Page:Thecompleteascet01grimuoft.djvu/293

 there exists  too  much  familiarity  among  them,  are  inflamed as  easily  as  when  straw  is  held  near  the  fire;  for the devil  is  there  trying  his  best  to  produce  a  conflagration. St. Teresa  was  once  shown  the  place  prepared for her  in  hell  had  she  not  renounced  a  certain  inordinate, though  not  impure,  affection  for  a  relative.

If, dear  reader,  you  ever  feel  an  attachment  of  this kind, your  only  remedy  is  a  resolute  and  total  retreat from the  object  of  your  affection. If you  seek  to  withdraw by  degrees,  believe  me  your  efforts  will  be  fruitless: such  chains,  because  they  are  strong,  are  burst only with  difficulty — without  a  sudden  and  violent  effort their  bondage  shall  never  be  dissolved. You will perhaps say  that  no  impropriety  can  occur. Remember that the  devil  never  begins  by  suggesting  the  worst  of evils,  but  by  degrees  he  leads  negligent  souls  to  the brink of  ruin,  and  then  by  an  easy  effort  casts  them  over the precipice. It is  a  common  maxim  of  masters  of  the spiritual life,  that  the  only  remedy  is  flight  and  the  removal of  occasions. St. Philip  Neri  used  to  say  that  in this  warfare  only  cowards,  that  is,  they  that  fly  from  the occasions of  defeat,  shall  be  conquerors. St. Thomas has said  before:  "Whoever  can  resist  the  other  vices cannot  resist  this  except  by  flight."

Although you  have  been  free  from  such  affections,  you must still  guard  yourself  against  them  with  all  possible care; for  you  too  are  exposed  to  the  danger  of  being caught in  the  snare  into  which,  through  their  own  negligence, others  have  fallen. To preserve  your  soul  free from every  dangerous  attachment,  I  advise  you,  in  the language of  St.  Teresa,  first,  to  prize  yourself  more  for the plainness  than  for  the  elegance  of  your  manners, the agreeableness  of  your  conversation,  or  the  facility  of