John, Ascent Carmel 3 20
Of the benefits that come to the soul from its withdrawal of joy from temporalthings.
1 THE spiritual man, then, must look carefully to it that his heart and hisrejoicing begin not to lay hold upon temporal things; he must fear lest frombeing little it should grow to be great, and should increase from one degreeto another. For little things, in time, become great; and from a small beginningthere comes in the end a great matter, even as a spark suffices to set amountain on fire and to burn up the whole world. And let him never beself-confident because his attachment is small, and fail to uproot it instantlybecause he thinks that he will do so later. For if, when it is so small andin its beginnings, he has not the courage to make an end of it, how doeshe suppose, and presume, that he will be able to do so when it is great andmore deeply rooted. The more so since Our Lord said in the Gospel: 'He thatis unfaithful in little will be unfaithful also in much.'(577) For he thatavoids the small sin will not fall into the great sin; but great evil isinherent in the small sin,(578) since it has already penetrated within thefence and wall of the heart; and as the proverb says: Once begun, half done.Wherefore David warns us, saying: 'Though riches abound, let us not applyour heart to them.'(579)
2. Although a man might not do this for the sakeof God and of the obligations of Christian perfection, he should neverthelessdo it because of the temporal advantages that result from it, to say nothingof the spiritual advantages, and he should free his heart completely fromall rejoicing in the things mentioned above. And thus, not only will he freehimself from the pestilent evils which we have described in the last chapter,but, in addition to this, he will withdraw his joy from temporal blessingsand acquire the virtue of liberality, which is one of the principal attributesof God, and can in no wise coexist with covetousness. Apart from this, hewill acquire liberty of soul, clarity of reason, rest, tranquillity and peacefulconfidence in God and a true reverence and worship of God which comes fromthe will. He will find greater joy and recreation in the creatures throughhis detachment from them, for he cannot rejoice in them if he look upon themwith attachment to them as to his own. Attachment is an anxiety that, likea bond, ties the spirit down to the earth and allows it no enlargement ofheart. He will also acquire, in his detachment from things, a clear conceptionof them, so that he can well understand the truths relating to them, bothnaturally and supernaturally. He will therefore enjoy them very differentlyfrom one who is attached to them, and he will have a great advantage andsuperiority over such a one. For, while he enjoys them according to theirtruth, the other enjoys them according to their falseness; the one appreciatesthe best side of them and the other the worst; the one rejoices in theirsubstance; the other, whose sense is bound to them, in their accident. Forsense canno t grasp or attain to more than the accident, but the spirit,purged of the clouds and species of accident, penetrates the truth and worthof things, for this is its object. Wherefore joy, like a cloud, darkens thejudgment, since there can be no voluntary joy in creatures without voluntaryattachment, even as there can be no joy which is passion when there is nohabitual attachment in the heart; and the renunciation and purgation of suchjoy leave the judgment clear, even as the mists leave the air clear whenthey are scattered.
3. This man, then, rejoices in all things -- since hisjoy is dependent upon none of them -- as if he had them all; and this other,through looking upon them with a particular sense of ownership, loses ina general sense all the pleasure of them all. This former man, having noneof them in his heart, possesses them all, as Saint Paul says, in greatfreedom.(580) This latter man, inasmuch as he has something of them throughthe attachment of his will, neither has nor possesses anything; it is ratherthey that have possessed his heart, and he is, as it were, a sorrowing captive.Wherefore, if he desire to have a certain degree of joy in creatures, hemust of necessity have an equal degree of disquietude and grief in his heart,since it is seized and possessed by them. But he that is detached is untroubledby anxieties, either in prayer or apart from it; and thus, without losingtime, he readily gains great spiritual treasure. But the other man loseseverything, running to and fro upon the chain by which his heart is attachedand bound; and with all his diligence he can still hardly free himself fora short time from this bond of thought and rejoicing by which his heart isbound. The spiritual man, then, must restrain the first motion of his hearttowards creatures, remembering the premiss which we have here laid down,that there is naught wherein a man must rejoice, save in his service of God,and in his striving for His glory and honour in all things, directing allthings solely to this end and turning aside from vanity in them, lookingin them neither for his own joy nor for his consolation.
4. There is another very great and important benefit in this detachment of the rejoicing fromcreatures -- namely, that it leaves the heart free for God. This is thedispositive foundation of all the favours which God will grant to the soul,and without this disposition He grants them not. And they are such that,even from the temporal standpoint, for one joy which the soul renounces forlove of Him and for the perfection of the Gospel, He will give him a hundredin this life, as His Majesty promises in the same Gospel.(581) But, evenwere there not so high a rate of interest, the spiritual man should quenchthese creature joys in his soul because of the displeasure which they giveto God. For we see in the Gospel that, simply because that rich man rejoicedat having laid up for many years, God was so greatly angered that He toldhim that his soul would be brought to account on that same night.(582) Therefore,we must believe that, whensoever we rejoice vainly, God is beholding us andpreparing some punishment and bitter draught according to our deserts, sothat the pain which results from the joy may sometimes be a hundred timesgreater than the joy. For, although it is true, as Saint John says on thismatter, in the Apocalypse, concerning Babylon, that as much as she had rejoicedand lived in delights, so much torment and sorrow should be given her,(583)yet this is not to say that the pain will not be greater than the joy, whichindeed it will be, since for brief pleasures are given eternal torments.The words mean that there shall be nothing without its particular punishment,for He Who will punish the idle word will not pardon vain rejoicing.
Which describes how it is vanity to set the rejoicing of the will upon thegood things of nature, and how the soul must direct itself, by means of them,to God.
1 BY natural blessings we here understand beauty, grace, comeliness, bodilyconstitution and all other bodily endowments; and likewise, in the soul,good understanding, discretion and other things that pertain to reason. Manya man sets his rejoicing upon all these gifts, to the end that he himself,or those that belong to him, may possess them, and for no other reason, andgives no thanks to God Who bestows them on him so that He may be better knownand loved by him because of them. But to rejoice for this cause alone isvanity and deception, as Solomon says in these words: 'Deceitful is graceand vain is beauty; the woman who fears God, she shall be praised.'(584)Here he teaches us that a man ought rather to be fearful because of thesenatural gifts, since he may easily be distracted by them from the love ofGod, and, if he be attracted by them, he may fall into vanity and be deceived.For this reason bodily grace is said to be deceptive because it deceivesa man in the ways and attracts him to that which beseems him not, throughvain joy and complacency, either in himself or in others that have such grace.And it is said that beauty is vain because it causes a man to fall in manyways when he esteems it and rejoices in it, for he should rejoice only ifhe serves God or others through it. But he ought rather to fear and harbourmisgivings lest perchance his natural graces and gifts should be a causeof his offending God, either by his vain presumption or by the extreme affectionwith which he regards them. Wherefore he that has such gifts should be cautiousand live carefully, lest, by his vain ostentation, he give cause to any manto withdraw his heart in the smallest degree from God. For these graces andgifts of nature are so full of provocation and occasion of evil, both tohim that possesses them and to him that looks upon them, that there is hardlyany who entirely escapes from binding and entangling his heart in them. Wehave heard that many spiritual persons, who had certain of these gifts, hadsuch fear of this that they prayed God to disfigure them, lest they shouldbe a cause and occasion of any vain joy or affection to themselves or toothers, and God granted their prayer.
2. The spiritual man, then, must purgehis will, and make it to be blind to this vain rejoicing, bearing in mindthat beauty and all other natural gifts are but earth, and that they comefrom the earth and will return thither; and that grace and beauty are thesmoke and vapour belonging to this same earth; and that they must be heldand esteemed as such by any man who desires not to fall into vanity, butwill direct his heart to God in these matters, with rejoicing and gladness,because God is in Himself all these beauties and graces in the most eminentdegree, and is infinitely high above all created things. And, as David says,they are all like a garment and shall grow old and pass away, and He aloneremains immutable for ever.(585) Wherefore, if in all these matters a mandirect not his rejoicing to God, it will ever be false and deceptive. Forof such a man is that saying of Solomon to be understood, where he addressesjoy in the creatures, saying: 'To joy I said: "Why art thou vainlydeceived?"'(586) That is, when the heart allows itself to be attracted bythe creatures.
Of the evils which come to the soul when it sets the rejoicing of its willupon the good things of nature.
´ 1 ALTHOUGH many of these evils and benefits that I am describing in treatingof these kinds of joy are common to all, yet, because they follow directlyfrom joy and detachment from joy (although comprised under any one of thesesix divisions which I am treating), therefore I speak under each headingof some evils and benefits which are also found under another, since these,as I say, are connected with that joy which belongs to them all. But my principalintent is to speak of the particular evils and benefits which come to thesoul, with respect to each thing, through its rejoicing or not rejoicingin it. These I call particular evils, because they are primarily and immediatelycaused by one particular kind of rejoicing, and are not, save in a secondaryand mediate sense, caused by another. The evil of spiritual lukewarmness,for example, is caused directly by any and every kind of joy, and this evilis therefore common to all these six kinds; but fornication is a particularevil, which is the direct result only of joy in the good things of natureof which we are speaking.
2. The spiritual and bodily evils, then, whichdirectly and effectively come to the soul when it sets its rejoicing on thegood things of nature are reduced to six principal evils. The first is vainglory,presumption, pride and disesteem of our neighbour; for a man cannot casteyes of esteem on one thing without taking them from the rest. From thisfollows, at the least, a real disesteem for everything else; for naturally,by setting our esteem on one thing, we withdraw our heart from all thingselse and set it upon the thing esteemed; and from this real contempt it isvery easy to fall into an intentional and voluntary contempt for all theseother things, in particular or in general, not only in the heart, but alsoin speech, when we say that such a thing or such a person is not like suchanother. The second evil is the moving of the senses to complacency and sensualdelight and lust. The third evil comes from falling into adulation and vainpraise, wherein is deception and vanity, as Isaias says in these words: 'Mypeople, he that praises thee deceives thee.'(587) And the reason is that,although we sometimes speak the truth when we praise grace and beauty, yetit will be a marvel if there is not some evil enwrapped therein or if theperson praised is not plunged into vain complacency and rejoicing, or hisimperfect intentions and affections are not directed thereto. The fourthevil is of a general kind: it is a serious(588) blunting of the reason andthe spiritual sense, such as is effected by rejoicing in temporal good things.In one way, indeed, it is much worse. For as the good things of nature aremore closely connected with man than are temporal good things, the joy whichthey give leaves an impression and effect and trace upon the senses morereadily and more effectively, and deadens them more completely. And thusreason and judgment are not free, but are clouded with that affection ofjoy which is very closely connected with them; and from this arises the fifthevil, which is distraction of the mind by created things. And hence ariseand follow lukewarmness and weakness of spirit, which is the sixth evil,and is likewise of a general kind; this is apt to reach such a pitch thata man may find the things of God very tedious and troublesome, and at lasteven come to abhor them. In this rejoicing purity of spirit is invariablylost -- at least, in its essence. For, if any spirituality is discerned,it will be of such a gross and sensual kind as to be hardly spiritual orinterior or recollected at all, since it will consist rather in pleasureof sense than in strength of spirit. Since, then, the spirituality of thesoul is of so low and weak a character at that time as not to quench thehabit of this rejoicing (for this habit alone suffices to destroy purespirituality, even when the soul is not consenting to the acts of rejoicing),the soul must be living, so to say, in the weakness of sense rather thanin the strength of the spirit. Otherwise, it will be seen in the perfectionand fortitude which the soul will have when the occasion demands it. AlthoughI do not deny that many virtues may exist together with serious imperfections,no pure or delectable inward spirituality can exist while these joys arenot quenched; for the flesh reigns within, warring against the spirit, and,although the spirit may be unconscious of the evil, yet at the least it causesit secret distraction.
3. Returning now to speak of that second evil, whichcontains within itself innumerable other evils, it is impossible to describewith the pen or to express in words the lengths to which it can go, but thisis not unknown or secret, nor is the extent of the misery that arises fromthe setting of our rejoicing on natural beauty and graces. For every daywe hear of its causing numerous deaths, the loss by many of their honour,the commission of many insults, the dissipation of much wealth, numerouscases of emulation and strife, of adultery, rape and fornication, and ofthe fall of many holy men, comparable in number to that third part of thestars of Heaven which was swept down by the tail of the serpent on earth.(589)The fine gold has lost its brilliance and lustre and is become mire; andthe notable and noble men of Sion, who were clothed in finest gold, are countedas earthen pitchers that are broken and have become potsherds.(590) How fardoes the poison of this evil not penetrate?
4. And who drinks not, either little or much, from this golden chalice of the Babylonian woman of theApocalypse?(591) She seats herself on that great beast, that had seven headsand ten crowns, signifying that there is scarce any man, whether high orlow, saint or sinner, who comes not to drink of her wine, to some extentenslaving his heart thereby, for, as is said of her in that place, all thekings of the earth have become drunken with the wine of her prostitution.And she seizes upon all estates of men, even upon the highest and noblestestate -- the service of the sanctuary and the Divine priesthood -- settingher abominable cup, as Daniel says, in the holy place,(592) and leaving scarcelya single strong man without making him to drink, either little or much, fromthe wine of this chalice, which is vain rejoicing. For this reason it issaid that all the kings of the earth have become drunken with this wine,for very few will be found, however holy they may have been, that have notbeen to some extent stupefied and bewildered by this draught of the joy andpleasure of natural graces and beauty.
5. This phrase 'have become drunken'should be noted. For, however little a man may drink of the wine of thisrejoicing, it at once takes hold upon the heart, and stupefies it and worksthe evil of darkening the reason, as does wine to those who have been corruptedby it. So that, if some antidote be not at once taken against this poison,whereby it may be quickly expelled, the life of the soul is endangered. Itsspiritual weakness will increase, bringing it to such a pass that it willbe like Samson, when his eyes were put out and the hair of his first strengthwas cut off, and like Samson it will see itself grinding in the mills, acaptive among its enemies;(593) and afterwards, peradventure, it will diethe second death among its enemies, even as did he, since the drinking ofthis rejoicing will produce in them spiritually all those evils that wereproduced in him physically, and does in fact produce them in many personsto this day. Let his enemies come and say to him afterwards, to his greatconfusion: Art thou he that broke the knotted cords, that tore asunder thelions, slew the thousand Philistines, broke down the gates and freed himselffrom all his enemies?
6. Let us conclude, then, by giving the instructionnecessary to counteract this poison. And let it be this: As soon as thy heartfeels moved by this vain joy in the good things of nature, let it rememberhow vain a thing it is to rejoice in aught save the service of God, how perilousand how pernicious. Let it consider how great an evil it was for the angelsto rejoice and take pleasure in their natural endowments and beauty, sinceit was this that plunged them into the depths of shame.(594) Let them think,too, how many evils come to men daily through this same vanity, and let themtherefore resolve in good time to employ the remedy which the poet commendsto those who begin to grow affectioned to such things. 'Make haste now,'he says, 'and use the remedy at the beginning; for when evil things havehad time to grow in the heart, remedy and medicine come late.' Look not uponthe wine, as the Wise Man says, when its colour is red and when it shinesin the glass; it enters pleasantly and bites like a viper and sheds abroadpoison like a basilisk.(595)
Of the benefits which the soul receives from not setting its rejoicing uponthe good things of nature.
1 MANY are the benefits which come to the soul through the withdrawal of itsheart from this rejoicing; for, besides preparing itself for the love ofGod and the other virtues, it makes a direct way for its own humility, andfor a general charity toward its neighbours. For, as it is not led by theapparent good things of nature, which are deceitful, into affection for anyone,the soul remains free and able(596) to love them all rationally and spiritually,as God wills them to be loved. Here it must be understood that none deservesto be loved, save for the virtue that is in him. And, when we love in thisway, it is very pleasing to the will of God, and also brings great freedom;and if there be attachment in it, there is greater attachment to God. For,in that case, the more this love grows, the more grows our love toward God;and, the more grows our love toward God, the greater becomes our love forour neighbour. For, when love is grounded in God, the reason for all loveis one and the same and the cause of all love is one and the same also.
2. Another excellent benefit comes to the soul from its renunciation of thiskind of rejoicing, which is that it fulfils and keeps the counsel of OurSaviour which He gives us through Saint Matthew. 'Let him that will followMe', He says, 'deny himself.'(597) This the soul could in no wise do if itwere to set its rejoicing upon the good things of nature; for he that makesany account of himself neither denies himself nor follows Christ.
3. There is another great benefit in the renunciation of this kind of rejoicing, whichis that it produces great tranquillity in the soul, empties it of distractionsand brings recollection to the senses, especially to the eyes. For the soulthat desires not to rejoice in these things desires neither to look at themnor to attach the other senses to them, lest it should be attracted or entangledby them. Nor will it spend time or thought upon them, being like the prudentserpent, which stops its ears that it may not hear the charmers lest theymake some impression upon it.(598) For, by guarding its doors, which arethe senses, the soul guards itself safely and increases its tranquillityand purity.
4. There is another benefit of no less importance to those that have become proficient in the mortification of this kind of rejoicing, whichis that evil things and the knowledge of them neither make an impressionupon them nor stain them as they do those to whom they still give any delight.Wherefore the renunciation and mortification of this rejoicing result inspiritual cleanness of soul and body; that is, of spirit and sense; and thesoul comes to have an angelical conformity with God, and becomes, both inspirit and in body, a worthy temple of the Holy Spirit. This cannot cometo pass if the heart rejoices in natural graces and good things. For thisreason it is not necessary to have given consent to any evil thing, or tohave remembrance of such; for that rejoicing suffices to stain the soul andthe senses with impurity by means of the knowledge of evil; for, as the WiseMan says, the Holy Spirit will remove Himself from thoughts that are withoutunderstanding -- that is, without the higher reason that has respect to God.(599)
5. Another benefit of a general kind follows, which is that, besides freeingourselves from the evils and dangers aforementioned, we are delivered alsofrom countless vanities, and from many other evils, both spiritual and temporal;and especially from falling into the small esteem in which are held all thosethat are seen to glory or rejoice in the said natural gifts, whether in theirown or in those of others. And thus these souls are held and esteemed aswise and prudent, as indeed are all those who take no account of these things,but only of that which pleases God.
6. From these said benefits follows thelast, which is a generosity of the soul, as necessary to the service of Godas is liberty of spirit, whereby temptations are easily vanquished and trialsfaithfully endured, and whereby, too, the virtues grow and become prosperous.
Which treats of the third kind of good thing whereon the will may set theaffection of rejoicing, which kind pertains to sense. Indicates what thesegood things are and of how many kinds, and how the will has to be directedto God and purged of this rejoicing.
1 WE have next to treat of rejoicing with respect to the good things of sense,which is the third kind of good thing wherein we said that the will may rejoice.And it is to be noted that by the good things of sense we here understandeverything in this life that can be apprehended by the senses of sight, hearing,smell, taste or touch, and by the interior fashioning of imaginary reflections,all of which things belong to the bodily senses, interior and exterior.
2. And, in order to darken the will and purge it of rejoicing with respect tothese sensible objects, and direct it to God by means of them, it is necessaryto assume one truth, which is that, as we have frequently said, the senseof the lower part of man which is that whereof we are treating, is not, neithercan be, capable of knowing or understanding God as God is. So that the eyecannot see Him, or aught that is like Him; neither can the ear hear His voice,or any sound that resembles it; neither can the sense of smell perceive aperfume so sweet as He; neither can the taste detect a savour so sublimeand delectable; neither can the touch feel a movement so delicate and fullof delight, nor aught like to it; neither can His form or any figure thatrepresents Him enter into the thought or imagination. Even as says Isaias:'Eye hath not seen Him, nor hath ear heard Him, neither hath it entered intothe heart of man.'(600)
3. And here it must be noted that the senses mayreceive pleasure and delight, either from the spirit, by means of somecommunication that it receives from God interiorly, or from outward thingscommunicated to them. And, as has been said, neither by way of the spiritnor by that of sense can the sensual part of the soul know God. For, sinceit has no capacity for attaining to such a point, it receives in the sensesboth that which is of the spirit and that which is of sense, and receivesthem in no other way. Wherefore it would be at the least but vanity to setthe rejoicing of the will upon pleasure caused by any of these apprehensions,and it would be hindering the power of the will from occupying itself withGod and from setting its rejoicing upon Him alone. This the soul cannot perfectlyaccomplish, save by purging itself and remaining in darkness as to rejoicingof this kind, as also with respect to other things.
4. I said advisedly that if the rejoicing of the will were to rest in any of these things it wouldbe vanity. But, when it does not rest upon them, but, as soon as the willfinds pleasure in that which it hears, sees and does, soars upward to rejoicein God -- so that its pleasure acts as a motive and strengthens it to thatend -- this is very good. In such a case not only need the said motions notbe shunned when they cause this devotion and prayer, but the soul may profitby them, and indeed should so profit, to the end that it may accomplish thisholy exercise. For there are souls who are greatly moved by objects of senseto seek God. But much circumspection must be observed herein and the resultingeffects must be considered; for oftentimes many spiritual persons indulgein the recreations of sense aforementioned under the pretext of offeringprayer and devotion to God; and they do this in a way which must be describedas recreation rather than prayer, and which gives more pleasure to themselvesthan to God. And, although the intention that they have is toward God, theeffect which they produce is that of recreation of sense, wherein they findweakness and imperfection, rather than revival of the will and surrenderthereof to God.
5. I wish, therefore, to propose a test whereby it may beseen when these delights of the senses aforementioned are profitable andwhen they are not. And it is that, whensoever a person hears music and otherthings, and sees pleasant things, and is conscious of sweet perfumes, ortastes things that are delicious, or feels soft touches, if his thought andthe affection of his will are at once centred upon God and if that thoughtof God gives him more pleasure than the movement of sense which causes it,and save for that he finds no pleasure in the said movement, this is a signthat he is receiving benefit therefrom, and that this thing of sense is ahelp to his spirit. In this way such things may be used, for then such thingsof sense subserve the end for which God created and gave them, which is thatHe should be the better loved and known because of them. And it must be known,furthermore, that one upon whom these things of sense cause the pure spiritualeffect which I describe has no desire for them, and makes hardly any accountof them, though they cause him great pleasure when they are offered to him,because of the pleasure which, as I have said, they cause him in God. Heis not, however, solicitous for them, and when they are offered to him, asI say, his will passes from them at once and he abandons it to God and setsit upon Him.
6. The reason why he cares little for these motives, although they help him on his journey to God, is that the spirit which is ready togo by every means and in every way to God is so completely nourished andprepared and satisfied by the spirit of God that it lacks nothing and desiresnothing; or, if it desires anything to that end, the desire at once passesand is forgotten, and the soul makes no account of it. But one that feelsnot this liberty of spirit in these things and pleasures of sense, but whosewill rests in these pleasures and feeds upon them, is greatly harmed by themand should withdraw himself from the use of them. For, although his reasonmay desire to employ them to journey to God, yet, inasmuch as his desirefinds pleasure in them which is according to sense, and their effect is everdependent upon the pleasure which they give, he is certain to find hindrancein them rather than help, and harm rather than profit. And, when he seesthat the desire for such recreation reigns in him, he must mortify it; for,the stronger it becomes, the more imperfection he will have and the greaterwill be his weakness. 7. So whatever pleasure coming from sense presentsitself to the spiritual person, and whether it come to him by chance or bydesign, he must make use of it only for God, lifting up to Him the rejoicingof his soul so that his rejoicing may be useful and profitable and perfect;realizing that all rejoicing which implies not renunciation(601) and annihilationof every other kind of rejoicing, although it be with respect to somethingapparently very lofty, is vain and profits not, but is a hindrance towardsthe union of the will in God.
Which treats of the evils that afflict the soul when it desires to set therejoicing of its will upon the good things of sense.
1 IN the first place, if the soul does not darken and quench the joy whichmay arise within it from the things of sense, and direct its rejoicing toGod, all the general kinds of evil which we have described as arising fromevery other kind of rejoicing follow from this joy in the things of sense:such evils are darkness in the reason, lukewarmness, spiritual weariness,etc. But, to come to details, many are the evils, spiritual, bodily and sensual,into which the soul may fall through this rejoicing.
2. First of all, from joy in visible things, when the soul denies not itself therein in order toreach God, there may come to it, directly, vanity of spirit and distractionof the mind, unruly covetousness, immodesty, outward and inward unseemliness,impurity of thought, and envy.
3. From joy in hearing useless things theremay directly arise distraction of the imagination, gossiping, envy, rashjudgements and vacillating thoughts; and from these arise many other andpernicious evils.
4. From joy in sweet perfumes, there arise loathing ofthe poor, which is contrary to the teaching of Christ, dislike of servingothers, unruliness of heart in humble things, and spiritual insensibility,at least to a degree proportionate with its desire for this joy.
5. From joy in the savour of meat and drink, there arise directly such gluttony anddrunkenness, wrath, discord and want of charity with one's neighbours andwith the poor, as had that Epulon, who fared sumptuously every day, withLazarus.(602) Hence arise bodily disorders, infirmities and evil motions,because the incentives to luxury become greater. Directly, too, there arisesgreat spiritual torpor, and the desire for spiritual things is corrupted,so that the soul can derive no enjoyment or satisfaction from them nor caneven speak of them. From this joy is likewise born distraction of the othersenses and of the heart, and discontent with respect to many things.
6. From joy in the touch of soft things arise many more evils and more perniciousones, which more quickly cause sense to overflow into spirit, and quenchall spiritual strength and vigour. Hence arises the abominable vice ofeffeminacy, or the incentives thereto, according to the proportion of joyof this kind which is experienced. Hence luxury increases, the mind becomeseffeminate and t imid, and the senses grow soft and delicate and are predisposedto sin and evil. Vain gladness and joy are infused into the heart; the tonguetakes to itself licence and the eyes roam unrestrainedly; and the remainingsenses are blunted and deadened, according to the measure(603) of this desire.The judgment is put to confusion, being nourished by spiritual folly andinsipidity; moral cowardice and inconstancy increase; and, by the darknessof the soul and the weakness of the heart, fear is begotten even where nofear is. At times, again, this joy begets a spirit of confusion, andinsensibility with respect to conscience and spirit; wherefore the reasonis greatly enfeebled, and is affected in such a way that it can neither takenor give good counsel, and remains incapable of moral and spiritual blessingsand becomes as useless as a broken vessel.
7. All these evils are caused by this kind of rejoicing -- in some more intensely, according to the intensityof their rejoicing, and also according to the complacency or weakness orvariableness of the person who yields to it. For there are natures that willreceive more detriment from a slight occasion of sin than will others froma great one.
8. Finally, from joy of this kind in touch, a person may fall into as many evils and perils as those which we have described as concerningthe good things of nature; and, since these have already been described,I do not detail them here; neither do I describe many other evils wroughtthus, such as a falling-off in spiritual exercises and bodily penance andlukewarmness and lack of devotion in the use of the sacraments of penanceand of the Eucharist.
John, Ascent Carmel 3 20