thought and fancy, and every sinful custom; and school thyself the
rather in virtuous deeds, and form the habit of practising them. For
if thou labour but a little therein, and have strength to form the
habit, at the last, God helping thee, thou shalt advance without
labour. For the habit of virtue, taking its quality from the soul,
seeing that it hath some natural kinship therewith and claimeth God for
an help-mate, becometh hard to alter and exceeding strong; as thou
seest, courage and prudence, temperance and righteousness are hard to
alter, being deeply seated habits, qualities and activities of the
soul. For if the evil affections, not being natural to us, but
attacking us from without, be hard to alter when they become habits,
how much harder shall it be to shift virtue, which hath been by nature
planted in us by our Maker, and hath him for an help-mate, if so be,
through our brief endeavour, it shall have been rooted in habit in the
soul?"

XX.

"Wherefore a practician of virtue once spake to me on this wise: 'After
I had made divine meditation my constant habit, and through the
practice of it my soul had received her right quality, I once resolved
to make trial of her, and put a check upon her, not allowing her to
devote herself to her wonted exercises. I felt that she was chafing
and fretting, and yearning for meditation with an ungovernable desire,
and was utterly unable to incline to any contrary thought. No sooner
had I given her the reins than immediately she ran in hot haste to her
own task, as saith the Prophet, 'Like as the hart desireth the water
brooks, so longeth my soul after the strong, the living God.'
Wherefore from all these proofs it is evident that the acquirement of
virtue is within our reach, and that we are lords over it, whether we
will embrace or else the rather choose sin. They then, that are in the
thraldom of wickedness, can hardly be torn away therefrom, as I have
already said.

"But thou, who hast been delivered therefrom, through the tender mercy
of our God, and hast put on Christ by the grace of the Holy Ghost, now
transfer thyself wholly to the Lord's side, and never open a door to
thy passions, but adorn thy soul with the sweet savour and splendour of
virtue, and make her a temple of the Holy Trinity, and to his
contemplation see thou devote all the powers of thy mind. He that
liveth and converseth with an earthly king is pointed out by all as a
right happy man: wha