lectures11-13-第9章
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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