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ever in a state of recollection and union with God, as long as thou livest, and as far as may be possible, turn everything that thou mayest see or hear into an occasion for raising thy mind to God, or for taking a glance at eternity. For example, when thou seest running water, reflect that thy life is also in like manner running on, and carrying thee nearer and nearer to death. When thou seest a lamp going out for want of oil, reflect that thus also one day thou wilt have to bring thy life to its end. When thou seest the graves or remains of the dead, consider that thou also hast to become like them. When thou seest the great ones of this world rejoicing in their wealth or distinction, pity their folly, and say, For me God is sufficient: " Some trust in chariots, some in horses, but we in the name of the Lord " (Ps. xix. 8). Let these glory in such vanity; I will make nothing my glory but the grace of God, and the love of Him. When thou beholdest the pompous funerals or the fine sepulchral monuments of great folks who are dead, say: If these are damned, what is the good of this pomp of theirs to them? When thou beholdest the sea in a calm or a storm, consider the difference which there is between a soul when in the grace and when out of the grace of God. When thou seest a tree that is withered, consider that a soul without God is serviceable for nothing but to be cast into fire. If thou ever happen to see one who has been guilty of some great crime, trembling with shame and fright in the presence of his judge, or of his father, or of his bishop, consider what the panic of a sinner will be in the presence of Christ his judge. When it thunders, and thou becomest alarmed, reflect how those miserable ones who are damned tremble, as they hear continually in hell the thunders of the Divine wrath. If thou ever seest one who has been condemned to suffer a painful death, and saying: Is there, then, no longer any means for my