Page:The Great Encyclical Letters of Pope Leo XIII.djvu/176



170 THE RIGHT ORDERING OF CHRISTIAN LIFE.

footsteps of Christ, and to conform his mind and Hfe to that of Christ by meditating on His example. Therefore this is not a counsel, but a duty; and the duty, not only of those who desire a more perfect life, but of all â€” always bearing about in our body the mortification of Jesus} How else shall the natural law, which commands man to live virtuously, be kept? For by holy baptism the sin which we contracted at birth is taken away; but the evil and perverse roots which sin has planted in our hearts are by no means removed. That part of man which is without reason, although harmless to those who fight manfully by the grace of Christ, nevertheless struggles with reason for supremacy, disturbs the whole soul, and tyrannically bends the will away from virtue with such power that we cannot escape vice or do our duty except by a daity struggle. The Council of Trent says: "This holy synod teaches that in the baptized there remains concupiscence or an inclination to evil, which, being left to be fought against, cannot hurt those who, instead of yielding to it, manfully fight against it by the grace of Jesus Christ; for he who hath lawfully striven shall be croumed." ^ There is in this struggle a degree of valor to which only a very perfect virtue attains, such as belongs to those who, by putting to flight impulses opposed to right reason, have made such advances in virtue as to seem almost to live a heavenly life on earth. Granted that few attain excellence so great, yet even the philosophy of the ancients taught that every man should conquer his evil desires; and still more and with greater care should those do so who, from daily contact with the world, are more sorely tempted â€” unless it be foolishly thought that where the danger is greater watchfulness is less needed, or that they whose maladies are most grievous need medicine more seldom.

But the toil which has to be borne in this conflict is com- pensated by great blessings over and above its eternal reward in heaven; and particularly because by the quell-

' 2 Cor. iv. 10. ^ Sess. v. can. 5.