was not duly attentive to the divine spirit, thinking I did well to continue when I had time, even without feeling his immediate impulse or enlightning influence, from whence it is easy to see some places clear and consistent, and others which have neither taste nor unction; such is the difference of the spirit of GOD from the human and natural spirit, tho' they are left just as I wrote them, yet I am ready, if ordered, to adjust them according to my present light. Didst thou not, Oh my God, turn me a hundred ways, to prove whether I was without any reserve, through every kind of trial or whether I had not yet some little interest for myself? My soul became hereby readily pliable to every discovery of the divine will, and whatever kind of humiliations attended me to counterbalance my LORD's favours, till every thing, high or low, was rendered alike to me.

METHINKS the LORD acts with his dearest friends as the sea with its waves. Sometimes it pushes them against the rocks where they break in pieces, sometimes it rolls them on the sand, or dashes them on the mire, then instantly it retakes them into the depths of its own Bosom, where they are absorpt with the same rapidity that they were first ejected. Even among the good the far greater part are souls only of Mercy; and surely that is well: But to appertain to divine Justice, oh how rare and yet how great! Mercy is all distributive in favour of the creature, but Justice destroys every thing of the creature, without sparing any thing. It can demand nothing but for itself; yet they must be voluntary victims, as have no other object but itself in what they suffer.

THE lady, who was my particular friend, began to conceive some jealousy on the applause

given me, GOD so permitting it for the farther purification of her soul, through this weakness, and the pain it caused her. Also some confessors began to be uneasy, saying, "It was none of "my business to invade their province, and to "meddle in the help of souls; and that there "were some of the penitents which had an entire "openness for me." It was easy for me to observe the difference betwixt those confessors who, in their conducting of souls, seek nothing but GOD, and those who seek themselves therein; for the first came to see me, and rejoiced greatly at the grace of GoD bestowed on their penitents, without fixing their attention on the instrument: The others, on the contrary, tried underhand to stir up the town against me. I saw that they would be in the right to oppose me, if I had intruded of myself; but I could do nothing but what the LORD made me do. At times there came some to dispute and oppose me. Two friars came one of them a man of profound learning and a great preacher. They came separately, after having studied for a number of difficult things to propose to me. But though they were matters far out of my reach, the LORD made me answer as justly as if I had studied them all my life; after which I spoke to them as he inspired me. They went away not only convinced and satisfied, but even affected with the love of God.

I STILL continued writing with a prodigious swiftness; for the hand could scarce follow fast enough the spirit which dictated, and through the whole progress of so long a work I never altered my manner nor made use of any other book than the bible itself. The transcriber, whatever diligence he used, could not copy in five days what

I wrote

I wrote in one night. Whatever is good in it, comes from GoD only. Whatever is otherwise from myself; I mean from the mixture which I have made, without duly attending to it, of my own impurity with his pure and chaste doctrine, In the day I had scarce time to eat, by reason of the vast numbers of people which came thronging to me. I wrote the canticles in a day and a half, and received several visits besides.

HERE I may add to what I have said about my writings, that a considerable part of the book of Judges happened by some means to be lost. Be- ing desired to render that book complete, I wrote over again the places lost. Afterwards when the people were about leaving the house, they were found. My former and latter explications, on comparison, were found to be perfectly conformable to each other, which greatly surprized persons of knowledge and merit, who attested the truth of it.

THERE came to see me a counsellor of the parliament, a servant of GOD, who finding on my table* a tract on Prayer, which I had wrote long before, desired me to lend it. Having read it and liked it much, he lent it to some friends, to whom he thought it might be of service. Every one wanted copies of it. He resolved therefore to have it printed. The impression was begun, and proper approbations given to it. They requested me to write a preface, which I did, and thus was that little book printed, which has since made so much noise, and been the pretence for the

* This was le Moyen court, of which an entire new translation is to be given at the end of the third part.

the several persecutions. This counsellor was one of my intimate friends, and a pattern of piety. The book has already passed through five or six editions; and our LORD has given a very great benediction to it. Those good friars took fifteen hundred of them. The devil became so enraged against me on account of the conquest which GoD made by me, that I was assured he was going to stir up against me a violent persecution. All that gave me no trouble. Let him stir up against me ever so strange persecutions: I know they will all serve to the glory of my Gon.

A

66

CHAP. XXII.

POOR girl of very great simplicity, who earned her livelihood by her labour, and was inwardly favoured of the LORD, came all sorrowful to me, and said, "Oh my mother, what strange things have I seen!" I asked what they were, "Alas said she, I have seen you like a lamb "in the midst of a vast troop of furious wolves. "I have seen a frightful multitude of people of all "ranks and robes, of all ages, sexes and conditi"ons, priests, friars, married men, maids and "wives, with pikes, halberts and drawn swords, " all eager for your instant destruction. You let "them alone without stirring, or being surprized "and without offering any way to defend your"self. I looked on all sides to see whether any "one would come to assist and defend you; "but I saw not one." Some days after, those, who through envy were raising private batteries against me, broke forth. Libels began to spread. Envious people wrote against me, without knowing me. They said, "I was a sorceress, that it

was

"was by a magic power I attracted souls, that "every thing in me was diabolical; that if I did "some charities, it was because I coined, and put off false money,' with many other gross accusations, equally false, groundless and absurd.

As the tempest increased every day, some of my friends advised me to withdraw, but before I mention my leaving Grenoble, I must say something farther of my state while here.

JESUS CHRIST was communicated to me in all his states. His apostolic state was at that time set most before me. When I could neither write nor impart the overflowing of my soul any other way, I was all languishing. I experienced what our LORD said to his disciples, " With desire I "have desired to eat this passover with you." Luke xxii. 15. It was the communion of himself by that supper, and by his passion, when he said, "It is finished." John xix. 30. And bowing his head he gave up the ghost, returning his spirit as well as his kingdom to his Father; as if he had then said, "My Father, my kingdom is that I reign by thee, and thou by me, over men; "which can only be done by the shedding abroad "of my spirit upon them: Let then my spirit be "communicated to them by my death." this is the finishing and consummation of all things. Often the plenitude of this spirit took from me the liberty of writing. I had nothing for myself; all was for others; and yet I wanted nothing. I was like those nurses who are full of milk, though they are not themselves fed thereby.

In

BEFORE I began to write in the book of Kings on what regards David, I felt so close an union