Tit. 1. Cases about Loving and Doing Good to Enemies

Quest. I. Whom must I account an enemy, and love under that name?

Answ. 1. Not every one that is angry with you, or that giveth you foul words, or that undervalueth you, or that speaketh against you, or that doth you wrong; but he that hateth you, and seeketh or desireth your destruction or your hurt as such designedly. 2. And no man must be taken for such, that doth not manifest it, or by whom you cannot prove it. 3. But if you have reasonable suspicion you may carry yourself the more warily for your own preservation, lest he should prove your enemy, and his designs should take you unprovided.

Quest. II. With what kind of love must an enemy be loved, and on what accounts?

Answ. Primarily with a love of complacence, for all the good which is in him, natural or moral: he must be loved as man for the goodness of his nature; and his understanding and virtues must be acknowledged as freely, and loved as fully, as if he were no enemy of ours: enmity must not blind and pervert our judgment of him, and hinder us from discerning all that is amiable in him; nor must it corrupt our affections, and hinder us from loving it and him. 2. Secondarily we must love him with a love of benevolence, desiring him all that happiness which we desire to ourselves, and endeavouring it according to our opportunities.

Quest. III. Must I desire that God will pardon and save him, while he repenteth not of the wrong he doth me; and being impenitent, is uncapable of pardon?

Answ. 1. You must desire at once that God will give him repentance and forgiveness. 2. If he be impenitent in a state and life of ungodliness, or in a known and wilful sin, he is indeed uncapable of God’s pardon and salvation in that case: but if you know him not to be ungodly, and if mistake or passion only, or some personal offence or falling out, have made him your enemy, and you are not sure that the enmity is so predominant as to exclude all true charity; or if he think you to be a bad person, and be your enemy on that account, you must pray for his pardon and salvation, though he should not particularly repent.

Quest. IV. What if he be my enemy upon the account of religion, and so an enemy to God?

Answ. 1. There are too many who have too much enmity to each other, upon the account of different opinions and parties in religion, in an erroneous zeal for godliness, who are not to be taken for enemies to God. What acts of hostility have in this age been used by several sects of zealous christians against each other! 2. If you know them to be enemies of God and godliness, you must hate their sin, and love their humanity and all that is good in them, and wish their repentance, welfare, and salvation.

Quest. V. What must I do for an enemy’s good, when my benefits are but like to imbolden, encourage, and enable him to do hurt to me or others?

Answ. 1. Usually kindness tendeth to convince and melt an enemy, and to hinder him from doing hurt. 2. Such ways of kindness must be chosen, as do most engage an enemy to returns of kindness, without giving him ability or opportunity to do mischief in case he prove implacable. You may show him kindness, without putting a sword into his hand. Prudence will determine of the way of benefits, upon consideration of circumstances.

Quest. VI. May I not defend myself against an enemy, and hurt him in my own defence? And may I not wish him as much hurt as I may do him?

Answ. When you can save yourself by fair words, or flight, or some tolerable loss, without resisting him to his hurt, you should rather choose it, and “resist not evil,” Matt. v. 39. When you cannot do so, you must defend yourself with as little hurt to your enemy as you can. And if you cannot save yourself from a lesser hurt, without doing him a greater, you must rather suffer it.

Object. But if I hurt him in my own defence, it is his own fault.

Answ. So it may, and yet be yours too: you are bound to charity to your enemy, and not to justice only.

Object. But if I run away from him, or resist him not, it will be my dishonour; and I may defend my honour as well as my life.

Answ. Such objections and reasonings (which the Jesuits use against Jesus) were fitter for the mouth of an atheist than of a christian. It is pride which setteth so much by the esteem of men, yea, of bad and foolish men, as to plead honour for uncharitableness: and the voice of pride is the voice of the devil, contrary to him “who made himself of no reputation,” Phil. ii. 7, 8, and submitted to be arrayed in a garb of mockery, and led out with scorn like a fool, and bowed to, and buffeted, and spit upon, and crucified; who calleth to us to learn of him to be meek and lowly, and to deny ourselves, and take up the cross, (which is shameful suffering,) if we will be his disciples, Matt. xi. 28, 29; Luke xiv. 30-33. To every christian it is the greatest honour to be like Jesus Christ, and to excel in charity. It is a greater dishonour to want love to an enemy, than to fly from him, or not resist him. He that teacheth otherwise, and maketh sin honourable, and the imitation and obedience of Christ to be more dishonourable, doth preach up pride, and preach down charity, and doth preach for the devil against Jesus Christ; and therefore should neither call himself a Jesuit nor a christian.

Yea more, if the person that would hurt or kill you, be one that is of more worth and usefulness as to the public good, you should rather suffer by him, or be slain by him, than you should equally hurt him or kill him in your own defence. As if the king of another kingdom that hath no authority over you, (for of your own there is no question,) should assault you; or any one whose death would be a greater loss than yours. For the public good is better than your own.

And it will not always hold, that you may wish another as much hurt as you may do him: for in defending yourself, you may sometimes blamelessly do more hurt than you were willing to do. And you must never wish your enemies hurt as such, but only as a necessary means of good, as of preservation of himself, or you, or others.

Quest. VII. Must kings and states love their enemies? How then can war be lawful?

Answ. Kings and states are bound to it as much as private men; and therefore must observe the foresaid law of love as well as others. Therefore they must raise no war unnecessarily, nor for any cause be it never so just in itself, when the benefits of the war are not like to be a greater good, than the war will bring hurt both to friends and foes set together. A lawful offensive war is almost like a true general council: on certain suppositions such a thing may be; but whether ever the world saw such a thing, or whether ever such suppositions will come to existence, is the question.