The Cautions

John of the Cross — nine cautions against the three enemies of the soul

The whole treatise, entire. Its Spanish title is Cautelas; Lewis heads it Instructions and Cautions. The faint marginal notes are the 1864 printer’s, restored to the margin where he set them. — the commentary

p. 307

How to overcome the three spiritual enemies: 1. The World. 2. The Devil. 3. The Flesh.

If any Religious desires to attain in a short time to holy recollection, spiritual silence, detachment, and poverty of spirit—where the peaceful rest of the spirit is enjoyed, and union with God attained; if he desires to be delivered from all the difficulties which created things put in his way, to be defended against all the wiles and illusions of Satan, and to be protected against himself, he must strictly practise the following instructions.

If he will do this, with but ordinary attention, without other efforts or other practices, at the same time carefully observing what his rule prescribes, he will advance rapidly to great perfection, acquire all virtues in succession, and attain unto holy peace.

All the evils to which the soul is subject proceed from three sources: the world, the devil, and the flesh. If we can hide ourselves from these we shall have no combats to fight. The world is less difficult, and the devil more difficult, to understand; but the flesh is the most obstinate of all, and the last to be overcome together with the ‘old man.’ If we do not conquer the three, we shall never conquer one; and if we conquer one, we shall also conquer the others in the same proportion.

p. 308

Three cautions against the world.

In order to escape perfectly from the evils which the world inflicts, there are three cautions to be observed.

First Caution

1. Love all men equally, in and for God. — He most worthy of love who is nearest to God, Who is Love.

The first is, preserve an equal love and an equal forgetfulness of all men whether relatives or not: withdraw your affections from the former as well as from the latter, yea even rather more from the former, on account of the ties of blood, for fear lest the natural affections, which men always feel for their kindred, should thereby revive again. You must mortify this affection if you are to attain unto spiritual perfection. Look upon your kindred as strangers, and you will thereby the more completely discharge the obligations which they impose upon you; for by not withdrawing your heart from God on their account, you will fulfil your duties towards them better by not giving to them those affections which are due unto God.

Do not love one man more than another, for if you do you will fall into error. He whom God loves most is the most worthy of love, and you do not know who he is. But if you labour to forget all men alike—as holy recollection requires you to do—you will escape all error, whether great or small. Do not think about them; have nothing to say about them either good or bad. Avoid them as much as you possibly can. If you do not observe this, as things go, you never will become a good religious, you will never attain to holy recollection, nor will you get rid of your imperfections. If you will indulge yourself here, Satan will in some way or other delude you, or you will delude yourself under the pretence of good or evil.

If you will observe this direction you will be safe; and in no other way will you ever get rid of the imperfections and escape the evils which result to your soul from intercourse with men.

Second Caution

2. Cultivate poverty of spirit and detachment from all temporal goods.

The second caution against the world relates to temporal goods. If you desire in earnest to escape the evils which worldly goods occasion, and restrain your excessive desires, you must hold all personal possession in abhorrence, and cast from you every thought about it. You must not be solicitous about what you eat or drink or wear, or about any created thing whatever: you must not be ‘solicitous for to-morrow,’ but occupy yourself with higher things—with the Kingdom of God, that is, fidelity unto Him—than with all these things which, as He says in the Gospel, ‘shall be added unto you.’1 He who takes care of the beasts of the field will not forget you. If you do this you will attain unto silence, and have peace in your senses.

Third Caution

3. Avoid criticising other members of the religious House. — Example of Lot's wife. — No place so secure but the devil may enter.

The third caution is most necessary, that you may avoid all evil in relation to the other Religious of the Community. Many persons from not heeding this have not only lost their peace of mind, but have also fallen, and fall daily, into great disorders and sin. Be especially careful never to let your mind dwell upon, still less your tongue to speak of, what is passing in the Community, its past or its present state. Do not speak of any Religious in particular, do not discuss his condition or his conversation, or anything that belongs to him, however important, either under the cloak of zeal, or of remedying what seems amiss, except only to him who of right should be spoken to, and then at the fitting time. Never be scandalised or surprised at what you see or hear, and labour to preserve yourself in complete oblivion of all. If you lived among the Angels and gave heed to what was going on, many things would seem to you not to be good, because you do not understand them.

Take warning from the example of Lot's wife who, because she was disturbed at the destruction of Sodom, looked back to behold it. God punished her for this, and she ‘was turned into a pillar of salt.’2 This teaches you that it is the will of God, even if you were living among devils, you should so live as not to turn back in thought to consider what they are doing, but forget them utterly. You are to keep your soul in purity before God, and not to suffer the thought of this or that to disturb you.

Be sure of this, there is no lack of stumbling blocks in religious houses, because there is no lack of devils who are always labouring to throw down the saints. God permits this in order to try them and to prove them, and if you will not take care of yourself by observing this caution, you will never become a true Religious, do what you may, neither will you attain to holy detachment and recollection, or escape the evils I am speaking of. If you live otherwise, in spite of your zeal and good intentions, Satan will lay hold of you in one way or another, and indeed you are already sufficiently in his power, when your soul is allowed such distractions as this. Remember those words of the Apostle, ‘If any man think himself to be religious, not bridling his tongue, this man's religion is vain.’3 This is applicable to the interior, quite as much as to the exterior, tongue—to thoughts as well as words.

p. 310

Three cautions against Satan. — Satan as an angel of light.

Three cautions to be observed in order to be delivered from the devil in Religion. If you wish to escape from Satan in Religion, you must give heed to three things, without which you cannot be in safety from his cunning. In the first place I would have you take this general advice, which you should never forget, namely, that it is the ordinary practice of Satan to deceive those who are going on unto perfection by an appearance of good: he does not tempt them by what seems to be evil. He knows that they will scarcely regard that which they know to be wrong. You must therefore continually distrust that which seems to be good, and especially when obedience does not intervene. The remedy here is to take the advice of him who has authority to give it. This then is the

First Caution

1. Never act unless through holy obedience.

Never set about anything, however good and charitable it may seem, either to yourself or to any other, whether in the Community or out of it, except under obedience, unless you are bound to do it by the rule of your Order. If you do this you will acquire merit, and be in security; you will be safe against yourself and against evil; you will also avoid evils of which you are ignorant, and of which God will require an account one day. If you do not observe this caution in little things as well as in great, notwithstanding your apparent success, Satan will most certainly deceive you little or much. Even if your whole error consist in your not being guided in everything by obedience, you are plainly wrong, because God wills obedience rather than sacrifice,4 and the actions of a Religious are not his own, but those of obedience, and if he withdraws them from the control of obedience, he will have to give account of them as lost.

Second Caution

2. Regard the lawful Superior as holding the place of God.

The second caution is one very necessary, because the devil interferes exceedingly in the matter to which it refers. The observance of it brings great gain and profit, and the neglect of it great loss and ruin. Never look upon your superior, be he who he may, otherwise than if you were looking upon God, in Whose place he stands. Keep a careful watch over yourself in this matter, and do not reflect upon the character, ways, or conversation, or habits of your superior. If you do, you will injure yourself, and you will change your obedience from divine into human, and you will be influenced by what you see in your superior, and not by the Invisible God whom you should obey in him. Your obedience will be in vain, or the more barren the more you are troubled by the untowardness, or the more you are pleased by the favour, of your superior. I tell you that a great many Religious in the way of perfection have been ruined by not looking upon their superiors as they ought to have done; their obedience was almost worthless in the eyes of God, because it was influenced by human considerations. Unless you force yourself therefore to be indifferent as to who your superior may be, so far as your private feelings go, you will never be spiritual, neither will you faithfully observe your vows.

Third Caution

3. Study humility in thought, word, and work.

The third caution directed against Satan is this: strive with all your heart after humility in thought, word, and work, taking more pleasure in others than in yourself, wishing to see them in all things preferred to yourself, and this too with all your power from a sincere heart. In this way you will overcome evil with good, drive the devil away, and have joy in your heart. Labour to do this with respect to those who are less agreeable to you; for be assured, if you do not, you will never have true charity nor make progress in it. Be always more ready to receive instruction than to give it, even to the least of your brethren.

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Three cautions against the flesh.

Three cautions to be observed by those who would conquer themselves, and master the cunning of the flesh.

First Caution

1. Remember a community is a place of trial.

If you wish to be delivered from the uneasiness and imperfections which present themselves before you, in the habits and conversation of the Religious, and profit by what may occur, you must keep in mind that you entered the Community only to be mortified and tried, and that all the inmates of it are there, as in truth is the case, for the express purpose of trying you. Some mortify you by words, others by works, and others by thoughts; in all this you are to submit yourself, unresisting as a statue to the polisher, the painter, and the gilder of it. If you do not, you will never be able to live as you ought with the Religious of your House; you will not have holy peace, nor will you deliver yourself from much evil.

Second Caution

2. Disregard likes and dislikes.

Never omit any practices, if they are such as befit you, because they are disagreeable; neither observe them, on account of the pleasure which results from them, unless they be as necessary as those which are not agreeable. Otherwise you will find it impossible to acquire firmness, and conquer your weakness.

Third Caution

3. Do not seek sweetness in devotions.

In all your spiritual exercises never set your eyes upon the sweetness of them so as to cling to it, but embrace rather that in them which is unpleasant and troublesome. If you do not observe this rule, you will never destroy self love, nor acquire the love of God.