iron and shedding an abundance of blood. She augmented her vigils so far as to deprive herself of all sleep.
Her enemies refused to retire, — they assumed the appearance of persons who came to pity and advise her: "Why poor little one, will you thus torture yourself and so uselessly ? Why use all these mortifications — do you suppose you can be able to continue them — will you not thus destroy your body and become guilty of suicide? It is better to renounce these follies ere you become their victim, you can yet enjoy the world, you are young and your body would speedily recover its strength. You desire to please God, but there are many among the Saints who were married, as Sarah, Rebecca, Leah and Rachel, why be so imprudent as to select a mode of life in which you cannot persevere." To all these discourses Catherine only opposed prayer, and as to perseverance she simply replied, "I trust in the arm of the Lord, and not in mine." The devils could never obtain more. She gave as a general rule against such temptations, never to dispute with the enemy, for he relies very much on vanquishing us by the subtlety of his reason.
Then Satan laid aside his reasonings and adopted a new method of attack; the devils pursuing her with screams and inviting her to partake of their abominations. In vain did she close her eyes and ears, she could not banish these horrible spectres, and to crown her affliction, her divine Spouse, who had usually come to visit and comfort her, seemed to abandon her without any relief visible or invisible; hence her soul was plunged into a profound melancholy, without however obtaining from her the cessation of her austerities, or her mental prayer, and she gave this following maxim to souls which she conducted, "When the Christian soul perceives her fervor
