that which is approved by them. For it will
often happen that his necessities will be better
met in another way." Agreeably to this, it is
the practice of ascetics to seek the advice of a
BENEDICT XIV. ON HEROIC VIRTUE. 371
spiritual director in these matters. " Those
things," says Cardinal Bellarmine, in the place
referred to in the last chapter,* "are praise
worthy and useful when done by those who
have strength to do them, and not without the
advice of a spiritual director." In the consti-
tutionst of the Society of Jesus it is prudent
ly ordained, " That the mortification of the body
ought not to be excessive, or without discretion,
in fasts and vigils, and abstinences, and other
external labours and penances, which are apt to
be hurtful and to stand in the way of greater
good. It is fitting, therefore, that each one
should disclose to his confessor what he does
in this way." This had been already laid down
before in the rule of S. Benedict,! in which, after
exhorting the brothers that they should add
somewhat to their mortifications in time of Lent,
he subjoins : " And let each one in the joy of
the Holy Spirit, offer to God something of his
own accord over and above what is laid upon him ;
that is, let him cut off something from his bodily
wants, from food, from drink, from sleep, from
superfluous talking, from joking. Yet let that
which each offers up, be suggested to his abbot,
and be done with his consent, and by the assis
tance of his prayers. For that which is done
without the permission of our spiritual father,
will be laid to the account of vain-glory and pre
sumption, and not to our reward." This too has
No. 12.
t Part 3. c. 2. p. 131.
J Cap. 49.
372 BENEDICT XIV. ON HEROIC VIRTUE.
been skilfully observed upon by Tillemont.
Saint Theresa, in that treatise which is entitled
" The Road to Perfection," in speaking of excessive
bodily mortifications, condemns those which are
not disclosed to our spiritual director, or which
are not left off at his command. "The same
happens in the case of indiscreet and ill-arranged
penances, which lead us to think that we are more
penitent than others, or that we are doing some
thing great. If we go on with them, concealing
them from our confessor or superior, or saying
that we will leave them off, but not doing so, they
are clearly a temptation." A prudent director
will have sometimes to use a curb, and sometimes
spurs. The spirit of S. Aloysius Gongaza was
so fervent, that at the very end of his life, when
he was worn down by a violent disease, he request
ed leave to discipline himself, or at least that some
one else might apply the scourge to him. This,
however, was prudently denied him, as we find in
the Report of the Rota : "He spent the whole day
in contemplation and prayer. Then, when at even
ing he had recited the Litany of the most blessed
Virgin, with Father John Baptist Lambertini,
he begged the father-rector that he might receive
the Viaticum, Meanwhile, while this was being
done, when the father-provincial, John Baptist
Carminata, visited Aloysius, the noble youth
asked him to order the removal of the mattrasses
from his bed, and that he might have leave to
discipline himself, or that another might discipline
him from head to foot, and to allow him to ren-
* Tom. 7. in Vita. S. Antonii. art. 4.
BENEDICT XIV. ON HEROIC VIRTUE. 373
der his spirit to his Creator on the ground. All
this the provincial gently refused him." To the
office of a prudent confessor also it belongs to take
into consideration, whether any real impediments
exist against the penitent s making use of this or
any other kind of mortification and penance, in
order that, as S. Basil* says, " We may not, under
the pretext of bodily necessity, pursue our own
pleasure." In the Life of S. Simeon Stylitesf the
younger, we find John the monk, after seeing the
bodily mortifications which he had imposed on
himself, speaking thus to him : " Let it be enough,
my son, that from your very cradle you have
crucified yourself with Christ ; what have you to
do with such exercises of penance as these, which
are beyond the strength of human nature ? It is
our duty also, to take some care of the body, and to
indulge it with a moderate allowance of food and
sleep, that it may have strength for the labours of
an ascetic life, for meat and drink do not defile a
man." To which Simeon answers : " Although
they do not defile a man, yet they excite defiling
thoughts. I do not make this a rule of life for
others, but for myself ; for necessity obliges me to
treat my body so roughly on account of my youth
ful age." All these considerations, then, must
be carefully taken into account by those who be
long to the Congregation of Sacred Rites, in or
der, that when the bodily mortifications of the
servants of God come to be treated of, they may
be able to vote with due prudence. Nor should
* Const. Mon. c. 4. n. 4. torn. 2. p. 546.
t Act. SS. 24. Mai. torn. 5. c. 2. n. 17. p, 113.
374 BENEDICT XIV. ON HEROIC VIRTUE.
they lose sight of what has been said above,
that no progress can be made in the causes
of those servants of God who are confessors,
unless their spirit of mortification is thoroughly
established. In S. Laurence Justinian* we find
the following respecting those holy men who
have afflicted their bodies with mortifications and
austerities : " They, indeed, as earnest-minded
and zealous soldiers of God, macerated their bodies
with fasting, and subdued their flesh by protract
ed abstinence from food, insomuch that their life
well-nigh failed through weakness. They used
to live very sparingly on vegetables, herbs, bread
and water, and content with these to sustain
their natural bodies ; they used to be supported
by spiritual, rather than by corporeal food. But
in our times, alas ! charity grows cold, and fer
vour of spirit has become faint, and no one
is found willing to be deprived altogether of
those things that please the senses." S. John
Chrysostomf likewise greatly commends these
voluntary mortifications : " There are," he says,
" other sacrifices, likewise, which are true holo
causts, namely, the bodies of the holy martyrs ;
there the soul as well as the body is holy ; these
have a most sweet smell of odours. You too may
offer, if you will, such a sacrifice as this. For
what matters it if you do not burn your body with
material fire ? There is another fire, the fire, for
instance, of voluntary poverty, and the fire of af
fliction. For to have it in one s power to live del-
* De Disciplin. Monast. Conver. c. 2. p. 183.
t Horn. 11. Ep. ad liebr. n. 3. p. 113. torn. 12.
BENEDICT XIV. ON HEROIC VIRTUE. 375
icately, sumptuously, and magnificently, and to
choose instead a bitter and toilsome life, and to
put the body to death, what is this but the offer
ing of a holocaust ? Put your own body to death,
crucify it, and you too will receive the crown of
this martyrdom. What the sword does in the
one case, the ready zeal of the mind effects in
the other."
9. Those who belong to the Congregation of
Sacred Rites, should also be careful when the
bodily mortification of the servants of God is in
question, to adhere to the rules already laid
down ; while at the same time they should not
be too ready to make a judgment respecting the
excess or superabundance of such austerities. Nor
should they readily be led to think that the lustre
of their virtues is entirely overclouded by such
excess or superabundance, in so far as it does
appear to them to exist. S. Jerome,* after giving
an account of the bodily austerities and painful
mortifications undertaken by Paula, and saying
that they almost went beyond due bounds, adds
the following words : "This I relate, not because
I would prove that these burthens were under
taken inconsiderately and out of proportion to
her strength, but in order to show from her per
severance in these things, the great ardour of her
mind, and the eager longings of her faithful soul,
which uttered those words : For Thee, my soul
hath thirsted; for Thee, my flesh, how many
ways ! Truly it is difficult to observe moderation
in all things." Augustine Valerius, known under
* Opp. torn. 1. Epitap. Rule. n. 20. col, 708.
376 BENEDICT XIV. ON HEROIC VIRTUE.
the title of Cardinal of Verona, in his Life of S.
Charles Borromseo, with whom he was long inti
mate, speaks of his penitential austerities as fol
lows : " Keeping in mind those words of the holy
Apostle Paul, * Lest, after having preached to
others, I myself should become a reprobate, he
used to chastise his body. And yet, if any one
will rightly consider the matter, many very
probable reasons might have been adduced, that
he should not treat with such rigour the partner
of his soul in his various labours, and the wonder
ful things that he did, and which he had seldom
or ever found rebellious, and that he should have
followed the advice of his physicians, and consult
ed his own health. The holy Church of God,
adorned with a wonderful variety of virtues, need
ed, perchance, in this self-indulgent age, some
such example of sobriety and bodily mortification.
Most of us, likewise, stood in need of some such
stimulating example, inasmuch as we are dis
solved in so much softness and effeminacy of
life, and are become so dull and heavy in the
contemplation of divine things." And James
Alvarez de Paz* has the following : " Some, too,
he will find, called to an extraordinary manner
of life, and to the exercise of great bodily aus
terities, who by a special grace have strength to
do much that is above nature, and beyond the
power of common men. These he ought to look
up to, and not to bind down by ordinary rules,
but rather to leave the reins loose to them, and
to leave them in their vocation, that they may fol
low God, Who calls them."
* De Perfect. Contempl. torn. 3. fol. 1247, in fin. cap. 11,
BENEDICT XIV. ON HEROIC VIRTUE. 377
10. Iii the year 1243 there departed out of this
life, not without a great reputation for sanctity,
a certain servant of God named Laurence, a lay-
religious and hermit, of whom mention is made
by Gabriel Bucelino in the Benedictine Menology."*
By the command of the Sovereign Pontiff Inno
cent IV., a process was entered upon by the Apos
tolic authority respecting his life and miracles. His
extraordinary bodily mortifications are contained
in the process, together with many other things
tending to prove his sanctity. Up to this time
the record has lain concealed in the archives
of the Castle of S. Angelo, but we have taken
care that a copy should be made of it, to be in
serted in the Appendix. And although there are
in it many things respecting miracles which we
do not at present discuss, yet we have thought
it best to present the whole process to the read
er, that he may see from this proof of mira
cles how acceptable to God were the penances
performed by His servant during his life-time,
and in order that the whole of his merits may
be made manifest, although the name of this
holy man is almost entirely unknown among
us at the present day.
* Ad. 18, Decemb.
END OF VOL. I.
1UCHARDSOS AM> SO> , DERBY,
BENEDICT XIV, Pope, 1675-175B,
"eroic Virtue.
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