5*20 DEVOTION TO THE HEART Ot JESUS* 



have acted better if he had pointed the adoration to 

 the divine perfon directly. Doubtlefs he intended to 

 leave open to his favourites a loop to creep in at, and 

 to throw dull in the eyes of their adverfaries by the 

 ambiguous exprellion, which gives a glofs to this new 

 ipecies of worfhip. % 



This deceitful varnifh, which impofed from the 

 very firft, on the rulers of the church, when they con- 

 nived at the reception of the idolatrous fervice, conti- 

 nues to miflead at this very day, the generality of 

 them to put no flop to its progrefs. The example of 

 the Tufcan biihops, particularly the celebrated Sci- 

 pione Ricci, has found but few followers ; though x 

 there are many church -governours w-liofe influence and 

 authority fets them far above the fevere perfecutions to 

 which he was expofed. 



Thefe very perfecutions fhew as clear as the day how 

 much the Loyolites flill have it at heart, even after the 

 diffolution of their fociety, to keep up the fpirit of 

 this devotion. On the railing of Ricci to the epifco-^ 

 pal chair of Pifloia, they ftrove to beguile him into a 

 tacit confirmation of it, by as artful a ftratagem as 

 could well be devifed. He was requelted to confecrate 

 a fteeple-bell, on which were engraved the words : In 

 lionorem SS. Cordis Jefu. On his afking, to whom it 

 was to be hallowed ? a paper was prefented to him con- 

 taining the words, In honorem Domini noftri Jefu 

 Chrifti, accompanied with an affurance that this was 

 the infcription on the bell. But, on his cauling the 

 flowers and foliage with which the infcription was co- 

 vered to be taken away, he found that the bell was 

 fallowed to the heart of Jefus. He had the words 



erafed^ 



