第56章
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  Thetemperofthetranquil-mindednessdiffers,ofcourse,accordingasthepersonisofaconstitutionallysombreorofaconstitutionallycheerfulcastofmind。Inthesombreitpartakesmoreofresignationandsubmission;inthecheerfulitisajoyousconsent。Asanexampleoftheformertemper,IquotepartofaletterfromProfessorLagneau,aveneratedteacherofphilosophywholatelydied,agreatinvalid,atParis:——

  “Mylife,forthesuccessofwhichyousendgoodwishes,willbewhatitisabletobe。Iasknothingfromit,Iexpectnothingfromit。ForlongyearsnowIexist,think,andact,andamworthwhatIamworth,onlythroughthedespairwhichismysolestrengthandmysolefoundation。Mayitpreserveforme,evenintheselasttrialstowhichIamcoming,thecouragetodowithoutthedesireofdeliverance。IasknothingmorefromtheSourcewhenceallstrengthcometh,andifthatisgranted,yourwisheswillhavebeenaccomplished。”[169]

  [169]Bulletindel’Unionpourl’ActionMorale,September,1894。

  Thereissomethingpatheticandfatalisticaboutthis,butthepowerofsuchatoneasaprotectionagainstoutwardshocksismanifest。PascalisanotherFrenchmanofpessimistic

  naturaltemperament。Heexpressesstillmoreamplythetemperofself-surrenderingsubmissiveness:——

  “Deliverme,Lord。”hewritesinhisprayers,“fromthesadnessatmypropersufferingwhichself-lovemightgive,butputintomeasadnesslikeyourown。Letmysufferingsappeaseyourcholer。Makethemanoccasionformyconversionandsalvation。I

  askyouneitherforhealthnorforsickness,forlifenorfordeath;butthatyoumaydisposeofmyhealthandmysickness,mylifeandmydeath,foryourglory,formysalvation,andfortheuseoftheChurchandofyoursaints,ofwhomIwouldbyyourgracebeone。Youaloneknowwhatisexpedientforme;youarethesovereignmaster;dowithmeaccordingtoyourwill。Givetome,ortakeawayfromme,onlyconformmywilltoyours。Iknowbutonething,Lord,thatitisgoodtofollowyou,andbadtooffendyou。Apartfromthat,Iknownotwhatisgoodorbadinanything。Iknownotwhichismostprofitabletome,healthorsickness,wealthorpoverty,noranythingelseintheworld。

  Thatdiscernmentisbeyondthepowerofmenorangels,andishiddenamongthesecretsofyourProvidence,whichIadore,butdonotseektofathom。”[170]

  [170]B。Pascal:PrierespourlesMaladies,Sectionsxiii。,xiv。,abridged。

  Whenwereachmoreoptimistictemperaments,theresignationgrowslesspassive。ExamplesaresownsobroadcastthroughouthistorythatImightwellpassonwithoutcitation。Asitis,Isnatchatthefirstthatoccurstomymind。MadameGuyon,afrailcreaturephysically,wasyetofahappynativedisposition。Shewentthroughmanyperilswithadmirableserenityofsoul。Afterbeingsenttoprisonforheresy——

  “Someofmyfriends。”shewrites,“weptbitterlyatthehearingofit,butsuchwasmystateofacquiescenceandresignationthatitfailedtodrawanytearsfromme……Thereappearedtobeinmethen,asIfindittobeinmenow,suchanentirelossofwhatregardsmyself,thatanyofmyowninterestsgavemelittlepainorpleasure;everwantingtowillorwishformyselfonlytheverythingwhichGoddoes。”Inanotherplaceshewrites:

  “Weallofuscamenearperishinginariverwhichwefounditnecessarytopass。Thecarriagesankinthequicksand。Otherswhowerewithusthrewthemselvesoutinexcessivefright。ButI

  foundmythoughtssomuchtakenupwithGodthatIhadnodistinctsenseofdanger。Itistruethatthethoughtofbeingdrownedpassedacrossmymind,butitcostnoothersensationorreflectioninmethanthis——thatIfeltquitecontentedandwillingitwereso,ifitweremyheavenlyFather’schoice。”

  SailingfromNicetoGenoa,astormkeepsherelevendaysatsea。

  “Astheirritatedwavesdashedroundus。”shewrites,“Icouldnothelpexperiencingacertaindegreeofsatisfactioninmymind。Ipleasedmyselfwiththinkingthatthosemutinousbillows,underthecommandofHimwhodoesallthingsrightly,mightprobablyfurnishmewithawaterygrave。PerhapsIcarriedthepointtoofar,inthepleasurewhichItookinthusseeingmyselfbeatenandbandiedbytheswellingwaters。Thosewhowerewithmetooknoticeofmyintrepidity。”[171]

  [171]FromThomasC。Upham’sLifeandReligiousOpinionsandExperiencesofMadamedelaMotheGuyon,NewYork,1877,ii。48,i。141,413,abridged。

  Thecontemptofdangerwhichreligiousenthusiasmproducesmaybeevenmorebuoyantstill。Itakeanexamplefromthatcharmingrecentautobiography,“WithChristatSea。”byFrankBullen。A

  coupleofdaysafterhewentthroughtheconversiononshipboardofwhichhetheregivesanaccount——

  “Itwasblowingstiffly。”hewrites,“andwewerecarryingapressofcanvastogetnorthoutofthebadweather。Shortlyafterfourbellswehauleddowntheflying-jib,andIsprangoutastridetheboomtofurlit。Iwassittingastridetheboomwhensuddenlyitgavewaywithme。Thesailslippedthroughmyfingers,andIfellbackwards,hangingheaddownwardsovertheseethingtumultofshiningfoamundertheship’sbows,suspendedbyonefoot。ButIfeltonlyhighexultationinmycertaintyofeternallife。Althoughdeathwasdividedfrommebyahair’sbreadth,andIwasacutelyconsciousofthefact,itgavemenosensationbutjoy。IsupposeIcouldhavehungtherenolongerthanfiveseconds,butinthattimeIlivedawholeageofdelight。Butmybodyasserteditself,andwithadesperategymnasticeffortIregainedtheboom。HowIfurledthesailI

  don’tknow,butIsangattheutmostpitchofmyvoicepraisestoGodthatwentpealingoutoverthedarkwasteofwaters。”[172]

  [172]Op。cit。,London,1901,p。230。

  Theannalsofmartyrdomareofcoursethesignalfieldoftriumphforreligiousimperturbability。Letmeciteasanexamplethestatementofahumblesufferer,persecutedasaHuguenotunderLouisXIV:——

  “Theyshutallthedoors。”BlancheGamondwrites,“andIsawsixwomen,eachwithabunchofwillowrodsasthickasthehandcouldhold,andayardlong。Hegavemetheorder,’Undressyourself,’whichIdid。Hesaid,’Youareleavingonyourshift;

  youmusttakeitoff。’Theyhadsolittlepatiencethattheytookitoffthemselves,andIwasnakedfromthewaistup。Theybroughtacordwithwhichtheytiedmetoabeaminthekitchen。

  Theydrewthecordtightwithalltheirstrengthandaskedme,’Doesithurtyou?’andthentheydischargedtheirfuryuponme,exclaimingastheystruckme,’PraynowtoyourGod。’ItwastheRoulettewomanwhoheldthislanguage。ButatthismomentI

  receivedthegreatestconsolationthatIcaneverreceiveinmylife,sinceIhadthehonorofbeingwhippedforthenameofChrist,andinadditionofbeingcrownedwithhismercyandhisconsolations。WhycanInotwritedowntheinconceivableinfluences,consolations,andpeacewhichIfeltinteriorly?Tounderstandthemonemusthavepassedbythesametrial;theyweresogreatthatIwasravished,fortherewhereafflictionsaboundgraceisgivensuperabundantly。Invainthewomencried,’Wemustdoubleourblows;shedoesnotfeelthem,forsheneitherspeaksnorcries。’AndhowshouldIhavecried,sinceIwasswooningwithhappinesswithin?”[173]

  [173]ClaparedeetGoty:DeuxHeroinesdelaFoi,Paris,1880,p。112。

  Thetransitionfromtenseness,self-responsibility,andworry,toequanimity,receptivity,andpeace,isthemostwonderfulofallthoseshiftingsofinnerequilibrium,thosechangesofthepersonalcentreofenergy,whichIhaveanalyzedsooften;andthechiefwonderofitisthatitsooftencomesabout,notbydoing,butbysimplyrelaxingandthrowingtheburdendown。Thisabandonmentofself-responsibilityseemstobethefundamentalactinspecificallyreligious,asdistinguishedfrommoralpractice。Itantedatestheologiesandisindependentofphilosophies。Mind-cure,theosophy,stoicism,ordinaryneurologicalhygiene,insistonitasemphaticallyasChristianitydoes,anditiscapableofenteringintoclosestmarriagewitheveryspeculativecreed。[174]Christianswhohaveitstronglyliveinwhatiscalled“recollection。”andareneveranxiousaboutthefuture,norworryovertheoutcomeoftheday。

  OfSaintCatharineofGenoaitissaidthat“shetookcognizanceofthings,onlyastheywerepresentedtoherinsuccession,MOMENTBYMOMENT。”Toherholysoul,“thedivinemomentwasthepresentmoment,……andwhenthepresentmomentwasestimatedinitselfandinitsrelations,andwhenthedutythatwasinvolvedinitwasaccomplished,itwaspermittedtopassawayasifithadneverbeen,andtogivewaytothefactsanddutiesofthemomentwhichcameafter。”[175]Hinduism,mind-cure,andtheosophyalllaygreatemphasisuponthisconcentrationoftheconsciousnessuponthemomentathand。

  [174]Comparethesethreedifferentstatementsofit:A。P。

  Call:AsaMatterofCourse,Boston,1894;H。W。Dresser:

  LivingbytheSpirit,NewYorkandLondon,1900;H。W。Smith:

  TheChristian’sSecretofaHappyLife,publishedbytheWillardTractRepository,andnowinthousandsofhands。

  [175]T。C。Upham:LifeofMadameCatharineAdorna,3ded。,NewYork,1864,pp。158,172-74。

  ThenextreligioussymptomwhichIwillnoteiswhathavecalledPurityofLife。Thesaintlypersonbecomesexceedinglysensitivetoinnerinconsistencyordiscord,andmixtureandconfusiongrowintolerable。Allthemind’sobjectsandoccupationsmustbeorderedwithreferencetothespecialspiritualexcitementwhichisnowitskeynote。Whateverisunspiritualtaintsthepurewaterofthesoulandisrepugnant。Mixedwiththisexaltationofthemoralsensibilitiesthereisalsoanardorofsacrifice,forthebeloveddeity’ssake,ofeverythingunworthyofhim。

  Sometimesthespiritualardorissosovereignthatpurityisachievedatastroke——wehaveseenexamples。Usuallyitisamoregradualconquest。BillyBray’saccountofhisabandonmentoftobaccoisagoodexampleofthelatterformofachievement。

  “Ihadbeenasmokeraswellasadrunkard,andIusedtolovemytobaccoasmuchasIlovedmymeat,andIwouldrathergodownintotheminewithoutmydinnerthanwithoutmypipe。Inthedaysofold,theLordspokebythemouthsofhisservants,theprophets;nowhespeakstousbythespiritofhisSon。Ihadnotonlythefeelingpartofreligion,butIcouldhearthesmall,stillvoicewithinspeakingtome。WhenItookthepipetosmoke,itwouldbeappliedwithin,’Itisanidol,alust;

  worshiptheLordwithcleanlips。’So,Ifeltitwasnotrighttosmoke。TheLordalsosentawomantoconvinceme。Iwasonedayinahouse,andItookoutmypipetolightitatthefire,andMaryHawke——forthatwasthewoman’sname——said,’Doyounotfeelitiswrongtosmoke?’IsaidthatIfeltsomethinginsidetellingmethatitwasanidol,alust,andshesaidthatwastheLord。ThenIsaid,’Now,Imustgiveitup,fortheLordistellingmeofitinside,andthewomanoutside,sothetobaccomustgo,loveitasImay。’ThereandthenItookthetobaccooutofmypocket,andthrewitintothefire,andputthepipeundermyfoot,’ashestoashes,dusttodust。’AndIhavenotsmokedsince。Ifoundithardtobreakoffoldhabits,butI

  criedtotheLordforhelp,andhegavemestrength,forhehassaid,’Calluponmeinthedayoftrouble,andIwilldeliverthee。’ThedayafterIgaveupsmokingIhadthetoothachesobadthatIdidnotknowwhattodo。Ithoughtthiswasowingtogivingupthepipe,butIsaidIwouldneversmokeagain,ifI

  losteverytoothinmyhead。Isaid,’Lord,thouhasttoldusMyyokeiseasyandmyburdenislight,’andwhenIsaidthat,allthepainleftme。Sometimesthethoughtofthepipewouldcomebacktomeverystrong;buttheLordstrengthenedmeagainstthehabit,and,blesshisname,Ihavenotsmokedsince。”

  Bray’sbiographerwritesthatafterhehadgivenupsmoking,hethoughtthathewouldchewalittle,butheconqueredthisdirtyhabit,too。“Ononeoccasion。”Braysaid,“whenataprayer-

  meetingatHicksMill,IheardtheLordsaytome,’Worshipmewithcleanlips。’So,whenwegotupfromourknees,Itookthequidoutofmymouthand’whipped’en’[threwit]undertheform。

  But,whenwegotonourkneesagain,Iputanotherquidintomymouth。ThentheLordsaidtomeagain,’Worshipmewithcleanlips。’SoItookthequidoutofmymouth,andwhipped’enundertheformagain,andsaid,’Yes,Lord,Iwill。’FromthattimeI

  gaveupchewingaswellassmoking,andhavebeenafreeman。”

  Theasceticformswhichtheimpulseforveracityandpurityoflifemaytakeareoftenpatheticenough。TheearlyQuakers,forexample,hadhardbattlestowageagainsttheworldlinessandinsincerityoftheecclesiasticalChristianityoftheirtime。

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