of Almighty God alone; whom he may behold as present to his soul, and quietly enjoy that sweet affection which he shall vouchsafe to bestow upon him, whether it be of love, admiration, joy, or the like; and the reason is, because the end of this business consisteth rather in love and affection of the will, than in speculations of the understanding. When, therefore, the will hath captivated the one, and attained to the other affection, all reasoning and speculations of the understanding are to be left, that the soul may bend all her forces to it, without a confused wandering to the actions of the other powers. Therefore, a certain doctor giveth this counsel to those who perceive themselves to be inflamed with the fire of divine love; that they should quite abolish all other thoughts and speculations, never so sublime and subtle; not that they are evil, but because, for the present, they hinder a greater good. And this is no other than, after we have come to the end, to leave meditation for the love of contemplation; which we may do (to speak particularly of this matter) in the end of every exercise, (that is to say) after the petition of divine love, as above said, and that for two reasons; first, because it is supposed that the labor of the finished exercise hath produced some fruit of devotion towards Almighty God, as the wise man saith: " Melius est finis orationis, quam principium:" "Better is the end of prayer, than the beginning." Secondly, it is expedient that, after labor in
