end is to unite and join our spirit to Almighty God, [1] in the union of perfect love.
Each one of these persons is to have matter of meditation, accommodated and agreeing to his state and aim, from which he may easily draw forth the affections and purposes that his necessity requires. And although this matter may be reduced to three orders of mysteries and verities, accommodated to those three states and ways which have been described, yet, for the greater perspicuity and clearness, we reduce it in this book to six parts; assigning two to those that are beginners, two to those that are proficients, and other two to those that are most perfect, in this form ensuing.
1. Sinners who desire truly to be converted, and to turn to God, and to change their life, are to take for the matter of their meditation their own sins, and all such things as may aid them to know the number and enormity of them, or that may cause a detestation of them, and sorrow for having committed them. And inasmuch as fear is usually the beginning of justification, whatever awakes this fear is matter of meditation accommodated to them; such are the last things of man, as death, judgment particular and universal, hell, and such other like things, which will be put in the first part, with certain forms of prayer, accommodated for the examination of the conscience, for confession, and communicating, and for the obtaining of perfect justification, which is the end of the purgative way.
2. Such as are already justified, and desire to treasure up virtues, and to increase in them, are to take for the proper matter of their meditation the mysteries of the humanity of our Lord Jesus Christ, whilst He lived in this mortal life; because His life and doctrine, His passion and death, formed a most perfect pattern of all virtue for all classes of those
- ↑ 1 Cor. vi. 17.
