t, and set before his eyes the rigorous laws of that
government; that the ports were narrowly observed by vigilant and
faithful officers, who were neither to be circumvented nor bribed with
presents; that the Mandarins were cruel to all strangers; that, the year
before, some Portuguese seamen being cast by tempest on the coast of
Canton, had been severely whipped, and afterwards inclosed in dark
dungeons, where, if they were not already dead, they were still exercised
with new punishments; that, for himself, the least he could expect was
perpetual imprisonment, which was not the business of an apostle, who
designed to run from place to place, and propagate the faith through all
the East. These arguments made no impression on the saint; he had
fortified his resolution with more potent reasons, and answered the
merchants in the same tenor in which he had written to Father Francis
Perez, that he could not distrust the Divine Goodness, and that his
distrust would be so much the more criminal, because the powerful
inspiration of the Holy Spirit pushed him forward to teach the Chinese
the gospel of the living God. "I am elected," said he, "for this great
enterprize, by the special grace of heaven. If I should demur on the
execution, or be terrified with the hardships, and want courage to
attempt those difficulties, would it not be incomparably worse than all
the evils with which you threaten me? But, what can the demons and their
ministers do against me? Surely no more than what is permitted them by
the sovereign Lord of all the world; and that in giving up myself in this
manner, I shall obey my Lord Jesus, who declares in his gospel, 'That
whosoever will save his life shall lose it, and whoever will lose it for
my sake, shall find it.' Our Saviour also says, 'That he who, having put
his hand to the plough, shall look behind him, is not fit for the kingdom
of heaven.' The loss of the body being then without comparison less to be
feared than that of the soul, according to the principles of Eternal
Wisdom, I am resolved to sacrifice a frail and miserable life for
everlasting happiness. In fine, I have set up my rest, I will undertake
this voyage, and nothing is capable of altering my resolution. Let all
the powers of hell break loose upon me, I despise them, provided God be
on my side; for if he be for us, who shall be against us?" The Portuguese
being of opinion, that this fixed intention of the man of God was partly
grounded on