Arise, my
love, and come. Catch us the little foxes that destroy the vines, for
our vineyard hath flourished." (Cant. ch. ii. 12, 13, 15). The foxes
of which the sacred writer speaks here are those defects which,
although they appear small, still assail the soul with great
virulence, and will leave no virtue intact unless you hasten to
destroy them.
The time for pruning is the time of youth, age truly precious
wherein you can still lop off useless branches which absorb a portion
of the sap, depriving the others of that strength which they need in
order to produce an abundance of savory fruit. You should attack not
only those gross and manifest defects which disfigure the soul, but
also those imperfections which are slight in appearance, but which,
if left alone, will in time become pernicious inclinations. You
should even watch over certain natural dispositions, which, though
good in themselves, and even often esteemed above their true merit by
the world, might easily, on that account, divert the thoughts of the
mind and the efforts of the will from more important objects;
dispositions very often dangerous for those who possess them, because
it is easy to abuse them, and because they flatter and nourish self-love,
or the other passions that flesh is heir to.
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