sold their goods, in order to be accounted for perfect; and for this Almighty God permitted them to retain half the price, for which they died suddenly, losing with their lives the honour they desired. This struck a great fear into the whole Church, and should strike a fear into me, because the punishment of a few should be a warning for many; and if I be proud I shall be, peradventure, one of those few punished, unless I amend.
3. Then will I consider how, at the least, I cannot escape from the punishments of the other life, where all the proud shall suffer special confusion, with terrible shame to see themselves so contemned. And those who here aimed at the highest place shall there have the lowest, at the feet of Lucifer the king of the proud, and even the devils themselves shall scoff at him, using in mockery that of the prophet Isaiah, " Et tu vulneratus es sicut et nos, nostri similis effectus es, detracta est ad inferos superbia tua;" [1] " Thou also art wounded like as we; thou art become like unto us" in punishment as thou hast been in sin; "thy pride is brought down to hell," and to the deepest lakes thereof. Now, what greater madness can there be than to seek with pride that excellency whose end is eternal confusion? and what greater folly than for a glory which passes like the wind to cast myself into an ignominy that shall never have end?
Colloquy. — O pride, what a great " beam" [2] art thou in the " eye," foolishly blinding it, that it cannot see its own hurt! O humble Jesus, take from my eyes this great beam, that I fall not by reason of it into these so exceeding great losses! Amen.
POINT III.
The third point is to consider the great good that I shall