lectures14+15-第6章

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Poor　dear　sister；　indeed！　Amiable　and　good；　but　so　feeble　of



intellectual　outlook　that　it　would　be　too　much　to　ask　of　us；　with



our　Protestant　and　modern　education；　to　feel　anything　but



indulgent　pity　for　the　kind　of　saintship　which　she　embodies。　　A



lower　example　still　of　theopathic　saintliness　is　that　of　Saint



Gertrude；　a　Benedictine　nun　of　the　thirteenth　century；　whose



〃Revelations；〃　a　well…known　mystical　authority；　consist　mainly　of



proofs　of　Christ's　partiality　for　her　undeserving　person。　



Assurances　of　his　love；　intimacies　and　caresses　and　compliments



of　the　most　absurd　and　puerile　sort；　addressed　by　Christ　to



Gertrude　as　an　individual；　form　the　tissue　of　this　paltry…minded



recital。＇205＇　In　reading　such　a　narrative；　we　realize　the　gap



between　the　thirteenth　and　the　twentieth　century；　and　we　feel



that　saintliness　of　character　may　yield　almost　absolutely



worthless　fruits　if　it　be　associated　with　such　inferior



intellectual　sympathies。　　What　with　science；　idealism；　and



democracy；　our　own　imagination　has　grown　to　need　a　God　of　an



entirely　different　temperament　from　that　Being　interested



exclusively　in　dealing　out　personal　favors；　with　whom　our



ancestors　were　so　contented。　　Smitten　as　we　are　with　the　vision



of　social　righteousness；　a　God　indifferent　to　everything　but



adulation；　and　full　of　partiality　for　his　individual　favorites；



lacks　an　essential　element　of　largeness；　and　even　the　best



professional　sainthood　of　former　centuries；　pent　in　as　it　is　to



such　a　conception；　seems　to　us　curiously　shallow　and　unedifying。







＇205＇　Examples：　　〃Suffering　from　a　headache；　she　sought；　for　the



glory　of　God；　to　relieve　herself　by　holding　certain　odoriferous



substances　in　her　mouth；　when　the　Lord　appeared　to　her　to　lean



over　towards　her　lovingly；　and　to　find　comfort　Himself　in　these



odors。　　After　having　gently　breathed　them　in；　He　arose；　and　said



with　a　gratified　air　to　the　Saints；　as　if　contented　with　what　He



had　done：　'see　the　new　present　which　my　betrothed　has　given　Me！'







〃One　day；　at　chapel；　she　heard　supernaturally　sung　the　words



'Sanctus；　Sanctus；　Sanctus。'　The　son　of　God　leaning　towards　her



like　a　sweet　lover；　and　giving　to　her　soul　the　softest　kiss；　said



to　her　at　the　second　Sanctus：　　'In　this　Sanctus　addressed　to　my



person；　receive　with　this　kiss　all　the　sanctity　of　my　divinity



and　of　my　humanity；　and　let　it　be　to　thee　a　sufficient



preparation　for　approaching　the　communion　table。'　And　the　next



following　Sunday；　while　she　was　thanking　God　for　this　favor；



behold　the　Son　of　God；　more　beauteous　than　thousands　of　angels；



takes　her　in　His　arms　as　if　He　were　proud　of　her　and　presents　her



to　God　the　Father；　in　that　perfection　of　sanctity　with　which　He



had　dowered　her。　　And　the　Father　took　such　delight　in　this　soul



thus　presented　by　His　only　son；　that；　as　if　unable　longer　to



restrain　Himself；　He　gave　her；　and　the　Holy　Ghost　gave　her　also；



the　sanctity　attributed　to　each　by　His　own　Sanctusand　thus　she



remained　endowed　with　the　plenary　fullness　of　the　blessing　of



Sanctity；　bestowed　on　her　by　Omnipotence；　by　Wisdom；　and　by



Love。〃　　Revelations　de　Sainte　Gertrude；　Paris；　1898；　i。　44；　186。















Take　Saint　Teresa；　for　example；　one　of　the　ablest　women；　in　many



respects；　of　whose　life　we　have　the　record。　　She　had　a　powerful



intellect　of　the　practical　order。　　She　wrote　admirable



descriptive　psychology；　possessed　a　will　equal　to　any　emergency；



great　talent　for　politics　and　business；　a　buoyant　disposition；



and　a　first…rate　literary　style。　　She　was　tenaciously　aspiring；



and　put　her　whole　life　at　the　service　of　her　religious　ideals。　



Yet　so　paltry　were　these；　according　to　our　present　way　of



thinking；　that　（although　I　know　that　others　have　been　moved



differently）　I　confess　that　my　only　feeling　in　reading　her　has



been　pity　that　so　much　vitality　of　soul　should　have　found　such



poor　employment。







In　spite　of　the　sufferings　which　she　endured；　there　is　a　curious



flavor　of　superficiality　about　her　genius。　　A　Birmingham



anthropologist；　Dr。　Jordan；　has　divided　the　human　race　into　two



types；　whom　he　calls　〃shrews〃　and　〃nonshrews〃　respectively。＇206＇



The　shrew…type　is　defined　as　possessing　an　〃active　unimpassioned



temperament。〃　　In　other　words；　shrews　are　the　〃motors；〃　rather



than　the　〃sensories；〃＇207＇　and　their　expressions　are　as　a　rule



more　energetic　than　the　feelings　which　appear　to　prompt　them。　



Saint　Teresa；　paradoxical　as　such　a　judgment　may　sound；　was　a



typical　shrew；　in　this　sense　of　the　term。　　The　bustle　of　her



style；　as　well　as　of　her　life；　proves　it。　　Not　only　must　she



receive　unheard…of　personal　favors　and　spiritual　graces　from　her



Saviour；　but　she　must　immediately　write　about　them　and　exploiter



them　professionally；　and　use　her　expertness　to　give　instruction



to　those　less　privileged。　　Her　voluble　egotism；　her　sense；　not　of



radical　bad　being；　as　the　really　contrite　have　it；　but　of　her



〃faults〃　and　〃imperfections〃　in　the　plural；　her　stereotyped



humility　and　return　upon　herself；　as　covered　with　〃confusion〃　at



each　new　manifestation　of　God's　singular　partiality　for　a　person



so　unworthy；　are　typical　of　shrewdom：　　a　paramountly　feeling



nature　would　be　objectively　lost　in　gratitude；　and　silent。　　She



had　some　public　instincts；　it　is　true；　she　hated　the　Lutherans；



and　longed　for　the　church's　triumph　over　them；　but　in　the　main



her　idea　of　religion　seems　to　have　been　that　of　an　endless



amatory　flirtationif　one　may　say　so　without　irreverence



between　the　devotee　and　the　deity；　and　apart　from　helping　younger



nuns　to　go　in　this　direction　by　the　inspiration　of　her　example



and　instruction；　there　is　absolutely　no　human　use　in　her；　or　sign



of　any　general　human　interest。　　Yet　the　spirit　of　her　age；　far



from　rebuking　her；　exalted　her　as　superhuman。







＇206＇　　Furneaux　Jordan：　　Character　in　Birth　and　Parentage；　first



edition。　Later　editions　change　the　nomenclature。







＇207＇　As　to　this　distinction；　see　the　admirably　practical　account



in　J。　M。　Baldwin's　little　book；　The　Story　of　the　Mind；　1898。















We　have　to　pass　a　similar　judgment　on　the　whole　notion　of



saintship　based　on　merits。　　Any　God　who；　on　the　one　hand；　can



care　to　keep　a　pedantically　minute　account　of　individual



shortcomings；　and　on　the　other　can　feel　such　partialities；　and



load　particular　creatures　with　such　insipid　marks　of　favor；　is



too　small…minded　a　God　for　our　credence。　　When　Luther；　in　his



immense　manly　way；　swept　off　by　a　stroke　of　his　hand　the　very



notion　of　a　debit　and　credit　account　kept　with　individuals　by　the



Almighty；　he　stretched　the　soul's　imagination　and　saved　theology



from　puerility。



　



So　much　for　mere　devotion；　divorced　from　the　intellectual



conceptions　which　might　guide　it　towards　bearing　useful　human



fruit。







The　next　saintly　virtue　in　which　we　find　excess　is　Purity。　　In



theopathic　characters；　like　those　whom　we　have　just　considered；



the　love　of　God　must　not　be　mixed　with　any　other　love。　　Father



and　mother；　sisters；　brothers；　and　friends　are　felt　as



interfering　distractions；　for　sensitiveness　and　narrowness；　when



they　occur　together；　as　they　often　do；　require　above　all　things　a



simplified　world　to　dwell　in。　　Variety　and　confusion　are　too　much



for　their　powers　of　comfortable　adaptation。　　But　whereas　your



aggressive　pietist　reaches　his　unity　objectively；　by　forcibly



stamping　disorder　and　divergence　out；　your　retiring　pietist



reaches　his　subjectively；　leaving　disorder　in　the　world　at　larg