Suchaccountsasthisshadeawayintootherswherethebeliefis,notthatparticulareventsaretemperedmoretowardlytousbyasuperintendingprovidence,asarewardforourreliance,butthatbycultivatingthecontinuoussenseofourconnectionwiththepowerthatmadethingsastheyare,wearetemperedmoretowardlyfortheirreception。Theoutwardfaceofnatureneednotalter,buttheexpressionsofmeaninginitalter。Itwasdeadandisaliveagain。Itislikethedifferencebetweenlookingonapersonwithoutlove,oruponthesamepersonwithlove。Inthelattercaseintercoursespringsintonewvitality。Sowhenone’saffectionskeepintouchwiththedivinityoftheworld’sauthorship,fearandegotismfallaway;andintheequanimitythatfollows,onefindsinthehours,astheysucceedeachother,aseriesofpurelybenignantopportunities。Itisasifalldoorswereopened,andallpathsfreshlysmoothed。Wemeetanewworldwhenwemeettheoldworldinthespiritwhichthiskindofprayerinfuses。
SuchaspiritwasthatofMarcusAureliusandEpictetus。[318]Itisthatofmind-curers,ofthetranscendentalists,andoftheso-called“liberal“Christians。Asanexpressionofit,IwillquoteapagefromoneofMartineau’ssermons:——
[318]“GoodHeaven!”saysEpictetus,“anyonethinginthecreationissufficienttodemonstrateaProvidence,toahumbleandgratefulmind。Themerepossibilityofproducingmilkfromgrass,cheesefrommilk,andwoolfromskins;whoformedandplannedit?Oughtwenot,whetherwedigorploughoreat,tosingthishymntoGod?GreatisGod,whohassupplieduswiththeseinstrumentstotilltheground;greatisGod,whohasgivenushandsandinstrumentsofdigestion,whohasgivenustogrowinsensiblyandtobreatheinsleep。Thesethingsweoughtforevertocelebrate……Butbecausethemostofyouareblindandinsensible,theremustbesomeonetofillthisstation,andlead,inbehalfofallmen,thehymntoGod;forwhatelsecanIdo,alameoldman,butsinghymnstoGod?WereIanightingale,Iwouldactthepartofanightingale;wereIaswan,thepartofaswan。ButsinceIamareasonablecreature,itismydutytopraiseGod……andIcallonyoutojointhesamesong。”Works,booki。ch。xvi。,Carter-Higginsontranslationabridged。
“Theuniverse,opentotheeyeto-day,looksasitdidathousandyearsago:andthemorninghymnofMiltondoesbuttellthebeautywithwhichourownfamiliarsundressedtheearliestfieldsandgardensoftheworld。Weseewhatallourfatherssaw。AndifwecannotfindGodinyourhouseorinmine,upontheroadsideorthemarginofthesea;intheburstingseedoropeningflower;inthedaydutyorthenightmusing;inthegenerallaughandthesecretgrief;intheprocessionoflife,everenteringafresh,andsolemnlypassingbyanddroppingoff;I
donotthinkweshoulddiscernhimanymoreonthegrassofEden,orbeneaththemoonlightofGethsemane。Dependuponit,itisnotthewantofgreatermiracles,butofthesoultoperceivesuchasareallowedusstill,thatmakesuspushallthesanctitiesintothefarspaceswecannotreach。ThedevoutfeelthatwhereverGod’shandis,THEREismiracle:anditissimplyanindevoutnesswhichimaginesthatonlywheremiracleis,cantherebetherealhandofGod。ThecustomsofHeavenoughtsurelytobemoresacredinoureyesthanitsanomalies;thedearoldways,ofwhichtheMostHighisnevertired,thanthestrangethingswhichhedoesnotlovewellenoughevertorepeat。Andhewhowillbutdiscernbeneaththesun,asherisesanymorning,thesupportingfingeroftheAlmighty,mayrecoverthesweetandreverentsurprisewithwhichAdamgazedonthefirstdawninParadise。Itisnooutwardchange,noshiftingintimeorplace;
butonlythelovingmeditationofthepureinheart,thatcanreawakentheEternalfromthesleepwithinoursouls:thatcanrenderhimarealityagain,andreassertforhimoncemorehisancientnameof’theLivingGod。’“[319]
JamesMartineau:endofthesermon“HelpThouMineUnbelief。”inEndeavoursafteraChristianLife,2dseries。
ComparewiththispagetheextractfromVoyseyonp。270,above,andthosefromPascalandMadameGuyononp。281。
WhenweseeallthingsinGod,andreferallthingstohim,wereadincommonmatterssuperiorexpressionsofmeaning。Thedeadnesswithwhichcustominveststhefamiliarvanishes,andexistenceasawholeappearstransfigured。Thestateofamindthusawakenedfromtorporiswellexpressedinthesewords,whichItakefromafriend’sletter:——
“Ifweoccupyourselvesinsummingupallthemerciesandbountiesweareprivilegedtohave,weareoverwhelmedbytheirnumbersogreatthatwecanimagineourselvesunabletogiveourselvestimeeventobegintoreviewthethingswemayimagineWEHAVENOT。WesumthemandrealizethatWEAREACTUALLY
KILLEDWITHGOD’SKINDNESS;thatwearesurroundedbybountiesuponbounties,withoutwhichallwouldfall。Shouldwenotloveit;shouldwenotfeelbuoyedupbytheEternalArms?”
Sometimesthisrealizationthatfactsareofdivinesending,insteadofbeinghabitual,iscasual,likeamysticalexperience。
FatherGratrygivesthisinstancefromhisyouthfulmelancholyperiod:——
“OnedayIhadamomentofconsolation,becauseImetwithsomethingwhichseemedtomeideallyperfect。ItwasapoordrummerbeatingthetattoointhestreetsofParis。Iwalkedbehindhiminreturningtotheschoolontheeveningofaholiday。Hisdrumgaveoutthetattooinsuchawaythat,atthatmomentatleast,howeverpeevishIwere,Icouldfindnopretextforfault-finding。Itwasimpossibletoconceivemorenerveorspirit,bettertimeormeasure,moreclearnessorrichness,thanwereinthisdrumming。Idealdesirecouldgonofartherinthatdirection。Iwasenchantedandconsoled;theperfectionofthiswretchedactdidmegood。Goodisatleastpossible,Isaid。
sincetheidealcanthussometimesgetembodied。”[320]
[320]SouvenirsdemaJeunesse,1897,p。122。
InSenancour’snovelofObermannasimilartransientliftingoftheveilisrecorded。InParisstreets,onaMarchday,hecomesacrossaflowerinbloom,ajonquil:
“Itwasthestrongestexpressionofdesire:itwasthefirstperfumeoftheyear。Ifeltallthehappinessdestinedforman。
Thisunutterableharmonyofsouls,thephantomoftheidealworld,aroseinmecomplete。Ineverfeltanythingsogreatorsoinstantaneous。Iknownotwhatshape,whatanalogy,whatsecretofrelationitwasthatmademeseeinthisfloweralimitlessbeauty……Ishallneverincloseinaconceptionthispower,thisimmensitythatnothingwillexpress;thisformthatnothingwillcontain;thisidealofabetterworldwhichonefeels,butwhich,itseems,naturehasnotmadeactual。”
Weheardinpreviouslecturesofthevivifiedfaceoftheworldasitmayappeartoconvertsaftertheirawakening。[322]Asarule,religiouspersonsgenerallyassumethatwhatevernaturalfactsconnectthemselvesinanywaywiththeirdestinyaresignificantofthedivinepurposeswiththem。Throughprayerthepurpose,oftenfarfromobvious,comeshometothem,andifitbe“trial。”strengthtoendurethetrialisgiven。Thusatallstagesoftheprayerfullifewefindthepersuasionthatintheprocessofcommunionenergyfromonhighflowsintomeetdemand,andbecomesoperativewithinthephenomenalworld。Solongasthisoperativenessisadmittedtobereal,itmakesnoessentialdifferencewhetheritsimmediateeffectsbesubjectiveorobjective。Thefundamentalreligiouspointisthatinprayer,spiritualenergy,whichotherwisewouldslumber,doesbecomeactive,andspiritualworkofsomekindiseffectedreally。
[322]Above,p。243ff。Comparethewithdrawalofexpressionfromtheworld,inMelancholiacs,p。148。
SomuchforPrayer,takeninthewidesenseofanykindofcommunion。Asthecoreofreligion,wemustreturntoitinthenextlecture。
Thelastaspectofthereligiouslifewhichremainsformetotouchuponisthefactthatitsmanifestationssofrequentlyconnectthemselveswiththesubconsciouspartofourexistence。
YoumayrememberwhatIsaidinmyopeninglecture[323]abouttheprevalenceofthepsychopathictemperamentinreligiousbiography。Youwillinpointoffacthardlyfindareligiousleaderofanykindinwhoselifethereisnorecordofautomatisms。Ispeaknotmerelyofsavagepriestsandprophets,whosefollowersregardautomaticutteranceandactionasbyitselftantamounttoinspiration,Ispeakofleadersofthoughtandsubjectsofintellectualizedexperience。SaintPaulhadhisvisions,hisecstasies,hisgiftoftongues,smallaswastheimportanceheattachedtothelatter。ThewholearrayofChristiansaintsandheresiarchs,includingthegreatest,theBarnards,theLoyolas,theLuthers,theFoxes,theWesleys,hadtheirvisions,voices,raptconditions,guidingimpressions,and“openings。”Theyhadthesethings,becausetheyhadexaltedsensibility,andtosuchthingspersonsofexaltedsensibilityareliable。Insuchliabilitytherelie,however,consequencesfortheology。Beliefsarestrengthenedwhereverautomatismscorroboratethem。Incursionsfrombeyondthetransmarginalregionhaveapeculiarpowertoincreaseconviction。Theinchoatesenseofpresenceisinfinitelystrongerthanconception,butstrongasitmaybe,itisseldomequaltotheevidenceofhallucination。SaintswhoactuallyseeorheartheirSaviourreachtheacmeofassurance。Motorautomatisms,thoughrarer,are,ifpossible,evenmoreconvincingthansensations。
Thesubjectshereactuallyfeelthemselvesplayeduponbypowersbeyondtheirwill。Theevidenceisdynamic;theGodorspiritmovestheveryorgansoftheirbody
Afriendofmine,afirst-ratepsychologist,whoisasubjectofgraphicautomatism,tellsmethattheappearanceofindependentactuationinthemovementsofhisarm,whenhewritesautomatically,issodistinctthatitobligeshimtoabandonapsychophysicaltheorywhichhehadpreviouslybelievedin,thetheory,namely,thatwehavenofeelingofthedischargedownwardsofourvoluntarymotor-centres。Wemustnormallyhavesuchafeeling,hethinks,ortheSENSEOFANABSENCEwouldnotbesostrikingasitisintheseexperiences。Graphicautomatismofafullydevelopedkindisrareinreligioushistory,sofarasmyknowledgegoes。SuchstatementsasAntoniaBourignon’s,that“Idonothingbutlendmyhandandspirittoanotherpowerthanmine。”isshownbythecontexttoindicateinspirationratherthandirectlyautomaticwriting。Insomeeccentricsectsthislatteroccurs。Themoststrikinginstanceofitisprobablythebulkyvolumecalled,“Oahspe,anewBibleintheWordsofJehovahandhisangelambassadors。”BostonandLondon,1891,writtenandillustratedautomaticallybyDr。NewbroughofNewYork,whomI
understandtobenow,ortohavebeenlately,attheheadofthespiritisticcommunityofShalaminNewMexico。Thelatestautomaticallywrittenbookwhichhascomeundermynoticeis“Zertouhem’sWisdomoftheAges。”byGeorgeA。Fuller,Boston,1901。
Thegreatfieldforthissenseofbeingtheinstrumentofahigherpowerisofcourse“inspiration。”Itiseasytodiscriminatebetweenthereligiousleaderswhohavebeenhabituallysubjecttoinspirationandthosewhohavenot。IntheteachingsoftheBuddha,ofJesus,ofSaintPaulapartfromhisgiftoftongues,ofSaintAugustine,ofHuss,ofLuther,ofWesley,automaticorsemi-automaticcompositionappearstohavebeenonlyoccasional。IntheHebrewprophets,onthecontrary,inMohammed,insomeoftheAlexandrians,inmanyminorCatholicsaints,inFox,inJosephSmith,somethinglikeitappearstohavebeenfrequent,sometimeshabitual。Wehavedistinctprofessionsofbeingunderthedirectionofaforeignpower,andservingasitsmouthpiece。AsregardstheHebrewprophets,itisextraordinary,writesanauthorwhohasmadeacarefulstudyofthem,tosee——
“How,oneafteranother,thesamefeaturesarereproducedinthepropheticbooks。Theprocessisalwaysextremelydifferentfromwhatitwouldbeiftheprophetarrivedathisinsightintospiritualthingsbythetentativeeffortsofhisowngenius。
Thereissomethingsharpandsuddenaboutit。Hecanlayhisfinger,sotospeak,onthemomentwhenitcame。Anditalwayscomesintheformofanoverpoweringforcefromwithout,againstwhichhestruggles,butinvain。Listen,forinstance,[to]theopeningofthebookofJeremiah。ReadthroughinlikemannerthefirsttwochaptersoftheprophecyofEzekiel。
“Itisnot,however,onlyatthebeginningofhiscareerthattheprophetpassesthroughacrisiswhichisclearlynotself-
caused。Scatteredallthroughthepropheticwritingsareexpressionswhichspeakofsomestrongandirresistibleimpulsecomingdownupontheprophet,determininghisattitudetotheeventsofhistime,constraininghisutterance,makinghiswordsthevehicleofahighermeaningthantheirown。Forinstance,thisofIsaiah’s:’TheLordspakethustomewithastronghand,’——anemphaticphrasewhichdenotestheovermasteringnatureoftheimpulse——’andinstructedmethatIshouldnotwalkinthewayofthispeople。’……OrpassageslikethisfromEzekiel:
’ThehandoftheLordGodfelluponme,’’ThehandoftheLordwasstronguponme。’TheonestandingcharacteristicoftheprophetisthathespeakswiththeauthorityofJehovahhimself。