HE who wishes to obtain and preserve these virtues, will adorn,
occupy, and order his soul like a kingdom. Free will is the king of
the soul. It is free by nature, and more free still by grace. It
will be crowned with a crown or diadem named Charity. We shall
receive this crown and this kingdom from the Emperor, who is the
Lord, the sovereign and king of kings, and we shall possess, rule,
and preserve this kingdom in His name. This king, free will, will
dwell in the highest town in the kingdom--that is to say, in the
concupiscent faculty of the soul. He will be adorned and clad with a
robe in two parts. The right side of his robe will be a virtue
called strength, that he may be strong and powerful to overcome all
obstacles and sojourn in the heaven, in the palace of the supreme
Emperor, and to bend with love and ardent self-surrender his crowned
head before the supreme monarch. This is the proper work of charity.
By it we receive the crown, by it we adorn the crown, and by it we
keep and possess the kingdom throughout eternity. The left side of
the robe will be a cardinal virtue, called moral courage. Thanks to
it, free will, the king, will subdue all immorality, will accomplish
all virtue, and will have the power to keep his kingdom even until
death. The king will choose councillors in his country, the wisest
in the land. They will be two divine virtues, knowledge and
discretion, illuminated by divine grace. They will dwell near the
king, in a palace called the reasonable force of the soul. They will
be crowned and adorned with a moral virtue called temperance, that
the king may always act and refrain from acting according to their
advice. By knowledge we shall purge our conscience from all its
faults and adorn it with all virtues; and, thanks to discretion, we
shall give and take, do and not do, speak and be silent, fast and
eat, listen and answer, and act in all ways according to knowledge
and discretion clad in their moral virtue, which is called
temperance or moderation.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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