life of john picus earl of mirandola - The Center for Thomas More ...

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Picus’ First Letter to Francis
drawn on length with a continual row and number of words. If thou
love thine health, if thou desire to be sure from the grins 1 of the devil,
from the storms of this world, from the await° of thine enemies; if
thou long to be acceptable to God, if thou covet to be happy at the
last–let no day pass thee but thou once at the leastwise present thyself
to God by prayer, and falling down before Him flat to the ground with
an humble affection of devout mind, not from the extremity of thy
lips 2 but out of the inwardness of thine heart cry these words of the
prophet: Delicta juventutis meae et ignorantias meas ne memineris, sed secundum
misericordiam tuam memento mei propter bonitatem tuam Domine–“The offences
of my youth and mine ignorances remember not, good Lord;
but after Thy mercy, Lord, for Thy goodness remember me.” 3 What
thou shalt in thy prayer ask of God, both the Holy Spirit which prayeth
for us, and eke° thine own necessity, shall every hour put in thy mind;
and also what thou shalt pray for, thou shalt find matter enough in
the reading of holy Scripture, which that thou wouldst now (setting
poets, fables and trifles aside) take ever in thine hand, I heartily pray
thee. Thou mayest do nothing more pleasant to God, nothing more
profitable to thyself, than if thy hand cease not day nor night to turn
and read 4 the volumes of holy Scripture. There lieth privily in them a
certain heavenly strength, quick and effectual, which with a marvellous
power transformeth and changeth the reader’s mind into the love of
God, if they be clean and lowly entreated. But I have passed now the
bounds of a letter, the matter drawing me forth and the great love that
I have had to thee, both ever before and specially since that hour in
which I have had first knowledge of thy most holy purpose.
Now to make an end with this one thing, I warn thee (of which
when we were last together I often talked with thee) that thou never
forget these two things: that both the Son of God died for thee, and
that thou shalt also thyself die shortly, live thou never so long. With
these twain, as with two spurs, that one of fear, that other of love,
spur forth thine horse through the short way of this momentary life,
3 await ambush / 14 eke also
1. grins: Latin laqueis, “snares” (CW 1:346, 347).
2. extremity of thy lips: More’s rendering of summis labris (CW 1:346). Edwards argues, somewhat
subtly, that “‘extremite’ in opposition to ‘inwardness’ means ‘outer point’—not from the outer
point (‘extremite’) of your lips, but out of the inner part (‘inwardness’) of your heart” (CW
1:232).
3. Delicta…me: Psalm 24:7.
4. turn and read: The Latin has versare…versare, “to turn” (CW 1:348).
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No day without prayer
[84]
Reading of holy
Scripture