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46 no breath to make an act of the will against them; yet do not lose courage, nor throw down your arms, but in such a case make use of your tongue and defend yourself by saying—"I do not yield to you, I do not consent to you;" after the manner of one who has been grasped and thrown to the ground by an enemy leaping upon him, and, when he is unable to thrust at him with the point of his sword, contrives to strike him with the hilt.

And as he strives to spring backwards so as to wound his enemy with the point of the sword, so do you retire into the consideration of yourself, the knowledge that you are nothing, and that you can do nothing. Then, putting your trust in God Who can do all things, strike a blow at the passion which attacks you, and say—"Help me, O Lord; help me, my God; help me, Jesus, Mary's Son, that I may not yield to this."

You may also, if the enemy gives you time for it, call in your understanding to aid your will, and by the use of various considerations impart to the will fresh power and spirit against the enemy. Thus, for example, when you are in some persecution or trouble, and are so attacked by temptations to impatience that the will cannot, or at least will not, stand up against them, you will proceed to encourage it by