Page:Thecompleteascet01grimuoft.djvu/222

 saw that it was good to eat, and fair to the eyes, and beautiful to behold,  she  took  of  the  fruit  thereof,  and  did  eat. The devil first  tempts  us  to  look,  then  to  desire,  and  afterwards to  consent.

St. Jerome  says  that  Satan  requires  "  only  a  beginning on  our  part." If we  begin,  he  will  complete  our  destruction. A deliberate  glance  at  a  person  of  a  different  sex often enkindles  an  infernal  spark,  which  consumes  the soul. "Through the  eyes,"  says  St.  Bernard,  "the deadly  arrows  of  love  enters." The first  dart  that wounds and  frequently  robs  chaste  souls  of  life  finds admission through  the  eyes. By them  David,  the  beloved of  God,  fell. By them  was  Solomon,  once  the  inspired of  the  Holy  Ghost,  drawn  into  the  greatest  abominations. Oh! how many  are  lost  by  indulging  their sight!

The eyes  must  be  carefully  guarded  by  all  who  expect not to  be  obliged  to  join  in  the  lamentation  of  Jeremiah: My eye  hath  wasted  my  soul.  By  the  introduction  of  sinful affections  my  eyes  have  destroyed  my  soul. Hence St. Gregory  says,  that  "  the  eyes,  because  they  draw  us to  sin,  must  be  depressed." If not  restrained,  they  will become instruments  of  hell,  to  force  the  soul  to  sin almost against  its  will. " He  that  looks  at  a  dangerous object,"  continues  the  saint,  "  begins  to  will  what  he wills  not." It was  this  the  inspired  writer  intended  to express  when  he  said  of  Holofernes,  that  the  beauty  of Judith  made  his  soul  captive.