the whole order should lose its reputation. For people in the world form a judgment of all the religious from the actions of the individual, and as if his fault Were an original sin, or a kind of community-property, they readily impute to the whole order, the irregularity of the particular member. It is therefore the bounden duty of each individual religious to be extremely careful to edify his neighbour, that by this means the reputation of the whole order may be preserved and enhanced. For this purpose we must imagine that the eyes of the whole world are upon us; " That we are made a spectacle to angels and to men" (1 Cor. iv. 9), and that although it is unreasonable to censure a whole order for the faults of one man, yet it is certain, that the whole body consists of members, and consequently that the growth or decay of that body depends upon the good or bad conduct of each particular member. Let every one therefore remain firm at his post, like a good soldier; let him take care that through his fault a battalion so strong and so well formed be not broken. Let him take heed that religious discipline be not relaxed through his irregularity. In fine, let him imagine that in religion his mother addresses him in the language, wherein the mother of the Machabees addressed her youngest son, encouraging him to suffer and to die courageously for the observance of the law. " My son," said she, " have pity upon me that bore thee nine months in my womb, and gave thee suck three years, and nourished thee and brought thee up unto this age." (2 Mach. vii. 27.) The only return I ask is that you do not ruin yourself and me, and that you do not employ against yourself and me those arms which I put in your hands for your own defence and for that of your neighbour. In fine, I request that what should render you more grateful, more humble, and more virtuous, may not render you more ungrateful, more proud, and more irregular.
CHAPTER XIV.
That we should behave ourselves all our Life-time in Religion, after the same Manner we did the first Day we entered into it.
An ancient religious asking the Abbot Agatho, how he should behave himself in religion, the good abbot answered him, " That he should remember how he had behaved himself the first day he had left the world, and was received into the convent; and
