Excerpt from The Directorium Asceticum, Vol. 3 of 4: Or, Guide to the Spiritual Life
I. In order to attain to Christian perfection, the means which we have already pointed out in the preceding Section are not sufficient. To remove the obstacles in the way to so high an end, it is further necessary to supply the proximate dispositions for this work. In acquiring these supernatural and divine qualities, the same happens as is commonly observed in the generation of earthly substances; in which, over and above the removal of obstacles, it is necessary that certain qualities should be introduced which directly dispose the subject for the production of the new substance. Thus, if you wish to ignite a log of green wood, it is not enough to expel the humidity, the cold, and all the other opposing qualities; but it is necessary also to introduce an intense heat, to prepare the way for the entrance of the new substance, fire. Now, these proximate dispositions to perfection are the Moral Virtues, which rest upon the Cardinal Virtues, as upon their basis and foundation.
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