Untitled - Saints' Books

"
INSTR. in.] The Chastity of the Priest. 255
there is
danger; and because she is spiritual and a saint
you ought the more to fear and fly familiarity with her;
for the more spiritual and holy a woman is, the more
easily she 1
gains the affections of men. The Venerable
Father Sertorius Caputo used to say, as we read in his
life, that the devil endeavors first to infuse a love for the
virtue of the individual, and thus inspire a security that
there is no danger; he then excites sentiments of affec
tion for the person, and afterwards tempts to sin; and
thus he causes great havoc. Before him St. Thomas
said the same: "Although carnal affection is
dangerous
to all, it is
yet more so for those that associate with
persons that seem to be spiritual; for, even though the
beginning seems pure, yet frequent familiarity is very
dangerous; and the more the familiarity increases, the
more the first motive is weakened, and thus purity
is
defiled." 2 He adds, that the devil knows well how to
conceal the danger. In the beginning he sends, not
poisoned darts, but only those that inflict slight wounds,
and kindle an affection; but in a short time the persons
begin to act towards each other not like angels, as in
the beginning, but like beings clothed with flesh. The
looks are not immodest, but they are frequent and re
ciprocal; their words appear to be spiritual, but are too
affectionate. Each begins frequently to desire the com
pany of the other. "And thus," concludes the saint,
"a
spiritual devotion is converted into a carnal one."
Sermo brevis et rigidus cum mulieribus est habendus; nee tamen,
quia sanctiores fuerint, ideo minus cavendse; quo enim sanctiores
fuerint, eo magis De Modo alliciunt."
confit.
2
"Licet carnalis affectio sit omnibus periculosa, etiam tamen perniciosa
est magis, quando conversantur cum persona qua spiritualis
videtur; nam, quamvis eorum principium videatur esse purum, frequens
tamen familiaritas domesticum est periculum; quae quidem
familiaritas quanto plus crescit, tanto plus infirmatur principale motivum,
et puritas maculatur."
"Sicque spiritualis devotio convertitur in carnalem." De Profectzt
Rel. 1. 2, c. 27.