F. F. C. M.
ºn ºr


t
Tauler
3%arbarb ZBibinity Štúool
††
1.
ANDOVER-HARVARD THEOLOGICAL
LIBRARY
MDCCCCX
CAMBRIDGE, MASSACHUSETTS








|
SELECTIONS
the Life and sermong
DOCTOR JOHN TAULER.
—o-o-QEc-c-
H O S T O N :
Roberts 33rotberg.
1878.
|


*-
f : RVARD
THEOLO, AL LIBRARY
CAMERIDGE, MASS.
Copyright, 1878,
By Roberts BROTHERs.
/*
`--
* , . * ,
!. * *
Cambridge:
A'ress ºf John Wilson & Son.


|
PR E F A C E.
HIS little volume is abridged from “The
- History and Life of the Reverend Doctor
John Tauler of Strasbourg; with Twenty-five of
his Sermons (temp. I340). Translated from the
German, with Additional Notices of Tauler's
Life and Times, by Susanna Winkworth, Trans-
lator of Theologia Germanica.” Those who
are familiar with Miss Winkworth's beautiful
and interesting book, know how valuable a con-
tribution it is to the knowledge of the men and
thoughts of that period. They must have
learned to love the noble character of Tauler,
and they must have been helped by his spiritual
sermons. If this little book of mine serve to
call attention afresh to the original volume, I
shall be very glad.
I have given the first portion, the History of
Tauler, written by his friend, nearly entire, with
the omission of a few pages only, from want of
space ; and I have made selections from Miss
Winkworth's historical sketch, and the Ser-
In Ons.


iv. 3}reface.
It may be of interest, in this connection, to
mention some of Tauler's contemporaries. In
Italy, Dante's life ended when Tauler was in
his prime ; Petrarch and Boccaccio were born,
the former in 1304, the latter in 1313, and sur-
vived him. St. Catharine of Siena, the young
nun whose lofty character gave her so powerful
an influence over all ranks and all ages, was a
girl of fourteen when he died. St. Dominic, of
Spain, the founder of the Dominican Order to
which Tauler belonged, died about seventy
years before the latter was born ; and St. Fran-
cis of Assisi, the founder of the rival Order of
the Franciscans, a few years later, in 1228.
In England, Chaucer and Wickliffe, although
already men of note, did not write the Canter-
bury Tales and translate the Bible till some
years after the death of Tauler.
M. W. T.
*


(Ijt #igtorg amb 3-ife
REVEREND DOCTOR JOHN TAULER.
FIRST CHAPTER.
N the year of our Lord 1340, it came to
pass that a Master in Holy Scripture
preached ofttimes in a certain city, and the
people loved to hear him, and his teachings
were the talk of the country for many
leagues round. Now this came to the ears
of a layman who was rich in God's grace,
and he was warned three times in his sleep
that he should go to the city where the
Master dwelt, and hear him preach. Now
that city was in another country, more
than thirty leagues distant. Then the man
thought within himself, “I will go thither
and wait to see what God is purposed to do
or bring to pass there.”
So he came to that city, and heard the
Master preach five times. Then God gave
I


3Doctor 3gjm (Iauler. 3
ing thereof, yet I cannot but thirst after it.
Multitudes flock to hear you: if there were
only one among them all who could under-
stand you, your labor were well bestowed.”
Then said the Master, “Dear son, if I am
to do as thou sayest, I must needs give
some study and labor to the matter before I
can put such a sermon together.” But the
man would not cease from his prayers and
entreaties till the Master promised him that
he should have his desire.
So, when the Master had finished his ser-
mon, he announced to the people that in
three days they should come together again,
for he had been requested to teach how a
man could attain to the Highest and Best
and nearest to God that might be reached
in this present time. And when the day
was come, much people came to the church,
and the man sat down in a place where he
could hear well ; and the Master came and
began his discourse.


4. #igtorg amb 31ift of
SECOND CHAPTER.
N his sermon he rehearsed four and
twenty articles whereby a man may
perceive who are the proper, true, reason-
able, enlightened, contemplative men; and
what sort of a man it is to whom Christ
may well speak these words: “Lo see a
true beholder of God in whom is no guile.”
John i. 47.
The more important of these articles are
the following: —
He shall daily, without ceasing, give up
his will to the will of God, and endeavor to
will nothing but what God willeth.
He shall have the sense of the presence
of God in all His works, at all times, and
in all places, whatever it please God to
appoint, whether it be sweet or bitter.
He shall not be deceived by the glory of
the creature, nor yet by any false light; but
in a spirit of kindness and love he shall
confess all things to be what they are, and
from all things draw out what is best, and
use it to his own improvement, and in no
wise to his own detriment ; for such a


3Boctor 3gjm (Iaultr. 5
course is a certain sign of the presence of
the Holy Spirit.
He shall confess the truth in simplicity,
and he shall mark what it is in itself, what
God requireth of us, and what is possible to
man, and then order his life accordingly, and
act up to what he confesses.
He shall be a man of few words and much
inward life.
His conversation shall be in all upright-
ness and sincerity; thus he shall let his
light shine before men, and he shall preach
more with his life than with his lips.
He shall be willing to take reproof; and
when he striveth with any he shall give way,
if the matter concern himself alone, and not
God.
He shall set the life and precepts of our
Lord Jesus Christ before him for a pattern
to his life, words, and works, and without
ceasing look at himself therein as in a mir-
ror, that, in so far as he is able, he may put
off every thing unbecoming the honored
image of our Lord.


TBoctor 3 offm (Iauler. 7
have hidden thy talent that I have never
perceived it in thee.”
Then the man made as though he would
depart, and said, “Dear Master, if God will,
I am purposed to go home again.” But the
Master said, “Dear son, what shouldst thou
do at home 2 Thou hast neither wife nor
child to provide for; thou must eat there as
well as here ; for, if God will, I am minded
to preach again of a perfect life.” Then
said the man, “Dear Master, you must
know that I have not come hither for the
sake of your preaching, but because I
thought, with God's help, to give you some
good counsel.” Quoth the Master, “How
shouldst thou give counsel who art but a
layman, and understandest not the Scrip-
tures; and it is, moreover, not thy place to
preach if thou wouldst. Stay here a little
longer; perchance God will give me to
preach such a sermon as thou wouldst care
to hear.” Then the man said, “Dear Mas-
ter, I would fain say somewhat to you, but
I fear that you would be displeased to hear
it.” But the Master answered, “Dear son,
say what thou wilt: I can answer for it that
I shall take it in good part.” Hereupon


8 #igtorg amb 3Life of
the man said, “You are a great clerk, and
have taught us a good lesson in this sermon,
but you yourself do not live according to it;
yet you try to persuade me to stay here;
that you may preach me another sermon.
Sir, I give you to know that neither your
sermons, nor any outward words that man
can speak, have power to work any good in
me, for man's words have in many ways
hindered me much more than they have
helped me. And this is the reason: it
often happened that, when I came away
from the sermon, I brought certain false
notions away with me, which I hardly got
rid of in a long while with great toil; but if
the highest Teacher of all truth shall come
to a man, he must be empty and quit of all
the things of time. Know ye that when
this same Master cometh to me, he teaches
me more in an hour than you, or all the
doctors from Adam to the Judgment Day,
will ever do.”
Then said the Master, “Dear son, stay
here, I pray thee, and celebrate the Lord's
Death with me.”
Whereon the man answered, “Seeing
that you adjure me so solemnly, it may be,


TBoctor 3gjm (Iauler. 9
that, in obedience to God, I ought to stay
with you; but I will not do it unless you
promise to receive all that I have said to
you, and all I may yet say to you, as under
the seal of confession, so that none may
know of it.” -
Quoth the Master, “Dear son, that I will-
ingly promise, if only that thou wilt stay
here.”
Then said the man, “Sir, ye must know,
that though you have taught us many good
things in this sermon, the image came into
my mind while you were preaching, that it
was as if one should take good wine and
mix it with lees, so that it grew muddy.”
Quoth the Master, “Dear son, what dost
thou mean by this 2 ”
The man said, “I mean that your vessel
is unclean, and much lees are cleaving to it;
and the cause is, that you have suffered
yourself to be killed by the letter, and are
killing yourself still every day and hour ;
albeit, you yourself know full well that the
Scripture saith, ‘The letter killeth, but the
Spirit giveth life.” Know, that same letter
which now killeth you will make you alive
again, if so be you are willing; but in the


IO #ígtorg amb 3Life of
life you are now living, know that you have
no light, but you are in the night, in which
you are indeed able to understand the letter,
but have not yet tasted the sweetness of the
Holy Ghost; and, withal, you are yet a
Pharisee.”
Then said the Master, “Dear son, I would
have thee to know that, old as I am, I have
never been spoken to in such fashion all my
life.”
The man said, “Where is your preaching
now? Do you see now what you are when
you are brought to the proof? And al-
though you think that I have spoken too
hardly to you, you are in truth guilty of all
I have said, and I will prove to you from
your own self that it is true.”
Then said the Master, “I ask for no
more, for I have ever been an enemy to all
Pharisees.”
Quoth the man, “I will first tell you how
it is that the letter is killing you. Dear sir,
as you know yourself, when you were ar-
rived at the age to understand good and
evil, you began to learn the letter, and in so
doing you sought your own welfare, and to
this day you are in the same mind; that is


TBoctor 3ſojn (Iaulet. I I
to say, you are trusting to your learning and
parts, and you do not love and intend God
alone; but you are in the letter, and intend
and seek yourself, and not the glory of God
as the Scripture teacheth us to do. You
have a leaning towards the creatures, and
specially towards one creature, and love
that creature with your whole heart above
measure ; and this is, moreover, the cause
why the letter killeth you. And whereas I
said that your vessel is unclean, that is also
true, inasmuch as you have not in all things
a single eye to God. If you look into your-
self, you will, for one thing, find it out by
the vanity and love of carnal ease whereby
your vessel is spoiled and filled with lees.
And whereas I further said that you were
still in darkness, and had not the true light,
this is also true; and it may be seen hereby
that so few receive the grace of the Holy
Spirit through your teaching. And whereas
I said that you were a Pharisee, that is also
true; but you are not one of the hypocritical
Pharisees. Was it not a mark of the Phari-
sees that they loved and sought themselves
in all things, and not the glory of God
Now examine yourself, dear sir, and see if


I 2 #igtorg amb 31ife of
you are not a proper Pharisee in the eyes
of God. Know, dear Master, that there are
many people in the world who are all called
Pharisees in God's sight, be they great or
small, according to what their hearts or lives
are bent upon.”
As the man spoke these words, the Mas-
ter fell on his neck and kissed him, and
said, “A likeness has come into my mind.
It has happened to me as it did to the
heathen woman at the well. For know,
dear son, that thou hast laid bare all my
faults before my eyes; thou hast told me
what I had hidden up within me, and espe-
cially that I have an affection for one crea-
ture ; but I tell thee of a truth, that I knew
it not myself, nor do I believe that any
human being in the world can know of it.
I wonder greatly who can have told thee
this of me. But I doubt not that thou hast
it of God. Now, therefore, I pray thee,
dear son, that thou celebrate our Lord's
death, and be thou my ghostly father, and
let me be thy poor, sinful son.”
Then said the man, “Dear sir, if you
speak so contrary to ordinances, I will not
stay with you, but ride home again ; that I
assure you.”


TBoctor 3gjn (Iaulet. I3
Hereupon said the Master, “Ah, no I
pray thee, for God's sake, do not so; stay
a while with me; I promise thee readily not
to speak thus any more. I am minded, with
God's help, to begin a better course; and I
will gladly follow thy counsel, whatsoever
thou deemest best, if I may but amend my
life.” -
Then said the man, “I tell you of a truth
that the letter and learning lead many great
doctors astray, and bring some into purga-
tory and some into hell, according as their
life here hath been, - I tell you of a truth, it
is no light matter that God should give a
man such great understanding and skill and
mastery in the Scripture, and he should not
put it in practice in his life.”
FOURTH CHAPTER.
HEN said the Master, “I pray thee,
for God's sake, to tell me how it is
that thou hast attained to such a life, and how
thou didst begin thy spiritual life, and what
have been thy exercises and thy history.”


I 4 #igtorg amb 3-ift of
The man said, “That is indeed a simple
request; for, I tell you truly, if I should re-
count, or write, all the wondrous dealings of
God with me, a poor sinner, for the last
twelve years, I verily believe that you have
not a book large enough to contain it if it
were all written. However, I will tell you
somewhat thereof for this time.
“The first thing that helped me was, that
God found in me a sincere and utterly self-
surrendering humility. Now I do not think
there is any need to tell you the bodily exer-
cises by which I brought my flesh into sub-
jection; for men's natures and dispositions
are very unlike ; but whenever a man has
given himself up to God with utter humility,
God will not fail to give him such exercises,
by temptations and other trials, as He per-
ceives to be profitable to the man, and such
as he is well able to bear and endure if he
be only willing.
“I will tell you how it befell me in the be-
ginning. I was reading the German books
about the lives of the Saints, when I thought
to myself, ‘These were men who lived on
this earth as well as I, and perhaps, too, had
not sinned as I have.’ And when these


HDoctor 3gjn (Iauler. I5
thoughts came into my head, I began to ex-
ercise myself in the life of the Saints with
some severities, but grew so sick thereby
that I was brought to death's door. And it
came to pass one morning, at break of day,
that I had exercised myself so that my eye-
lids closed from very weakness, and I fell
asleep. And in my sleep it was as though a
voice spoke to me and said, ‘Thou foolish
man, if thou art bent upon killing thyself
before thy time, thou wilt have to bear a
heavy punishment; but if thou didst suffer
God to exercise thee, He could exercise thee
better than thou by thyself, or with the
Devil's counsel.”
“When I heard speak of the Devil, I
awoke in a great fright, rose up, and walked
out into a wood nigh to the town. Then I
thought within myself, I had begun these
exercises without counsel; I will go and tell
the old hermit all that has happened to me.
And I did so, and told him the words that I
had heard in my sleep, and besought him in
God’s name to give me the best counsel he
could. So the hermit said, ‘Thou must
know that if I am to advise, thou must first
tell me all about thy exercises.’ So I did,


TDoctor 305m (Tauler. 17
what an impure, false counsel hast thou put
in my heart, thou bad, false counsellor If
we had such a God, I would not give a
berry for him.’ - -
“After that, another night, when I was
saying my matins,” an ardent longing came
over me, so that I said, “O eternal and
merciful God, that it were Thy will to give
me to discover something that should be
above all our sensual reason l’ As soon as
I had said it, I was sorely affrighted at this
great longing, and said with great fervor,
“Ah, my God and my Lord, forgive me of
Thy boundless mercy for having done this ;
and that it should have entered into the
heart of a poor worm like me to desire such
a great gift of such rich grace; and I con-
fess indeed that I have not always lived as
I ought of right to do. I confess, more-
over, dear Lord, that I have been unthank-
ful to Thee in all things, so that methinks I
am not worthy that the earth should bear
me, still less that such an ardent, gracious
desire should spring up in me; wherefore
my body must be punished for my sin.”
“With that I threw off my garments and
*At three o'clock in the morning.
2


18 #igtorg amb 3Life of
scourged myself till the blood ran down my
shoulders. And as these words remained
in my heart and on my lips till the day
broke, and the blood was flowing down, in
that same hour God showed His mercy on
me, so that my mind was filled with a clear
understanding. And in that same hour I
was deprived of all my natural reason; but
the time seemed all too short to me. And
when I was left to myself again, I saw a su-
pernatural mighty Wonder and sign, inso-
much that I could have cried with St. Peter,
‘Lord, it is good for me to be here !” Now
know, dear sir, that in that self-same short
hour, I received more truth and more illu-
mination in my understanding than all the
teachers could ever teach me from now till
the Judgment Day by word of mouth, and
with all their natural learning and science.
Now, dear Master, I have said enough for
this time as to how it stands with you.”


HDoctor 3gjm (Tauler. I9
FIFTH CHAPTER.
HEN said the Master, “If God give
thee grace to say still more, I should
heartily rejoice in it; for I tell thee in all
sincerity that I have listened to thee gladly,
dear son. Now I beg thee for God's sake
do not leave me, but stay here; and if thou
lack money, I will not let thee want for any
thing, if I have to pledge a book for it.”
Then said the man, “God reward you,
dear sir; know that I need not your kind-
ness, for God hath made me a steward of
His goods; so that I have of earthly wealth
five thousand florins, which are God’s ; and
if I knew where there was need of them, or
where God would have them bestowed, I
would give them away.”
Then said the Master, “Then, dear son,
thou art indeed the steward of a rich man
and a great lord I am in great wonder-
ment about that thou saidst, that I and all
teachers could not teach thee as much by
the Day of Judgment as thou hast been
taught in an hour. Now tell me, for I wish
to hear, has the Scripture proceeded from
the Holy Ghost?”


2O #igtorg and 3Life of
Then said the man, “Sir, methinks it
seems impossible that, after I have said so
much to you, you should talk in such a
childish fashion I Look here, dear Master |
I will ask you a question, and if, with all
your reason, you can explain it to me, either
by the Scriptures or without the Scriptures,
I will give you ten thousand florins.”
Then said the Master, “What is that ?”
The man said, “Can you instruct me how
I should write a letter to a heathen, far
away in a heathen land, in such fashion and
language that the heathen should be able to
read and understand it ; and make the
letter such that the heathen should come to
the Christian faith ? "
Then said the Master, “Dear son, these
are the works of the Holy Ghost; tell me
where has this happened 2 If thou know
any thing of the matter, tell me in what way
this came to pass, and whether it happened
to thyself ’’
Then said the man, “Albeit I am un-
worthy of it, yet did the Holy Spirit work
through me, a poor sinner; and how it came
to pass would take long to tell, and make
such a long story that one might write a


TDoctor 3Gijn (Iauler. 2 I
large book about it. The heathen was a
very good-hearted man, and often cried to
Heaven, and called upon Him who had
made him and all the world, and said: ‘O
Creator of all creatures, I have been born
in this land : now the Jews have another
faith, the Christians another. O Lord, who
art over all, and hast made all creatures, if
there be now any faith better than that in
which I have been born, or if there be any
other better still, show it to me in what wise
Thou wilt, so that I may believe it, and I
will gladly obey Thee and believe ; but if it
should be that Thou dost not show it me,
and I should die in my faith, since I knew
no better, if there were a better faith, but
Thou hadst not shown it nor revealed it
unto me, Thou wouldst have done me a
grievous injustice.' Now, behold, dear sir, a
letter was sent to that heathen, written by
me, a poor sinner, in such sort that he came
to the Christian faith; and he wrote me a
letter back again, telling what had befallen
him, the which stood written in a good Ger-
man tongue, that I could read it quite well.
Dear sir, there were much to be said on
this matter, but for this time it is enough


22 #igtorg amb 31ife of
you are well able to mark the meaning
thereof.”
Then said the Master, “God is wonderful
in all His works and gifts Dear son, thou
hast told me very strange things.”
The man said, “Dear sir, I fear that I
have said some things to you which have
vexed you greatly in your mind ; it is be-
cause I am a layman, and you are a great
doctor of Holy Scripture ; and yet I have
said so much to you after the manner of a
teacher. But that I have meant it well and
kindly, and sought your soul's salvation in
it, and simply the glory of God, and nothing
else, of that God is my witness.”
Then said the Master, “Dear son, if it
will not make thee angry, I will tell thee
what vexes me.”
Then said the man, “Yea, dear sir, speak
without fear; I promise not to take it
amiss.”
The Master said, “It amazes me greatly,
and is very hard to receive, that thou being
a layman, and I a priest, I am to take in-
struction from thee; and it also troubles me
much that thou calledst me a Pharisee.”
Then said the man, “Is there nothing
else that you cannot take in 2 ”


HBoctor 3ſojn (Iauler. 23
The Master answered, “No, I know of
nothing else.”
Then said the man, “Shall I also explain
to you these two things 2 ”
He answered, “Yes, dear son, I pray thee
in all kindness to do so, for God’s sake.”
Then said the man, “Now tell me, dear
Master, how it was, or whose work it was,
that the blessed Saint Katharine, who was
but a young virgin barely fourteen years old,
overcame some fifty of the great masters,
and moreover so prevailed over them, that
they willingly went to martyrdom? Who
wrought this 2 ”
Then said the Master, “The Holy Ghost
did this.”
Quoth the man, “Do you not believe that
the Holy Ghost has still the same power?”
The Master, “Yes, I believe it fully.”
The man, “Wherefore, then, do you not
believe that the Holy Ghost is speaking to
you at this moment through me, a poor sin-
ner and unworthy man, and is minded to
speak to you? He spoke the truth through
Caiaphas, who was also a sinner; and
know, that since you take what I have said
to you so much amiss, I will refrain from
saying any thing to you for the future.”


HDoctor 305m Caulet. 25
The man said, “He speaks them still,
now and evermore, to all men. Dear Mas-
ter, look at yourself; whether you touch
these burdens and bear them in your life is
known to God and also to yourself; but I
confess that, as far as I can judge of your
present condition, I would rather follow
your words than your life. Only look at
yourself, and see if you are not a Pharisee
in the eyes of God; though not one of those
false, hypocritical Pharisees, whose portion
is in hell-fire.”
The Master said, “I know not what I shall
say: this I see plainly, that I am a sinner,
and am resolved to better my life, if I die
for it. Dear son, I cannot wait longer: I
pray thee, simply for God’s sake, to counsel
me how I shall set about this work, and
show me and teach me how I may attain to
the highest perfection that a man may reach
on earth.”
Then said the man, “Dear sir, do not be
wroth with me ; but I tell you of a truth that
such counsel is scarcely to be given you;
for if you are to be converted, all your
wonted habits must be broken through with
great pain; because you must altogether


26 #ígtorg amb 3Life of
change your old way of life; and besides I
take you to be near fifty years old.”
Then said the Master, “It may be so;
but oh, dear son, to him who came into the
vineyard at the eleventh hour was given his
penny the same as to him who came in at
the first. I tell thee, dear son, I have well
considered the matter, and my heart is so
firmly set that if I knew this moment that I
must die for it, I would yet, with the help of
God, cease from my carnal life and my
earthly reasonings, and live according to thy
counsel. I beseech thee, for God’s sake,
not to keep me longer waiting, but to tell:
me this moment how I must begin.”
Then said the man, “Dear sir, because
you have received grace from God, and are
willing to humble yourself and submit, and
to bow down before a poor, mean, unworthy
creature; for all this let us give the glory
to God, to whom it is due, for this grace
proceeds from Him, and flows back to Him.
Since then, dear sir, I am to instruct you,
and counsel you in God's name, I will look
to Him for help, and do so in love to Him,
and set you a task such as they give chil-
dren to begin with at school; namely, the


T}octor 3gjn (Iauler. 27
four-and-twenty letters of the alphabet, be-
ginning with A.”
–0–
SIXTH CHAPTER.
HIS is the Golden A B C which this
pious man set the Doctor to learn for
the amending of his Zife, and which, doubtless,
it were very profitable and needful for us al/
to repeat many times and off, and amend our
/ives thereafter.
FTER a manly and not a childish sort,
ye shall, with thorough earnestness,
begin a good life.
AD ways ye shall eschew, and practise
all goodness with diligence and full
purpose of mind.
AREFULLY endeavor to keep the middle
path in all things, with seemliness and
moderation.
DEMEAN yourself humbly in word and
work, from the inward holiness of your
heart.
TNTIRELY give up your own will; evermore
cleave earnestly to God, and forsake
Him not.


28 #igtorg amb 31ife of
oRwaRD and ready shall ye be to all good
works, without murmuring, whatever be
commanded you.
IVE heed to exercise yourself in all godly
works of mercy toward the body or the
spirit.
Ave no backward glances after the world,
or the creatures, or their doings.
INWARPly in your heart ponder over your
past life with honesty, sincere repent-
ance in the bitterness of your heart,
and tears in your eyes.
KNightly and resolutely withstand the
assaults of the Devil, the Flesh, and
the World.
EARN to conquer long-cherished sloth with
vigor, together with all effeminacy of the
body, and subservience to the Devil.
AKE your abode in God, with fervent
love, in certain hope, with strong faith,
and be towards your neighbor as to-
wards yourself.
No other man's good things shall ye desire,
be they what they may, corporeal or
spiritual. -
RDER all things so that you make the
best and not the worst of them.


HDoctor 3gjm (Tauler. 29
PENAscº, that is, suffering for your sin,
you shall take willingly, whether it
come from God or the creatures.
Quº. remission, and absolution you
shall give to all who have ever done
you wrong in thought, word, or deed.
RECEIVE all things that befall you with
meekness, and draw improvement from
them.
Soul. and body, estate and reputation, keep
undefiled, with all care and diligence.
Truthful and upright shall ye be towards
all, without guile or cunning.
ANTONNESS and excess, of whatsoever
kind it may be, ye shall learn to lay
aside, and turn from it with all your
heart.
T., our blessed Lord's life and death,
shall ye follow, and wholly conform
yourself thereunto with all your might.
ye shall evermore, without ceasing, be-
seech our blessed Lady that sh9, help
you to learn this our lesson well.
Zealously keep a rein over your will and
your senses, that they may be at peace
with all that God doth, and also with
all His creatures.


3o #igtorg amb 3Lift of
All this lesson must be learned of a free
heart and will, without cavilling.
SEVENTH CHAPTER.
4& OW, dear sir, take kindly as from
God, without cavilling, this child’s
task, which He sets you by the mouth of
me, a poor and unworthy human being.”
Then said the Master, “However thou
mayst call this a child's task, methinks it
needs a man's strength to attack it. Now
tell me, dear son, how long a time wilt thou
give me to learn this lesson 2 ”
The man answered, “We will take five
weeks in honor of the five wounds of Christ,
that you may learn it well. You shall be
your own school-master ; and when you are
not perfect in any one of these letters, and
think yourself hardly able to learn it, then
cast aside your garment and chastise your
body, that it may be brought into subjection
to your soul and reason.”
Then said the Master, “I will gladly be
obedient.”


HBoctor 3ſojn (Iauler. 33
feelings will seek everywhere for help, and
make you call to mind the words in which
you pledged yourself to God, and also other
things, with the intent that, if possible, they
might break away from the cross; and that
must not be, but you must yield a willing
obedience to suffer all that is appointed you,
from whatsoever it may proceed. For know
that you must needs walk in that same path
of which our Lord spoke to that young man :
you must take up your cross and follow our
Lord Jesus Christ and his example, in utter
sincerity, humility, and patience, and must
let go all your proud, ingenious reason,
which you have through your learning in the
Scripture. You shall also for a time neither
study nor preach, and you shall demean
yourself with great simplicity towards your
penitents; for when they have ended their
confession, you shall give them no farther
counsel than to say to them, ‘I will learn
how to counsel myself, and when I can do
that, I will also counsel you.' . And if you
are asked when you will preach, say, as you
can with truth, that you have not time at
present; and so you will get rid of the
people.”
3


34 3Historg amb 3Life of
Then said the Master, “Dear son, I will
willingly do so; but how then shall I occupy
myself?”
The man replied, “You shall enter into
your cell and read your Hours, and also
chant in the choir if you feel inclined, and
shall say mass every day. And what time
is left, you shall set before you the sufferings
of our Lord, and contemplate your own life
in the mirror of His, and meditate on your
wasted time in which you have been living
for yourself, and how small has been your
love compared to His love. In all lowli-
ness ye shall study these things, whereby in
some measure ye may be brought to true
humility, and also wean yourself from your
old habits, and cease from them. And
then, when our Lord sees that the time
is come, He will make of you a new man, so
that you shall be born again of God.
“Nevertheless, you must know that before
this can come to pass, you must sell all that
you have, and humbly yield it up to God,
that you may truly make Him your end, and
give up to him all that you possess in your
carnal pride, whether through the Scriptures
or without ; or whatever it be, whereby you


HDoctor 3gjm (Tauler. 35
might reap honor in this world, or in the
which you may aforetime have taken pleas-
ure or delight, you must let it all go, and,
with Mary Magdalene, fall down at Christ's
feet, and earnestly strive to enter on a new
course. And so doing, without doubt, the
Eternal Heavenly Prince will look down on
you with the eye of His good pleasure, and
He will not leave His work undone in you,
but will urge you still further, that you may
be tried and purified as gold in the fire;
and it may even come to pass, that He shall
give you to drink of the bitter cup that He
gave to His only-begotten Son. For it is
my belief that one bitter drop which God
will pour out for you will be that your good
works and all your refraining from evil, yea
your whole life, will be despised and turned
to nought in the eyes of the people; and
all your spiritual children will forsake you
and think you are gone out of your mind;
and all your good friends, and your brothers
in the convent, will be offended at your life,
and say that you have taken to strange ways.
“But when these things come upon you,
be not in any wise dismayed, but rejoice,
for then your salvation draweth nigh: how-


HBoctor 3gjm (Tauler. 37
The man answered, “Yet you begged me
to show you the shortest way to the highest
perfectness. Now I know no shorter nor
surer way than to follow in the footsteps of
our Lord Jesus Christ. But, dear sir, I
counsel you in all faithfulness to take a cer-
tain space of time to consider these matters,
and then in God's name do as God gives
you grace to do.”
Then said the Master, “That will I do,
and wait and see whether, with the help of
God, I may prevail.”
-O-
EIGHTH CHAPTER.
ON the eleventh day after this, the Mas-
ter sent for the man and said to him,
“Ah, dear son, what agony and struggle
and fighting have I not had within me day
and night, before I was able to overcome
the Devil and my own flesh. But now, by
God’s grace, I have gathered myself to-
gether with all my powers, inward and out-
ward, and set my hand to this work with
good courage, and am purposed to remain
steadfast therein, come weal, come woe.”


38 #igtorg amb 31ife of
Then said the man, “Dear sir, do you
remember still all I said to you when you
asked me how you should begin ”
The Master answered, “Yes, the moment
thou didst depart, I wrote down all thou
hadst said to me, word for word.”
Then said the man, “Dear sir, that
through God you have found this bold
heart, rejoices me from the bottom of my
soul, and I am as well pleased as if it had
happened to myself, so God be my witness.
And now, in the name of our Lord Jesus
Christ, set forward.”
Then the man took his leave, and the
Master did as he had been bidden.
Now it came to pass that, before a year
was out, the Master grew to be despised of
all his familiar friends in the convent, and
his spiritual children all forsook him, as
entirely as if they had never seen him. And
this he found very hard to bear; and it
caused him such grief that his head was like
to turn. Then he sent for the man, and
told him how it fared with him ; how he was
ill in his whole body, and especially in his
head.
Then said the man, “Sir, you must not be


HDoctor 3gjm Tauler. 39
dismayed, but you must humbly cleave to
God, and put your firm trust in Him. Know
that this account of yours pleases me well,
and it stands well with your life, and will
grow better every day. Dear sir, you know
well that he who will walk in the right way,
and tread this path, must be made a par-
taker of the sufferings of our Lord Jesus
Christ; therefore be not afraid, but commit
yourself wholly to God; for know that the
same thing happened to me also. Mean-
while you must take some remedies while
you are in this state, and treat your body
well with good food, which may strengthen
it. A box of spices was made for me, and
I will have such an one prepared for you to
strengthen your head. But you must know
that I always gave myself up body and soul
to God, that He might do with them what
He pleased.”
Then said the Master, “But thou didst
tell me before that I must shun good eating
and drinking.”
The man answered, “Yes, sir, that was
in the first beginning, when the flesh was yet
wanton ; but now that it is tamed and obe-
dient to the spirit, we may come to its help


3Boctor 305m (Lauler. 4. I
The man said, “Dear sir, I will show you
a better Comforter, that is the Holy Ghost,
who has called and invited and brought you
to this point by means of me, His poor
creature ; but it is His work which has been
wrought in you, and not mine; I have been
merely His instrument, and served Him
therein, and have done so right willingly for
the glory of God and the salvation of your
soul.”
Then said the Master, “Dear son, may
God be thine eternal reward | Since it is so
weighty a matter, I will commit myself to
God, and bear this suffering as best I may.”
The man said, “Dear sir, since you are
now under the yoke, and have entered on a
spiritual life and obedience to God, and
have voluntarily devoted yourself thereto,
you should know how to live discreetly and
wisely, and to govern yourself aright; and
do not let it repent you because you are for-
saken of the creatures: but if it should hap-
pen that you lack money, or have need of
some, put a part of your books in pawn, and
do not suffer yourself to want for any thing;
but by no means sell the books; for a time
will come when good books will be very use-
ful, and you will have need of them.”


3Boctor 3gjm (Iauler. 4I
The man said, “Dear sir, I will show you
a better Comforter, that is the Holy Ghost,
who has called and invited and brought you
to this point by means of me, His poor
creature; but it is His work which has been
wrought in you, and not mine ; I have been
merely His instrument, and served Him
therein, and have done so right willingly for
the glory of God and the salvation of your
soul.”
Then said the Master, “Dear son, may
God be thine eternal reward | Since it is so
weighty a matter, I will commit myself to
God, and bear this suffering as best I may.”
The man said, “Dear sir, since you are
now under the yoke, and have entered on a
spiritual life and obedience to God, and
have voluntarily devoted yourself thereto,
you should know how to live discreetly and
wisely, and to govern yourself aright; and
do not let it repent you because you are for-
iken of the creatures: but if it should hap-
that you lack money, or have need of
put a part of your books in pawn, and
suffer yourself to want for any thing;
o means sell the books; for a time
when good books will be very use-
u will have need of them.”


42 #igtorg amb 3.ife of
Then the man took his leave, and de-
parted from that place; but the Master's
eyes filled with tears, and he began to weep.
—6–
NINTH CHAPTER.
OW, when the Master had suffered thus
for two years, from sore assaults and
temptations of the Devil, and great con-
tempt from all his friends, and also great
poverty, so that he was obliged to pledge a
part of his books, and withal fell into great
weakness of the body, and he had demeaned
himself with great humility throughout ; –
behold, it came to pass on the Feast of St.
Paul's Conversion, that in the night he was
overtaken by the most grievous assault that
may be imagined, whereby all his natural
powers were so overcome with weakness, that
when the time for matins came he could not
go in to chapel, but remained in his cell,
and commended himself to God in great
humility, without help or consolation from
any creature. And as he lay in this state of
weakness, he thought of the sufferings of


HBoctor 30.5m (Iauler. 43
our Lord Jesus Christ, and His great love
that He had for us, and considered his own
life, how poor his life had been compared
to the love of God. Whereupon he was
overwhelmed with contrition for all his sins
and all his wasted time, and exclaimed with
tongue and heart, “O, merciful God have
mercy upon me, a poor sinner, for thy
boundless mercy's sake; for I am not
worthy that the earth should bear me.”
And as he was lying in this weakness and
great sadness, but fully awake, he heard
with his bodily ears a voice saying, “Stand
fast in thy peace, and trust God, and know
that when He was on earth in human
nature, He made the sick whom He healed
in body sound also in soul.”
Straightway when these words were ut-
tered, he lost his senses and reason, and
knew not how or where he was. But when
he came to himself again, he felt within
himself that he was possessed of a new
strength and might in all powers outward
and inward, and had also a clear under-
standing in those things which aforetime
were dark to him, and he wondered greatly
whence this came, and thought to himself,


T}octor 3gjm (Tauler. 45
will be profitable to you; for know that one
of your sermons will be more profitable
now, and the people will receive more fruit
therefrom, than from a hundred aforetime;
for the words that you say now, coming from
a pure soul, will have a pure and simple
savor. Now, dear sir, it is no longer need-
ful for me to speak to you as a teacher as I
have done hitherto ; for you have now the
right and true Master, whose instrument I
have been. To Him give ear, and obey His
commands: this is my most faithful counsel.
And now, in all godly love, I desire to re-
ceive instruction from you; for I have, with
God’s help, accomplished the good work for
which I was sent and came hither. I would
fain, if God will, sojourn here a good while
and hear you preach. If God give you to
do so, methinks it were well that you should
now begin to preach again.” -
Then said the Master, “Dear son, what
had I better do? I have pledged a great
many good books, as many as come to
thirty florins.”
The man answered, “Look! I will give
you that sum, for God's sake; and if you
have any of it left over, give it back to God ;
2.


46 #igtorg and 3Life of
for all that we have is His, whether temporal
or spiritual.”
So the Master redeemed his books, and
ordered notice to be given that he would
preach three days after. The people won-
dered much thereat, because it was so long
since he had preached; and a great crowd
gathered together to hear him. And when
the Master came, and saw that there was
such a multitude, he went up into a pulpit,
in a high place, that they might hear him all
the better. Then he held his hood before
his eyes, and said, “O merciful, eternal God,
if it be Thy will, give me so to speak that it
may be to the praise and glory of Thy name
and the good of this people.”
As he said these words, his eyes over-
flowed with tears of tenderness, so that he
could not speak a word for weeping; and
this lasted so long that the people grew
angry. At last a man spoke out of the
crowd, “Sir, how long are we to stand here?
It is getting late: if you do not mean to
preach, let us go home.” But the Master
remained in earnest prayer, and said again
to God, “Oh, my Lord and my God, if it be
Thy divine will, take this weeping from my


HDoctor 3gjm (Tauler. 47
eyes, and give me to deliver this sermon to
Thy praise and glory. But, if Thou dost
not do it, I take it as a sign that Thou judg-
est I have not yet been enough put to shame.
Now fulfil, dear Lord, Thy divine will on me
Thy poor creature, to Thy praise and my
necessities.” This all availed nothing : he
wept yet more and more.
Then he saw that God would have it so,
and said, with weeping eyes, “Dear children,
I am sorry from my heart that I have kept
you here so long, for I cannot speak a word
to-day for weeping. Pray God for me, that
He may help me, and then I will make
amends to you, if God give me grace, an-
other time, as soon as ever I am able.”
So the people departed, and this tale was
spread abroad and resounded through the
whole city, so that he became a public
laughing-stock, despised by all; and the
people said, “Now we all see that he has
become a downright fool.” And his own
brethren strictly forbade him to preach any
more, because he did the convent great
injury thereby, and disgraced the Order
with the senseless practices that he had
taken up, and which had disordered his
brain.


48 #ígtorg amb 3Life of .
Then the Master sent for the man, and
told him all that had happened. The man
said, “Dear Master, be of good cheer, and
be not dismayed at these things. The
Bridegroom is wont to behave so to all His
best and dearest friends, and it is a certain
sign that God is your good friend; for, with-
out a doubt, He has seen some speck of
pride concealed within you that you have
not perceived nor been conscious of your-
self, and therefore it is that you have been
put to shame. You may have received some
great gifts of God, which you yourself do
not know or perceive, that have been given
you by means of the patience with which
you have endured this assault; therefore be
of good cheer, and be joyful and humble.
Neither should you think this a strange
thing, for I have seen many such instances
in other people. You shall not despise this
pressure of the cross which God has sent
you, but count it a great blessing and favor
from God. I counsel you that you remain
alone for the next five days, and endure
without speaking to any, to the praise and
glory of the five wounds of our Lord Jesus
Christ. And when the five days are ended,


HDoctor 30.5m (Iauler. 49
beg your Prior to give you permission to
deliver a sermon in Latin. If he refuse,
beg him to let you try in the school and
read a lecture to the brethren.”
And he did so, and read to his brethren
such an excellent lecture as they had never
heard in their lives before, so grand and
deep and godly was his doctrine. Then
they gave him permission to preach a ser-
mon ; and after one of their brethren had
preached in the church where the Master
was wont to preach, he gave notice to the
people, and said, “I am ordered to an-
nounce that to-morrow the Master intends
to preach in this place; but if it should be-
fall him as it did lately, I will not be answer-
able for it. So much I can say with truth,
that in our school he has read us a lecture
containing such great and profound instruc-
tion, with high and divine wisdom, as we
have not heard for a long time. But what
he will do this time I know not. God only
knoweth.”
The next day after, the Master came to
the convent (it was a convent of ladies), and
began to preach, and said —
4


5o #igtorg amb 31ife of
TENTH CHAPTER.
& 4 EAR children, it may be now two
years or more since I last preached.
I spoke to you then of four-and-twenty Ar-
ticles, and it was then my custom to speak
much Latin, and to make many quotations:
but I intend to do so no more, but if I wish
to talk Latin I will do so when the learned
are present, who can understand it. For
this time repeat only an ‘Ave Maria' to
begin with, and pray for God's grace.
“Dear children, I have taken a text on
which I mean to preach this sermon, and
not to go beyond it ; in the vulgar tongue it
runs thus: ‘Behold the Bridegroom cometh,
go ye out to meet him.’
“The Bridegroom is our Lord Jesus
Christ, and the Bride is the Holy Church
and Christendom. Now I will tell you some-
what concerning what the Bride must do in
order to go and meet the Bridegroom.
“It is seemly that a faithful Bride should
avoid every thing that is displeasing to the
Bridegroom, such as vain-glory, pride, envy,
and all the other sins of this world, and all


3Doctor 3ſojn (Iauler. 5 I
the delights of the body and the flesh,
whether it be the ease and indulgence of
the body, or other things which are beyond
the necessaries of life. Further, it beseems
a faithful Bride to be shamefaced. When
this comes to pass, and the Bride, for her
Bridegroom's sake, has despised and given
up all these things, then she begins to be
somewhat well-pleasing to the Bridegroom.
“But if she desires to be yet more well-
pleasing in His sight, she must humbly bow
down before Him and say with heart and
lips, “Ah, my dear Lord and Bridegroom,
Thou knowest all hearts. I have said to
Thee, with my whole heart, that I desire to
do all that I can and may, and to do it
willingly, as far as Thou givest me to per-
ceive through my conscience what is agree-
able and well-pleasing to Thee.’ When the
Bride makes this vow to the Bridegroom, He
turneth Himself and begins to look upon
her. Then she beseeches Him to bestow
upon her some gift as a token of love.
What is the gift? It is that she is inwardly
and outwardly beset with divers assaults,
with which He is wont to endow His special
friends.


52 #igtorg amb 3Life of
“But if the Bride be as yet unaccustomed
to suffer, she will say, “Ah, dear Lord and
Bridegroom, this is very hard upon me. I
fear greatly that I shall scarcely be able to
endure it. Therefore, dear Lord and Bride-
groom, I pray Thee to make my burden
somewhat more tolerable, or else to take a
part of it away.’ -
“Then the Bridegroom answers, ‘Tell
me, then, dear Bride, should the Bride fare
better than the Bridegroom has fared 2 If
thou desirest to meet the Bridegroom, thou
must imitate Him in some sort ; and it is,
moreover, reasonable that a faithful Bride
should suffer somewhat with Him for her
Bridegroom's sake.’
“Now when the Bride heareth what is the
will of her Bridegroom, and how grave a
matter it is, she is sore affrighted, and says,
‘Dear Lord and Bridegroom, be not wroth
with me, for I will gladly hearken unto Thee ;
appoint unto me what Thou wilt; I am
willing to suffer all things with Thy help
and in Thy love.’
“When the Bridegroom heareth this, He
loveth the Bride yet better than He did be-
fore, and giveth her to drink of a still better


HBoctor 305m (Lauler. 53
cup. This cup is that she is to cease from
all her own thoughts, and all her works and
refrainings, for she can take pleasure in
nothing that is her own. Moreover, she is
derided by all, and these things are ac-
counted her folly.
“Then she cries earnestly unto the Bride-
groom, and says, “Ah! dear Lord and
Bridegroom, how great are Thy terrors
Know that I cannot endure them long. I
must die.’ -
“But the Bridegroom answers, “If thou
wilt in truth go out to meet thy Bridegroom,
it is fitting that thou shouldst first tread
some portion of the path that He has trav-
elled. Now, whereas the Bridegroom has
suffered shame, hunger, cold, thirst, heat,
and bitter pains, for three-and-thirty years,
and at last a bitter death, for the Bride's
sake, out of pure love, is it not just and
right that the Bride should venture even her
life for the Bridegroom's sake, out of love,
and with all her heart? Verily, if thou
hadst the right sort of love and true faith-
fulness unto thy Bridegroom, all thy fear
would vanish.’
“Then, when she hears these words of


54 #igtorg amb 31ife of
the Bridegroom, her whole heart is moved
with fear, and she says, “Ah ! dear Lord, I
acknowledge in all sincerity that I have
done wrong ; I grieve from the bottom of
my heart that I have not with a faithful
heart yielded myself up unto Thee, even
unto death. Dear Lord and Bridegroom, I
here vow and promise to Thee surely, that
all which Thou willest I also will. Come
sickness, come health, come pleasure or
pain, sweet or bitter, cold or heat, wet or
dry, - whatever Thou willest that do I also
will ; and desire altogether to come out from
my own will, and to yield a whole and will-
ing obedience unto Thee, and never to
desire aught else either in will or thought:
only let Thy will be accomplished in me,
Thy poor unworthy creature, in time and in
eternity. For, dear Lord, when I look at
what I am, I am not worthy that the earth
should bear me.’
“Now when the Bridegroom seeth this en-
tire and faithful will in the Bride, and her
deep and thorough humility, what does He
then do? His heart yearns over the Bride,
and giveth her a very costly, noble, sweet
cup to drink. What is this cup 2 It is that


TDoctor 3gjn (Iauler. 55
she suffers yet far more, from all manner of
temptations and tribulation, than she has
ever suffered before. And when the Bride
perceiveth this, and seeth the Bridegroom's
earnestness and good pleasure concerning
her, she suffereth all these things willingly
and gladly for the Bridegroom's sake, and
boweth herself down humbly before Him
and saith, ‘Ah! dear Lord and Bridegroom,
it is just and right that Thou shouldst not
will as I will ; but I desire and ought to will
as Thou wilt. I receive this gift right will-
ingly and gladly for Thy love from Thy
divine hand. Whether it be pleasant or
painful to the flesh, I acquiesce wholly in it
for love of Thee.’
“Now when the Bridegroom, in His eter-
nal wisdom, perceives this disposition within
His humble Bride, and her thorough ear-
nestness, she begins to grow precious to
Him ; and from hearty love He giveth her
to suffer in all her nature, until the Bride is
wholly purified from all faults and stain of
sin, and become perfectly fair and unspotted.
Then He says, “Now rise up, my beloved,
my pleasant, my beautiful Bride, for thou
art pure and without spot, and altogether


56 #igtorg and 3Life of
lovely in my eyes.” Then He looks upon
her with infinite, mighty, divine love. To
this joyful high-tide cometh the Father of
the Eternal Bridegroom, and saith to the
Bride, ‘Rise up, my lovely, chosen beloved :
it is time to go to Church ;’ and He taketh
the Bridegroom and Bride, and leadeth them
to the Church, and marries them to each
other, and binds them together with divine
love; yea, God doth bind them together in
bonds so fast that they can never be parted
again, either in time or eternity. In this
marriage feast is joy upon joy, and therein
is more peace and joy in one hour than all
the creatures can yield in time or in eter-
nity. The joy that the Bride hath with the
Bridegroom is so vast that no senses or rea-
son can apprehend or attain unto it.”
As the Doctor spoke these words, a man
cried out with a loud voice, “It is true !”
and fell down as if he were dead. Then a
woman called out from the crowd and said,
“Master, leave off, or this man will die on
our hands.”
Then the Master said, “Ah, dear chil-
dren, and if the Bridegroom take the Bride
and lead her home with Him, we will gladly


HBoctor 3gjm (Iaulet. 57
yield her to Him; nevertheless, I will make
an end and leave off. Dear children, let us
all cry unto the Lord our God in Heaven.
For verily we have all need to do so, seeing
that, alas! we have grown so dull of hearing
and foolish of heart that none of us has
compassion on his fellow, although we con-
fess that we are all called brothers and sis-
ters. That we may all become real, true,
perfect brides of our Lord Jesus Christ, and
that we may, in sincere, true, utter humility
and resignation, go out to meet our glorious
Bridegroom, and abide with Him for ever,
may God help us, the Father, the Son, and
the Holy Ghost. Amen.”
—o-
ELEVENTH CHAPTER.
HEN this sermon was ended, the
Master went down and read Mass,
and gave the Lord's Body to certain good
people; but after the sermon the man per-
ceived that some forty people remained sit-
ting in the church-yard. When Mass was
over, he told the Master of it, and they went


HDoctor 3gjm (Tauler. 59
they may not take some sickness, and harm
to their bodies, by lying in the open air on
the cold earth.” And they did so, and the
people were brought into a warm place.
Then the convent ladies said, “Dear sir,
we have a nun here to whom the same
thing has happened, and she is lying on her
bed as if she were dead.”
Then said the Master, “My dear
daughters, be patient, for God's sake, and
look to these sick people, and when any of
them comes to himself give him something
warm to take; if he will have it, give it him
in Christ's name.”
And the ladies said they would willingly
do so. So the Master and the man went
their way, and entered into the Master's
cell. Then the man said, “Now, dear Mas-
ter, what think you of this 2 Now, I wot
you see what wonders God works with good
tools. Dear sir, I perceive that this sermon
will stir many, and one will tell it to another.
If it please you, methinks it were well that
you let these sick children rest for a while,
for this sermon will give them plenty to
digest for some time; and if you think it
good, and God give you so to do, that you


62 #ígtorg amb 31ife of
Then said the man, “Dear Master, I have
written down five of your sermons, and if it
please you, I will write them out also, and
will make a little book about you.”
Quoth the Master, “Dear son, I lay upon
thee my most solemn admonition, that thou
write nothing about me, and that thou do
not mention my name ; for thou must know
that of a truth the life, and words, and
works which God has wrought through me,
a poor, unworthy, sinful man, are not mine,
but belong to God Almighty, now and for
evermore ; therefore, dear son, if thou wilt
write it down for the profit of our fellow
Christians, write it so that neither my name
nor thine be named, but thou mayst say the
Master and the man. Moreover, thou shalt
not suffer the book to be read or seen by
any one in this town, lest he should mark
that it was I; but take it home with thee to
thy own country, and let it not come out
during my life.” -
And for a space of eleven days, the Mas-
ter held much discourse with the man.
After that, the time came that the Master
should die. Then he said, “Dear son, I
pray thee, in God's name, to give thy con-


TDoctor 3gjm (Iauler. 63
sent to it, if God should permit my spirit to
come back to thee, and tell thee how it
fared with me.” The man answered, “Dear
Master, if God will have it so, I am also
willing.” But it came to pass that at the last
the Master had a most horrible and fright-
ful death-struggle, insomuch that all the
brethren in the convent, and also other peo-
ple, were greatly terrified and distressed
thereat, and were sore amazed at the dread-
ful anguish that they saw in his death.
Now when he was dead, all who were in
the convent and the city were filled with
sorrow. But when they perceived who was
the man that had been so long his bosom
friend in secret, they came and desired to
show him honor, and besought him to be
their guest. But when he was aware of
their intent, he fled that same hour out of
the city, and travelled home again. And as
he was on the way, the third day after the
Master's death, at nightfall, he was passing
through a little village with his servant, and
seeing a nobleman go past along the road,
he said to him, “My friend, is there any inn
in this village 2" The nobleman answered,
“No.” Then said the man, “Then show


64 #ígtorg amb 3Life of
us the kindness, dear friend, in God's name,
to let us lodge in thy house for to-night, and
take for it what thou wilt.” Then he said,
“If you will put up with such things as we
have, I will willingly lodge you, and give
you the best in my power.” So he took
him home with him. When it was night,
he laid the man upon a feather-bed, and
showed the servant into the barn to lie
upon the straw. Now in the night, the man
awoke and heard a voice close by ; yet he
saw no one. Then a shudder ran through
him, and he made the sign of the Cross.
Then the voice said, “Fear not, dear son, it
is I, the Master.” Then said the man,
“Dear Master, is it you? Then I beseech
you, with my whole heart, to tell me, if God
will, how it standeth with you, and how it
came to pass that you had such a dreadful
end; for your brethren in the convent were
much astonied at you, and it is to be feared
that your frightful end will be a great stum-
bling-block to your own brethren in the
convent.”
Then said the Master's voice, “Dear son,
that will I tell thee. Thou must know that
our Lord God saw fit to appoint me such a


HBoctor 3gjm (Tauler. 65
hard death in order that the holy angels
might straightway receive my soul to them-
selves; and for the same cause thou shalt
also have such a like hard death. It was
needful that I should suffer this as a purga-
tory; but know likewise, my dear son, that
the evil spirits tormented me greatly, and
assailed me with such cunning and instancy,
that I was in constant fear lest my cour-
age should fail me. But, however hard my
death was, it was as nothing compared to
the joy which the Almighty, Eternal, and
Merciful God hath given me in return.
Know, dear son, that the same hour in
which my soul left my body, the blessed
angels received it, and conducted me to
Paradise, and said to me, ‘Here shalt thou
tarry five days, and shalt know no anxiety
or fear lest the evil spirits should harm thee
any more. Neither shalt thou labor any
more, only thou shalt be deprived for these
five days of the blissful company of the
blessed in eternity. And then we will come
again with joy, and bring thee to the un-
speakable joys, and reward thee for thy
good and faithful teaching and useful coun-
sels;” all which I have received by thy ex-
5


66 HDoctor 3ohn Cauler.
cellent instruction, for the which I can
never thank God and thee enough.”
Then said the man : “Dear Master, I
beseech you from the bottom of my heart
that when you come into the presence of
God, you pray Him for me.” But whatever
the man said after this, or whatever ques-
tions he put, no one answered him again.
Then he would fain have slept, and turned
from one side to the other ; he got no more
rest that night, and could hardly wait till it
was light. And at day-break he rose up,
and wrote that same hour word to the Prior
and brethren of all things that the spirit
had said to him, and returned to his own
house, and came also to a good and blessed
end.
That we may all follow the pattern of our
Lord Jesus Christ, insomuch that after this
miserable life and this transitory world we
may come to eternal and never-ending joys,
— to God and His chosen and beloved
friends, may He help us, God the Father,
the Son, and the Holy Ghost. Amen
Here endeth the History of the Zife of the
enlightened Doctor John Zauler.


ºpassages from an introductorg Notice
RESPECTING
T A U L E RºS LIFE AND TIME S.
BY SUSANNA WINKworTH.
OHN TAULER, who appears as “the
Master,” in the foregoing History, was
born at Strasburg, in the year 1290. He
belonged to a tolerably wealthy family, and
might have lived on his patrimony, since he
tells us in one of his sermons, “Had I
known when I lived as my father's son, all
that I know now, I would have lived on his
heritage and not upon alms.” He devoted
himself, however, in early years to a clerical
life, and entered the Dominican Order in
Strasburg, taking up his abode in the hand-
some, spacious convent belonging to that
Order. In what year Tauler renounced the
world cannot be determined with precision,
but there can be little doubt that he did so
at the same time with his friend John Von


68 #ígtorg amb 31ife of
Dambach, in 1308. It seems probable that
he soon after, with the same friend, betook
himself to Paris, in order to study theology
in the famous Dominican College of St.
Jacques, from which the monks of that
order were called Jacobins in France.
He must, on returning from Paris to
Strasburg, have come in contact with several
of the mystical teachers whom we know to
have flourished there about this time ; and
who certainly cannot have been without
influence on the course of his mental de-
velopment. The most eminent of these
was the celebrated Master Eckart, a brother
of his own Order, who, after having filled the
important offices of Provincial in Saxony,
and Vicar-General in Bohemia, had returned
to Strasburg, where, with the earnestness of
profound conviction, he was now discours-
ing to the people in their native tongue, on
lofty, philosophical themes, till then only
deemed fit to be treated of in Latin before
learned assemblies.
There were still lingering in Southern
Germany, and Italy, remains of the Albi-
genses and Waldenses, and Manichean
Cathari, -reverers of the Abbot Joachim’s


HBoctor 3gjm (Tauler. 69
Eternal Gospel of the Holy Ghost (that was
to overthrow the Gospel of the Son), —
believers in the visions of the Prophetess
Hildegard, – adherents of the revolutionary
Oliva and Fra Dolcino. There were indeed
many reasons why heresies and religious
divisions should abound in these regions at
this period.
With the double election of Frederic of
Austria and Louis of Bavaria, who were
both crowned on the 25th of November,
1314, at Aix-la-Chapelle, began a desolat-
ing warfare, which lasted for eight years, till
the battle of Muehldorf, in 1322, left Fred-
eric a prisoner in the hands of Louis.
Strasburg was divided between the rival
Emperors. The Bishop and the important
family of the Zorn were adherents of Fred-
eric; but the no less important family of
the Muellenheim declared for Louis; and
the latter had the greater part of the citi-
zens on their side. On the captivity of
Frederic most of the Imperial cities of
Alsace came over to Louis ; but this did
not restore concord to the afflicted land.
So long as the strife lasted between Frederic
and Louis, Pope John XXII, while claiming


HDoctor 300m (Iauler. 71
of worship and the holy communion during
all this most dark and troubled period.
After the famous meeting of the Electoral
College at Rhense, near Coblenz, in July,
1338, had declared that the King of the
Romans received his dignity and power
solely from the free choice of the Electors,
and the Imperial Diet, held immediately
after, had made it a fundamental law of the
Empire that “the imperial dignity is bestowed
directly by God, and he who has been legit-
imately chosen by the Electoral Princes
becomes thereby King and Emperor with-
out further confirmation by the Pope or any
other,” — Louis published a Manifesto to
all Christendom, refuting at full length the
accusations brought against him by the
previous Pope, and proving that the Pope
has no authority to sit in judgment on the
Emperor. He further commanded that none
should observe the papal excommunication
and interdict, and sentenced all those,
whether individuals or whole cities and
communities, who should continue to submit
to the ban, to be deprived of their rights
and liberties.
The clergy in many cases resisted the


72 #igtorg and 3Life of
Emperor's command to resume the services
which had been so long suspended; while
the citizens, who had borne with impatience
their terrible deprivation of the sacred rites,
now on the strength of the Edict issued
orders that all the clergy who refused to
perform service should be banished. Many
priests left their churches and removed into
other provinces, numerous convents stood
empty of their inmates; still in most places
there remained a sufficient number of priests
and monks to fulfil the duties of their voca-
tion. This was the case in Strasburg; the
city had already suffered all the calamities
consequent on the Interdict: the clergy had
split into two parties; the larger number
obeyed the Pope's commands; the Augus-
tinians especially, had for many years sus-
pended the performance of all religious
services. The Dominicans and the Fran-
ciscans had availed themselves of the
privilege early granted to their Orders of
celebrating Mass during a time of interdict.
But now, when the Emperor so openly set
himself in opposition to the Pope, they too,
terrified by the sentence of excommunication
hanging over them, refused in many instan-


TBoctor 305m (Iaulet. 73
CeS to say Mass, on which the Senate of
Strasburg proclaimed : —
“Either let them go on to sing,
Or out of the city let them spring.”
The Dominicans in general quitted the
city. -
Such were the scenes amidst which Tauler
was called to labor as a Christian minister
and Dominican monk. All the testimonies
which have come down to us respecting
him concur in bearing witness to the uni-
versal affection and esteem with which he
was regarded. Even so far distant as Italy
his name was known as a teacher of high
repute, who insisted on inward piety.
The most remarkable trait in this period
of Tauler's life is that he not only, unlike
most of his Order, sided with the Emperor
in his whole contest with the Pope, but did
not suspend his activity when, in 1338, the
great struggle came between the absolutely
contradictory commands of his temporal
and spiritual lords, and his brethren quitted
the town, and left their convent deserted for
two years. By the departure of nearly all
the clergy from Strasburg, Tauler found a


HBoctor 3gjm (Iauler. 75
with a certain Nicolas of Basle, whose
name, however, only occurs twice, — once in
the account of his own martyrdom, once in
that of one of his disciples.
The title of “Friends of God” is one
which meets us continually in the writings
of those who are termed mystics in the
fourteenth century, and is used in various
connections. Sometimes it seems to denote
those who were partakers of a spiritual in
opposition to a formalistic piety; sometimes
to denote the members of a particular body.
Among those called “Friends of God” we
find the names of individuals widely differ-
ing from each other in rank, vocation, opin-
ion, and career. It appears to me that the
sense of having entered into a living, per-
sonal union with God, bringing with it a
yearning pity for sinners, and a fervent de-
sire to bring them to the same blessed state,
was the sole distinction and bond of the
“Friends of God.”
The greater the sinfulness and deadness
to religion in a particular age, the more
strongly marked must be the line of demar-
cation between the careless and the earnest ;
for the religious are thus obliged to abstain


76 #ígtorg amb 3Life of
from pleasures and occupations which,
innocent in themselves, have become cor-
rupt. At the same time, too, the danger of
enthusiasm, and mistaking one's own nat-
ural emotions for direct Divine influence,
will be greatest when such influences, known
to be real by the pious, are altogether de-
nied by the world in general. Thus the
great wickedness, especially of the clergy,
the contentions and dreadful catastrophes
which mark the first half of the fourteenth
century, would impel the pious to come out
from the world, and stimulate them to spe-
cially earnest efforts to enkindle the re-
ligious life of the people.
The crisis which Nicolas was the means
of bringing about in Tauler's life is com-
monly termed a conversion; but, from all
that we have read of his previous life, it
seems clear that it cannot be regarded as
what is ordinarily meant by that term. Be-
fore it took place, Tauler was already a
sincere, God-fearing, active Christian minis-
ter, and recognized as their “Father” and
leader by the “Friends of God” scattered
up and down Switzerland, Bavaria, and the
Rhenish states. Neither can I discover any


78 #ígtorg amb 3Life of
wishes are, for the most part, so obviously
sinful that, though the struggle of renounc-
ing them may be hard, the duty of doing so
is clear and pressing. And when such turn
to God, their falls in attempting the Chris-
tian walk are often frequent enough, or at
least their battles with temptation severe
enough, to teach them the evil and weak-
ness of their own heart. With men, on the
other hand, of calm, pure, and affectionate
disposition, and trained in conscientious
habits, so many of their wishes are for
things harmless, or even good in them-
selves, that it is less easy to see why and
how they are to be given up. Such men,
just, kindly, and finding much of their own
happiness in that of others, live, for the
most part, in harmonious relations with
those around them, and have little to dis-
turb their consciences, beyond the fear of
falling short in the path of duty on which
they have already entered. But they are
exposed to many perils, more insidious, be-
cause less startling, than those which beset
their more fiercely-tempted brethren. They
are in danger of depending too much on the
respect and love which others so readily


HDoctor 3gjm (Iauler. 79
yield them; of valuing themselves on a
purity, which, if ever one of struggle, has
come to be one of taste; of prizing intel-
lectual clearness above moral insight and
vigor; of mistaking the pleasure they feel
in the performance of duty for real submis-
sion to the will of God ; and, above all, of
shrinking from new truths which would, for
the time, confuse their belief, and break up
the calm symmetry of their lives. The
greater danger to the Christian life arising
from those hidden heart-sins, than even from
sinful acts which instantly wound the con-
science, is a truth which Tauler insists upon
in his sermons so strongly and so often,
nay, sometimes almost to exaggeration, that
one could not but guess that he was speak-
ing from his own experience, even had we
not the certainty of it from the “History.”
For, as he often declares, different natures
require and receive a very different disci-
pline from God. Sometimes it is by outward
affliction that God speaks to souls thus sink-
ing into the lethargy of formalism; and the
loss of friends, or health, or influence, sud-
denly seems to cut off, as it were, half their
means of serving Him, and to rouse long-


8o #igtorg amb 3Life of
forgotten temptations to rise up against
His will. Sometimes, on the other hand,
He speaks to them inwardly, by opening
their eyes to heights of holiness which they
had never before steadily contemplated.
They now suddenly perceive that many of
the fancied duties which have till now occu-
pied their lives, and satisfied their con-
sciences, have long ceased to be duties, and
have come to be mere habits or pleasures;
and that while they have been thus living in
self-love, unseen and unrepented of, they
might have been coming to the knowledge
of the higher obligations to which they have
been so blind, but which were all implied in
their first belief, if they had but continued
to read it with a single eye. Thus they are
weighed down by present temptations to
which they have long been strangers. For,
in order to follow the new light granted to
them, they must give up long-cherished aims;
relinquish many opportunities of doing good,
and even, it may seem, the very faculties for
using them ; and sacrifice, not only the good
opinion of the world, but the trust and affec-
tion of many who are dearest to them. They
shrink from such renunciation ; and then


TBoctor 300m (Tauler. 8 I
come doubt and perplexity to add to the
bitterness of the struggle. Can it be right
to abandon so much that is good and worthy
in itself, can it be the voice of God that
summons them to do this, or is it not rather
a self-willed fancy of their own 2 No: for
conscience cannot be mistaken when it tells
us of sin, though it is insufficient to reveal
to us duty; and this fierce clinging to their
own wishes, what is it but the same obsti-
nate resistance to the will of God which
they have been accustomed to blame, nay,
even wonder at, in the vicious and criminal,
whom they have perhaps been seeking to
reclaim 2 Such a struggle, it seems, was
that which Tauler had to pass through be-
fore he could fully apprehend or be fitted
for the work which God had for him to do.
And surely, without some such struggle,
none can keep long in the right path. For
the path to life does not stretch across the
levels of habit, but winds up the heights of as-
piration, and at every fresh step in the ascent
a wider horizon of duty opens to the view.
After the death of Benedict XII., Clement
VI., the most inveterate opponent of Louis
IV., was elected Pope; and he had hardly
6


82 #ígtorg amb 3Life of
ascended the throne when he renewed hos-
tilities against the Emperor with greater
vehemence than his predecessor. The most
awful anathemas were launched against
Louis. In 1347, Louis died, fairly worn
out and broken-hearted with the long strug-
gle in which his reign had been passed, but
not until several of the Electors, under the
instigation of the Pope, had elected Charles
IV. King of Rome (1346). Many of the
Estates refused, however, even after Louis’
death, to acknowledge the latter, commonly
called the “Parson-King,” because he had
been elected in defiance of their wishes.
Strasburg was one of these cities, and in
consequence was again laid under interdict.
To these political and ecclesiastical dis-
turbances were added still worse miseries.
The land was desolated successively by
tempests, earthquakes, and famine, and at
last, in 1348, the Black Death came to fill
up the measure of the people's woe. This
plague continued to rage through Southern
Germany and France until the following
year, bringing in its train the usual accom-
paniments of frantic terror, and the disso-
lution of all social bonds. In Strasburg,


HDoctor 3 offm (Iauler. 83
sixteen thousand persons fell victims to it;
and it is calculated that in Southern France
two-thirds of the population perished. All
these convulsions of the natural and social
world struck terror to men's very hearts : be-
wildered and beset, they knew not which way
to turn. Then appeared the ghastly pro-
cessions of the Flagellants, who traversed
the country half-naked, by hundreds and
thousands, walking two and two in white
shirts often stained with blood, and holding
scourges in their hands. When they entered
a town, they broke out into a wild howling
chant, and gathering round them all who
would join, after service in a church, threw
themselves on the ground, confessing their
sins aloud, and then scourged each other
till they were exhausted. In some places
the popular fanaticism accused the Jews of
causing the plague by poisoning the wells;
and the multitude, in their fury, setting fire
to the Jews' quarter, burned thousands of
the wretched creatures in their houses.
“Works of love,” Tauler says, “are more
acceptable to God than lofty contemplation;
art thou engaged in devoutest prayer, and
God wills that thou go out and preach, or


84 #igtorg amb 3Life of
carry broth to a sick brother, thou shouldst
do it with joy.” His own life was consist-
ent with his teachings. When the Black
Death came to Strasburg, he devoted him-
self to administering the sacraments, and
carrying consolation to the sick and dying.
The renewal of the ban had increased the
general terror and distress, and at the same
time opened a still larger field for Tauler's
activity. A proclamation had been issued
exhorting the people not to give way to
terror, as it would increase their danger of
infection ; but what could a proclamation
avail, when they often saw more than fifty
corpses carried through the streets in a day,
and there were not priests enough to perform
the funeral rites. The deeper was their
gratitude to Tauler for his noble act of
disobedience to the Church that denied
them their only remaining consolation. But
he did not stand alone ; there were espe-
cially two monks who shared his labors.
The three friends were not content with
setting an example of heroic zeal, they
issued in their joint names an Address to
the clerical body at large, showing how in-
iquitous it was that the poor ignorant people


HBoctor 3gjm (Iſaultr. 85
should be suffered to die excommunicate
for no fault of their own, and calling on the
priests to visit the sick and dying. [They
also wrote a second letter concerning the
temporal and spiritual power of the Papacy.
They concluded by saying that he who pro-
fesses the true articles of the Christian
faith, and only sins against the power of
the Pope, is by no means to be counted a
heretic.]
What impression these free-spoken writ-
ings made upon the clergy is not known :
it is only recorded that, through the exer-
tions of Tauler and his friends, the people
were enabled to die in peace, and no longer
feared the ban, whereas before many thou-
sands had died, without shrift, in the agonies
of despair. But the Pope soon interfered,
and commanded the Bishop of Strasburg to
burn the books of the three friends, and
forbid their perusal, whether by priests or
laymen, on pain of excommunication ; they
themselves were expelled from the city.
Tauler took up his residence in Cologne,
a city already familiar to him, and where he
found numerous brethren in spirit. Here
he commonly preached in the church of St.


TBoctor 3ſojn (Iauler. 87
his autobiography, “Now, notwithstanding
all the gifts and enlightenment that God
bestowed on me in this fourth year, there
was yet a secret spot in my soul, the which
was altogether unknown to myself. . . . And
it was, that, when I looked upon my fellow-
men, I esteemed them as they were in this
present time, and stood before God in their
sins; and this was a hidden spot ; for I
ought, through grace, to have regarded
them, not as they now were, but as they
might well become.” In seeing a waste
piece of ground cumbered with rubbish,
and giving it as his judgment that it might
be reclaimed and made a garden of, an in-
ward voice reveals his sin to him, and
rebukes him, saying: “O thou poor misera-
ble creature how strange art thou . . . how
darest thou, then, to esteem, according to
what he now is, thy fellow-man, who is made
in the image of God, and whom Christ has
made His brother in His human nature, and
not rather deem that God may make of him
a comely and excellent garden wherein He
Himself may dwell ?”
[Nicolas, the “Man’ of the preceding
“History,” outlived Tauler by many years,


$clection; from the Šermong
OF THE
REVEREND DOCTOR JOHN TAULER.
from the Štrmon for the first $1mbag in 3 butmt.
“Now it is high time to awake out of sleep.”
RoMANs xiii. 1 1.
OW you may ask, “How can we come
to perceive this direct leading of
God?” By a careful looking at home, and
abiding within the gates of thy own soul.
Therefore, let a man be at home in his own
heart, and cease from his restless chase of
and search after outward things. If he is
thus at home while on earth, he will surely
come to see what there is to do at home, —
what God commands him inwardly without
means, and also outwardly by the help of
means ; and then let him surrender himself,
and follow God along whatever path his
loving Lord thinks fit to lead him, whether
it be to contemplation or action, to useful-
ness or enjoyment; whether in sorrow or in
joy, let him follow on. And if God do not


HBoctor 305m (Iaulet. 9 I
give him thus to feel His hand in all things,
let him still simply yield himself up, and go
without for God’s sake, out of love, and still
press forward, setting ever before him the
lovely example of our blessed Lord Jesus
Christ.
The men who thus tread in His steps do
become, in very truth, the noblest and most
glorious of their race ; and those who are
thus born again into His life are the rich
and costly jewels of the holy Christian
Church, and in all ages they work out the
highest good, while they look not to the
greatness or meanness of their work, nor to
their success or failure, but look only to the
will of God in all things ; and for this
cause all their works are the best that may
be. Neither do they look whether God will
place them high or low ; for the only thing
they care for is, that in all things alike God's
will may be done. God grant that it may
be thus with each of us. Amen.


92 #ígtorg amb 3Life of
from the Štrmon for the Štromb Šumbag in 3 burnt.
“Know ye that the kingdom of God is nigh at hand.”
LUKE xxi. 31.
If a tree could know God, and perceive
His presence as the highest of the angels
perceives it, the tree would be as blessed as
the highest angel. And it is because man
is capable of perceiving God, and knowing
how nigh God is to him, that he is better off
than a tree. And he is more or less blessed
in the same measure as he is aware of the
presence of God. It is not because God is
in him, and so close to him, and he hath
God, that he is blessed, but because he per-
ceives God's presence, and knows and loves
Him.
A Master has said, “He knoweth God
aright who knoweth Him in all things alike.”
That a man should have a life of quiet or
rest in God, is good ; that a man should
lead a painful life in patience, is better ; but
that a man should have rest in a painful life
is best of all.
Whether a man walk out in the fields and
say his prayers and feel God’s presence, or


HBoctor 305m (Taulet. 93
whether he be in the church and feel God’s
presence, does he perceive Him any the
better because he is in a place of rest ? If
he do, it comes from his own infirmity; the
difference is not on God's side, for God is
in all things and places alike, and is ever
alike ready to give Himself to us, in so far
as we are able to receive Him ; and he knows
God aright who sees Him in all things.
If I am to know real Being, I must know
it in that where it is self-existent, that is, in
God. In God alone is the true Divine Sub-
stance: in one man you have not all human-
ity, for one man is not all men; but in God
the soul knows all humanity, and all things
in their Ideal, for she knows them in their
Substance.
The Masters have set forth many ques-
tions in the schools as to how it be possible
for the Soul to know God. It is not of God’s
severity that he requires much from man: it
is of His great kindness that He will have
the soul to open herself wider, to be able to
receive much, that He may bestow much
upon her. Let no one think that it is hard
to attain thereunto. Although it sound
hard, and is hard at first, as touching the


94 #ígtorg amb 3Life of
forsaking and dying to all things, yet, when
one has reached this state, no life can be
easier or sweeter, or fuller of pleasures; for
God is right diligent to be with us at all
seasons, and to teach us, that He may bring
us to Himself when we are like to go astray.
None of us ever desired any thing more
ardently than God desires to bring men to a
knowledge of Himself.
from the Štrmon for the QThirt Sumbag in Åburnt.
“What went ye out into the wilderness to see ?”
- MATT. xi. 7.
In these words let us consider three
things: First, the going out; secondly, the
wilderness; thirdly, what we are to see
there.
First, let us consider the going out. The
first way is to come out from the world, that
is, from the craving after worldly advan-
tages, and to despise them.
The second kind of coming out is to loose
thy hold on outward things, to cease from
thy vain anxieties, thy selfish wishing and
planning, and to turn thy thoughts inward,
that thou mayest learn to know thyself, and


HBoctor 305m (Taulet. 99
words are out of his mouth is one of these
careless speakers.
The child of God should so order his life
as always to promote his own steadfastness
in virtue. When a man always keeps his
body in due subjection, it is an outward
pledge of the strength of his virtuous
intents. -
It is a mark of the children of God when
they see their own little faults and short-
comings to be great sins. Now he who en-
tangles himself with a multitude of matters,
outward or inward, and will meddle with
every thing that is going forward, will also
have a share in the evil thereof. The great
work and aim of the beloved children of
God is to shun all sin, deadly or trifling,
that they may not grieve God's Spirit. Ah,
Lord, did we all we should, God would do
to us all we would.
Whatever such a child of God beholds, it
works for his good. If he sees sin, he
thanks God for having kept him from it, and
prays for the conversion of the sinners; if
he sees goodness, he desires to fulfil it in
his own practice.
But those who vainly think to be made


IOO #ígtorg amb 3Life of
God's children by their much watching, and
fasting, and labor; by keeping silence, by
singing hymns, by wearing bad and in-
convenient clothing; or, again, by great
deeds and pious works, while they do not
dive into the bottom of their hearts, and spy
out all their secret inclinations to lesser as
well as to greater faults, – such as an in-
clination to think too well of themselves
and too ill of their neighbors, or to harsh-
ness, to trespass on the rights of others, to
moroseness, to a bitter spirit, to contradic-
tion, to obstinacy, to caprice, and the like, –
and do not perceive these things in them-
selves; nor wish to learn how to get rid of
their old bad dispositions, nor yet of their
outward bad habits, – such as evil speaking,
lightness of manners, unkind ridicule of
others, – and refuse to give ear to those
who teach and exhort them to what is right,
or to probe their own motives;– these are
all the children of the Devil. Alas ! how
many are martyrs for the Devil
Yea, if a man were to suffer himself to
be torn to pieces, and did not learn to
cleanse himself thoroughly from his sins,
to behave towards his fellow-creatures in a


TBoctor 3gjm (Iauler. IOI
spirit of generous love, and to love God
above all things, it would all be useless and
in vain.
Let him, with a cheerful and thankful
spirit, yield himself up to suffer whatever
God shall appoint unto him, and to fulfil
, according to his power, by the grace of God,
all His holy will, to the utmost that he can
discern it, and never complain of his dis-
tresses but to God alone, with entire and
humble resignation, praying that he may be
strong to endure all his sufferings according
to the will of God.
from the Štrmon for £piphang.
“And they presented unto Him gifts; gold, and frankincense,
and myrrh.” — MATT. ii. 11.
This is the myrrh which God gives us in
the cup of trouble and sorrow, of whatever
kind it may be, outward or inward. Ah, if
thou couldst but receive this myrrh as from
its true source, and drink it with the same
love with which God puts it to thy lips, what
blessedness would it work in thee!
Yes, the very least and the very greatest
sorrows that God ever suffers to befall thee


I O2 #ígtorg amb 31ift of
proceed from the depths of His unspeak-
able love; and such great love were better
for thee than the highest and best gifts be-
sides that He has given thee, or ever could
give thee, if thou couldst but see it in this
light. So that if your little finger only
aches, if you are cold, if you are hungry or
thirsty, if others vex you by their words or
deeds, or whatever happens to you that
causes you distress or pain, it will all help
to fit you for a noble and blessed state.
And so also with loss of friends, or property,
or reputation, or comfort, or whatever it be
that God allots to us, it will all serve to pre-
pare thee, and help thee forward to true
peace, if thou canst only take it so.
All the myrrhs of bitterness that God
gives are ordered aright, that he may by
this means raise men to true greatness.
And He has bestowed as much care and
thought in the arrangement of each single
thing, as the artist does when he is painting
a picture, who never draws a single stroke
with his pencil without considering how
long, how short, and how broad it ought to
be ; and it must be so and no otherwise, if
the picture is to be a perfect masterpiece,


T}octor 305m (Taulet. IO3
and all its bright red and blue colors are to
come out. But God takes a thousand times
more pains with us than the artist with his
picture, by many touches of sorrow, and by
many colors of circumstance, to bring man
into the form which is the highest and no-
blest in his sight, if only we received his
gifts and myrrh in the right spirit."
There are some, however, who are not
content with the myrrh that God gives
them, but think fit to give themselves some,
and create evils for themselves, and sick
fancies, and have indeed suffered long and
much, for they take hold of all things by
the wrong end.
There is an exceeding bitter myrrh which
God gives; namely, inward assaults and
inward darkness. When a man is willing
to taste this myrrh, and does not put it
from him, it wears down flesh and blood,
yea, the whole nature; for these inward ex-
ercises make the cheek grow pale far sooner
than great outward hardships; for God ap-
points unto his servants cruel fightings and
strange dread, and unheard-of distresses,
which none can understand but he who has
felt them. And these men are beset with


IO4 History amb £ife of
such a variety of difficulties, so many cups
of bitterness are presented to them, that
they hardly know which way to turn or what
they ought to do; but God knows right well
what He is about. But, when the cup is
put away, and these feelings are stifled or
unheeded, a greater injury is done to the
soul than can ever be amended. For no
heart can conceive in what surpassing love
God giveth us this myrrh ; yet this which
we ought to receive to our soul's good, we
suffer to pass by us in our sleepy indiffer-
ence, and nothing comes of it. Then we
come and complain, “Alas! Lord, I am so
dry, and it is so dark within me!” I tell
thee, dear child, open thy heart to the pain,
and it will do thee more good than if thou
wert full of feeling and devoutness.
When it springs from outward circum-
stances, men wish they had known better,
and they would have averted it with their
wisdom, and attribute it to outward acci-
dents, to fate, or misfortune, and think they
might have taken steps to prevent what has
happened; and, if they had done so, the
means would have succeeded, and the ca-
lamity would have been turned aside. They


3Doctor 3gjn (Iauler. Io?
amidst all circumstances. Therefore no
power in this world can take away their
peace. All their affections centre in God,
and they are enlightened by Him of a truth;
for He shines into their souls with a strong
and clear light that reveals all things unto
them ; and He shineth as truly, nay far
more brightly, in the blackest darkness than
in the seeming light. Ah! these are sweet
and lovely children of God, raised above
nature by their likeness to Him; and such
neither undertake nor bring to pass any of
their works without God. Nay, if we may
dare to use such language, they are, so to
speak, nothing, but God is in them ; as St.
Paul says: “I live, yet not I, but Christ
liveth in me.” Ah these are highly fa-
vored men; they bear the world upon their
shoulders, and are the noble pillars of
society. To make one of their number, what
a blessed and glorious thing were that
If God gives them to suffer, they suffer;
if He gives them to work, they work; if He
gives them to enjoy Him in contemplation,
they contemplate.
What He works in the souls of these
with whom He holds direct converse, none


108 #ígtorg ant, 3.ife of
can say, nor can one man give account of it
to another, but he only who has felt it
knows what it is ; and even he can tell thee
nothing of it, save only that God in very
truth hath possessed the ground of his soul.
from the Šermon for the fourth $umbag after
3Epiphamg.
“Jesus went into a ship, and His disciples followed Him.”
MATT. viii. 23.
A truly converted Christian man is will-
ing to take advice, and interprets every
thing for the best ; and simply in the fear
of God, with a thankful heart, fulfils all that
which he is bidden or counselled, or that
others beg of him to do. But, on the other
hand, those who are not truly converted
think much of themselves, and deem all
their works and services of great value, and
it is not at all to their taste to be subject to
others, or that any should have a right to
command them, and are fond of reproving
others unnecessarily, and of discoursing on
lofty matters, and boast themselves proudly
of all that belongs to them. If any seem to
put a slight upon them, they are contentious,


TBoctor 3gjm (Iauler. Io9
and defend and justify themselves to the
utmost that they can. They are arrogant
and ambitious, and unyielding in their hard-
ness of spirit. These are all still in the
hands of the Enemy, yea, did they wear the
Pope's tiara.
Those who are truly converted are kind-
hearted to their neighbors, indulgent from
brotherly love, praising the works of their
neighbors as far as they can, and with great
sincerity of heart rejoice in the well-being of
their neighbor, and lend him a helping hand
wherever they can, and have great sympathy
with him in his troubles; but the falsely
converted are spiteful, and look with an evil
eye on the usefulness or piety of others, are
ready to breed mischief with a taunt, and
are revengeful, sneering, and puffed up in
their own conceits.
The right sort of men are patient under
all the annoyance and injustice that God
suffers to befall them, and bear it long with
peaceable tempers. They speak mildly,
using soft words, and are wont meekly to
seek reconciliation with those who have
done them wrong; but the false burn with
anger, are envious of others' good fortune,


I IO #igtorg amb 31ife of
slanderous, quarrelsome, and censorious,
not orderly in all their affairs, and full of
murmuring against all, above and below
them, who do not conform to their wishes.
The truly righteous are ever gentle and
merciful, ready to give and to assist as far
as they are able, without regard to their own
advantage; and they maintain their love,
enjoyment, and cheerfulness under distress,
poverty, and contempt, being easily con-
tented and cheerful, and thankful to Al-
mighty God, in spirit looking up constantly
to God who preserves and sustains them,
and casting behind them all unprofitable
earthly anxieties. But the false burn like a
furnace with the desire of temporal things,
and seek their own pleasure and ease when
and how they may, and often steal time and
other things for it. They want to have
praise and earthly reward for all that they
do, and if they are not honored and highly
thought of, they become like one possessed,
and openly or secretly do all the harm they
can for spite and vexation. They are al-
ways hoping to receive a worldly and cor-
ruptible reward for their religious profes-
sions, and are often seduced into actual


II 2 #ígtorg amb 3.ife of
diffuses itself through every part of his
body, continually supplying it with fresh
strength, which again is consumed in his
labor ; and when it has been consumed with
labor, he eats again a little, that he may
again consume it by working in the Lord's
vineyard. So is it with a noble-minded
man. When he feels an inclination in him-
self to enjoy God or His heavenly grace
and what is thereof, let him for a little while
seek and purpose his own good, but not
longer than is needful for the nourishing of
his soul, that he may consume his spiritual
strength again in labor; and when it has
thus been spent in the noblest of all ways,
from a love flowing back unto God who has
inspired it, then the man must go for refresh-
ment again into the river of life that floweth
out from the throne of God, that it may
again bring forth in him the fruit of good
works. All these spiritual men who thus
know how to resign or to return again unto
God, with their body and their spirits, the
gifts that He has mercifully bestowed on
them, with deep, humble, self-renunciation,
these do continually grow more able and
more worthy to receive blessings from God.


HBoctor 300m (Iauler. II.3
Where such admirable, god-like men are to
be found, they were worthy, as none else are,
to be fed with gold and silver and fine
pearls, and the best that the world contains
as their heritage. But there is many a poor
noble man of God, who has none of all
these things; let such an one humbly cast
himself on the all-powerful God and trust
Him utterly; without doubt thy heavenly
Father will and must provide thee well,
yea, wert thou hidden in a rock.
These exalted and most noble men are
just like the wood of the vine, which is
outwardly hard and black and dry, and
good for no purpose whatever; and, if we
had never seen it before, we should think it
of no use at all, and good for nothing but to
be thrown into the fire, and burned. But, in
this dry wood of the vine, there lie concealed
the living veins of sap, and power of yield-
ing the noblest of all juices, and of bringing
forth a greater abundance of fruit than any
other sort of wood that grows. And thus
it is with these beloved and lowly children,
who are at all times and seasons plunged
in God; they are outwardly in appearance
like unto black rotten wood, seeming unto
8


114 #igtorg amb 3Life of
men dry and unprofitable. For there are
many of these who are humble, noways
remarkable for their gifts, outward or in-
ward, nor for any extraordinary works or
sayings or exercises of devotion, and who
move in the narrowest sphere; but living
veins from the fountain of truth lie hidden
within them, forasmuch as they have asked
for no earthly heritage, but God is their lot
and their portion, their life and their being.
If a vine-dresser be not skilled in his art,
he is as likely to crop off the good branches
which bear the grapes as the wild shoots,
and thus spoil the vineyard. So it is with
those who do not understand this spiritual
art: they leave the roots of vice and evil
dispositions alive in the heart, and hew and
lop at poor nature, and thereby destroy this
noble vineyard. Nature is in itself good
and noble, why shouldst thou hew away
aught that belongs to it? For I tell thee
that when the time is come for it to yield
fruit in a godly, blessed, devout life, then
it will be seen that thou hast spoiled thy
nature.


3Boctor 305m (Tauler. 117
Then her spirit was seized with such unut-
terable woe, that it seemed as if she must
perish that moment with the bitter, smart-
ing, hellish pain that it gave her to see her-
self so far off from God. Now in this
unspeakable distress she turned to our
Lady and all the saints, and besought them
all that they would intercede for her. But
then she saw that the blessed saints were
so utterly lost in the contemplation of God,
that none of them for a moment listened to
her cries and appeals. In their overwhelm-
ing bliss and joy, they never even heard her
voice. Then she turned after a human
fashion to the sacred sorrow and bitter
death of our Lord Jesus Christ, and it was
answered her, why should she appeal to
that to which she had never shown due
honor and reverence 2 But when she saw
that neither our Lady, nor the saints, nor
the sufferings of our Lord brought her help,
she turned herself with all earnestness to
God, and said : “Ah, Lord 1 since none
will come to my help, behold, O beloved
Lord, that I am Thy poor creature, and
Thou art my God; I fall down before Thy
righteous sentence, according to Thy most


3Doctor 305m (Iauler. I 19
There are some people who when they
hear speak of high things which they do
not understand, and moreover see that they
have no share in them, turn away from these
things with such aversion, that they do not
even like to hear them treated of, or that
others should think about them and seek
after them. Yea, they hear of high things,
and say: “That is not my way of thinking :
I had better not try to put it into practice,
for I should not keep it, and then I should
be just where I was before.” And thus
they turn away themselves and others from
the truth, just as if it in no wise concerned
them, and sit down quite contented with
their own ways, while yet they know in the
bottom of their hearts that their ways are
not the best that might be. This is an in-
fallible token that these persons will never
reach the highest point of which they are
capable ; nor will they become partakers in
the highest, pure, absolute goodness, unless
indeed they come to go through a painful
and agonizing struggle after it.
St. Bernard has said: “Man, if thou de-
sirest a noble and holy life, and unceasingly
prayest to God for it, if thou continue con-


HBoctor 305m (Cauler. I2 I
good in will ; and what he, with his whole
heart and mind, love and desire, wills to be,
that without doubt he most truly is. It is
little we can bring to pass; but our will and
desire may be large. Nay, they may grow
till they lose themselves in the infinite abyss
of God.
Not that we ought to think within our-
selves that we wish to be this or that, like
such a saint or angel, for we ought to be
much more than we can conceive or fathom :
wherefore our part is to give ourselves over
to God, and leave ourselves utterly in His
hands, being wholly His. And if ye cannot
be as entirely His as ye fain would be, be
His as much as ye may attain unto ; but
whatever ye are, be that truly and entirely;
and what ye cannot be, that be contented
not to be, in a sincere spirit of resignation,
for God’s sake and in Him. So shall you
peradventure possess more of God in lack-
ing than in having. Therefore be God’s ;
yield to His hand, suffer Him to do in you,
and to you, and with you, what He will ;
and then nothing here or hereafter shall be
able to confound you.
Think not that God will be always caress-


I22 #igtorg and 3Life of
ing His children, or shine upon their head,
or kindle their hearts, as He does at the
first. He does so only to lure us to Him-
self, as the falconer lures the falcon with
its gay hood. Our Lord works with His
children so as to teach them afterwards to
work themselves; as He bade Moses to
make the tables of stone after the pattern
of the first which He had made Himself.
Thus, after a time, God allows a man to
depend upon himself, and no longer en-
lightens, and stimulates, and rouses him.
We must stir up and rouse ourselves, and
be content to leave off learning, and no
more enjoy feeling and fire, and must now
serve the Lord with strenuous industry, and
at our own cost. Our Lord acts like a
prudent father, who, while his children are
young, lets them live at his cost, and man-
ages every thing for them. What is needful
for them he provides, and so long as this
lasts they are at leisure, free from care,
happy, and generous at their father's ex-
pense. Afterwards he gives a portion of
his estate into their own hands, because
he will have them to take care of them-
selves, and earn their own living, to leave


HBoctor 3gjit QCauler. I23
off childish play, and thus learn how to grow
rich.
So it is with us. In the beginning of a
holy life, there is nothing but brightness,
enjoyment, and feeling, and God draws us
after Him with His gifts, that we may praise
Him in the influencing of our wills, and we
do all with a good will, and we know and
recognize therein God's will. But now it is
very different ; now God will have us to
give up ourselves and our own will, and to
accept Him with readiness in His acts of
severity, and in all kinds of suffering, and
in darkness of mind, whatever He may do,
and however contrary it may be to all our
natural wishes. As the Lord said to Peter:
“When thou wast young, thou girdedst
thyself, and walkedst whither thou would-
est; but when thou shalt be old, thou shalt
stretch forth thy hand, and another shall
gird thee, and carry thee whither thou would-
est not.” Thus did the Lord in our early
days go beside us, drawing us onward by
His benefits; then we went whither we
would, for our will was sweetly girded with
the pleasantness of divine things. But now
it must be otherwise: another shall gird us,
and lead us whither we would not.


I 24 #ígtorg amb 3Life of
The Lord will draw us and securely lead
us to Himself, in a way contrary to our
natural will, until He have divested us
thereof, and consumed it and made it thor-
oughly subject unto the Divine will. For
this is His will : that we should cease to
regard our own wishes or dislikes; that it
should become a light matter to us whether
He give or take away, whether we have
abundance or suffer want, and let all things
go, if only we may receive and apprehend
God Himself; that whether things please or
displease us, we may leave all things to take
their course and cleave to Him alone. Then
first do we attain to the fulness of God’s
love as His children, when it is no longer
happiness or misery, prosperity or adversity,
that draws us to Him, or keeps us back from
Him. What we should then experience
none can utter; but it would be something
far better than when we were burning with
the first flame of love, and had great emo-
tion, but less true submission ; for here,
though there may be less show of zeal, and
less vehemence of feeling, there may be
more true faithfulness to God. That we
may attain thereunto, may God help us with
His grace. Amen?


HDoctor 3gjm (Iaulet, 127
from the Štrmon for the jourth $umbag after
35aster.
John xvi. 7–11.
What is meant by Christ's going away
from us? Nothing else than our destitution,
hopelessness, and helplessness, when we
are heavy, and slow in all good things, and
cold and dark; for then Christ is gone from
us. If persons who are in this state render
it useful and fruitful for themselves, this
would be a truly noble thing for them thus
to master and bend it ; and to such an one
all variety will be fused into unity, and he
will have joy in sorrow, and be patient
under reproach, in constant peace amid war
and troubles, and all bitterness will to him
become true Sweetness.
Children, beware of judging any but your-
selves, as ye love God and your souls and
everlasting happiness. A man should judge
nothing that is not a plain mortal sin. I
would rather bite my tongue that it bleed,
than judge any man. One should leave
this to the eternal judgment of God; for
from man's judgment upon his neighbors


128 #ígtorg amb 3Life of
there grows a complacency in one's self, an
evil arrogance, and a contempt for one's
neighbor.
In all doubtful cases, consider the matter
with sincerity and earnestness, and choose
that course which you see to be most bitter
to nature, and to which you feel least in-
clined.
Children, walk in the ways of God dili-
gently, earnestly, and circumspectly; and
give heed to the calling in which God by
His mercy hath called you, and follow it
faithfully. Do not, as some do, when God
will have them to mind the affairs of their
soul, attend to outward things; and when
God summons them to outward duties, want
to turn their thoughts inwards. This is a
hard, poor, perverse course.
from the Štromb ştrmom for the jourth $umbag
after 32aster.
“It is expedient for you that I go away,” &c. — John xvi. 7.
We ought to worship God in all places
and at all times. He who will worship the
Father must concentrate his whole mind in
aspiration and faith. These are the highest


HDoctor 3gjm (Iaulet. I 29
powers of the soul ; for they are above
time, and know nothing of time nor of the
body. So St. Paul tells us “that we ought
to rejoice evermore, pray without ceasing,
and in every thing give thanks.” Now,
those pray without ceasing who do all their
works alike for the love of God, and not
for any selfish enjoyment; and humbly bow
down before God, and let Him work alone.
When the highest powers of the soul are
thus gathered together in prayer, the soul
becomes inspired, and if henceforward the
spirit cleave unto God with an entire union
of the will, it is “made a partaker of the
Divine nature,” and then, for the first time,
does the man offer up true worship, for he
has attained the end for which he was
created.
But there are some, ay, many people, who
do not rightly worship the Father in the
truth. For, so soon as a man prays to God
for any creature, he prays for his own harm ;
for, since a creature is a creature, it bears
its own bitterness and disquiet, pain and
evil, about it ; therefore such people meet
their deserts when they have trouble and
bitterness, for they have prayed for it.
9


HBoctor 305m (Tauler. I31
from the Štrmon for &bitsumbag.
At those moments when all the powers of
the soul are collected and turned inwards,
it often happens that some eternal truth
presents itself with irresistible clearness.
This happens not unfrequently in morning
sleep, just before waking. This sort of
drawing may be called a whisper of love,
or a monition.
from the Štrmon for the fourth $umbag after
Crimitg.
I will say a few words on the precept:
“Be ye merciful, even as your Father in
heaven is merciful.” This noble virtue is,
now-a-days, quite a stranger to the hearts of
many, insomuch that it is grievous to be-
hold. For each is called to exercise this
mercy towards his neighbor, whereinsoever
the latter may have need of it; not only as
regards the giving of earthly goods, but also
the bearing with his neighbor's faults in all
gentleness and mercy. But no each one
falls upon his neighbor and judges him ;
and as soon as any mishap befalls a man,


I34 #igtorg and 3Lift of
of the outflowings of love. Wherefore give
diligent and earnest heed to yourselves in
this matter of divine love, and maintain a
hearty good-will towards all men, and bear
no grudge against any, and despoil not the
sacred temple of God, which has been
sanctified by our highest pontiff, Christ;
and beware that ye do not call down upon
your heads God's everlasting Interdict. But,
alas ! now-a-days, nature is so perverted in
many, both clergy and laymen, as touching
brotherly faithfulness and love, that if they
see their neighbor fall, they laugh at him,
or stand by and let it go on, and care
naught for it.
from the Šermon for the Uſently $umbag after
QCrimity.
“There are diversities of operation, but it is the same God
which worketh all in all.” – I Cor. xii. 6.
Every art or work, however unimportant
it may seem, is a gift of God, and all these
gifts are bestowed by the Holy Spirit for
the profit and welfare of man. Let us begin
with the lowest. One can spin, another can
make shoes, and some have great aptness


HBoctor 3ſojn (Iauler. I35
for all sorts of outward arts, so that they
can earn a great deal, while others are
altogether without this quickness. These
are all gifts proceeding from the Spirit of
God. If I were not a priest, but were living
as a layman, I should take it as a great
favor that I knew how to make shoes, and
should try to make them better than any
one else, and would gladly earn my bread
by the labor of my hands. There is no
work so small, no art so mean, but it all
comes from God and is a special gift of
His. Thus, let each do that which another
cannot do so well, and for love, returning
gift for gift.
Whence comes it, then, that we have so
many complaints, each saying that his occu-
pation is a hindrance to him, while notwith-
standing his work is of God, who hindereth
no man 2 Whence comes this inward re-
proof and sense of guilt which torment and
disquiet you? Dear children, know that it
is not your work which gives you this dis-
quiet. No : it is your want of order in
fulfilling your work. If you performed your
work in the right method, with a sole aim
to God, and not to yourselves, your own


138 #igtorg amb 31ift of
ion. Let each set apart a good hour for
such exercises, each taking his own method ;
— to our life's end it is most needful for us
to keep up some strenuous exercises of
piety, of whatever kind God may appoint,
with loving and peaceful hearts, and in
obedience to His will.
Oh! how greatly to our hurt do we fall
short of the noblest, highest truth through
such trifling, mean things; for the sake of
which we must suffer loss for ever and ever,
so long as God is eternal.
from the $trmom for the QImclfth $umbag after
Crimity.
May God, of His mercy, give you to bear
with a good courage all the sorrow that is
before you, and also, when ye are despised
of all men, and slandered, and counted for .
naught.
. . . The second burden of the old law
was its awful judgments, and stern display
of God's justice. This is manifested in
many ways, – by afflictions and by the gnaw-
ings of conscience. Now some try to work
themselves out of this by confession. But


TBoctor 305m (Iaulet. I39
if you were to confess your sins a thousand
times, it would avail you nothing, save
indeed the confessing of mortal sin, accom-
panied by satisfaction for it. The rest leave
humbly to God, and bear what He appoints
unto you, till He of His mercy send you
relief. But confess all to Him inwardly in
your soul, to the very last tittle, with humble
submission to His will, and acquiescing in
His unknown judgments, without looking
to yourself or to other men for help. Mean-
while, there are some who endeavor to get
rid of the burden of sin by asking counsel
and hearing preachers, hoping to hear some-
what that may afford them a stay, and thus
they may find deliverance. Behold, dear
friend, if thou spend all thy years in running
from church to church, thou must look for
and receive help from within, or thou wilt
never come to any good ; however thou
mayst seek and inquire, thou must also be
willing to be tormented without succor from
the outward help of any creature. I tell
you, children, that the very holiest man I
ever saw, in outward conduct and inward
life, had never heard more than five ser-
mons in all his days. When he saw and


I 4o #igtorg amb 3Life of
perceived how the matter stood, he thought
that was enough, and set to work to die
to that to which he ought to die, and live to
that to which he ought to live. And know
that if ever you desire to be spiritual and
blessed men, you must cease from running
outwards for help, and turn within ; for you
will never get what you want by a multitude
of words, hear as many as you will ; but
only by loving and serving God from the
bottom of your heart, and your neighbor as
yourself, and leaving all things to stand
on their own foundation. But pant after
God with all your heart, as the holy patri-
archs did, and covet that which you truly
ought to covet, and leave all things, whether
concerning yourself or any other creatures,
to God's most blessed will.
Turn it as thou wilt, thou must give thy-
self to suffer what is appointed thee. But
if we did that, God would bear us up at all
times in all our Sorrows and troubles, and
God would lay His shoulder under our bur-
dens, and help us to bear them. For if
with a cheerful courage we submitted our-
selves to God, no suffering would be unbear-
able. For it is because now we are without


HBoctor 3gjm (Iauler. I4 I
God, and standing in our own weakness,
that we are neither able to endure nor yet
to act. God help us all worthily to bear
His yoke. Amen.
from the Štromb Šermon for the QTwelfth Šumbag
after QCrimitg.
“He hath done all things well : he maketh both the deaf to
hear, and the dumb to speak.” — MARK vii. 37.
With some their ears are stopped up with
their own inventions, and the daily routine
of habit with which they go through certain
outward acts, learnt by means of their senses
from the creatures. All this dulls a man’s
hearing so that he cannot apprehend the
Eternal Word speaking within him, nor in
any wise understand what it says.
Children, at the last day, when all things
come to be laid bare and open, it will be
an everlasting sorrow to think of the end-
less variety of these things that have come
between us and God, and how we have been
entangled in mean bondage to our own
ways and habits.
On this point says St. Gregory: “Wilt
thou know whether thou love God 2 take


142 #igtorg amb 31ife of
note when cares, troubles, or sorrows over-
take thee (from within or from without,
whencesoever they come), and weigh down
thy spirit so that thou knowest not which
way to turn, nor what is to become of thee,
and canst find no counsel, and art outwardly
in a storm of affliction, in unwonted perplex-
ity and sore distress; if thou then remainest
inwardly at peace and unmoved in the bot-
tom of thy heart, so that thou dost not in
any wise falter, either by complaint, or in
word, or work, or gesture, then there is no
doubt that thou lovest God.” Thus, even
though thy outward man grieve, or weep
downright, that may well be borne, if only
thy inner man remain at peace, perfectly
content with the will of God. But if thou
dost not find it thus with thee, then thou art
in truth deaf, and hast not really heard
the voice of the Eternal Word within thee.
from the Štrimon for the fifteenth $umbag after
Crimitg.
“Seek ye first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and
all these things shall be added unto you.” — MATT. vi. 33.
Children, ye see well by this discourse
how far we all are in common from living


TDoctor 305m (Taulet. I43
according to the simple truth of things, in
all our earthly relationships. But know
that there is an inward secret defect lurking
under the cloak of our anxiety about daily
things, a sinful, though unconscious covet-
ousness, which is one of the seven deadly
sins. And this sin, working silently and
unperceived in the hearts both of worldly
and religious people, is the cause of the
greatest evils that afflict this earth. Let
each, for instance, only mark narrowly, in
himself and others, the marvels of labor
and ingenuity invented and wrought on all
sides, each striving to outdo his fellow for
the sake of earthly gain. If we were to
probe to the bottom the workings of this
false principle in worldly and in religious
people, it could hardly be told how deeply
its roots have struck, and how widely they
have spread below the surface. Think what
it implies to have so little confidence in that
God who is able to do all things, when ye
are striving and toiling, and wearing your-
selves out with anxiety, as if you meant to
live for ever.
Thou poor blind man, spiritual in outward
vesture but not in reality, why shouldst thou


146 #igtorg amb 3Life of
in providing such things as are right, to the
supply of our necessities and those of others,
and profitable to ourselves and the com-
munity, and to see that every thing be done
in a discreet and seemly manner. But that
which is your end when you sit and medi-
tate in the church, should be likewise your
end when you are busied in all the affairs
of daily life; whether you work, or speak,
or eat, or drink, waking and sleeping, do
all to the glory of God, and not for thyself.
For a noble man will make these perishing
things of time a mere passage-way by which
he will ascend through the creatures, not
being held down by any selfish cleaving to
them, up to his everlasting home, his eter-
nal source from which he sprang at his
creation.
Now St. Paul tells us, that we must be
careful to keep the unity of the spirit in the
bond of peace. Children, that peace which
is found in the spirit and the inner life is
well worth our care, for in that peace lies
the satisfaction of all our wants. In it, the
Kingdom of God is discovered, and His
righteousness is found. This peace a man
should allow nothing to take from him,


TDoctor 3gjn (Iauler. I47
whatever betide, come weal or woe, honor
or shame. But ever keep thy inward man
in the bond of peace, which consists in the
common love of all to all ; and set before
you the lovely example of our Lord Jesus
Christ, and see how his love wrought.
JFrom the Štrmon for $t. 43rter's Bag.
“Reprove, rebuke, exhort, with all long-suffering and doctrine.”
2 TIM. iv. 2.
He who desires to become a spiritual
man must not be ever taking note of others,
and above all of their sins, lest he fall into
wrath and bitterness, and a judging spirit
towards his neighbors. O children, this
works such great mischief in a man's soul,
as it is miserable to think of ; wherefore, as
you love God, shun this evil temper, and
turn your eyes full upon yourselves, and
see if you cannot discover the same fault
in yourselves, either in times past or now-
a-days.
This generous love makes him hold others
innocent in his heart : even when he sees
infirmity or fault in his neighbor, he reflects
that very likely all is not as it seems on the


148 #igtorg amb 3Life of
outside, but the act may have been done
with a good intention ; or else he thinks
that God may have permitted it to take
place for an admonition and lesson to him-
self; or again, as an opportunity for him to
exercise self-control and to learn to die unto
himself, by the patient endurance of and
forbearance towards the faults of his neigh-
bors, even as God has often borne many
wrongs from him, and had patience with
his sins. And this would often tend more
to his neighbor's improvement than all the
efforts he could make for it in the way of
reproofs or chastisements, even if they were
done in love (though indeed we often im-
agine that our reproofs are given in love
when it is in truth far otherwise). For I
tell thee, dear child, if thou couldst conquer
thyself by long-suffering and gentleness and
the pureness of thy heart, thou wouldst have
vanquished all thine enemies. It would be
better for thee than if thou hadst won the
hearts of all the world by thy writings and
wisdom, and hadst miserably destroyed
thine own soul by passing judgment on thy
neighbors. -


I 5o #igtorg amb 3Life of
receive the blessing through my own heed-
lessness, or thrown it away by my own
guilty folly, - I could bear it all the better;
what should I then have to mourn over ?
But now it is all my own doing: I have
brought the mischief upon myself.” I an-
swer: Do not let this lead thee astray; dost
thou not know how that it is written : “The
just man falleth seven times, and riseth up
again; ” and dost thou think to stand al-
ways * Yes; I assert and confess with thee,
that it is thine own fault, that thou hast
brought it upon thyself, and well deserved
it ; yet, nevertheless, it is better that thou
shouldst, with firm trust, pray our kind God
for His grace (who knows thy weakness,
and is ready to forgive thy trespasses
seventy and seven times in a day), than
that thou shouldst thus drive thyself back
in thy course with such faint-heartedness.
O child, hast thou fallen 2 Arise, and go,
with childlike trust, to thy Father, like the
prodigal son, and humbly say, with heart
and mouth : “Father, I have sinned against
heaven, and before thee, and am no more
worthy to be called thy son : make me as
one of thy hired servants.” And what will


HDoctor 305m (Taulet. I5 I
thy Heavenly Father do but what that
father did in the parable Assuredly He
will not change His essence, which is love,
for the sake of thy misdoings. Is it not His
own precious treasure, and a small thing
with Him to forgive thee thy trespasses, if
thou believe in Him? for His hand is not
shortened that it cannot make thee fit to be
saved.
None of the inward difficulties that rise
up from within, or the adverse circumstances
that stay our hands from working, by which
we are drawn or pressed into likeness and
conformity to the humble image of Christ
and his Saints (not alone outwardly, but that
of their inward condition), can be the work
either of evil spirits or of nature, but with-
out a doubt come from God. For He is
the Highest Good, and from the Highest
Good nought but what is good can flow.
Whatever befalls a man inwardly, whereby
he is brought to a closer and more sensible
gathering up of all his affections and
impulses, in singleness of heart, into a
steadfast trust in and love of the Father's
loving-kindness and not his own works and
experiences, this is from God.


TBoctor 305m (Taulet. I 53
“God bless thee,” said the Doctor, “how
answerest thou me so 2°
“I was never other than blessed.”
“Explain to me this, for I understand
not.”
“Willingly,” quoth the poor man. “Thou
wishest me good morrow. I never had an
ill morrow, for, am I an hungered, I praise
God; am I freezing, doth it hail, snow, rain,
is it fair weather or foul, I praise God ; and
therefore had I never an ill morrow. Thou
didst say, ‘God prosper thee.' I have been
never unprosperous, for I know how to live
with God ; I know that what He doth is
best, and what God giveth or ordaineth for
me, be it pain or pleasure, that I take cheer-
fully from Him as the best of all, and so I
had never adversity. Thou wishest God to
bless me. I was never unblessed, for I
desire to be only in the will of God, and I
have so given up my will to the will of God,
that what God willeth, I will.”
Then said the Doctor, “But what if His
will should be to cast thee into hell ? what
wouldst thou do then 2 ”
“Cast me into hell ? His goodness holds
Him back therefrom. Yet if He did, I


I54 #ígtorg amb 3.ife of
should have two arms to embrace Him
withal. One arm is true humility, and
therewith am I one with His holy humanity.
And with the right arm of Love, that joineth
His holy Divinity, I would embrace Him so
that He must come with me into hell like-
wise. And even so, I would sooner be in
hell, and have God, than in heaven, and
not have Him.” -
Then understood this Master that a true
resignation to the divine will, with utter
humility, was the nearest way to God.
Moreover the Master asked, “From
whence comest thou ?”
The poor man answered, “From God.”
“Where hast thou found God 2 ”
“I found Him when I had renounced
all creatures.”
“But who art thou,” asked the Doctor.
“I am a king,” said the beggar. “My
kingdom is my soul. All my powers, within
and without, do homage to my soul. This
kingdom is greater than any kingdom on
the earth.”
“What hath brought thee to this per-
fection ?”


.
.





' ！ …-- ~~~~ ~