And it says, "He will go before you," but it does not say, "He will be
with you," to make us understand that in our contemplation God always
goes before. Nor is it ever possible to us to attain to Him here, to
Him, our Supreme Bliss. And it says, "There shall ye see Him, as He
said unto you;" that is to say, there you will receive of His
Sweetness, that is, of the Happiness as it is promised to you here, as
it is established that you may receive it.
And thus it appears that our Beatitude, this Happiness of which we
speak, first we are able to find imperfect in the Active Life, that
is, in the operations of the Moral Virtues, and then almost perfect in
the operations of the Intellectual Virtues; which two operations are
speedy and most direct ways to lead to the Supreme Bliss, which it is
not possible to have here below, even as appears by that which has
been said.
CHAPTER XXIII.
Since the definition of Nobility is sufficiently demonstrated, and
since in all its parts it has been made as explicit as possible, so
that we can now see who is the Nobleman, it seems right to proceed to
the part of the text which begins, "Souls whom this Grace adorns," in
whom appear the signs by which it is possible to know the Noble Man.
This part is divided into two. In the first it affirms that this
Nobility is resplendent, and that it shines forth manifestly during
the whole life of the Noble Man; in the second it appears specifically
in its glory, and this second part begins, "In Childhood they obey."
With regard to the first part, it is to be known that this Divine
seed, which has been previously spoken of, germinates immediately in
our Soul, combining with and changing its form with each form of the
Soul, according to the exigency of that power. It germinates, then, as
the Vegetative, as the Sensitive, and as the Rational, and it branches
out through the virtues or powers of all of them, guiding all those to
their perfection, and sustaining itself in them always, even to the
point when, with that part of our Soul which never dies, it returns to
the highest and the most glorious Sower of the seed in Heaven; and it
expresses this in that first part which has been mentioned. Then when
it says, "In Childhood they obey, Are gentle, modest," it shows how we
can recognize the Noble Man by the apparent signs, which are the
Divine operation of this goodness. And this part is divided into four,
as it is made to represent four different ages, such as Adolescence,
Youth, Old Age, and Extreme Old Age. The second part begins, "Are
temperate in Youth;" the third begins, "Are prudent in their Age;" the
fourth begins, "The fourth part of their life." Herein is contained
the purpose of this part in general, with regard to which it is
desirable to know that each effect, inasmuch as it is an effect,
receives the likeness of its cause in proportion as it is capable of
retaining it.