第43章

"Don't you See?" returned he."It is because men may truly divine by the aid of the devil, whereas astrology is a mere sham.""But, sir, should the devil happen not to tell the truth (and he is not much more to be trusted than astrology), the magician must, Ishould think, for the same reason, be obliged to make restitution?""Not always," replied the monk: "Distinguo, as Sanchez says, here.

If the magician be ignorant of the diabolic art- si sit artis diabolicae ignarus- he is bound to restore: but if he is an expert sorcerer, and has done all in his power to arrive at the truth, the obligation ceases; for the industry of such a magician may be estimated at a certain sum of money.'""There is some sense in that," I said; "for this is an excellent plan to induce sorcerers to aim at proficiency in their art, in the hope of making an honest livelihood, as you would say, by faithfully serving the public.""You are making a jest of it, I suspect," said the father: "that is very wrong.If you were to talk in that way in places where you were not known, some people might take it amiss and charge you with turning sacred subjects into ridicule.""That, father, is a charge from which I could very easily vindicate myself; for certain I am that whoever will be at the trouble to examine the true meaning of my words will find my object to be precisely the reverse; and perhaps, sir, before our conversations are ended, I may find an opportunity of making this very amply apparent.""Ho, ho," cried the monk, "there is no laughing in your head now.""I confess," said I, "that the suspicion that I intended to laugh at things sacred would be as painful for me to incur as it would be unjust in any to entertain it.""I did not say it in earnest," returned the father; "but let us speak more seriously.""I am quite disposed to do so, if you prefer it; that depends upon you, father.But I must say, that I have been astonished to see your friends carrying their attentions to all sorts and conditions of men so far as even to regulate the legitimate gains of sorcerers.""One cannot write for too many people," said the monk, "nor be too minute in particularising cases, nor repeat the same things too often in different books.You may be convinced of this by the following anecdote, which is related by one of the gravest of our fathers, as you may well suppose, seeing he is our present Provincial-the reverend Father Cellot: 'We know a person,' says he, 'who was carrying a large sum of money' in his pocket to restore it, in obedience to the orders of his confessor, and who, stepping into a bookseller's shop by the way, inquired if there was anything new?-numquid novi?- when the bookseller showed him a book on moral theology, recently published; and turning over the leaves carelessly, and without reflection, he lighted upon a passage describing his own case, and saw that he was under no obligation to make restitution: upon which, relieved from the burden of his scruples, he returned home with a purse no less heavy, and a heart much lighter, than when he left it- abjecta scrupuli sarcina, retento auri pondere, levior domum repetiit.'

"Say, after hearing that, if it is useful or not to know our maxims? Will you laugh at them now? or rather, are you not prepared to join with Father Cellot in the pious reflection which he makes on the blessedness of that incident? 'Accidents of that kind,' he remarks, 'are, with God, the effect of his providence; with the guardian angel, the effect of his good guidance; with the individuals to whom they happen, the effect of their predestination.

From all eternity, God decided that the golden chain of their salvation should depend on such and such an author, and not upon a hundred others who say the same thing, because they never happen to meet with them.Had that man not written, this man would not have been saved.All, therefore, who find fault with the multitude of our authors, we would beseech, in the bowels of Jesus Christ, to beware of envying others those books which the eternal election of God and the blood of Jesus Christ have purchased for them!' Such are the eloquent terms in which this learned man proves successfully the proposition which he had advanced, namely, 'How useful it must be to have a great many writers on moral theology- quam utile sit de theologia morali multos scribere!'""Father," said I, "I shall defer giving you my opinion of that passage to another opportunity; in the meantime, I shall only say that as your maxims are so useful, and as it is so important to publish them, you ought to continue to give me further instruction in them.

For I can assure you that the person to whom I send them shows my letters to a great many people.Not that we intend to avail ourselves of them in our own case; but, indeed, we think it will be useful for the world to be informed about them.""Very well," rejoined the monk, "you see I do not conceal them;and, in continuation, I am ready to furnish you, at our next interview, with an account of the comforts and indulgences which our fathers allow, with the view of rendering salvation easy, and devotion agreeable; so that, in addition to what you have hitherto learned as to particular conditions of men, you may learn what applies in general to all classes, and thus you will have gone through a complete course of instruction." So saying, the monk took his leave of me.Iam, &c.

P.S.I have always forgot to tell you that there are different editions of Escobar.Should you think of purchasing him, I would advise you to choose the Lyons edition, having on the title page the device of a lamb lying on a book sealed with seven seals; or the Brussels edition of 1651.Both of these are better and larger than the previous editions published at Lyons in the years 1644 and 1646.