第53章
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  LeGeneralSkobeleff,NouvelleRevue,1886,abridged。Skobeleffseemstohavebeenacruelegoist;butthedisinterestedGaribaldi,ifonemayjudgebyhis“Memorie。”livedinanunflaggingemotionofsimilardanger-seekingexcitement。

  Thedifferencebetweenwillingandmerelywishing,betweenhavingidealsthatarecreativeandidealsthatarebutpiningsandregrets,thusdependssolelyeitherontheamountofsteam-pressurechronicallydrivingthecharacterintheidealdirection,orontheamountofidealexcitementtransientlyacquired。Givenacertainamountoflove,indignation,generosity,magnanimity,admiration,loyalty,orenthusiasmofself-surrender,theresultisalwaysthesame。Thatwholeraftofcowardlyobstructions,whichintamepersonsanddullmoodsaresovereignimpedimentstoaction,sinksawayatonce。Ourconventionality,[147]ourshyness,laziness,andstinginess,ourdemandsforprecedentandpermission,forguaranteeandsurety,oursmallsuspicions,timidities,despairs,wherearetheynow?

  Severedlikecobwebs,brokenlikebubblesinthesun——

  “WosinddieSorgenunundNothDiemichnochgesternwollt’erschlaffen?

  Ichscham’michdess’imMorgenroth。”

  Thefloodweareborneonrollsthemsolightlyunderthattheirverycontactisunfelt。Setfreeofthem,wefloatandsoarandsing。Thisauroralopennessandupliftgivestoallcreativeideallevelsabrightandcarolingquality,whichisnowheremoremarkedthanwherethecontrollingemotionisreligious。“Thetruemonk。”writesanItalianmystic,“takesnothingwithhimbuthislyre。”

  [147]Seethecaseonp。69,above,wherethewriterdescribeshisexperiencesofcommunionwiththeDivineasconsisting“merelyintheTEMPORARYOBLITERATIONOFTHECONVENTIONALITIES

  whichusuallycovermylife。”

  Wemaynowturnfromthesepsychologicalgeneralitiestothosefruitsofthereligiousstatewhichformthespecialsubjectofourpresentlecture。Themanwholivesinhisreligiouscentreofpersonalenergy,andisactuatedbyspiritualenthusiasms,differsfromhispreviouscarnalselfinperfectlydefiniteways。

  Thenewardorwhichburnsinhisbreastconsumesinitsglowthelower“noes“whichformerlybesethim,andkeepshimimmuneagainstinfectionfromtheentiregrovelingportionofhisnature。Magnanimitiesonceimpossiblearenoweasy;paltryconventionalitiesandmeanincentivesoncetyrannicalholdnosway。Thestonewallinsideofhimhasfallen,thehardnessinhishearthasbrokendown。Therestofuscan,Ithink,imaginethisbyrecallingourstateoffeelinginthosetemporary“meltingmoods“intowhicheitherthetrialsofreallife,orthetheatre,oranovelsometimesthrowsus。Especiallyifweweep!

  Foritisthenasifourtearsbrokethroughaninveterateinnerdam,andletallsortsofancientpeccanciesandmoralstagnanciesdrainaway,leavingusnowwashedandsoftofheartandopentoeverynoblerleading。Withmostofusthecustomaryhardnessquicklyreturns,butnotsowithsaintlypersons。Manysaints,evenasenergeticonesasTeresaandLoyola,havepossessedwhatthechurchtraditionallyreveresasaspecialgrace,theso-calledgiftoftears。Inthesepersonsthemeltingmoodseemstohaveheldalmostuninterruptedcontrol。Andasitiswithtearsandmeltingmoods,soitiswithotherexaltedaffections。Theirreignmaycomebygradualgrowthorbyacrisis;butineithercaseitmayhave“cometostay。”

  Attheendofthelastlecturewesawthispermanencetobetrueofthegeneralparamountcyofthehigherinsight,eventhoughintheebbsofemotionalexcitementmeanermotivesmighttemporarilyprevailandbackslidingmightoccur。Butthatlowertemptationsmayremaincompletelyannulled,apartfromtransientemotionandasifbyalterationoftheman’shabitualnature,isalsoprovedbydocumentaryevidenceincertaincases。Beforeembarkingonthegeneralnaturalhistoryoftheregeneratecharacter,letmeconvinceyouofthiscuriousfactbyoneortwoexamples。Themostnumerousarethoseofreformeddrunkards。YourecollectthecaseofMr。Hadleyinthelastlecture;theJerryMcAuleyWaterStreetMissionaboundsinsimilarinstances。[148]YoualsorememberthegraduateofOxford,convertedatthreeintheafternoon,andgettingdrunkinthehay-fieldthenextday,butafterthatpermanentlycuredofhisappetite。“Fromthathourdrinkhashadnoterrorsforme:Inevertouchit,neverwantit。Thesamethingoccurredwithmypipe……thedesireforitwentatonceandhasneverreturned。Sowitheveryknownsin,thedeliveranceineachcasebeingpermanentandcomplete。

  Ihavehadnotemptationssinceconversion。”

  [148]Above,p。200。“TheonlyradicalremedyIknowfordipsomaniaisreligiomania。”isasayingIhaveheardquotedfromsomemedicalman。

  HereisananalogouscasefromStarbuck’smanuscriptcollection:——

  “IwentintotheoldAdelphiTheatre,wheretherewasaHolinessmeeting,……andIbegansaying,’Lord,Lord,Imusthavethisblessing。’Thenwhatwastomeanaudiblevoicesaid:’AreyouwillingtogiveupeverythingtotheLord?’andquestionafterquestionkeptcomingup,toallofwhichIsaid:’Yes,Lord;

  yes,Lord!’untilthiscame:’WhydoyounotacceptitNOW?’andIsaid:’Ido,Lord。’——Ifeltnoparticularjoy,onlyatrust。

  Justthenthemeetingclosed,and,asIwentoutonthestreet,I

  metagentlemansmokingafinecigar,andacloudofsmokecameintomyface,andItookalong,deepbreathofit,andpraisetheLord,allmyappetiteforitwasgone。ThenasIwalkedalongthestreet,passingsaloonswherethefumesofliquorcameout,Ifoundthatallmytasteandlongingforthataccursedstuffwasgone。GlorytoGod!……[But]fortenorelevenlongyears[afterthat]Iwasinthewildernesswithitsupsanddowns。Myappetiteforliquornevercameback。”

  TheclassiccaseofColonelGardineristhatofamancuredofsexualtemptationinasinglehour。ToMr。Spearsthecolonelsaid,“IwaseffectuallycuredofallinclinationtothatsinI

  wassostronglyaddictedtothatIthoughtnothingbutshootingmethroughtheheadcouldhavecuredmeofit;andalldesireandinclinationtoitwasremoved,asentirelyasifIhadbeenasuckingchild;nordidthetemptationreturntothisday。”Mr。

  Webster’swordsonthesamesubjectarethese:“OnethingIhaveheardthecolonelfrequentlysay,thathewasmuchaddictedtoimpuritybeforehisacquaintancewithreligion;butthat,sosoonashewasenlightenedfromabove,hefeltthepoweroftheHolyGhostchanginghisnaturesowonderfullythathissanctificationinthisrespectseemedmoreremarkablethaninanyother。”[149]

  [149]Doddridge’sLifeofColonelJamesGardiner,LondonReligiousTractSociety,pp。23-32。

  Suchrapidabolitionofancientimpulsesandpropensitiesremindsussostronglyofwhathasbeenobservedastheresultofhypnoticsuggestionthatitisdifficultnottobelievethatsubliminalinfluencesplaythedecisivepartintheseabruptchangesofheart,justastheydoinhypnotism。[150]Suggestivetherapeuticsaboundinrecordsofcure,afterafewsittings,ofinveteratebadhabitswithwhichthepatient,lefttoordinarymoralandphysicalinfluences,hadstruggledinvain。Bothdrunkennessandsexualvicehavebeencuredinthisway,actionthroughthesubliminalseemingthusinmanyindividualstohavetheprerogativeofinducingrelativelystablechange。IfthegraceofGodmiraculouslyoperates,itprobablyoperatesthroughthesubliminaldoor,then。ButjustHOWanythingoperatesinthisregionisstillunexplained,andweshalldowellnowtosaygood-bytothePROCESSoftransformationaltogether——leavingit,ifyoulike,agooddealofapsychologicalortheologicalmystery——andtoturnourattentiontothefruitsofthereligiouscondition,nomatterinwhatwaytheymayhavebeenproduced。[151]

  [150]Here,forexample,isacase,fromStarbuck’sbook,inwhicha“sensoryautomatism“broughtaboutquicklywhatprayersandresolveshadbeenunabletoeffect。Thesubjectisawoman。

  Shewrites:——

  “WhenIwasaboutfortyItriedtoquitsmoking,butthedesirewasonme,andhadmeinitspower。IcriedandprayedandpromisedGodtoquit,butcouldnot。Ihadsmokedforfifteenyears。WhenIwasfifty-three,asIsatbythefireonedaysmoking,avoicecametome。Ididnothearitwithmyears,butmoreasadreamorsortofdoublethink。Itsaid,’Louisa,laydownsmoking。’AtonceIreplied。’Willyoutakethedesireaway?’Butitonlykeptsaying:’Louisa,laydownsmoking。’

  ThenIgotup,laidmypipeonthemantel-shelf,andneversmokedagainorhadanydesireto。ThedesirewasgoneasthoughIhadneverknownitortouchedtobacco。Thesightofotherssmokingandthesmellofsmokenevergavemetheleastwishtotouchitagain。”ThePsychologyofReligion,p。142。

  [151]ProfessorStarbuckexpressestheradicaldestructionofoldinfluencesphysiologically,asacuttingoffoftheconnectionbetweenhigherandlowercerebralcentres。“Thiscondition。”hesays,“inwhichtheassociation-centresconnectedwiththespirituallifearecutofffromthelower,isoftenreflectedinthewaycorrespondentsdescribetheirexperiences……Forexample:’Temptationsfromwithoutstillassailme,butthereisnothingWITHINtorespondtothem。’Theego[here]iswhollyidentifiedwiththehighercentreswhosequalityoffeelingisthatofwithinness。Anotheroftherespondentssays:’Sincethen,althoughSatantemptsme,thereisasitwereawallofbrassaroundme,sothathisdartscannottouchme。’“——

  Unquestionably,functionalexclusionsofthissortmustoccurinthecerebralorgan。Butonthesideaccessibletointrospection,theircausalconditionisnothingbutthedegreeofspiritualexcitement,gettingatlastsohighandstrongastobesovereign,anditmustbefranklyconfessedthatwedonotknowjustwhyorhowsuchsovereigntycomesaboutinonepersonandnotinanother。Wecanonlygiveourimaginationacertaindelusivehelpbymechanicalanalogies。

  Ifweshouldconceive,forexample,thatthehumanmind,withitsdifferentpossibilitiesofequilibrium,mightbelikeamany-sidedsolidwithdifferentsurfacesonwhichitcouldlieflat,wemightlikenmentalrevolutionstothespatialrevolutionsofsuchabody。Asitispriedup,saybyalever,fromapositioninwhichitliesonsurfaceA,forinstance,itwilllingerforatimeunstablyhalfwayup,andiftheleverceasetourgeit,itwilltumblebackor“relapse“underthecontinuedpullofgravity。ButifatlastitrotatefarenoughforitscentreofgravitytopassbeyondsurfaceAaltogether,thebodywillfallover,onsurfaceB,say,andabidetherepermanently。ThepullsofgravitytowardsAhavevanished,andmaynowbedisregarded。Thepolyhedronhasbecomeimmuneagainstfartherattractionfromtheirdirection。

  Inthisfigureofspeechthelevermaycorrespondtotheemotionalinfluencesmakingforanewlife,andtheinitialpullofgravitytotheancientdrawbacksandinhibitions。Solongastheemotionalinfluencefailstoreachacertainpitchofefficacy,thechangesitproducesareunstable,andthemanrelapsesintohisoriginalattitude。Butwhenacertainintensityisattainedbythenewemotion,acriticalpointispassed,andtherethenensuesanirreversiblerevolution,equivalenttotheproductionofanewnature。

  ThecollectivenamefortheripefruitsofreligioninacharacterisSaintliness。[152]Thesaintlycharacteristhecharacterforwhichspiritualemotionsarethehabitualcentreofthepersonalenergy;andthereisacertaincompositephotographofuniversalsaintliness,thesameinallreligions,ofwhichthefeaturescaneasilybetraced。[153]

  [152]Iusethiswordinspiteofacertainflavorof“sanctimoniousness“whichsometimesclingstoit,becausenootherwordsuggestsaswelltheexactcombinationofaffectionswhichthetextgoesontodescribe。

  [153]“Itwillbefound。”saysDr。W。R。IngeinhislecturesonChristianMysticism,London,1899,p。326,“thatmenofpreeminentsaintlinessagreeverycloselyinwhattheytellus。

  Theytellusthattheyhavearrivedatanunshakableconviction,notbasedoninferencebutonimmediateexperience,thatGodisaspiritwithwhomthehumanspiritcanholdintercourse;thatinhimmeetallthattheycanimagineofgoodness,truth,andbeauty;thattheycanseehisfootprintseverywhereinnature,andfeelhispresencewithinthemastheverylifeoftheirlife,sothatinproportionastheycometothemselvestheycometohim。Theytelluswhatseparatesusfromhimandfromhappinessis,first,self-seekinginallitsforms;andsecondly,sensualityinallitsforms;thatthesearethewaysofdarknessanddeath,whichhidefromusthefaceofGod;whilethepathofthejustislikeashininglight,whichshinethmoreandmoreuntotheperfectday。”

  Theyarethese:

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