CHAPTER XXIV
THE METHOD OF INSTILLING PIETY
1. Piety is the gift of God, and is given us from on high by our counsellor and guide, the Holy Spirit. But, since the Holy Spirit usually employs natural agencies, and has chosen parents, teachers, and ministers who should faithfully plant and water the grafts of Paradise (1 Cor. iii. 6–8), it is right that these should appreciate the extent of their duties.
2. We have already explained what we mean by piety, namely, that (after we have thoroughly grasped the conceptions of faith and of religion) our hearts should learn to seek God everywhere (since He has concealed Himself with His works as with a curtain, and, invisibly present in all visible things, directs all, though unseen), and that when we have found Him we should follow Him, and when we have attained Him should enjoy Him. The first we do through our understanding, the second through our will, and the third through the joy arising from the consciousness of our union with God.
3. We seek God by noticing the signs of His divinity in all things created. We follow God by giving ourselves up completely to His will, both to do and to suffer whatever shall have seemed good to Him. We enjoy God by so acquiescing in His love and favour that nothing in heaven or on earth appears to us more to be desired than God Himself, that nothing appears pleasanter to think of, and
