The work which F. Guy's industry has made accessible to the public, is entitled to a high place in the literature of the ascetic life. Yet it is difficult to know in what class to put F. Hilton's "Scale of Perfection." It certainly does not come within the range of the subtle mysticism and deep vision of S. Theresa, nor within the compass of the scientific and soaring speculations of S. John of the Cross. The allegorical yet severe treatment of Richard of S. Victor, and his firm grasp of the various stages of contemplation; the less rich imagination of Hugh, castigated by a powerful reasoning faculty; the illuminated piety of S. Anselm; and the splendid treatise on " Humility" of the mellifluous S. Bernard, belong to a more refined and elevated range of thought. Nor can we name it with the pure style and divine simplicity of S. Catherine of Sienna, or with the more vehement writings of S. Bridget. It does not possess the fulness or the logical pressure of Rodriguez, nor the clearness in conception and statement of principle of Lallemant. It can hardly be ranked with Père Grou, it is less spiritual and subtle than F. Baker-perhaps it may take a place between "The Hidden Ways of Divine Love," by Barbanson, and "The Confessions of a Loving Soul," by Gertrude More.

It seems to have been written for a holy nun, and to have flowed spontaneously, though not with the persuasive words of human wisdom, from the loving heart of the pious author. His great charm is his singleness of purpose, his unaffected simplicity, and his tender love for Christ, which burn forth brightly whenever he comes near Him in his writing, and give a warmth and an elevation, and at times an eloquence, to his words, which never manifests itself when he treats on any other subject. The book is studded with deep mystic sayings, and with apt, and sometimes quaint, comparisons, some of which lead us to imagine that the author was not altogether unacquainted at one time or other of his life with English rural sports. Though not always clearly stated, the work is rich in fundamental principles of the supernatural life. Had the writer pruned his sentences, stated his fundamental principles more emphatically, and given them a greater prominence, had the outline of the work been easier to seize, it would have gained greatly in precision, and, though it might have lost a little in unction, it would have made a more satisfactory impression on the student of theology. In this the author is decidedly inferior to F. Baker, and does not approach to Lallemant, whose work is full of science, lucidity, and condensed but not confused theology, bearing a fruit which

pleases us better, is riper, sounder, and more wholesome, than any other of the same date with which we have been made acquainted.

To our mind the great merit of F. Hilton is to have given Christ, and His ever-blessed Humanity, so prominent a position in his treatise. If he be not so scientific as some might wish, here at all events he knows how to inflame the heart. He did not merely write about our Lord, but we see, or rather we feel unmistakably, that the man loved Him. When he says in one place, "God knows I am teaching far more than I practise " (p. 117), and in another, "In truth, and without doubt, I myself am far from knowing all I should know upon this point, and further still from practising what I do know" (p. 119), we cannot help the feeling how all the while his tender heart was burning with the love of God.

The fundamental points of his teaching, as far as we are able to understand them, are as follows:-The foundation of the spiritual life consists in "humility, firm faith, and an entire and strong will and purpose;" or, as he more clearly states it elsewhere, "There is not any virtue, nor any good work, that can make thee like our Lord, without humility and charity" (p. 84); and here he agrees with all mystic writers. He explains himself very clearly in that beautiful comparison of a man travelling to Jerusalem, whose only thought is "I am nothing, I have nothing (humility), I covet nothing but One, and that is Jesus" (love). Now, in the soul there is the "image of sin." This image of sin must give place to the "image of Jesus." "Out of the image of Jesus, if it be reformed in thee with the beams of spiritual light, will spring forth and ascend up towards heaven burning desires, pure affections, wise thoughts, and all virtue in full comeliness" (p. 86; see also pp. 89, 110). Christ is to destroy the image of sin. "Who is to help thee to break down this image? Verily, it is the Lord Jesus" (p. 137; also pp. 141, 142, 203), according to the Apostle, "My little children, of whom I am in labour again, until Christ be formed in you "* (p. 145). How is this accomplished? We are to be "shapened to the image of Jesus by humility and charity" (p. 145). It is through Christ we arrive at the Father. "No man can come to the contemplation of the Godhead but he that is first of all reformed by perfection in humility and charity, to the likeness of Jesus in His Humanity " (p. 146). Again, "No man cometh to the Father but by Me." Under what aspect is

*Gal. iv. 19,

Christ principally to be looked upon in this reformation? "The Passion is the groundwork of all reformation" (p. 155). In fact," as the soul is the life of the body, just so is Jesus the life of the soul by His gracious presence "* (p. 309). It is through the contemplation of the Humanity of Christ that the soul is led to a higher stage of contemplation in perceiving along with it the Divinity of our Lord. There are three stages of the spiritual life, which are compared to a man blind, a man with his eyes shut, and a man with his eyes open. The blind man does not see the sun, but believes in it: this sufficeth for salvation." The man with shut lids "seeth through the lids of the eyes a glimmering of great light he is a true contemplative." The man that has full sight of the sun sees Jesus face to face in the bliss of heaven" (p. 263). Of the gift of love the author treats fully in Chap. vi., p. 278. These, humility and charity, are the two corner-stones of the spiritual fabric of F. Hilton.

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We will now illustrate what we said about the position he gives our Lord. "Be thou turned wholly to our Lord Jesus Christ" (p. 1). "To the perfection of this high contemplation no man can come till he be first reformed in the soul to the likeness of Jesus" (p. 12). "This knitting or fastening of Jesus to a man's soul is wrought by a good will, and a great desire towards Him, that is towards having Him alone, and seeing Him in His bliss spiritually" (p. 17). "Remember this, that until thy heart be well cleansed by constant and diligent meditation on Christ's sacred Humanity, thou canst not have any perfect knowledge of God" (p. 21). "Christ is a spirit before our face" (p. 23). "Through steadfast thinking upon the humility of his precious Manhood shalt thou much abate the stirrings of pride" (p. 28). At p. 28 S. Gregory is quoted: "He that cannot perfectly despise himself hath never yet discovered the humble wisdom of our Lord Jesus Christ." "Thou mayest by devoutly and constantly beholding the humility of His sacred Humanity, feel the goodness and grace of His Godhead" (p. 38). Meditating on the Passion is "opening the spiritual eye upon the Humanity of Christ: and it may be called the carnal love of God, as S. Bernard saith, inasmuch as it is set upon the fleshly nature of Christ and it is right and good and a great help towards the destruction of great sins, and so to the contemplation of the Godhead" (p. 55). “A man cannot come to the spiritual light in the contemplation of Christ's Godhead unless he be first exercised in his imagina

* S. Austin says, "Deus tuus tibi vitæ vita est" (Confess. x. 6). VOL. XIII.-NO. XXVI. [New Series.]

tion with bitterness and compassion, and in steadfast thought upon His Humanity" (p. 56). "The name of Jesus is nothing else but spiritual health" (p. 73). "Follow Him by contemplating His Humanity and Divinity" (p. 67). "Jesus is a treasure hid in the soul" (p. 83). See how beautifully he speaks of Christ's tenderness with Judas (p. 112), and how well he explains (p. 114) how we live in and for God. "They are in a special manner His own children who bear the full shape and likeness of His Son Jesus" (p. 242).

The remarks of Hilton on humility are so deep, his sayings, some of them, are so full of wisdom, and his examples so well worth remembering, that we will touch on all three of these points.

Humility."The feeling of thy lowliness and humility will pour out of thy heart all imprudent looking into other men's actions, and drive thee wholly to behold thyself, as if there were no other being living but God and thyself” (p. 24). The higher he may climb by bodily penance and other virtues, if he hath not this humility, the lower will he fall" (p. 28). "Him that is poor, and little, and of contrite spirit, and that trembleth at my words" (God will respect). "If therefore thou wilt have the spirit of God ruling in thy heart, have humility and reverence towards Him" (p. 32). "Men get wrong by a secret pride and an overweening idea of themselves" (pp. 41, 99). "Who can dare to be so bold as to say that he hath Christ, that he hath charity, but he alone who is perfectly and truly humble?" (p. 108). "No purity or chastity without it" (p. 123). "What is humility but truth? Verily nothing else" (p. 215).

Sayings." When thou art in darkness, thou art much nearer Jerusalem than when thou art in the midst of false light" (p. 227). He who really loves self "pretends to love God, and sometimes thanketh Him with his mouth, and sometimes he wringeth out a tear from his eye, and so thinketh that everything is safe enough" (p. 100). "He that remaineth in deadly sin cannot well withstand carnal pleasures when they come in his way, but descendeth willingly to them, as a bird of prey doth to carrion (p. 120). "If thou wilt needs be a beggar, ask and crave within of thy Lord Jesus, for He is rich enough, and will more gladly give to thee than thou canst ask " (p. 130). "Where our love is, there is the eye of our soul" (p. 140). "A venial sin of thy own prevents thee more from feeling and perfectly loving Jesus Christ than other men's sins can do, be they ever so great" (p. 24). "If thou wilt find rest here and in heaven, do thou in accordance with the advice of one of the holy fathers: every day ask

"Hypo

thyself, 'Who am I?' and judge no man" (p. 25). crites praise and thank God with their lips, but in their hearts, like thieves, they steal His worship and praise, and direct it towards themselves" (p. 29). "He that cometh home to his house and findeth nothing but dirt, and smoke, and a scolding wife, will quickly run out of it" (p. 88). "Truth will not show itself to enemies, but to friends who love it and desire it with an humble heart" (p. 318). "Humility presumeth on truth, and not at all upon itself, and truth esteemeth well humility" (p. 318). Jesus sometimes showeth Himself as an awful Master, and sometimes as a reverend Father, and sometimes as a lovely Spouse" (p. 225). "Truth cannot be seen by a pure soul without great delight" (p. 329). "Love and light go together in a pure soul" (p. 332).

Examples.-A man who has passed through trial to God "hath, as it were, so well gnawed the bitter bark or shell of the nut, that at length he hath broken it and now feeds on the kernel" (p. 20). "Cast all into the mortar of humility, break into pieces and pound it with the pestle of the fear of God, throw the powder of it into the fire of desire, and so offer it up to God" (p. 36). "Desire in prayer, when it is touched by spiritual fire, which is God, continues ever to aspire up towards Him, from Whom the fire that kindled it came (p. 38). "A hound that runneth after the hare, only because he seeth the other hounds run, stayeth and resteth, or turneth home when it is weary; but if it runs because it seeth and is in view of the hare, it will not spare itself, weary though it be, till it hath caught it " (p. 63). So men who follow grace, and do not merely imitate others, persevere. "Jesus sleepeth in thy heart spiritually, as He once did bodily, when He was in the ship with His disciples, and they, from fear of perishing, awakened Him" (p. 83). "He is thy groat, thy piece of money, and all thy inheritance" (p. 82). "As long as Jesus findeth not His image in thee He is far from thee" (p. 84). Heartburnings "show clearly that there is much pride lying hid, as the fox in its den, in the ground of thy heart" (p. 103). "The inferior part [of the soul] is like unto woman, for it should be obedient to the other part of reason, as the woman is subject to the man" (p. 184).

"As no incense can rest upon the censer by reason of the fire within, even so no fleshly delights can rest upon a pure soul that is enveloped and warmed with the fire of love, as it glows and teems with its psalms and prayers to Jesus " (p. 313).

We might, of course, make many more extracts, and place them under the three headings above; but this is not neces