so that if we lose one of these members we still have one left.
But He has given us only one soul, and if we lose that we have
no other with which to enjoy eternal happiness. Our first care,
therefore, should be to save our soul, which is to share with
the body either eternal happiness or eternal woe. It will avail
no man at this supreme tribunal to urge, "I was dazzled by the
glitter of wealth; I was deceived by the promises of the world."
The inexorable Judge will answer, "I warned you against these.
Did I not say, 'What doth it profit a man if he gain the
whole world, and suffer the loss of his own soul?" (Matt. 16:26)
On the other hand, his thoughts had not yet risen beyond the honors of this world, and they appeared to him the most noble objects which a generous heart could aspire to. Therefore, when Ignatius was associated with him as a companion, the young nobleman seeing him show an equal contempt for esteem and for insults, and clothe himself in so poor and abject a manner, abhorred as the indication of a mean spirit, that which was, in fact, the effect of the most sublime humility.
Thus he began by despising him, and looking upon him with a species of disgust. In vain Ignatius addressed the most salutary exhortations to Xavier, entreating him to commune with himself; bitter raillery or proud disdain were the only answers he obtained. But on the other hand, with that admirable knowledge of the minds of men, with which Ignatius was endowed, he had immediately discerned in Xavier one of those strong souls, from which we must never expect common things, and which, incapable of degrading themselves for any temporal interest, always deviate from the path traced out by the multitude. But when once they lose sight of the earth, and turn their eyes towards eternal things, it is they who soar above all others in their lofty flight.
The greater the distaste which his fellow-countrymen evinced towards him, the more Ignatius endeavored to win his affections, in order that he might afterwards arouse within his heart a desire to serve God. The very ambition of Xavier assisted him in attaining this object; for Ignatius seeing his ardent thirst for distinction in literature and mental labor, sought out pupils and hearers for him, brought them to him himself, and on all occasions showed himself anxious for his glory. The noble soul of Xavier, drawn towards Ignatius by this conduct, he began to regard him in a different light, to consider him as a sincere friend, and gradually to treat him with confidence and familiarity. He knew besides the noble origin of Ignatius, and that he also had formerly been intoxicated with the vain fumes of glory: In a little while, reflecting upon this great change, which the love of God alone had effected, he began to think that it might have proceeded from some other cause than cowardice or meanness of spirit. He who thus considered the world as unworthy of occupying his thoughts, must surely be raised very far above it. Gradually, sanctity began to assume a new aspect in the eyes of the student, and he discovered that the things which are of God open a vast field of contemplation to an elevated mind, and inspire it with thoughts even more generous than his own had hitherto been. Meanwhile, Ignatius never failed to profit by every opportunity which he could find, of making an impression upon Xavier, especially upon those points where he considered himself strongest, but wherein reality his chief weakness lay. Often he would make those words of Our Saviour resound in the ears of the young student; "What shall it profit a man if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? Quid prodest homini, si mundum universum lucretur, animae veri suae detrimentum patiatur?" [What doth it avail a man, if he gain the whole world, and sustain the damage of his own soul?]
"Don Francis," said he, "if we are to expect no other life than this here below, if we are born to die, and not to live eternally, then you triumph and I surrender. You are wise in thinking only of the things of this world, and in endeavoring to obtain all those which are still wanting to you. I am mad in advising you, on the contrary, to renounce all you possess. But if this short life is only a passage leading to another which is immortal, which is endless, then compare them the one with eternity, the other with fleeting time, in order to comprehend by the proportion which you will find between one moment and interminable ages, the importance of making a provision for the one, rather than for the other. You weary yourself in laboring to obtain in this world a felicity which the terrestrial and grovelling ideas that now appear to you noble and generous, represent as true happiness; but do you hope, with all your efforts, ever to succeed in obtaining any thing more precious than Paradise more durable than Eternity? Yet Paradise and Eternity are destined for you! And if you wish to gain them, who can prevent you? When you possess them, who shall deprive you of them? Why then so much labor in order to procure earthly happiness for a soul whose origin is celestial, and transitory enjoyment for a heart capable of loving and possessing God himself, for ever! A blind man leans upon the first object which he meets, because he can see nothing beyond it; but he who can contemplate the firmament, does not fix his eyes upon the ground; and esteeming the earth at its true value, cannot find it worthy of making him forget Heaven, and perilling his soul. Even could this world bestow upon you in one moment its most seducing gifts, and show you as by a flash of lightning all the kingdoms of the world and their glory, could you possess them longer than during the short time you have to live? And were you to live a hundred centuries, would not the last hour of their last day arrive at length? And if you the ephemeral possessor of a middling degree of good, have deprived yourself of God himself for all eternity, shall you have gained in the exchange? Who could enumerate all those who have been rich, powerful, honored? yet their grandeur, their possessions were only lent them, and they fatigued themselves in preserving and increasing that which they were at length obliged to abandon. Did any one of them ever carry away with him a vestige of his riches and power? Had he at least carried away one slave, a single one of his slaves, were it the vilest, the most miserable of them all! Had he preserved but one shred of purple, to show beyond the tomb, that he had been a king when upon earth! But, arrived upon the threshold of eternity, all have looked back, and have beheld the wealth and grandeur which were still theirs, already seeking new masters, whilst they were advancing alone, not to exchange them for new treasures, but to receive the reward of their works! By speaking thus to you, I would not narrow the circle of your thoughts, nor abase their loftiness; I would on the contrary render them vaster, more sublime; for I call those narrow, which, notwithstanding all their vain efforts to extend themselves, can embrace but a short space of time; I call abject, those which remain fixed upon the earth. Should you obtain everything which you now desire, you would neither be happy nor satisfied.
"Oh no! your heart is not so narrow that the whole world can suffice for it; nothing, nothing but God can ever fill it. But in Him you will find all that your soul most ardently desires; then, when you contemplate this world which now dazzles you, and compare its happiness with yours, the first will appear like a drop of water compared with the ocean; like a faint glimmer of light, eclipsed by the appearance of a sun, resplendent in immortal beauty. Francis, you have a solid judgment. I leave you therefore to pronounce yourself which is most advantageous; to say now to all the joys of this world, Quid prodest? what have I to do with you? or to enjoy them at the risk of repeating eternally with the unfortunate victims in hell, these other words; Quid profuit superbia, aut divitiarum, quid contulit nobis?"
Such were the lessons of evangelical philosophy which Ignatius offered to Xavier for his meditation, in order to induce him to partake one day in the holy folly of the Cross, which laughs at the wisdom of the world. And the disciple soon became worthy of his master, for God, who dictated the words of the one, made them penetrate into the heart of the other. The first reflections had troubled him; a usual effect of the combat which arises between nature and grace, between vice and virtue; but a salutary crisis uprooted from his heart every terrestrial and worldly thought which lingered there. Ignatius would have wished him at that time to follow the Exercises, but the duties of his office did not permit this. He therefore replaced them as much as possible by conversations upon the fundamental maxims of salvation, which were a kind of spiritual milk for Xavier, preparing him for the reception of more substantial nourishment. The great word of Ignatius, quid prodest, of which, he had felt all the force, since it was the lever which raised him above the world, afterwards became in his mouth one of the most powerful means for producing upon others the effect which he himself had experienced from it.
In later days, in a letter written from the Indies to Simon Rodriguez, Xavier expresses a great desire that the zeal of John III. for the propagation of the Faith in the East, should be excited by the frequent repetition of these few words: quid prodest, &c. "If I could believe," said he, "that the king would not repulse my humble and faithful counsels, I would entreat him to meditate daily, were it but for a quarter of an hour, on that divine sentence, praying to God that he would grant him grace to understand its full meaning and interior sentiment. I would that he terminated all his prayers by these words. It is time to labor to draw him out of error, for the hour approaches more nearly than he believes, when the King of Kings will demand of him an account of his administration. Radde rationem villicationis tua. Occupy yourself therefore in endeavoring to induce him to send the assistance necessary for the conversion of the infidels!"
History of the Life and Institute of St. Ignatius de Loyola by Daniello Bartoli
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