Page:Thecompleteascet01grimuoft.djvu/474

 I have used  the  words  some  defect;  but  when  we  speak too much  we  shall  find  that  we  have  committed  a  thousand faults. St. James  has  called  the  tongue  a  universal evil: ''The  tongue  is. . .  a  world  of  iniquity.''  For,  as  a learned  author  remarks,  the  greater  number  of  sins  arise from speaking  or  from  listening  to  others. Alas! how many nuns  shall  we  see  condemned  on  the  day  of  judgment, on  account  of  having  had  but  little  regard  for silence! And what  is  most  to  be  deplored  is,  that  the religious that  dissipates  her  mind  by  intercourse  with creatures, and  by  too  much  speaking,  will  never  be  able to see  her  defects,  and  thus  she  will  go  from  bad  to worse. A man  full  of  tongue  shall  not  be  established  in  the earth.  The  man  that  speaks  too  much  shall  walk  with- out a guide,  and  therefore  he  shall  fall  into  a  thousand mistakes without  the  hope  of  ever  perceiving  them. Such a  religious  appears  as  if  unable  to  live  without speaking continually  from  morning  till  evening. She wishes to  know  what  happens  in  the  monastery  and  in the  world;  she  goes  about  asking  questions  from  all  the others, and  afterwards  says,  What  evil  am  I  doing? I answer you,  dearly  beloved  sister,  put  an  end  to  idle talk; endeavor  to  recollect  yourself  a  little,  and  you  will see how  many  defects  you  have  committed  by  the  multitude of  your  words.

St. Joseph  Calasanctius used  to  say  "that  a  dissipated religious  is  a  source  of  joy  to  the  devil." And justly, for by  her  dissipation  she  not  only  does  not  attend  to her  own  sanctification,  but  is  also  an  "obstacle  to  the advancement  of  others,  by  going  about  the  monastery in  search  of  some  one  to  converse  with  her,  by  speaking in  a  loud  voice  in  every  place,  and  by  a  want  of  reverence, even  in  the  choir  and  sacristy.  St.  Ambrose  relates  that a  certain  priest,  while  at  prayer,  was  disturbed  by  the