“Quae, nisi seductis, nequeas committere divis”

     ["Which you can only impart to the gods, when you have gained them
     over.”—­Persius, ii. 4.]

the covetous man prays for the conservation of his vain and superfluous riches; the ambitious for victory and the good conduct of his fortune; the thief calls Him to his assistance, to deliver him from the dangers and difficulties that obstruct his wicked designs, or returns Him thanks for the facility he has met with in cutting a man’s throat; at the door of the house men are going to storm or break into by force of a petard, they fall to prayers for success, their intentions and hopes of cruelty, avarice, and lust.

         “Hoc igitur, quo to Jovis aurem impellere tentas,
          Dic agedum Staio:  ’proh Jupiter!  O bone, clamet,
          Jupiter!’ At sese non clamet Jupiter ipse.”

["This therefore, with which you seek to draw the ear of Jupiter,
say to Staius.  ‘O Jupiter!  O good Jupiter!’ let him cry.  Think
you Jupiter himself would not cry out upon it?”—­Persius, ii. 21.]

Marguerite, Queen of Navarre,—­[In the Heptameron.]—­tells of a young prince, who, though she does not name him, is easily enough by his great qualities to be known, who going upon an amorous assignation to lie with an advocate’s wife of Paris, his way thither being through a church, he never passed that holy place going to or returning from his pious exercise, but he always kneeled down to pray.  Wherein he would employ the divine favour, his soul being full of such virtuous meditations, I leave others to judge, which, nevertheless, she instances for a testimony of singular devotion.  But this is not the only proof we have that women are not very fit to treat of theological affairs.

A true prayer and religious reconciling of ourselves to Almighty God cannot enter into an impure soul, subject at the very time to the dominion of Satan.  He who calls God to his assistance whilst in a course of vice, does as if a cut-purse should call a magistrate to help him, or like those who introduce the name of God to the attestation of a lie.

“Tacito mala vota susurro
Concipimus.”

["We whisper our guilty prayers.”—–­Lucan, v. 104.]

There are few men who durst publish to the world the prayers they make to Almighty God: 

         “Haud cuivis promptum est, murmurque, humilesque susurros
          Tollere de templis, et aperto vivere voto”

["’Tis not convenient for every one to bring the prayers he mutters
out of the temple, and to give his wishes to the public ear. 
—­“Persius, ii. 6.]

and this is the reason why the Pythagoreans would have them always public and heard by every one, to the end they might not prefer indecent or unjust petitions as this man: 

              “Clare quum dixit, Apollo! 
               Labra movet, metuens audiri:  Pulcra Laverna,
               Da mihi fallere, da justum sanctumque videri;
               Noctem peccatis, et fraudibus objice nubem.”