Such tests may help many, but they should be strictly avoided if they lead to introspection and self-analysis, those deadly foes of true devotion; above all, if they lead to self-satisfaction and pride. If the application of these tests produces mental doubt, distress, and scruple, or vain complacency, take it as a distinct warning from God to let them alone, for in souls of this temperament any such testing of self will cause them to fall by the wayside, or else to fix their eyes so earnestly on the road they are treading that they will lose sight of Him Who is at once their Guide and their Goal. "Let us love Him," says one who knew the love of God very deeply, "without striving to inquire too inquisitively what we are doing for love's sake, so long as we know that our aim is to do all things in and through that love."[22] Yes, our safety is to keep the love of God warm in our hearts. If this be done, nothing else matters. If we can say, or even have an earnest, {165} honest desire to say, with the pilgrim in Hilton's parable, "I am naught, I can do naught, I have naught, and naught do I desire to have, but only Jesus and His love,"[23] this will be the highest test of our spiritual progress; and this love of God increases most when not held down by formal tests and methods. Says St. Bernard, "_Modus diligendi Deum, est diligere sine modo_"; which saying Augustine Baker beautifully paraphrases: "The measure and manner of loving God is to love Him immeasurably and freely, without a prescribed manner."[24] [1] _Spirit of St. Francis de Sales_, chap. xii. [2] Gaume, _Manual for Confessors_ (Pusey Translation), p. 179. [3] Gury, _Compend. Theol. Moral._, II, pp. 278-279. [4] St. Francis de Sales, _Spiritual Letters_, cxiv. [5] Ps. xliii, 5-6. [6] St. Francis de Sales, _Letters to Persons in Religion_, p. 141 (Mackey Trans.). This same Saint warns us against discouragement that enters under the guise of humility. Speaking of the virtue of self-mistrust he says: "Your mistrust of self is good, so long as it is the groundwork of confidence in God; but if it ever should lead you to being discouraged, disturbed, vexed, or melancholy, then I entreat you, reject it as the greatest possible temptation, and do not allow your mind to argue or dally with the anxiety or depression to which you are disposed. It is a simple and certain truth that God permits those who seek to serve Him to encounter many difficulties, but also that He never leaves them to sink under the burthen so long as they trust in Him. The great thing you must heed is never to let your mind argue in favour of the temptation to be discouraged, under any pretext whatever, not even under the plausible pretext of humility."--_Spiritual Letters_, cii (Lear Edition). [7] Ezek. xviii, 4. [8] 1 Cor. xii, 26. [9] Gen. iv, 9. [10] For conditions under which doubtful sins should be mentioned in confession, see Lehmkuhl, II, 317.