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Francis de Sales, Treatise on the Love of God
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BOOK I. CONTAINING A PREPARATION FOR THE WHOLE TREATISE.
Chapter II. How the Will Variously Governs the Powers of the Soul.
Chapter III. How the Will Governs the Sensual Appetite.
Chapter V. Of the Affections of the Will.
Chapter VI. How the Love of God Has Dominion over Other Loves. 29
Chapter VII. Description of Love in General.
Chapter VIII. What Kind of Affinity (Convenance) It Is Which Excites Love.
Chapter IX. That Love Tends to Union.
Chapter X. That the Union to Which Love Aspires Is Spiritual.
Chapter XI. That There Are Two Portions in the Soul, and How. 45
Chapter XII. That in These Two Portions of the Soul There Are Four Different Degrees of Reason.
Chapter XIII. On the Difference of Loves.
Chapter XIV. That Charity May Be Named Love.
Chapter XV. Of The Affinity There Is between God and Man. 54
Chapter XVI. That We Have a Natural Inclination to Love God above All Things
Chapter XVII. That We Have not Naturally the Power to Love God above All Things.
Chapter XVIII. That the Natural Inclination Which We Have to Love God Is not Useless.
THE SECOND BOOK. THE HISTORY OF THE GENERATION AND HEAVENLY BIRTH OF DIVINE LOVE.
Chapter I. That the Divine Perfections Are Only a Single But Infinite Perfection.
Chapter II. That in God There Is But One Only Act, Which Is His Own Divinity. 66
Chapter III. Of the Divine Providence in General.
Chapter IV. Of the Supernatural Providence Which God Uses towards Reasonable Creatures.
Chapter V. That Heavenly Providence Has Provided Men with a Most Abundant Redemption.
Chapter VI. Of Certain Special Favours Exercised by the Divine Providence in the Redemption of Man.
Chapter VII. How Admirable the Divine Providence Is in the Diversity of Graces Given to Men.
Chapter VIII. How Much God Desires We Should Love Him.
Chapter X. How We Oftentimes Repulse the Inspiration and Refuse to Love God.
Chapter XI. That It Is no Fault of the Divine Goodness if We Have not a Most Excellent Love.
Chapter XII. That Divine Inspirations Leave Us in Full Liberty to Follow or Repulse Them
Chapter XIV. Of the Sentiment of Divine Love Which Is Had by Faith.
Chapter XV. Of the Great Sentiment of Love Which We Receive by Holy Hope.
Chapter XVI. How Love Is Practised in Hope.
Chapter XVII. That the Love Which Is in Hope Is Very Good, Though Imperfect. 109
Chapter XIX. That Penitence Without Love Is Imperfect.
Chapter XX. How the Mingling of Love and Sorrow Takes Place in Contrition. 117
Chapter XXI. How Our Saviour's Loving Attractions Assist and Accompany Us to Faith and Charity.
Chapter XXII. A Short Description of Charity.
BOOK III. OF THE PROGRESS AND PERFECTION OF LOVE.
Chapter I. That Holy Love May Be Augmented Still More and More in Every One of Us.
Chapter II. How Easy Our Saviour Has Made the Increase of Love.
Chapter III. How a Soul in Charity Makes Progress in It.
Chapter IV. Of Holy Perseverance in Sacred Love. 138
Chapter V. That the Happiness of Dying in Heavenly Charity Is a Special Gift of God. 141
Chapter VI. That We Cannot Attain to Perfect Union with God in This Mortal Life.
Chapter VIII. Of the Incomparable Love Which the Mother of God, Our Blessed Lady, Had.
Chapter IX. A Preparation for the Discourse on the Union of the Blessed with God.
Chapter X. That the Preceding Desire Will Much Increase the Union of the Blessed with God.
Chapter XI. Of the Union of the Blessed Spirits with God, in the Vision of the Divinity.
Chapter XIV. That the Holy Light of Glory Will Serve for the Union of the Blessed Spirits with God.
Chapter XV. That There Shall Be Different Degrees of the Union of the Blessed with God. 163
Chapter I. That as Long as We Are in This Mortal Life We May Lose the Love of God.
Chapter II. How the Soul Grows Cold in Holy Love.
Chapter III. How We Forsake Divine Love for That of Creatures. 171
Chapter IV. That Heavenly Love Is Lost in a Moment. 174
Chapter V. That the Sole Cause of the Decay and Cooling of Charity Is in the Creature's Will. 176
Chapter VI. That We Ought to Acknowledge All the Love We Bear to God to Be from God.
Chapter VII. That We Must Avoid All Curiosity, and Humbly Acquiesce in God's Most Wise Providence.
Chapter X. How Dangerous This Imperfect Love Is.
Chapter XI. A Means to Discern This Imperfect Love.
BOOK V. OF THE TWO PRINCIPAL EXERCISES OF HOLY LOVE WHICH CONSIST IN COMPLACENCY AND BENEVOLENCE.
Chapter I. Of the Sacred Complacency of Love and First of What It Consists.
Chapter II. How by Holy Complacency We Are Made as Little Infants at Our Saviour's Breasts.
Chapter IV. Of the Loving Condolence by Which the Complacency of Love Is Still Better Declared. 207
Chapter V. Of the Condolence and Complacency of Love in the Passion of Our Lord.
Chapter VI. Of the Love of Benevolence Which We Exercise towards Our Saviour by Way of Desire.
Chapter VIII. How Holy Benevolence Produces the Praise of the Divine Well-Beloved. 217
Chapter IX. How Benevolence Makes Us Call All Creatures to the Praise of God.
Chapter X. How the Desire to Praise God Makes Us Aspire to Heaven.
BOOK VI. OF THE EXERCISES OF HOLY LOVE IN PRAYER.
Chapter I. A Description of Mystical Theology, Which Is No Other Thing Than Prayer.
Chapter II. Of Meditation the First Degree of Prayer or Mystical Theology.
Chapter V. The Second Difference between Meditation and Contemplation.
Chapter VII. Of the Loving Recollection of the Soul in Contemplation. 251
Chapter VIII. Of the Repose of a Soul Recollected in Her Well-Beloved.
Chapter IX. How This Sacred Repose Is Practised. 257
Chapter X. Of Various Degrees of This Repose, and How It Is to Be Preserved. 259
Chapter XII. Of the Outflowing (escoulement) or Liquefaction of the Soul in God 265
Chapter XIII. Of the Wound of Love.
Chapter XIV. Of Some Other Means by Which Holy Love Wounds the Heart. 272
Chapter XV. Of the Affectionate Languishing of the Heart Wounded with Love.
BOOK VII. OF THE UNION OF THE SOUL WITH HER GOD, WHICH IS PERFECTED IN PRAYER.
Chapter I. How Love Effects the Union of the Soul with God in Prayer.
Chapter II. Of the Various Degrees of the Holy Union Which Is Made in Prayer. 286
Chapter III. Of the Sovereign Degree of Union by Suspension and Ravishment.
Chapter IV. Of Rapture, and of the First Species of It. 294
Chapter V. Of the Second Species of Rapture.
Chapter VIII. An Admirable Exhortation of S. Paul to the Ecstatic and Superhuman Life. 304
Chapter X. Of Those Who Died by and for Divine Love.
Chapter XI. How Some of the Heavenly Lovers Died Also of Love.
Chapter XII. Marvellous History of the Death of a Gentleman Who Died of Love on Mount Olivet.
Chapter XIII. That the Most Sacred Virgin Mother of God Died of Love for Her Son.
Chapter XIV. That the Glorious Virgin Died by and Extremely Sweet and Tranquil Death.
Chapter I. Of the Love of Conformity Proceeding from Sacred Complacency.
Chapter III. How We Are to Conform Ourselves to That Divine Will Which Is Called the Signified Will.
Chapter IV. Of the Conformity of Our Will to the Will Which God Has to Save Us. 332
Chapter VIII. That the Contempt of the Evangelical Counsels Is a Great Sin.
Chapter XIII. Third Mark of Inspiration, Which Is Holy Obedience to the Church and Superiors. 359
Chapter XIV. A Short Method to Know God's Will. 362
Chapter I. Of the Union of Our Will to That Divine Will Which Is Called the Will of Good-Pleasure.
Chapter IV. Of the Union of Our Will to the Good-Pleasure of God by Indifference. 373
Chapter V. That Holy Indifference Extends to All Things.
Chapter VI. Of the Practice of Loving Indifference, in Things Belonging to the Service of God.
Chapter VII. Of the Indifference Which We Are to Have As to Our Advancement in Virtues.
Chapter VIII. How We Are to Unite Our Will with God's in the Permission of Sins.
Chapter IX. How the Purity of Indifference is to Be Practised in the Actions of Sacred Love. 388
Chapter X. Means to Discover When We Change in the Matter of This Holy Love. 390
Chapter XI. Of the Perplexity of a Heart Which Loves Without Knowing Whether It Pleases the Beloved.
Chapter XIII. How the Will Being Dead to Itself Lives Entirely in God's Will. 398
Chapter XIV. An Explanation of What Has Been Said Touching the Decease of Our Will.
Chapter XVI. Of the Perfect Stripping of the Soul Which Is United to God's Will.
BOOK X. OF THE COMMANDMENT OF LOVING GOD ABOVE ALL THINGS.
Chapter V. Of Two Other Degrees of Greater Perfection, by Which We May Love God Above All Things.
Chapter VI. That the Love of God Above All Things Is Common to All Lovers.
Chapter VII. Explanation of the Preceding Chapter.
EXPLANATION OF THE PRECEDING CHAPTER.
Chapter XI. How Holy Charity Produces the Love of Our Neighbour. 440
Chapter XIII. How God Is Jealous of Us.
Chapter XV. Advice for the Direction of Holy Zeal.
Chapter XVII. How Our Lord Practised All the Most Excellent Acts of Love.
Chapter I. How Agreeable All Virtues Are to God.
Chapter VII. That Perfect Virtues Are Never One without the Other.
Chapter VIII. How Charity Comprehends All the Virtues.
Chapter IX. That the Virtues Have Their Perfection from Divine Love. 489
Chapter X. A Digression upon the Imperfection of the Virtues of the Pagans.
Chapter XI. How Human Actions Are Without Worth When They Are Done without Divine Love.
Chapter XIII. How We Are to Reduce All the Exercise of Virtues, and All Our Actions to Holy Love.
Chapter XIV. The Practice of What Has Been Said in the Preceding Chapter.
THE PRACTICE OF WHAT HAS BEEN SAID IN THE PRECEDING CHAPTER.
Chapter XV. How Charity Contains in It the Gifts of the Holy Ghost. 509
Chapter XVI. Of the Loving Fear of Spouses a Continuation of the Same Subject.
Chapter XVII. How Servile Fear Remains Together with Holy Love. 514
Chapter XVIII. How Love Makes Use of Natural, Servile and Mercenary Fear.
BOOK XII. CONTAINING CERTAIN COUNSELS FOR THE PROGRESS OF THE SOUL IN HOLY LOVE.
Chapter I. That Our Progress in Holy Love Does Not Depend on Our Natural Temperament.
Chapter II. That We Are to Have a Continual Desire to Love.
Chapter III. That to Have the Desire of Sacred Love We Are to Cut Off All Other Desires.
Chapter IV. That Our Lawful Occupations Do Not Hinder Us from Practicising Divine Love. 538
Chapter V. A Very Sweet Example on This Subject.
Chapter VII. That We Must Take Pains to Do Our Actions Very Perfectly. 542
Chapter VIII. A General Means for Applying Our Works to God's Service. 543
Chapter X. An Exhortation to the Sacrifice Which We Are to Make to God of Our Free-Will.
Chapter XI. The Motives We Have of Holy Love.
Chapter XII. A Most Useful Method of Employing These Motives.
Chapter XIII. That Mount Calvary Is the Academy of Love. 554
THAT THE LOVE OF GOD ABOVE ALL THINGS IS COMMON TO ALL LOVERS.
Though there are so many degrees of love amongst true lovers, yet is there but one commandment of love, which universally and equally obliges every one, with an exactly like and entirely equal obligation, though it be observed differently and with an infinite variety of perfections; there being perhaps no souls on earth, as there are no angels in heaven, who are perfectly equal to one another in their love. As one star differs from another in brightness, so shall it be with the Blessed in their resurrection, when each one sings a canticle of glory, and receives a name which no man knoweth but he that receiveth it.[1] But what degree of love is it then, to which the divine commandment equally, universally and continually obliges all?
It is an action of the providence of the Holy Ghost, that in our ordinary version, which his divine majesty has canonized and sanctified by the Council of Trent, the heavenly commandment of love is expressed by the word dilection rather than by the word love; for although dilection is a kind of love, yet is it not a simple love, but a love of choice and election, which sense the word itself conveys, as the glorious S. Thomas notes: for 426this commandment enjoins us a love chosen out of thousands, the well-beloved object of this love being chosen out of thousands, according to that of the beloved Sulamitess in the Canticles.[1] It is a love which must prevail over all our loves, and reign over all our passions. And this is what God requires of us—that among all our loves his be the dearest, holding the first place in our hearts; the warmest, occupying our whole soul; the most general, employing all our powers; the highest, filling our whole spirit; and the strongest, exercising all our strength and vigour. And inasmuch as by this we choose and elect God for the sovereign object of our soul, it is a love of sovereign election, or an election of sovereign love. You are not ignorant, Theotimus, that there are various species of love, as for example, there is a fatherly love, a brotherly love, a filial love and a nuptial love; a love of society, of obligation, of dependence,—and a hundred more, which are all different in excellence, and are so proportioned to their objects that scarcely can they be applied or appropriated to any other. He who should love his father with the love of a brother only, would certainly not love him enough. He who should love his wife only like his father, would not love her properly; he who should love his servant with a filial love, would commit an impropriety. Love is like honour; for as honour is diversified according to the diversity of the excellences to which the honour is given, so loves are different according to the difference of the goodnesses for which we love. Sovereign honour is due to sovereign excellence, and sovereign love to sovereign goodness. The love of God is a love without peer, because the goodness of God is a peerless goodness. Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God is one Lord, and therefore, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with thy whole heart, and with thy whole soul, and with thy whole strength.[1] For as God is the only Lord, his goodness is infinitely above all goodness, and he is to be loved with a love which is eminent, excellent, and mighty beyond all comparison. It is this supreme love which places God in such esteem in our souls, and makes us repute it so great a happiness to be agreeable in his sight, 427that we prefer him and love him above all things. Now, Theotimus, do you not plainly see, that he who loves God in this sort has dedicated his whole soul and strength to God, since ever, and for ever, and in all occurrences, he will prefer the good grace of God to all things, and will be ever ready to forsake the whole world, in order to preserve the love which is due to the divine goodness. And, in a word, it is the love of excellence, or the excellence of love, which is commanded to all mortals in general, and to each one of them in particular as soon as they have the free use of reason: a love sufficient for each one, and necessary for salvation to all.