the time of the incarnation of the Divine Word, without the soul's being united to the same body; which he meant to serve for an explanation of some of his propositions." He said moreover, that, " with regard to the text wherein Solomon speaks of the woman of fortitude, some authors apply it to our Lady, and others to the Church; but that he applied it to St. Anne, because it was revealed to him, and because he was told at the same time, that the aforesaid saint prayed for the angelic choirs; and often was transported with amorous impetuosities of zeal on contemplating the infinite goodness of God and his merit; and looked upon all the glory given him by those holy spirits as far too little; That, nevertheless, if he offended against true faith in any thing, he submitted to the inquisition; that is to say, added he, only outwardly, till some reason should be given him to induce him to retract, which might appear to him better than those he had received ab alto, at the time when the Revelations of St. John were explained to him so as to give him a clearer perception of those divine mysteries, than any contained in the commentators of the aforesaid Revelations." And the whole he concluded with saying, that "he was not obliged to declare the secrets of his heart, because the Church takes no cognisance de internis ;'* nor could it oblige him to say, whether he had composed his work for the sake of human applause, or for any other end."

He declared likewise, that "the proposition or tenet, whereby he advanced, that souls who have attained to the state of passive or sublime contemplation are forsaken of the devils, and thenceforward tempted by angels and saints, was nowise against faith: For that it is evident from Scripture itself, and in particular from these words of the Holy Ghost:-' Tentat vos Dominus, utrum diligatis eum, an non :'t—and elsewhere,

Of things concealed in the human breast.

The Lord proveth you, that it may appear, whether you love him or not. Deut. xiii. 3.

-Tentabit eos Dominus et probabit eos, et quasi aurum in fornace probabit eos.'* However, if this assertion appeared to be wrong, he was ready to moderate and reform it. And as to the effects which he had already declared to have felt from the motions before mentioned, he owned, that at first they had given him great concern, as they appeared to him to proceed from the devil; but that he had been assured ab alto, that he had committed no sin; but on the contrary, as they were pure natural effects of the agitation itself, in which he had no share, he had therein merited full as much as in the act of mental prayer." However, he was told, that the texts by him alleged were not in the least applicable to the sense he put upon them; for that our Lord God never tries us by such means, though he may at times permit us to be so tempted by the devil, whom it is our obligation to resist: In confirmation whereof he was reminded of the words of St. James in his Catholic Epistle, chapter i." Nemo, cum tentatur, dicat, quoniam a Deo tentatur. Deus enìm intentator malorum est: Ipse enìm neminem tentat: Unusquisque verò tentatur a concupiscientia sua."+

To this he answered, that "the soul there spoken of, is one which starts at every little thing, as at a matter enormously great: And as to the expressions, obscenities, and indecencies in his work, if they did not like them, they might blot them out: But that his revelations were nevertheless like those of many holy souls; and there was no reason why some should be approved and others not: Especially since he the exponent had forsaken father and mother, and fulfilled the commandments of God and his Church, exposing himself to

* The Lord will try them, and will prove them, and even as gold in the furnace he will prove them. See Wisdom iii.

Let no man, when he is tempted, say that he is tempted by God: For God is no tempter of evils: For he tempteth no man. But every one is tempted by his own concupiscence. St. James' Catholic Epistle i 13, 14.

so many seas: Though this he said, as well as the rest of his good works, he published only for the sake of converting sinners; who are not to be moved to a change of life, without having a good opinion of the missioner: And in this he fulfilled the divine commandment left us in these words of the Gospel: Liceat lux vestra coram hominibus; ut videant opera vestra bona, et glorificent Patrem vestrum, qui in cœlis est.'* Which he made use of in answer to these others, that had been objected to him out of St. Luke, chapter xvii.-⚫ Cum feceritis omnia, quæ præcepta sunt vobis, dicite: Servi inutiles sumus: Quod debuimus facere facimus." "+

Again he said, that, "till the time of receiving the revelation he had had, he always imagined, that our B. Lady had conceived in her virginal womb the Divine Word, after being wedded to St. Joseph: But that the contrary was revealed to him Since when he was persuaded, that the incarnation of the Word was previous to her marriage; nor did the words of St. Matthew, chapter i. contradict, but favour his sentiment and new doctrine. Whereupon the words of St. Luke's Gospel, chapter i. were quoted to him: Missus est angelus Gabriel a Deo in civitatem, cui nomen Nazareth, ad virginem desponsatam viro, cui nomen erat Joseph, de domo David, et nomen virginis Maria.' "

But he answered, that "the B. Virgin Mary had indeed conceived after the angelical embassy, but not after the same embassy numero of which St. Luke speaks; for that our Lady had told him the exponent, that before that embassy she had received twenty others." And this the criminal confirmed,

Let your light shine before men, that they may see your good works, and may glorify your Father, who is in heaven. Matt. v. 16.

When ye shall have done all those things, which are commanded you, say, We are unprofitable servants: We have done that which was our duty to do.

Ver. 10.

The angel Gabriel was sent from God unto a city... named Nazareth, to a virgin espoused to a man, whose name was Joseph, of the house of David; and the virgin's name was Mary. Ver. 26, 27.

in his usual way, with swearing and cursing, which there was no prevailing with him to abstain from. And whereas he was admonished not to give credit to new doctrines, but to remember the words of St. Paul to the Hebrews, chapter xiii. -"Doctrinis variis et peregrinis nolite abduci:"* he again replied, that Christ himself had also left us the following words:"Multa habeo vobis dicere quæ non potestis portare modò."+

He advanced morcover, that "the blessed Virgin Mary remained in Jerusalem when Christ our divine Lord left her company, and was afterwards found in the temple." And the words of the Evangelist St. Luket in the second chapter of his Gospel being recited to him: he said, that "the word Jerusalem meant the city and its out-skirts, as the word Lisbon comprehends the whole circumference of its neighbourhood, and that the Evangelists do not contradict our Lady's living some time at Jerusalem; notwithstanding which the exponent had no objection to their altering any thing in his works which should appear not quite so exact; though at the same time his revelations were in no point contrary to the Gospel: For it was not impossible for Christ to be in the temple with the doctors and at the same time in the house of St. Anne and present at her death: And, as doctors disagree among themselves, he also, as a divine, had a right to vary from the rest, and interpret Scripture-passages his own way."

Seeing therefore that all the endeavours which had been made use of to bring the criminal to a sense of repentance were

*Be not carried away by divers and strange doctrines. Ver. 9.

now.

I have yet many things to say unto you, but ye cannot bear them
John xvi. 12.

His parents... when he was twelve years old...went up to Jerusalem ... and when they had fulfilled the days, as they returned, the child Jesus tarried behind in Jerusalem; and Joseph and his mother knew not of it. But they supposing him to be in the company, went a day's journey; and they sought him amongst their kindred and acquaintance. And when they found him not, they turned back to Jeruzalem. Ver. 41 to 45.

utterly ineffectual, and that on the contrary he grew more and more hardened in his exorbitant arrogance; he was severely reprimanded for the enormous conceit he entertained of himself with respect to his imaginary virtue, knowledge, and mighty learning, and put in mind of those words of the Proverbs, chapter x.-" Sapientes abscondunt scientiam: Os autèm stulti confusioni proximum est ;"* and finally of these out of St. Jude the Apostle :-" Væ illis, quia in via Cain abierunt et in errore Balaam effusi sunt... Hi sunt... Nubes sine aqua, quæ a ventis circumferuntur... fluctus feri maris, despumantes confusiones," &c.†

To which he answered, that "he also could allege many other texts opposite to these, which were quoted to him. And that it was not reasonable or just that he should suffer himself to be considered as convicted, without saying the same as Christ had said of St. Peter, and likewise what he had said of the Jews, and particularly of the Pharisees. But that there was a time to speak, and a time to keep silence, which God had commanded him to do."

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Some time after, the criminal being again called to the board and heard and admonished, he said, that, "according to his judgment, the revelations he had given account of, were agreeable to the principles of mystic divinity:" Adding that, though they were contrary to the sentiment of Catholics, they were not contrary to the sentiment of the Church ;" and that, before he set about writing the Life of Antichrist, he was of opinion, that there was to be but one; building that opinion of his on the Scriptures and on the common consent of the holy fathers: Who teach us that Elias and Henoch are still living (which some think to be the case also with St. John

*Wise men conceal their knowledge; but the mouth of a fool is near to confusion. Ver. 10. (Vulgate).

† Woe unto them; for they have gone in the way of Cain, and ran greedily after the error of Balaam... These are... Clouds without water, which are carried about of the winds, . . . raging waves of the sea, foaming out their shame. Ver. 11, 12.