FREE BOOKS

Author's List




PREV.   NEXT  
|<   141   142   143   144   145   146   147   148   149   150   151   152   153   154   155   156   157   158   159   160   161   162   163   164   165  
166   167   168   169   170   171   172   173   174   175   176   177   178   179   180   181   182   183   184   185   186   187   188   189   190   >>   >|  
de the frock? _Filippo._ It was indeed, Holy Father! I never had the courage to mention it in confession among my manifold offences. _Eugenius._ Bad! bad! Repentance is of little use to the sinner, unless he pour it from a full and overflowing heart into the capacious ear of the confessor. Ye must not go straightforward and bluntly up to your Maker, startling Him with the horrors of your guilty conscience. Order, decency, time, place, opportunity, must be observed. _Filippo._ I have observed the greater part of them: time, place, and opportunity. _Eugenius._ That is much. In consideration of it, I hereby absolve thee. _Filippo._ I feel quite easy, quite new-born. _Eugenius._ I am desirous of hearing what sort of feelings thou experiencest, when thou givest loose to thy intractable and unruly wishes. Now, this love of the world, what can it mean? A love of music, of dancing, of riding? What in short is it in thee? _Filippo._ Holy Father! I was ever of a hot and amorous constitution. _Eugenius._ Well, well! I can guess, within a trifle, what that leads unto. I very much disapprove of it, whatever it may be. And then? and then? Prithee go on: I am inflamed with a miraculous zeal to cleanse thee. _Filippo._ I have committed many follies, and some sins. _Eugenius._ Let me hear the sins; I do not trouble my head about the follies; the Church has no business with them. The State is founded on follies, the Church on sins. Come then, unsack them. _Filippo._ Concupiscence is both a folly and a sin. I felt more and more of it when I ceased to be a monk, not having (for a time) so ready means of allaying it. _Eugenius._ No doubt. Thou shouldst have thought again and again before thou strippedst off the cowl. _Filippo._ Ah! Holy Father! I am sore at heart. I thought indeed how often it had held two heads together under it, and that stripping it off was double decapitation. But compensation and contentment came, and we were warm enough without it. _Eugenius._ I am minded to reprove thee gravely. No wonder it pleased the Virgin, and the saints about her, to permit that the enemy of our faith should lead thee captive into Barbary. _Filippo._ The pleasure was all on their side. _Eugenius._ I have heard a great many stories both of males and females who were taken by Tunisians and Algerines: and although there is a sameness in certain parts of them, my especial benevolence toward thee, worthy Filippo,
PREV.   NEXT  
|<   141   142   143   144   145   146   147   148   149   150   151   152   153   154   155   156   157   158   159   160   161   162   163   164   165  
166   167   168   169   170   171   172   173   174   175   176   177   178   179   180   181   182   183   184   185   186   187   188   189   190   >>   >|  



Top keywords:
Filippo
 

Eugenius

 

follies

 

Father

 

observed

 
thought
 
opportunity
 

Church

 
strippedst
 

unsack


Concupiscence

 

founded

 
business
 

stripping

 
allaying
 

ceased

 
shouldst
 
stories
 

females

 

pleasure


Tunisians

 

especial

 

benevolence

 

worthy

 

Algerines

 

sameness

 

Barbary

 

captive

 

minded

 

reprove


trouble

 
decapitation
 

compensation

 

contentment

 

gravely

 
permit
 

pleased

 
Virgin
 

saints

 
double

cleanse
 

greater

 
mention
 
courage
 

confession

 

guilty

 
conscience
 

decency

 
consideration
 

desirous