nction. With
the utmost confusion for his own want of this virtue, he yielded to his
request, begging in return his earnest prayers for the conversion of his
own soul. Treating first on the necessities and motives of compunction,
he takes notice that Christ pronounces those blessed who mourn, and says
we ought never to cease weeping for our own sins, and those of the whole
world, which deserves and calls for our tears so much the more loudly,
as it is insensible of its own miseries. We should never cease weeping,
if we considered how much sin reigns among men. The saint considers the
sin of rash judgment as a general vice among men, from which he thinks
scarce any one will be found to have lived always free. He {254} says
the same of anger; then of detraction; and considering how universally
these crimes prevail among men, cries out: "What hopes of salvation
remain for the generality of mankind, who commit, without reflection,
some or other of these crimes, one of which is enough to damn a soul?"
He mentions also, as general sins, swearing, evil words, vain-glory, not
giving alms, want of confidence in divine providence, and of resignation
to his will, covetousness, and sloth in the practice of virtue. He
complains that whereas the narrow path only leads to heaven, almost all
men throw themselves into the broad way, walking with the multitude in
their employs and actions, seeking their pleasure, interest, or
convenience, not what is safest for their souls. Here what motives for
our tears! A life of mortification and penance he prescribes, as an
essential condition for maintaining a spirit of compunction; saying that
water and fire are not more contrary to each other, than a life of
softness and delights is to compunction; pleasure being the mother of
dissolute laughter and madness. A love of pleasure renders the soul
heavy and altogether earthly; but compunction gives her wings, by which
she raises herself above all created things. We see worldly men mourn
for the loss of friends and other temporal calamities. And are not we
excited to weep for our spiritual miseries? We can never cease if we
have always before our eyes our sins, our distance from heaven, the
pains of hell, God's judgments, and our danger of losing Him, which is
the most dreadful of all the torments of the damned.

In his second book On Compunction, which is addressed to Stelechius, he
expresses his surprise that he should desire instructions on compunct