Now, what is this world from which we must separate in order to lead
a Christian life? In any society, that we wish to study with a view
to obtain a knowledge of its nature and objects, we may consider
either the laws by which it is governed, or the body of men who
compose it and who are governed by these laws.
Considered from the first point of view, the world consists in its
own maxims, laws, customs and judgments, which are in opposition to
the letter and spirit of the Gospel; and which tend to withdraw the
soul from the love of spiritual things, or at least to create in her
a dislike for them.
Considered from the second point of view, the world comprises a mass
of men who profess its maxims, adopt its usages, obey its laws, and
yield to its judgments.
The world thus considered entails a twofold obligation for you, one
of which can never admit of any exception or dispensation, while the
observance of the other must be always regulated by prudence and
charity. Indeed the world, considered in its maxims, should be for
you an object of constant aversion and contempt, because it is the
arch enemy of Jesus Christ and of the spirit that He communicates to
His true disciples.
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