The Goad, the Flames, and the Mirror of Divine Love was dictated by John of Saint-Samson in 1629, upon the request of his fried Msgr. Antoine Révol, bishop of Dol, for personal guidance in the spiritual life. Saint-Samson wrote “So, if you sometimes feel yourself to have been drawn out of yourself by exterior concerns, then you may have recourse to this treatise, and by reading a chapter or two you may dispel unwelcome images, and recollect your heart and your spirit in peace and freedom, to later return to your external occupations totally renewed.” The purpose of the treatise was to goad the reader on to loving God more, to enflame the reader’s heart with love of God, so that it may be transformed in love to become a mirror of the love of God in himself.