Library of the world's best literature, ancient and modern . pressionswhich will not offend a virtue, the love of which I cometo-day to inspire in those who hear me; for the world, whichno longer knows any restraint on this vice, exacts much notwith-standing of us in the language which condemns it. Then he opens upon this sin his clean-sweeping artillery thus: — The vice the deadly consequences of which I am to-day un-dertaking to expose — this vice so universally spread abroad onthe earth, and which is desolating with such fury the heritageof Jesus; this vice of which the Christian religion h
Library of the world's best literature, ancient and modern . pressionswhich will not offend a virtue, the love of which I cometo-day to inspire in those who hear me; for the world, whichno longer knows any restraint on this vice, exacts much notwith-standing of us in the language which condemns it. Then he opens upon this sin his clean-sweeping artillery thus: — The vice the deadly consequences of which I am to-day un-dertaking to expose — this vice so universally spread abroad onthe earth, and which is desolating with such fury the heritageof Jesus; this vice of which the Christian religion had purgedthe world, and which to-day has prevailed on religion itself—ismarked by certain peculiar characteristics, all which I find in thestory of the wanderings of the Prodigal Son. There is never a vice which more separates the sinner fromGod; there is never a vice which, after it has separated him fromGod, leaves him less resource for returning to Him; there isnever a vice which renders the sinner more insupportable to ? t a oo aa 5*o »9 d >O. JEAN BAPTIRTE MASSILLON gy^^ himself; finally, there is not one which renders him more con-temptible in the eyes even of other men. Observe, I pray, allthese characteristics in the story of the sinner of our gospel. The first characteristic of the vice of which we are speaking-is the putting, as it were, an abyss between God and the volup-tuous soul, and the leaving him almost no more hope of prodigal of our gospel went off at first into a very farcountry, which left no longer anything in common between himand his natural father: ^^ He took his journey into a far country. Indeed, in all the other vices, the sinner seems still to holdupon God by some feeble ties. There are some vices which respectat least the sacredness of the body, and do not strengthen itsinordinate inclinations; there are others which do not spread sodeep darkness on the mind, and leave at least some use of thelight of reason; finally, there are
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