§ 2. Exterior Manner and Conduct.

Thou shouldst not wear before others a severe countenance, nor be of a perverse or bitter spirit; but, overcoming thy nature, -show thyself to all, sweet, benevolent, affable, and ready to serve them. And if thou art easily moved to anger and indignation, or hast any little feeling of bitterness against any one, consent not to that vice, but repress, mitigate, and extinguish it as much as thou canst, grieving that thy heart should still be so full of harshness.

Humble thyself, and implore the assistance of God. When He shall have abundantly infused into thee the sweetness of charity, thou wilt no longer be so inclined to bitterness. God often permits his chosen friends to be prone to anger, in order that they may the more fully know themselves, and the better keep themselves humble.