贝壳电子书 > 英文原著电子书 > lectures11-13 >

第9章

lectures11-13-第9章

小说: lectures11-13 字数: 每页4000字

按键盘上方向键 ← 或 → 可快速上下翻页,按键盘上的 Enter 键可回到本书目录页,按键盘上方向键 ↑ 可回到本页顶部!
————未阅读完?加入书签已便下次继续阅读!






xiv。; abridged。















When we reach more optimistic temperaments; the resignation grows



less passive。  Examples are sown so broadcast throughout history



that I might well pass on without citation。  As it is; I snatch



at the first that occurs to my mind。  Madame Guyon; a frail



creature physically; was yet of a happy native disposition。  She



went through many perils with admirable serenity of soul。  After



being sent to prison for heresy







〃Some of my friends;〃 she writes; 〃wept bitterly at the hearing



of it; but such was my state of acquiescence and resignation that



it failed to draw any tears from me。 。 。 。 There appeared to be



in me then; as I find it to be in me now; such an entire loss of



what regards myself; that any of my own interests gave me little



pain or pleasure; ever wanting to will or wish for myself only



the very thing which God does。〃  In another place she writes: 



〃We all of us came near perishing in a river which we found it



necessary to pass。  The carriage sank in the quicksand。 Others



who were with us threw themselves out in excessive fright。  But I



found my thoughts so much taken up with God that I had no



distinct sense of danger。  It is true that the thought of being



drowned passed across my mind; but it cost no other sensation or



reflection in me than thisthat I felt quite contented and



willing it were so; if it were my heavenly Father's choice。〃 



Sailing from Nice to Genoa; a storm keeps her eleven days at sea。







〃As the irritated waves dashed round us;〃 she writes; 〃I could



not help experiencing a certain degree of satisfaction in my



mind。  I pleased myself with thinking that those mutinous



billows; under the command of Him who does all things rightly;



might probably furnish me with a watery grave。  Perhaps I carried



the point too far; in the pleasure which I took in thus seeing



myself beaten and bandied by the swelling waters。 Those who were



with me took notice of my intrepidity。〃'171'







'171' From Thomas C。 Upham's Life and Religious Opinions and



Experiences of Madame de la Mothe Guyon; New York; 1877; ii。 48;



i。 141; 413; abridged。















The contempt of danger which religious enthusiasm produces may be



even more buoyant still。  I take an example from that charming



recent autobiography; 〃With Christ at Sea;〃 by Frank Bullen。  A



couple of days after he went through the conversion on shipboard



of which he there gives an account







〃It was blowing stiffly;〃 he writes; 〃and we were carrying a



press of canvas to get north out of the bad weather。  Shortly



after four bells we hauled down the flying…jib; and I sprang out



astride the boom to furl it。  I was sitting astride the boom when



suddenly it gave way with me。  The sail slipped through my



fingers; and I fell backwards; hanging head downwards over the



seething tumult of shining foam under the ship's bows; suspended



by one foot。  But I felt only high exultation in my certainty 



of eternal life。  Although death was divided from me by a hair's



breadth; and I was acutely conscious of the fact; it gave me no



sensation but joy。  I suppose I could have hung there no longer



than five seconds; but in that time I lived a whole age of



delight。  But my body asserted itself; and with a desperate



gymnastic effort I regained the boom。  How I furled the sail I



don't know; but I sang at the utmost pitch of my voice praises to



God that went pealing out over the dark waste of waters。〃'172'







'172' Op。 cit。; London; 1901; p。 230。















The annals of martyrdom are of course the signal field of triumph



for religious imperturbability。  Let me cite as an example the



statement of a humble sufferer; persecuted as a Huguenot under



Louis XIV:







〃They shut all the doors;〃 Blanche Gamond writes; 〃and I saw six



women; each with a bunch of willow rods as thick as the hand



could hold; and a yard long。  He gave me the order; 'Undress



yourself;' which I did。  He said; 'You are leaving on your shift;



you must take it off。'  They had so little patience that they



took it off themselves; and I was naked from the waist up。 They



brought a cord with which they tied me to a beam in the kitchen。 



They drew the cord tight with all their strength and asked me;



'Does it hurt you?' and then they discharged their fury upon me;



exclaiming as they struck me; 'Pray now to your God。'  It was the



Roulette woman who held this language。  But at this moment I



received the greatest consolation that I can ever receive in my



life; since I had the honor of being whipped for the name of



Christ; and in addition of being crowned with his mercy and his



consolations。  Why can I not write down the inconceivable



influences; consolations; and peace which I felt interiorly?  To



understand them one must have passed by the same trial; they were



so great that I was ravished; for there where afflictions abound



grace is given superabundantly。  In vain the women cried; 'We



must double our blows; she does not feel them; for she neither



speaks nor cries。'  And how should I have cried; since I was



swooning with happiness within?〃'173'







'173' Claparede et Goty:  Deux Heroines de la Foi; Paris; 1880;



p。 112。















The transition from tenseness; self…responsibility; and worry; to



equanimity; receptivity; and peace; is the most wonderful of all



those shiftings of inner equilibrium; those changes of the



personal centre of energy; which I have analyzed so often; and



the chief wonder of it is that it so often comes about; not by



doing; but by simply relaxing and throwing the burden down。  This



abandonment of self…responsibility seems to be the fundamental



act in specifically religious; as distinguished from moral



practice。  It antedates theologies and is independent of



philosophies。  Mind…cure; theosophy; stoicism; ordinary



neurological hygiene; insist on it as emphatically as



Christianity does; and it is capable of entering into closest



marriage with every speculative creed。'174'  Christians who have



it strongly live in what is called 〃recollection;〃 and are never



anxious about the future; nor worry over the outcome of the day。 



Of Saint Catharine of Genoa it is said that 〃she took cognizance



of things; only as they were presented to her in succession;



MOMENT BY MOMENT。〃  To her holy soul; 〃the divine moment was the



present moment; 。 。 。 and when the present moment was estimated



in itself and in its relations; and when the duty that was



involved in it was accomplished; it was permitted to pass away as



if it had never been; and to give way to the facts and duties of



the moment which came after。〃'175'  Hinduism; mind…cure; and



theosophy all lay great emphasis upon this concentration of the



consciousness upon the moment at hand。







'174' Compare these three different statements of it:  A。 P。



Call:  As a Matter of Course; Boston; 1894; H。 W。 Dresser: 



Living by the Spirit; New York and London; 1900; H。 W。 Smith: 



The Christian's Secret of a Happy Life; published by the Willard



Tract Repository; and now in thousands of hands。







'175' T。 C。 Upham:  Life of Madame Catharine Adorna; 3d ed。;



New York; 1864; pp。 158; 172…74。















The next religious symptom which I will note is what have called



Purity of Life。  The saintly person becomes exceedingly sensitive



to inner inconsistency or discord; and mixture and confusion grow



intolerable。  All the mind's objects and occupations must be



返回目录 上一页 下一页 回到顶部 0 0

你可能喜欢的