is he who bears meekly the yoke of obedience, and submits to the guidance of another, as the holy Apostles did, both before and after they received the Holy Spirit!"
And again. Brother Giles said: "He who would acquire and possess perfect peace and quiet, must consider every man his superior, and himself subject and inferior to all. Blessed is the man who desires not to be seen or known, either in his deeds or words, save in the pure disposition and the simple adornment to which he has been disposed, and by which he has been adorned of God! Blessed is the man who can keep and conceal the Divine revelations and consolations: for there is nothing so secret that God will not reveal it when it pleases Him. If a man were the most perfect and the most holy upon earth, and he should consider and believe himself to be the most miserable sinner, and the vilest man in the world, herein would be true humility. Holy humility knows not how to converse, and the blessed fear of God knows not how to speak."
Brother Giles said also: " To me it seems that humility is like the thunderbolt, for as the bolt causes a terrible concussion, breaking, rending, and burning whatever it strikes, and yet afterwards there is nothing of it to be found, thus also humility explodes, and dissipates, and consumes all malice, all vice and all sin, and afterwards it seems to be nothing at all in itself The man who possesses humility, shall through humility find grace with God, and perfect peace with his neighbor."
On the Holy Fear of God.
He who fears not, shows that he has nothing to lose. The holy fear of God orders, governs and rules the soul, and brings it into a state of grace. If a man possess any grace or divine virtue, holy fear will preserve it for him to the end. And he who has not yet acquired either virtue or grace, will be enabled, through holy fear, to acquire them. The holy fear of God is a channel of Divine grace, for it causes the soul in which it dwells to obtain these graces and all holy virtue without delay. All who have fallen into sin would never have succumbed, had they possessed the holy fear of God. But this holy gift of fear is given only to the perfect, for the more perfect a man is, the more he fears and humbles himself. Blessed is the man who knows himself to be in prison in this world, and ever remembers how grievously he has offended his Lord,
A man should always greatly fear pride, lest it cause him to stumble and fall from that state of grace in which he is, for one can never stand secure in the midst of enemies; and our enemies are the lusts of this miserable world and of our own flesh, which, along with the devils, are ever at war against our souls. One must have still greater fear lest his own malice deceive and overcome him, than of all other enemies. It is impossible for a man to ascend to any grace or Divine virtue, or persevere therein, without holy fear. He who has not the fear of God is in danger of being lost altogether. The fear of God makes a man humbly obey, and incline his head under the yoke of obedience; and the more fear a man possesses, the more fervently will he worship God.
It is not a little matter to have the gift of prayer, and to him that feareth it shall be given. The virtuous actions of men, however much we may esteem them, are not, therefore, reckoned and rewarded according to our estimation, but according to the estimation and the good pleasure of God; for God looks not at the amount of labor, but at the amount of love and humility: and, therefore, the safest par.; to choose is to love and fear always with humility, and never to trust in ourselves for any good, but to distrust the thoughts which arise in our minds under the appearance of good.
On Holy Patience.
He, who with firm patience and humility suffers tribulation for the love of God, will quickly attain to great graces and virtue; he shall be lord of this world, and possess a pledge of the glorious world to come. Everything which a man does, whether of good or evil, unto himself he does it. And, therefore, be not scandalized by him who does thee an injury; but rather have humble patience, and grieve only for his sin, having compassion and praying fervently to God for him. The stronger a man is to bear and to suffer injuries and tribulations patiently for the love of God, so much the nearer is he to God, and no more: the weaker a man is to sustain sorrows and adversities for the
