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Rh tations, and the like; for these practices must be discreetly and slowly acquired, as we shall presently show.

Then as to virtues which are wholly internal, such as love of God, contempt of the world, self-abasement, hatred of evil passions and sin, patience and meekness, love for all men, even for those who injure us, and such like; it is not necessary to attain to these by degrees, nor to mount with gradual rise to perfection in them, but strive at once to make each act as perfect as possible.

Fourthly, let your whole mind, desire, and heart be set upon, wish for, and long for nothing but to gain the victory over the passion against which you are struggling, and to form the opposite virtue. Be this your world, your heaven, your earth, your whole treasure; and all with the view of pleasing God. Whether you are eating or fasting, labouring or resting, watching or sleeping, at home or abroad, whether engaged in devotion or in manual labour, let your aim be to overcome and subdue this passion, and to gain the opposite virtue.

Fifthly, be the foe of all earthly pleasures and gratifications, and in this way you will weaken the power of all vices, which have their root in the love of pleasure. Therefore, when this is cut away by hatred of self, they lose their vigour and force.