feel was one of Thy most cruel and insupportable torments.'

"I finish this writing, to the praise and glory of my Jesus, this Friday, the 12th of September of the year 1488.

"What I am now about to write was revealed to me one day that I was meditating on the sorrowful agony of my divine Master. When the sun is in the sign of Leo, its heat is greater than at any other time of the year, because it has entered on its own proper domain. In like manner, when Jesus prayed in the Garden of Olives, His mental sorrows became more intense than they had been during all His previous life, because He had then arrived at the most elevated point of His suffering love. The sign of the Lion was, then, for this glorious Sun, the culminating point of His agony.

"It was shown me, in the revelation of which I speak, that there is the same difference between a soul which meditates on the mental sorrows of Jesus, and another which stops at the crucifixion of His sacred Humanity, as between honey or balsam enclosed in a vessel, and that which exudes from it exteriorly. He, then, who wishes to nourish himself on the Passion of the Saviour, should not confine himself to simply tasting the edge of the vessel; by which I mean His admirable Wounds, and the Blood which flowed from His most holy Body; for in this way he will never appease the hunger which devours him. Let him enter into the vessel itself, that is to say, into the Sacred Heart, and he will find there more than enough to satisfy him.

"I would not insert this revelation in my manuscript, for fear of injuring the devotion of those who stop at the contemplation of His Humanity, and find

there sufficient nourishment. It is not for every one to sail on this sea, especially for women, since our capacity is limited. Nevertheless God gives the power to all who ask it of Him in truth.

"O my father! you cannot tell what I have suffered in writing these things. Verily as the sea is my con

trition."

[It appears that this postscript was added by the Blessed Battista three years later, in 1491, when she copied out the original document, in order to send it, with a narrative of her life, to her spiritual director.]

It is truly admirable to see the length to which the zeal of this blessed soul went for the honour of God. Her desire to promote His glory was as great as her horror of everything that could possibly diminish it. Thus, for example, her humility persuaded her that she was the most wicked and ungrateful of creatures, and she regarded the graces and favours which God granted her as misplaced in her heart, which she conceived to be the vilest place in the world; and from this conviction she believed herself obliged to hide them with the greatest care. She would often devise some excuse or other to withdraw from the spiritual *This supplement is a collection from different letters of this servant of God to a priest whose name is unknown, and who was, probably, one of her confessors. It appears that Father Pascucci only edited this collection, changing the order, the better to exhibit each of the virtues of the Saint. The reader must not forget, that it is she who speaks in the third person, to conceal herself as much as possible.

reading made in common, fearing lest something might escape her which would make those present imagine she had received some favour from God. For the same reason she warned the reader not to go on reading about the Passion while the sisters were at meals, for that they could not eat comfortably when listening to that history of love. She did this lest any one should observe her own conduct during the reading, or take note of any outward sign she might then give of her feelings. She also came seldom to the refectory, principally for the same reason.

I disclose these things to you, my son and my father in Jesus Christ, that you may learn from this soul to hide the graces and the spirit which God gives you, until it pleases Him to command you to do otherwise. Oh, how happy is the soul who desires no other witness of her spiritual operations than her Creator. You cannot imagine how many difficulties this thy mother had to overcome for this reason; how many attacks, presumptuous judgments, rash and false testimonies to bear. How often has it happened to her to be reproved aud humbled before her sisters and brothers, for things worthy of praise in the eyes of God and man; but in the midst of these tempests she remained firm, constant, and immovable in her resolutions, with the sure confidence that her faithful Spouse would take sword in hand on her behalf, and when the fitting time came would justify her, after her faith and patience had been sufficiently tried. This soul, on her part, manifested much uprightness of heart, seeking to please God alone, heeding not the judgments of men, and caring little to find herself covered with confusion, provided she could save the honour of her Master. Be careful, my son, never to rob God of any

thing; I would not have you attached to anything here below. If your heart retained the slightest earthly affection, it would be a disgrace to your spiritual mother, and to yourself a much greater injury. Show yourself, on the contrary, faithful in all things. Fear, love, honour God. Whatsoever the Lord pleased, He has done in heaven, in earth, in the sea, and in all the deeps.

This devout soul, in her profound humility, besought God with all her heart to transfer the graces and favours with which He loaded her, to some one else more worthy of pleasing Him, and more capable of honouring Him for His benefits. She could not, indeed, persuade herself that there was another creature in the world more unworthy of His heavenly favours. Nothing would have consoled her more than to obtain this, because she sought the honour of God more than her own interest. It is to a soul such as this, if I mistake not, that the words of Christ apply-"Well done, good and faithful servant, because thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will place thee over many things; enter thou into the joy of thy Lord." such a soul as this, it is said in the Apocalypse, "Be faithful unto death, and I will give thee a crown of life." It is not enough to be faithful during ten or twenty years, it is necessary to be so unto death. He is a truly faithful servant, who, in dying, remits intact to his Lord the deposit confided to him. Be careful, my son, never to steal what belongs to God, else He will cause you to be hung by the neck, not caring that you are a priest and a doctor, in no way inferior to others who hold those dignities. Of such persons is it said, "Serve ye the Lord with fear; and rejoice unto Him with trembling."

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