WeallknowDAFTsaints，andtheyinspireaqueerkindofaversion。Butincomparingsaintswithstrongmenwemustchooseindividualsonthesameintellectuallevel。Theunder-wittedstrongmanhomologousinhisspherewiththeunder-wittedsaint，isthebullyoftheslums，thehooliganorrowdy。Surelyonthislevelalsothesaintpreservesacertainsuperiority。
Howissuccesstobeabsolutelymeasuredwhentherearesomanyenvironmentsandsomanywaysoflookingattheadaptation？Itcannotbemeasuredabsolutely；theverdictwillvaryaccordingtothepointofviewadopted。FromthebiologicalpointofviewSaintPaulwasafailure，becausehewasbeheaded。Yethewasmagnificentlyadaptedtothelargerenvironmentofhistory；andsofarasanysaint’sexampleisaleavenofrighteousnessintheworld，anddrawsitinthedirectionofmoreprevalenthabitsofsaintliness，heisasuccess，nomatterwhathisimmediatebadfortunemaybe。Thegreatestsaints，thespiritualheroeswhomeveryoneacknowledges，theFrancises，Bernards，Luthers，Loyolas，Wesleys，Channings，Moodys，Gratrys，thePhillipsBrookses，theAgnesJoneses，MargaretHallahans，andDoraPattisons，aresuccessesfromtheoutset。Theyshowthemselves，andthereisnoquestion；everyoneperceivestheirstrengthandstature。Theirsenseofmysteryinthings，theirpassion，theirgoodness，irradiateaboutthemandenlargetheiroutlineswhiletheysoftenthem。Theyarelikepictureswithanatmosphereandbackground；and，placedalongsideofthem，thestrongmenofthisworldandnootherseemasdryassticks，ashardandcrudeasblocksofstoneorbrick-bats。
Inageneralway，then，and“onthewhole。”[224]ourabandonmentoftheologicalcriteria，andourtestingofreligionbypracticalcommonsenseandtheempiricalmethod，leaveitinpossessionofitstoweringplaceinhistory。Economically，thesaintlygroupofqualitiesisindispensabletotheworld’swelfare。Thegreatsaintsareimmediatesuccesses；thesmalleronesareatleastheraldsandharbingers，andtheymaybeleavensalso，ofabettermundaneorder。Letusbesaints，then，ifwecan，whetherornotwesucceedvisiblyandtemporally。ButinourFather’shousearemanymansions，andeachofusmustdiscoverforhimselfthekindofreligionandtheamountofsaintshipwhichbestcomportswithwhathebelievestobehispowersandfeelstobehistruestmissionandvocation。Therearenosuccessestobeguaranteedandnosetorderstobegiventoindividuals，solongaswefollowthemethodsofempiricalphilosophy。
Thisismyconclusionsofar。Iknowthatonsomeofyourmindsitleavesafeelingofwonderthatsuchamethodshouldhavebeenappliedtosuchasubject，andthisinspiteofallthoseremarksaboutempiricismwhichImadeatthebeginningofLectureHow，yousay，canreligion，whichbelievesintwoworldsandaninvisibleorder，beestimatedbytheadaptationofitsfruitstothisworld’sorderalone？Itisitstruth，notitsutility，youinsist，uponwhichourverdictoughttodepend。Ifreligionistrue，itsfruitsaregoodfruits，eventhoughinthisworldtheyshouldproveuniformlyilladaptedandfullofnaughtbutpathos。Itgoesback，then，afterall，tothequestionofthetruthoftheology。Theplotinevitablythickensuponus；wecannotescapetheoreticalconsiderations。Ipropose，then，thattosomedegreewefacetheresponsibility。Religiouspersonshaveoften，thoughnotuniformly，professedtoseetruthinaspecialmanner。Thatmannerisknownasmysticism。Iwillconsequentlynowproceedtotreatatsomelengthofmysticalphenomena，andafterthat，thoughmorebriefly，Iwillconsiderreligiousphilosophy。
OverandoveragainintheselecturesIhaveraisedpointsandleftthemopenandunfinisheduntilweshouldhavecometothesubjectofMysticism。Someofyou，Ifear，mayhavesmiledasyounotedmyreiteratedpostponements。Butnowthehourhascomewhenmysticismmustbefacedingoodearnest，andthosebrokenthreadswounduptogether。Onemaysaytruly，Ithink，thatpersonalreligiousexperiencehasitsrootandcentreinmysticalstatesofconsciousness；soforus，whointheselecturesaretreatingpersonalexperienceastheexclusivesubjectofourstudy，suchstatesofconsciousnessoughttoformthevitalchapterfromwhichtheotherchaptersgettheirlight。Whethermytreatmentofmysticalstateswillshedmorelightordarkness，Idonotknow，formyownconstitutionshutsmeoutfromtheirenjoymentalmostentirely，andIcanspeakofthemonlyatsecondhand。Butthoughforcedtolookuponthesubjectsoexternally，IwillbeasobjectiveandreceptiveasIcan；andIthinkI
shallatleastsucceedinconvincingyouoftherealityofthestatesinquestion，andoftheparamountimportanceoftheirfunction。
Firstofall，then，Iask，Whatdoestheexpression“mysticalstatesofconsciousness“mean？Howdowepartoffmysticalstatesfromotherstates？
Thewords“mysticism“and“mystical“areoftenusedastermsofmerereproach，tothrowatanyopinionwhichweregardasvagueandvastandsentimental，andwithoutabaseineitherfactsorlogic。Forsomewritersa“mystic“isanypersonwhobelievesinthought-transference，orspirit-return。Employedinthiswaythewordhaslittlevalue：therearetoomanylessambiguoussynonyms。So，tokeepitusefulbyrestrictingit，IwilldowhatIdidinthecaseoftheword“religion。”andsimplyproposetoyoufourmarkswhich，whenanexperiencehasthem，mayjustifyusincallingitmysticalforthepurposeofthepresentlectures。Inthiswayweshallsaveverbaldisputation，andtherecriminationsthatgenerallygotherewith。
Ineffability——ThehandiestofthemarksbywhichIclassifyastateofmindasmysticalisnegative。Thesubjectofitimmediatelysaysthatitdefiesexpression，thatnoadequatereportofitscontentscanbegiveninwords。Itfollowsfromthisthatitsqualitymustbedirectlyexperienced；itcannotbeimpartedortransferredtoothers。Inthispeculiaritymysticalstatesaremorelikestatesoffeelingthanlikestatesofintellect。Noonecanmakecleartoanotherwhohasneverhadacertainfeeling，inwhatthequalityorworthofitconsists。
Onemusthavemusicalearstoknowthevalueofasymphony；onemusthavebeeninloveone’sselftounderstandalover’sstateofmind。Lackingtheheartorear，wecannotinterpretthemusicianortheloverjustly，andareevenlikelytoconsiderhimweak-mindedorabsurd。Themysticfindsthatmostofusaccordtohisexperiencesanequallyincompetenttreatment。
Noeticquality——Althoughsosimilartostatesoffeeling，mysticalstatesseemtothosewhoexperiencethemtobealsostatesofknowledge。Theyarestatesofinsightintodepthsoftruthunplumbedbythediscursiveintellect。Theyareilluminations，revelations，fullofsignificanceandimportance，allinarticulatethoughtheyremain；andasaruletheycarrywiththemacurioussenseofauthorityforafter-time。
Thesetwocharacterswillentitleanystatetobecalledmystical，inthesenseinwhichIusetheword。Twootherqualitiesarelesssharplymarked，butareusuallyfound。Theseare：——
Transiency——Mysticalstatescannotbesustainedforlong。
Exceptinrareinstances，halfanhour，oratmostanhourortwo，seemstobethelimitbeyondwhichtheyfadeintothelightofcommonday。Often，whenfaded，theirqualitycanbutimperfectlybereproducedinmemory；butwhentheyrecuritisrecognized；andfromonerecurrencetoanotheritissusceptibleofcontinuousdevelopmentinwhatisfeltasinnerrichnessandimportance。
Passivity——Althoughtheoncomingofmysticalstatesmaybefacilitatedbypreliminaryvoluntaryoperations，asbyfixingtheattention，orgoingthroughcertainbodilyperformances，orinotherwayswhichmanualsofmysticismprescribe；yetwhenthecharacteristicsortofconsciousnessoncehassetin，themysticfeelsasifhisownwillwereinabeyance，andindeedsometimesasifheweregraspedandheldbyasuperiorpower。Thislatterpeculiarityconnectsmysticalstateswithcertaindefinitephenomenaofsecondaryoralternativepersonality，suchaspropheticspeech，automaticwriting，orthemediumistictrance。
Whentheselatterconditionsarewellpronounced，however，theremaybenorecollectionwhateverofthephenomenon，anditmayhavenosignificanceforthesubject’susualinnerlife，towhich，asitwere，itmakesamereinterruption。Mysticalstates，strictlyso-called，arenevermerelyinterruptive。Somememoryoftheircontentalwaysremains，andaprofoundsenseoftheirimportance。Theymodifytheinnerlifeofthesubjectbetweenthetimesoftheirrecurrence。Sharpdivisionsinthisregionare，however，difficulttomake，andwefindallsortsofgradationsandmixtures。
Thesefourcharacteristicsaresufficienttomarkoutagroupofstatesofconsciousnesspeculiarenoughtodeserveaspecialnameandtocallforcarefulstudy。Letitthenbecalledthemysticalgroup。
Ournextstepshouldbetogainacquaintancewithsometypicalexamples。Professionalmysticsattheheightoftheirdevelopmenthaveoftenelaboratelyorganizedexperiencesandaphilosophybasedthereupon。ButyourememberwhatIsaidinmyfirstlecture：phenomenaarebestunderstoodwhenplacedwithintheirseries，studiedintheirgermandintheirover-ripedecay，andcomparedwiththeirexaggeratedanddegeneratedkindred。Therangeofmysticalexperienceisverywide，muchtoowideforustocoverinthetimeatourdisposal。Yetthemethodofserialstudyissoessentialforinterpretationthatifwereallywishtoreachconclusionswemustuseit。Iwillbegin，therefore，withphenomenawhichclaimnospecialreligioussignificance，andendwiththoseofwhichthereligiouspretensionsareextreme。
Thesimplestrudimentofmysticalexperiencewouldseemtobethatdeepenedsenseofthesignificanceofamaximorformulawhichoccasionallysweepsoverone。“I’veheardthatsaidallmylife。”weexclaim，“butIneverrealizeditsfullmeaninguntilnow。”“Whenafellow-monk。”saidLuther，“onedayrepeatedthewordsoftheCreed：’Ibelieveintheforgivenessofsins，’
IsawtheScriptureinanentirelynewlight；andstraightwayI
feltasifIwerebornanew。ItwasasifIhadfoundthedoorofparadisethrownwideopen。”Thissenseofdeepersignificanceisnotconfinedtorationalpropositions。Singlewords，andconjunctionsofwords，effectsoflightonlandandsea，odorsandmusicalsounds，allbringitwhenthemindistunedaright。Mostofuscanrememberthestrangelymovingpowerofpassagesincertainpoemsreadwhenwewereyoung，irrationaldoorwaysastheywerethroughwhichthemysteryoffact，thewildnessandthepangoflife，stoleintoourheartsandthrilledthem。Thewordshavenowperhapsbecomemerepolishedsurfacesforus；butlyricpoetryandmusicarealiveandsignificantonlyinproportionastheyfetchthesevaguevistasofalifecontinuouswithourown，beckoningandinviting，yetevereludingourpursuit。Wearealiveordeadtotheeternalinnermessageoftheartsaccordingaswehavekeptorlostthismysticalsusceptibility。
Newman’sSecurusjudicatorbisterrarumisanotherinstance。
“Mesopotamia“isthestockcomicinstance——AnexcellentOldGermanlady，whohaddonesometravelinginherday，usedtodescribetomeherSehnsuchtthatshemightyetvisit“Philadelphia。”whosewondrousnamehadalwayshauntedherimagination。OfJohnFosteritissaidthat“singlewordsaschalcedony，orthenamesofancientheroes，hadamightyfascinationoverhim。’Atanytimethewordhermitwasenoughtotransporthim。’Thewordswoodsandforestswouldproducethemostpowerfulemotion。”Foster’sLife，byRyland，NewYork，1846，p。3。
Amorepronouncedstepforwardonthemysticalladderisfoundinanextremelyfrequentphenomenon，thatsuddenfeeling，namely，whichsometimessweepsoverus，ofhaving“beenherebefore。”asifatsomeindefinitepasttime，injustthisplace，withjustthesepeople，wewerealreadysayingjustthesethings。AsTennysonwrites：
“Moreover，somethingisorseemsThattouchesmewithmysticgleams，Likeglimpsesofforgottendreams——
“Ofsomethingfelt，likesomethinghere；
Ofsomethingdone，Iknownotwhere；
Suchasnolanguagemaydeclare。”[228]
TheTwoVoices。InalettertoMr。B。P。Blood，Tennysonreportsofhimselfasfollows：