Page:Sermons by John-Baptist Massillon.djvu/472

 pleasures and  frivolities;  are  warm,  like  the  rest  of  men,  upon  fortune, upon  favour,  upon  preferences,  and  upon  injuries;  pursue their own  ends,  have  still  a  desire  of  pleasing,  eagerly  seek  after distinctions and  favours,  and  sometimes  make  even  piety  subservient toward  more  surely  attaining  them. Ah! it is  then  that  the world triumphs,  and  that  it  feels  itself  comforted  in  the  comparison; it is  then  that,  finding  such  a  resemblance  between  the  virtue  of  the good' and  its  own  vices,  it  feels  tranquil  upon  its  situation,  and thinks that  it  is  needless  to  change,  since,  in  changing  the  name, the same  things  are  still  retained.

And it  is  here  that  I  cannot  prevent  myself  from  saying,  with the apostle  Peter,  to  you  whom  God  hath  recalled,  from  the ways of  the  world  and  of  the  passions,  to  those  of  truth  and righteousness: let  us  act  in  such  a  manner  among  the  worldly, that, in  place  of  decrying  virtue  as  they  have  hitherto  done,  and of despising  or  censuring  those  who  practise  it;  the  good  works which they  shatl  behold  in  us,  our  pure  and  holy  manners,  our patience under  scorn,  our  wisdom  and  our  circumspection  in discourse,  our  modesty  and  humility  in  exaltation,  our  equality of mind  and  submission  under  disgrace,  our  gentleness  toward our inferiors,  our  regard  for  our  equals,  our  fidelity  toward  our masters, our  universal  charity  toward  our  brethern,  force  them to render  glory  to  God,  make  them  to  respect  and  even  to  envy the destiny  of  virtue,  and  dispose  their  hearts  to  receive  the grace of  light  and  of  truth  when  it  shall  deign  to  visit  them, and to  enlighten  them  upon  their  erroneous  ways. Let us  shut up the  mouth  of  all  the  enemies  of  virtue  by  the  sight  of  an irreprehensible  life:  let  us  honour  piety,  that  it  may  honour  us: let us  render  it  respectable,  if  we  wish  to  gain  partisans  to  it:  let  us furnish  to  the  world  examples  which  condemn  it,  and  not  censures which justify  it:  let  us  accustom  it  to  think,  that  godliness  is  profitable unto  all  things,  having  promises  not  only  of  the  life  to  come, but also  peace,  satisfaction,  and  content,  which  are  the  only  good, and the  only  real  pleasures  of  the  present  life.

To this  persecution  of  scandal,  Herod  adds  a  persecution  of seduction:  he  tempts  the  sanctity  and  the  fidelity  of  the  ministers of  the  law;  he  wishes  to  make  the  zeal  and  the  holy  boldness of  the  magi  instrumental  to  his  impious  designs:  in  a word,  he  neglects  nothing  to  undo  the  truth  before  he  openly attacks it.

And behold  a  fresh  manner  in  which  we  continually  persecute the  truth. In the  first  place,  we  weaken  the  piety  of  the just by  accusing  their  fervour  of  excess,  and  by  struggling  to persuade  them  that  they  do  too  much;  we  exhort  them,  like the grand  tempter,  to  change  their  stones  into  bread;  that  is  to say,  to  abate  from  their  austerity,  and  to  change  that  retired, gloomy, and  laborious  life,  into  a  more  ordinary  and  comfortable one:  we  give  them  room  to  dread  that  the  sequel  will  not correspond with  the  beginnings:  in  a  word,  we  endeavour  to draw  them  nearer  to  us,  being  unwilling  to  rise  ourselves  to  a