correction for idleness or fleshly freedom, they say with anger that they are being pressed by Satan, saying, “Here he is opposing the spiritual life.” Therefore, the devil deceitfully accommodates such people in their hearts with the good words “spiritual life.” But he covers up whatever insincerity lurks beneath that life with that virtuous goodness. He does not establish idleness in those people’s hearts, but “spiritual repose,” and does not establish his will in their hearts, but “lordship.” Who discovers the face of his garment in such honorable and salvific things, when he clothes himself and blinds people so that they are enamored with those good things, observing them without a pure and whole heart for God and without the certainty of a good conscience?
God’s words, counsel, confessions, discourses of spiritual things, and diligent inquiries about good things are also virtuous clothing. The devil can clothe himself in anything. He has destroyed many virgins, widows, wives, priests, preachers, and other devout people–who were of golden splendid lives–with adultery, fleshly loves, greed, and stinginess. The devil stamped them down like mud under his feet by such falsehood so that others then rubbed their feet on them as on street mud, causing difficult wounds in them. Even though God’s word, counsel, and discourses about good and spiritual things are very necessary, people will get used to them as habit when they speak of them often, and although they speak about goodness, fleshly love will not hesitate to grow up among them. A woman is always attentive to feed a preacher and cater to him for his work. Seeing her good will toward him, he also starts to advise and instruct her diligently about spiritual things. And when they are looking at each other being good and conscientious, a man’s heart cannot abandon the law of Adam but starts to be enamored with a woman–at first for good works. Consequently, he does not understand himself or why that woman will be dear to him, merely because he does not perceive within himself that he will have a desire for her. Because of that, he will want to speak about and praise her for being a noble, wise, devout, and virtuous young lady or widow, and will go there more frequently and without shame. They will keep company with each other and speak of spiritual things like this until they are wound up so tightly with love that they will then only go to church to see each other and talk a lot together under the guise of confession or another necessity. And because of that they will soon fall into adultery.
The devil’s great cunning–and our peril–is evident in that, because he is clothed with a good thing, he can bring about very evil things in disguise. And that is all due to our great imprudence, because we look at that which is good in and of itself instead of at its conclusion. We immediately grasp at outward appearance, not considering the end it leads to and what peril there is with it. The devil does not sleep, but makes clothing for himself out of our goodness, approaches us, and engages us in his wickedness, getting close to us in this way since he could not first get close so plainly and boldly. Spiritual people would not permit him to come and simply hand them fornication. But he clothes himself in something spiritual, piles it on for several years, and introduces it gradually and at a distance. He uses this kind of cunning, hiding his movements beneath other things, introducing some affection between two people and working with them for a long time until they fall in love, and then, following those affections, into fornication. The devil clothes himself in scriptures, too, and deceives many. I say he clothes himself in scriptures since, although they are faithful and true, they evidently do not lead a person to virtues in the restraint of the flesh. Instead, they set up virtuous things and those to which the flesh is inclined, such as some offices and walks of life or the licentious use of some things. Even scripture can serve the devil’s purposes when he sees that a person is weak and can be seduced by a misinterpretation of scripture. He also leads many such people into marriage because they take license for themselves from scripture, saying that they should marry and that it is a holy status. The devil is glad to see that they call it holy, because
11
