ANONYMOUS GIFT HISTORY and LIFE REVEREND DOCTOR JOHN TAULER; TWENTY-FIVE of his SERMONS. THE HISTORY and LIFE OF THE REVEREND DOCTOR JOHN TAULER of 8TBA8B0 WBG ; with TWENTY-FIVE of his SERMONS (Temp. 1340.) t Tranflated from the German, with Additional Notices of Tauler's Life and Times, by SUSANNA WINK WORTH, Tranflator of Theologia Oermanica ; Preface by the Rev. CHARLES KINGSLEY. Reftor of Everfley and Canon of Middleham. WITH AN INTRODUCTION BY Rev. ROSWELL D. HITCHCOCK, D.D., Waftiburn Prof, of Church Hiftory in the Union Theological Seminary. NEW YORK: WILEY & HALSTED, 351 BROADWAY. M.DCCCLVIII. B. CKAIOURAD, PRINTER, S7ERE0TYPBR. AKD BLEOTKnTYPfER« Caxtnu SSutlDtns, 81, 83, and 85 Centre Street. TABLE OF CONTENTS. Page Translator's Preface ..... xi Preface by the Rev. Charles Kingsley . . xxxi The History and Life of the Reverend Doctor John Tauler .... i Introductory Notice respecting Tauler's Life AND Times, by the Translator . . 75 Sermon I. Sermon for the First Sunday in Ad vent ...... 197 How that we are called upon to arife from our fins, and to conquer our foes, looking for the glorious coming of our Lord in our fouls. II. Sermon for the Second Sunday in Advent ...... 207 How that God is very near to us, and how we muft feek and find the Kingdom of God within us, without refpeft to time and place. vi Table of Contents. Sermon Pace III. Sermon for the Third Sunday in Advent ..... How that we muft wholly come out from ourfelves, that we may go into the wildernefs and behold God. IV. Sermon for Christmas Day Of the things by which we become children of God. VIII. Sermon for the Sixth Sunday after Epiphany * • • • • Of the proper marks of true humility. 214 227 V. Sermon for Epiphany . . . 236 This Sermon on the Gofpel for the day, from St. Matthew, Ihoweth how God, of His great faith- fulnefs, hath forefeen and ordained all fiifferings for the eternal good of each man, in whatever wife they befall us, and whether they be great or fmall. VI. Second Sermon for Epiphany . . 245 Showeth on what wife a man Ihall arife from him- felf and from all creatures, to the end that God may find the ground of his foul prepared, and may begin and perfeft His work therein. VII. Sermon for the Fourth Sunday after Epiphany 2C3 Of the great wonders which God has wrought, and ftill works for us Chriftian men ; wherefore it is juft and reafonable that we ftiould turn unto Him and follow Him, and whereby we may difcern between true and falfe converfion. 258 Table of Contents. vii Sermon Page IX. Sermon for Septuagesima Sunday . 272 In this Sermon following we are taught how we muft perpetually prefs forward towards our higheft good, without paufe or reft ; and how we muft labour in the fpiritual vineyard that it may bring forth good fruit. X. Sermon for Ash Wednesday . . 289 An Expofition of the three crofles, that of Chrift, that of the malefaftor on His left, and that of the malefaftor on His right hand, how they are a type of the fuflerings of three claffes of men who are, in a Ipiritual fenfe, nailed to thefe three crofles. XI. Sermon for the Second Sunday in Lent 302 Tells us how God drives forward fome of His chil- 1 dren by the ftruggle between the inward and out ward man. XII. Sermon for the Fourth Sunday in Lent 317 Of the power of the Word of God, of fiery de- fires, and the eflence of felf-renunciation. XIII. Sermon for Palm Sunday . . . 323 How a man ought in all His works to regard God alone, and purely to make Him his end without anything of his own, and fhall freely and fimply perform all thefe works for the glory of God only, and not feek his own, nor defire nor expeft any reward. Wherewith he may do fuch works without any felf-appropriation or reference to time and number, before or after, and without modes. How the Divine Word fpeaks and re veals ufelf inthe foul, all in a lofty and fubtile fenfe. viii Table of Contents. Sermon Page XIV. Sermon for Thursday in Easter Week ...... How we ought to love God, and how Chrift is a Mafter of the Eternal Good, wherefore we ought to love Him above all things ; a Mafter of the Higheft Truth, wherefore we ought to con template Him; and a Mafter of the Higheft Perfedlnefs, wherefore we ought to follow after Him without let or hindrance. XV. Sermon for the First Sunday after Easter ...... How we are to afcend by three ftages to true peace and purity of heart. XVII. Second Sermon for the Fourth Sun day after Easter . . ... Of three hindrances which refift the coming of the Holy Ghoft in three clafles of men. 334 343 XVI. Sermon for the Fourth Sunday after Easter ... . . 3^0 How the Holy Ghoft rebukes the World in man for fin, righteoufnefs, and judgment ; how hurt ful it is to judge one's neighbour; after what falhion a pious man may rebuke his neighbour ; further, what the Holy Ghoft teacheth when he cometh to us. 359 XVIII. Sermon for Ascension Day . . 366 This third fermon on the Afcenfion tells us how man ought continually to follow after Chrift, as He has walked before us for three and thirty years, pafling through manifold and great fuffer- ings, before He returned unto His Father. Table of Contents. ix Sermon Page XIX. Sermon for Whit Sunday . . 376 How God drew the Apoftles unto Chrift by fix degrees until they attained unto union with Him- felf, and fo likewife draweth His friends unto Himfelf now. XX. Sermon for the Fourth Sunday after Trinity ...... 392 This fermon telleth us of four meafures that fliall be rendered, unto man, and of two grades of a godly life, and how we ought to love our neighbour. XXI. Sermon for the Tenth Sunday after Trinity ...... 406 Admonilhing each man to mark what is the office to which he is called of God and teaching us to praftife works of love and virtue, and to refrain from felf-will. XXII. Sermon for the Twelfth Sunday AFTER Trinity 4^5 Teaching us that we ought to receive God, in all His gifts, and in all His burdens, with true long- fufFering. XXIII. Second Sermon for the Twelfth Sunday; after Trinity . . . ^22 This fermon tells us how a man who truly loves God, whofe ears have been opened to receive the feven-fold gifts of the Holy Spirit, is neither lifted up in joy nor caft down in forrow Table of Contents. Sermon Page XXIV. Sermon for the Fifteenth Sunday after Trinity .... 430 This fermon forbiddeth all carefulnefs, and telleth in what righteoufnefs confifteth, and rebukes fundry religious people and their works, likening their ways to fimony. XXV. Sermon for St. Stephen's Day . . /\i\'>. Of three grades of thole who learn to die unto themfelves, like a corn of wheat, that they may bring forth fruit ; or of thofe who are beginners, thofe who are advancing, and thole who are per- feft in a Divine life. XXVI. Sermon for St. Peter's Day . . 461 Of brotherly rebuke and admonition, how far it is advifable and feemly or not, and efpeciaUy how prelates and governors ought to demean them felves towards their fubjefts. XXVII. Sermon on a Martyr's Day . . 468 Of three forts of fpiritual temptadon by which holy men are fecretly aflailed ; to wit : Ipiritual unchaftity, covetoufnefs, and pride. INTRODUCTION TO THE AMERI CAN EDITION. J^^^^^^^^^HIS American edition of the Life and Ser- pS'^apP^^ mons of Tauler is an exafl; reprint, and, in f^^ llj 1^ its general appearance, a clofe copy of the &kaaa^!?ifeS ^"^ edition recently iffued in England; ^^^^^^^^ hardly^ inferior in elegance to its Englifh original, though offered at one-third the price. It was the expenfivenefs of the imported work, forbidding the circu lation defired for it on this fide of the Atlantic, which fuggefted the prefent undertaking ; the chief motive to it being the hope of rendering fpiritual fervice, and not the expectation of pecuniary profit. The publiftiers, of courfe, would like not to incur pecuniary lofs, while tke editor finds his beft reward in the pleafure of introducing fuch a work to the acquaintance of many into whofe hands it otherwife might never come. To men like Tauler, fo undividedly intent upon the glory of God, it is a fmall matter, even in their lifetime, to be judged of man's judgment ; fmaller yet, when five centuries have intervened, maturing at once the fruits of their toil on earth, and the harveft of their reward in hea ven. And yet it is due to every man, of whom, for our own fake, it were well for us to judge wifely, that we confider his place in hiftory, and fo hold his age, and not the man himfelf anfwerable for faults and deficiencies, from which we, perhaps, have found deliverance, not be- xii Introdu6lion to the caufe we are wifer and better men, but becaufe our lot has been caft in a better age. The age in which Tauler was born, was one of chaos, of great icandals, and of great forrows. Chriftianity had not yet come viftorious out of her tremendous ftruggle with the Gothic barbarifm of the Middle Ages. Europe was ftill feudal, difintegrated and ftormy ; her nationalities not yet compared, her hiftoric errand not yet clearly de fined. Gunpowder, the Mariner's Compafs, the art of Printing, the Revival of Letters, and the Difcovery of this Weftern Continent had not yet wrought their miracles. The Chriftendom of the Orient had long lain torpid and filent. The Chriftendom of the Occident had ripened and rotted into a Popedom ; and the Papal Court, with an intolerable ftench before and behind it, was on the eve of its difaftrous exile at Avignon. Everywhere good men were fcarce ; and fcarceft of all in the higheft places. The old Pharifaifm of the age of Herod, and worfe than that, had repeated itfelf in the hiftory of Chriftian Europe. And the Pharifee had begotten, as he always muft, the Sadducee. Formalifm, turning the truth of God into a lie, and making the very ground ring hollow underneath the feet ftf men, had prepared the way for infidelity. It was a dreary time. Who can wonder that the afcetic Effene came next ? This is only the old circuit of hif tory, as inevitable as the order of the feafons, or the courfes of ftars and planets. We may think it morbid, extravagant, and lamentable, but we cannot think it ftrange, that fo many good men took flielter in the monaf- teries, or buried themfelves in deferts, deferting a world they defpaired of mending, finging to themfelves, in the language of the dying Jerome : " O wildernefs ! always " covered with the flowers of Jefus Chrift. O folitude ! " in thee are the ftones found wherewith the city of our " God is to be built." Miftaken men, we may pronounce them, equally miftaken and defeated, failing in fo many American Edition. xiii cafes, and fometimes fo fliamefully, of the very fandity of which they were enamored ; and yet it would be narrow in us not to applaud the heroifm which could fo crucify the flefti, and make the whole outward life a daily offering to God. Or if our verdid be fevere againft the anchorites, as having failed in their duty to the fouls of others, in the defperate ftruggle to fave their own, fo that even the very virtues of the Mediseval Chriftianity, as Milman argues, had need to be indignantly fliaken off, we muft yet be gentle towards fuch men as Tauler, zealous, diligent work ers in the fpiritual vineyard of the world, even though they were myftics, inordinately bent upon hiding their lives in God. Myfticifm has become in our day a term of indifcrimi- nate and undeferved reproach. If we mean by it that enthufiaftic reverence for the inner light, which, as in Ouakerifm, overrides the authority of Scripture, and repu diates the ordinances and facraments of the Church, then we do well to denounce it, and the more vigoroufly, the better. But if in a wider latitude of ufage, we mean by it only a fpecial prominence and emphafis of the Johan- nean type of Chriftian life and doftrine, then, furely, we ought not to denounce, and had better not be veryjealous of it. This introverted, brooding, meditative fort of piety has, indeed, its fpecial perils. Exaggeration and excefs in this direftion are extremely eafy ; the intenfe inward experience of divine things being peculiarly liable to divorce itfelf from eftabliflied formulas of doctrine, from the ordinary means of grace, and from outward duty. But the germ and roots of this development are undeni ably in the Scriptures. Not the Platonic John alone, who has been hailed as the fpiritual father of the myftics, but the Ariftotelian Paul alfo, difcourfes fervently of this hidden life of the fpirit, fetting forth Chrift as fo formed within us, that the man himfelf expires. " I am cruci- " fied," he fays, " with Chrift. Nevertheless, I live, yet xiv Introdudion to the " not I, but Chrift liveth in me." While our Lord him felf has declared that the kingdom of God is within us. That fuch texts have been grievoufly abufed to the encou ragement of a vague and dreamy piety, to the encourage ment fometimes of a vehement fanaticifm, is no argument againft their juft meaning and their proper ufe. The gen tle Clement of Alexandria on the one fide, and the wild Montanus of Phrygia on the other, are not the only men of Chriftendom who have fpoken myftically. The folid Auguftine himfelf has faid : " From a good man, or a " good angel, take away angel, take away man, and you " find God." Tauler was, indeed, both a monk and a myftic ; but his myfticifm was of the mildeft and moft fober type. He never Aid into Pantheifm, as did his famous mafter, the profound and fubtle Eckart, claimed by Hegel as the father of the modern German Philofophy ; unlike Ruyf- broek even, he was never fufpeQed of it. If the medita tive element was ftrong in him, the praftical was ftronger jftill. That which moft diftinguiflied him was his indefati gable preaching of the Gofpel. Up and down the Rhine he itinerated, from Strafbourg to Cologne, from Cologne to Strafbourg, in monafteries and churches, in market places and in the fields, holding forth the Word of Life, in the face of a hollow liturgic formalifm. That we fliall find him wholly clear of Romifli inventions and errors is not, of courfe, to be expefted. Honor enough is it for I him to have been, in all effential points, a Proteftant, Inearly two hundred years before the Thefes of Luther had lufliered Proteftantifm into hiftory. Honor enough, to have won from Luther himfelf the praife of having preached the pureft, moft folid, moft wholefome and evan gelic theology, which he had met with in either the Latin or the German language. Honor enough, to have been the foundeft and the beft of all thofe " Friends of God," who prepared the way for a Reformation of the Church in American Edition. xv Germany, as it was not prepared in any other country of Europe. ' Such is the man, whofe life, and a portion of whofe Difcourfes, taken down at the time by thofe who heard them, now afk audience again of the Chriftian world. And there are feveral weighty reafons why this audience Ihould be granted. y In the firft place, Tauler is, perhaps, our fafeft repjefen- tative of a type of piety, the contemplation of which is greatly needed, in our day, as a counterpoife and correftive of what is one-fided and imperfeft in the prevailing ex perience of Chriftians. The Proteftant piety of the nine teenth century, fo juftly honored for its Mifllonary zeal and achievements, is indifputably weak and fluggifli in felf-denial, in meditation, and in all the forces and fervors of a deeply inward life. A renewed and profoundly prayerful ftudy of fuch a work as A'Kempis' " Imitation of Chrift," as it was once ftudied by our fathers, would do much towards deepening our piety. But the ftudy of Tauler's writings would be ftill better for us, as having lefs in them of that exceffively afcetic fpirit, which fome- what damages the famous treatife of A'Kempis ; while the warmth of Chriftian love that is in them, would prove contagious, kindling up underneath our prefent aftivities of outward fervice a more rich and tender experience of confcious union with our Redeemer. ^We owe it alfo to our Chriftian Faith, not to be unmindful of what the grace of God has accompliflaed in even the darkeft centuries. In anfwer to the fcornful afperfions of infidelity, charging Chriftianity itfelf with centuries of failure, if not for our own peace and comfort in believing, we have need to fee, and to be able to prove, that the promife of our Lord to be with his Church always, to the end of the world, has not fallen to the ground. The more traces we find of our Mafter's image in anv. and in all. of the Chriftian centuries, the better xvi Introdu6tion to the American Edition. will it be, at once for ourfelves, and for the caufe we ferve. And then, in the third place, as ftudents of hiftory, which all Chriftian men ought certainly to be, we cannot underftand the Great Religious Reformation of the fix- teenth century, without fome knowledge of the centuries immediately preceding it. This grand uprifing and array of the more ftalwart half of Latin Chriftendom, againft the abufes and corruptions of the Romifti Hierarchy, was not a mere revolt of the temporal principalities and powers, not a mere rebellion of fchoolmen, not the mere difloyalty of a new and more material civilization, but, in the trueft fenfe ofthe word, a Revival of pure Religion. It came, not of the pride and fliallow worldly wifdom, but of the piety and deep fpiritual infight, of Northern Europe. In Italy, there was no Reformation, becaufe Italy was frivolous and fenfual. In England, the work moved on haltingly, becaufe England was too much given to politics and commerce. Germany became the garden of the Reforma tion, becaufe in Germany the foil had been mellowed and deepened by the pious labors of thofe " Friends of God," of whom our Tauler muft be accounted the fore- moft and the beft. Moved by fuch confiderations, we have put our hand moft lovingly to the work of editing this Englifli tranfla- tion of the Life and Sermons of Tauler. And now we commend it to the favor of all good Chriftians amongft us, of whatever name or perfuafion ; but, above all, to the favor of the Great Head of the Church, hoping and pray ing that He will blefs it to the enriching and edifying of many fouls. ROSWELL D. HITCHCOCK. Union Theological Seminary. New York, Sept. ift, 1857. TRANSLATOR'S PREFACE. gN publifliing a feleftion from the writings of a divine who flouriflied in an age and under focial conditions fo remote from our own as thofe of a German Dominican monk of the"' fourteenth century, it feems right to ftate at the outfet whether the aim which has governed the felec- tion is chiefly hiftorical or devotional. The prefent work was undertaken, in the firft inftance, with a fimply pra&ical objeft. My earlieft acquaintance with Tauler's Sermons was made while hearing them read in a family fervice ; and believing, from further ftudy, that they contained elements of truth not often brought into fufficient promi nence in thefe days, yet polTeffing a moft direfl: and valuable influence on Chriftian life, I wiftied to compile a v volume of fermons for the Sundays and Holydays of the year, fuch as any head of a family might read to his houfehold, or any diftrift vifitor among the poor. To have carried out this idea completely would, how ever, have involved the omiffion, in many of the fermons, of paffages either too abftrufe for eafy comprehenfion, or too much imbued with references to the Romifli ritual and difcipline, to be fuitable for the Proteftant common people. But fuch a mutilation feemed to be fcarcely honeft in the cafe of a writer now to be prefented for the firft time In a foreign language, and it appeared better therefore to reconcile hiftorical truthfulnefs with pradical ufefulnefs, by reftriding the feledion, but giving all the xviii Tranflator's Preface. fermons included in it in their complete form. Had it been my objed merely to prefent an interefting pidure of a remarkable man, the feledion would poffibly have been fomewhat different,^ — certainly much wider. As it is I have chofen the pradical rather than the more metaphyfical fermons, and have included none which feemed to me, in my confcientious judgment, open to objedions as to their moral tendency. Among fuch I fliould reckon fome tindured with an afceticifm throwing contempt on the affedions of ordinary life. Of the duties of ordinary life Tauler never fpeaks •'difparagingly. When he fays that the inward work in the foul is more than all outward good works, it is always the outward pradices of religion of which he is fpeaking — attendance in church, fafting, the repeating of prayers, &c. ; never of the exercife of adive benevolence, or even the performance of minor houfehold duties. It is one good feature of the fchool to which he belonged, that thefe things are reftored to their due honour, fo far as that is compatible with the whole fyftem of conventual life. But Tauler does teach that repreffion of the natural ' affections which is inevitable fo long as the vital idea of monafticifm, — viz., the feverance of the religious from the fecular in life, — is retained. That this feverance is falfe and mifchievous, Tauler no more perceived than did the whole bociy of his contemporaries ; but while we have no right to cenfure him for errors which he fliared with all the men of his age (and which he often divefted for his own hearers of much of their baneful influence), it is equally unnecefTary to place fuch dodrine before jpeople at the prefent time. So, too, the fermons on the Mafs and on the Virgin Mary, while containing many exceflent pradical remarks, are of courfe bafed on belieft Ithat would render them unprofitable to the great multi- 'tude of Englifli Proteftants now-a-days, and I did, not deem it needful to infert them merely for the fake of Translator's Preface. xix prefenting a full view of all that Tauler believed or taught. But neither did it feem effential to pradical ufefulnefs to eliminate from fermons whofe general fcope is rich in Chriftian inftrudion, all fuch paffages as might contain paffing allufions to purgatory, tranfubftantiation, the invo cation of faints, &c. ; myftical and figurative interpreta tions of Scripture, or queftionable philofophical fpecula- tions, in order that nothing might be left but what Proteftant Chriftians at the prefent day adually believe. For private reading it is the lefs necefiary, as it is often curious and inftrudive to obferve how Tauler, in many cafes, fupplies the pradical antidote to the hurtful effeds of a Romifli dodrine without in the leaft feeing through the dodrine itfelf; while, fliould thefe Sermons be ufed, as I earneftly wifli they may be, for family reading, it will be very eafy to omit anything which it might be unde- firable to read to uneducated perfons. With regard to thofe not included, the greater number have been rejeded fimply becaufe many of their ideas occurred in the fermons which I have chofen, and I was anxious to avoid repetition ; and among thefe many were fo good as to render the taflc of feledion very difBcult. A very fmall proportion have been omitted on account of their Romifli dodrine ; more becaufe of their obfcure myfticifm, and a few becaufe they contained figures that would found coarfe, or at leaft grotefque and unfuitable for the pulpit, to our modern ears. I beheve that thofe I have given may be regarded, from the abfence of omiffions and the variety of their fcope, as furnifliing, on the whole, a corred pidure of the mind and faith, of their ' author. The edition of Tauler's Sermons which I have ufed for my Tranflation is that publiflied at Frankfort in 1826. Among the numerous ancient and modern editions oFthefe Sermons, that publiflied at Leipfic, in 1498, holds the higheft rank as an authority; but of this, now very rV it Viqs nnt been in mv DOwer to confult a copy; rarA ixmrb XX Tranflator's Preface. and of the later editions that of Frankfort is the beft. It is bafed upon an edition publiflied at Cologne in 1543, and contains one hundred and fifty-three fermons; only eighty-four of thefe, however, are to be found in the MSS. now extant. Many of the MSS. have, indeed, only por tions of thefe eighty-four ; but the beft and oldeft are alfo the moft complete. They are two which are in the Strafburg Library, and are moft probably contemporary with Tauler himfelf, — certainly not of much later origin. The oldeft printed edition, too, that of Leipfic, in 1498, has only thefe eighty-four fermons. Thefe are, therefore, all of whofe genuinenefs we have diftind certainty from external evidence. In an edition, however, which Johann Rynmann publiflied at Bafle in 1 52 1 (probably induced to do fo by Luther's republication of the Theologia Germanica, in 1517, and his recommendation of Tauler's writings to his friends *), forty-two more fermons are added with the preface : " Here followeth the fecond part " ofthe Sermons ofthe faid John Tauler, which have been " more recently difcovered, and colleded with great care " and diligence. Although there may be a doubt about " fome of them, let not that offend thee ; for it is certain " that they have been written by a right learned man of " his age, and are all bafed on one foundation, namely, " true felf-furrender and the preparation of the fpirit for " God." There can be no doubt that feveral of thefe are not produdions of Tauler ; and Surius, in his Latin Edition * Thus he writes to Spalatin in Dec. 15 16: "Si te deleftat puram, " folidam, antiquae fimillimam theologiam legere, in Germanica lingua " efFufam ; Sermonefe Johannes Tauleri, pradicatoriae profeflionis, ribi " comparare potes, cujus totius velut epitomen ecce hie tibi mitto. Neque " enim vel in Latina, vel in noftra lingua theologiam vidi falubriorem et " cum Evangelic confonantiorem. Gufta ergo et vide, quam fuavis eft " Dominus, ubi prius guftaris, et videbis quam amarum eft, quicquid nos " fumus." — De Wette, Martin Luther's Briefe, &c.. Band i, Beriin, 1825. Translator's Preface. xxi of 1548, appends the names of the authors Eckart, Sufo, Ruylbroch, in feveral inftances where he had afcertained them, — in which the Frankfort Editor follows his exam ple.* The ftyles of Eckart and Sufo are, indeed, very diftinguifliable from Tauler's. That of Ruylbroch feems to me lefs fo. Finally, the Cologne Edition of 1543, which has been the bafis of all the later editions of Tau ler's Sermons, adds twenty-five more, and among thefe, too, fome by the authors already named have crept in. Still, I cannot fee any reafon to queftion the ftatement of the Editor, Petrus Noviomagus, who fays : — " Having " made refearch in all diredions, that I might obtain the " moft corredly-copied MSS., I have at laft, in 1 542, found u " in the library of St. Gertrude, at Cologne (where the " faid Dodor had his abode, and was wont to preach " God's word), and alfo in fome other places, old written " books, in which many excellent, nay, fome of the beft "of Tauler's Sermons ftand clearly written, which have " not yet been printed or made public." Tauler did not himfelf write down his difcourfes, but ^ they were compiled from notes taken by his hearers, which " accounts at once for the fragmentary character of the ftyle, and for the great number of various readings to be found in the different editions. It is important to bear this cir- cumftance in mind in judging ofthe ftyle of die following fermons. It feems highly probable that the eighty-four fermons contained in the Stralburg MSS. were publiflied during his life and received his own corredions ; but there appear no adequate grounds for fuppofing that thefe eighty-four are the only genuine ones we poffefs ; for in the numerous places where Tauler preached many of his fermons would probably be taken down by fingle hearers, which in thofe times of rare and difHcult communication, * It is to the Preface of the Frankfort Editor that I am indebted for tlipfp narticulars refpeiling the different editions of Tauler's Sermons. xxii Translator's Preface. were never brought under the notice of the Strafburg Col- ledor, but, as his fame fpread in after years, came to be gradually put into the hands of later cofledors by their poffeffors, as feems to have been the cafe with thofe of which Petrus Noviomagus fpeaks. The Frankfort Edition has not, however, been the fole fource of the following tranflation ; for with great gene- rofity, for which I beg to tender him my warmeft thanks, Profeffor Schmidt, of Straft)urg, has placed at my difpofal a tranfcript made by himfelf, from the moft ancient manu- fcript extant, by which I have correded thofe of the fol lowing colledion, which belong to the firft eighty-four. In a very few paffages only have I retained the verfion of the Frankfort Edition, where the fenfe was fo evidently clearer and fuller as to indicate a high probability that the later colledor had had the opportunity of confulting fuller notes than his more ancient predeceffor. This, however, is very rarely the cafe ; in general the oldeft verfion is fo much the beft as to give great force to the fuppofition generally entertained that it had been correded by the author himfelf Of the following colledion Nos. 5.. 6. 9. 11. 16. 18. 20. 21. 22. 23. 24. may be thus faid to be, in effed, tranflated from the Strafburg MS. The Frankfort Editor gives the fources from which he has taken his ver fion of the fermons, and upon this authority I may men tion that Nos. 3. 4. 7. 8. 10. 13. 14. 17. 25. 26. 27. are from the Appendix to the Bafle Edition of 1521; and Nos. 1. 2. 12. 15. 19. from that ofthe Cologne Edition of 1543. The fermon No. 2. is marked as Eckart's in the Frankfort Edition, and No. 4. as moft probably the pro- dudion of a difciple of his, commonly called Eckart, junior. It is, however, fomewhat doubtful whether the two Eckarts were not in truth one and the fame. The Cologne Editor expreffes the wifli that "God would " anoint fome man enlightened by the Holy Ghoft to ren- " der this precious treafure into Latin for the comfort of Translator's Preface. xxiii " many who defire it ;" and this wifh was fulfilled in 1 543, by the Carthufian, Laurentius Surius, the tranflator alfo of the works of Sufo and Ruylbroch. The principal fources from which my flcetch of Tauler and the " Friends of God " has been derived, are furniflied by Profeffor Schmidt of Stralburg, in his Johannes Tau ler VON Strasburg ; his effay on Eckart in the Theolo- GiscHE Studien und Kritiken, 1839, p. 684.; and his work. Die Gottesfreunde in Vierzehnten Jahrhun dert, Jena, 1855. I have, however, alfo to acknowledge my obligations to Wackernagel's effay on the Gottes freunde in the Beitrage zur Vaterlaendischen Ge schichte (Bafle, 1843, B- "• ^- m-); to Neander's Kirchengeschichte ; Hafe's Kirchengeschichte ; Mil- man's Latin Christianity, &c. Any one acquainted with the admirable Effays of Pro feffor Schmidt, above-named, will perceive how largely I am indebted to him for the fads of Tauler's life, and the account of Eckart ; but will alfo obferve that my theory of them is, in fome points, very different from that of M. Schmidt. For my notices of the Gottesfreunde, his re cent work has furniflied the whole of the fads ; but, again, it is only fair to ftate that for the light in which I regard thefe fads, I am alone refponfible. Manchefter: Nov. 29th, 1856. PREFACE, BY THE Rev. Charles Kingsley. gT is with great diffldence that I have under taken to furnifh a Preface to thefe Sermons. It muft always be an invidious talk to ftand toward a far wifer and better man than one's felf in a relation which is likely, at every mo- menf, to be miftaken either for that of a critic or that of a commentator. The critic of Tauler, no man has a right to become, who has not firft afcertained that he is a better man than Tauler. The commentator of Tauler, no man has a right to become, who has a ftrong belief (as I have) that Tauler's Sermons need no comment whatfoever : but that all which is good and eternal in them wifl recommend itfelf at once to thofe hearts, let their form of dodrine be what it may, who have hold of, or are feeking after. Eternal Goodnefs. The hiftorical and biographical information which may be neceffary for a right underftanding of the man and his times, will be found in the Life and tlie Introdudory Notice which are appended to the Sermons; while any notions of mine as to the genefis of Tauler's views, as to how much of them he owed to divines, how much to his xxvi Preface by the own vital experiences, are likely to be equally unfafe and uninterefting. The Englifli churchman of the prefent day, enjoying a form of dodrine far more corred than that of any other communion, and refting on the found dogma that nothing is to be believed as neceffary to falvation but what can be proved by Scripture, has (whether rightly or wrongly, I do not here afk) become fo fatisfied with the good fruit, as to think little of the tree which bore it. The Church controverfies, and the metaphyfical inquiries, by which, after many miftakes, and long ftruggles, that form of dodrine was elicited from Scripture, are to him fliadows of the paft, and " Schoolmen's queftions." The element in the ancient worthies of the Church which is moft interefting to him is their human forrows, tempta tions, triumphs, with which, as having happened in men of like paffions with themfelves, they ftill can fympathife. They cannot, however, now underftand how ftrong and generally juft an influence thofe private and perfonal experiences had, in forming the opinions of the old worthies upon Scriptural dodrines, which we have been taught from childhood to find in Scripture, and are there fore aftoniflied, if not indignant, that every one in every age did not find them there at firft fight. Thus, ftanding upon the accumulated labours of ages, we are apt to be ungrateful to thofe who built up witii weary labour, and often working through dark and dreary nights, the platform which now fupports us. We com plain impatiently of the blindnefs of many a man, without whom we fliould not have feen; and of die incomplete- nefs of many a man's dodrine, who was only incomplete becaufe he was ftill engaged in fearching for fome truth, which, when found, he handed on as a precious heirloom to us who know him not. _ For the many, therefore, it will be altogether unintereft ing for me to enter into any fpeculation as to the fpiritual pedigree of Tauler's views. How far Philo-Judteus and Rev. Charles Kingfley. xxvii the Brahmins may have influenced the Pfeudo-Dionyfius ; how far the Pfeudo-Dionyfius may have influenced John Erigena ; how far that wondrous Irifhman may have influenced Mafter Eckart: how far that vaft and fubtle thinker, claimed by fome as the founder of German philofophy, may have influenced Tauler himfelf, are queftions for which the many will care little ; which would require to be difcuft in a large volume, ere the queftion could not merely be exhaufted, but made intelligible. Such matters may well be left for learned and large- minded men, to whom the development of Chriftian doc trine (both in the true and the falfe fenfe of that word) are a fcientific ftudy. But let me exprefs a hope, that fuch men will turn their attention more and more, not merely to the works of Tauler, but to thofe of his companions, and to that whole movement of the fourteenth century, of which Tauler is the moft popular and eafily acceffible type, as to a moft interefting and inftrudive page in the book of Chriftian, and indeed, of human, thought. I fay human ; for it will be impoffible for them to examine the works of fuchmen as Erigena, Tauler, Eckart, and Ruyfbroch, any more than thofe of the later myftics, whether Romifli or Proteftant, without finding that their fpeculations, whether right or wrong in any given detail, go down to the very deepeft and moft univerfal grounds of theology and of meta- phyfics ; and howfoever diftindly Chriftian they may be, are conneded with thoughts which have exercifed men of every race which has left behind it more than mere mounds of earth. They will find in the Greek, the Per- fian, and the Hindoo ; in the Buddhift and in Mohamme dan Sufi, the fame craving after the Abfolute and the Eternal, the fame attempt to exprefs in words that union between man and God, which tranfcends all words. On making that difcovery, if they have not already made it, two courfes will be open to them. They can either rejed xxviii Preface by the the whole of fuch thoughts as worthlefs, affuming that anything which Chriftianity has in common with heathen dom muft be an adulteration and an interpolation; or, when they fee fuch thoughts bubbling up, as it were fpontaneoufly, among men divided utterly from each other by race, age, and creed, they can conclude that thofe thoughts muft be a normal produd of the human fpirit, and that they indicate a healthy craving after fome real objed ; they can rife to a tender and deeper fympathy with the afpirations and miftakes of men who fought in great darknefs for a ray of light, and did not feek in vain ; and can give frefli glory to the dodrines of the Catholic Church when they fee them fulfilling thofe afpirations, and correding thofe miftakes; and in this cafe, as in others, fatisfying the defire of all nations, by proclaiming Him by whom all things were made, and in whom all things confift, who is The Light and The Life of men, fliining for ever in the darknefs, uncomprehended, yet unquenched. There is another clafs of readers worthy of all refped, who may be diffatisfied, if not ftartled, by many paffages in thefe fermons. Men well fliifled in the terminology of the popular religion, and from long experience, well acquainted with its value, are apt to be jealous when they find a preacher handling the higheft matters, and yet omit ting to ufe concerning them the formulse in which tfiey are now commonly expreft. Such men I would entreat to have patience with, and charity for, a man whofe cha- rader they muft fo heartily admire. Let them remember that many of our own formulae are not to be found verba tim in Holy Writ, but have been gradually extraded from it by procefies of indudion or of dedudion ; and let them allow to Tauler, as far as is confiftent with ortho doxy, Chriftian liberty to find likewife what he can in that Scripture, which he reveres as deeply as they do. Let them confider alfo, that moft of thofe expreffions of his Rev. Charles Kingfley. xxix which are moft ftrange to our modern pulpits, are ftridly Scriptural, and to be found in the Sacred Text ; and that no man can be blamed at firft fight, for underftanding fuch expreffions literally, and for flirinking from reducing them to metaphors. God has ordained that the Pauline afped of Chriftianity, and the Pauline nomenclature, fliould for the laft three hundred years at leaft, mould almoft ex- clufively the thoughts of His church : but we muft not forget, that St. John's thoughts, and St. John's words, are equally infpired with thofe of St. Paul ; and that not we, but Tauler, are the fit judges as to whether St. Paul's lan guage, or St. John's, was moft fit to touch the German heart in the dark and hideous times of the Fourteenth Century. The important queftion is — Did Tauler, under whatfoever language, really hold in fpirit and in truth the vital dodrines of the Gofpel ? That can only be afcer tained by a fair and charitable indudion, and of the refult of fuch an indudion I have little fear. Some, again, whofe opinions will be entitled to the very higheft refpect, will be pained at the fantaftic and arbitrary method (if method it can be called) in which Tauler ufes Scripture to illuftrate his opinioKs. Let them remember, that this was not a peculiarity of the man, but of his age ; that for various reafons, a fimple, literal, and hiftoric me thod of interpretation (which doubtlefs is at the fame time the moft fpiritual) was then in its infancy ; that it is by no means perfed yet ; and that it is quite poffible that our great grandchildren may be as much furprifed at our ufe of many a text, as we are at Tauler's. But there are thofe — and thanks to Almighty God they are to be numbered by tens of thoufands — who will not perplex themfelves with any fuch queftionings ; fimple and genial hearts, who try to do what good they can in the world, and meddle not with matters too high for them ; perfons whofe religion is not abftrufe, but deep ; not noify, but intenfe ; not aggreffive, but laborioufly ufe- XXX Preface by the ful : people who have the fame habit of mind as the early Chriftians feem to have worn, ere yet Catholic truth had been defined in formulae ; when the Apoftles' creed was fymbol enough for the Church, and men were orthodox in heart, rather than exad in head. For fuch it is enough if a fellow-creature loves Him whom they love, and ferves Him whom they ferve. Perfonal affedion and loyalty to the fame unfeen Being is to them a communion of faints both real and adual, in the genial warmth of which all minor differences of opinion vanifli, and a truly divine liberality enables them to believe with St. John, that " Thereby know ye the fpirit of God : every fpirit that " confeffes that Jefus Chrift is come in die flefli is bom of " God." To fuch thefe fermons fliould be, and I doubt not will be, welcome. If they find words in them which they do not underftand, even words from which at firft fight they differ, they will let them pafs thefe by for awhile, in cha rity and patience. Seeing (as they will fee at the firft glance) that John Tauler was one of themfelves, they will judge of what they do not underftand by what they do, and give him credit for fenfe and righteoufnefs, where their own intelleds fail to foflow him. EfpeciaUy, too, if they be diftraded and diflieartened (as fuch are wont to be) by the fin and confufion of tiie world ; by the amount of God's work which ftill remains undone, and by their own feeming incapacity to do it, they will take heart from the hiftory of John Tauler and his fellows, who, in far darker and more confufed time than the prefent, found a work to do, and ftrength to do it ; who, the more they retired into the receffes of their own inner life, found there that fully to know themfelves was to know all men, and to have a meffage for all men; and who, by their unceafing labours of love, proved that the higheft fpiritual attainments, inftead of fliutting a man up in lazy and Pharifaic felf-contemplation, drive him Rev. Charles Kingfley. xxxi forth to work as his Mafter worked before him, among the poor, the fuffering, and the fallen. Let fuch take heart, and toil on in faith at the duty which lies neareft to them. Five hundred years have paffed fince Tauler and his fellows did their fimple work, and looked for no fruit from it, but the faving of one here and there from the nether pit. That was enough for which to labour ; but without knowing it, they did more than that. Their work lives, and will live for ever, though in forms from which they would have perhaps flirunk had they forefeen them. Let all fuch therefore take heart. They may know their own weaknefs ; but they know not the power of God in them. They may think fadly that they are only palliating the outward fymptoms of focial and moral difeafe : but God may be ftriking, by fome unconfcious chance blow of theirs, at a root of evil which they never fufpeded- They may mourn over the failure of fome feemingly ufeful plan of their own ; but God may be, by their influence, fowing the feed of fome plan of His Own, of which they little dream. For every good deed comes from God. His is the idea. His the infjpira- tion, and His its fulfilment in time ; and therefore no good deed but fives and grows with the everlafting life of God Himfelf And as the acorn, becaufe God has given it " a forming form," and life after its kind, bears within it, not only the builder oak, but fliade for many a herd, food for countlefs animals, and at laft, the gallant fliip itfelf, and the materials of every ufe to which nature or art can put it and its defcendants after it throughout all time ; fo does every good deed contain within itfelf endlefs and unexpeded poffibilities of other good, which may and wiU grow and multiply for ever, in the genial Light of Him whofe eternal Mind conceived it, and whofe eternal Spirit will ever quicken it, with that Life of which He is the ^ Giver and the Lord. ¦ There is another clafs of readers, to whom I exped xxxii Preface by the thefe fermons to be at once very attradive and very valu able ; a clafs of whom I fpeak with extreme diffidence, having never had their experiences ; and of whom I fliould not have fpoken at all, were they not juft now as much depreciated, as they were in paft centuries rated too highly ; I mean thofe who are commonly called " Myf- " tics." Doubtlefs, they are paying a penalty for that ex travagant adoration which was beftowed of old upon the " Saint." Mankind has difcovered that much of what once, in fuch perfons, feemed moft divine, was moft pain fully human ; that much of what feemed moft fupema- tural, was but too degradingly natural, the confequences of difeafed brain, deranged nervous fyftem, or weaknefs brought on by voluntary afceticifm ; and fo mankind, angry with its idols for having a flaw anywhere, has dafhed them peevifhly to the ground. Would it not have been better to give up making idols of fuch perfons, and to have examined patiently, charitably, and philofophically what they really were, and what they were not ? By fo doing, I beheve, men would have found that in thefe myftics and faints, after all bodily illufions, all nervous fantafies, all pardonable " confufions between the objeft and the fubjed," had been eliminated, there ftifl remained, in each and every one of them, and not to be explained away by any theory of difeafed body or mind, one of die very lovelieft and nobleft human charaders ; and on tiiat difcovery the queftion muft have followed, — Was tiiat, too, the produd of difeafe ? And to that there can be, I truft, but one anfwer from the many. If here and there a man fliall be found daring enough to affert that the moft exquifite developments of humanity are grounded on a lie ; that its feemingly lovelieft flowers are but fungi bred of corruption ; then the general heart of mankind will give their cynicifm the lie, and anfwer, " Not fo ! tiiis is " too beautiful and too righteous to have been born of " aught but God." Rev. Charles Kingfley. xxxiii And when they found thefe perfons, whatfoever might be their " denomination," all inclined to claim fome illu mination, intuition, or dired vifion of Eternal truth. Eter nal good. Eternal beauty, even of that Eternal Father in whom all live and move and have their being ; yet mak ing that claim in deepeft humility, amid confeffions of their own weaknefs, finfulnefs, nothingnefs, which to the felf-fatisfied many feem exaggerated and all but infincere ; they would have been, perhaps, more philofophical, as well as more charitable ; more in accordance with Baco nian indudion, as well as with St. Paul's dired affertions in his Epiftles to the Corinthians, if they had faid : " The " teftimony of fo many ifolated perfons to this fact is on " the whole a fair probability for its truth ; and we are " incHned to believe it, though it tranfcends our experi- " ence, on the fame ground that we believe the united " teftimony of- travellers to a hundred natural wonders, "which differ as utterly from anything which we ever " faw, as do thefe fpiritual wonders from anything which " we have ever felt." And if men are willing (as they may be hereafter) patiently to examine the fads ftill further, they may poffi bly find, in the very circumftances which now make them fcornfuUy incredulous of " myftic raptures," a moral jufti- fication of their reality. It will be found that thefe "myftics" are, in almoft every cafe, perfons who are fuffering; perhaps difap- pointed, perhaps lonely, perhaps unhealthy, perhaps all three at once, bereaved of all focial comfort, and tortured with difeafe. It is eafy enough to fay that fiich perfons are efpeciaUy liable to melancholic delufions, liable to miftake the adion of their difeafed nerves for external apparitions and voices ; liable, from weaknefs of brain, and the too intenfe felf- introfpedion which difeafe often brings with it, to inveft trifling accidents with an undue importance, and to regard xxxiv Preface by the them as fupernatural monitions. Be it fo. Myftics in all ages have not been unaware of their own dangers, their own liability to miftakes ; and have tried to diftinguifh, by fuch canons as their age afforded them, the falfe from the true, the fleflily from the fpiritual. But meanwhile, has this hypothefis no moral juftice, and therefore moral pro bability (which muft always depend on the amount of moral juftice involved in any given hypothefis), — namely, the hypothefis that to thefe lonely fufferers more was granted than to the many, becaufe they needed more? That fome dired and inward " beatific vifion " of God was allowed to them, becaufe they had no opportunity of gaining any indited and outward one from a fmiling world, feen in the light of a joyful heart? There are thofe who have health and ftrength,'"'iiealth and beauty, wife and child ; a paft which it is pleafant to remember, and a future which it is pleafant to work out. Such find no difficulty in faying that God is Love ; that God cares for them, and His mercy is over all His works. But if they had lain, and lain perhaps from childhood, in the loweft deep, in the place of darknefs, and of ftorm, while lover and friend were hid away from them, and they fat upon the parching rock, like Rizpah, the daughter of Aiah, befide the corpfes of their dead fons, dead hopes, dead health, dead love, as on a ghaftly battle-field, ftript among the dead, like thofe who are wounded, and cut away from God's hand; if tiiey had ftruggled in the horri ble mire of perplexity, and felt all God's billows and waves go over them, tiU they were weary of crying, and their throats were dry, and their fight failed them with watching fo long for their God, and all the faitii and prayer which was left them was : « Thou wilt not leave " my foul in hell, neither fuffer Thy holy one to fee cor- " ruption "—If all this— or lefs than ti^iis had come upon tiiem ; then they might have felt it not altogether fo eafy to fay that God is Love. They, too, might have longed Rev. Charles Kingfley. xxxv for fome inward proof, fome token which tranfcends all argument, that though they go down to hell, God is there ; that in their moft utter doubt, and darknefs, and defolation, all is well; for they dwell in God, and God in them. They might have longed for it: and God might have been juft and merciful in giving it to them; as He may have been in giving it already to thoufands, who by no other means could have been able to face the fearful ftorm of circumftances, which feemed to proclaim the Devil, and not God, the mafter of the world. Why not let the myftics tell their own ftory *? It is more philofophical after all, perhaps, as well as more Scriptural, to believe that "wifdom is juftified of all her children." As for the impoffibility of fuch a dired affurance, it is an affertion too filly to be ferioufly anfwered in the nine teenth century, which is revealing weekly wonders in the natural world, which would have feemed impoffible to our fathers. Shall the natural world, at every great ftep, tranfcend our boldeft dreams : and fliall the fpiritual world be limited by us to the mereft common-places of every day experience, efpeciaUy when thofe very common-places are yet utterly unexplained and miraculous "? When will men open their eyes to the plain axiom, that nothing is impoffible with God, fave that He fliould tranfgrefs His own nature by being unjuft and unloving? But whether or not the popular religion fliaU juftify and fatisfy the afpirations of the myftic, Tauler's fermons will do fo. They wiU find there the fame fpiritual food which they have found already in St. Bernard, A'Kempis, and Madame Guyon; and find there alfo, perhaps more clearly than in any myftic writer, a fafeguard againft the dangers which fpecially befet them; againft the danger of miftaking their paffing emotions for real and abiding love of good; againft exalting any peculiar intuition which they may tiiink they have attained, into a fource of felf-glorification, and fancying that they become fome- xxxvi Preface by the thing, by the ad of confeffing themfelves nothing. For with Tauler, whether he be right or wrong in any given detail, pradical righteoufnefs, of the divineft and loftieft kind, is at once the objed, and the means, and the teft, of all upward fteps. God is the fupreme Good which man is intended to behold: but only by being infpired by Him, owing all to Him, and copying Him, can he behold Him, and in that fight find his higheft reward, and heaven itfelf But there are thofe oppreft by doubts, and fears, and forrows, very different from thofe of which I have juft fpoken, who may find in Tauler's genial and funny pages a light which will ftand them in good ftead in many an hour of darknefs. There are thofe, heaped beyond defert with every earthly blifs, who have had to afk themfelves, in awful earneft, the queftion which all would fo gladly put away : Were I ftripped to-morrow of all thefe things, to ftand alone and helplefs, as I fee thoufands ftand, what fhould I then have left ? They may have been tempted to anfwer, with Medef in the tragedy : — "Cherefta? . . . . lo!" But they have fhrunk from that defperate felf-affertion, as they felt that, in the very ad, they fliould become, not a philofopher, but, as Medea did, a fiend. Tremblingly they have turned to religion for comfort, under the glar ing eye of that dark fpedre of bereavement, but have felt about all common-places, however true, as Job felt of old: " Miferable comforters are ye all ! ... . Oh, that I knew " where I might find HIM. I would order my caufe be- " fore Him, and fill my mouth with arguments. I fliould " know the words which He would anfwer me, and un- " derftand what He would fay to me I" To fuch, Tauler can tell fomething, though but a little, of that ftill wafte, where a man, lofing all things elfe, fliall Rev. Charles Kingfley. xxxvii find himfelf face to face with God, and hear from Him that which no man can utter again in words, even to the wife of his bofom. A little, too, though but a little, can Tauler tell him how he may die to thofe whom he loves beft on earth, that he may live to them, and love them better ftill, in the ever-prefent heavens ; of how he may lofe his life, and all perfons and things which make his life worth having, that he may find again all of them which God had indeed created, in that God to whom all live eternally. There are thofe, too, who have endured a ftruggle darker ftill; more rare, perhaps, but juft as real as the laft; men on whom the "nothingnefs" of all created things had flafhed, not as a mere fentimental and exagge rative metaphor, but as a ftem, inevitable, logical fad; who have felt, if for a moment, that perhaps they and aU they fee and know, — " Are but fuch^uff As dreams are made of — " who have hung, if but for one moment, felf-poifed over the abyfs of boundlefs doubt ; who have fliuddered as they faw, if but for a moment", fun, and hills, and trees, and the faces which they loved, and the feeming-folid earth beneath their feet, — ^yea, their own body, flefli and blood, — reel, melt, and vanifli, till nothing was left of the whole univ-erfe but folitary felf with its eternal malady of thought ; who have cried out of the loweft deep : " What "is'aU which I love — aU which I hate? I gaze on it: " but I fee not it, but a pidure on my own eyeball. I " clutch it in defpair : but I feel not it, but tile nerves of " my own finger-tip : if, indeed, eyeball and finger-tip be " not, like the reft, phantoms of a homelefs mind, and the " only certain exiftence in the univerfe is I — and that I at xxxviii Preface by the " war with myfelf, felf-difcontented, felf-^defpifing, and felf- " damned." That problem Tauler will folve for no man ; for he will fay that each man muft folve it for himfelf, face to face with God alone ; but he can tell how he folved it for himfelf; how he came to find an etemal light fhining in for ever in that utter darknefs, which the darknefs could not comprehend ; an eternal ground in the midft of that abyfs, which belonged not to the abyfs, nor to the out ward world which had vanifhed for the moment, nor to fpace, nor time, nor aiiy category of human thought, or mortal exiftence ; and that its fubftance was the Everlaft ing Perfonal Good, whofe Love is Righteoufnefs. Tau ler can point out the path by which he and others came to fee that Light, to find that Rock of Ages ; — -the fimple path of honeft felf-knowledge, felf-renunciation, felf-re- ftraint, in which every upward ftep towards right expofes fome frefli depth of inward finfulnefs, till the once proud man, crufhed down, like Job and Paul, by the fenfe of his own infinite meannefs, becomes, like them, a little child once more, and cafts himfelf fimply upon the generofity of Him who made him : — " An infant crying in the night ; An infant crymg for the light. And with no language but a cry." And then, fo Tauler will tell him, there may come to him the vifion, dim, perhaps, and fitting iU into clumfy words, but clearer, furer, nearer to him than the ground on which he treads, or than the foot which treads it — the vifion of an Everlafting Spiritual Subftance, Moft Human and yet Moft Divine, who can endure ; and who, ftanding beneath all things, can make their fpiritual fubftance en dure likewife, though all worlds and sons, birth, and Rev. Charles Kingfley. xxxix growth, and death, matter, and fpace, and time, fhould melt in very deed, — " And, like the bafelefs fabric of a vifion. Leave not a rack behind." If there be any to whom thefe fentences fhall feem merely an enigmatic verbiage, darkening counfel by words without knowledge, I can only beg them not to look at Tauler's wifdom through my folly ; his siccum lumen through my glare and fmoke. As I faid at firft, he needs no Preface. There are thofe who will comprehend him without comment. There are thofe, alfo, who will rife up and follow him, and his Mafter. The Hiftory and Life OF THE Rev. Doctor JOHN TAULER. FIRST CHAPTER. the year of Our Lord 1340, it came to pafs. How a certain that a Mafter in Holy Scrip- learned Mafter ^ -l 1 r • taught in the city ^ure preached ofttimes m a of Straftiourg. 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 fleep that he fhould go to the city where the Mafter dwelt, and hear him preach. Now that city was in another country, more than thirty leagues The Hiflory and Life of diftant. Then the man thought within himfelf, " I wifl go thither and wait to fee what God is purpofed to do or to bring to pafs there." So he came to How a certain ^ _ '¦ man being warned that city and heard the Mafter preach in a dream, came r • n^i y-. i i • to him and heard hve times. 1 hen God gave this man him preach. ^^ perceive that the Mafter was a very loving, gentle, good-hearted man by nature, and had a good underftanding of the Holy Scripture, but was dark as to the light of grace ; and the man's heart did yeam over him, and he went to the Mafter and faid, " Dear and honoured Sir, I have travelled a good thirty leagues on your account, to hear your teaching. Now I have heard you preach five times, and I pray you in God's name to let me make my confeffion to you." The Mafter an fwered, " With all my heart." Then the man confeffed to the Mafter in all fimplicity, and when he defired to re- How the man ^^i^^. *^ lord's Body, tiie Mafter loved the Mafter, gave it him. When tiiis had lafted and entreated him for further inftruc- twelve weeks, the man faid to the Mafter, " I beg you for God's fake to preach us a fermon, fliowing us how a man may attain to the higheft and utmoft point it is given to us to reach in this prefent time." The Mafter anfwered, " Ah ! dear fon, what doft thou aflc for ? how fliall I tell thee of fuch high things ? for I ween thou wouldft underftand but lit tle thereof" But the man faid, " Ah ! dear Mafter, even The Reverend Do6lor John Tauler. 3 How the Mafter, being much entreat ed of the man, pro- mifed to preach on the higheft good of man. though I fhould underftand but little or nothing thereof, yet I cannot but thirft after it. Multitudes flock to hear you ; if there were only one among them all who could underftand you, your labour were well beftowed." Then faid the Mafter, " Dear fon, if I am to do as thou fayeft, I muft needs give fome ftudy and labour to the matter before I can put fuch a fer mon together." But the man would not ceafe from his prayers and entreaties till the Mafter promifed him that he fliould have his defire. So, when the Mafter had finifhed his fermon, he an nounced to the people that in three days they fliould cpme together again, for he had been requefted to teach how a man could attain to the Higheft and Beft and neareft to God that might be reached in this prefent time. And when the day was come, much people came to the church, and the man fat down in a place where he could hear weU ; and the Mafter came, and thus began his dif- courfe, and faid : The Hiftory and Life of SECOND CHAPTER. In the following gracious Sermon, twenty-four articles are rehearfed whereby a man may perceive who are the proper, true, reafonable, enlightened, contemplative men ; and what fort of man it is to whom Chrift may well fpeak thefe words : Ecce vere Ifraelita in quo dolus non eft — Lo ! fee a true beholder of God in whom is no guile (John, i. 47). s^^^^^EAR children, I have much to fay to you in 0; pfi this fermon concerning thole things ot ^(sssffijapK '^hich I have promifed to fpeak; wherefore 8^5^Ss I cannot for this time expound the gofpel of the day to you as is my wont, neither fhall I fpeak much Latin in this fermon; for what I have to fay, I will The Mafter's prove with Holy Scripture [and he faid] : fermon. "Dear children, I would have you to know that there be many men, who indeed attain to a clear underftanding and reafonable judgment, but who do this by means of images and forms through the help of other men, and without the Scriptures. Further, there be found many who, when they mark that fomething is known to them through the Scriptures, are not therewith content. Such a man is ftill far from his higheft and greateft good. Dear children, if a man had broken through thefe things, and was become dead to them, and The Reverend Dodor John Tauler. 5 had got above forty ftages of contemplation, and above the conceptions of our reafon, whether they come to us through images or forms of fpeech ; if there were a man Of the foul that ^^'^ ^^^ ^^^^ ^^ ^i^' ^^ would be is precious in God's dearer and more precious in God's light, having be- come that which fight than a hundred thoufand men He would have , /- i • r -.r aU intelligent fpirits who never get out of their own felf, ^° and live after the way of their own choofing; for to fuch God cannot find entrance, nor work in their fouls. This all comes of their own will, and their felf-glorifying folly, which takes delight in the dexterity of their own reafon, in framing and handling conceptions. But thofe men who while on earth have broken through thefe things, and, have given themfelves to God in fuch fort that they have died unto themfelves, and have both made themfelves free from all outward forms, and the ufe of fenfible images in their exercifes of j contemplation, and humbly toiled and preffed onwards above the images of mere reafon, as Dionyfius fays, " the light of faith requires that a man fliould be raifed above the apprehenfions of reafon ;"— know, dear children, that in fuch fouls God doth find reft, and a place wherein to dwell and to work when He choofeth. Now when God findeth thus no hindrance in fuch a man. He works His own works in him, and draweth him truly to Himfelf in Himfelf Now know that fuch a man is rare, for his hfe The Hiftory and Life of and ways are hidden from others, and Of the hindrances why there be few of unknown to them, except to such as have a hke life, of whom, alas! I fear there be but few. To this ftate, and this noble per- fectnefs, none can come except through boundlefs humi lity, an unclouded underftanding, and a clear reafon; for it has happened ere now that fome great dodors and priefts have fallen ; and a multitude of rational fpirits be longing to the angelic hofts, who perceived nothing elfe in their nature and effence but mere reafon, have erred hence, and fallen everlaftingly away from etemal truth. And this is what happens ftill to all thofe who look to their own reafon, and want to be and do as God by the „, , , light of their felf-willed underftand- Of the tokens ° whereby fuch may ing. For which reafon it is profit- be known. able and needful to know who are the proper, truly reafonable, enlightened, contemplative men. Now as far as I can find from Scripture, there are four-and-twenty tokens which fuch a man must poffefs. The Firft is given us by the higheft Mafter of aU doc tors, arts and wifdom, namely, our. Lord Jefus Chrift, when he fays : " Hereby fliall ye know whether ye be my difciples, if ye have love one to another even as I have loved you." As much as to fay, 'Though ye fliould pof fefs arts and wifdom, and high underftanding, it is all in vain if ye have not withal fidelity and love. We believe The Reverend Dodtor John Tauler. 7 That the£rftand ^^^ ^^|^^"^ ^^' ^<^ '^P^^^^ ^^^ un- chiefeft token is derftanding, that he perceived what love things God purpofed to do or reveal hundreds of years after his day ; but it availed him no thing, forafmuch as he did not cleave with love and loy alty to the things which he underftood. The Second mark appertaining to a truly reafonable. Of felf-renuncia- enlightened man is that he muft be- "°"- come empty of felf; and this muft not make him proud, but he fhall confider how he may ever more attain to this freedom, and fit loofe by all creatures. The Third Article : He fliall refign himfelf utterly to God, that God may work His own Of refignation. .... i i n i works in him, and he fliall not glory in the works as being his own, but always think himfelf too mean to have done them. The Fourth Article : He fhall go out from himfelf in Of poverty of ^^^ ^^ things in which he is wont to ^pi"t- feek and find himfelf, whether be longing to time or to eternity, and by fo doing he fhall win a true increafe. Fifth Article : He fhall not feek his own ends in any f^c . creature, whether temporal or eternal. Of true con- ' ^ tent. and hereby he fhall attain to perfed fatisfaction and content. ^ 8 The Hiftory and Life of The Sixth Article : He fhaU always wait on that which „ ^ . . God will have him to do, and fliall try, Of waiting on ' /' God. -^vith the help of God, to fulfil that to the uttermoft, and fhaU take no glory to himfelf therefor. The Seventh Article : He fhaU daily, without ceafing, give up his will to the will of God, That he muft b f give up his will to and endeavour to will nothing but what God willeth. The Eighth Article : He fliall bend all his powers into fubmiffion to God, and exercife them And bend all his powers to work fo conftantly and fo ftrenuoufly in God, and with fuch power and love, that God may work nothing in him without his active concurrence, and he may do nothing without God. The Ninth Article : He fhall have the fenfe of the pre- ^rr ¦ r^ J • fence of God in all His works, at all Of feeing God in ' all things. times, and in all places, whatever it pleafe God to appoint, whether it be fweet or bitter. The Tenth Article : All his pleafure arid pain he fliall And receiving all receive, not as from the creature, but from him. f^ojn God; howbeit God ofi:times works through the creature, yet he fhall receive aU things as from God alone. Eleventh Article : He fliall not be led captive by any Of freedom from lufting or defire after the creatures the creature. ,^j^j^^^^ ^^^ neceffity. The Reverend Doctor John Tauler. 9 The Twelfth Article : No contradidion or mifhap fliall Of ft adf ft f ^^^^ power to move or conftrain in the truth. him fo that it feparate him from the vruth ; therefore hold faft always and entirely by the fame. Thirteenth Article: He fhall not be deceived by the elory ofthe creature, nor yet by any ^f wifdom to ^ ^ _ ... difctrn between falfe light, but in a fpirit of kindnefs and love he fliall confefs all things to be what they are, and from all things draw out what is beft, and uCe it to his own improvement, and in no wife to his own detriment; for fuch a courfe is a certain fign ofthe prefence ofthe Holy Spirit. Fourteenth Article : He fliall at all times be equipped r^c i and armed with all virtue, and ready ot courage and ¦' virtue. to fight againft all vice and fin, and with his good weapons he fliall obtain the vidory and the prize in all conflids. Fifteenth Article : He fliall confefs the truth in fimpli city, and he fliall mark what it is in Of wifdom to know what is expe- itfelf, what God requireth of us, and what is poffible to man, and then order his life accordingly, and ad up to what he confeffes. The Sixteenth Article: He fliaU ' be a man of few words and much inward life. The Seventeenth Article: He fhaU be blamelefs and IG The Hiftory and Life of righteous, but in no wife be puffed Blameleffnefs, ^ ^ up by reason of the fame. The Eighteenth Article: His converfation fhall be in all uprightnefs and fincerity; thus he And fincerity. fliall let his light fhine before men, and he fliall preach more with his life than with his lips. Of finglenefs of ^he Nineteenth Article : He Qiall eys- feek the glory of God before all things, and have no other aim in view. „f , ... , The Twentieth Article: He fhall Oi docihty and gentlenefs. be willing to take reproof; and when he ftriveth with any he fliall give way if the matter concern himfelf alone, and not God. The Twenty-firft Article : He ftiall Of thankfulnefs. •' not defire or feek his own advantage, but think himfelf unworthy of the leaft thing that falls to his lot. The Twenty-second Article : He fhall look upon him- That all this is felf as the leaft wife and worthy man have'^noTtue^ht! "P^^ ^artii, yet find in himfelf great "^'^"X' faith ; and above all he fhall take no account of his own wifdom and the works of his own reafon, but humble himfelf beneath all men. For the Author of all truth will not work a fupernatural work in the foul, unlefs He find a thorough humility in a man, and go before his doings with his perfect grace, as he did The Reverend Dodor John Tauler. 1 1 witii St. Paul. But I fear, alas ! that little heed is taken to this in thefe our days. The Twenty-third Article: He fliall fet the life and And follow our precepts of our Lord Jefus Chrift be- Lord in all things. fo^^ ^^^ foj. ^ pattern to his life, words, and works, and without ceafing look at himfelf therein as in a mirror, that, in fo far as he is able, he may put off everything unbecoming the honoured image of our Lord. The Twenty-fourth and laft Article is : He fliall com port himfelf as a man of fmall ac- And count him felf at laft not to count, — as nothing more than a be have apprehended. • • j i-r j ^i_ i_ l ^*^ , ginner in a good life ; and though he fhould therefore be defpifed by many, it fhall be more welcome to him than all the favour of the world. Now, dear children, thefe are the figns that the ground of a man's foul is truly reafonable, fo that the image of all truth fhineth and teacheth therein ; and he who does not bear in himfelf thefe figns, may not and muft not fet any ftore by his own reafon, either in his own eyes or thofe of others. That we all may become fuch a true image, in thorough fincerity and perfed humility, may He help us who is the Eternal Truth, the Father, Son, and Holy Ghoft. Amen! 12 llie Hiltory and Lite ot THIRD CHAPTER. How this pious man privately reveals to the doftor in part his own hidden holinefs, and convifts the Mafter that he is ftill walking in the night of ignorance, and has an unclean vefiel, and therefore is yet a Pharifee. ^HEN this fermon was ended, the man went home to his lodging, and wrote it down word for word as the Mafter had fpoken it And vi^hen he had finifhed he went to the Mafter, and faid, " I have written out your fermon, and if it be not troublefome I fliould like to read it to you." The Mafter rephed, "I shall -he glad The man writeth ^ ¦¦ .^ „ r^, , out the Mafter's fer- 1° ^ear it." Thereupon tiie man mon, and bringeth j.^^^ jj^^ fermon Over, and tiien faid It to the Mafter. to the Mafter, " Dear fir, pray tell me if there be a word wanting, that if fo I may fet it down." The Mafter faid, " Dear fon, thou haft written every word and phrafe juft as it came out of my mouth. I tell thee, if any one would give me much money for it, I could not write down every word fo exadly as thou haft done it here, unlefs I fet to afrefli to draw it from the Scripture. I confefs that I am greatly aftoniflied at thee to think that thou haft been concealed from me fo long. The Reverend Dodtor John Tauler. 13 • and I fliould never have perceived The Mafter is ^ aftoniflied at his how full of wit thou art, and fo often ^' °™' as thou haft confeffed to me, thou fliouldft fo have hidden thy talent that I have never per ceived it in thee." Then the man made as though he would depart, and faid, " Dear Mafter, if God wiU I am purpofed to go home again." But the Mafter faid, " Dear fon, what fliouldft thou do at home "? Thou haft neither wife nor child to provide for; thou muft eat there as weU as here : for if God will, I am minded to preach again of a perfed life." Then faid the man. The man offereth -^ n , i. the Mafter good " Dear Mafter, you muft know that 7£: fedng hS I have not come hither for die fake but a layman, re- q£ .^q^^ preaching, but becaufe I ceiveth it not at •' ^ ° firft. tiiought, with God's help, to give you fome good counfel." Quotii the Mafter, " How fliouldft thou give counfel, who art but a layman, and under- ftandeft not the Scriptures; and it is, moreover, not thy place to preach if diou wouldft. Stay here a little longer ; perchance God wiU give nie to preach fuch a fermon as thou wouldft care to hear." Then the man faid, "Dear Mafter, I would fain fay fomewhat to you, but I fear that you would be difpleafed to hear it." But tiie Mafter anfwered, "Dear fon, fay what tiiou wilt; I can anfwer ; for it tiiat I fliaU take it in good part." Hereupon the man ifaid, " You are a great clerk, and have taught us a 14- The Hiftory and Life of _, „ good leffon in this fermon, but you The man mow- o •' eth him that he yourfelf do not live according to it; himfelf, though he be not learned, is yet you try to perfuade me to ftay taught of a Mafter i ...u .1. u ^ who is above all ^ere that you may preach me yet ^°'^°''^- another fermon. Sir, I give you to know that neither your fermons, nor any outward words that man can fpeak, 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 reafon : ; it often happened that when I came away from the fermon, I brought certain falfe notions away with me, which I hardly got rid of in a long while with great toil; but if the higheft Teacher of all truth fliall come to a man, he ymuft be empty and quit of all the things of time. Know ye that when this fame Mafter cometh to me. He teaches me more in an hour than you or all the dodors from Adam to the Judgment Day will ever do." Then faid the Then the Mafter Rafter, " Dear fon, ftay here, I pray Ffys^l^. , ^™ t° thee, and celebrate the Lord's Deadi abide with him, and to fpeak whatever with me." Whereon the man an- is in his mind. . Iwered, " Seeing that you adjure me fo folemnly, it may be that, in obedience to God, I ought to ftay with you ; but I will not do it unlefs you promife to receive all that I have faid to you, and all I may yet fay to you, as under the feal of confeffion, fo that none may know of it." Quoth the Master : " Dear fon, The Reverend Dodor John Tauler. 15 that I willingly promife, if only that thou wilt ftay here." Then faid the man, " Sir, ye muft know, that though you have taught us many good things in The man telleth - , . him plainly of his this fermon, the image came into my ignorance. mind while you were preaching, that it was as if one fliould take good wine and mix it with lees, fo that it grew muddy." Quoth the Mafter : " Dear fon, what doft thou mean by this ?" The man faid, " I mean that your veffel is unclean, and much lees are cleav ing to it, and the caufe is, that you have fuffered yourfelf to be killed by the letter, and are kiUing yourfelf ftill every day and hour, albeit you yourfelf know full well that the Scripture faith, ' The letter killeth, but the Spirit giveth life.' Know, that fame letter which now killeth you will make you alive again, if fo be you are willing ; but in the life you are now living, know that you have no light, but you are in the night, in which you are indeed able to underftand the letter, but have not yet tafted tiie fweetnefs of tiie Holy Ghoft; and, withal, you are yet a Pharifee." Then said tiie Mafter, angTred f^rtmo! "Dear fon, I would have tiiee to ""^nt- know that, old as I am, I have never been fpoken to in fuch fafliion all my Hfe." The man faid " Where is your preaching now ? Do you fee now what you are when you are brought to tiie proof? And aldiough you think tiiat I have fpoken too hardly to you, The Hiftory and Life of you are in truth guilty of all I have faid, and I will prove to you from your own felf that it is true." Then faid the Mafter, " I afk for no more, for I Then the man , i ... ii t>i proveth to the ^ave ever been an enemy to all Pha- Mafter from his an- rifees." Quoth the man, " I will firft ger that he is a Pha- "^ rifee, and is yet tell you how it is that the letter is trufting in himfelf. -r-^ /- , killing you. Dear lir, as you know yourfelf, when you were arrived at the age to underftand good and evil, you began to learn the letter, and in fo doing you fought your own welfare, and to this day you are in the fame mind ; that is to fay, you are trufting to your learning and parts, and you do not love and intend God alone, but you are in the letter, and intend and feek yourfelf, and not the glory of God, as the Scripture teach eth us to do. You have a leaning towards the creatures, and fpecially towards one creature, and love that creature with your whole heart above meafure, and that is, more over, the caufe why the letter killeth you. And whereas I faid that your veffel is unclean; that is alfo true, inaf- much as you have not in all things a fingle eye to God. If you look into yourfelf, you will, for one thing, find it out by the vanity and love of carnal eafe whereby your veffel is fpoiled and filled with lees ; wherefore, when die pure unmixed wine of godly dodrine has gone through this unclean veffel, it comes to pafs that your teaching is without favour, and brings no grace to pure, loving hearts. The Reverend Dodlor John Tauler. 17 And whereas I further faid that you were ftill in darknefs, and had not the true light ; this is alfo true, and it may be feen hereby that fo few receive the grace of the Holy Spirit through your teaching. And whereas I faid that you were a Pharifee, that is alfo true; but you are not one of the hypocritical Pharifees. Was it not a mark of the Pharifees that they loved and fought themfelves in all things, and not the glory of God ? Now examine your felf, dear fir, and fee if you are not a proper Pharifee in the eyes of God. Know, dear Mafter, that there are many people in the world who are all called Pharifees in God's fight, be they great or small, according to what their hearts or lives are bent upon." As the man fpoke thefe words the Mafter fell on his neck and kiffed him, and said: How the Mafter „ . i-, /- , ¦ ¦ j findeth a likenefs in A likencfs has come into my mind. himfelf to the Wo- j^. ^y^s happened to me as it did to man of Samaria. ^ '¦ the heathen woman at the well. For know, dear fon, that thou haft laid bare all my faults before my eyes; thou haft told me what I had hidden up within me, and fpecially that I have an affection for one creature ; but I tell thee of a truth that I knew it not myfelf, 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 doubt not that thou haft it from God. Now, there fore, I pray thee, dear fon, that thou celebrate our Lord's 1 8 The Hiftory and Life of Death, and be thou my ghoftly father, and let me be thy poor finful fon." Then faid the man, mS' for'^counS " Dear fir, if you fpeak fo contrary promifing to follow ^^ ordinances, I will not ftay witii you, but ride home again; that I assure you." Hereupon faid the Mafter, " Ah, no ! I pray thee, for God's fake, do not fo ; ftay awhile with me ; I promife thee readily not to fpeak thus any more. I am minded, with God's help, to begin a better courfe, and I will gladly follow thy counfel, whatfoever thou deemeft beft, if I may but amend my life." Then faid the man, " I tell you of a truth, that the letter and learning lead many great dodors aftray, and bring fome into purgatory and fome into hell, according as their life here hath been, — I tell you of a truth, it is no light matter that God fhould give a man fuch great underftanding and IkiU, and maftery in the Scripture, and he fliould not put it in pradice in his life." The Reverend Doctor John Tauler. 19 FOURTH CHAPTER. How God had wrought a great miracle through this pious man, and how this had come to pals becaufe God found in him a good and thorough humility. HEN faid the Mafter, " I pray thee, for God's fake, to tell me how it is that thou haft attained to fuch a life, and how thou didft begin thy fpiritual life, and what have been thy exercifes and thy hiftory." The The man telleth ... fomewhat of hishif- man faid, " That IS, indeed, a fimple tory to t e a er. requeft : for I tell you truly, if I fliould recount, or write, all the wondrous dealings of God with me, a poor finner, for the laft 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 fome what thereof for this time. " The firft thing that helped me was, that God found in me a fincere and utterly felf-furrendering humility. Now I do not think there is any need to tell you the bodily exercifes by which I brought my flefli into fubjedion: for men's natures and difpofitions are very unHke ; but when- 20 The Hiftory and Life of ever a man has given himfelf up to God with utter How he began humility, God will not fkil to give with true humility. him fuch exercifes, by temptations and other trials, as He perceives to be profitable to the man, and fuch as he is well able to bear and endure if he be only willing. But this you ought to know : he who alts counfel of many people will be apt to go often aftray; for each one will point him to his own experience. But ofttimes a man may exercife himfelf in a certain pradice which is good and profitable to himfelf; while, if another did the fame, it might very hkely be ufelefs, or even hurtful to him. The Devil often ftirs up a man to pradife great aufterities, with the intent that the man may grow fick and infirm thereby, or weak in his brain, or do himfelf fome other injury. " I will teU you how it befel me in the beginning. I TT , . . was reading the German books about How he tried to ° follow the example the lives of the Saints, when I thought of the Saints. . to myfelf, ' Thefe were men who lived on tiiis earth as well as I, and perhaps, too, had not .finned as I have.' And when tiiefe thoughts came into my head, I began to exercife myfelf in tiie life of the Saints witii fome feverities, but grew fo fick tiiereby tiiat I was brought to death's door. And it came to pafs one morning at break of day, that I had exercifed myfelf fo tiiat my eyelids clofed from very weaknefs, and I fell The Reverend Do6lor John Tauler. 2 1 afleep. And in my fleep it was as though a voice fpoke to me and faid, ' Thou foolifh man, therein by follow- if thou art bent upon killing thyfelf ing his own counfel. ^^^^^ ^^^ ^j^^^ ^^^^ ^j^^ ^^^^ ^^ bear a heavy punifhment ; but if thou didft fuffer God to exercife thee. He could exercife thee better than thou by thyfelf, or with the Devil's counfel.' When I heard fpeak of the Devil I awoke in a great fright, rofe up, and walked out into a wood nigh to the town. Then I thought within myfelf, I had begun thefe exercifes without counfel : I wiU go and teU the old hermit all that has happened to me. And I did fo, and told him the words that I had heard in my fleep, and befought him in God's name to give me tihe beft counfel he could. So the hermit faid, ' Thou muft know that if I am to advife, thou muft firft teU me aU about thy exercifes.' So taught\y to"g?ve I did, and he faid, ' By whofe counfel himfelf up to God. ^^^ ^^^ j^j^g ^j^gfg tilings?' and I anfwered, 'Of my own wiU.' Then the hermit faid, 'Then know that it has been the Devil's counfel, and thou muft not obey him any more as long as thou liveft, but thou muft utterly give thyfelf up to God ; He can exercife thee much better than thou thyfelf, or the Devil.' Behold, dear Mafter, thereupon I ceafed from thefe exercifes, and yielded myfelf and my doings altogether up to God. For tiie reft, dear fir, you muft know tiiat by 22 The Hiftory and Life of nature I was a very ingenious, clever, good-hearted man; but I had not the Scriptures in my hand, like you, but could only learn to know myfelf by to'?o°mprehenrdi- my natural inteUigence; and witii vine things by his ^^^ fometimes I got fo far tiiat I was own reaion ; "^ furprifed at myfelf And once upon a time, I thought in my reafon, 'Thou haft fuch good parts, may be, if thou fhouldft give thy mind to it with all earneftnefs, thou couldft attain to comprehend fome what of divine things.' But as this thought came mto my and faw it to be the head I marked ftraightway that it Devil's counfel. ^^^ ^^ j^^^jp^ counfel, and faw tiiat it was aU falfe. So I faid, ' O thou Evil Spirit, what an impure falfe counfel haft thou put in my heart, thou bad, falfe counfellor ! If we had fuch a God I would not give a berry for him.' After that, another night, when I was faying my matins,* an ardent longing came over me, fo that I faid, ' O etemal and merciful God, that it were thy will to give me to difcover fomething that fliould be above all our fenfual reafon ! ' As foon as I had faid it I was forely affrighted at this great longing, and faid with great fervour, ' Ah, my God and my Lord, forgive me of thy boundlefs mercy for having done this, and that it fhould have entered into the heart of a poor worm like * Three o'clock in the morning. The Reverend Dodor John Tauler. 23 me to defire fuch a great gift of fuch rich grace, and I confefs indeed that I have not always lived as I ought of right to do. I confefs, moreover, dear Lord, that I have been unthankful to Thee in all things, fo that methinks I am not worthy that the earth fliould bear me, ftill lefs that fuch an ardent, gracious defire fhould fpring up in me ; wherefore my body muft be puniflied for my fin.' With that I threw off my garments and fcourged myfelf till the blood ran down my flioulders. And as thefe words remained in my heart and on my lips till the day broke, and the blood was flowing How he was illu- ^own, in that fame hour God fliowed minated of God. fjis mercy on me, fo that my mind was filled with a clear underftanding. And in that fame hour I was deprived of all my natural reafon; but the time feemed all too fhort to me. And when I was left to myfelf again I faw a fupernatural mighty wonder and fign, infomuch that I could have cried with St. Peter, ' Lord, it is good for me to be here ! ' Now know, dear fir, that in that felf-fame fhort hour I received more truth and more illumination in my underftanding 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 fcience. Now, dear Mafter, I have faid enough for this time, as to how it ftands with you." 24- The Hiftory and Life of FIFTH CHAPTER. How God converted a heathen in a foreign land through this pious layman, and how that the Holy Ghoft ftill to this day difplays His grace with the fame power that he ftiowed on the day of Pentecoft, when He finds fitting hearts to receive Him. Further, how this pious man gives ftill better inftruftion to the Doftor in thefe matters, and fliows him that he is a true Pharifee, and brings him to fubmit to be converted and amend his ways. HEN faid the Mafter, " If God give thee grace to fay ftill more, I The mafter hear- n_ , i , ., . . eth him gladly. fhould heartily rejoice in it, for I tell thee in all fincerity that I have liftened to thee gladly, dear fon : now I beg thee for God's fake do not leave me, but ftay 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 faid die man, " God reward you, dear fir : know that I need not your kindnefs, for God hath made me a fteward of His goods, fo that I have of eartiily wealth five thoufand florins, which are God's, and if I knew where there was need of them^ or where God would have them beftowed, I would give .them away." Then faid the Mafter, " Then, The Reverend Do6tor John Tauler. 25 dear fon, thou art indeed the fteward of a rich man and a great Lord ! I am in great wonderment about that thou faidft, that I and all teachers could not teach thee as much by the Day of Judgment as thou haft been taught in an hour. Now tell me, for I wifli to hear, has the Scripture proceeded from the Holy Ghoft ?" Then faid the man, " Sir, methinks it feems impoffible The man teach- , ^ _ , r • ^ r i eth the Mafter con- that after I have faid fo much to you, cerning the works y^^ '^OMXd. talk in fuch a childifli of the Holy Ghoft. ^ fafhionl Look here, dear Mafter! I will afk you a queftion, and if with all your feafon you can explain it to me, either by the Scriptures, or without the Scriptures, I will give you ten thoufand florins." Then faid the Mafter, "What is tiiat?" The man faid, "Can you inftrud me how I fliould write a letter to a heathen far away in a heathen land, in fuch fafliion and language that the heathen fliould be able to read and underftand it ; and make the letter fuch tiiat tiie heathen fliould come to the Chriftian faitii?" Then faid the Mafter, " Dear fon, thefe are the works of the Holy Ghoft ; tell me where has this happened ? If thou know any thing of the matter, tell me in what way this came to pafs, and whether it happened to tiiyfelf?" Then faid the man, " Albeit I am unworthy of it, yet did tiie Holy Spirit work through me, a poor finner ; and how it came. to pafs would take long to tell, and make fuch a long 26 The Hiftory and Life of ftory that one might write a large book about it: The How there was a heatiien was a very good-hearted man, certain good hea- and often cried to Heaven, and called then who prayed God to fliow him upon Him who had made him and all the world, and faid : ' O Creator of all creatures, I have been born in this land : now the Jews have another faith, the Chriftians another. O Lord, who art over all, and haft made all creatures, if there be now any faith better than that in which I have been bom, or if there be any other better ftiU, fhow it to me in what wife Thou wilt, fo that I may believe it, and I will gladly obey Thee and believe : but if it fliould be that Thou doft not fhow it me, and I fhould die in my faith, fince I knew no better, if there were a better faith, but Thou hadft not fhown it nor revealed it to me. Thou wouldft have done me a grievous injuftice.' Now, behold, dear fir, a letter was fent to that heathen, And how the . , r • /• 1 man wrote him a let- Written by me, a poor finner, in fuch ter, which brought fort tiiat he came to die Chriftian him thereto. faith; and he wrote me a letter back again, telling what had befallen him, the which flood written in a good German tongue, tihat I could read it quite well. Dear fir, there were much to be faid on this matter, but for this time it is enough; you are well able to mark the meaning thereof" Then faid the Mafter, "God is wonderful in all His works 1111111111 The Reverend Do6tor John Tauler. 27 and gifts! Dear fon, thou haft told me very ftrange things." The man faid, " Dear fir, I fear that I have faid fome things to you which have vexed you greatly in your mind ; it is becaufe I am a layman, and you are a great dodor of Holy Scripture, and yet I have faid fo much to you after the manner of a teacher. But that I have meant it weU and kindly, and fought your foul's falvation in it, and fimply the glory of God, and nothing elfe, of that God is my witnefs." Then faid the vex'^S^hafhetoulil Mafter, "Dear fon, if it wiU not be inftrufted of a ^^^^ ^^ce angry, I will tell thee layman. what vexes me." Then faid the man, "Yea, dear fir, fpeak without fear; I promife not to take it amifs." The Mafter faid, "It amazes me greatly, and is very hard to receive, that thou being a lay man, and I a prieft, I am to take inftrudion from thee ; and it alfo troubles me much that thou calledft me a Pharifee." Then faid the man, " Is there nothing elfe that you cannot take in ?" The Mafter anfwered, " No, I know of nothing elfe." Then faid the man, " Shall I alfo explain to you thefe two things?" He anfwered, " Yes, dear fon, I pray thee in all kindnefs to do fo, for God's fake." Then faid the man, "Now tell me, dear Mafter, how it was, or whofe work it Of St. Katharine. ^^^ ^^ ^^ ^j^^^^ g^.^^ Katiiarine, 28 The Hiftory and Life of who was but a young virgin barely fourteen years old, over came fome fifty of the great mafters, and moreover fo prevailed over them that they willingly went to mar tyrdom ? Who wrought this ?" Then faid the Mafter, " The Holy Ghoft did this." Quoth the man, " Do you not believe that the Holy Ghoft has ftill the fame power?" The Mafter, " Yes, I beheve it fully." The man, " Where fore then do you not believe that the Holy Ghoft is fpeaking to you at this moment through me, a poor finner and unworthy man, and is minded to fpeak to you ? He fpoke the truth through Caiaphas, who was alfo a finner ; and know, that fince you take what I have faid to you fo much amifs, I will refrain from faying anything to you for the future." Then faid the Mafter, " Dear fon, do not do that : I hope, if God will, to be the better for How the Mafter ^hy words." The man faid, "Ah, is proved to be a dear fir, it vexes you alfo tiiat I Pharifee by the tef- timony of Holy fliould have Called you a Pharifee, Scripture. r i r tt c and yet I gave you fuch full proof of it that you could not deny it. This fliould have been enough to content you, but fince it is not, I muft fay ftill more, and prove to you once again, that I am right, and that you are what I faid. Dear Mafter, you know very well trhat our Lord Jefus Chrift faid himfelf, ' Beware of the Pharifees, for they bind heavy burdens, and grievous to be borne, and lay tiiem on men's flioulders : but they The Reverend Dodor John Tauler. 29 themfelves will not move them with one of their fingers.' Now, dear fir, look at yourfelf; in this fermon of yours you have bound and laid upon us twenty-four articles, and you keep few enough of them yourfelf Again: Our Lord faid, ' Beware of the Pharifees : whatfoever they bid you obferve, that obferve and do, but do not ye after their works, for they fay and do not.' " Quoth the Mafter, " Our Bleffed Lord fpoke thefe words to the men of his own day." The man faid, "He fpeaks them ftill, now and evermore, to all men. Dear Mafter, look at yourfelf; whether you touch thefe burdens and bear them in your life is known to God and alfo to yourfelf; but I confefs that as far as I can judge of your prefent condition, I would rather follow your words than your life. Only look at yourfelf and fee if you are not a Pharifee in the eyes of .God; though not one of thofe falfe hypocritical Pha rifees whose portion is in hell-fire." The Mafter faid, " I know not what I fliall fay; this I The Mafter con- ^ , . , , t r A fefl-eth his fins, and fee plainly, that I am a finner, and his'lSy"^'"'"''"'^ am refolved to better my hfe, if I die for it. Dear fon, I cannot wait longer ; I pray thee, fimply for God's fake, to counfel me how I fliall fet about this work, and fliow me and teach me how I may attain to the higheft perfedion that a man may reach on earth." Then faid the man, " Dear fir, do not be wroth with me; but I teU you of a truth that fuch 30 The Hiftory and Life of counfel is fcarcely to be given you ; for if you are to be converted, all your wonted habits muft be broken through with great pain ; becaufe you muft altogether change your old way of life : and befides I take you to be near fifty years old." Then faid the Mafter, " It may be fo ; but 0 dear fon, to him who came into the vineyard at the He aiketh in- eleventh hour was given his penny ftruftion of the the fame as to him who came in at the firft. I tell thee, dear fon, I have well confidered the matter, and my heart is fo firmly fet that if I knew this moment that I muft die for it, I would yet, with the help of God, ceafe from my carnal life, and my earthly reafonings, and live according to thy counfel. I befeech thee for God's fake not to keep me longer waiting, but to tell me this moment how I muft begin." Then faid the man, " Dear fir, becaufe you have received grace from God, and are willing to humble yourfelf and fubmit, 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 fir, I am to inftrud Who fetteth him 7°^' ^^^ counfel you in God's name, a talk to learn. J ^j^ ^^^^ ^^ jjj^ f^^ j^^jp^ ^^^ j„ fo in love to Him, and fet you a talk fuch as they give children to begin with at fchool,— namely, the four-and- twenty letters ofthe alphabet, beginning witii A: The Reverend Dod:or John Tauler. 31 SIXTH CHAPTER. This is the Golden ABC which this pious man fet the Doftor to learn, for the amending of his life, and which, doubtlefs, it were very profitable and needfiil for us all to repeat many times and oft, and amend our liVes thereafter. ^^^^^]FTER a manly and not a childifh fort, ye The talk which fhall, with thorough earn- the man gave the . Mafter to learn. eltnefs, begin a good life. "Dad ways ye fliall efchew, and pradice all goodnefs with diligence and full purpofe of mind. r^AREFULLY cndcavour to keep the middle path in aU things, with feemlinefs and moderation. "r\EMEAN yourfelf humbly in word and work, from the inward hohnefs of your heart. ¦pNTiRELY give up yout own will; evermore cleave earneftly to God, and forfake Him not. PoRWARD and ready fliall ye be to all good works, with out murmuring, whatever be commanded you. /^iVE heed to exercife yourfelf in aU godly works of mercy toward the body or the fpirit. TLJave no backward glances after the world, or the crea tures, or their doings. 32 The Hiftory and Life of "Tnwardly in your heart ponder over your paft life with honefty, fincere repentance in the bitternefs of your heart, and tears in your eyes. "JZ" NIGHTLY and refolutely withftand the affaults of the Devil, the Flefh, and the World. J EARN to conquer long-cherifhed floth with vigour, to gether with all effeminacy of the body, and fubfervi- ence to the Devil. "ly/f AKE your abode in God, with fervent love, in certab hope, with ftrong faith, and be towards your neigh bour as towards yourfelf "^o other man's good things fhall ye defire, be they what they may, corporeal or fpiritual. Qrder all things fo that you make the beft and not the worft of them. pENANCE, that is, fuffering for your fin, you fliall take willingly, whether it come from God or the creatures. /Quittance, remiffion, and abfolution, you fhall give to all who have ever done you wrong in thought, word, or deed. "D ECEiVE all things that befal you with meeknefs, and draw improvement from them. CouL and body, eftate and reputation, keep undefiled widi all care and diligence.* * The letters R and S have been tranfpofed ; the reft follow the order of the original, in which, as in the tranflation, the important word of the The Reverend Doctor John Tauler. 33 '"pRUTHFUL and upright fliall ye be towards all, without guile or cunning. "\X/'antonness and excefs, of whatfoever kind it may be, ye fhall learn to lay afide, and turn from it with all your heart. Vt., our Bleffed Lord's life and death, fliall ye follow, and wholly conform yourfelf thereunto with all your might. Ve fliall evermore, without ceafing, befeech our bleffed Lady that fhe help you to leam this our leffon well. V^EALOusLY keep a rein over your will and your fenfes, that they may be at peace with all that God doth, and alfo with all His creatures. All this leffon muft be leamt of a free heart and will, without cavilling. fentence is by no means always the one with which it commences. The letters V and W are wanting in the original. — Tr. 34 The Hiftory and Life of SEVENTH CHAPTEK How the Doftor learns this talk very quickly (though with trouble), and how this layman further inftrufteth him in the fliorteft way to the higheft contemplation ; alfo how he was obliged to begin a dying life, and exercife himfelf therein till at laft he prevailed over himfelf. And in this following leflibn lies the true ground of almoft all the fermons that ftand in this book, from which leflbn alfo this Doftor obtained Hs underftanding of Holy Scripture, and the perfefting of his life, as fliall be hereafter fet forth, I^O W, dear fir, take kindly as from God, with out cavilling, this child's talk, which He fets you by the mouth of me, a poor and unworthy human being." Then faid the Mafter, " However thou mayft call this How the Mafter ^ child's taflc, methinks it needs a man's ftrength to attack it. Now tell me, dear fon, how long a time wilt thou give me to leam this lef fon?" The man anfwered, "We will take five weeks, in honour of the five wounds of Chrift, that you may leam it well. You fhall be your own fchoolmafter ; and when you are not perfed in any one of thefe letters, and think yourfelf hardly able to leam it, then caft afide your receiveth his talk from the man, and fetteth himfelf to learn it. The Reverend Doctor John Tauler. 35 garment and chaftife your body, that it may be brought into fubjedion to your foul and reafon." Then faid the Mafter, " I wiU gladly be obedient." Now when this difcipline had lafted three weeks, the , . ^ , man faid to the Mafter, "Dear fir, How he IS forely fcourged for not how goes it with you ? " The Mafter faid, "Dear fon, thou muft know that I have received more ftripes in thefe three weeks about your leffon than I ever did in all my days before." Then faid the man, " Sir, you well know that no man giveth his pupil a new talk before he have learnt the firft lines." Then faid the Mafter, " If I faid that I knew them, I fhould fay what is not true." Then faid the man, " Dear fir, go on as you are doing till you know your leffon right well." But at the end of another three weeks the Mafter fent for the man, and faid to him, " Dear How in fix weeks he hath learnt the fon, rejoice with me, for I think, with God's help, I could fay the firft line ; and if thou art willing, I will repeat over the whole leffon to thee." "No, dear fir," faid the man, "I will gladly rejoice with you, and take your word for it that you know it." Then faid the Mafter, " I tell thee of a truth it has gone hard with me. And now, dear fon, I pray thee give me further inftrudion." Then faid the man, " I can for myfelf teach you nothing further ; but if fo be that God 36 The Hiftory and Life of willeth to teach you through me, I will gladly do my part, and be an inftrument in the Lord's hand by which He may work out His purpofes. " Hearken, dear Mafter : I will counfel you in godly The man foretel- ^^^^ ^""^ brotiierly faitiifiilnefs. If it leth that he ftiall be fhould happen to you as to the young brought into great _ ' jo diftrefs and per- man in the Gofpel, to whom our Lord P^'"'''^' faid, ' Go and fell all tiiat tiiou haft and give to the poor, and come and follow Me,' I will not be anfwerable." Then faid the Mafter, " Dear fon, have no fears on that fcore, for I have already left all that I have, and, with God's help, am refolved to go forward, and be obedient unto God and to thee.'' Then faid the man, "Since your heart is fteadfaftly fixed to commit yourfelf wholly unto God, I counfel you in all feithfulnefs butcounfellethhim ^^^ ye be obedient to your Order to be obedient to and your fuperiors ; as it may be that his Order and ftead- •' . faft in his holy pur- you may be brought into great per- ^° ^^' plexity if you be minded to go the ftrait and narrow way, and that you will be hard preffed and affailed, and moft of all by your brethren. And if this fliould come to pafs, your earthly feelings will feek everywhere for help, and make you call to mind the words in which you pledged yourfelf to God, and alfo other things, with the intent that, if poffible, they might break away from the crofs ; and that muft not be, but you The Reverend Dodior John Tauler. 37 muft yield a willing obedience to fuffer all that is ap pointed you, from whatfoever it may proceed. For know that you muft needs walk in that fame path of which our Lord fpoke to that young man ; — you muft take up your J . f 11 r-i. -a crofs and follow our Lord Jefus and to follow Chrift in all humility, Chrift and His example, in utter fin cerity, humility, and patience, and muft let go all your proud, ingenious reafon, which you have through your learning in the Scripture. You fliall alfo for a time neither ftudy nor preach, and you fhall demean yourfelf with great fimplicity towards your penitents; for when they have ended their confeffion, you fliall give them no further counfel than to fay to them, ' I will learn how to counfel myfelf, and when I can do that I will alfo counfel you.' And if you are afked when you will preach, fay, as you can with truth, that you have not time at prefent, and fo you will get rid of the people." Then faid the Mafter, " Dear fon, I wiU wiUingly do fo ; but how then fhall I occupy myfelf? " The man replied, " You fliall enter into your cell, and read your Hours, and alfo chant in the choir if you feel inclined, and fhall fay mafs every fulfilling his daily ^ay. And what time is left, you daties and meditat- fhall fet before you the fufferings of ing on the life and fufferings of our our Lord, and contemplate your own ^"¦""^ ' life in the mirror of His, and medi tate on your wafted time in which you have been living 38 The Hiftory and Life of for yourfelf, and how fmall has been your love compared to His love. In all lowlinefs ye fhall ftudy thefe things, whereby in fome meafure ye may be brought to true humility, and alfo wean yourfelf from your old habits, and , ^ , . , ceafe from them. And then, when and fo doing he ftiall be made a new our Lord fees that the time is come. He will make of you a new man, fo that you fliall be born again of God. " Neverthelefs, you muft know that before this can come to pafs, you muft fell 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 poffefs in your carnal pride, whether through the Scriptures or without; or whatever it be, whereby you might reap honour in this world, or in the which you may aforetime have taken pleafure or delight, you muft let it all go, and, with Ma^ Magdalene, fall down at Chrift's feet, and eameftly ftrive to enter on a new courfe. And fo doing, without doubt, the Eternal Heavenly Prince will God fliall not for- i 1 j • , , r fake him, but fliall ^^^'^ down on you With the eye of k him.'' ^''°^ """'^ ^'' g°°^ pleafure, and He will not leave His work undone in you, but will urge you ftill further, that you may be tried and purified as gold in the fire; and it may even come to pafs, that He fliall give you to drink of the bitter cup that He gave to His only-begotten Son. For it is my The Reverend Dodior John Tauler. 39 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 defpifed and turned to nought in the eyes of the people ; and all your fpiritual children will forfake you and think The man foretel- ^ . , , leth that the Maf- jou are gone out of your mind, and ter fhall be forfaken ^j^ ^j f^j^^^^jg ^^^ b^^. or all his friends, jo j thers in the convent will be offended at your life, and fay that you have taken to ftrange ways. " But when thefe things come upon you, be not in any wife difmayed, but rejoice, for then your falvation draweth nigh; howbeit, no doubt, your human weaknefs will fhrink back in terror, and give way. Therefore, dear Mafter, you muft not be faint-hearted, but truft firmly in God, for He forfakes none of His fervants, as you know well from the examples of the bleffed faints. Now, dear fir, if fo be that you are minded to take thefe things in hand, know that there is nothing better or more profitable for you at this prefent than an entire, hearty, humble felf- , . furrender in all things, whether fweet but telleth him not " to be difmayed or bitter, painful or pleafant, fo that you may be able to fay with truth, ' Ah, my Lord and my God, if it were thy wiU that I Ihould remain till the Day of Judgment in this fuffering and tribulation, yet would I not faU away from thee, but would defire ever to be conftant in thy fervice.' Dear fir, ^o The Hiftory and Life of I fee well, by God's grace, how you are thinking in your heart, that I have faid very hard things to you, and this is why I begged you beforehand to let me go, and told you that if you went back like that young man, I would not have it laid to my charge." Then faid the Mafter, " Thou The Mafter ^^^^^ ^"""^y' ^ confefs it does feem thinking this hard to me a hard thing to follow your counfel, the man giveth him a fpace counfel." The man anfwered, " Yet to confider of it. , , „ , you begged me to fhow you the fliorteft way to the higheft perfednefs. Now I know no fhorter or furer way than to follow in the footfteps of our Lord Jefus Chrift. But, dear fir, I counfel you in all faithfulnefs, to take a certain fpace of time to confider thefe matters, and then in God's name do as God gives you grace to do." Then faid the Mafter, " That will I do, and wait and fee whether, with the help of God, I may prevail." The Reverend Dod:or John Tauler. 4.1 EIGHTH CHAPTER. How it fared with the Doftor after this, and how he fell into great tribu lation and contempt, till he fell ill thereby ; and how the layman coun- felled him, and allowed him to help nature with fome good food and fpices, and afterwards departed from him. ^N the eleventh day after this, the Mafter fent for the man, and faid to him, "Ah, dear fon, what agony and ftruggle and fighting have I not had within me day and night, before I was able to overcome the Devil and my own How the Mafter ^^^- ^""^ "°^ ^7 ^"^'^ g^^^^_ ^ through great dif- have gathered myfelf together with trefs and fightings • i j j refolves to begin the all my powcts inward and outward, good work. ^^^ ^^^ ^y ^^^^ ^^ ^j^jg ^^j.^ ^jj^ good courage, and am purpofed to remain fteadfaft therein, come weal come woe." Then faid the man, " Dear fir, do you remember ftiU all I faid to you when you aflced me how you fhould begin?" The Mafter anfwered, " Yes, the moment thou didft depart I wrote down all thou hadft faid to me, word for word." Then faid the The man is great- man, "Dear fir, tiiat through God ly rejoiced thereat. y^^ ^^^^ ^^^^^ ^his bold heart, te- 42 The Hiftory and Life of joices me from the bottom of my foul, and I am as w^U pleafed as if it had happened to myfelf, fo God be my witnefs. And now in the name of our Lord Jefus Chrift, fet forward." Then the man took his leave, and the Mafter did as he had been bidden. Now it came to pafs that before a year was out the How his good re- Rafter grew to be defpifed of all his folution brings the familiar friends in the convent, and Mafter into great tribulation of mind his fpiritual children all forfook him andficknefsofbody. . , -r i i i r as entirely as it they had never feen him. And this he found very hard to bear, and it caufed him fuch grief that his head was like to turn. Then he fent for the man and told him how it fared with him ; how he was ill in his own body, and efpeciaUy in his head. Then faid the man, " Sir, you muft not be difmayed, but you muft humbly cleave to God, and put your firm truft in Him. Know that this account of yours pleafes me well, and it ftands well with your life, and will grow better every day. " Dear fir, you know well that he who will walk in the right way, and tread this path, muft How he fendeth i j for the man, who be made a partaker of the fufferings rhistknX''^' Of o- Lord Jefus Chrift; tiierefore be not afraid, but commit yourfelf wholly to God. For know that the fame tiling happened to me alfo. Meanwhile you muft take fome remedies The Reverend Do6tor John Tauler. 43 while you are in this ftate, and treat your body well with good food which may ftrengthen it. A box of fpices was made for me, and I will have fuch an one prepared for you to ftrengthen your head. But you muft know that I always gave myfelf up body and foul to God, that He might do with them what he pleafed." Then faid the Mafter, " But thou didft tell me before that I muft Ihun good eating and drinking." The man anfwered, " Yes, fir, that was in the firft beginning, when J ,, ,. , the flefli was yet wanton, but now and counfels him to ¦' truft in God, that it is tamed and obedient to the fpirit, we may come to its help with remedies, elfe we fhould tempt God. So long as you are in this ficknefs, you will be ferving God to cherifh your body by allowable means, but not to live diforderly ; that muft not be. Dear fir, make God your help, and go forward with cheerful mind, and commit yourfelf to God with true and thorough refignation, and put your truft in His boundlefs mercy, and wait for His grace to fhow you what He will have you to do, and then with His hfelp ftrive to fulfil that to the uttermoft, whether it be bitter or fweet. Further, I befeech you for God's fake not to take it amifs of me, but I muft go home on account of a very important matter, , , . which I affure you in all earneftnefs I and then takes lus J leave. have much at heart ; but if fo be that you could not or would not do without me, fend into the 44 The Hiftory and Life of town for me, and I will gladly come ; but if you can bear up without the aid of any creature, that would be beft of all for you." Then faid the Mafter, " Dear fon, fay not fo, for I cannot and would not do without thee for any „, , , „ length of time ; it would be hard in- The Mafter en- ° _ treateth the man to deed if thou didft forfake me, for then I fliould have no confolation left in the world." The man faid, " Dear fir, I wiU fliow you a better Comforter, that is the Holy Ghoft, who has called and invited and brought you to this point, by means „. ,, , of me His poor creature, but it is The man telleth ^ him of a better fjis work which has been wrought Comforter, and • t i_ i_ how he fliould not in you, and not mine ; I have been ^" ' merely His inftrument, and ferved Him therein, and have done fo right wiUingly, for the glory of God and the falvation of your foul." Then faid the Mafter, "Dear fon, may God be thine etemal reward! Since it is fo weighty a matter, I will commit myfelf to God, and bear this fuffering as beft I may." The man faid, " Dear fir, fince you are now under the yoke, and have entered on a fpiritual life and obedience to God, and have voluntarily devoted yourfelf thereto, you fliould know how to live difcreetly and wifely, and to govern yourfelf aright ; and do not let it repent you becaufe you are forfaken of the creatures, but if it Ihould happen that you lack money, or have need of fome, put a part of The Reverend Dodtor John Tauler. 45 and fo departeth. your books in pawn, and do not fuffer yourfelf to want for anything, but by no means fell the books, for a titne will come when good books will be very ufeful, and you will have need of them." Then the man took his leave and departed from that place, but the Mafter's eyes filled with tears, and he began to weep. The Mafter forely grieved. fOj 46 The Hiftory and Life of NINTH CHAPTER. How Doftor Tauler was vifited, touched, and illuminated after a wonder ful manner by God, and how the layman came to him again, and admonifhed him tenderly to begin to preach afrefh, and to exercife himfelf in the Holy Scriptures. Alfo concerning a ftrange event that befell him afterwards, whereby he was ftill more tried and humbled, yet not without fruit. ^^S^^^^^^O'W" when the Mafter had fuffered thus for ^1 S^^ The Mafter fuf- two years, from fore af- sr3 Im SSCfi fereth ereatlv for r -i i ¦ r U^^C two years, and fall- faults and temptations of I^^^K eth into poverty. ^^e DevU, and great con tempt from all his friends, and alfo great poverty, fo that he was obliged to pledge a part of his books, and withal fell into great weaknefs of the body, and he had demeaned himfelf with great humility throughout ; — behold, it came to pafs on the Feaft of St. Paul's Converfion, that in the night he was overtaken by the moft grievous affault diat may be imagined, whereby all his natural powers were fo overcome with weaknefs that when How, lying fick 1. ¦ r 1 u in his cell and me- tiie time for matins came he could Lord'" foflbrhigs.°" "°^ S^ m to chapel, but remained in his cell, and commended himfelf to The Reverend Doctor John Tauler. 47 God in great humility, without help or confolation from any creature. And as he lay in this ftate of weaknefs, he thought of the fufferings of our Lord Jefus Chrift, and His great love that He had for us, and confidered his own life, how poor his life had been compared to the love of God. Whereupon he was overwhelmed with contrition for all his fins and all his wafted time, and exclaimed with tongue and heart: "O merciful God! have mercy upon me a poor finner, for thy boundlefs mercy's fake, for I am not worthy that the earth fhould bear me." And as he was lying in this weaknefs and great fadnefs, bul fully awake, , , . he heard with his bodily ears a voice he heareth a won- J drous voice, faying : " Stand faft in thy peace, and truft God, and know that when He was on earth in human nature. He made the fick whom He healed in body found alfo in foul." Straightway when thefe words were uttered, he loft his fenfes and reafon, and knew not how or where he was. But when he came to him- and is ftraightway , ¦ /- iz- i healed in body and felf again, he felt within himfelf that ™'" ¦ he was poffeffed of a new ftrength and might in all powers outward and inward, and had alfo a clear underftanding in thofe things which aforetime were dark to him, and he wondered greatly whence this came, and thought to himfelf, " I cannot come to the bottom of this matter. I will fend for my friend and tell him all that has happened." So he fent for the man ; and when 48 The Hiftory and Life of he was come, the Mafter told him all He fendeth for the man and telleth that had befallen him. Then the him aU thefe things. ,- • i ,, x • • r man laid. It rejoices me from the bottom of my heart to hear all that you have told me. Dear fir, you muft know that you have now for the firft time received the true and mighty gift of God's grace; and I tell you of a truth that now, for the firft time, your foul has been touched by the Moft High ; and know that, as the letter hath in fome meafure flaui you, fo it fliall The man re- likewife make you aUve again, for joiceth much 'that your dodrine will come now from tiie the Mafter has been enlightened of the Holy Ghoft, which before came from the flefh ; for you have now received the light of the Holy Spirit by the grace of God, and you already know the Holy Scriptures. Therefore you have now a great advantage, and you will henceforward have a much clearer infight into the Scripture than you had before. For, as you know, the Scripture founds in many places as if it contradided itfelf, but fince that you have now, by the grace of God, received the Holy Scriptures into your own heart through the illumination of the Holy Spirit, you will perceive that all Scripture has the fame intent, and does not contradid itfelf, and you will alfo be able rightly to follow the pattern left us by the Lord Jefus and counfelleth him Chrift. You ought alfo to begin to to preach, again. , . , , /¦ 1 ^ ^ preach again, and to teach your fel- The Reverend Dodor John Tauler. 49 low-Chriftians, and fhow them the right path to eternal life. The time is come now when good books will be profitable to you ; for know that one of your fermons will be more profitable now, and the people will receive more fruit therefrom, than from a hundred aforetime, for the words that you fay now, coming from a pure foul, will have a pure and fimple favour. Wherefore, juft as much as you have been defpifed by the eth the Mafter that people, fo fliaU you now be efteemed he will have need of ^^^ beloved by them. But it wiU great humihty, for ¦' the DevU will tempt be moft efpeciaUy needful that you him cunningly. keep yourfelf humble, for you know well that he who carries a great treafure expofed to view muft ever be on his guard againft thieves. I tell yoii truly the Devil is in great terror when he perceives that God has beftowed on any man fuch a noble and precious treafure, and the devils will fet all their arts and wifdom, and their lufts too, to work, to rob and bereave you of this coftly treafure ; wherefore look wifely to your goings, for nothing will fo greatly help you to preferve it as utter humility. Now, dear fir, it is no longer needful for me to fpeak to you as a teacher, as I have done hitherto, for you have now the right and true Mafter, whofe inftrument I have been : to Him give ear, and obey His commands ; this is my moft faithful counfel. And now, in all godly love, I defire to receive inftrudion from you, for I have^ 4 50 The Hiftory and Life of with God's help, accomplifhed the good work for which I was fent and came hither. I would fain, if God will, fqjourn here a good while ahd hear How the man ad- -l rr /^ j • ^ i vifeth the Mafter you preach. If God give you to do to begin again to ^ mctiiinks it were weU tiiat you preach. ' J fhould now begin to preach again." Then faid the Mafter, " Dear fon, what had I better do; I have pledged a great many good books, as many as come to thirty florins ? " The man anfwered, " Look ! I will give you that fum, for God's fake, and if you have any of it left over, give "it back to God, for all that we have is His, whether temporal or fpiritual." So the Mafter redeemed ^ his books, and ordered notice to be given that he would preach three days after. The people wondered much thereat, becaufe it was fo long fince he had preached, and How on the ap- ^ S^^^^ ^rowd gatiiered togedier to pointed day a great hear him. And when the Mafter multitude gather to gether to hear the came and faw that there was fuch 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 faid, "0 merciful. Eternal God, if it be Thy will, give me fo to fpeak that it may be to the praife and glory of Thy name and the good of this people." As he faid thefe words, his eyes overflowed with tears of tendemefs, fo that he could not fpeak a word for weeping, and this lafted fo long that The Reverend Dodor John Tauler. 51 the people grew angry. At laft a man fpoke out of the crowd, " Sir, how long are we to ftand here ? It is getting late; if you do not mean to preach, let us go home." ¦a ,. v ,. But the Mafter remained in earneft Jiut he cannot fpeak for weeping; prayer, and faid again to God, " Oh, my Lord and my God, if it be Thy divine will, take this weeping from my eyes, and give me to deliver this fermon to Thy praife and glory. But, if Thou doft not do it, I take it as a fign that Thou judgeft I have not yet been enough put to fhame. Now fulfil, dear Lord, Thy divine will on me Thy poor creature, to Thy praife and my neceffities." This all availed nothing; he wept yet more and more. Then he faw that God would have it fo, and faid, with weeping eyes, " Dear children, I am forry from my heart that I have kept you here fo long, for I cannot fpeak 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 Wh f h be- S^^^^i another time, as foon as ever I comes a laughing- am able." So the people departed, ftock to all, and is r i i j j forbidden to preach and this tale was fpread abroad and by his brethren. refounded tiirough tiie whole city, fo that he became a public laughing-ftock, defpifed by aU; and the people faid, " Now we all fee that he has become a downright fool." And his own brethren ftridly forbade, him to preach any more, becaufe he did the convent great injury thereby, and difgraced the order with the fenfelefs 52 The Hiftory and Life of pradices that he had taken up, and which had difordered his brain. Then the Mafter fent for the man, and told him all The Mafter fends that had happened. The man faid, for the man, who « Dear Mafter, be of good cheer, and confoles him, telling him that it is no be not difmayed at thefe things. The ftrange thine that t. . , • i i r has happened to Bridegroom is wont to behave fo to all His beft and deareft friends, and it is a certain fign that God is your good fi-iend, for, with out a doubt. He has feen fome fpeck of pride concealed within you that you have not perceived, nor been con fcious of yourfelf and therefore it is that you have been put to fhame. You may have received fome great gifb of God, which you yourfelf do not know or perceive, that have been given you by means of the patience with which you have endured this affault ; therefore be of good cheer, and be joyful and humble. Neither fhould you think this a ftrange thing, for I have feen many fuch inftances in other people. You fliall not defpife this preffure of the crofs which God has fent you, but count it a great bleffing and favour from God. I counfel you that you remain alone for the next five days, and endure without fpeaking to any, to the 'praife and glory of the five wounds of our Lord Jefus Chrift. And when the five days are ended, beg your Prior to give you permiffion to deliver a fermon in Latin. If he refufe, beg him to let you try in the The Reverend Dodor John Tauler. 53 The Mafter reads a lefture to his bre thren in the fchool. fchool and read a ledure to the bre thren." And he did fo ; and read to his brethren fuch an excellent ledure as they had never heard in their lives before, fo grand and Th n he has er- deep and godly was his dodrine. miffion to preach again, and delivers a fermon in a con vent of ladies. Then they gave him permiffion to preach a fermon; and after one of their brethren had preached in the church where the Mafter was wont to preach, he gave notice to the people, and faid, " I am ordered to announce that to-morrow the Mafter intends to preach in this place ; but if it fhould befal him as it did lately, I will not be anfwerable for it. So much I can fay with truth, that in our fchool he has read us a ledure containing fuch great and profound inftrudion, with high and divine wifdom, 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 Mafter came to the convent (it was a con vent of ladies), and began to preach, and faid : 54 The Hiftory and Life of TENTH CHAPTER. An excellent fermon which this Doftor delivered in a convent after his illumination, concerning Chrift the true Bridegroom of the foul, in the which he Ihowed how fhe is to follow after Him in true, fhamefaced, humble, and patient refignation, and how Chrift tries her beforehand in divers ways, and at laft accepts her lovingly. Taken from thefe words — " Ecce fponfus venit, exite obviam ei," (Matt. xxv. 6.) ^^^^^^]EAR children, it may be now two years or ^S iPftl^ 'Ti, A/r A > r more fince I laft preached. fSS I I i^ Mafter s fer- " ^1 IJ S^ mon- I fpoke to you then of ^^^^^^ four-and-twenty Articles, and it was then my cuftom to fpeak much Latin, and to make many quo tations ; but I intend to do fo no more, but if I wifli to talk Latin, I will do fo when the learned are prefent, who can underftand 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 fermon, 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 Jefus Chrift, and the Bride The Bridegroom is the Holy Church and Chriftendom. and the Bride. j^^^ ^^ ^^^ ^^ ^,^11^ j ^^.j j^g ^f thrift, The Reverend Dodor John Tauler. 55 wherefore we ought to be willing to go forth and meet our Bridegroom; but, alas! we are not fo. The true paths and ftraight highways by which to go out to meet the Bridegroom are, alas I now-a-days quite deferted and falling into decay, till we have come hardly to perceive where they are; nay, this highway is to many quite ftrange and unknown, fo that they do not go out to meet the Bridegroom, as they are in duty bound to do, of which I wiU fpeak another time, with God's help; but now, fince we hear that we are all called brides, I will tell you fomewhat concerning what the Bride muft do in order to go and meet the Bridegroom. It is feemly that a faithful Bride fliould avoid every- . . thing that is difpleafing to the Bride- feemly for a faithful groom, fuch as vain-glory, pride, envy, and all the other fins of this world, and all the delights of the body and the flefli, whether it be the eafe and indulgence of the body, or other things which are beyond the neceffaries of life. Further, it be- feems a faithful Bride to be fhame-faced. When this comes to pafs, and the Bride, for her Bridegroom's fake, has defpifed and given up aU thefe things, then fhe begins to be fomewhat well-pleafing to the Bridegroom. But, if fhe defires to be yet more well-pleafing in His fight, fhe muft humbly bow down The Bride's vow. /^ ^ before Him, and fay with heart and 56 The Hiftory and Life of lips, " Ah ! my dear Lord and Bridegroom, Thou knoweft all hearts. I have faid to Thee, with my whole heart, that I defire to do all that I can and may, and to do it willingly, as far as Thou giveft me to perceive through my confcience what is agreeable and well-pleafing to Thee." When the Bride makes this vow to the Bride groom, He turneth himfelf and begins to look upon her. Then fhe befeeches Him to beftow upon her fome gift as a token of love. What is the gift? It is that fhe is inwardly and outwardly befet with divers affaults, with which He is wont to endow his fpecial friends. But if the Bride be as yet unaccuftomed to fuffer, fhe „, .„ . , will fay, " Ah ! dear Lord and Bride- The Bride- •' groom's firft gift of groom, this is very hafd upon rae ; I fear greatly that I fhall fcarcely be able to endure it. Therefore, dear Lord and Bridegroom, I pray Thee to make my burden fomewhat more tolerable, or elfe to take a part of it away." Then the Bridegroom anfwers, " Tell me then, dear Bride, fhould the Bride fare better than the Bridegroom has fared ? If thou defireft to meet tihe Bridegroom, thou muft imitate Him in fome fort, and it is, moreover, reafonable that a faithful Bride fliould fuffer fomewhat with Him His fecond gift, ^ n • 1 that ftie can take no fot her Bridegroom's fake." Now town." '"^""'"^ ^h^" th^ Bride heareth what is the will of her Bridegroom, and howgrave The Reverend Dodor John Tauler. ^y a matter it is, fhe is fore affrighted, and fays, " 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 fuffer all things with Thy help and in Thy love." When the Bridegroom heareth this. He loveth the Bride yet better than He did before, and giveth her to drink of a ftill better cup. This cup is that fhe is to ceafe from all her own thoughts, and all her works and refrainings will give her no content, for fhe can take pleafure in nothing that is her own. However good the adions may be in themfelves, fhe is always thinking how flie fhall anger her Bridegroom therewith, and feareth much that fhe will, perhaps, have to fuffer a great punifh ment for them hereafter. Moreover, flie is derided by aU, and thefe things are accounted her folly. Now, children, by reafon of all thefe things, her natural powers become wearied out and grow feeble, infomuch that fhe is conftantly in fear left fhe fhould not hold out to the end, but muft die at laft ; and hereupon fhe is greatly terrified, for flie is yet fomewhat timorous and faint-hearted. Then fhe cries earneftly unto the Bridegroom, and fays, " Ah ! dear Lord and Bridegroom, how great are Thy terrors ; know that I cannot endure them long : I muft die." But the Bride groom anfwers, "If thou wilt in truth go out to meet thy Bridegroom, it is fitting that thou fliould firft tread 58 The Hiftory and Life of fome portion of the path that He has groom^sanfwer,"hat travelled. Now whereas the Bride- like^rnHL"""^' groom has fuffered fliame, hunger, cold, thirft, heat, and bitter pains, for three and thirty years, and at laft a bitter death, for the Bride's fake, out of pure love, is it not juft and right that the Bride fliould venture even her life for the Bridegroom's fake, out of love, and with all her heart ? "Verily, if thou hadft the right fort of love and true faithfulnefs unto thy Bridegroom, all thy fear would vanifh." Then when fhe hears thefe words of the Bridegroom The Bride's hum- ^" ^^^^^ ^^^^ is moved witii fear, ble fubmiflion. and Qie fays, " Ah ! dear Lord, I ac knowledge in all fincerity that I have done wrong, and I am out of all meafure terrified at it; I grieve fi-om the bottom of my heart that I have not with a feithfiil heart yielded myfelf up unto Thee, even unto death. Dear Lord and Bridegroom, I here vow and promife to Thee furely that all which Thou willeft I alfo will. Come fick nefs, come health, come pleafure or pain, fweet or bitter, cold or heat, wet or dry, whatever Thou willeft, that do I alfo will ; and defire altogether to come out fi-om my own will, and to yield a whole and willing obedience unto Thee, and never to defire aught elfe either in will or thought : only let Thy will be accompliflied in me. Thy poor unworthy creature, in time and in eternity. For, The Reverend Doctor John Tauler. 59 dear Lord, when I look at what I am, I am not worthy that the earth fhould bear me." Now when the Bridegroom feeth this entire and faithful will in the Bride, and her deep and The Bride- . . '^ groom's gift of yet thorough humility, what does He forer trials. ^^^^ ^^ ^ j^.^ ^^^^ ^^^^^^ ^^^^ ^^ Bride, and giveth her a very coftly, noble, fweet cup to drink. What is this cup ? It is that flie fuffers yet far more from all manner of temptations and tribulation than fhe has ever fuffered before. And when the Bride per- ceiveth this, and feeth the Bridegroom's earneftnefs and good pleafure concerning her, fhe fuffereth all thefe things willingly and gladly for the Bridegroom's fake, and bow- eth herfelf down humbly before Him, and faith, "Ah! dear Lord and Bridegroom, it is juft and right that Thou fliouldeft not will as I will, but I defire and ought to will as Thou wilt ; I receive this gift right The Bride's joy .... , , i n r rT.i_ i in fuffering for His WiUingly and gladly for Thy love ^^^^- from Thy divine hand, whetiier it be pleafant or painful to tiie flefli, I acquiefce whoUy in it for love of Thee." Now when the Bridegroom, in His etemal wifdom, perceives this difpofition within His humble Bride, and her thorough eameftnefs, fhe begins to grow precious to The beauty of Him, and from hearty love He giveth the purified Bride. ^^^ ^^ ^^^^ .^^ ^jj ^^^ j^^ture, until 6o The Hiftory and Life of the Bride is wholly purified from all faults and ftain of fin, and become perfedly fair and unfpotted. Then He fays, " Now rife up, my beloved, my pleafant, my beautiful Bride, for Thou art pure and without fpot, and altogether lovely in my eyes." Then He looks upon her with The marriage- infinite, mighty, divine love. To this joyful high-tide cometh the Father of the Eternal Bridegroom, and faith to the Bride, " Rife up, my lovely, chofen beloved, it is time to go to Church," and He taketh the Bridegroom and the 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 fo faft that they can never be parted again, either in time or eternity. And when, in thefe divine efpoufals, they have been made one, the The gift of the Bridegroom faith, " O, beloved and '^^^^"- Eternal Fatiier, what fliaU be our wedding-gift ? " And die Fatiher faitii, " The Holy Ghoft, for that it is His office to be in the Father's ftead." And He fheds forth upon the Bride the torrent of divine love, and this love flows out unto the Bridegroom, infomuch that the Bride lofeth herfelf, and is intoxicated with love, fo that fhe forgets herfelf and all creatures, in time or eternity, together with herfelf The joy of the Now he only who is bidden to fuch a fpiritual, glorious marriage-feaft, The Reverend Dodor John Tauler. 6i and has obeyed the call, does for the firft time perceive and tafte the real, true, bleffed, gracious fweetnefs of the Holy Spirit. Now is this Bride a true worfhipper, for fhe worfhippeth the Father in the Holy Spirit. In this mar riage-feaft is joy upon joy, and therein is more peace and joy in one hour than all the creatures can yield in time or in eternity. The joy that the Bride hath with the Bride groom is fo vaft that no fenfes or reafon can apprehend or attain unto it. As the Dodor fpoke thefe words a man cried out with a loud voice, " It is true ! " and feU The people are ftrangely moved down as if he were dead. Then a woman called out from the crowd and faid, " Mafter, leave ofi^ or this man will die on our hands." Then the Mafter faid : Ah, dear children, and if the Bridegroom take the Bride and lead her home with Him, we will gladly yield her to Him; neverthelefs, I wiU 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 fo to do, feeing that, alas ! we have grown fo dull of hearing and foolifh of heart that none of us has com- The Mafter bid- paffion on his fellow, although we deth them all ftrive confefs that WC ate aU caUed brothers to come to this ,r r i. marriage-feaft. and fifters. There be alfo few who are willing to fight their way againft their own flefli, and 62 The Hiftory and Life of foUow the Bridegroom, in order to reach a nobler joy and a glorious wedding-feaft. I give you to know that in thefe days thofe be few and far between who do truly go out to meet the Bridegroom, fuch as there were many in the olden time. Therefore it behoveth each one to look at himfelf and confider his ways with great earneftnefs. For the time is at hand — nay, it is already come — when it may be faid of moft who are now living here, that " they have eyes and fee not, and ears that hear not." Dear children, let us all ftrive to enter into this wedding-feaft, moft rich in joy, and honour, and bleffednefs. But when the Bride departs from this marriage-feaft and _,„.,, ^ is lefi: to herfelf, and beholds that fhe The Bride s for rows while flie is yet has come back again to this miferable in this earthly ftate. ,, n n r ¦ , ¦ , r tr earthly ftate, fhe fays within herfelf, " O ! poor miferable creature that I am, am I here again?" And fhe is fad in herfelf; neverthelefs, fhe is fo utterly refigned in boundlefs humility to her Bridegroom, that fhe in no wife may think of or defire His prefence, becaufe flie deems herfelf wholly unworthy thereof But the Bridegroom does not therefore forfake her, but looketii upon His Bride from time to time, becaufe He well knoweth that none will or can comfort her, but He alone. And now that you have heard this, let it not furprife The Reverend Dodor John Tauler. 63 you that I have not told you how The comfort fhe , • , , t« • i n i • i hath therein from lovingly the Bridegroom talketh witii the love of the ^^ g^jj^^ j^ j^- ^t well happen Bridegroom. ° ^ ^ that none w.ould beUeve me (except fuch a one as had tried and tafted it himfelf), fliould I tell you what ftrange words the Bride faith to her Bridegroom. We find, too, in the Scriptures, that the loving foul oft- times holds fuch converfe with her Beloved as words cannot perfedly exprefs. Nay, does it not happen every day with earthly lovers, that a bride and bridegroom talk together in fuch wife that if others heard it they would declare them mad or drunk ? Now, dear children, I fear that I have kept you too long; but the time has not feemed long to me : alfo, I have faid it all for your good, and could not well this time make my fermon fhorter if I were rightly to explain my meaning ; therefore receive it kindly. That we may all become real, true, perfed brides of our Lord Jefus Chrift, and that we may in fincere, true, utter humility and refignation, go out to meet our glorious Bridegroom, and abide with Him for ever, may God help us, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghoft. Amen. 64 The Hiftory and Life of ELEVENTH CHAPTER. Of a great prodigy that was wrought in certain perfons through this fermon, as afterwards appeared, whereby we are given to underftand what great wonders God works by good inftruments, that is, that He will do more by one fermon of an enlightened man than by a hundred others. JfHEN this fermon was ended, the Mafter I The man per- went down and read Mafs, I Z^int cCt -d gave tiie Lord's Body * y^^^- to certain good people; but after the fermon the man perceived that fome forty people remained fitting in the churchyard. When Mafs was over he told the Mafter of it, and they went out to where he had feen the people fitting that they might fee how it was with them. But in the meantime, while the Mafter had been celebrating Mafs, they had rifen up and gone away, except twelve, who were ftill there. Then faid the Mafter to the man, " Dear fon, what doft thou think we had beft do with thefe people ? " Then the man went from one to another and touched them, but they lay as if they were dead, and fcarcely moved. The Mafter knew not what to think of this ftrange thing, for he had The Reverend Dodor John Tauler. 65 „, ,, „ , never feen the like before, and fo he The Mafter fears _ ' fome of them be faid to the man, " Tell me, what doft thou think? Are the people alive or dead ? " Then he fmiled and faid, " If they were dead, it would be your fault and the Bridegroom's ; how then fliould you bring them round again ? " The Mafter faid, " But if the Bridegroom be with me in this bufinefs, ought But the man bids ^ ^o awaken them?" The man them be brought anfwered, " Sir, thefe people are ftill into the convent undl they come to in this prefent ftate, and I wifh that you would afk the convent ladies to let them be carried into their cloifter, that they may not take fome ficknefs and harm to their bodies, by lying in the open air on the cold earth." And they did fo ; and the people were brought into a warm place. Then the convent ladies faid, "Dear fir, we have a nun here to whom the fame tiling has happened, and fhe is lying on her bed as if fhe were dead." Then faid the Mafter, " My dear daughters, be patient, for God's fake, and look to thefe fick people, and when any one of them comes to himfelf give him fomething warm to take ; if he will have it, give it him in Chrift's name." And the ladies faid they would willingly do fo. So the Mafter and the man went their way, and entered into the Mafter's cell. Then the man faid, " Now, dear Mafter, what think you of this ? Has the like ever happened to you in your life before ? 66 The Hiftory and Life of Now I wot you fee what wonders God works with good tools. Dear fir, I perceive that this preaches also to fermon will ftir many, and one will wo°rtr^°"^'°'''^ teU it to anotiier. If it pleafe you, methinks it were well that you let thefe fick children reft for awhile, for this fermon will give them plenty to digeft for fome time, and if you think it good, and God give you fo to do, that you preach a fermon alfo to thofe who are in the world, feeing it is now Lent" And the Mafter did fo gladly, and preached alfo to thofe who were in the world, to the great amendment of certain of them.* * Here follow two chapters in the original, containing fketches of other fermons preached by Tauler ; but as they are lefs valuable than moft of his fermons, and have nothing whatever to do with the progrefs of the ftory, I have judged it beft to omit them. — ^Tr. The Reverend Dodor John Tauler. 67 FOURTEENTH CHAPTER. How this Holy Doftor came to his end, and afterward appeared to his ' dear friend the layman, and fhowed him the caufe of his painful de parture from this world, to wit that it had been his purgatory, after which he attained great joy and etemal bleffednefs, which were given him by God as the reward of his good and faithfiil teaching. ^OW you muft know that the Mafter made The great efteem progrefs in the divine hfe, in which the Mafter ^^^ received fuch wifdom, came to be held through all the land, by the grace of the Holy Spirit, that he preached both tS clergy and laity, and came to be held in fuch efteem and honour throughout the land, and alfo in that city, that whenever the people had any weighty matter to tranfad, he was called in to fettle it with his wifdom, whether it concerned fpiritual or temporal affairs, and whatever he counfelled them was right in their eyes, and they hearkened unto him gladly. And after tfiat tiie Mafter had led tiiis faitiiful life full eight years, God would not leave His fervant longer in this earthly mifery, and faw fit to take him to Himfelf without pur gatory. Wherefore He fent His judgments upon him, and vifited him witii ficknefs, fo tiiat tiie Mafter kept his 68 The Hiftory and Life of rr. , J bed for more than twenty weeks, and His long and •' grievous ficknefs. his fufferings were very fore, and his pains grievous. Then he perceived, by the grace of the Holy Spirit, that he was about to depart from this worid (God was minded to reward him for his work) ; where fore he fent for the man, his dear friend, and begged him to come to him, for he expected not to be much longer in this world. And the man hearkened and came to the Mafter, who received him after a moft friendly fort; and the man was glad that he found him yet alive, and faid, rr I- t r t. "Dear Mafter, how fares it with He fends tor lus friend the man. you ? " The Mafter faid, " I believe that the time is very near when God purpofes to take me from this world, for which caufe, dear fon, it is a great con folation to me that thou 5rt prefent at my end. I pray thee take thefe books which are lying there : thou wilt find written therein all thy difcourfe with me aforetime, and alfo my anfwers, and thou wilt find fomewhat con cerning my life, and the dealings of God with me His poor unworthy fervant. Dear fon, if thou think fit, and if God give thee grace, make a little book of it." Then faid the man, " Dear Mafter, I have written down five of your fermons, and if it pleafe you, I will write them out alfo, and will make a little book about you." Quoth the Mafter, "Dear fon, I lay upon thee my moft folemn admonition, that thou write nothing about me, and that The Reverend Doctor John Tauler. 69 thou do not mention my name ; for writings to the man, thou muft know that of a truth the mltf de'^boo" lif^' -"d --ds, and works which concerning him, not God has wrought through me a poor, naming their names. unworthy, finful man, are not mine, but belong to God Almighty, now and for evermore; therefore, dear fon, if thou wilt write it down for the profit of our fellow-Chriftians, write it fo that neither my name nor thine be named, but thou mayft fay the Mafter and the man. Moreover, thou Ihalt not fuffer the book to be read or feen by any one in this town, left he fhould 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 fpace of eleven days the Mafter held much difcourfe with the man. After that. The Mafter's promife to vifit the the time came that the Mafter fliould ""Tu^^'J: ^j '^'f ''' die. Then he faid, "Dear fon, I and lus hard end. pray thee, in God's name, to give thy confent to it, if God fliould permit my fpirit to come back to thee, and tell thee how it fared with me." The man anfwered, " Dear Mafter, if God will have it fo, I am alfo willing." But it came to pafs that at the laft the Mafter had a moft horrible and frightful death-ftruggle, infomuch that all the brethren in the convent, and alfo other people, were greatly terrified and diftreffed thereat, and were fore 70 The Hiftory and Life of amazed at the dreadful anguifh that they faw in his death. Now when he was dead, all who were in the convent rr- I. , -^ and the city were filled with fonow. 1 he whole city •' is filled with forrow gut when they perceived who was for him, and would do honour for his the man that had been fo long his fake to his friend. i i- /- • i • /• i , bof om-iriend m f ecret, they came and defired to fhow him honour, and befought him to be their gueft. But when he was aware of their intent, he fled that fame hour out of the city, and travelled home again. And as he was on the way, the third day after the Mafter's death, at nightfaU he was pafling through a little village with his fervant, and feeing a nobleman go paft along the road, he faid to him, " My friend, is there any inn in this ^^. ^ . , , village ? " The nobleman anfwered. His friend de- '^ ' parteth fecretly « No." Then faid the man, " Then homewards. , - , . fhow us the kindnefs, dear friend, in God's name, to let us lodge in thy houfe for to-night, and take for it what thou .wilt." Then he faid, " If you will put up with fuch things as we have, I will willingly lodge you, and give you the beft in my power." So he took him home with him. When it was night he laid the man upon a feather-bed, and fliowed the fervant into the bam to lie upon the ftraw. Now in the night the man awoke and heard a voice clofe by ; yet he faw no one. Then a fliudder ran through him, and he made the fign of the The Reverend Dodor John Tauler. 71 Crofs. Then the voice faid, " Fear not, dear fon, it is I, the Mafter." Then faid the man, " Dear Mafter, is it you ? _ Then I befeech you, with my whole The fpirit of the \ g Mafter comes to heart, to tell me, if God will, how it him three days af- „ , , . , , , terwards, and opens ftandetii witii you, and how It came to Mm the caufe of ^^ fg ^^^ had fuch a dreadful his hard death. ^ ¦' end; for your brethren in the con vent were much aftonied at you, and it is to be feared that your frightful end will be a great ftumbling-block to your own brethren in the convent." Then faid the Mafter's voice, " Dear fon, that will I tell thee. Thou muft know that our Lord God faw fit to appoint me fuch a hard death in order that the holy angels might ftraight way receive my foul to themfelves; and for the fame caufe thou flialt alfo have fuch a like hard death. It was needful that I fliould fuffer this as a purgatory ; but know likewife, my dear fon, that the evil fpirits tormented me greatly, and affailed me with fuch cunning and inftancy, that I was in conftant fear left my courage fliould fail me. But, however hard my death was, it was as nothing com pared to the joy which the Almighty, Etemal, and Merci- ^ ful God hath given me in retum. The Mafter tells ^ r r. him of his prefent Know, dear fon, that the fame hour appme s, .^ which my foul left my body, the bleffed angels received it, and conduded me to Paradife, and faid to me, ' Here flialt thou tarry five days, and flialt 72 The Hiftory and Life of know no anxiety or fear left the evil fpirits fhould harm thee any more, neither fhalt thou labour any more, only thou fhalt be deprived for thefe five days of the bhflful , , , , company of the bleffed in eternity. and thanks the man '¦ ¦' J for the good in- And 'then we will come again with ftruftions he had . /- , , , given him in this Joy, and bring thee to the unlpeakable ' ^' joys» and reward thee for thy good and faithful teaching and ufeful counfels;' all which I have received by thy excellent inftrudion, for the which I can never thank God and thee enough." Then faid the man : " Dear Mafter, I befeech you from the bottom of my heart that when you come into the prefence of God, you pray Him for me." But whatever the man faid after this, or whatever queftions he put, no . , , , , one anfwered him again. Then he At daybreak the *' man arifes and writes would fain have flept, and turned word of his vifion i i i • to the Mafter's con- irom One fide to the other ; but it ^^^^' availed him nothing : he got no more reft that night, and could hardly wait till it was light. And at day-break he rofe up, and wrote that fame hour word to the Prior and brethren of all things that the fpirit had faid to him, and returned to his own houfe and came alfo to a good and bleffed end. That we may all follow the pattem of our Lord Jefus Chrift, infomuch that after this mife- The end. rable life and this tranfitory world we The Reverend Dodor John Tauler. 73 may come to eternal and never-ending joys, — to God and His chofen and beloved friends, may He help us, God the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghoft. Amen ! Here endeth the History of the Life of the en lightened Doctor John Tauler. %^^ rf fmf\ Introdudory Notice RESPECTING TAULER'S LIFE AND TIMES. By the Translator. ^OHN TAULER, who appears "as the Mafter" in the foregoing Hiftory, was born at Strafburg in the year 1 290. His father was moft probably Nicolas Tauler, whofe name occurs among thofe of the fenators of Strafburg in 1313. At aU events, he belonged to a tolerably wealthy family, and might have lived on his patrimony, fince he tells us in one of his fermons : " Had I known when I lived as my father's fon, all that I know now, I would have lived on his heritage and not upon alms." He devoted himfelf, however, in early years to a clerical life, and entered the Dominican Order in Stralburg, taking up 76 Tauler's Life and Times. his abode in the handfome, fpacious convent belonging to that Order, the church of which was confecrated in the year 1308. A fifter of his was a nun in the convent of ,St. Nicolas at Krautenau, likewife belonging to the Dominican Order. In what year Tauler renounced the world cannot be determined with precifion, but there can be little doubt that he did fo at the fame time with his friend John von Dambach, in 1308. From allufions in his writings, it feems probable that he foon after, with the fame friend, betook himfelf to Paris, the great metropolis of Chriftian leaming in that age, in order to ftudy theology in the famous Dominican College of St. Jacques, from which the monks of that Order were called Jacobins in France. The Univerfity concentrated within its precinds repre- fentatives of the varied intellectual tendencies of the age. Up to the middle of the thirteenth century, it had been diftinguifhed by the freedom of thought which prevailed among its teachers, unfhackled as they were by any episcopal, almoft by any regal jurifdidion over their dodrine, and acknowledging only the authority of the Pope himfelf, diredly exercifed. The influence of tiie all-queftioning Abelard, the fubtie Gilbert de la Poree, the pantheiftic Amaury de Bene, and other free-thinking teachers, was not extind, though they lay under the cen fure of herefy. The works of Ariftotle, condemned in The Univerfity of Paris. 77 1209, had been gradually introduced into the fchools, with the Arabian commentaries of Avicenna and Averrhoes. The Dominican Order, founded for the extirpation of herefy, early recognifed the prime neceffity of providing inftrudion which fhould purify the ftreams of human thought at their fountain-head ; and in fpite of the oppofi- tion raifed by the heads of the Univerfity, fucceeded, in 1228, in eftablifhing theological chairs in their convent in Paris, from which to combat the heathenizing philofophers of Chriftendom with their own weapons of reafon; and in Albert the Great and Thomas Aquinas they may be faid to have reconquered philofophy for the Church, and Chriftianized Ariftotle, who thenceforth became the efta- blifhed mafter of philofophy, but was ftudied through the commentaries of the great Dominican luminary. But the coloffal volumes of the fchoolmen, embracing as they did within the vaft fweep of their fpeculation dif- quifitions upon the nature of the Godhead, upon the univerfe of fuperhuman intelligence revealed by the pfeudo-Dionyfius, and upon the nature of man and matter, — while affording a tremendous gymnaftic difcipline to the human intelled, were barren in adual pradical refults, and might well be unfatisfadory to one whofe foul craved to be fomething more than a logical athlete. And it is evident that, in his later Hfe, Tauler did not look back upon the fcholaftic theology which he ftudied during his fojoum 78 Tauler's Life and Times. in Paris as having taught him that which anfwered to the needs of his fpirit. Thus, in one paffage of his fermons he fays : " Thefe great mafters of Paris do read vaft books, and turn over the leaves with great dihgence, which is a very good thing ; but thefe [fpiritually enhghtened men] read the true living book, wherein all things live : they turn over the pages of the heavens and the earth, and read therein the mighty and admirable wonders of God." He feldom cites any of the fchoolmen in his writings, with the exception of "Mafter Thomas;" but he not unfre quentiy refers to Ariftotle, under the title of the " Natural Mafter," or the " Mafter of Nature." The authors who feem to have had the greateft attradion for him, and whom he muft have early made the fubjed of his ftudy, judging from the acquaintance with them difplayed in his writings, and the little leifure which he could have had for fuch purfuits during the bufy adivity of his later years, were the more myftical and fpeculative among the ecclefiaftical writers, the pfeudo-Dionyfius, the Monks of the fchool of St. Vidor, St. Bernard, and above all St. Auguftin. Neither was he a ftranger to the Neoplatonifts, — Proclus is referred to feveral times in his writings. While the whole bent of Tauler's mind thus appears to have difpofed him to contemplation on the great fpiritual queftions immediately affeding man's adual deftiny, rather than more purely intelledual thefes, he muft, on returhilig The Schoolmen and Mafter Eckart. 79 from Paris to Strafburg, have come in contad with feveral of the myftical teachers whom we know to have flourifhed there about this time, and who certainly cannot have been without influence on the courfe of his mental develop ment; The moft eminent of thefe was the celebrated Mafter Eckart, a brother of his own Order, who, afiier having filled the important offices of Provincial in Saxony and Vicar-General in Bohemia, had returned to Stralburg, where, with the earneftnefs of profound convidion, he was now difcourfing to the people in their native tongue, on lofty philofophical themes, till then only deemed fit to be treated of in Latin before leamed affemblies ; and which he handled in a way that he himfelf confeffes to be con trary to what any of the Mafters had taught hitherto. Yet it is clear, from the accufations afterwards brought againft him of mifleading the vulgar, that the metaphyfical fpecu lations which form the ftaple of his fermons, though they would feem to us utterly beyond the range of ordinary thinkers, muft have touched fome chords in the hearts of the multitude, expreffed as they are, not only in a fharp, clear, forcible ftyle, but often clothed in a thoroughly popular form, and illuftrated by metaphors appe£^ling to the eye, and allegorical interpretations of Scripture hiftories.* * I borrow the following note from Schmidt's " Eckart." Theolog. Stud. u. Krit, 1839, S. 684, An. 15. "The raifing of the widow's fon " furnifties him with materials for more than one allegory. In the Second So Tauler's Life and Times. The man himfelf and his dodrines were equally calcu lated to make a powerful impreffion on the mind of the youthful Tauler, already diffatisfied with the frigid fubtie- ties of the dialedicians, and arriving at an age when he was called on to exercife his vocation as a preaching friar in times of extraordinary commotion and perplexity. Eckart's keen and foaring intelled had been trained by a clofe ftudy of the Fathers and the Schoolmen before he became a profeffor in the convent of St. Jacques at Paris, in which pofition he foon acquired no ordinary fame; being efteemed (according to the ftatement of the Abbot Trithemius in his great encyclopaedia of ecclefiaftical writers) " the moft learned man of his day in the Ariftote lian philofophy." The vivid remembrance of fuch a mafter would be ftill lingering in the hearts of many pupils when Tauler came to Paris ; though Eckart himfelf muft " Sermon on the Sixteenth Sunday after Trinity, the widow is firft the " foul, and her dead fon, the Reafon, which Our Lord animates with new " life ; afterwards a widow fignifies a forfaken one, and taken in an abftraft " fense, a ftate of lonelinefs, and forthwith Eckart fprings to the conclufion, " that therefore we alfo muft forfake all things. In the ftory of the wo- " man of Samaria, the woman is a type of the foul, the five hulbands " whom flie has had are the five fenfes ; with these ftie had finned, and " therefore are they dead. Chrift fays : ' Bring hither thy huft)and ;' this " is Free-will. She replies : ' I have no huftiand :' on which Chrift fays : " ' Thou haft well faid I have no hufljand ;' that is, her Free-will was not " her own, but in bondage to fin, etc." Mafter Eckart's Dodrines. 8i have quitted his profefforfliip fome years before, as, on account of the feverity of his morals and the firmnefs of his charader, he was appointed, in 1304, Provincial ofthe Dominican Order in Saxony, where he laboured with fuch fuccefs in the reftoration of difcipline, that three years later he was made Vicar-General of Saxony, with the exprefs commiffion to undertake any improvements and reforms in the Order that he might judge neceffary. In this new fphere of adion, likewife, he foon became cele brated as a preacher and metaphyfical teacher. From this date, when he was held in reverence by the Church, he difappears from our view for a fpace of fome years ; after which we find him in Stralburg, divefted of his dignities, but preaching with great effed his peculiar dodrines, now in his mature life elaborated into a fyftem which has been claimed by Hegel and fome of his difciples as the parent of the German philofophy.* To fay whether this claim is juft would require a knowledge of Hegel and his fchool, which I do not poffefs.*]- That which was the aim of all Eckart's reafonings, to which all elfe was but a means, was the perfed repofe of a fpirit in abfolute union with God, and dwelling in a region far above the clouds and tempefts * See Schmidt's Eckart. Theol.'Stud. u. Krit. 1839, S. 663. f Neither is my acquaintance with Eckart extenfive ; but I have made no ftatement in the text which does not feem to me fubftantiated by what I have read of his writings. 82 Tauler's Life and Times. of this changeful, barren life of fenfe. He himfelf appears to have attained in a high degree to this ftate of abiding peace ; yet his writings are pervaded by a ftrain of deep lamentation over the imperfedions of this earthly fphere, and the mifery arifing from a fenfe of feparation from God. In fad, he certainly retains a pofitive and vivid fenfe of the nature of fin ; whether this be confiftent with Pantheifm or Hegelianifm, I leave thofe better qualified to judge. In the paffionate endeavour to free himfelf from the entanglements of the creature, and to enter uito living union with God, he, however, undoubtedly does not efcape the danger of merging created exiftence in the one uncreated Effence which alone has true Being, and forgetting the hmits that bar our approach to the Infinite. Thus he fays : " That word, I am, can none truly fpeak " but God alone." " He has the Subftance of all creatures " in Himfelf; He is a being that has all Being in Him- " felf." " All tihings are in God, and all things are God." " All creatures in themfelves are naught ; all creatures are " a fpeaking of God." " Doft tihou afls: me what was tiie " purpofe of the Creator when He made the creatures ? " I anfwer, Repofe. Doft thou aik. again what all crea- " tures feek in their fpontaneous afpiration *? I anfwer " again, Repofe. Doft thou aflc a third time what the " foul feeks in all her motions ? I anfwer, Repofe. Con- " fcioufly or unconfcioufly all creatures feek their proper Teftimony to Eckart's Charader. 83 " ftate. The ftone cannot ceafe moving till it touch the " earth ; the fire rifes up to heaven : thus a loving foul " can never reft but in God, and fo we fay God has given ^' to all things th^ir proper place, — to the fifh the water, " to the bird the air, to the beaft the earth, to the foul the " Godhead." " Simple people conceive that we are to fee " God, as if He flood on that fide and we on this. It is " not fo ; God and I are one in the ad of my perceiving " Him." " O noble foul, put on thefe wings to thy feet " and rife above all creatures, and above thine own reafon, " and above the angelic choirs, and above the light that " has given thee ftrength, and throw thyfelf upon the " heart of God; there flialt thou lie hidden from all crea- " tures."' But if, in thus denying a feparate exiftence to the creature, he ufes expreffions which logically condud to Pantheifm, on the other hand his God is clearly a living God; not a mere objed of philofophical thought, but an adual and working reality.* So, again, fome of his ex preffions might feem to imply Antinomianifm, as when he fays : " Whenever a man enters into this union with " God, that God is fo dear to him that he forgets himfelf, " nor feeks himfelf either in time or in eternity, fo oft does * The fecond Sermon in the following coUeftion, which is undoubtedly by him, exhibits the mode in which he prefents abftraft doftrines clothed in a popular form, and is not an unfavourable specimen of his ftyle, though even more fragmentary than fome others of his difcourfes. 84 Tauler's Life and Times. " he become free from all his fins and all his purgatory, " though he fliould have committed all the fins of all " mankind : " and we can hardly doubt, from what we read of the Brethren of the Free Spirit, that fome did abufe Eckart's dodrine of the inward freedom of the fpirit to juftify fin in pretenders to piety. But it does not feem that even his enemies ever doubted of his own high morality; while Quetif and Echard, in their Scriptores ORDiNis Pr^dicatorum, piaifc him as a virum moribus ET SCIENTIA PROBATISSIMUM, OMNI LAUDE SUPERIOREM, and add that a hundred years aft:er him a brgther of his Order fays of him, that he was vita purissimus, expeditus Doctor Ecclesi./E, suo tempore incomparabilis erudi- TIONE, FIDE, conversations ET MORIBUS INSIGNIS. Eckart always endeavours to bring his fpeculations into combination with the theology of the Church; but the interpretation which he puts upon the received dogmas often deviates widely from their fpirit* He evidently * He was, for inftance, accufed of teaching that Hell did not exift : his real teaching was that it confifted in the abfence of God, as appears from the following paffage: — "It is a queftion, what burns in hell? The "^^ Mafters commonly fay. Self-will. But I fay of a truth that Nought " burns in hell. Whereof mark this likenefs. Were you to take a burn- " ing coal and lay it on my hand, if I were to fay that the coal burnt my " hand, I ftiould do it a great injuftice. StriftJy fpeaking, what burns me is " Nought ; for the coal has fomething in it which my hand has not. See, Teftimonies to Eckart's Charader. 85 regards, nay, openly proclaims, outward rites and obferv- ances as not neceffary to the effence of piety. Traces of his familiarity with the Schoolmen may be found in his fubtile and often purely formal diftindions and fyllogifms ; but their fpirit was utterly repugnant to his. On this point Profeffor Schmidt fays : — " Regarding Neoplatonifm " as by no means incompatible with Chriftianity, his " philofophical views refemble in their general tendency " thofe of Dionyfius Areopagita, combining with them " the myftical elements contained in the writings of St. " Auguftine. The theory of that great Father refpeding " the total corruption of human nature does not, however, " occur in his writings in the fenfe in which it is under- "ftood by the Church. With Plato himfelf he is not " unacquainted, but cites him feveral times, calling him " ' the great Parfon' (Der grosse Pfaffe). Scotus Eri- " gena, the tranflator of the Platonizing Dionyfius, though " not named in his writings, muft be regarded as fumifh- " it is that fame Not which burns me. If my hand poflefled all the " effence and qualities of a coal, it would have altogether the nature of " fire ; and then, if you were to throw all the fire that ever burnt upon " my hand, it would not give me pain. In like manner, I fay, if God, " and thofe who are in the light of His countenance, have aught of true " bleffednefs which thofe have not who are feparated from God, it is that " fame Not which tortures the fouls that are in hell, more than any fire " or than felf-will." ^6 Tauler's Life and Times. ' ing the flatting point for his theories. Of the other ' myftics of the middle ages he only names St. Bernard. ' But he has not refted within the fyftems advanced by ' any of the philofophers he ftudied ; he made all the ' ideas that he may have derived from them his own, and ' gave them a further development, fo that his pofition is ' that of a thoroughly original thinker." After preaching fome time in Strafburg, Eckart appears ;o have removed to Cologne.. It is not known whether )r not he had found it necefiary to leave the former city ; 3ut it feems not improbable that he may have fallen under iccufation of herefy there, from the circumftance that nany of the propofitions condemned by the Bifhop (John )f Ochfenftein) in 1317, as the dodrines of the Strafburg Beghards, agree, often word for word, with propofitions to 5e found in Eckart's writings. In Cologne he preached Dublicly for a few years in the church of his convent, and :aught in the univerfity; but he was not fuffered to •emain long unmolefted. The way in which his writings vere ufed by the Beghards, who were condemned by the \rchbifhop of Cologne in 1322, appears to have drawn :he attention of the latter to his preaching. He cited Eckart to appear before him, and accufed him of herefy; 3ut as Eckart refufed to fubmit to his fentence, and con- inued to preach, the Archbifhop appealed to the Pope. His writings were at length condemned in a bull dated iiCkart's Death and Condemnation. 87 March 1329, from which it appears that he was then noi more, as it is ftated that he had returned to the Catholic faith before his death. It feems utterly inconfiftent with .the deep convidion that pervades his writings, and the bflexibility of his charader, to fuppofe that he fhould have recanted any of his dodrines; but probably he merely expreffed his adherence to the dodrines of the Church, which he never feems to have intended to impugn, but to place upon what he regarded as their true foundation. He never feparated from the communion of the Church, and gathered round him in Cologne a circle of ardent admirers, among whom was probably Tauler* (who feems to have often vifited Cologne), and certainly Sufo, whofe biographer relates : " After thefe dreadful fufferings (of confcience) had lafted near upon ten years, ... he came to the holy Mafter Eckart, and told him of his pain, . . . and the Dodor helped him out of it."f Tauler's influence upon his countrymen has been fo much more powerful and enduring than that of Eckart, that he has often been called erroneoufly the firft of the • Tauler quotes Eckart. See the Second Sermon for the Thirteenth Sunday after Trinity. f See Diepenbrock's Suso. Regenft)urg, 1829. S. 71. A very in terefting account of Sufo's life, concerning which much more is known than of Tauler's, is given in UUman's " Reformers before the Reformation." See p. 190, etc. 88 Tauler's Life and Times. German Myftics, and Eckart reprefented as his pupil. While, however, in his general caft of thought and lan guage, Tauler bears traces of Eckart's influence, his views do not appear at any period to have been identical with thofe of his forerunner. Though inclined to fpeculation, his whole turn of mind and charader was more pradical than that of Eckart, and his attention more direded to the application of religious principles to real life. Even the fermon which, as we have read, he preached before the remarkable change wrought in him through the agency of the great Layman, though difplaying more formahty and fubtlety with lefs of tendernefs, undion, and fpirituality than generally charaderize his later fermons, is yet far lefs abftrufe and metaphyfical, and has far more bearing upon morals and life, than is the cafe with Eckart's difcourfes. There was, however, another femous Dominican preacher at Strafburg, in Tauler's youthful days, Nicolas of Strafburg, who though alfo a myftic, and poffeffing a very powerful intelled, was a man of a very different ftamp from Eckart, and who appears to have always ftood in high favour with the heads of the Church. He was the author of feveral works, and was appointed by Pope John XXII. Nuncio, with the overfight of all the Dominican convents in the province of Germany. I have not had the opportunity of reading any of his produdions ; Pro feffor Schmidt defcribes his preaching as lefs fpeculative Nicolas of Strafburg. 89 and much more popular, intelligible, and pradical than Eckart's, and fays that " his fermons are rather myftical and afcetic than, ftridly fpeaking, metaphyfical; they breathe a profound yearning after inward peace and a glowing love to God, but do not difplay an intelled fo lofty as that of the great Myftic." That he was, however, a man of extraordinary learning is evinced by a work which he wrote on the coming of Anti-Chrift, and the fecond Advent of Our Lord, in order to prove that the numerous legends and prophecies current in that age, as in all times of great calamity and mighty convulfions, were unworthy of credit, and that nothing pofitive was to be leamt from Holy Scripture refpeding the date of future events.* There were many other myftics in Strafburg at this date, of whom nothing is known beyond their names, but this very fad is fufficient to prove the wide diffufion of fuch * In the firft part of this treatife he cites authorities from the heathen authors to prove the truth of Chriftianity to thofe who rejefted t"he Old Teftament with the New. In the fecond, he reviews the writings of the Jews, and refutes their doftrines where they are at variance with Chrif tianity. The third, de Anti-Christo ac fine mundi, contains extrafts from the prophecies of Hildegard, Joachim, and other medieval pfeudo- feers, which he treats with contempt. The whole treatife exhibits a vaft amount of reading in the ancient claflics, as well as the Chriftian and Jewifti writers of the Middle Ages. This work was dedicated to Pope John XXn. 90 Tauler's Life and Times. dodrines in that city. The fame phenomenon alfo meets us in a heretical guife among the fanatical Beghards who fince the clofe of the thirteenth century had filled the Rhenifh provinces with their dodrines of the abfolute freedom of the fpirit, and the abolition of all diftindions between the Creator and the creature. They were de nominated (moft likely by the title of their own choofing) the Brethren and Sifters of the Free Spirit, and made profelytes equally among the laity and clergy. In the year 1317, Bifhop Ochfenftein complains that Alface was full of them, and in a circular to the clergy of his diocefe, he condemns the myftical and pantheiftic dodrines of this fed, whofe members were given over to the fecular autho rities, and by them apparently puniflied with imprifon- ment. * Whether or no Eckart was conneded with them, they do not feem to have exercifed any influence upon Tauler ; for in his fermons he repeatedly inveighs againft "the Free Spirits," who he fays, " ftriving after a falfe freedom, and on pretext of following the inward light, follow only the inclinations of their own nature." But befides the Beghards, there were ftiU lingering in Southern Germany and Italy, remains of the Albigenfes and Waldenfes and Manichean Cathari, — reverers of the Abbot Joachim's Eternal Gofpel of the Holy Ghoft (tiiat was to overthrow the Gofpel of tiie Son),— believers in tiie vifions ofthe Prophetefs Hildegard,— adherents of tiie Influence of^the Mendicant Orders. 91 revolutionary Oliva and Fra Dolcino. There were, in deed, many reafons why herefies and religious divifions fhould abound in thefe regions at this period. Not only was the German Empire, as we fhall foon fee, torn by political diffenfions, which in many ways were interwoven with the religious controverfies then afloat, but there was variance between the heads of the Church and its moft efficient fervants, — the devoted, hard-working, enthufiaftic Francifcans. The two Mendicant Orders were formed to reclaim for the Papacy her empire over the human mind, which in the twelfth century was threatened on the one hand by the moral purity and elevation of the Albigenfes, who almoft occupied the faireft provinces of France, on the other by the learning and civilifation no lefs than the arms of the Mahometan infidels; and faithfully had they accomplifhed their vocation, by turns refuting heretics by their learning or dazzling them by miracles, outfhining them in afcetic purity, crufhing them by the Inquifition, or winning them by felf-devoted charity. While the higher ecclefiaftics, above all the Papal court, were enor- moufly wealthy, and, with few exceptions, abforbed in fecular objeds and pleafures, — the parochial clergy like- wife often worldly and vicious, generally ignorant and inert, — the wandering friars came among the negleded flocks, roufed them from the fleep of fin, reclaimed the vicious, convinced the fcoffer, brought hope to the 92 Tauler's Life and Times. wretched, confolation to the fick and dying; and, as a natural refult, the people were eager to exprefs their gratitude by placing their property in the hands of the Order which had fhown fuch zeal for their fouls. And thus, though forbidden by their original conftitution to hold property, in a few years the amount of wealth which they accumulated from the bequefts of the dying was fo large as to excite the jealoufy of the regular clergy, already irritated by the friars' denunciation of worldlinefs, and the tacit cenfure of themfelves implied in the afcetic lives and burning zeal of their rivals, and they repeatedly demanded the fuppreffion of the two Orders. But within the Orders themfelves had foon fprung up the old ftrife and divifion that feems to threaten the life of all fpiritual organizations in the fecond generation, arifing from the innate antagonifm between the felf- indulgence, prudence, and acquifitivenefs inherent in hu man nature, and the pure but unreafoning fpiritual im- pulfes to which tiiey have owed their exiftence. The Dominicans, with their charaderiftic addrefs, retained the confliding elements within their own bofom, and equally availed themfelves of fervent piety or worldly power. The Francifcans, more enthufiaftic and lefs fir-fighted, divided into two parties,— thofe who cdnfented to hold property in truft for the fee of Rome, and tiiofe termed Spiritual Francifcans, who adhered rigidly to the literal Rife of Monkifti Seds. 93 interpretation of their rule of abfolute poverty. From the latter fprang numerous fpiritual and myftical feds, differing in their tenets, but all coinciding in their fervid faith and their inculcation of poverty and afceticifm, all democratic as regarded hierarchical authority, and many involving all the wealthy and noble in their hatred to wealth and power. Dodrines of this kind were indeed fure to find acceptance among the oppreffed ferfs and lower claffes in general; and by their very effence the Francifcans had entirely caft in their lot with the people. Among thefe feds the FratriceUi, who flourifhed at the beginning of this century, foretold the overthrow of the corrupt and carnal Papacy, and the eftablifhment of a fpiritual kingdom ruled over by "the Perfed." The eremitical Cceleftines, the charitable Beguines, who originally devoted themfelves to works of mercy, the devotional Lollards, nay, probably the brethren and fifters of the Free Spirit, feem alfo to have been offflioots from thefe Spiritual Francifcans. The Pope now ruling had, however, put himfelf in oppofition with thofe of the Spiritual party who remained within the bounds of their Order, and were guilty of no herefy but that of afferting the abfolute poverty of Chrift and His Apoftles. He depofed the General of the Order, and caufed the inmates of many convents to be perfecuted for maintaining a dodrine which ftruck at the root of the Papal authority. In return, they boldly denounced the 94- Tauler's Life and Times. Pope as a heretic, and became important auxiharies to the Emperor Louis IV. in that long ftruggle which occu pies the period we are confidering. They found powerful coadjutors in the profoundly learned and able politicians, — William of Ockham and Marfilio of Padua, whofe writings taught men to inveftigate the origin of the Papal power. But not only from the princes with whom the Pope interfered, and the miferable populace whofe paffions were at the mercy of fanatical preachers or demagogues ; from the burghers in the cities there alfo arofe a ftrenuous oppofition to the outrageous claims and the arbitrary tyranny of the hierarchy. This clafs had long been rifing in wealth and importance ; and in the earlier half of this fourteenth century they succeeded in obtaining a fhare of the government in nearly all the chief cities of Germany ; and the men who had emancipated themfelves fi-om the temporal rule of the Bifhop and his ariftocracy, and were rejoicing in the frefli air of freedom and the fenfe of man hood, were not inclined to follow any longer blindly and unqueftioningly their fpiritual mafters. With the double eledion of Frederic of Auftria and Louis of Bavaria, who were both crowned on the 25th of November, 1314, at Aix-la-ChapeUe, began a defolating warfare, which lafted for eight years, till the Battle of Muehldorf in 1322 left Frederic a prifoner in the hands of Louis. Strafburg was divided between the rival Em- The Con teft of the Rival Emperors. 95 perors. The Bifliop and the important family of the Zorn were adherents of Frederic ; but the no lefs import ant family of the Muellenheim declared for Louis; and the latter had the greater part of the citizens on their fide. Thus, when Frederic afcended the Rhine and arrived in Stralburg in January 1315, he was not received as their fovereign by the citizens, but merely treated as an illuftri- ous gueft; while, on the contrary, the Bifliop and clergy paid him regal honours, which procured them various proofs of his favour. Louis, on hearing in his camp at Spires the condud of the citizens, confirmed the liberties and privileges of the city. When, five years later, in Auguft 1320, Louis came with his army to Strafburg, the burghers folemnly tendered him allegiance in the cathedral, in return for which he again confirmed their privileges ; but the clergy had fufpended the offices of public worfliip, and the greater part of the nobles ftill fided with them. On the captivity of Frederic, moft of the imperial cities of Alface came over to Louis ; but this did not reftore concord to the afflided land : for Pope John XXII., bent upon the humiliation of Louis, whofe popularity and power were fuch as threatened to render him too inde pendent of the Holy See, now interfered in the affairs of the Empire, and by his perfiftent refufal to acknowledge Louis brought down unfpeakable calamities on Europe, while he ftirred up the people to a refiftance which could ^6 Tauler's Life and Times. not but in the end prove fatal to tiieir reverence for the Papal Chair. So long as the ftrife lafted between Frederic and Louis, John XXII., while claiming it as his right to decide between them, had refrained from pronouncmg any adual decifion for either party; but as foon as the former was fubdued, and there was a profped of peace, he inftituted a procefs againft the vidorious Louis for affuming the title of King of the Romans before receiving the Papal fandion, admonifhed him to lay down all his powers, and forbade his fubjeds to render further fealty to him. But when in the following year it appeared that the real objed of the Pope was to depofe Louis altogether, and raife the King of France to the throne, the Diet affembled at Frankfurt declared almoft unanimoufly for their brave Emperor, in defiance of the unrighteous claims of the Romifli See. The Pope in retum laid all who had acknowledged Louis under interdid in July 1324, from which fome places were not releafed for fix and twenty years. It muft not be forgotten what this fentence in volved, how intimately its confequences were felt in every parifli and every home, when the churches ftood filent and empty for years, the lawlefs and wicked were left unwarned, and the pious deprived of the confolation of worfliip and the holy communion during all this moft dark and troubled period. But, in fpite of its terrors, the German people, and even the greater part of the clergy, The Politics of Strasburg. 97 took part with their princes, with the exception, however, of the Bifliops of Paffau and Stralburg. The city of Stralburg, however, remained faithful to Louis, refifting by force the officers who attempted to proclaim the Papal fulmination againft the Emperor, and fending troops to his affiftance. The Bifliop John von Ochfenftein died in 1338; but his fucceffor, Berthold von Bucheke, trod in his footfteps. Strafburg itfelf, like moft of the German cities, took but little heed of the Interdid and the repeated fentences of excommunication hurled againft Louis by the Pope. The internal divifion ftill continued, headed by the two families of Zorn and Muellenheim, till in 1332 a fanguinary conteft took place, which refulted in the overthrow of the old conftitution of the city, and the introdudion of the craftfmen into the Senate. But the new magiftrates and the Bifhop remained as much at variance as ever. In 1338, the latter induced his Metro politan, the Archbifhop of Mayence, to convene an affem- bly of German Bifhops at Spires, from which the prelates defpatched an addrefs to the Pope Benedid XIL, eameftly befeeching him to be reconciled with Louis, and put an end to this lamentable ftate of difcord. Their petition was fupported by envoys from the Eftates of the Empire, moved thereto by Louis, who declared himfelf ready to yield all obedience to the Holy See which was confiftent with God's glory, his own juft right, and the weal of the 98 Tauler's Life and Times. Empire. But as, in fpite of thefe and fimilar efforts, the Pope continued to prefcribe conditions which made a reconciliation impoffible, the Bifliop of Strafburg continued to withftand the Emperor, and do all that lay in his power to injure the imperial caufe in Alface. Louis now re folved to refort to decifive meafures againft this reftlefs adverfary, and in 1329 commanded the Rhenifh cities to join the Duke Rudolf of Bavaria and Conrad Lord of Kinkel, in attacking Berthold. The latter, having for allies the Duke of Auftria, the Count of Wurtemberg, the Bifliop of Bafle, and other nobles, took the field, be leaguered feveral cities of Alface, and laid wafte the furrounding country : his opponents carried reprifals into his territories. Stralburg, wearied out with the mifery caufed by this never-ceafing contention, at fength declared to the Bifliop that it would no longer yield him obedience unlefs he made peace with the Emperor; and the Prelate, whofe arms had moreover met with reverfes, and whofe finances were exhaufted, fearing left the other towns of his diocefe fliould follow the example of Stralburg, re folved to do homage to Louis and receive inveftiture from him, under the refervation of abfolute obedience to the Pope, while he fent an envoy to Benedid XII. reprefent- ing his defperate condition, and requefting permiffion to fheathe the fword. Both Emperor and Pope conceded his requefts; and from this time forward he did aU that Effeds of the Interdid. 99 he could to maintain tranquillity within his bifhopric, which was the more neceffary, as the controverfy between the Empire and the Papacy grew more envenomed. After the famous meeting of the Eledoral CoUege at Rhenfe, near Coblenz, in July 1338, had declared that the King of the Romans received his dignity and power folely from the free choice of the Eledors, and the Im perial Diet, held immediately after, had made it a funda- mentallaw of the Empire, that "the imperial dignity is beftowed diredly by God, and he who has been legiti* mately chofen by the Eledoral Princes, becomes thereby King and Emperor without further confirmation by the Pope or any other," — Louis pubhfhed a Manifefto to all Chriftendom, refuting at full length the accufations brought againft him by the previous Pope, and proving that the Pope has no authority to fit in judgment on the Emperon He further commanded that none fliould obferve the papal excommunication and interdid, and fentenced all thofe, whether individuals or whole cities and communi ties, who fhould continue to fubmit to the bann, to be deprived of their rights and liberties. Great was the impreffion made by this bold Edid upon the German people, who rallied more and more uni- verfally around the Emperor who thus defended his own rights and the honour of the Empire. But concord was baniflied further than ever, for the clergy in many cafes IOC Tauler's Life and Times. refifted the Emperor's command to refume the fervices which had been fo long fufpended, while the citizens, who had borne with impatience their terrible deprivation of the facred rites, now on the ftrength of the Edid iffued orders that all the clergy who refufed to perform fervice. fliould be baniflied. Many priefts left their churches and removed into other provinces, numerous convents ftood empty of their inmates ; ftill in moft places there remained a fufficient number of priefts and monks to fulfil the duties of their vocation. This was the cafe in Strafburg; the city had already fuffered all the calamities confequent on the Interdid: the clergy had fplit into two parties, the larger number obeyed the Pope's commands; the Auguftinians efpeciaUy had for many years fufpended the performance of all religious fervices. The Dominicans and the Francifcans had availed themfelves of the privilege early granted to their Orders of celebrating mafs during a time of interdid. But now, when the Emperor fo openly fet himfelf in oppofition to the Pope, they too, terrified; by the fentence of excommunication hanging over them, refufed in many inftances to fay mafs, on which the Senate of Strafburg proclaimed : — " Either let them go on to fing. Or out of the city let them fpring." The Dominicans in general quitted the city, and Koenig- His Repute as a Teacher. loi fhofen relates in his Chronicle, that they left their convent ftanding empty for more than two years ; but no doubt many of the democratical Francifcans, who had always fupported the Emperor, remained behind. There were, however, as we fhall fee, exceptions in thefe Orders to the general rule, which fliows to how great an extent the brethren muft have been guided by their individual con fcience rather than their corporate organization. Such were the fcenes amidft which Tauler was called to labour as a Chriftian minifter and Dominican monk. Of the manner in which he fulfilled his work, and the viciffitudes of his perfonal career, hiftory has preferved but a fmall number of fads, but thefe, though few, are fignificant. All the teftimonies that have come down to us refpecting him, concur in bearing witnefs to the univerfal affedion and efteem. with which he was regarded. Even fo far diftant as Italy his name was known as a teacher of high repute, who infifted on inward piety. The famous Brother Venturini, of Bergamo, who was refiding at that time under difgrace in a convent at Mar- veges, names him in a letter which he writes to another Dominican in Strafburg, Egenolph von Ehenheim, calling him his beloved John Tauler, and wifhing to enter into correfpondence with him, becaufe he perceives that "through him and others the name of Chrift will be fpread abroad, ever more and more, throughout Germany." 102 Tauler's Life and Times. Egenolph himfelf was one of thefe " others," who were fellow-workers, with Tauler. His early friend, Johann von Dambach, was alfo here at this time. But the moft remarkable trait in this period of Tauler's life is that he not only, unlike moft of his Order, fided with the Emperor in his whole conteft with the Pope, but did not fufpend his adivity when, in 1338, the great ftruggle came between the abfolutely contradidory com mands of his temporal and fpiritual lords, and, as we have feen, his brethren quitted the town, and left their convent deferted for two years. By the departure of nearly all the clergy from Strafburg, Tauler found a ftill wider field of labour ; an.d. from allufions to him in letters of his con temporaries, it appears that he did not confine his exertions to that city, but preached from time to time at various places, from Cologne to Bafle. Before the clofe of 1338 he feems to have made a fomewhat lengthened vifit to the latter city, where the ftate of things was very fimilar to that in Strafburg. The Bifliop of Bafle belonged to the opponents of Louis of Bavaria, and made common caufe with the Bifliop of Strafburg in attacking the adherents of tiie Emperor in 1339. The citizens again, like thofe of Strafburg, had remained faithful to Louis, and had even gone fo far in their hoftility to tiie Pope, tiiat when, in 1330, John XXII. defpatched an envoy to publifli his bull againft the Emperor, the incenfed mob hurled him, His Vifit to Bafle. 103 although a prieft and a dignitary, from the citadel into the river ; and, when he tried to fave himfelf by fwimming, put out in boats after him and flew him. During the Interdid, however, moft of the clergy, and efpeciaUy the monks, had forfaken the churches, fo that in many places the Sacrament had not been adminiftered for fourteen years; and on the magiftrates ordering them to refume their fundions the greater part had refufed to do fo. About this time, however, the people of Bafle by fome means prevailed on the Pope to relax the feverity of the Interdid for the fpace of a year. In Bafle Tauler met with an old friend, Henry of Nordlingen, from whofe letters moft of the fcanty notices of Tauler during this period are derived. He was a prieft from Conftance, which city he had been obliged to leave on account of his refufal to preach; for though a Bavarian by birth, and intimately conneded with Tauler and others of fimilar views, he did not recognize Louis as the lawful Emperor. He is principally known by his correfpondence with a very remarkable woman, Marga- retha Ebner, a nun at the Convent of Maria Medingen, in the diocefe of Augfliurg. Her fifter Chriftina was Abbefs of the Convent of Engenthal, near Nuremberg. Both were diftinguiflied by their mental endowments as well as ¦ their earneft piety, and were evidently held in great refped by Tauler, Sufo, and others of that party. They fer m 104. Tauler's Life and Times. alfo to have taken up a very decided pofition amidft- the ecclefiaftical commotions of their age, and were zealous partizans of Louis. Chriftina, famous for her vifions, in one of her trances fees the Romifli Church in the likenefs of a magnificent Cathedral, the doors of which are, how ever, clofed by reafon of the Interdid. The finging of the priefts within is heard; a crowd of people are ftanding round, but dare not enter. On a fudden a man in the garb of a preaching friar comes up to the nun, and tells her that he will give her words wherewith to confole the forfaken multitude ; and this man is Chrift. Tauler occafionally vifited both thefe nuns, and was in correfpondence with Margaretha*, whom he urges to write down her vifions refpeding the ftate of Chriftendom and the friends of God. For him they had a deep venera tion, and conftantly call him "our dear Father Tauler." Chriftina learns, in one of her revelations, that he is " the holieft of God's children now living on earth," that " the fpirit of God breathes through him, as fweet mufic through a lute ;" Margaret fpeaks, too, fometimes of the joy that flie has had in the prefence of this great friend of God, and how hard it has been to part with him. She appears * Only one fliort letter, however, has been preferved, from having been placed among thofe of Henry Nordlingen, and it is too unimportant for in- fertion. Henry of Nordlingen. 105 to have ftood rather in the relation of a wife Chriftian friend and counfellor, than of a fpiritual child, to Henry of Nordlingen, who from his letters feems to have been a man of gentle, pious fpirit, more fitted for a quiet con templative life than for the energetic adivity required by the troublous times in which his lot was caft. He, like Tauler, was filled with anguifli at the fight of the diftrefs of thofe around him ; but while Tauler's grief ftirred him up to vigorous efforts in their behalf, and his courage and energy rofe with the emergency, the timid and hefitating Henry was unable to furmount the difficulties in which he found himfelf involved, and the greater the preffure of the times, the greater was his perplexity and longing for peace. Yet, when his fcrupulous confcience allowed him to preach, his labours appear to have been fruitful in refult. This was the cafe during Tauler's vifit to Bafle, where he had previoufly been fojourning for fome time in inadivity, after long wandering and much diftrefs.* * His letters give a lively pifture of the real dangers to which his politics expofed him. Thus he fays, "I have been called before the " princes of this world, who have profcribed me, fo that there is no place " of fafety for me in this land, unlefs I would confent to perform mafs." Again, hc would come to Margaretha, but " I may not as yet dare to " appear openly in this land." " If the Emperor ftiould leave the country, " perhaps I might be able to fee thee, if it were God's will." " At Con- " ftance and in the neighbouring country the priefts have been everywhere io6 Tauler's Life and Times. When the Pope allowed public worfliip to be celebrated for a year at Bafle, Henry's friends, without his know ledge, procured him permiffion to preach, and give a forty days' indulgence; and he then ventured to appear in public, encouraged by Tauler's influence and counfel Thus he fays : — " Afterwards I came to Bafle, to my and thy dear faithful Father Tauler (who was with me at thy houfe), and he helped me in every way he could with all fidehty." He then writes : — " The great mercy has been " granted us that we may celebrate mafs in pubhc, with " the Pope's permiffion; and now do the hungry fouls " come with great defire to receive the Lord's body, which " they have not been able to enjoy for fourteen years in " Chriftian obedience. And now I entreat you, with " fpecial eameftnefs, that you pray to God for all thofe " whom I feed with His Body, that we may receive His " Holy Sacrament in His love, and adminifter it to His " eternal glory, and the confolation of all Chriftian fouls." He now preached every day, and often twice a day, befides performing mafs daily ; and fo many of all claffes ftreamed to confefs to him that he was overwhelmed with his duties, and writes to his friend : " If I could manage " it, I would gladly come to you ; but I am not my own. " ordered to fing mafs, fo that I do not know where I ftiall be able to Henry of Nordlingen. 107 " I am the property of the whole Chapter, and the moft " important parifhes. The people at Bafle are not willing " that I fliould leave them, neither, indeed, fliould I have " courage to travel openly about the country ; for I fliould " be at the mercy of any ruffian or thief, and if aught " befell me, no complaint would be laid againft him. Still " I truft in the Lord that He will fuffer me to fee thee, " my heart's true confolation." But fome months later he writes : " Methought I clung too much and with too " carnal feelings to the eafe, the luxurious and pleafant " fociety, and the earthly comforts that I enjoyed at Bafle. " In truth I knew not that I did fo while I had them, but " felt it fully when I forfook them. Befides, I perceived " in my heart, through many fuggeftions and admonitions, " that my labours might be more needed elfewhere than " at Bafle, and fo I ventured my departure for the fake " of Chrift and his flock, and have exchanged the mar- " velloufly holy and pleafant and acceptable fociety there " for all manner of difcomfort to my inward and outward " man, by night and by day ; fo that now I muft perforce " retreat into myfelf, and take refuge in my own confola- " tion, Chrift Jefus, if I were unwilling to do fo before." By the perfuafion of Tauler, Henry appears now for a time to have preached even in places which ftill lay under the Interdid, but afterwards, terrified by the violent cenfure of the clergy for his condud, to have fubmitted again to io8 Tauler's Life and Times. the papal prohibition, and refumed his wanderings. Tauler, on the contrary, waited for no papal permiffion to do that which he confidered to be the bounden duty of a clergy man, and after his vifit to Bafle it appears from Henry's letters that he travelled more than once as far as Cologne. In this city, where Mafter Eckart had fpent the latter years of his life, numerous preachers had gone forth from his fchool, who continued to promulgate his dodrines with more or lefs ability and originality. Nicolas of Strafburg, too, was at this time leduring at Cologne, probably driven from Strafburg by the troubles to which his papal politics would expofe him at this period. This was the cafe alfo with Tauler's old friend, Johann von Dambach, who had not only declared that during the Interdid it was the duty of a pious Chriftian to fubmit unconditionally to the Church, but even compofed feveral tradates to prove the juftifiablenefs of the Interdid from the Canon law. Yet, as we have feen Tauler and the Ebners in undifturbed friendfhip with Henry of Nordlingen, in fpite of differences which entered fo deeply into the life of thofe times, fo, notwithftanding Dambach's antagoniftic opinions, and his removal to the diftant Prague*, the connedion between him and Tauler was not broken off, as is proved by the * He was made Profeflbr at the newly-eftabliftied Univerfity there in 1347- His "Hiftory and Life" by Nicolas. 109 circumftance, that after 1350 he fent his book, "De sen- siBiLiBus DELiciis PARADisi," to their Alma Mater, the College of St. Jacques, in Paris, in their joint names. We now arrive at the date when that great change was produced in Tauler with which the foregoing " Hiftory" has acquainted us. Till recently, little was known of the " Hiftory," beyond the fad that it was found attached to fome MSS. of Tauler's fermons, and many have doubted of its genuinenefs. Quetif and Echard, for inftance, have treated it as a mere allegory. By dint of laborious refearches among the old MSS. of the libraries of Strafburg and Sarnen, and ingenious combinations of the refults thence obtained, Profeffor Schmidt has not only eftablifhed, in a way that it feems to me muft be fatisfadory to any one who goes through the evidence, that this Tradate is a perfedly genuine and truthful produdion, the work of the layman who profeffes to have written it, but alfo has fucceeded in identifying this layman with a myfterious perfonage, called the Great Friend of God, in the Ober- land, the head of a fecret religious affociation; and the latter again, with a certain Nicolas of Bafle, whofe name, however, only occurs twice ; once in the account of his own martyrdom, once in that of one of his difciples. The moft important of the MSS. examined by Profeffor Schmidt is a large folio volume, only recently difcovered in the archives of StraflDurg, and formerly belonging to the IIO Tauler's Life and Times. Convent of the Knights of St. John in that city, caUed a Briefbuch [book of letters], and is for the moft part a colledion of letters and papers left by Rulman Merfwin, the founder of the convent. This Rulman Merfwin was a friend of Tauler (who was for fome time his confeffor), and, in the latter part of his life, of the " Layman," Nicolas, by whofe advice he built a house for the Brethren of St. John, on an ifland at Strafburg called the Gruenen- Worth (green meadow), and with whom he was in conftant cor refpondence up to the time of his death in 1382. Several portions of this extremely curious Briefbuch were care fully copied into the archives of the convent, forming what is called its Memorial*, but the codex itfelf did not belong to the public archives of the houfe, being kept fecret from all but a few, on account of the private letters and notes contained in it, and therefore treafured up with peculiar care. So late as the feventeenth century, this was ftill the cafe, and a reader of that period has traced on the outer covering of the Codex the words : " liber iste RELIGIOSE cusTODiENDUs." The documcnts of which it confifts were arranged, and moft of them copied out, by Nicolas von Laufen, who (according to a few notices of himfelf, which he has inferted at the clofe of the Brief- * The documents reladng to the founders of the houfe are fo called. Of this Memorial four copies are known to exift. Nicolas of Bafle. Ill buck) feems to have accompanied Rulman Merfwin as his fecretary, on taking poffeffion ofthe newly-built Gruen en- Worth in 1366, and a few years later to have become a prieft of the order of St. John. The codex contains among other lefs important matter, a MS. called " The Book of the Five Men," being an account of Nicolas and his four companions, in the handwriting of Nicolas himfelf; twenty-two of his letters, apparently copied by Nicolas von Laufen, and the original MS. of Rulman Merfwin's account of the firft four years of his religious hiftory, in his own handwriting. Thus, after a lapfe of five hundred years, we are able to learn more about this extraordinary half-mythical " Friend of God in the Ober- land," than his very contemporaries knew. From thefe documents we are able to obtain a general idea of the charader and work of Nicholas, though the adual courfe of his hiftory, efpeciaUy during the earlier part of his life, is ftill almoft entirely fhrouded from view. All that we can difcover refpeding the commencement of his career is, that about the year 1328 or 1330, he was a youth of good family at Bafle*, wealthy, univerfally efteemed, and poffeffed of abilities that enfured him fuc cefs in all that he undertook. Neverthelefs, he was * The place of his abode is not certain, but inferred from the dialeft of the Traftate found in his own handwriting. See Schmidt's Gottes freunde, S. 32. 112 Tauler's Life and Times. unhappy, from the confcioufnefs of his finfulnefs and ignorance of divine things. Being, as a layman, unin- ftruded in Holy Scripture, he fought to mafter religious truths by the exercife of his reafon; but his efforts to obtain fatisfadion were in vain. For years he ftruggled with his own intelledual difficulties and the temptations of the world. One day, as he was meditating on the tranfitory nature of all earthly things and the rapid flight of time, the thoughtleffnefs, finfulnefs, and thorough for- getfulnefs of God in all thofe around him were prefented in fuch vivid colours to his mind, that it feemed incon ceivable to him how man could take any delight in this vain world ; and then, as the thought of his own wafted time rofe to his remembrance, he was filled with fuch bitter remorfe that he refolved from that moment to renounce the world and dedicate his life to God. To this end, as we have feen*, he read the lives of the faints and imitated their aufterities. This difcipline he had carried on for five years before he found peace in the way he defcribes in the " Hiftory." He afterwards fet himfelf to ftudy the Scrip tures (no doubt in Latin), and fays that in a fpace of thirty weeks he had come to be able to underftand it as thoroughly, and " fpeak as good grammar, as if he had " ftudied all his days in the beft Univerfities ;" which * See p. 20. The Friends of God. 113 extraordinary facility of acquifition he refers to fpecial divine affiftance. We know no more of him till we find him at the head of a fociety of " Friends of God," who five with him in utter feclufion from the world, and forin the fecret centre of a wide circle of religious adivity, un- conneded with any recognized order, but yet not over- ftepping the pale of the Church. The title of " Friends of God" is one which meets us continually in the writings of thofe who are termed myftics in the fourteenth century, and is ufed in various connec tions. Sometimes it feems to denote thofe who were par takers of a fpiritual in oppofition to a formaliftic piety; fometimes to denote the members of a particular body. Among thofe called " Friends of God" we find the names of individuals widely differing from each other in rank, vocation, opinion, and career; for they counted among their members Dominicans, fuch as Eckart, Tauler, Sufo of Conftance, and Henry of Nordlingen, and Francifcans, fuch as Otto of Paffau ; Knights married and fingle ; nuns like Chriftina and Margaretha Ebner, and a Queen, Agnes the widow of King Andrew of Hungary; the rich banker, Rulman Merfwin, and Conrad, the Abbot of Kaiferfheim in Bavaria, who boafts, in a letter to Henry of Nordlingen, that he has not accepted the Bifhop of Augfburg's abfolu tion either for himfelf or his monastery ; Conrad Brunfberg, again, the Grand-Mafter of the Knights of St. John in 114- Tauler's Life and Times. Germany, befides the layman, Nicolas of Bafle, and the great myftical author of the Netherlands, Ruyfbroeck. The appellation common to all thefe, with numbers of lefs diftinguiflied perfons, would feem to have been ufed among themfelves to denominate thofe who could not but feel that they were more alive to the realities of religion and its fpiritual nature than was the cafe with the multi tude around them. That thofe poffeffing common fym- pathies on the fubjeds of higheft import, fliould inftindively feek out and cling to each other, and thus an affociation fliould fpontaneoufly grow up, even without any definite plan, is a natural and inevitable procefs, where a real, deep religious life has arrived at felf-confcioufnefs ; and from a comparifon of the paffages in which Tauler and Henry of Nordlingen ufe the term " Friends of God," it appears to me that in the firft inftance the fenfe of having entered into a living, perfonal union with God, bringing with it a yearning pity for finners, and a fervent defire to bring them to the fame bleffed ftate, was the fole diftindion and bond of tiie "Friends of God." It is at all events clear that tiheir union for common adion was utterly independent ofthe attitude they affumed towards the great confliding queftions of the day; for, as we have feen in the Abbot of Kaiferflieim, and Henry of Nordlingen, tiiofe are called " Friends of God," and treat each odier as bretiiren, who are as far afunder in their The Friends of God not a Sed. 115 politics as the Chartifts and High Tories of our own days.- Neither did they form a fed, but, on the contrary, repu diated the idea, as is fhewn by the following paffage from Tauler's fermon on the twenty-fecond Sunday after Trinity, which I think, too, confirms this view of their origin. "The prince of this world has now-a-days been fowing " brambles among the rofes in all diredions, infomuch that " the rofes are often choked, or forely torn by the bram- " bles. Children, there muft needs be a flight or a diftinc- " tion ; fome fort of a feparation, whether within the " cloifters or without, and it does not make them into a " fed, that the ' Friends of God ' profefs to be unlike the " world's friends." The remark that the " Friends of God" were not a fed, would feem to prove that this accu- fation was brought againft them; but, indeed, proof of this would feem fuperfluous, for then, as in all other times, it would infallibly happen that the unworldly and fpiritual- minded, who recognized a nobler fort of religion than that comprifed in the due obfervance of religious rites and decent moral condud, fliould be charged with fedarianifm and fufpeded of herefy, even if they broached no new dogmas, and went no farther than to bring out in their teaching and pradice the real fignificance of the Church's ordinances. But the greater the finfulnefs and deadnefs to religion in a particular age, the more ftrongly marked muft be the ii6 Tauler's Life and Times. line of demarcation between the carelefs and the earneft ; for the religious are thus obliged to abftain from pleafures md occupations which, innocent in themfelves, have become corrupt. At the fame time, too, the danger of snthufiafm, and miftaking one's own natural emotions for dired Divine influence, will be greateft when fuch in fluences, known to be real by the pious, are altogether denied by the world in general. lUuftrations will inftantly fuggeft themfelves to the mind of the reader from the experience of our own Church in the times of Wefley and Whitfield; and in hke manner, amidft the univerfal deadnefs of the Lutheran Church in the feventeenth :;entury, arofe the Pietiftic movement of Spener and Franke. Thus the great wickednefs, efpeciaUy of the clergy, the contentions and dreadful cataftrophes which mark the firft half of the fourteenth century, would impel the pious to come out from the world, and ftimulate them to fpecially earneft and dired efforts to enkindle the religious life of the people. And fo, during the terrors of the Interdid, they feem to have formed an affociation with no declared boundary, yet whofe boundaries would be moft diftindly recognized by all who were within the line. To the. name they adopted, the text John xv. 15. feems to have given occafion; for Tauler fays: "Then " faid our Lord to His difciples, ' From henceforth I call " ' you not fervants, but friends.' The ' henceforth ' that Dodrines of the Friends of God. 117 " he fpoke was from the time when they had forfaken all " things and followed Him. Then were they his friends, " and not fervants ; and therefore he who will be a true " friend of God muft leave all things and follow after " Him." From this paffage, in the fpirit of which many others concur, we fee at once in what the right to this title confifted — -namely, in the thorough felf-furrender to God, the forfaking all things to follow God alone. But while this principle, which furely we muft recog nize as that which does really conftitute the friends of God in all ages, was brought out into peculiar prominence by thefe German Gottesfreunde, their views could not fail to be coloured by the modes of thought and the cir cumftances of their age. Thus, in order to this entire devotednefs to God, we find a renunciation, fo far as may ' be, of all earthly cares and ties recommended by them ; thus, too, we fee that their faith in God's dired, perfonal dealings with the individual foul is apt to be accompanied by a fuperftitious regarding of infignificant phenomena, or even the mere effeds of an over-adive fancy, as a pofitive intimation of His will. Some of us, too, would be in clined to think that their continual infifting on the duty of paffively yielding up the foul to divine influences, and their exhortations to take all outward things as from God, would involve a danger of falling into an indolent quietifm. But the fad, far from juftifying our expedations, would ii8 Tauler's Life and Times. afford another proof that when we leave off trying to do the work that God will do Himfelf, we fliall find our energies all the more vigorous to accomplifh that which He has fet us to do ; for inftead of regarding the events around them with paffive indifference, like many of the earlier afcetics, they believed themfelves called to exercife a very pofitive influence on the courfe of events. This was in a fpecial fenfe the cafe with Nicolas of Bafle and his immediate companions, whom we find, from the recently difcovered documents, to have entertained plans for the extenfion of religion and the reform of Chriftendom of a wider nature than it was fafe to difclofe even to their brethren indifcriminately, at a time when the Dominican inquifitors (who, moreover, were of the Papal, while moft of the "Friends of God" were of the Imperial party) were adively engaged in hunting out heretics, efpeciaUy thofe who might betray any leaning to the democratic and reformatory tendencies of the Spiritual Francifcans and their cognate feds. Thus the knot of men who gathered round Nicolas as their centre, feem, as compared with the Gottesfreunde at large, to have formed a church within a church, having fecret fchemes into which the others were not initiated. From hints of fuch private fchemes fcattered in tiie writings of Rulman Merfwin and " tihe Layman," it was formerly imagined that the latter at any rate was a fecret Nicolas of Bafle. 119 Waldenfian; but this idea is not confirmed by more extended refearch ; on the contrary, the importance which he and his friends attach to the rites of the Church, — to obedience to ecclefiaftical fuperiors, — their belief in tran fubftantiation and purgatory, &c., are quite inconfiftent with it. Indeed, the views of Nicolas feem to have been much more in unifon with the dodrine of the Church than thofe of Eckart and his fchool. The only peculiarity of his belief, that I can difcover, is his ftrong confidence in the reality of the vifions and miraculous revelations im parted to himfelf and his friends ; and it muft be remem bered that even this peculiarity he not only fhares in common with the great Luther, who lived two centuries later, and with the liberal and fagacious Wefley, almoft in our own days, but that his fpiritual childhood had been nurtured on the legends ofthe faints, with all their marvels ; and that we fee, from the hiftory of his times, that miracles and revelations were of every-day occurrence, at all events among the Francifcans and fectarians. The fecret of the extraordinary fway which Nicolas obtained, not only over laymen lefs inftruded and priefts lefs thinking than him felf, but even over a man of fuch commanding intelled as Tauler, feems to me to lie in the intenfe glow of his piety, the utter felf-devotion of his own hfe, his force of will, and his real fpiritual infight. Not only did he ftand im- meafurably below Tauler in point of learning, but his I20 Tauler's Life and Times. letters, while affording many traits of fpiritual wifdom and acute pradical fenfe, exhibit neither the refledive nor imaginative power of Tauler's writings. Yet the accom plifhed fcholar, the experienced paftor, the fearlefs politi cian, refigns himfelf implicitly to the guidance of the obfcure layman as his inconteftible fuperior. The crifis which Nicolas was the means of bringing about in Tauler's life is commonly termed a converfion; but from all that we have read of his previous life, it feems clear that it cannot be regarded as what is ordinarily meant by that term. Before it took place Tauler was already a fincere. God-fearing, adive Chriftian minifter, and recognized as their " Father" and leader by the "Friends of God" fcattered up and down Switzerland, Bavaria, and the Rhenifh ftates. Neither can I difcover any converfion, properly fpeaking, in point of dodrinal opinions. Nicolas agrees to all he taught as very good, and blames, not his preaching, but his life. Surely, there fore, this notable change is to be regarded in the light in which Tauler himfelf regarded it; as the coming to a deeper, more real and pradical experience of the things of God. It feems, that with all his fincere piety, and hatred of fin, and abhorrence of the evil world around him, Tauler had never come to a clear confcioufnefs of all the depths of fin concealed in his own heart, or an apprehen- fion of the full import of the utter felf-furrender to God Nature of Tauler's Conversion. 121 which he preached. Such a deficiency of felf-knowledge is indeed more poffible with a confcientious man of Tauler's charader, pure and gentle by nature, than with one of the oppofite, or more ftormy type. It is true that the talk which God lays upon all is the fame — the un ceafing furrender of their own wifhes to the higher aims which He fets fucceffively before them. But with men of paffionate temperament and felfifh habits, who are therefore at every turn expofed by circumftances to violent temptation, their natural wifhes are, for the moft part, fo obvioufly finful that, though the ftruggle of renouncing them may be hard, the duty of doing fo is clear and preffing. And when fuch turn to God, their falls in attempting the Chriftian walk are often frequent enough, or at leaft their battles with temptation fevere enough, to teach them the evil and weaknefs of their own heart. With men, on the other hand, of calm, pure, and affec tionate difpofition, and trained in confcientious habits, fo many of their wifhes are for things harmlefs, or even good in themfelves, that it is lefs eafy to fee why and how they are to be given up. Such men, juft, kindly, and finding tnuch of their own happinefs in that of others, live, for the moft part, in harmonious relations with thofe around them, and have little to difturb their confciences, beyond the fear of falling fhort in the path of duty on which they have already entered. But they are expofed to many 122 Tauler's Life and Times. perils, more infidious, becaufe lefs ftartling, than thofe which befet their more fiercely-tempted brethren. They are in danger of depending too much on the refped and love which others fo readily yield them ; of valuing them felves on a purity which, if ever one of ftruggle, has come to be one of tafte ; of prizing intelledual clearnefs above moral infight and vigour ; of miftaking the pleafure they feel in the performance of duty, for real fubmiffion to the will of God ; and above all, of flirinking from new truths which would, for the time, confufe their belief, and break up the calm fymmetry of their lives. The greater danger to the Chriftian life arifing from thofe hidden heart-fins, than even from finful ads which inftantly wound the con fcience, is a truth which Tauler infifts upon in his fermons fo ftrongly and fo often, nay, fometimes almoft to exagge ration, that one could not but guefs that he was fpeaking from his own experience, even had we not the certainty of it from the " Hiftory." For, as he often declares, dif ferent natures require and receive a very different difcipline from God. Sometimes it is by outward afflidion that God fpeaks to fouls thus finking into the lethargy of formalifm ; and the lofs of friends, or health, or influence fuddenly feems to cut off, as it were, half their means of ferving Him, and to roufe long-forgotten temptations to rife up againft His will. Sometimes, on the other hand. He fpeaks to them inwardly, by opening their eyes to Mental Trials. 123 heights of holinefs, which they had never before fteadily contemplated. They now fuddenly perceive that many of the fancied duties which have till now occupied their lives, and fatisfied their confciences, have long ceafed to be duties, and have come to be mere habits or pleafures ; and that while they have been thus living in felf-love, unfeen and unrepented-of, they might have been coming to the knowledge of the higher obligations to which they have been fo blind, but which were all implied in their firft belief, if they had but continued to read it with a fingle eye. Thus they are weighed down by prefent temptations to which they have long been ftrangers. For, in order to follow the new light granted to them, they muft give up long-cherifhed aims ; relinquifli many oppor tunities of doing good, and even, it may feem, the very faculties for ufing them; and facrifice, not only the good opinion of the world, but the truft and affedion of many who are deareft to them. They fhrink from fuch renun ciation; and then come doubt and perplexity to add to the bitternefs of the ftruggle. Can it be right to abandon fo much that is good and worthy in itfelf, can it be the voice of God that fummons them to do this, or is it not rather a felf-willed fancy of their own ? No : for con fcience cannot be miftaken when it tells us of fin, though it is infufficient to reveal to us duty — and this fierce cling ing to their own wifhes, what is it but the fame obftinate 124 Tauler's Life and Times. refiftance to the will of God, which they have been accuftomed to blame, nay, even wonder at, in the vicious and criminal, whom they have perhaps been feeking to reclaim ? Such a ftruggle, it feems, was that which Tauler had to pafs through before he could fully apprehend or be fitted for the work which God had for him to do. And furely, without fome fuch ftruggle, none can keep long in the right path. For the path to life does not ftretch acrofs the levels of habit, but winds up the heights of afpiration, and at every frefh ftep in the afcent a wider horizon of duty opens to the view. I will not mar the impreffion of the touching narrative given by Tauler himfelf by tranflating the ftory it relates into any weaker words, but leave it to make its own way to the heart of thofe who have hearts to underftand it. There may be fome who are unable to find within the range of their own experience and obfervation any key which can make it found to them like reality and common fenfe, yet confidering the pradical energy and clear judgment of Tauler in other parts of his life, it may furely be worth their pains to ftudy what he confidered of fo much import ance with reverent and felf-diftruftful diligence, rather than rejed it at once as the mere produd of a heated fancy. It feems moft likely that tiie attention of Nicolas had firft been drawn to Tauler during the ftay of the latter with Henry of Nordlingen, in Bafle, in 1338 ; for, accord- Mental Trials. 125 ing to one of the beft MSS. of the " Hiftory," tihe Layman fays, "I have heard much of your dodrine in my own country." Confidering what we know of his previous hiftory, and the accufation of Nicolas that he relied too much on his fcholarfhip, it feems highly probable that Tauler may hitherto have been fomewhat influenced by the caft of thought derived from his Mafter Eckart, in whofe writings the power of Knowing is fo highly exalted that it fometimes is made to take precedence of the faculty of Love. That Nicolas fliould, after hearing Tauler preach a few times, have been able to penetrate his fpiritual condition and deted its great imperfedion, would not appear to imply anything miraculous, but to be merely a rare, though by no means fingular, inftance ofthe fine fpiritual inftind fometimes found in men them felves of extraordinary religious attainments. Tauler Ihows us what he confiders to have been the value of Nicolas to himfelf when he fays, " Therefore for fuch as defire to live for the truth, it is a great affiftance to have a Friend of God, to whom they fubmit themfelves, and who guides them by the Spirit of God It were well worth their while to go a hundred leagues to feek out an experienced Friend of God, who knows the right path and can dired them in it."* * Firft Sermon on the Birth of the Virgin [No. 127 of the Frankfort Edition, 1826]. 126 Tauler's Life and Times. The two years of filence, which muft have been fuch a terrible trial to Tauler's faith and obedience, were com- penfated, not only by inward growth, as is always the cafe with fuch trials, but by the evident increafe of his outward ufefulnefs, fo that he found the truth of Nicolas' affurance, that one of his fermons would bring forth more fruit now than a hundred had before. His preaching is diftinguiflied from that of moft of his brethren among the " Friends of God," by its more fearching application of religious prin ciples to the moral queftions arifing in the various emer gencies of inward experience and outward life. How much more widely ftill muft it have differed from that of the ordinary preachers, who fought to captivate the edu cated by the refinements of fcholaftic logic, employed on queftions of no ufe but to difplay their own ingenuity, or fo entertain the vulgar by marvellous ftories of wonder working faints or demons, — when in fimple eameft lan guage he appealed to the confciences of his hearers, and then fliowed them the way of efcape from the wretched- nefs of their finful fives to the peace of God, which paffeth all underftanding. And when he taught them that they muft forfake the creature and cleave to God alone, it was no felfifh fliutting up of the heart within the narrow fphere of its own emotions and experiences which he preached, for he is continually admonifliing to works of love, and ever places human duties on their true level, meafuring charader of Tauler's Preaching. 127 their value not by the nature of the ad, but by the obedi ence and love involved in its performance. " One can " fpin," he fays, " another can make flioes ; and all tiiefe " are gifts of the Holy Ghoft. I tell you, if I were not a " prieft, I would efteem it a great gift that I was able to " make flioes, and would try to make them fo well as to " be a pattern to all." " The meafure with which we " fhall be meafure d, is the faculty of love in the foul, — " the will of a man ; by this fliall all his words and works " and life be meafured. . . ." But that which feems to me the moft ftriking charader iftic of Tauler's fermons is his profound fympathy with the fpirit of Chrift's life, efpeciaUy with his infinite forrow over the fins of others. This is, indeed, a charaderiftic of the "Friends of God" in general, but is expreffed with greater force and beauty in Tauler than in the other writers of the fame fchool. In this fenfe they fpecially deferve the title which they affumed ; for, more than any other clafs of religious writers with whom I am acquainted, do they feem to have entered into that intenfe appreciation of the evil of fin, mingled with endlefs grief and com- paffion for its flaves, which could overwhelm the Saviour's mind with agony. It is true that a large proportion of his fermons are addreffed to the inmates of cloifters, and have fpecial reference to their peculiar requirements and dangers. But 128 Tauler's Lite and Times. we muft remember that he lived in an age when the focial relations were in a ftate of diforganization ; and in thofe times of general diftrefs and perplexity, when the outward miniftrations of the Church and the means of obtaining -religious inftrudion were often cut off for long together, the number of thofe who retired into convents had become very large. There were great numbers, too, of laymen and women, who, without entering any Order, withdrew from the world and formed communities or unions (called Sammenungen), dwelling together without any monaftic rules, yet differing little in their mode of life from the regular monks. Tauler often refers to thefe communities in his fermons. Their members generally chofe Domini cans or Francifcans for their confeffors, and a great number of this clafs appear to have attached themfelves to Tauler. They found in him, however, a fevere cenfor of the faults to which their reclufe life rendered them peculiarly liable, — the relying on outward ads of piety, defpifing thofe who are outfide, killing the body, which is God's inftrument, with aufterities, or allowing themfelves to wafte their time and fill their minds with trivialities, while imagining the fad of their being " religious" to make them fafe. He is faid by Specklin to have made the reformation of the lives of the clergy a fpecial objed of his efforts. The ftatutes paffed for the regulation of their condud by a fynod convened by Bifliop Berthold in 1 335, for the pur- Manners of the Clergy. 129 pofe of removing abufes, gives a lively pidure of the inordinate covetoufnefs, and utter negled of the duties of their vocation, which prevailed among the clergy of Stralburg at this time. It is the more remarkable, that the Bifliop fliould have found it neceffary to take fuch ftrong meafures during the folemn period of the Interdid, when the very ftruggle in which the clergy were engaged with the civil power, might have been expeded at leaft to roufe them to lead a more decorous and fober life. From the ftatutes of this fynod, we fee that the clergy not unfrequentiy alienated the property of the Church to lay men, or borrowed money at high intereft from the Jews, in order to gratify their propenfity to oftentation and pleafure. There were even fome who entered into trade. The younger and more wealthy efpeciaUy diftinguiflied themfelves by their extreme fondnefs for difplay, and the Bifhop complains that, inftead of going about clad with due decorum in their proper prieftly garb, they allowed their hair to grow long in order to conceal the tonfure, wore boots of red, yellow, and green, and adorned their coats with gold lace and gay ribbons ; that they ftrutted about in the ftreets equipped witih rapiers and fwords, attended tournaments, frequented the public taverns, and were the moft jovial of boon-companions at the drinking- bouts ofthe laymen. In fome of the more wealthy nun neries, too, things had come to fuch a pitch, that the ladies 130 Tauler's Life and Times. dreffed magnificently, took part in the amufements of the tournament, and even danced with laymen in their taverns. In reference to fuch, Tauler fays : " If we look around " us, we fee that the greater part of the world are enemies " of God ; and among thefe we muft account certain who " are fervants of God by conftraint, who muft be forced to " do any fervices for Him, and the little that they do is " not done out of love or devotion, but fimply out of " fear. . . . They are common hired fervants of God ; " and fuch are all thofe priefts and nuns and the like, who " take up a religious life for the fake of revenues and fees, " and if they were not fecure of thefe, they would not " ferve God at all, but turn round altogether, and confort " with the enemies of God. Thus they feek their own " pleafure in dainty fare, drefs, jewels, vanity, and the " admiration of others, wherever they can find it. Nay, " verily, at laft they muft have a fpoufe. ' Ah, dear Lord,' " they fay, ' it is no harm ; it is a fpiritual love. We " muft enjoy ourfelves a little ; we muft have fome recre- " ation ; we cannot do without it. See, dear Lord, we " are fpiritual people, we are in an Order.' But put on as " many cowls and hoods as thou wilt, they will help thee " nothing, if thou doeft not what thou oughteft of right to " do. There was once a man who fell into fin, and he " put on a cowl, but did not give up his fin. The Devil " came and took the man, and tore him into a hundred Resentment of the Clergy. 131 " pieces, and left the cowl whole, but carried off the man, " body and soul, to the amazement of all beholders. " Therefore take heed to yourfelves, knowing how full " the world is of fuch bargainers with God, among monks " and nuns."* Tauler's denunciations of this clafs brought him, of courfe, many enemies among the clergy, who hated the ftridnefs of his principles and condud ; and they ftrove in various ways to diftort his words, in order to find grounds for accufation againft him. Thus he fays, — " Children, I " muft tell you in love, that I am unjuftly accufed of " having declared that I would hear no one's cpnfeffion " unlefs he firft promifed me to do everything that I " wifhed. That is a very unjuft word : ' what I wiflied.' " I wifh no one to do anything beyond that which is " written, and I beg no man to promife me more than " that."f He had alfo to defend himfelf againft more ferious charges, for his enemies not only ridiculed him for making so much of the inward work, but called him and his followers unorthodox innovators. Thus he fays : " But if one come and warn them of the horrible danger " in which they are living, and what a fearful death they * Sermon for the Eighth Sunday after Trinity. f Sermon on Affumption Day [No. 125 of the Frankfort Edition, 1826I. 132 Tauler's Life and Times. " are like to die, they mock at him, and fay he is a " Beghard, or belongs to the New Spirit, fcoffing at him " and flandering him worfe than ever was done to the " Chriftians by Jews or heathens. Thefe falfe Chriftians " contemn us far more, crying out, ' Here comes one of " the New Spirit;' 'Thefe are they ofthe lofty fpirits.'"* It is even related that the clergy, enraged at the charges he brought againft them, on one occafion forbade his preaching (which undoubtedly was in itfelf an act of difobedience to the Interdid), but that the magiftrates obliged them to refcind their prohibition. Meanwhile, however, Tauler's efforts for their amend ment were not wholly fruitlefs, for it is recorded that through him " many priefts became quite pious ; " while by the people at large he was revered and affectionately beloved, and "whatever weighty matter the people had '¦' to do, he was called in to fettle it with his wifdom, . . . "and whatever he counfeUed them was right in their " eyes." The " Friends of God " naturally attached them felves more ftrongly than ever to him, and about this time he feems to have been the means of adding a notable adherent to their numbers, in the banker, Rulman Merfwin, who was at a later period the founder of the Gruenen- Wortih, and author of the " Book of the Nine * Second Sermon for the Third Sunday after Trinity. clement VL hostile to the Emperor. 133 Rocks," a very remarkable allegorical pidure ©f the then condition and profpeds of the Church. Nay, even Bifliop Berthold is related to have " heard him preach often -and " gladly with great admiration " at this time ; no doubt rejoicing in fo brilliant an exception to the general difgraceful condud of his clergy, which caufed him fo much uneafinefs ; but the Bifhop's favour was not deftined to endure long, for political events foon occurred which produced an entire alteration in his views. After the death of Benedid XIL, Clement VI., the moft inveterate opponent of Louis IV., was eleded Pope, and he had hardly afcended the throne when he renewed hoftihties againft the Emperor with greater vehemence than his predeceffor. The moft awful anathemas were launched againft Louis, which again proved themfelves by no means inefficient weapons of attack. Many eccle fiaftics, fecular no lefs than regular, who had been perform ing divine fervice in the cities that acknowledged the authority of the Emperor, now turned to their bifhops, humbly befeeching them for abfolution for their difobedi ence, which petition was not rejeded ; for in many places they obtained it without difficulty on payment of one florin! Bifliop Berthold, too, whofe outward reconcilia tion with Louis had been merely didated by motives of fear and felf-intereft, now befought pardon for it from the new Pope in an epiftle dated November 9th, 1345^ '"n 134 Tauler's Life and Times. which he further renounces his allegiance to the Emperor, and promifes unconditional obedience to the Romifh See for the future. Clement granted his petition, and releafed him and his diocefe from ecclefiaftical penalties. Shortly after (1347), Louis died, fairly worn out and broken hearted with the long ftruggle in which his reign had been paffed, but not until feveral of the Eledors, under the inftigation of the Pope, had eleded Charles IV. King of Rome (1346). Many of the Eftates refufed, however, even after Louis' death, to acknowledge the latter, com monly called the " Parfon-King," becaufe he had been eleded in defiance of their wifhes. Strafburg was one of thefe cities, and in confequence was again laid under interdid. To thefe political and ecclefiaftical difturbances were added ftill worfe miferies. The land was defolated fuc ceffively by tempefts, earthquakes, and famine, and at laft, in 1348, the Black Death came to fiU up the meafure of the people's woe. This plague continued to rage through Southern Germany and France until the following year, bringing in its train the ufual accompaniments of frantic terror, and the diffolution of all focial bonds. In Strafburg fixteen thoufand perfons feU vidims to it; and it is calcu lated that in Southern France two-thirds of the population periflied. All thefe convulfions of the natural and focial worid ftruck terror to men's very hearts ; bewildered and The Black Death. 135 befet, they knew not which way to turn. Then appeared the ghaftly proceffions of the Flagellants, who traverfed the country half-naked by hundreds and thoufands, walk ing two and two in white fhirts often ftained with blood, and holding fcourges in their hands. When they entered a town, they broke out into their wild howling chant, " Nun hebet auf cure Haende Dafs Gott dies groSe Sterben wende. Nun hebet auf cure Arme Dafs fich Gott ueber uns erbarme ;" and gathering round them all who would join, after fervice in a church, threw themfelves on the ground, confeffing their fins aloud, and then fcourged each other till they were exhaufted. In fome places the popular fanaticifm accufed the Jews of caufing the plague by poifoning the wells ; and the multitude, in their fury, fetting fire to the Jews' quarter, burnt thoufands of the wretched creatures in their houfes. Numbers of the lower claffes hoped for a Meffiah in the perfon of the great ". Prieft-hater," Frede rick II., who, according to an old faying now expanded into a diftind prophecy, was in the latter days to rife again from the dead, to render juftice to the widow and orphan, to punifh and humble the Clergy, to conftrain monks and nuns to marry, and then to fail over to the Holy Land 136 Tauler's Life and Times. and lay down his crown on the Mount of Olives.* This was not the only, though it was the wildeft prophecy' current at this time. Hermann von Fritzlar declares that the time is come that precedes the end of the world :f " This time in which we are now living, is that in which " the people's hearts have waxed cold, for they have for- " gotten the life of our Lord. Wherefore do arfon, and " rape, and robbery, and treafon, and ftrife, and envy, and " hatred, rage now as they never did before ; as Chrift " Himfelf foretold, that in thefe times the love of many " fliould wax cold. The third, and coming age, is that " of Anti-Chrift." And Tauler too, in his Sermon on Chrift's ftilling the Storm, warns his flock : " O that ye " knew what anguifli and terror fhall fhortly feize the " hearts of all who have not cleaved to God with all their " might, . . . and all the evil that fliall overtake them, as " has been of late revealed to the Friends of God." In another fermon, preached before the coming of the Black Death, he thus recapitulates the judgments of God that were threatened if the people refufed to repent : " horrible " things have been, foretold, of fire, of water, of great " darknefs, of hurricanes and drought." In the midft of thefe calamities he declaims againft the perverted leffons * See Wackernagel's Beitraege zur Vaterlaendischen Geschichte. Bafle. B. ii. S. 122. f In the Preface to his Heiligen-Leben. Tauler's Devotion to the Sick. 137 drawn from them by the people; the reckleffnefs and defpair of fome, the craving of others after marvellous vifions and fupernatural revelations, finally the finfulnefs of thofe who, feeking only to efcape from .the world's evfls, gave themfelves up to the paffive indulgence of their own emotion. The laft error was that againft which he inveighed moft frequently, being the one, no doubt, of which his hearers were moft in danger. He himfelf was not one of thofe paffive myftics. " Works of love," he fays, " are more acceptable to God than lofty contempla- " tion ; art thou engaged in devouteft prayer, and God " wUls that thou go out and preach, or carry broth to a " fick brother, thou fliouldft do it with joy." His own life was confiftent with his teachings. When the Black Death came to Strafliurg, he devoted himfelf to adminiftering the facraments and carrying confolation to the fick and dying. The renewal of the ban had increafed the general terror and diftrefs, and at the fame time opened a ftill larger field for Tauler's activity. A procla mation had been iffued, exhorting the people not to give way to terror, as it would increafe their danger of infection; but what could a proclamation avail, when tiiey often faw more than fifty corpfes carried through the ftreets in a day, and there were not priefts enough to perform the funeral rites ? The deeper was their grati tude to Tauler for his noble ad of difobedience to the 138 Tauler's Life and Times. Church that denied them their only remaining confolation. But he did not ftand alone ; there were efpeciaUy two monks who fhare d his labours, Thomas of Stralburg, an Auguftinian and the Prior-General of his Order in Straf burg, and Ludolph of Saxony, Prior of the newly esta- blifhed convent of the Carthufians.* The three friends were not content with fetting an example of heroic zeal, they iffued in their joint names an Addrefs to the clerical body at large, fliowing how iniquitous it was that the poor ignorant people fliould be fuffered to die excom municate for no fault of their own, and calhng on the priefts to vifit the fick and dying, and no longer to refufe them the confolations of religion, forafmuch as Chrift had died for all m?n, and the Pope had no power to clofe heaven againft an innocent perfon who fhould die under the Interdid. In a fecond Letter they went further; fetting forth the dodrine of two Swords and two Powers, the temporal and the fpiritual, and teaching that the two are not to be confounded, though they ought not to be fet in oppofition to each other ; that it is indeed the duty of the fpiritual arm to endeavour to dired the fecular in * Both thefe were alfo writers of fome note. The former was the author of fome dry but learned commentaries on Peter Lombard's Sentences. The latter, who had been a profeflbr in Paris, wrote a Vita Christi, which was much celebrated in the Middle Ages, and an EXPOSITIO IN PSALTERIUM. Tauler and his Two Friends. 139 the right courfe, but that if a great one has made himfelf liable to the Interdid, that does not give the fpiritual arm any authority to curfe and excommunicate poor people who, perhaps, do not even know their guilty lord, ftill lefs whole cities and countries without diftindion; that it cannot be proved from Holy Scripture, that a King, chofen in a legal manner by the Eledors, is to be called a heretic if he refift the power of the Church ; and that in any cafe, it is the Emperor alone who muft give an account to God for his acts of infubordination, and not his poor fubjeds. Therefore such an unjuft curfe as this Interdid fliall be turned into a bleffing on the heads which it ftrikes ; and, for their oppreffion, God fhall exalt them on high. Finally, they proclaimed the principle, that he who profeffes the true articles of the Chriftian faith, and only fins againft the power of the Pope, is by no means to be counted a heretic* * The following extraft on this fubjeft is given in Profeflbr Schmidt's Tauler (p. 53), from Specklin's Collectanea: — " Specially were thofe two Articles, which were quoted, forbidden and " declared to be wholly heretical. The Firft was, that feeing that many " perfons, young and old, rich and poor, men and women, innocent and " wicked, when they came to their death-beds, lay under the ban on "account of the Emperor Louis, they had put forth a letter to all priefts, " bidding them, when they fliould vifit the fick and dying, to comfort the " fick with the bitter paflion and death of Jefus Chrift, who had therewith 140 Tauler's Life and Times. What impreffion thefe free-fpoken writings made upon the clergy is not known : it is only recorded that, through " made fatisfaction before God, not for their fins only, but for the fins of " the whole world, and had opened heaven, and reconciled us all to God. " And the Pope had no power to ftiut heaven againft poor finners who had " innocently fallen under the ban. Therefore, when one ftiould confefs " his fins and defire abfolution and the holy facrament, they ought to give " it unto him and comfort him, for heed fliould be given rather to the " Word of Chrift and his Apoftles than to the ban, which proceeded of " envy and luft of worldly power The Second was, that they put " forth a general epiftle (not among the common people, but among the " clergy and the learned fathers), faying that there be two fwords, the " fpiritual fword, which is the Word of God, and the other, which is the " fecular government, and the one had nought to do with the other. But " fince they are both of Cod, they cannot be contrary the one to the " other ; but the fpiritual ftiall be diligent in its office and in the Word of " God, and defend the Government ; and the Government ftiall defend " God's laws and the pious, and punifli the wicked. But fince the pious " who preach the Word of God ought, by God's ordinance, to be " defended- by the fecular power againft the wicked, wherefore, then, " ftiould the Government be condemned by the fpiritual power ? for then " fliould God condemn His own work. But when a fecular Head fins, it " behoves the fpiritual Head, with great humility, to point out unto the " finner the right way, and with the reft of the clergy to entreat God day " and night with tears that the finner may turn again from his way, and " come to a true knowledge of his fins ; for God defireth not the death of " a finner, but rather that he fliould turn from his wickednefs and live. " But Chrift, and the Apoftles, and the Church command that, if the " finner, after much admonition, will not be turned from his ways, he be Tauler and his Iwo Friends. 14. i the exertions of Tauler and his friends, the people were enabled to die in peace, and no longer feared the ban, " excommunicated till fuch time as he fliall be converted and turn again " and amend his life ; and then he Ihall be again received unto grace. " Much lefs doth it behove a Chriftian ftiepherd, if one be deferving of " excommunication, to condemn and excommunicate without distindlion " innocent perfons, who perchance have never known or feen the guilty " man, — nay, whole lands, cities, and villages ; the which is not com- ." manded by Chrift, nor the Holy Apoftles, nor the Councils, but cometh " of a felf-ufurped power. For it is the office of the Pope to point finners " unto the true way of falvation. " But that all thofe are heretics who will not kifs the Pope's foot, or that " to do fo ftiould be an article of faith, and that he is an apoftate from the " Church who takes the name and fulfils the office of King or Emperor, " on being duly appointed thereto by the Eleftors, or that all who render " obedience to him, as to their ruler ordained by God, fin againft the " Church and are heretics, cannot be proved by Holy Scripture. " The Government is a power ordained of God, unto which obedience " ought to be rendered in worldly things, even by fpiritual persons, be they " who they may. The Emperor is the higheft magiftrate, wherefore " obedience is due to him ; if he doth not govern rightly, he, and not his " poor fubjefts, muft give account thereof to God; and even as God will " not call the poor innocent fubjeft to account for his evil ruler, fo ought " not man to condemn and excommunicate the poor innocent fubjeft for " the fake of his ruler. Moreover, they who hold the true Chriftian " faith, and fin only againft the Pope's perfon, are no heretics ; but he " were a heretic who, after much admonition, ftiould ftiffheckedly difobey " the Word of God, and would not amend his life ; for not even a " murderer, a rogue, a thief, or an adulterer, who ftiould aik pardon 142 Tauler's Life and Times. whereas before many thoufands had died without fhrift, in the agonies of defpair ; whence we muft conclude that fome of the other priefts were brought to see the truth of the principles enunciated by the three monks. But it was not likely that fuch dodrine would long be fuffered to work unchecked in the pubhc mind. The Pope foon interfered, and commanded the Bifhop of Strafliurg to burn the books of the three friends, and forbid their perufal, whether by priefts or laymen, on pain of excom munication. Berthold, anxious to prove his devotion to the Pope, without delay proceeded to take ftringent meafures againft Tauler and the two high dignitaries who had done fuch good fervice in his diocefe ; their writings were everywhere fearched for and deftroyed, and they themfelves were expelled from the city. It is not to be wondered at, that Henry of Nordlingen fhould write word " through Chrift with true penitence and contrition, and amend his life, " can be caft out of the Church. " Hence it is concluded, that all thofe who unjuftly and innocendy have " come under the Ban, are free before God, and their curfe will be turned " into a bleffing, and their Ban and yoke of oppreffion will God lift off; " even as Chrift did not fet Himfelf againft the fecular power when He " faid, ' My kingdom is not of this world,' even as He was obedient to " the Government, though He was the Son of God, commanding men to " render to God the things that be God's, and to Cjefar the things that be " Caefar's. Now our fouls belong to God ; our bodies and goods unto " Caefar. All this was much better fet forth in more words." Banishment of the Three Friends. 143 that his " Brother Tauler is now conftantly in great forrow," when he was thus driven from the field of faithful labours at the very moment of their greateft neceffity. But he did not lofe courage ; with his two friends he retired into the neighbouring Carthufian convent, of which Ludolph was Prior, whence they continued to diffufe their writings. During the time of their feclufion, Stralburg was vifited by the Emperor Charles IV., who was making the circuit of the Rhenifh cities, to induce the citizens to acknow ledge him as King of Rome. Bifhop Berthold had already conjured the -members of the Rhenifh Eftates affembled at Stralburg, for the fake of the public peace, to do allegiance to the Emperor whom they defpifed. Charles was there fore received with royal honours, and invefted the Bifhop with the imperial fief, after receiving his folemn homage ; but he was obliged to promife the citizens that he would procure the removal of the Interdid, for only on this con dition would they acknowledge him. From Stralburg Charles proceeded to Bafle, where he met the Pope's Envoy bringing a commiffion to the Bifhop of Bamberg to abfolve the cities that fliould acknowledge the Emperor. But the terms of the Bull to this effed, in which Louis was called a heretic, and the cities were required to ex prefs their contrition for their fidelity to him, irritated tihe burghers to the higheft degree, and tihey refufed to fwear 144 Tauler's Life and Times. to the formula of abfolution when it was read to them. Neverthelefs, as the Emperor ftood in need of their fervices, the Interdid was removed. The Bifhop of Bam berg next repaired, in his quality of Papal Legate, to Strafburg, to proclaim the Abfolution there. The citizens were affembled before the Cathedral, then rifing in its new glories. From the fteps of the weftern door the Legate read the Bull in their ears, and then afked the Senate and commoners if they defired abfolution ? Peter Schwarber, the Mayor, replied, " Yes," in the name of all ; and the Bifliop immediately pronounced the Abfolution. On this the Bifliop Berthold, turning to the Mayor, faid, " Mafter " Schwarber, once you helped to force us to pay homage " to the heretic Louis; and now that he is dead you " yourfelf hold him to be a heretic." But the Mayor replied, " My Lord Bifliop, I have never accounted the " Emperor Louis a heretic." " How ! " exclaimed Ber thold, "have you not juft declared him fuch ? " "No," faid Schwarber : " the Bifhop of Bamberg aflsied if we " defired abfolution ? and to this I faid, ' Yes,' in tiie " name of all. Had he aflced whether we believed and " would obferve all the articles he read to us, we fhould " have given him a very different anfwer." During the vifit of the Emperor to Straft)urg he heard much talk of Tauler and his friends, and their free opinions, and fent for them to hear their defence. They Interview with Charles IV. 145 read before him their confeffion of faith, and unfhrinkingly declared their adherence to all that they had hitherto taught. Tauler, efpeciaUy, was not a man to quail before a tem poral fovereign after he had braved the more formidable terrors of the fpiritual power ; moreover, we find that he did not fcruple occafionally in his fermons to rebuke the oppreffion of the people by their rulers* ; and he openly told the Emperor wherefore he was baniflied. The argu ments of the three monks produced fuch an impreffion upon Charles, that he is faid to have declared himfelf "Iheer of their opinion," and expreffed his defire that no further proceedings fhould be taken againft them. Never thelefs the Bifhops prefent condemned, as heretical, the dodrines we have already mentioned as contained in their writings, commanded them no longer fo wickedly to with ftand the Church and her Interdid, enjoined them to iffue a public recantation, and for the future to write nothing more of the like nature on pain of excommunication. * Thus, he fays in his Sermon on the Twenty-firft Sunday after Trinity : — " Now the Apoftle tells us to contend againft princes and " powers, and the rulers of the darknefs of this world. This means the " devils ; but it means alfo the princes of this world, who ought to be the " beft of all, and are neverthelefs the very horfes on which the devils ride " to fow difcord and treafon, and who torment their fubjedls by their pride " and unjuft tyranny and manifold oppreffions, as we now fee throughout " the world." 10 146 Tauler's Life and Times. Specklin declares that they went on and wrote ftill better than before ; but nothing more is known of the matter beyond this meagre ftatement of his. From this time forward, Tauler difappears from the hiftory of his native city, until a fhort time before his death. It is faid that, fince the Emperor and Bifhops forbade him to write, he forfook Strafburg, after having fpread much good dodrine abroad in Alface. His name was held in grateful remembrance, not only by the " Friends of God," but by all his fellow-citizens, for whom he had faithfully laboured and fuffered during the whole period of their troubles ; but he needed a fphere of greater freedom, and therefore took up his refidence in Cologne, a city already familiar to him, and where he found numerous brethren in fpirit. Here he commonly preached in the church of St. Gertrude, belonging to a convent of Dominican nuns, whofe numbers were much increafed by the defire of having Tauler for a preacher and confeffor. Among thefe fifters, however, their original ftridnefs of manners no longer prevailed, and Tauler ofi:en found occafion in his fermons to lament the decay of conven tual difcipline. The younger fifters too often brought with them from the world their love of fociety and amufements, and were ftrengthened in thefe taftes by their intercourfe with the older nuns ; for moft of tiiem thought more of drefs and trinkets than of devout exercifes and felf-denial, Preaches againft the Beghards. 147 fo that Tauler tells them that all their piety is a mere out* ward femblance, and that many laywomen are much farther advanced in holinefs than they. Tauler not only difplayed his cuftomary. zeal in reftoring a feverer difcipline, but endeavoured to fubftitute for thefe mere outward works of piety, the fpiritual, which he regarded as the only true fervice of God. He fought alfo, while in Cologne, to combat the pantheiftic enthufiafm of the Beghards, who had been extremely numerous in this city ever fince the commencement of the century, and, notwithftanding, or perhaps rather favoured by, frequent perfecutions, in which many of their members were burnt at the ftake, were con tinuing to make progrefs during this age of anarchy.* In * I give the following paflage from his Sermon on the Firft Sunday in Lent [No. 31, Frankfort Edition, 1826], as fliowing, more diftinftly than any other I have found, the pofition in which he ftood towards the anti nomian doftrines of the Beghards, and as furniftiing the moft complete refiitation of the charge of antinomian tendencies fometimes brought againft his own preaching : — " From thefe two errors proceedeth the third, which is the worft of all ; " the perfons who are entangled therein call themfelves beholders of God, " and they may be known by the carnal peace which they have through " their emptinefs. They think that they are free from fin, and are united " to God without any means whatfoever, and that they have got above all " fubjeftion to the Holy Church, and above the commandments of God, " and above all works of virtue ; for they think this emptinefs to be fo " noble a thing that it may not be hindered by aught elfe, whatfoever it 148 Tauler's Life and Times. the year 1357 (therefore during Tauler's refidence in Cologne), the Archbifliop, William of Gennep, inftituted " be. Hence they ftand empty of all fubjeftion, and do no works either " towards them who are above or below them, even as an inftrument is " empty, and waiteth on the mafter when he ftiall choofe to work there- " with ; for they deem that if they work, it hindereth the work of God, " and therefore they empty themfelves of all virtue. Nay, they would be " fo empty, that they would not give praife or thanks to God, nor have, " nor confefs, nor love, nor defire, nor pray for anything ; for they have " already, as they fuppofe, all that they could pray for ; and think that " they are poor in fpirit, for that they are, as they dream, without all felf- " will, and have renounced all ownerftiip wholly and without referve. " For they believe that they have rifen above it, and that they poflefs all " thole things for the fake of which the ordinances and precepts of the " Church were appointed and eftabliftied, and that none can give or take " from them, not even God Himfelf, fince they think that they have " fuffered all exercifes and all virtues, and have attained to pure emptinefs " of fpirit ; and they fay it requireth more pains to become empty of " virtue than to attain unto virtue. For the fake of this emptinefs of " fpirit, they defire to be free, and obedient to none, neither the Pope, nor " the Biftiop, nor the Paftor ; and though they may feem outwardly to be " fo at times, yet are they inwardly obedient to none, neither in will nor " deed. For they would fain be free from all thofe things wherewith the " Holy Church is concerned ; and they fay openly that a man, fo long as " he ftrives after virtue, is ftill imperfeft, and knows nought of fpiritual " poverty and fpiritual freedom. And they deem themfelves exalted above " the angels, and above all human merit and faith, fo that they can neidier " increafe in virtue nor commit fin ; for they live, as they fuppofe, without " will, and poflefs their fpirits in peace and emptinefs, and have become Preaches againft the Beghards. 149 a frefli fearch after them, and commanded the clergy of his diocefe ftridly to enforce the ftatutes of his predeceffors " nought in themfelves and one with God. They believe that they may do " freely, without fin, whatfoever nature defireth, becaufe they have attained " to the higheft innocence, and there is no law or commandment for them, " and therefore they follow all the lufts of the flefh, that the emptinefs of " the fpirit may remain unhindered. They care not for fafts, nor feafts, " nor precepts, except fo far as they may obferve them for the fake of " others, becaufe they live without confcience in all things. Let each man " examine himfelf whether he be not one of thefe. But a murderer, or " any open finner, is better than thefe fpiritual men, for he confeffes his " mifdeed that it is evil ; but thefe confefs it not. Hardly are they to be " converted ; and at times they are verily poffeffed by the Devil. They " are, moreover, fo ingenious that it is fcarcely poffible to overcome them " in difcourfe, fave by the life of Chrift and Holy Scripture : through " thefe may one well difcern that they are deceived. , " Now cometh the fourth error. Many be alfo called beholders of " God, who are yet different in fome points from what we have juft faid. " Thefe alfo think that they are empty of all works, and are tools of God " by whom God works whatfoever He will, and they merely fuffer Him, " without working themfelves ; and they fay that the works wrought of " God through them are more noble and of greater merit than thofe of a " man who worketh his own works in the grace of God ; and declare that " they are God-fuffering men, for they do but fuffer thi works that God " worketh in them. But although they are empty of the works, and do " nought, yet will they not be empty of and mifs the reward ; and what- " ever they do is no fin, for God worketh their works, as they fay, and " whatfoever He wills is wrought in them, and nought elfe, and, as we faid, " inwardly they are wholly paffive, and live without care for anything; 150 Tauler's Life and Times. againft them. Tauler, however, though a Dominican, never took part in any ad of perfecution ; the profound " and they have. a humble, fubmiffive manner, and can bear well what- " foever befals them, for they think themfelves to be an inftrument through " which God worketh as He will. Thefe people are, in many points, " like unto the true men ; but in this are they falfe, that they hold every- " thing whereunto they are inwardly impelled, whether good or bad, to " proceed from the Holy Spirit. But the Holy Spirit worketh never " unprofitable things in a man, fuch as be not contrary to the life of " Chrift or Holy Scripture, and therefore are they deceived. Thefe men " are very hard to difcover, for they can give good reafons for, and put a " fair face on all they do ; but they may be known by their fl^bborn felf- " will, that they would rather die than give up one tittle of their own way. " Thefe are contrary to them who fay that they cannot increafe in virtue ; " but they deferve the fame meafure. Behold all fuch errors are meffengers " of Antichrift, preparing the way before him unto unbelief and dam- " nation. " Now it concerns us fomewhat to know how we may efcape thefe " cunning fnares. No man may be free from keeping the commandments " of God, and from the praftice of virtue. No man can unite himfelf to " God in emptinefs of fpirit, without loving and longing after God. No " man can be or become holy without good works. No man can reft in " God without the love of God. No man may empty himfelf of godly " works that he may not hinder God in His works, but muft work with " Him in thankfulnefs. No man may ferve -God without praifing and " thanking Him ; for He is the Maker of all creatures, and He alone can " give and take, for of His riches and might there is no end* And a man " may increafe in virtue and goodnefs, and may exercife himfelf therein as " long as he lives ; and no man deferveth more reward, though he think Tauler's Tolerance. 151 fpiritual ftruggles through which he had had to pafs, had taught him how deep the roots of belief lay beneath thofe regions of the foul that can be reached by outward weapons ; and when he fpeaks of the " Free Spirits," it is to fhow the error of their dodrines, not to demand their extirpation. Indeed, his writings, and thofe of his difciple Rulman Merfwin, exhibit in this refped a Chriftian large- nefs of heart in great contraft to the prevailing fpirit of his Order. They more than once maintain the falvation of thofe who are in error from ignorance, and declare that their defire to believe what is true is accepted by God in place of a corred belief, and that thus many heathen and Jews are faved now as well as before the coming of Chrift. Rulman Merfwin afcribes the terrible perfecution of the Jews, then raging, to the covetoufnefs of the Chriftians.* " that he merely fuffer the works of God to be wrought in him. The " works.of God are eternal and unchangeable ; for He worketh according " to His own nature, and not otherwife ; and in thefe works of God there " can be no merit and adding thereunto of any creature, for there is none " but God who cannot become more or higher ; but through the power " of God the creatures have their own work to perform, in nature, and in " grace, and in glory." * The following curious paffage is extrafted from Rulman Merfwin's Book of the Nine Rocks ; but many paffages in Tauler's fermons fhow that his fentiments were quite in harmony with thofe here expreffed : — " The Man faid : ' Ah, my BelCved, have mercy upon poor Chriften- " dom, and remember how that the wicked Jewilh people and the wicked 152 Tauler's Life and Times. Tauler continued to correfpond with Nicolas of Bafle. In the year 1356 the latter fent him a pamphlet, in which,' " heathen folk are all ftriving againft thee with all their might, and ffiall " all be loft.' The Answer faid : ' I tell thee thou art right when thou " prayeft God to have mercy upon poor Chriftendom ; for know that for " many hundred years Chriftendom has never been fo poor or fo wicked " as in thefe times ; but I tell thee, whereas thou fayeft that the wicked " Jews and heathen are all loft, that is not true : I tell thee, in thefe days, " there is a portion of the heathen and the Jews whom God preferreth " greatly to many who bear the Chriftian name, and yet live contrary to " all Chriftian order.' The Man : ' . . . What ftrange fpeech is this that " I hear, and what may it mean ? ' The Answer ; ' . , . The meaning is, " that where a Jew or heathen, in any part ofthe world, hath a good, God- " fearing mind in him, in fimplicity and honefty, and in his reafon and " judgment knoweth no better faith than that in which he was born, but " were minded and willing to caft that off, if he were given to know any " other faith that were more acceptable to God, and would obey God, if he " ventured body and goods therefor ; — I tell thee, where there is a Jew or " heathen thus earneft in his life — fay, ought he not to be much dearer to " God than the evil, falfe Chriftian men who have received baptifm, and " aft contrary to God, knowing that they do fo ? ' . . . The Man : . . . " • This feemeth to me moft ftrange, ... for it is written in the Scrip- " ture, and is alfo a part of our Chriftian creed, that no one can enter mto " the Kingdom of Heaven unlefs he firft receive holy baptifm.' The " Answer : ' That is true, and the right Chriftian faith. . . . When " God findeth fuch a righteous heathen or Jew, what doth He do ? Of " His free love and fathomlefs mercy. He cometh to his help : I tell thee " God findeth many fecret ways that fuch a man be not loft, wherever he " may be in this wide worid.' , . , The Man : ' Say ! how are thefe Tauler's Writings. 153 on the ftrength of a warning vifion, he bewails the finful nefs of the times, and foretels the coming of frefli calami ties, of which the great earthquake that deftroyed Bafle in the fame year was regarded as the commencement. No details of Tauler's work in Cologne have been preferved to us. It is not even known whether the compofition of his chief work, the " Imitation of Chrift's Life of Poverty," is to be referred to this period or to that of his feclufion in the Carthufian Convent at Strafburg. In this work he fets forth the theory and pradice of felf-renunciation in order to union with God. In point of language and com pofition, it is fuperior to his Sermons, nearly all of which feem to be derived from mere notes taken by his hearers with more or lefs corrednefs.* It is interefting to com- " unbaptized men faved from perdition ? ' The Answer : ' God doth it " by many fecret ways, which are unknown to moft Chriftians in thefe " days. . . . One way, which Chriftendom may well believe and " does believe, is, that when one of thefe good heathens or Jews " cometh to his end, God cometh and enlighteneth him with the Chriftian " faith ; . . . and if he may not be baptized, God baptizes him in " his good defires and wifl, and in his miferable death. Thou fhalt know " that there be many of thefe good heathens and Jews in eternal life, who " have entered thereon in this wife.' . . ." * It has been often queftioned whether the Latin or the German form in which we poffefs Tauler's fermons, be the original. On this point I tranfcribe Profeffor Schmidt's arguments, which feem to me quite con- clufive : — 154 Tauler's Life and Times. pare his view of poverty with that of the Spiritual Fran cifcans, who taught that, to any high attainment in the " There can be no queftion that Tauler delivered his fermons in German, " and that this language is the original one of all the fermons of his which " we ftill poffefs. After his connedlion with Nicolas of Bafle, he had him- " felf declared that he did not intend henceforward to fpeak fo much " Latin in his fermons. The greater part of thofe ftill extant are, indeed, " addreffed in the firft inftance to the brethren or fifters in whofe convent- " chapels he ufed to preach, but alfo have a reference to the laity, who " ufually affembled in great numbers in thefe churches to hear him ; and " to be intelligible to fuch an audience he muft have fpoken in the vemacu- " lar ; it was only in the fchool attached to his own convent that he fpoke " in Latin. The language itfelf of Tauler's fermons and writings is, " befides, a fufficient proof that they were compofed in German ; for they " exhibit the moft complete adaptation of the thought to the form in which " it is conveyed ; a form, moreover, that Tauler had to a confiderable " extent to create for himfelf. Up to his day, the German language had " been little ufed for theological and metaphyfical fubjefts, and was poor in " terms to exprefs any notions beyond thofe living in the popular mind, fo " that the writers of his fchool (in bringing the higher and more fpiritual " truths of religion down to the level of popular apprehenfion) had to " frame for themfelves a terminology of their own, whofe conftitueiits they " borrowed partly from the Latin of the Schools, partly from figuraUve, " moftly biblical, forms of fpeech. Tauler often avails himfelf of fuch " German fcholaftic terms to exprefs abftraft notions : as, for inftance, " Istekeit (effentia), Eigenschaftlicheit, Creaturhcheit, Unserheit, " Sinsheit, HbLTZHEiT. So, too, he often fpeaks by images, in order to " exprefs fpiritual fafts or metaphyfical ideas, for which the language either " poffeffed no words as yet, or which in themfelves were too vague to be Tauler's Death. 155 Chriftian life, a literal renunciation of all property was abfolutely necefiary. Tauler, while affuming the excel lence of this external poverty, as releafing the Chriftian from many cares and temptations to anxiety, fliows that the effence of the poverty of Chrift did not, as they taught, lie in this privation of earthly wealth, but in the poornefs ofthe fpirit that calls nothing its own, becaufe itfelf and all that it has are God's, and held in truft for Hitii. Of Tauler's hiftory we know no more till we find him at Stralburg, in 1361, already labouring under the illnefs which clofed his life. There are no indications of the date or the reafon of his return to his old home. We are only told that, after a long life of toilfome yet fruitful labour, he was attacked, at feventy years of age, by a Imgering difeafe, attended with great fuffering. During his illnefs he caufed himfelf to be removed to the convent where his aged fifter was a nun, that fhe might be with him and tend him to the laft, — an ad which is enumerated " expreffed in a clear and diftinft mode. All this indicates a laborious " wreftling of the thought with the language. . . . Hence, alfo, the " partial obfcurity of Tauler's ftyle, which is incurred by the pains he took " to attain a terfe purity by forming fubftantives made up of whole propo- " fitions : as, for inftance, ' ein einvaltiges gruentlich-uf-got-sich- " LossEN.' . . . Tauler and his fchool have, however, the merit of " having given to their nation a philofophical language." (See Schmidt's Tauler, S. 78.) 156 Tauler's Life and Times. as one of his faults, by one of the writers of his fchool, who calls it feeking for too much natural help and com fort. After twenty weeks of pain, he fent for his myfterious friend, and begged him to vifit him once more, for he perceived that his end was nigh. The man was obedient, and came to the Mafter, who received him full lovingly; and the man was glad that he found him yet alive, and faid, " Dear Mafter, how fares it with thee ^ " Then faid the Mafter, " Dear fon, I believe the time is near when " God is minded to take me from this world; therefore, " dear fon, it is a great comfort to me that thou fhouldft " be here at my departure." On this, Tauler gave him fome papers, in which he had written down the difcourfe which they had had together twenty years before, and begged Nicolas to make a little book of it, which the latter promifed him to do. But Tauler eameftly enjoined him to conceal both their names ; " for," he fays, "thou muft " furely know that the life and words and works which " God hath wrought through me, a poor unworthy finner, • " are not mine, but wrought by the power of the Almighty " God, to whom they eternally belong. Therefore, dear " fon, if thou art minded to write them for the benefit of " our feUow-Chriftians, do it in fuch a manner that neither " my name nor thine be mentioned therein. Thou mayft " fay, ' The Mafter and the Man.' Neither flialt tiiou let Rulman Merfwin. 15'? " any one in this city fee the book, elfe people will mark " that it was I ; but take it with thee into thine own " country, fo that it do not come out during my life." For yet eleven days, it is faid that they held much dif courfe together; and then, under circumftances of extra ordinary fuffering, the faithful fervant yielded up his fpirit to God, on the i6th of June, 1361. He was buried in his own convent. The ftone which formerly covered his grave has been recently fet up by the Proteftants in the church in which he warned and confoled his brethren more than five hundred years ago by word of mouth, as he teaches us, who are now living, by the written record of thofe words. Here ends our proper talk ; but it can hardly, I think, he without intereft to the reader to learn a few more par ticulars about the remarkable fet of men to which Tauler belonged, efpeciaUy concerning the great Layman who had fo powerful an influence on his career, and the dif ciple and bofom friend of both fucceffively, Rulman Merfwin, who appears to ftand third in rank in this group of " Friends of God." From the account of him given in the "Memorial" of the Gruenen- Worth Convent, it appears that he was originally a wealthy merchant and money-changer, "but always conduded his bufinefs with " great fear of God before his eyes, and with fcrupulous 158 Tauler's Life and Times. " probity, and ftood well with the world, and was of a " very merry and pleafant temper, fo that many efteemed " and loved him, and fought his fociety, which was to " himfelf alfo very agreeable in thofe days. And he had " at the firft an exceeding beautiful and fweet young wife ; " but when they had lived but a fhort time together, fhe " died ; and after that, he took another wife, the daughter " of a pious knight. And when they had hved many " years together according to Chriftian ordinances, and he " was now forty years old, and God faw not fit to give " him a child by either wife, he turned with his whole " heart to God, and gave up his trade, and forfook the " world, and led a fingle hfe henceforward, with the will " and confent of his wife, who was an honourable fimple- " minded Chriftian woman." His own account of the next four years of his life, now printed for the firft time from the MS. in his own hand writing, is a very curious and interefting document, in die vivid pidure it gives of the inward ftruggles which this determination brought upon him; and however clearly we may perceive that many of his difficulties arofe from the miftaken view of his focial duties derived from die teachings of his church, it is impoffible not to admire the fimple dirednefs of purpofe and intenfe eameftnefs witii which he ftrove to follow every indication he could per ceive of the will of God. I give a few paffages from it, Merfwin's Mental Trials. 159 taking the liberty to omit the perpetual repetitions, which would render an abfolutely literal tranflation quite unread able. Indeed, Rulman's ftyle, both in this and his other produdions, has all the awkwardnefs, circumlocution, and tautology, which ufually charaderize the efforts of an utterly unlearned perfon to exprefs himfelf " In the name of God, Amen ! All ye dear Chriftian " men, I give you truly to know that in the year of our "Lord, 1347, it came to pafs that I, Rulman Merfwin, " renounced all my traffic and gains, and moreover all " natural pleafant companionfliip ; the which I did with " good courage for God's fake, to the fole end that I *' might atone for my finS. Now, though I had taken this " firft ftep with good courage, and of my own free choice " had given myfelf to God, yet it was with great forrow " to my nature afterwards ; for I had enjoyed great happi- " nefs in the good things of this world." After defcribing the dreadful anguifli of mind he had to endure on account of his fins, and the fpiritual joys with which it alternated, he continues : " And I came utterly to hate the world and "all belonging to it, and alfo my own flefli, wherefore " during this firft year I chaftifed my body with very fore " and manifold exercifes, fo that I more than once became " fo weak, that I thought I fliould die. But about this "time I took Tauler for my confeffor, who difcovered " fomewhat of thefe exercifes, for he perceived that I had t6o Tauler's Life and Times. " become very fickly ; and he feared for my head, and " commanded me to exercife myfelf no more in fuch " wife, and fet me a certain time : and I muft needs obey " him, but my obedience went very much againft the " grain, for I had fet my heart upon bringing my body " into fubjedion. But as foon as the term was out, I faid " nothing, but began again to do as I had done be- " fore. . . . But our Lord was pleafed, during this firft " year, to give me a true difcemment in many things, fo " that whenever I commended any matter with great " earneftnefs to God, He gave me to perceive what I " muft do and leave undone. Moreover, our Lord alfo " fuffered me to be ofttimes tormented with grievous and " horrible temptations, both by day and night ; but it was " given to me, by the grace of God, to receive them witii " humble and cheerful fubmiffion, fo that I could fay witii " heart and mouth, ' My Lord and my God, my nature " hates and loathes this fuffering ; wherefore I pray tiiee " to take no account thereof, and do not as my poor " nature would defire and entreat of thee, but fulfil tiiy " moft bleffed will, whether it be fweet or bitter to my " weak nature.' , . . And when God faw that it was tiie " proper time. He came to my help witii his merciful " grace. . . . Now, during the fecond and the tiiird years " (tills laft was tiie jubilee, when all men went on pil- " grimage to Rome), did God work many great and Merfwin's Mental Trials. i6i " fupernatural works with me, a poor finner, through " great forrow and fpiritual affaults, and withal unfpeak- " able temptations, of which it were a fin to write. But " one which I may write is, that God fuffered me to be " affailed with unbelief: to wit, that the devil put it into " my head to afk : ' How may it be, that the Father and " the Son and the Holy Spirit may confift in one nature ? ' " And this unbelief remained upon me for a long fpace. " and all that time I thought nothing elfe but that I muft " certainly burn for ever in hell ; and yet I felt within " myfelf that neverthelefs my will was fet to love God. " And after a good while, I grew fo infirm, through this " continual pain, that it was all I could do, when Affump- " tion day came, to venture to go and fit down to hear a " fermon. And as I put my hat before my eyes, I fell " into a fwoon from very weaknefs ; but while I was thus " in a trance, there appeared unto me a great ftone, " wherein were carved the likenefs of three men's coun- " tenances. . . . And it was as though a voice faid to me, " ' Now mayeft thou well believe, fince thou haft feen " how in one ftone may be three perfons, and yet it is one " ftone, and the three perfons have the nature of one rock.' " And hereupon I came to myfelf, and was feized with " fear when I found myfelf fitting among the crowd. . . . " So I rofe up and walked out into the aifle, and found " that my faith had been enlightened, infomuch that I II 1 62 Tauler's Life and Times. " never again was affailed with unbelief; but the other " terrible temptations I had to endure for two years " longer . . . infomuch that I often thought I knew the " pains of hell. And I was fo ill that my friends would " not fuffer me to go on pilgrimage to Rome ; neither " could I fcourge myfelf nor wear a hair fhirt, nor a fliarp "crucifix, nor endure any other hardfhip . . . but feared " that I fliould die, and was fomewhat troubled thereat, " for I could not but love my natural life. . . . And in " all thofe two years God would not fuffer me to fpeak " of my pain to any man, however great it might be. . . . " I muft bear and endure to the end alone, that I might " have no help or confolation. . . . But in the fourtii " year, my Lord and God fhowed his great mercy upon " me, and looked upon my afflidion, and came to my " help with fuch great and fuperhuman joy, that in that " moment I forgot all my woe and pain that ever I had " fuffered, and became alfo in all my natural powers quite " ftrong and lively, as though I had never known what " ficknefs was. . . . And He gave me, moreover, much « gracious difcemment, fo that, when I looked narrowly " at a man, I could ofttimes perceive pretty well how it " flood witii him inwardly. And I was furtiier conftrained, " however unwilling, to write a little book for tiie benefit " of my fellow-Chriftians." From a comparifon of dates, it appears that tiiis " littie book " muft be tiie Book of Book of the Nine Rocks. 163 THE Nine Rocks, already mentioned. In the opening of this work, Rulman, under the allegorical form of vifions, gives a much more detailed account of the mental conflids he paffed through, — arifing partly from reludance to contemplate the wretchednefs around him, partly from the dread of being condemned by the church as unau thorised to teach and heretical, — ^before he could refolve to write. Finally, feeing no efcape from what appeared to him a pofitive duty, he fets to work. The firft part contains a defcription of the terrible condition of Chriften dom; all claffes are paffed under review, and their parti cular fins expofed, — thofe of the clergy with efpecial free dom.* The fecond part is a defcription of nine rocks * Thus, in fpeaking of the Popes, he fays, " Look around thee, and fee " what fort of lives the Popes have led and do lead in thefe our times ; " we may not name any one in particular. Look ... if they have " not taken more thought for themfelves and for the maintenance of their "own dignity than for the promotion of God's glory. . . . Look " around thee, and behold the lives of the bifliops in thefe days, whether " they are not more bufied in fcraping together earthly wealth for the " enriching of their relatives than in feeing to it that men are taught to " walk in righteous, godly ways Behold and fee how many " doftors and teachers are to be found in thefe days, who utter God's word " from their chairs, and dare publicly to proclaim the real truth, and "publicly to fpeak ofthe great and murderous crimes that prevail in the " Chriftian world, and to warn men ; and are willing by fo doing to rilk " their lives for God's honour." 164 Tauler's Life and Times. which fymbolize nine ftages in the progrefs of the foul towards a higher life ; each more difficult of afcent, and more glorious than the preceding. From the fummit, he obtains a momentary glimpfe into the abyfs of Deity; then, looking back to earth, fees two men, the one bright and fliining as an angel, the other black as Satan. The latter was one who, having reached the fummit of the nine rocks, had defired to be fomewhat for himfelf, and had thereupon fallen ftep by ftep back into the abyfs ; the former, one who having gazed at the Godhead, filled with love and compaffion, defcended voluntarily to fave his brethren from their fins. In his autobiography, Rulman further tells us, among other things : " In this fourth year, the three powers of " faith, hope, and love were greatly ftrengthened in " me. . . . Moreover, nothing in time or eternity could " give me content but God Himfelf; but when He came " to my foul, I knew not whether I were in time or " eternity. . . . And in my heart I felt a great yearning, " and wiflied it were the will of God that I might go to " the heatiien and tell them of the Chriftian faitii. . . . " And I would gladly have fuffered deatii and martyrdom " at their hands, in honour of our Lord's fufferings and " bitter death. But of aU tiiis I was not fuffered to fpeak " a word to any, until there came a time when God gave " a man in the Oberland to underftand tiiat he ftiould Book of the Nine Rocks. 165 " come down to me. And when he came, God gave me " to tell him of all thefe things. And this man was alto- " gether unknown to the world, but he became my fecret " friend, and I gave myfelf up to his guiding in God's " ftead, and told him all my hidden life in thefe four " years. . . . Then he faid to me : ' Behold, dear friend, " here is a book in which ftand written the firft five years " of my life in God ; give me the hiftory of thy firft " four years in exchange for it.' But I anfwered : ' It " would grieve me much if my hiftory fhould come to the " knowledge of any.' Then he faid : ' Now fee, I have " given thee my book, and I know full well that thou " wilt tell none of it. No more will I tell any of thee. " I win take thy book up into my own land far away, " where thou art as unknown as I am in Strafburg. And " fo begin to write thy hiftory in two books, and the one " I will take and the other thou flialt keep, and flialt hang " thy feal thereto, and lock it up where none fliall find it " during thy lifetime.' . . . " Now, notwithftanding all the gifts and enlightenment " that God beftowed on me in this fourth year, there was " yet a fecret fpot in my foul, the which was altogether " unknown to myfelf . . . And it was, that, when I " looked upon my fellow-men, I efteemed them as they " were in this prefent time, and ftood before God in their " fins ; and this was a hidden fpot, for I ought, through 1 66 Tauler's Life and Times. " grace, to have regarded them, not as they now were, but " as they might weU become. . . ." In feeing a wafte piece of ground cumbered with rubbifh, and giving it as his judgment that it might be reclaimed and made a garden of, an inward voice reveals his fin to him, and rebukes him, faying : " O thou poor miferable creature ! " how ftrange art thou .... how dareft thou, then, to " efteem, according to what he now is, thy fellow-man, " who is made in the image of God, and whom Chrift 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 himfelf may dwell ? . . ." The reft of Rulman's narrative refers to his views of the condition of the Chriftian world, and he tells us : " It was revealed " to me that I fliould no longer be fo greatly exercifed by " the temptations from which I had hitherto fuffered, . . . " but that my afflidion henceforth fliould be to behold " how the flieep were wandering abroad among the proud, " unclean, ravening wolves . . . this fhould be my trial and my crofs. . . ." Rulman, however, not only fought " to benefit his fellow-Chriftians " by his writings, but alfo by his deeds of adive benevolence. His name occurs about this time as one of the managers of a hofpital ; he is mentioned as Provoft of the convent of St. Argobaft, and in the i6th century a houfe of Beguines in Stralburg ftill bears his Merfwin's Charitable Foundations. 167 name ; but he is beft known as the founder of the convent belonging to the Knights of St. John at Strafburg. After long deliberation with Nicolas, whether it would not be better to " devote the money to the help of poor people, " that they might not die of hunger," Rulman, with fome pecuniary affiftance from Nicolas, bought and repaired the half-ruined convent of Gruenen-Worth, which he then endowed and made over to the Order of St. John, on condition that its worldly affairs fliould be managed by three lay truftees, and that it fliould be a refuge for any good men, whether priefts or laymen, rich or poor, who might wiih to retire there for their fpiritual benefit, and were willing, during their ftay, to conform to the cuftoms ofthe houfe. His principal motive feems indeed to have been the defire to provide a permanent afylum for pious perfons like himfelf, whofe free opinions might at any moment bring them into trouble. He entered on pof feffion of it in 1366, and continued to live there tiU his death in July, 1382, having, however, two years before built himfelf a folitary ceU clofe to the church, becaufe he thought that he took too much earthly delight in the fociety of his brethren of the convent. He was buried, with his wife, who had alfo retired to a convent, and had died twelve years before, in the choir of the church he built. It is much to be regretted tiiat the autobiography of 1 68 Tauler's Life and Times. Nicolas fliould not have been preferved, like that of his difciple, or at leaft has not as yet been found. Though, ^ however, we are thus deprived of the fecret hiftory of his mind, we are able to learn a good deal refpeding his work and mode of life from his Story of the Four Men, who lived with him, and the recently difcovered letters. StiU thefe notices are very fragmentary, and his hiftory is mixed up with so much of a marvellous and half-legendary charader, that in many cases it is difficult to make out the adual fads. He appears at all events to have been the leader and centre of a diftind affociation of " Friends of God." That, even before the date at which he began to colled affociates round him, he was regarded as a remark ably holy and enlightened man, is proved by the circum ftance that two of the four men whofe inward hiftory he relates, having known him in their youth, came to him for help when they found themfelves in fpiritual perplexity. At an early period he began to caft his eye upon thofe whom he thought he could influence for good. ¦ In 1340, when, as he lived till the beginning of the following century, he muft have been ftill comparatively a young man, he went on his miffion to Tauler : about 1350, when the latter had left Straft)urg, began his connexion witii Rulman Merfwin and probably with Berthold von Rohr- bach, who was burnt at Spire, in 1356, for preaching that a layman enlightened by God was as competent to teach Nicolas and the Four Men. 169 others as the moft learned prieft. About the fame time he was in Hungary, and appears alfo to have fojourned in Italy. The four men already mentioned joined themfelves to him one after the other. The fecond of them had been an intimate friend of Nicolas from his youth ; he was a man of large property, and early married to a beautiful wife, by whom he had two children. After a few years of happinefs, however, he began to fuffer from the fcruples by which pious Catholics have been fo often tormented, and to doubt whether he ought not to renounce his domeftic joys in order to do penance for his fins; but Nicolas, to whom he came for counfel, enjoined him to remain true to his duties as a hufband and father ; and it was not until after the death of his wife and both his children that he took up his abode with his friend, and became a prieft. The two brothers who feem to have ftood next to Nicolas in confideration, were • a learned jurift, who had been alfo a lay-prebend, and a converted Jew, named John, who both afterwards became priefts. The little company lived together on equal terms. Nicolas tells the prieft, when deliberating whether or not to enter a monaftic Order, and enquiring as to his brethren's mode of life ; " They obferve no rules but fuch as are " common to fecular priefts, as indeed they are, but we " live together in common as fimply as we can, and have " as little to do with the world as we may." The priefts lyo Tauler's Life and Times. among them feem to have had no peculiar vocation, except that of celebrating mafs ; the laymen never took part in the adminiftration of the facraments, but in all other refpects there was no diftindion between them. As all ftood in a direct and individual relation to God, they required no prieftly mediation; nay, the priefts themfelves fubmitted to the layman Nicolas, becaufe they regarded him as the moft enlightened of their number. Not counfel from men ought we to feek after, writes Nicolas in 1356, but that which proceeds from the Holy Spirit; and, fo long as we have it from that fource, it is indifferent whether it flow to us through prieft or layman. In their rehgious fervices and fafts they did not ftridly obferve ftated hours, for they regarded external obfervances as unimportant in themfelves, and only excellent as a means of improvement, or a fign of obedience. Thus, while they admitted afcetic exercifes and painful penances to be useful in the commencement of a religious life, in order to mortify the fenfual inclinations, they declared them to be afterwards a matter of indifference, nay, fometimes pofitively contrary to the Divine will. According to Nicolas, if a man have attained to a certain degree of maftery over nature, then fafting, fcourging, the wearing of iron girdles, &c., is a felf-fought pain, and as fuch a fign that he does not yet allow God to work alone. Moreover, fuch tormentings may be very detrimental to the body; Do6lrine on Afceticifm. 171 for though it muft needs be brought into fubjedion to the fpirit, yet it ought not to be robbed of its ftrength ; for how elfe fliould a man fupport the fatigue of the labours and travels that the " Friends of God " are fo often called to undertake ? Their dodrine on this point would feem to us more judicious than their pradice, for it is evident from their writings, that they frequently, in fact, carried their aufteri ties fo far as to endanger life or reafon. But Nicolas admirably draws the line between fuffering that is felf- impofed, and that which God lays upon us. The latter, whether it confift in outward afflidion or inward temptation, we are to take joyfully, for it is a proof that God's grace is at work within us ; Chrift, who has endured to the laft extremity for man, loves pain, and will not fpare it to his friends. The main thing is that we fliould find all things good in God, and look at things not as they appear to the world, but as they are in God's fight. When fome of the Strafburg brethren of St. Joha argue that finging and rea^jng in the chapel at fixed hours will hinder them in contemplation, they are cenfured for it by Nicolas, who tells them that thefe acts are prefcribed by the rules of their Order, and though they have in themfelves no merit, yet, if done from obedience, they cannot hinder the motions of grace ; even while outwardly bufy, God may be worfliipped by us in fpirit and in truth, if we put no 172 Tauler's Life and Times. felfifli, carnal thoughts between ourfelves and Him. And when Nicolas von Laufen takes umbrage at the fecular manners of fome of his brethren who ride about on horfe- back clad in fliort coats, the Layman remarks that he has not yet learnt to find all things right in God, but clings too much to outward diftindions. So, again, the renun ciation of the world does not in his opinion involve the abfolute giving up of earthly poffeffions, as was taught in his day by the Francifcan Spiritualifts and others, nor the violent rending afunder of focial ties. Let him who is in an Order that makes poverty a rule, obey that rule ; but he who can rightfully hold property is at liberty to retain it, if only he do not feek his own ends in the use thereof, but God alone. Thus thefe "Friends of God" do not appear to have renounced all control over their property, but merely to have thrown what they regarded as fuper fluous into a common stock, which was applied to the building of their houfe and church, to purpofes of charity, to defray the expenfes of their missionary journeys, &c. This common ftock was managed by their truftworthy fteward Ruprecht, who was the chief if not fole medium of communication between Nicolas and his Stralburg friends. From their feclufion, however, they kept a watchful eye upon all that was paffing in the world around them, went out to thofe whom there feemed a profpect of winning Means of Secret Intercourfe. 173 over, and exercifed no inconfiderable influence upon thofe who had put themfelves under their fpiritual guidance. This was the cafe with many who did not even know Nicolas by name. Thus, Henry von Wolfach, the Mafter of the Brethren of St. John in Stralburg, and even the Grand Mafter of the Order in Germany, Conrad von Brunfberg, and many others, defire his counfel to folve their doubts and dired their proceedings. Meffengers from Nicolas feem to have been perpetually travelling about, who brought him letters from the " Friends of God," fo that he kept up a conftant communication, not only with thofe in the neighbouring regions but alfo with the brethren on the Rhine, in Lorraine, in Italy, and in Hungary. In this manner he became acquainted both with public events and likewife with the private affairs of individuals; fo, for infttoce, he made very remarkable revelations to an Auguftinian monk in Strafburg refpeding one of his penitents. Thefe meffengers had certain fecret figns by which they recognized each other. Thus, Rul man Merfwin was made aware ofthe prefence of Ruprecht, by hearing a peculiar cough when he was in church. Nicolas himfelf took extraordinary precautions to remain undifcovered, and with fuch fuccefs, that, after Rulman's •death, the brethren at the Gruenen-Worth, who had previoufly received many letters from him, were never able to difcover his retreat. When thofe with whom he 174 Tauler's Life and Times. correfponded defired to enter into perfonal communication with him, he ufually refufed it, fimply faying that it could not be. This was the cafe with the vicar of the Bifliop of Strafburg, John von Schaftolflieim, with the Mafter of the Brethren of St. John, in Strafburg, and even with Conrad von Brunfberg. In 1363, he writes that for twenty years he had only been able to reveal himfelf to one perfon, and not until God fliould take this one from him would he feek another ; which probably fignifies that in each city he had but one confidential perfon, through whom he correfponded with all who defired his counfel. Meanwhile he was adive by means of his pen : in 1356, as we have feen, Tauler received from him a tradate on the decay of true religion. The alphabetical lift of rules which he had given to Tauler in 1340, he fent in 1369 to the priefts at Gruenen-Worth, and in 1371 to Rulman's fecretary, Nicolas von Laufen ; to the fame priefts he fent the Hiftory of Tauler; and in 1377, to the Brethren of St. John, he fends the book containing the Hiftory ofthe Five Brethren. It is to thefe circumftances that we owe the proof of the authenticity of Tauler's life, and the poffibility of identifying the " man " there mentioned with " the fecret friend," who meets us in the writings relating to Rulman Merfwin. Up to 1367, Nicolas and his companions dwelt in a " city in the Oberland," moft likely Bafle ; but in that year. Political and Ecclefiaftical Feuds. 175 finding it " not helpful " " to live among the common people," they determined on retiring into utter feclufion ; principally, no doubt, in order to carry on their work unwatched and undifturbed. In accordance with a dream, as they tell us, which commanded them to take their black dog for a guide, they fixed on a fite high up on a moun tain, far away from any human habitation. This mountain was fituated in the dominions of the Duke of Auftria, and for two leagues round there was no town. A meffenger whom they fent to the Duke, to requeft his permiffion to fettle here, was taken prifoner in the wars then raging in thofe countries, and a year had elapfed. before they were able to obtain his releafe. He, however, then brought back the required permiffion, and they began to build their houfe, in which each was to have his own fpacious apartment, and there were alfo to be chambers for the reception of foreign brethren as guefts; but they were prevented from finifhing the edifice, by the political difturbances in the neighbourhood, fo that it remained at a ftandftiU for feven years, and the " Friends " gave up all idea of completing it. The political and ecclefiaftical feuds by which the Papal court was diftraded excited a lively but melancholy intereft in Nicolas, who conftantly predids in his letters that they muft bring down ftill heavier judgments at God's hand than even thofe which had already vifited the world ; 176 Tauler's Life and Times. but when, after his long refidence in Avignon, Gregory XI. returned to Rome in 1376, a ray of hope that it might yet be poffible to reftore unity and concord to the afflicted Church feems to have dawned upon his mind, and he felt called on to make a perfonal effort to influence the Pope himfelf Accordingly, as we learn from a letter to Henry von Wolfach, in the February of 1 377 it was refolved by the " Friends " that Nicolas and the Jurift fhould repair to Rome ; the Jew, John, offered to raife funds to defray the expenfes of the journey from among his relatives, — Jews who harboured a fecret inclination towards Chriftianity. The feverity of the Alpine winter and an attack of iflnefs which befel Nicolas, now above feventy years of age, caufed the journey to be poftponed till the end of March. I extrad from the account ofthe "Friends of God" given in Rulman Merfwin's Briefbuch* the following narrative of their miffion and its refults : " And when they came to " Rome, the Layman (Rulman's fecret friend)f made " inquiry after a Roman whom he had known a long time " before, and found him yet living. And this Roman " received the two ' Friends of God ' in a very friendly * The account itfelf fays, "As the Layman wrote to Rulman Merfwin " and Brother Nicolas von Laufen ; " but thefe letters are not among thofe preferved. f The name by which Nicolas is always defignated, except where he is called " the Dear Friend of God in the Oberland." i i Interview with the Pope. 177 " fafhion, and would take no denial, but they, with their " fervants, and horfes, and carriages, muft lodge with him " fo long as their affairs kept them in Rome ; and he " entertained them moft courteoufly with all manner of " good cheer. Then he faid to the Layman : ' Methinks " ' it is fomewhat ftrange that thou in thine old age fliouldft " ' come to court from fuch a diftant land, unlefs it be upon " ' fome urgent occafion.' Then the Layman anfwered ; " ' So it is : we muft fpeak to our Holy Father upon very " ' weighty affairs.' Then faid the Roman : ' I fliall be " 'able to bring you into his prefence, for I am very " ' familiar with him, and often dine at his table.' And he " procured that the Pope fliould give them a privy " hearing on the third day after. ... So they came into " the prefence of Pope Gregory, and the Jurift fpoke to " him in Latin, and the Layman in Italian, fince he could " not fpeak Latin, and faid, among much other difcourfe : " ' Holy Father, there be many grievous and heinous " 'crimes wrought throughout Chriftendom by all degrees " ' of men, whereby God's anger is greatly provoked ; thou " 'oughteft to confider how to put an end to thefe evils.' " But he anfwered : ' I have no power to amend matters.' " Then they told him of his own fecret fauks, which had " been revealed to them of God by certain evident tokens,. " and faid, 'Holy Father, know of a truth, that if you do " 'not put away your evil doings and utterly amend your 178 Tauler's Life and Times. " ' ways, you fliall die within a year,' as alfo came to pass. " When the Pope heard thefe words of rebuke, he was " enraged beyond meafure ; but they anfwered and faid : " ' Holy Father, take us captive, and if we cannot give you " ' evident tokens, then kill us and do what you will with " 'us.' . . . And when they declared to him thefe tokens, " he rofe up from his throne, and embraced them, and " kiffed them on the mouth, and faid to the Layman, ' Let " ' us talk together in Italian, fince thou canft not fpeak " ' Latin.' And they had much loving difcourfe together ; " and among other things the Pope faid, ' Could you teU " ' the Emperor as much as you have told me, you would " ' indeed do a good fervice to Chriftendom.' And after- " wards the Pope prayed the two 'Friends of God' that " they fliould ftay with him in Rome, and he offered to " provide them all things needful, and alfo to follow " their counfel. But they anfwered, ' Holy Father, fuffer " * us to return home ; and we will be at all times obedient " 'to come if you fend for us. For we feek no earthly " ' gain, nor have we come hither for the fake of fuch ; we " 'feek only God's glory and the welfare of Chriftendom " ' above all the perifliable gifts of this prefent time.' Then " he inquired of them where their home might be ; and " when they faid, ' We have long dwelt in fuch a town,' " he marvelled that fuch ' Friends of God ' fliould dwell " among the common people. Thereupon they told The Pope's Letters to the Bifhop. 179 " him [all that had happened], and how they had " been hindered in their building. Then the Pope " would have given them a bifhopric and other revenues " and grants, but they would not have them. . . . [But " the Pope gave them letters recommending their caufe " to the Bifliop and clergy of their diocefe.] Now when " thefe two dear 'Friends of God' had fettled their affairs " witii the Pope, and defired to depart from Rome, their " hoft would not fuffer them to pay for anything that they " had had in his houfe . . . and moreover gave the " layman a good ambUng horfe inftead of the heavy " carriage in which he had come, faying that a foft-paced " horfe would be much eafier for him to ride over the " high mountains than the carriage, feeing that he was old " and weakly. Now afterward the Pope was unmindful " of God's meffage, and obeyed it not, and died that fame "year as they had ' prophefied — to wit, about the fourth " week in Lent, 1378." On retuming to their mountain, they found that the Bifhop of their diocefe was fojourning in a city thirteen leagues diftant. It was refolved that the two who had been with the Pope fliould ride with his letter to the Bifliop to entreat aid for the completion of their houfe. The prelate received them favourably, and gave them letters to the clergy of the town that lay neareft to their eftate. On this, aU the five bretiiren repaired thitiier, where i8o Tauler's Life and Times. the priefts read from the pulpit the letters of recommen dation which they had brought from the Pope and the Bifliop. The magiftrates alfo took up their caufe, pro mifing to fend them armed men to proted their fettlement in time of difturbance, and offering them befides a houfe in the town for a temporary abode, and in which they could alfo take refuge if neceffary; and further fent them on leaving a complimentary prefent of fifh and wine by the hand of their officers. Three foreign brethren, who had for fome time cherifhed the wifh to be received into their fociety, made over to them the whole of their property, in order to finifh the houfe and ered the church. Thus aided, the little band were at length able to fettle down in the home they had chofen. But, as far as we can gather from the obfcure traces of their fubfequent hiftory, it does not appear that they were allowed to enjoy for more than a few years the retreat for which they had fighed fo long. In the fame year (1377), Nicolas learns from feveral foreign " Friends of God " that the Church is on tihe point of falling into great peril, doubtlefs from the growing difcord which threatened all the convulfions of anarchy; and he forefees that things may come to pafs which would conftrain the " Friends bf God " to feparate and divide themfelves over the world ; but in the meantime their part is to remain in concealment till " God fliall do fomething, " we know not what as yet." Meanwhile he entreats the The Forty Years' Schifm. i8i prayers of his friends, for they are greatly troubled in mind, and know not what wiU come of it. It is evident from fuch dark hints as thefe that Nicolas and his friends now began to contemplate the poffibility of their duty calling them to ufe more public means of influence than the private, though by no means inadive or inefficient, line of condud they had hitherto purfued. They muft have fore feen the painful coUifion that was impending between their deep reverence for the outward authority of the Church and the inward authority of the indwelling light. Neither can they have been without forebodings of the martyr's doom, which actually befell all thofe of whofe fate any traces are left; though we may well believe, from all we know of them, that this would occafion them far lefs anxiety and diftrefs than the queftion whether they were ading moft for the interefts of the Church by continuing their prefent filent and therefore undifturbed efforts to influence the fpiritual leaders of the people ; or by going out among the people themfelves, to call them to repent ance, and proclaim dodrines which, however true, might unfettle the foundations of their traditional belief; — the difficulty and perplexity which in many ages meets and 'torments minds ofthe prophetic order. In the following year, the great fchifm that had been dimly foretold, broke out, and for forty years the Church was divided between two heads ; Urban VI. was eleded at i82 Tauler's Life and Times. Rome, under the influence of terror at the violence of the infurgent mob ; and foon after, in fubfervience to the French party, Clement VII. at Fondi, who immediately haftened to Avignon. When thefe tidings reached the " Friends of God," it feemed to them that the time was come when the threatened judgments of God were about to burft over the world. It was, indeed, inteUigence fitted to fhake all hearts, for, as the brethren of Gruenen-Worth write : " After God has been warning the world for thefe " forty years paft, by deadly difeafes and earthquakes, " famines, and a wild mafterlefs folk,* laying wafte many " lands. He is now fending us a plague that is worfe than " all the reft, becaufe it attacks our faith; namely, the " diffenfions of Chriftendom, in which all the wifdom of " nature, of Scripture, and of the grace of the Holy Spirit " is fo utterly dried up and extind, that all our leamed " dodors and wife priefts have loft their way, and know " not which to choofe of thefe two Popes, that they may " help to bring back unity to Chriftendom, and peace to " the See of Rome." Their Mafter wiflied in this per plexity to repair for counfel to the " Friends of God," but Nicolas forbade him, faying : " Have you not the " Holy Scripture ? Are you not a profeffor in the chair*? " Why fhould you afk counfel from the creature ? Stop, * The hordes known by the name of " Engliflimen," who for feveral years after 1361 ravaged France, Lorraine, and Alface. Conference in the Mountains. 183 " and wait till God himfelf fliall conftrain you to come to " us. It is not yet time for us to reveal ourfelves ; but it " may foon come to pafs that we flip from our covert, " to be fcattered abroad over the world, and if fo, I " fliall come to Stralburg and make myfelf known to " you." It is, however, evident that the " Friends of God," though concealed, were by no means paffive at this time ; what fpecial plans they cherifhed are unknown, but that they had fuch is clear from all their proceedings. So early as November, 1377, Nicolas had been with the prieft, John, in Metz, on fome bufinefs with which we are not acquainted. During 1 378, much confultation by means of meffengers and letters muft have taken place, for on the 17th of March, in the following year, Nicolas (as he relates in a letter to Henry von Wolfach), with feven other brethren, met in fome wild place high up among the mountains, near a chapel hewn out in the rock, clofe to which a prieft dwelt with two young brethren in a little hermitage. Four out of the feven were laymen, the other three ordained priefts. Nicolas, whether from humility or not, fpeaks of himfelf as one of the leaft among them. From his letter it would feem that the chief purpofe of this meeting was united prayer to God, to avert the "dreadful ftorm" that was menacing the Chriftian world, that there might be fpace left for amendment. A week 184. Tauler's Life and Times. was devoted to thefe fupplications; every afternoon the brethren went out into the foreft, and fat down " befide a " fair brook," to converfe upon the matters on which they had come hither. At length, on the laft day, while thus affembled, a ftorm of wind came on, followed by a thick darknefs, which they took for a work of the evil fpirits. After the ftorm had lafted an hour, there came a pleafant light, and the fweet voice of an invifible angel announced to them that God had heard tiieir prayer, and ftayed His chaftifements for a year; but when this was ended, they fliould entreat Him no more, for the Father would no longer delay to take vengeance on the defpifers of His Son. After this the " Friends of God " retumed back again each to his own place. Refpeding the courfe they refolved to purfue, all that we can make out from the vague hints in the letters of Nicolas is, that they inter preted the promife of the angel to mean that they were to wait a year longer before quitting their concealment and taking an open and adive part in the affairs of the world ; the only thing that is diftindly ftated is, that it was refolved once more to try the effed of perfonal remonftrances with the Pope. Nicolas himfelf was entrufted with this miffion, which, however, from fome unknown caufe, was not carried out. Meanwhile, according to the intelligence received from the brethren in foreign parts refpeding the progrefs of the fchifm, affairs were affuming a more and Laft Conference. 185 more gloomy afped ; the confufion and perplexity occa- fioned by the prefence of two Popes was continually increafing; the Chriftian world was fplitting into two parties ; even the fecular authority was in danger of dis ruption and fubverfion. The time drew nearer and nearer when Nicolas believed himfelf caUed on to begin to work among the common people; already in June, 1379, he calls on the Stralburg Mafter to warn the people in his fermons, and hold up before them the teftimonies of Scrip ture concerning their duties in fuch a crifis. As the end of the year approached, during which the "Friends of God" were to wait, they agreed to hold another meeting. All the accounts relating to this con ference (the lateft diftindly recorded inteUigence we have refpeding this extraordinary band of affociates), are fo mixed up with the fymbolical and the marvellous, that it is extremely difficult to rnake out the real fads of the cafe. According to the narrative given by Nicolas to Rulman Merfwin, he, with twelve other " Friends of God," were at Chriftmas, 1379, warned by dreams to affemble together on the following Holy Thurfday, at the fame place where the feven brethren had met the year before. So early as February fome of the foreign brethren arrived at the abode of Nicolas : one from the country of the " Lords of Meig- lon," (probably Milan) ; two from Hungary, whom he had known thirty years before ; one from Genoa, a rich 1 86 Tauler's Life and Times. burgher, with whom Nicolas was not previously acquaint ed. On Holy Thursday, the 22nd of March, they met at the little chapel in the rock, and, after receiving the facrament on Good Friday morning, repaired, as before, to the wood, and fat down befide the ftream to begin their deliberations. What paffed during thefe conferences is only related in the form, of marvellous vifions and fantaftic occurrences. After tempefts and diabolical apparitions, a bright light furrounds the place, and an invifible fpeaker tells them that the impending plagues fliall be ftayed for three years longer, on condition of their obeying the injundions contained in a letter which thereupon drops down in their midft. Thefe commands are fomewhat myfterious : the " Friends of God " are to withdraw from their ordinary communications with the world, except in cafe of thofe who defire their counfel; to receive the facrament three times a week. Sic ; and after three years they fliall receive further commands from God. After they have declared their readinefs to obey the letter, they are told by the fame voice to light a fire, and throw it in. Inftead of burning, it rifes up in the fire, a flafli of light ning meets the flame, and catches up fire and letter together to heaven, after which there is nothing more to be feen ; and the brethren depart to their refpedive homes. The brethren in the Oberland commence their period of retreat at Whitfuntide, after a high mafs has been per- Vifions and Marvels. 187 formed by the prieft John in their newly-finifhed church. Nicolas writes beforehand to Rulman Merfwin releafing him from his obedience, and recommending him to take the Mafter Henry von Wolfach for a confeffor in his ftead. To the latter, who had again applied to know what courfe the " Friends of God " meant to take with regard to the rival Popes, Nicolas replies with his ufual caution, that the Brethren of St. John could not regulate their condud in thefe matters by that of the " Friends of God ; " for they were bound to obey the didates of their fuperiors in the Order, while the latter had received many privi leges from Pope Gregory, and were, moreover, only fubjed to their Bifliop, who did not prefs them for a decifion. It is certainly very difficult to know in what light to regard the marvellous accounts that meet us in the writ ings of Rulman and Nicolas. Some of them feem to be fimply fymbolical; for it is clear that they were in the - habit of prefenting their views of human affairs under the form of an allegory, fuppofed to be feen in a vifion or dream, juft as Bunyan does in his " Pilgrim's Progrefs." This is the cafe with Rulman's Book of the Nine Rocks, Chriftiana Ebner's vifion of tihe Clofed Cathedral, and fome unimportant vifions occurring in the letters of Nicolas.* * See, for inftance, his vifion of the Three Birds. (Schmidt's Gottes freunde, S. 147.) 1 88 Tauler's Life and Times. But the cafe is different when wonders are related, as far as we can fee, as fimple matters of fad. That, however, the "Friends of God" expeded, and fo were ready to receive without much hefitation as to their reality, not only dired fpiritual communications from the Divine Being, but alfo miraculous interpofitions in phyfical things, is perfedly clear ; and thus they were undoubtedly open to all the felf-deception in thefe matters which may arife from intenfe emotion and mental excitement ading on frames disordered by afceticifm. Swoons under the preffure of religious emotion are with them, as with the Methodifts of the laft century, a matter of continual occurrence ; and with them, as with the early Methodifts, feem to have been not unfrequentiy the crifis of a ftate of overwrought phyfical and mental excitement, after which they regained a calmer and healthier condition both of body and mind, with an addition of fpiritual experience and enlightenment. Such an occurrence as a letter faUing from heaven prefents much greater difficulties. It is poffible that Nicolas may have intended the whole ftory rather as an allegory tiian as matter of fad ; if he regarded it in the latter light, it muft have been the refult either of a terribly over-ftrained imagination, or of fraud on the part of fome unknown perfon. But to fuppofe that a man of fo much fimple holinefs and pradical wifdom as Nicolas appears to us, fliould have taken part in juggHng tricks of fuch dreadful Vifions and Marvels. 189 impiety in order to perfuade his affociates that the courfe he judged beft was prefcribed to them by Heaven, is, I confefs, a larger demand upon mypowers of credence than they are able to meet. Moreover, we muft judge thefe accounts by the age in which they were produced, — an age when the mental food of the pious laity was the life of St. Francis with his five wounds and blafphemous "conformities" to the hfe of our Lord, and other works of a fimilar nature. And it muft be remembered that the leaders of this party, — Nicolas, Rulman, John, — were laymen whofe not large ftock of erudition was felf- acquired, comparatively late in life. In the writings of the fcholar Tauler (though, in common with all his contem poraries, he believes in ghofts and heavenly vifions) we find fcarcely a trace of the fanatical credulity that meets us in the letters of thefe lay friends of his, if we are to take their ftatements as literal and not fymbolical reprefentations of fad. Even fo doing, however, if we compare them with the ftories contained in the ftaple religious literature of the day, or even in the life of Sufo, Tauler's companion and friend, Nicolas and his friends, wild as they may feem to us rational Proteftants, will appear fcarcely to leave the regions of fober common fenfe ; * and it is remarkable * This will, I think, feem no exaggerated expreffion to any reader who will take the pains to confult only Diepenbrock's Life of Sufo (Ratifbon, 1829), with Gorres' Introduftion to it, and fo fee for himfelf the fpace 190 Tauler's Life and Times. that, in moft of the pradical queftions that arife with regard to felf-difcipline, he takes the moderate and judicious fide. Whatever interpretation, however, we may be inchned to put upon the marvellous circumftances attending the above-mentioned conference, it feems tolerably clear that the three years' fo-called feclufion of the "Friends of God" was regarded by them as a time of preparation for their public work, when they fliould be " fcattered abroad over Chriftendom ; " and that by their retirement, they were breaking the ties that bound them to thofe who had hitherto depended on them for guidance, and accuftoming them to ad for themfelves againft a time when they fliould no longer have their wonted counfellors at hand. Pro bably, too, the brethren took this courfe partly from the defire that their fpiritual children fhould not be involved in the perfecutions which they could not but perceive to threaten themfelves, but might continue to work for the caufe of true religion in their refpedive fpheres, un hindered by the fufpicions of herefy, which any known connexion with the " Friends of God " would have brought upon them. Not that there is any fign of the " Friends that feparates the Romifh from our Proteftant point of view in thefe matters ; not forgetting, meanwhile, that the Editor Diepenbrock was die fecretary of the learned Biftiop Sailer, the leader of the moft liberal party among the Catholics of almoft our own day. The Brethren Scattered Abroad. 191 of God" having been heretical in point of dogma; it was rather the remarkable freedom with which they criticized the condud both of the fpiritual and temporal authorities that was likely to bring them into trouble. Thus, in one of their meetings juft before their retreat, the brother who had been a Jurift fays, that if offices in Church and State were conferred in accordance with God's law, neither Urban nor Clement deferved to be Pope ; the former had been appointed by the Roman mob through violent means, and the latter was now defending himfelf by fimilar ads of violence, which was contrary to juftice and God's order. So likewife, the King of Rome had obtained the crown after a fhameful fafhion (1376), for his father had bought the votes of the eledors with gold ; how the eledors could reconcile it with their oath to choofe an inexperienced boy for their king, God only knew ; with the fubjeds matters did not ftand much better : they obeyed their rulers only lo long as it ferved their own interefts to do fo ; a godly life was almoft extind, everywhere prevailed nought but the ftriving after riches and pleafures.* This paffage throws much light on the views and aims of the " Friends of God," and enables us to form an idea of what muft have been the frequent topics of discuffion among them. With the ceffation of the correfpondence between Nicolas and Rulman Merfwin, ceafes our only fource of * See Schmidt's Gottesfreunde, S. 170. 192 Tauler's Life and Times. information about the " Friends of God." Their term of waiting expired on the 25th of March, 1383; and fince we know from contemporary hiftory, that the courfe of events, inftead of bringing brighter prospeds, grew ever darker and more threatening, we feem juftified in conclud ing that they now believed the time to have arrived for them " to go out into the five ends of the world," and work for Chrift. Moft likely they went forth as preachers of repentance, for there occur in the letters of Nicolas frequent comparifons of the prefent ftate of the world to that of Nineveh, and hints that they may have to ad the part of Jonah. But where, and how long they did fo, is wrapt in utter darknefs. As far as we can learn. Provi dence did not see fit to blefs their preaching like that of Jonah, and, to human eyes, their enterprife was a failure. For all we adually know refpeding their subfequent hiftory is, that in 1393 a certain Martin von Mayence, a Bene- didine monk of Reichenau, in the diocefe of Conftance, who is called in the ads of his trial a difciple of Nicolas of Bafle and a " Friend of God," was bumt at Cologne, after the fame fate had befallen fome other " Friends of God," a fliort time before, at Heidelberg. Adive refearches were made after Nicolas, but as he had concealed himself from his friends, fo for a long time he was able to elude the efforts of his perfecutors. At length, on a journey which he had undertaken into France, in order to diffufe his Martyrdom of Nicolas of Bafle. 193 dodrines, accompanied by two of his difciples, James and John (the latter moft likely the converted Jew who always appears as his bofom friend), he fell into the hands of the Inquifitors at Vienne, in the diocefe of Poitiers. He was brought to trial, and perfifted firmly and publicly in his herefies, the moft "audacious" of which feems to have been that he pretended to " know that he was in Chrift, and Chrift in him." He was therefore dehvered over to the fecular power, and periflied in the flames, together with his two difciples, who refufed to be parted from him.* * The following note, inferted by Schmidt in his TAyLER, S. 205, is, I believe, the only fource of information we have refpefting the end of the Layman : — " JoHAN NiEDERUs, FORMiCARius, Arg. 1 5 1 7, 4to. F. 40, &c. : Vivebat " paulo ante [the Council of Pifa] quidam purum laicus, Nycholaus " nomine. Hie in linea Rheni circa Bafiliam et infra, primum velut " Beghardus ambulans, a multis qui perfequebantur hereticos, de eorundem " hereticorum numero quafi unus habebatur fufpeftiflimus. Acutiifimus " enim erat, et Verbis errores coloratiflime velare novit. Idcirco etiam " manus inquifitorum dudum evaferat et multo tempore. Difcipulos igitur " quofdam in fuam feftam collegit. Fuit enim profeflione et habitu de " damnatis Beghardis unus, qui vifiones et revelationes in praedifto damnato " habitu multas habuit quas infalHbiles efl^e credidit. Se fcire affirmabat " audaaer quod Chriftus in eo eflet aftu, et ipfe in Chrifto, et plura alia, " qus omnia, captus tandem Wienns in Piftavienfi diocefi, inquifitus " fatebatur publice. Sed cum Jacobum et Joannem fufpedos in fide, et 13 194 Tauler's Life and Times. Since, in the trial of Martin of Mayence, Nicolas is fpoken of as ftill hving, his death moft likely occurred fubfequently to that date, but cannot have taken place much later, as he muft then have been near ninety years of age. Even before this time, the Strafburg brethren had loft all trace of the " Friends of God," and their frequent attempts to difcover them had proved utterly unavafling;* no doubt, becaufe the convent which they fought to find was already deferted, and its inmates, whofe names they had never known, were fcattered abroad in fulfilment of their vocation. That which appears to have formed the chief ground of their perfecution, was their effort to free the people from the tyranny of the clergy, and their claiming for every one enlightened by God the right to teach, — -a. claim antagoniftic to the inmoft effence of the Romifh Church. And if their teaching failed to effed a wide reformation becaufe it was mingled with fome of the great errors of Rome, and in place of prieftly authority over men's confciences fet up that of their brethren, whofe infpiration was often not lefs doubtful, yet we cannot but " fibi confcios fuos fpeciales difcipulos, ad jufliim ecclefije eum inquirend " noUet dimittere nifi per ignem, et reportis in multis a vera fide devius et " imperfuafibilis, fecularium poteftati jufte traditus eft qui eum incinera- " runt." * A detailed account of thefe attempts is given in Schmidt's Gottes freunde, S. 29. spirituality of the "Friends of God." 195 recognife in it the germs of the true freedom of the Gofpel, as well as the great and all-effential truth that the Chriftian life does not confift in outward works, but in the inward union ofthe fpirit with God. SERMONS OF THF Rev. Doctor JOHN TAULER. I. Sermon for the Firft Sunday in Advent. (From the Epiftle for the day.) How that we are called upon to arife from our fins, and to conquer our foes, looking for the glorious coming of Our Lord in our fouls. Rom. xiii. 2. — " Now it is high time to awake out of fleep." S^HIS day we celebrate the beginning of the feafon of Advent, that is The fignificance . - and glory of the to fay, the coming of our feafon of Advent. j^^^^. ^^^ ^^^^ j^^^^j^ we enter on an exceeding fweet and bleffed time, con cerning which vety devout and joyful words are read and 198 Sermon for the fung by the holy Church. For as May excels aU other months in gladnefs and delights, fo is this feafon fpecially dear to our hearts, and facred above all other feftivals. For thefe are the days which the prophets and righteous men of the Old Teftament for five thoufand years have longed and fighed for, crying out — " Oh that thou wouldft " rend the heavens and come down, to enhghten thofe " who are fitting in darknefs and the Ihadow of death." And, indeed, all the hiftories and fymbolS of the Old Teftament are defigned to fhadow forth the Greatnefs of Him who fhould come, and who now has come. O let us, therefore, give thanks and praife to God without ceafing, that He has made us to live in this His time of grace, and is ready to beftow all His gifts and riches upon us if we are but willing to receive them. And now, as at this time, does the holy Apoftle call upon us to arife from the fleep of fin. The duties to which this feafon doth call " for the night is far fpent, and the " day is at hand : let us, therefore, caft " off the works of darknefs, and let us put on the armour " of light, and let us walk honeftly as in the; day." Now to this end, let us mark diligently, firft, how it is that we have fallen; and, fecondly, how we are to arife from all our fins and infirmities into our firft ftate of innocence. ' God created man to the intent that he fhould poffefs Firfl Sunday in Advent. 199 How wf have fallen thofe manfions in. the kingdom of through difobedience ; heaven, from which Lucifer and his angels were thruft out. The fame Lucifer, for his deadly hatred towards man, hath feduced him likewife into dis obedience againft God, by the which he loft all the graces and endowments that were intended to make him like unto God and the angels, and poifoned his own pure nature, fo that it became corrupt. And through this poifon man Has wounded himfelf mortally with blindnefs in his reafon, with perverfenefs or malice in his will, with fhameful lufts in his appetites, and with lofs of his juft indignation at fin. Man, being in honour, underftood it not, and is become like unto the beafts that perifli. And hence it has come to pafs that three foes have rifen , . • , . up againft him, who, alas ! on all and of the three foes ^ which have rifen up fides have got the upper hand, and are ruling in the hearts of the people : thefe are, the World, the Flefh, and the Devil. Where thefe three have their will, that noble thing, the Soul, is loft, on which God hath looked with fuch great love ; for thofe in whom they obtain the maftery do moft furely walk in a way that leadeth unto eternal death. How cruelly and periloufly thefe three enemies now reign in numbers of men, both in the Church and in the world, ftanding in God's place, is bewailed with bitter tears by the friends of God, who love Him and feek His glory. For 200 Sermon for the the everlafting injury of their fellow-creatures is a fore grief to fuch men, infomuch that their heart is ready to dry up within their body for anguifli, when they fee felf-love fo rooted in men's hearts, that there be few left who wholly love God and have a fingle eye to his glory. The World rules through pride, outward or inward. How the Worid How many are members of tiiis "''^^- Devil's Order I They defire to be and appear to be fomewhat; while their fins and infir mities are not to be numbered. The Devil's government leads to bitternefs, to hatred How the Devil ^^^ ^"S^'"' ^o fufpicion, to judging ™^^^- others, to revenge, to ill-wiU, to dif cord. All his difciples are quarrelfome, unloving, envious of their neighbours. The will of our own Flefh is fet upon earthly pleafures How the Flefti doth ^^^ fenfual deUghts, and it craveth to lead us aftray. , j^^yg ^j^^ ]^^Q^ ^f everything, and con tinually to find enjoyment in all things. How great is the mischief that fprings from this fountain, people do not know, efpeciaUy thofe who are themfelves blinded through it. , By thefe three, foes are nearly all men led aftray to their eternal lofs. Now he who defires to rife again By what means we ° may rife unto our firft to his firft honour and dignity, which Adam at the beginning, and we Firft Sunday in Advent. 201 after him, have loft through fin, and to make way for the coming of Our Lord in his foul, muft flee the world, overcome the Devil, bring his flefli under dominion to his reafon, and exercife himfelf diligently in thefe fix points following : — Man fell in Paradife through two things, — luft and pride ; fo likewife we muft return by means of two things, for nature to win back again her original powers. We muft refift and die to all irregular defires, after a manly and reafonable fort. In the fecond place, we muft humble ourfelves, and bow our nature down to the earth in deep humility before God and all men againft whom it had lifted itfelf with pride. Take always the loweft place, and fo fhalt thou rife to the higheft. By thefe two things nature recovers her original powers. Next, in two things man muft become like unto the How we muft be ^ngels. He muft pardon and forgive Uke unto the angels, ^]i ^^ofe who do him wrong, and be from his heart the friend of his enemies, Hke the angels, whom we ofttimes vex with our fins. Further, he muft ferve his neighbour with a willing fpirit, as the holy angels are ever miniftering to us for God's fake. Laftly, in two things man muft become like unto our andlikeuntoourLord Lord Jefus Chrift. Firft, in perfed Jefus Chrift. obedience, as our Lord was obedient to His Heavenly Father, even unto death; fecondly, he 202 Sermon for the muft perfevere and grow in obedience and in all virtues, unto his life's end. By thefe means the heart is made pure and heavenly, and the man becomes of one mind with God through deep humility, free felf-furrender, patient long-fuffering, true poornefs of fpirit, and fervent love to God. And all who How God defend- ^° ^"i^^ ^"^ ^he kingdom of God eth and upholdeth un- (of whom, alas I how few is the num- to the end thofe who verily feek his king- ber), do prevail againft their foes, and God delivers them from their heavy burdens, and helps them to bear all their afflidions. For He lays upon them much fuffering of many kinds; but the righteous God does this to the intent that four ends may be accomplifhed in them. The firft, that they may come to themfelves, and fee whence their trouble cometh, and that their thoughts may be turned upon- themfelves by reafon of the pain, and fo be fixed. The fecond, that they may examine why God has laid the burden of pain upon them; and when they perceive God's purpofe in their fufferings, let them ftrive to fulfil that, and refign tiiem- felves wholly to His divine wiU. The third, that tiiey may come out from themfelves, and from all creatures. The fourth, that they may learn true patience under diverfe afflidions. But what is true patience under afflidion ? Is it to remain unmoved by outward things ? No. True patience is that a man fliould feel in his inmoft foul, and Firft Sunday in Advent. 203 in utter fincerity thus judge, that no Of true patience. one could or might do him a real in juftice, but always remember that he is receiving no worfe than his deferts, for he might juftly have far more to fuffer and endure; infomuch that he may feel nothing but gentlenefs and compaffion towards all who do him wrong. Such men are followers of Chrift, our humble Mafter, in whom He reigns, and to whom He faid : " If ye continue " in my word, then are ye my dif- John viii. 31, 32. . " ciples indeed ; and ye fliall know the " truth, and the truth fhall niake you free." Now there are two forts of rpen who follow after the word of Chrift. The one fort hear it Of the two forts of men who follow with joy, and follow after it as far as they are able with their reafon to perceive its truth, and take it in juft in the fame way as their reafon takes in what is concerned with the world of fenfe ; and all this they do by means Of thofe who fol- . •' -^ low it by their natural of their natural light, but they make no account of anything that they tiiemfelves do not feel or enter into : but with thefe natural powers of theirs, they are ever running out to catch up and underftand fome new thing. They have not learnt by experience that they ought to die to this reftleffnefs ; but if they are ever to grow better men, they muft try ailother road. 204 Sermon for the But the other fort turn their thoughts inward, and ^, , ^ , , , remain refting on the inmoft foun- Of thofe who look for God's leadings dation of their fouls, fimply looking to fee the hand of God with the eyes of their enlightened reafon, and await from within their fummons and their call to go whither God would have them. And this they receive from God without any means ; but what is given through means, fuch as other mortal men, for inftance, is as it were tafteless; moreover, it is feen as through a veil, and fpht up into fragments, and bears within it a certain fting of bitternefs. It always retains the favour of that which is of the creature, which it muft needs lofe and be purified from, if it is to become in truth food for the fpirit, and to enter into the very fubftance of the foul. For thofe who perceive God's gifts and leadings from within, whether by the help of means or without means, do receive them from their fountain-head, and carry them back again unto their fountain-head in the Divine goodnefs. Thefe are they who draw and drink from the true weU, of which Chrift faid : " Whofoever " drinketii of the water that I fliall give him fliaU never " thirft." Put the firft of whom we fpoke are feeking their own things; wherever they are, and whatever they do, they are always ftanding upon their own foundation. Yet, in truth, they can never find their own good fo certain and fo unmixed, as in its inward fource, without the aid of means. Firft Sunday in Advent. 205 Now you may afk. How can we come to perceive this How we may per- ^ired leading of God ^ By a care- ceive God's leadings, fy^ looking at home, and abiding within the gates of thy own foul. Therefore, let a man be at home in his own heart, and ceafe from his reftlefs chafe of and fearch after outward things. If he is thus at home while on earth, he will furely come to fee what there is to do at home, — what God commands him in wardly without means, and alfo outwardly by the help of means; and then let him furrender himfelf, and follow God along whatever path his loving Lord thinks fit to lead him: whether it be to contemplation or adion, to ufefulnefs or enjoyment; whether in forrow or in joy, let him follow on. And if God do not give him thus to feel . ^ His hand in all things, let him ftiU How we ftiould fol low Chrift in the three fimply yield himfelf up, and go with- aims of his life.; to wit: ^ ^ t. r t rt j out for God s fake, out ot love, and ftill prefs forward, fetting ever before him the lovely ex ample of our Bleffed Lord Jefus Chrift ; who did all His works for three ends : The firft was, that in all His doings He fought the the glory of His Hea- S^°^ 'o^ ^'^ Heavenly Father only, venly Father, ^^d not His own in any matter, whe ther great or fmall, and committed all things into His hands again. The fecond was, that with His whole heart he purpofed 2o6 Sermon for the Firft Sunday in Advent. _ and fought the falvation and bleffed- the falvation of men, r r tt -it nefs of men, that He might lay hold on all men, and bring them to the acknowledgment of His Name, according to the words of St. Paul : " God " will have all men to be faved, and to come to the "-knowledge ofthe truth." The third end which He kept in view, in all His the fetting forth of a words, and works, and hfe, was, tiiat perfeft life. j^^ might give US a true example and model of a perfed life in its higheft form. The men who thus tread in His fteps do become, in Of thofe who do very truth, the nobleft and moft glo- thus follow Chrift. j-ious of tiieir race; and tiiofe who are thus born again into His life, are the rich and coftly jewels of the Holy Chriftian Church, and in all ages they work out the higheft good, while they look not to the greatnefs or meannefs of their work, nor to their fuccefs or failure, but look only to the will of God in aU things ; and for this caufe all their works are the beft that may be. Neither do they look whether God wiU place them high or low, for the only thing tihey care for is, that in all things alike God's will may be done. God grant that it may be thus vi^ith each of us. Amen. IL Sermon for the Second Sunday in Advent. (From the Gofpel for the day.) How that God is very near to us, and how we muft feek and find the Kingdom of God within us, without reipect to time and place.* Luke xxi. 31. — " Know ye that the kingdom of God is nigh at hand." J^^2^&^UR Lord fays here that the kingdom of God || .^ ||^ is nigh to us. Yea, the kingdom of God *. } ^^fO is in us ; and St. Paul fays, that now is our ^arSsScSrS falvation nearer to us than we believe. Now ye ought to know, firft, how the kingdom of God is nigh at hand ; fecondly, when the kingdom of God is nigh at hand. Now we muft give earneft heed to take note of all that is contained in thefe words, " The »How the kingdom of God is nigh at " kingdom of God .IS nigh at hand." For if I were a king, and did not know it, I fhould be no king ; but if I were fully con vinced that I was a king, and if all men deemed me fo likewife, and further, if I knew that all men deemed me fuch, I fliould be a king, and all the riches of the king * This Sermon is believed to be by Mafter Eckhart. 2o8 Sermon for the would be mine. But if any of tiiefe three things were wanting, I could be no king. In like manner, does our In what true bleffednefs depend upon our perceiv- bleflednefs confifts. j^g and knowing die Higheft Good, which is God Himfelf. I have a power in my foul which enables me to perceive God : I am as certain as that I live that nothing is fo near to me as God. He is nearer to me than I am to myfelf. It is a part of His very effence that He fliould be nigh and prefent to me. He is alfo nigh to a stone or a tree, but they do not know it. If a tree could know God, and perceive His prefence as the higheft of the angels perceives it, the tree would be as bleffed as the higheft angel. And it is becaufe 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 bleffed or lefs bleffed in the fame meafure as he is aware of the prefence of God. It is not becaufe God is in him, and fo clofe to him, and he hath God, that he is bleffed, but becaufe he perceives God's prefence, and knows and loves Him; and fuch an one will feel that God's kingdom is nigh at hand. Often, when I meditate on the kingdom of God, I can- What is the king- ^^^ fpeak for tiie greatnefs thereof dom of God. Yov the kingdom of God, what is it but God Himfelf with all His riches ? The kingdom of God is no fmall thing. If we think of all the worlds that Second Sunday in Advent. 209 God could create, that is not the kingdom of God. When the kingdom of God is manifefted in a foul, and fhe knows it, you need not to preach or to teach ; for that foul is taught of God, and affured of eternal life. He who knows and perceives how nigh God's kingdom is, may fay with Jacob : " Surely the Lord is in this place, " and I knew it not." God is alike near in all creatures. The wife man fays : " God hath fpread out His nets and How God is every- where alike near to " fnares over all creatures, so that he ^^^ '°"^' « who defireth to perceive Him, may " find Him in every one of them." A Mafter has faid: "He knowetii God aright who " knoweth him in aU things alike." He who ferveth God with fear, it is good ; he who ferveth Him with love, it is better ; but he who in fear can love, that is the beft of all. That a man fliould have a life of quiet or reft in God is good ; that a man fliould lead a painful life in patience is better ; but that a man fliould have reft in a painful life is beft of all. Whether a man walk out in the fields and fay his prayers, and feel God's prefence, or whetiier he be in tiie church and feel God's prefence, does he perceive Him any the better becaufe he is in a place of reft ? If he do, it comes from his own infirmity ; the difference is not on God's fide, for God is in all things and places alike, and is ever alike ready to give Himfelf to us, in fo far as H 2IO Sermon for the we are able to receive Him ; and he knows God aright who fees Him in all things. St. Bernard fays : " Why does my eye perceive the How the foul muft " heavens, and not my feet? Becaufe be like unto the heav- » jg ^^^^ ^^^^ ^^ j^ ens m fteadfaftnefs and ¦' ¦' purenefs. « tiian my feet." Thus, if my foul is to perceive God, it muft be heavenly. Now what wfll bring the foul to fee God in herfelf, and know how nigh God is to her ? Confider ! The heavens cannot take any imprint from other things, neither can they, by any violence or force, be turned from their order. In Hke manner, the foul that would know God muft be fo grounded and built up in Him, that neither hope, nor fear, nor joy, nor forrow, nor weal or woe, nor anything elfe, can fo move it as to force it from its place in Him. The heavens are everywhere alike far from the earth : thus fliall the foul be alike far from all earthly things, that Die be not nearer to one than to another, but keep herfelf alike far from all, in joy and forrow, in profperity and adverfity, for flie muft be utterly dead to all that is of die earth, earthly, and altogether raifed above it. The heavens are pure and bright, without a fpeck ; tiiey have nought to do with time or fpace ; no bodies have a :^xed place therein; neither are the heavens fubjed to time : their circuit is fwift beyond belief; their courfe is without time, yet from their courfe cometh time. Second Sunday in Advent. 211 Nothing hinders the foul fo much in its knowledge of God as time and place. Time and place are parts, and „„ . ,^,^ God is one; therefore, if our foul is What is needful tor the foul to perceive to know God, it muft know him and know God. , . , , /- .-^ , . above time and place, tor God is neither this nor that, like thefe complex things around us, for God is one. If the foul is to fee, fhe muft not look at the things that exift in time, for fo long as fhe is looking at time and place, or at the phenomena dependent thereon, fhe can never perceive God Himfelf: juft as, if mine eye is to perceive colour, it muft firft be cleared of all tint in itfelf If the foul is to know God, fhe muft have no fellovsdhip with that which is Nought. He who fees God, knows that all creatures are nought ; for when you compare one creature with another, it indeed appears beautiful and is fomewhat, but when you compare it with God it is nothing. I fay more : if the foul is to know God, fhe muft forget herfelf and lofe herfelf, for while fhe is looking at and thinking about her felf. Die is not looking at or thinking about God ; but when Qie lofes herfelf in God, and lets go of aU things, then fhe finds herfelf again in God. When flie comes to know God, then does flie know to perfedion in Him, botih her felf and all the things from which flie has feparated her felf If I am truly to know the Higheft Good, or the Eternal Goodnefs, I muft know it in that wherein it is 212 Sermon for the good, namely, in itfelf, — not in thofe things in which it is only in part. If I am to know real Being, I muft know it in that where it is felf-exiftent, that is, in God. In God . ^ , , alone is the true Divine Subftance: How in God the foul knows all things in one man you have not aU human- in their IdeaL , . • „ , ity, tor one man is not all men; but in God the foul knows all humanity, and all things in their Ideal, for fhe knows them in their Subftance. When a man has been within a beautifully-painted houfe, he knows much more about it than another who has never been infide it, and is able to tell much about it So I am as certain as that I live and God lives, that if the foul is to know God, flie muft know Him above time and fpace; and fuch a foul knows God, and knows how nigh God's kingdom is ; that is, God with all His riches. The Mafters have fet forth many queftions in the Schools as to how it be poffible for the foul to know God. It is not of God's feverity that He requires much from man; it is of His great kindnefs that He wiU have the foul to open herfelf wider, tp be able to receive much, that He may beftow much upon her. Let no one think that it is hard to attain thereunto. Although it found hard, and is hard „, ^ ^ . at firft, as touching the forfaking and The fweetnefs of a _ ° ° life in union with dying to all things, yet, when one has reached this ftate, no life can be eafier or fweeter, or fuller of pleafures ; for God is right dihgent Second Sunday in Advent. 213 to be with us at all feafons, and to teach us, that He may bring us to Himfelf when we are like to go aftray. None of us ever defired anything more ardently than God defires to bring men to the knowledge of Himfelf. God is ever ready, but we are very unready; God is nigh to us, but we are far from Him ; God is within, we are without; God is at home, we are ftrangers. The Prophet fays : " God leadeth the righteous by a narrow " path into a broad highway, till they come unto a wide " and open place : " * that is, unto the true freedom of that fpirit which hath become one fpirit with God. God help us aU to follow Him. that He may bring us unto Himfelf! Amen. * The Tranflator has not been able to determine what is the paflage referred to in the original, which runs thus : Gott fuehret die Gerechten dutch einen engen Weg in die breite Strafze, dafz fie kommen in die Weite und in die Breite. IIL Sermon for the Third Sunday in Advent. (From the Gofpel for the day.) How that we muft wholly come out from ourfelves, that we may go into the wildernefs and behold God. Matt. xi. 7. — " What went ye out into the wildernefs for to fee ?" SS^S^UR Lord Jefus Chrift said unto the Jews, . ¦ '$S (i%'^^ " What went ye out unto the wildernefs for km W SO " to fee ? A reed fliaken witii tiie wind ?" Ka*^5^^SS^ In thefe words let us confider three things : Firft, the going out; fecondly, the wildernefs; thirdly, what we are to fee there. Firft, let us confider the going out. Firft, in what wife 1 1 • we are to come out This bleffed going out takes place m from the world. r tour ways : — The firft way is to come out from the wOrld, that is, from the craving after worldly advantages, and to defpife them, according to that precept of St. John, " Love not " the world, neither the things that I John ii. 15. . " are in the world. If any man love " the world, the love of the Father is not in him." Thofe who thus forfake the love of the world, may be fitly faid to come out of Egypt, leaving King Pharaoh behind; Third Sunday in Advent. 215 that is, they purpofe to forfake pride, vain-glory, prefump- tion, and all other fins. And thofe who are thus minded do greatly need a Mofes to be their leader and com mander ; for he was very gentle and merciful, and in their coming out they require to be treated with great gentle nefs, and kindnefs, and forbearance. But fuch as come out from Sodom and Gomorrah, that is, thofe who have to depart from covetoufnefs, intemperance, and unchaftity, and are hard befet by thefe foes, do need an angel for their leader and guide ; that is to fay, a man who can have compaffion on them, but who is himfelf temperate, pure, and ftrict in life. Now thofe who do thus fuffer themfelves to be led and guided, fhaU be verily delivered fi:om all their pride and fenfuality, as Ifaiah fays : " Ye J J j^ "fhaU go out with joy, and be led "forth with peace;" and as Chrift John xvi. 33. alfo fays : " In the world ye fliall " have tribulation, but in me ye fliall have peace." The fecond kind of coming out is to loofe thy hold on Secondly, how we ^utward things, to ceafe from thy are to come out from y^in anxieties, thy felfifh wifhing and our own wilhes and i_ u 1, feelings, and refign planning, and to tum thy thoughts . ^^^"^'^ t° God. .^^^^^^ ^^^^ ^^^^ ^^y^^ l^^^j^ to know thyfelf, and to fee what tiiou art, how thou art, and in what it ftandeth amifs with thee. He who is too fuU of his own joys or forrows to get beyond himfelf can 2i6 Sermon for the never come to know himfelf So St. Bernard fays : " It " were better to know thyfelf, and to fee how fick and " full of infirmities thou art, than to be mafter of all the " fciences in the world." Therefore fays Solomon in his Song : " If thou know not [thyfelf], O thou faireft among " women, go thy way forth by the footfteps of the flock " [of thy companions] :" which fignifies, confider the lives of God's faints, and look at thyfelf in that mirror ; that is to fay, follow their example, and walk not after thine own will. The third kind of going out is to give up thine own eafe and thine own way, and to de- Thirdly, how we are to give up eafe, votc thyfelf, fo far as thou art able, and live for others. ^ ^i • i_i ^ t_ i i • i to thy neighbour, to help him by counfel and deed, and by thine own good example, to the utmoft of thy power and the beft of thy knowledge, in a conftant fpirit of hearty love, that he may be brought to the things that make for his etemal peace. For this is the commandment of the Lord, " That ye love one an- " other, as I have loved you. By John xm. 34, 35. " this fliall all men know that ye are " my difciples, if ye have love one to another." So Hke- wife St. Paul fays: "Bear ye one Gal. vi. 2. } ] " another's burdens, and fo fulfil the " law of Chrift." Just as it is faid in the Book of Gene fis : " Except ye bring your youngeft " brother with you, ye fhall fee my Third Sunday in Advent. 217 "face no more." This is alfo plainly meant in the Book of Canticles, where we read : " Come, my beloved, let us " go forth into the field ; let us get Cant. vii. II, 12. . " up early to the vineyards, and let "us lodge in the villages, and let us fee if the vine "flourifli." The fourth kind of going out is to forfake everything but God, fo that our love towards Fourthly, how we i i , n r\ t are to love God and God Ihould be the ftrongelt love we not ourfelves. ^^^^ , ^^^ ^^ q^^^^^ j^j^^^ j^^^ Him with all our heart, and with all our foul, and with aU our ftrength. As it was faid unto Abraham : " Get " thee out of thy country, and from Gen. xii. I. " thy kindred, and from thy father's houfe :" that is to fay, " Set not your affections on the " things that perifli, but on God only ; and whatever you " poffefs, thank God for it, and ufe it for Him." Thus had the woman of Canaan come out, as her words indeed teftify : " True, Lord, yet the dogs eat of the crumbs that " fall from their mafter's table ;" and therefore fhe obtained her requeft. Thus it is faid to the loving foul and her companions : " Go forth, O ye daughters of Zion." Well may it be faid " ye daughters," and not fons ; for they are ftill feeble in underftanding, and troubled with many wo- manifh fears, and not yet ftrong in renunciation, but are ftiU tender and weak, hke maidens or daughters. 2i8 Sermon for the The fecond fubject for our confideration is " the wilder- The wildernefs a " nefs." When men have forfaken type of a fpiritual life. £^g ^^d worldly ambition, tiiey come into the wildernefs, which fignifies a fpiritual life, or the life of one. who is dead to the world. Now there are two kinds of wildernefs, a good and a bad. It is an evil wil dernefs when a man's heart is filled An evil wildernefs. with vanity, and barren of good deeds, of love and of heavenly afpiration, and far and wide in the Church, or in the temple of the foul, there rifes no incenfe of praife to God ; when the flieep of the houfe of Ifrael, that is to fay all good thoughts, are fcat tered, each to his own way. But A good wildernefs. , . , . that is a wildernefs which is very fruitful and good, when the whirlwinds of earthly cares or paffions are laid to reft, and the biUows of vs^orldly defire and creature aims ceafe to fwell up in the depths of the heart. And then, even though the firft fliarp dart of pain pierce through every nerve of body and mind, yet in the deep fources of his will, the man remains undaunted. That is a good wildernefs when without there are ftorms, yet within there is peace ; the wildemefs of which God faid by the prophet : " I will bring " you into the wildemefs, and there " will I plead with you face to face ;" for no one does hear or underftand what is in him, and what God Third Sunday in Advent. 219 fays in his foul, until he is brought into this wilder nefs. There are three reafons why a fpiritual life is called a wildernefs, or a Hfe in the defert. The firft is on account of the fmall number who do turn from the world and go forth into it, and becaufe the common way of the world is for each man to follow his own earthly objeds. But it is the wifeft courfe to drive out the How to go out into ^^^^^ fj.^^ the heart, by banifliing this good wildernels. ¦' "^ the very thoughts and images thereof, and, with Mofes, go into the depths of the wildernefs and dwell therein, that fo we may the better watch over and guard our flieep; that is to fay, efcape the affaults of inward temptation, and the wanderings of the imagination into forbidden fields. And as, when Mofes drove his Iheep into the fartheft corners of the wildernefs, God revealed Himfelf to him tihere in a burning bufli, fo like- wife flialt thou be fiUed with burning love and holy long ing, and follow on to know God. This is the beauteous wildernefs of which Solomon fpeaks when he fays : " Who is this that cometh up out " of the wildemefs like a pillar of " fmoke, perfumed with myrrh and "frankincenfe?" St. Gregory fays: "It is tiie nature " and property of love to rife up unceafingly from itfelf " to God witii holy afpiration, never refting tiU it hath 220 Sermon for the " reached and embraced the Higheft Good; for nothing " on earth can draw it down or imprifon its flame, but it " foars ever upwards to God above itfelf" And fo it is with good men ; and the clofer they cling to Him whom they love, the more do they tum from and defpife all the fmiles of the world. They cleave with fteadfaft defire unto God, as Job fays : " Even that Job. vi. 9, lo. " it would pleafe God to deftroy me ; " that he would let loofe his hand, and cut me off! Then " fhould I yet have comfort." Of this wildemefs fay the angels : " Who is this that cometh Cant. viii. 5. " up fi'om the wildemefs, leaning "upon her beloved?" and the loving foul anfwers: " I have found him whom my foul loveth, I have laid " hold on him and will not let him go." For thofe who come into this wildemefs are able to ofSIsiMeSf ^' tafte and teU of fecret and inward matters. Moreover, in the exercife of love all virtues do fpring up and grow. So Chrift, on Mount Tabor, took to Himfelf all His glory, for an image to us of that fruit of the wildemefs which fhall be ours alfo if we give ourfelves unto God. 2 Cor. iii. 18. For St. Paul fays : " But we all witii " open face beholding as in a glafs the glory of the Lord, " are changed into the fame image from glory to glory, " even as by the Spirit of the Lord." Third Sunday in Advent. 221 Again, a fpiritual life may be fitiy called a wildernefs, by reafon of the many fweet flowers which fpring up and flourifli where they are not trodden under foot by man. In this refped the life of one dead to the world may well be likened to a wildernefs, feeing that fo many virtues may be leamed by continual and eameft ftriving; but becaufe the effort needed is toilfome and painful at the firft, few are wiUing to make it. In this wildernefs are ^r t n t found the lihes of chaftity, and the Of the flowers that •' do grow in this wilder- white rofes of innocence ; and therein ncis are found too the red rofes of facri fice, when flefh and blood are confumed in the ftruggle with fin, and the man is ready, if need be, to fuffer martyrdom, — the which is not eafily to be learned in the world. In this wildemefs, too, are found the violets of humility, and many other fair flowers and wholefome roots, in the examples of holy men of God. And in this wildemefs fhalt thou choofe for thyfelf a pleafant fpot wherein to dwell; that is, a holy life, in which thou mayeft follow the example of God's faints in purenefs of heart, poverty of fpirit, true obedience, and all other virtues ; fo that it may be faid, as it is in the Canticles : "Many flowers have appeared in our land;" for many have died full of holinefs and good works. A third Hkenefs between a fpiritual life and the wilder nefs is that we find in the wildernefs fo Httle provifion for 222 Sermon for the the flefh, and therefore the lovers of this world cannot live there. Thus did the children of Ifrael complain againft Mofes becaufe they lacked many things. By this we are to underftand a life of moderation, girding up the loms with manly vigour. And every man is bound to lead fuch a life; for had he the whole world wherewith to fupply his wants, he would ftill be bound fcrupuloufly to take no more than fufficient for his real neceffities. Moreover by fuch a Ufe all the The foul is ftrength- •' ened by a life in this powcrs of the foul ate braced up. And although there is little to delight the fenfes in this wildernefs, there is much of the comfort of the fpirit, which far excels the pleafures of the world. Ifaiah fays: "For the Lord fhall Is. Ii. X . " comfort Zion; he will comfort all " her wafte places ; and he will make her wildemefs Uke " Eden, and her defert like the garden ofthe Lord." And again : " I will make the wildemefs Is. xii. 1 8. , r 1 1 1 I J " a pool of water, and the dry land " fprings of water." Thus the folitary foul bears many more children of good works than fhe that is married to the world. So Pharaoh was commanded by God to let His people go forth into the defert, that they might facrifice unto the Lord, and receive fpiritual marma inftead of the carnal pleafures of Egypt. The third thing for our confideration is what we are to Third Sunday in Advent. 223 fee in the wildernefs. When a man What we are to fee i ,. ¦ ^ ^-l -i i r t in the wildernefs. ^^^ gone out into the Wildernefs, he is bidden to look with his inward eye upon " the king and his bride," which is the foul, with all her hidden treafures of lovelinefs. It is written, "Go " forth, O ye daughters of Zion, and Is. ix. 6. " behold the king ; " that is, Solomon, who is a type of Chrift, of whom Ifaiah fays : " To us a " child is born, unto us a fon is given : and the govern- " ment fliall be upon his fhoulder ; and his name fliall be " called Wonderful." And now behold how wonderful God is in His deity, that He has become man for the fake of His bride. This is the miracle that Mofes faw, and faid : " I will now turn afide and fee Exod. iii. 3. 1 1 1 n • this great fight, why the bufli is not " burnt." The thorn-bufh is Chrift's human nature ; the flame is His foul filled with burning The burning bufli ^oye ; the light is His deity fliining a type of Chrift. ' o j o through His mortal body. Now, con fider this Chrift and Solomon, upon whom is poured out without meafure that wifdom which comprehends all things in its grafp : He is the Truth who hath taught us the way to heaven ; let the foul look upon Him, that fhe may follow Him, to live after His fpirit, and not after her own inclination, and her nature fliall be greatly ftrengthened to fight the good fight when fhe confiders the nature of her 224- Sermon for the King, how He fulfilled His pilgrimage. For it fhall greatly refrelh the loving foul to remember from time to time His human infirmities, and from time to time to rejoice in His life in the fpirit. A mafter has faid : " Excefs in pleafures enfeebles the " powers, and overflowing fpiritual The Chriftian's ex- « emotions confume tiie fpirit. Great perience. ^ "joy cannot laft always, but while " here we have need of variablenefs in our joys; for it is " not yet given to the foul to ferve God in the holy of hoHes." Therefore fhall the foul fometimes contemplate the divine greatnefs of Chrift, and fometimes His holy humanity. A foul that is as yet inexperienced and ftrange in the things of God DiaU be bidden to beheve in God ; but a fervent, tried, and experienced foul fhall be invited to behold the King in his beauty. And hence the loving foul fhall fee with her inward eye in what wife fhe ought to yield to or withftand her fellow-chriftians of mankind. St. Bernard fays: "O Lord, come pirTtSn^^"'"'"'' ''^ " l^i'^l^ly and reign on Thy tiirone, " for now ofttimes fometihing rifes up " within me, and tries to take poffeffion of Thy throne ; " pride, covetoufnefs, uncleannefs, and floth want to be my " kings ; and then evil-fpeaking, anger, hatred, and tiie " whole train of vices join with me in warring againft " myfelf, and try to reign over me. I refift them, I cry Third Sunday in Advent. 225 " out againft them, and fay, ' I have no other king than " ' Chrift.' O King of Peace, come and reign in me, for " I will have no king but thee I " And Gilbert fays : " O " Lord, I endure thy hand upon me, and prefs forward " with ftraining eyes, with knocking, with prayers, and " through many heights and depths of joy and sorrow." But O, who can faint and grow weary in making himfelf ready for fuch a king, when he remembers how God has made our little nature able to receive His divine Sub ftance, and has even taken upon Himfelf our nature, and invefted Himfelf with the colours of our humanity, and fo revealed His beauty unto us, and loveth us much more than we love Him ! I were in truth worthy of all con demnation, if I did not love Him above all things, when He afketh nothing from me but to love Him ! Therefore let us in the firft place come out wholly from ourfelves, that we may, in the next place, enter into this bleffed wildernefs, and, in the third place, defire to know and behold the true King and bridegroom of the foul. And to this end the Mofes of a holy Will muft lead us into the Mount of God. But the people whom Mofes led up out of Egypt are an image of thofe who, having newly laid afide their evil cuftoms, do eafily return to their old ways, and make to themfelves in the wildernefs a golden calf of tiieir old fleDily lufts, of unchafte or woridly thoughts, to live after tiie flefli, and ferve their own bellies and not 15 2 26 Sermon for the Third Sunday in Advent. God, but have their delight in the creature. And hence we have need of the true Mofes, even Chrift Jefus, that He may at all times guide us and lead us, and draw us to Himfelf, fo that we may go out after Him into the wilder nefs of our own hearts, wherein God lies hidden to us. May God help us all to attain thereunto I Amen ! IV. Sermon for Chriftmas Day. (From the Goipel for the day.) Of the things by which we become children of God.^ John i. 1 2. — " But as many as received Him, to them gave He power to become the fons of God." 3HIS day, dear children, hath God wrought a great wonder, and mani- "°^ „^°t,>'^ fefted the greatnefs of made us His children. f His love towards us, in that He hath looked down upon us, who were His enemies, aliens and afar off from Him, with fuch mercy as to give us power to become His fons and children ; therefore it behoves us not to fhow ourfelves unthankful for fuch kindnefs, but to put on the true marks and qualities of tiie eled, beloved children of God. And hereby ye may know what thefe are. He who would be a fon of our Father in Heaven The marks of God's "^^^ ^e a ftranger among tiie chil- children. dren of this world, and feparate him- * It has been conjeftured that this fermon is by Eckhart, junior ; but it cannot be decidedly afcertained whether it is by him or Tauler. 228 Sermon for Chriftmas Day. felf from them, and muft have an eameft mind and a fingle eye, with a heart inclined towards God. Now fuch a one is made a fon of God Gol^'"' ^'^ ''^'"' when he is born again in God, and this takes place with every frefli revelation of God to his foul. A man is born of the Spirit 'vhen he fuffers God's work to be wrought in his foul ; yet it is not this which makes the foul to be perfedly bleffed, but that revelation, of which we have fpoken already, makes the foul to follow after Him who has revealed Himfelf to her, and in whom fhe is born anew, with love and praife. Thus fhe returns again to her firft fource, and is made, of God's grace, a child of God, united to Him in rightful love. And let him who would attain hereunto, copy Chrift in his human nature, and God Himfelf will verily come unto him in His fuperhuman Godhead. The beloved children of God renounce themfelves; and hence they do right without effort. Self-renunciation. and mount up to the higheft point of goodnefs ; while he who will not let go of himfelf, but does right by labour and toil, will never reach the higheft that he might. In other words ; he whofe works proceed from himfelf, does little good fervice to God ; while he who fuffers himfelf to be guided by the Holy Spirit, does great works even in fmall adions. But he who will attain to this muft beware of men, fo far as is confiftent with reafon. Sermon for Chriftmas Day. 229 A heathen teacher has declared : " I never mingled with " men, but I came home lefs of a man than I went out." Men who live on the outfide of things are a great hindrance in the way of goodnefs by their many idle words. There fore thofe who wifh to fofter the inner life of their fouls, are in great danger of receiving hurt from things which are faid without thought, efpeciaUy when many are together. He who repents what he has faid as foon as the words are out of his mouth, is one of thefe carelefs fpeakers. He only is a good fon who has caft off his old fins and The cafting ofF of ^^^^ ^^^^^^ ' ^°^ witiiout tills it is im- evil habits. poffible that he fhould be created anew in Chrift Jefus. It is not until the thoughts can find reft in nothing but God, that the man is drawn clofe to God Himfelf, and becomes His. He is happy who is always in the fuU ufe of his coUedive powers ; and this is the cafe when God is prefent to his fpirit, and he gladly obeys all the motions of God's Spirit, and gives his whole diligence to ad and live agreeable thereunto. He hath a right fpirit who is free from all craving after temporal things, and like a good fon is united by love to his God, without any earthly defires. The child of God fliould fo order his life as always to A virtuous, well- promote his own fteadfaftnefs in vir tue. When a man always keeps his 230 Sermon for Chriftmas Day. body in due fubjedion, it is an outward pledge of the ftrength of his virtuous intents. Then is God in the man, when there is nothing in him which is contrary to the will of God. For God makes a man's body the tem ple of the Holy Ghoft when He finds nothing in the man which grieves His Spirit, but He reigns with Jefus Chrift over the body. That is to fay : when a man knows of nothing in himfelf which is difpleafing to God, then God dwells in him, and he is fet free from the things that perifli. He who moft hates and comes out from himfelf has the greateft fhare in God, and poffeffes his earthly heri tage in peace. Mafter Eckhart fays : " That which kindles the warm- " eft devotion in a man's heart, and knits him moft clofely " to God, is the greateft benefit he can receive in this pre- " fent time ; and hence the greateft good work a man can " do, is to draw other men to God, fo that they enter into " a union with Him. And this is the beft work of love " to our neighbour while we are in this world." Further : it is a mark of the children of God that they Humihty and felf- ^^^ ^^i^ ^ViTl little feults and short- knowledge. comings to be great fins. Now he who entangles himfelf with a multitude of matters, out ward or inward, and will meddle with every thing that is going forward, will alfo have a fliare in the evil thereof We muft let all things be to us merely the fupply of oui Sermon for Chriftmas Day. 231 wants, and poffefs them in their nothingnefs. The great work and aim of the beloved children of God is to fhun all fin, deadly or trifling, that they may not grieve God's Spirit ; for they know, as St. Auguftine fays, that for the fmalleft habitual fin which is not puniDied and laid afide in this prefent life, they will have to fuffer more than all the pains of this world. Hence Anfelm fays, that he would rather die, and that this world fliould be deftroyed, dian commit one fin a day knowingly. And Auguftine fays : " The foul is created eternal, and therefore fhe can- " not reft but in God." And again : " He who prays for " anything except for God's fake, does not afli aright, and " wfll not be anfwered with a bleffing." Again : the child of God muft have exercife in good works ; but when he comes to pof- Good works. ^ ^ , r t n ¦ r • l fefs the very fubftance ot virtue, then virtue is no longer an exercife to him ; for he pradifes it without an effort, and when virtue is pradifed without labour or pain, we have got beyond exercifes. But none may get fo far before body and foul are feparated from each other ; unlefs, indeed, the foul were drawn out of herfelf, and it were poffible in this prefent ftate for God to dweU in the foul, acting and fuffering. Ah, Lord, did we all we fliould, God would do to us all we would. If any wifli to become fuch that God can love him, and look upon him with complacency, let him forfake all 232 Sermon for Chriftmas Day. that he loves in the world, and love nothing but God alone. He who defires to receive He who would reign • 1 1 o c r-< ¦> t with Chrift muft have ^itii tiie Son of God a mans re- His fympathy withfin- ^^^^j j^uft fuffcr from and witii tiie , ners, ' wicked of this world; and if he hunger after his falvation as one who is perifhing for lack of food, it will avail him no- Sin'elTo futrf ^ ^hing, untU hccaft off fin and work the works of righteoufnefs which are befitting [a child of] grace, and endure aU wrong and injuftice patiently for God's fake. For without this, his hunger and thirft after falvation can neither be fatisfied here nor hereafter. For it is of the very effence of falva tion to love God, to depart from fin, and to work right eoufnefs ; not to be able to find happinefs in all the plea fures of earth, but to be willing to fuffer wiUingly aU manner of pain and contradidion, and not feek to avoid them : when a man has come to this ftate all is weU with him, and not otherwife. And whatever fuch a child of \,r.A f^v r„.~t, o., „ o Ood beholds, it works for his good. and tor men an one, ' o all things work together If he fees fin, he tiianks God for hav- for good. ing kept him from it, and prays for the converfion of the finners ; if he fees goodnefs, he defires to fulfil it in his own pradice. We ought always to keep two ends in view, — to put away from us aU that is hurtful, and to put on all that is yet lacking to us of good works. Sermon for Chriftmas Day. 233 But thofe who vainly think to be made God's children by their much watching, and fasting, Thofe who make . much of outward ob- and labour, by keeping filence, by fervances. while not ^^^^ • j^ ¦, ^e^ring bad and amending their tauJts, o tr> j ^ j o \are not God's chil- inconvenient clothine;, or again by Adren, but the Devil's. , ^ ^ / '\ great deeds and pious works, while the} do not dive into the bottom of their hearts, and fpy out all their fecret inclinations, to leffer as well as to greaterfaults ; fuch as an inclination to think too well of themfelv?s and too ill of their neighbours, or to harfhnefs, to trefpafs'on the rights of others, to morofenefs, to a bit ter fpirit, to contradidion, to obftinacy, to caprice, and the like, and do not perceive thefe things in themfelves, nor wifh to leam how to get rid of their old bad difpofi tions nor yet of their outward bad habits, fuch as evil fpeaking, lightnefs of manners, unkind ridicule of others, and refufe to give ear to thofe who teach and exhort them to what is right, or to probe their own motives ; — thefe are all the children of the Devil. Alas ! how many are martyrs for the Devil ! To fuch as thefe Ifaiah fays : " Bring no more vain oblations : ceafe Is. i. 13, 16, 17. 1 ., , inn, " to do evil ; learn to do well ; wafh " you, make you clean." Yea, if a man were to fuffer himfelf to be torn to pieces, and did not learn to cleanfe himfelf thoroughly from his fins, to behave towards his fellow-creatures in a fpirit of generous love, and to love 234 Sermon for Chriftmas Day. God above all things, it would all be ufelefs and in vain. Dionyfius fays : " To be converted to the truth means/ The joys of true " nothing elfe but a turning from converfion.- " thg jovg of created things, and a " coming into union with the uncreated Higheft Good.^ " And in one who is thus converted there is a joy beyond " conception, and his underftanding is unclouded ind un- " perverted by the love of earthly things, and is mirrored " in his confcience, in the mirror of God's mind. Love is " the nobleft of all virtues, for it makes man divine, and " makes God man." And again : " Cleanft your hearts " and make yourfelves at one with God, for one glimpfe " of Him brings the foul clofer to Him than all the out- " ward works of all Chriftendom. He who wifhes to " attain to this union muft get beyond all that may be " conquered and grafped by the underftanding, for God " hath nothing fo hidden that it cannot be revealed unto " the foul. O that flie were but wife enough to feek " after it with all eameftnefs !" A certain teacher has faid, that if a man will give his heart and life to God, GodwiU give him in return greater gifts than if he were to fuffer death over again for him. Now that man fhall attain unto the Higheft Good who is ready to defcend into the loweft depths- of poverty. And this comes to pafs when he is caft into utter Sermon for Chriftmas Day. 235 He who is willing wretchednefs, and forfaken of all to be abafed for God's creatures and all comfort. And let yke, fliall attain the n t ^ r i . i,- t. gheft glory and work him afk help ot none; let him be as ¦i;t e greate wor s. knowing nothing, and as though he had, never been aught but a fool ; let him have none to take compaffion on him, even fo much as to give him a cup of cold water to drink ; yet let him never forget God in his heart, and never fhrink from God's fearching eye of judgment, though he knows not what its verdid will be ; but with a cheerful and thankful fpirit yield him felf up to fuffer whatever God fliall appoint unto him, and to flilfil according to his power, by the grace of God, all His holy will to the utmoft that he can difcern it, and never complain of his diftreffes but to God alone with entire and humble refignation, praying that he may be ftrong to endure all his fufferings according to the will of God: — Ah, dear children, what glorious fons of God would fuch men be ! what wonders would God work through them to the magnifying of His glory! Thefe are the true and righteous men who truft in God, and cleave to Him in fpirit and in truth I That we may thus become His fons, may God help us by His grace I Amen. V. Sermon for Epiphany. (From the Gofpel for the day.) This Sermon on the Gofpel for the day, from St. Matthew, flioweth how God, of His great faithfulnefs, hath forefeen and ordained all fufferings for the etemal good of each man, in whatever wife they befall us, and whether they be great or fmall. Matt, ii.- 1 1 . — " And they prefented unto him gifts : gold, and frankin- cenfe, and myrrh." f^^^^^^OW confider firft the myrrh. It is bitter; ^i fH i^ ^^^ ^^^ ^^ ^ ^P^ ^^ ^^ bitternefs which i^lif^r^sti^ muft be tafted before a man can find God, S^^^^ when he firft turns from the world to God, „^ , , . , and all his likings and defires have to Of the bitternefs of ° turning from earthly be Utterly changed. For it is necef fary that all which a man has hitherto taken pleafure in poffeffing fliould be given up, and this is at firft very bitter and very hard work to him. All things muft become as bitter to thee as their enjoyment was fweet unto thee. But to this work thou haft need of a full pur pofe of heart and never-feiling diligence. For the greater thy delight in anything has been, the more bitter will it be to give it up, yea the very gall of bitternefs. Sermon for Epiphany. 237 Now, it may be afked, " How can a man be without The fatisfaftion of " ^PP_'^^^^' ^"_^ enjoyment fo long as natural defires not fin- " he is in this prefent ftate ? I am " hungry, and I eat ; I am thirfty, I ' drink; I am weary, I fleep; I am cold, I warm myfelf; ' and I cannot poffibly find that to be bitter nor barren 'of natural enjoyment which is the fatisfadion of my ' natural defires. This I cannot alter, fo long as nature is ' nature." True : but this pleafure, eafe, fatisfadion, MJoyment, or delight, muft not penetrate into the depths jf thy heart, nor make up a portion of thy inner life. It muft pafs away with the things that caufed it, and have no abiding place in thee. We muft not fet our affedions thereon, but allow it to come and go, and not repofe upon the fenfe of poffeffion with content or dehght in the world or the creature. We muft mortify and fubdue nature with nature and the love thereof within us, yea, even the delight that we have in the children of God and good men. Thefe and all other inclina- ' Y "7"u- 'l' '^ • °'" tions muft be brought under dominion Qinated to higher aims. " to a higher power; for tiU this is accompliflied, Herod and his fervants, which feek after the young child's life, are not altogether and of a furety dead witiiin thee. Therefore beware that thou do not deceive thyfelf, but look narrowly to it, how it ftands with thee, and do not be too fecure, nor five without fear. 238 Sermon for Epiphany. But there is yet another myrrh, which far furpaffes the firft. This is the myrrh which God How to take the bitter myrrh of out- gives US in the cup of trouble and ward trouble. . 1 • 1 • , forrow, ot whatever kind it may be, outward or inward. Ah, if thou couldft but receive this myrrh as from its true fource, and drink it with the fame love with which God puts it to thy lips, what bleffednefs would it work in thee ! Ah, what a joy and peace and an excellent thing were that I Yes, the very leaft and the very greateft forrows that God ever fuffers to befall thee, proceed from the depths of His unfpeakable love; and fuch great love were better for thee than the higheft and beft gifts befides that He has given thee or ever could . ,, r give thee, if thou couldft but fee it All our forrows, ^ fmall as well as great, in this light ; yea, however fmall a appointed by God. fuffering light on thee, God — who, as our Lord fays, counts the fmaUeft hair that ever fell from thy head, without thy knowing it — God has forefeen it from eternity, and chofen, and purpofed, and appointed that it fliould befall thee. So that if your littie finger only aches, if you are cold, if you are hungry or thirfty, if others vex you by their words or deeds, or whatever happens to you that caufes you diftrefs or pain, it wiU all help to fit you for a noble and bleffed ftate ; and it has been forefeen and fore-appointed by God that fuch and fuch things fliould happen and come upon you ; for all is Sermon for Epiphany. 239 meafured, weighed, and numbered, and cannot be lefs nor otherwife than it is. That my eyes are now in my head, is as God our Heavenly Father has feen it from eternity ; now let them be put put, and let me become blind, or deaf this alfo has our Heavenly Father forefeen from eternity, that it ought to come to pafs, and had His eternal counfel with refped unto it, and determined it from eternity within Himfelf Ought I not, then, to open my inward eyes and ears, and thank my God that His eternal counfel is fulfilled in me ? Ought I to grieve at it ? I ought to be wonderfully thankful for it ! And fo alfo with lofs of friends, or property, or reputation, or comfort, or whatever it be that God allots to us, it will all ferve to prepare thee, and help thee forward to true peace, if thou canft only take it fo. Now, fometimes people have faid to me : " Mafter, it is ill with me : I have much "fuffering and tribulation;" and when I have anfwered: " It is aU as it fliould be," they have faid, " No, Mafter, I " have deferved it ; I have cheriflied an evil thing in my " heart." Then take blame to thyfelf; but whether thy pain be deferved or not, believe that it comes from God, and thank Him, and bear it, and refign thyfelf to it. All the myrrhs of bitternefs that God gives, are ordered ... ^^. , , aright, that He may by this means raife All fuffering fent for ^ ' ^ ^ a means of our pro- men to true greatnefs. It is for the g ert ngs. ^¦^q\^{q.^^ exercife of fuffering that 240 Sermon for Epiphany. He has fet the forces of nature as it were at war with man. He could juft as well and as eafily have caufed bread to grow as corn, but that it is neceffary for man to have his powers exercifed in every way. And He has beftowed as much care and thought in the arrangement of each fingle thing, as the artift does when he is painting a pidure, who never draws a fingle ftroke with his pencil without con fidering how long, how fhort, and how broad it ought to be ; and it muft be fo and no otherwife, if the pidure is to be a perfed mafter-piece, and all its bright red and blue colours are to come out. But God takes a thoufand times more pains with us than the artift with his pidure, by many touches of forrow, and by many colours of circumftance, to bring man into the form which is the higheft and nobleft in His fight, if only we received His gifts and myrrh in the right fpirit. There are fome, however, who are not content with the Of felf-created fuf- niytrh that God gives them, but think ^^""S- fit to give themfelves fome, and create evils for themfelves and fick fiincies, and have indeed fuffered long and much, for they take hold of all things by the wrong end. And they gain little grace from all their pain, becaufe they are building up ftones of their own laying, whether it be penances or abftinence, or prayer or meditation. According to them, God muft wait their leifure, and let them do their part firft, elfe no good will Sermon for Epiphany. 24.1 come of the work. God hath fixed it in His purpofe that He will reward nothing but His own works. In the kingdom of Heaven He will crown nothing to all eternity but His works, and not thine. What He has not wrought in thee. He takes no account of In the third place, there is an exceeding bitter myrrh Ofthe bitter myrrh ^hich God gives; namely, inward of inward trials. affaults and inward darknefs. When a man is willing to tafte this myrrh, and does not put it from him, it wears down flefli and blood, yea, the whole nature ; for thefe inward exercifes make the cheek grow pale far fooner than great outward hardfhips, for God appoints unto his fervants cruel fightings and ftrange dread, and unheard of diftreffes,, which none can underftand but he who has felt them. And thefe men are befet with fuch a variety of difficulties, fo many cups of bitternefs are prefented 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 thefe feelings are ftifled or unheeded, a greater injury is done to the foul than can ever be amended. For no heart can conceive in what furpaffing love God giveth us this myrrh ; yet this which we ought to receive to our foul's good, we fuffer to pafs by us in our fleepy indifference, and nothing comes of it. Then we come and complain: "Alas, Lord! I am " fo dry, and it is fo dark within me ! " I teU you, dear 16 242 Sermon for Epiphany. child, open thy heart to the pain, and it will do thee more good than if thou wert full of feeUng and devoutnefs. Now men receive this bitter myrrh in two ways ; they ^. try to meet it as with their pradical Of two wrong ways of receiving this fenfe or with their intelledual fubtil- myrrh. . ^ . ty. When it fprings from outward circumftances, men wifh they had known better, and they would have averted it with their wifdom, and attribute it to outward accidents, to fate, or misfortune, and think they might have taken fteps to prevent what has happened, and if they had done fo, the means would have fucceeded, and the calamity would have been turned afide. They would fain be too wife for Goti, and teach Him, and mafter Him, and cannot take things from His hand. The fufferings of fuch are very fore, and their myrrh is exceeding bitter. There are others, who having tafted the cup of that bitternefs which fprings from within, do ftart back and forthwith feek to break away from it by the exercife of their natural wit and fubtilty, and think to quell the ftrife by dint of reafoning and arguing with themfelves. And this kind of trouble often paffes away more quickly with fimple minds than with thofe whofe reafon is more adive ; for the former follow God more fimply, they feel they do not know what to do, and fo they truft. But if thofe of higher powers follow God's leading, and furrender them felves wholly to Him, their career is far nobler and more Sermon for Epiphany. 243 bleffed, for their reafon ferves them in all things more freely and excellently. Now from this myrrh fprings a noble branch, which beareth coftly frankincenfe. The Of the frankincenfe ^ , , ,. - , ^ , ^ of love to God that itankmcenfe gum fends forth a fweet- fpringeth from this fmelling fmoke ; fo when tiie fire myrrh. ° catches the rod, it curls round it and feeks to fet loofe the perfume that is contained therein, that it may go forth and fpread a fragrant incenfe around. The fire is nothing elfe than burning love to God, which is as it were latent in prayer; and love is the frankincenfe which fends forth the true fragrance of holy devotion. For, as a writer has faid : " Prayer is nothing but the going " up ofthe fpirit unto God." And juft as the ftraw exifts for the fake of the corn, and is good for nothing in itfelf but to make a bed whereon to lie, or to manure the earth, fo outward prayer is of no profit except in fo far as it ftirs up the noble flame of devotion in the heart, and when that fweet incenfe breaks forth and rifes up, then it matters little whether the prayer of the lips be uttered or not. In faying this, I except thofe perfons who are bound by the ordinances of the Holy Church to offer up prayers, and thofe who have vowed to perform ads of devotion, or have been advifed thereunto by their fpiritual diredors. May Jefus Chrift, tihe King of Glory, help us to make 244 Sermon for Epiphany. the right ufe of aU the myrrh that God fends us, and to offer up to Him the true incenfe of devout hearts. Amen !* In the later editions here follows an expofidon of the gold, but it is wanting in the four earlieft editions and the beft MSS VL Second Sermon for Epiphany. Showeth on what wife a man fliiall arife from himfelf and from all creatures, to the end that God may find the ground of his foul prepared, and may begin and perfeft His work therein. [sAiAH be. I . — " Arife, O Jerufalem, and be enlightened."* i!N all this world God covets and requires but Of God's loving de- one thing only, and tiiat fire for our falvation. jje defircs fo exceeding greatly that He gives His whole might and energy thereto. This one thing is, that He may find that good ground which He has laid in the noble mind of man made fit and ready for Him to exercife His divine agency thereon. For God has all power in heaven and on earth, and the only thing that is lacking unto Him is that He is hindered from accomplifhing the moft glorious of all His works in man. Now what muft we do that God may fhine in on this rif . • .1, innermoft ground of the foul, and Of our part m the & work. work tihere? We muft arife, fays * According to our authorized verfion : " Arife, ftiine ; for thy light is " come, and the glory of the Lord is rifen upon thee." The German verfion of the text has been retained, becaufe the argument of the Sermon is bafed upon it. 246 Second Sermon for Epiphany. our text. Arife ! this founds as if we could do fomething towards this work. We muft arife from all that is not God, from ourfelves and from all creatures. And by^this ad of arifing, the ground of the foul is ftirred, and a ftrong craving fprings up in it ; and the more this deepeft ground of the foul is laid bare, and all that occupied and cumbered it is cleared away, the keener grows this crav ing after fomething higher than itfelf, fo that ofttimes with God's lighteft touch upon the naked foul, the long ing pierces through flefli and blood and marrow. But there are two forts of over-bold men who are driven ^r t. r t. by this ftirring up of their fouls into Of thofe who try to -^ or find peace by the ex- two rafh courfes. The firft come ercife of their reason. .... , . With their natural quicknefs of parts, and with the conceptions of their own minds, and try therewith to touch the principle of their fouls, and feek to ftill the craving within them by hearing and leaming of lofty matters. And in this they find great delight, and ween that they are a Jerufalem, — a city of peace, by the exercife of their intelled. There is another clafs who Of thofe who think ^^'""^ ^° P^'^P^^^ *e ground of tiieir to find peace by out- fouls for God and to obtain peace by ward obfervances. means of felf-chofen good works, or by religious exercifes, fuch as prayer, meditation, or what ever they fee other people do for the fame end ; and then they fancy ±ey are verily children of Zion, and their Second Sermon for Epiphany. 247 works of piety and charity do yield them great peace, and they delight in nothing fo much as in religious exercifes and the fulfilling of the talks they have fet themfelves. _, , . . But that their peace is a falfe one. That their peace is -"^ ' falie is proved by its may be perceived by this, that they do not cure themfelves of their former fauks, fuch as pride, fenfuality, felf-indulgence, love of the creature, pronenefs to fufped or to judge others; and if any offend them, refentment forthwith flames up within them, and an angry word efcapes them, or hatred fmoul- ders in their heart ; and fuch like faults they indulge in with their own confent. By this we may know that they wifh to manage their fouls after their own fafhion, and work in them ; while God cannot accomplifli His work in fuch a foul and unfwept chamber. Therefore, their peace is falfe, and they have not yet arisen in truth. Let not fuch claim to be children of Zion, nor dare to think they have found true peace ; but let them ferioufly fet themfelves to work to conquer their faults, exercifing themfelves, after the pattern of our Lord, in humility and works of love, dying unto themfelves in all things, and thus learn how to rife on high. But thofe others, that is to fay thofe noble men who do ^^ , , , , .. truly arife and receive divine light. Of thofe who do in "^ ¦ r i truth arife and are en- thefe allow God to prepare their fouls lightened of God. ^^^ j^.^^^j^^ ^^^ ^^^^^^^^ themfelves 248 Second Sermon for Epiphany. in all things without any referve, either as regards their words or their daily habits, or what they do or refrain from, or anything elfe, whether things go fmoothly or croffly with them. Both in framing their purpofes, and in meeting what arifes, they refer all to God in humble fear, and give - themfelves wholly up to Him, in utter poornefs of fpirit, in willing felf-furrender, acquiefcing in the divine will. They are content to fay in all matters, " As God will :" in quiet or difquiet ; for their fole de light is the holy and excellent will of God. To thefe we may apply what Chrift faid unto His difciples when they bade Him to go up unto the feaft : " Go ye up ; your time " is alway ready, but my time is not yet come." Thefe men's time is alway ready for them to endure and fubmit ; all time is fitting for them ; but God's time is not alway ready, when He deigns or fees fit to work, or to fend forth His light. This they fubmiffively leave to His divine will,, and are willing to wait as long as he pleafes. Now the diftinguifhing mark of this better fort of men is that they fuffer God to order their How fuch fuffer r • • ¦ God to manage their foul's affairs, and do not hinder Him. Yet they are not raifed above the fhocks of temptation, nor even the liability to fall for a moment (for no one is entirely delivered from this danger) ; but afterwards, as foon as the firft onfet of paffion is over, and their fault is held up before them, whether it be pride. Second Sermon for Epiphany. 249 or felf-indulgence, or anger, or hatred, or whatever is their fpecial temptation, they come to God in felf-abafement, and fubmit themfelves to Him, and bear without murmur ing what He fees fit to appoint unto them. And fuch do in truth arife, for they rife above themfelves in all things, and they do become in truth a Jerufalem or ftronghold of peace, for they have quiet in dif- How they have . , , ^ . . , - peace amidft difquiet, quietude, and profperity in adverfity, becaufe their fouls are ^^j -^^^ -^^ ^^le wiU of God amidft fixed upon God. •' all circumftances. Therefore no power in this world can take away their peace, nor could all the devils in hell, nor all the men on earth banded together. All their affedions centre in God, and they are enlightened by Him of a truth ; for He fhines into their fouls with a ftrong and clear light that reveals all things lunto them ; and He fhineth as truly, nay far more brightly, |n the blackeft darknefs than in the feeming light. Ah ! lefe are fweet and lovely children of God, raifed above tiature by their likenefs to Him ; and fuch neither under- ike nor bring to pafs any of their works without God. J^ay, if we may dare to ufe fuch language, they are, fo to leak, nothing, but God is in them ; as St. Paul fays : " I jfive, yet not I but Chrift hveth in me." Ah ! thefe are rhly-favoured men; they bear the world upon their lulders and are the noble pillars of fociety. To make one oiheir number, what a bleffed and glorious thing were that I 250 Second Sermon for Epiphany. Now, the diftinguifhing mark of thofe two claffes of prefumptuous men whom we firft fpoke of, is that they choofe to govern their fouls for themfelves, inftead of fubmitting themfelves to the diredion of God ; and hence their powers are kept under bondage to fin, fo that they cannot fully conquer their evil habits ; nay, they even continue therein with content, or at leaft with the confent of their own will. But thofe other noble, bleffed, felf- renouncing men, who have given themfelves over to God,^, are exalted above themfelves ; and hence, if they are over taken in a fault, fo foon as they are aware of it, they flee unto God with it, and ftraightway the fin is no more, and they are in a ftate of godlike freedom. Shall they not then with reafon defire that God may prepare their fouls? There is no need for thefe men to perform outward I works, in addition, as if they were a Outward obferv- . -^t 1 -..t t I ances not a matter of niatter ot neceffity. No I Now thej "o'fuck ' ''"' °^'^°'" text itfelf, in this one word, " Arife ! " bids them to lift themfelves up : and is not that a work ? Yes, one work it does behove theij to fulfil without ceafing, if they are ever to come to pe- fednefs. They muft continually arife, and have ther minds direded upwards towards God, and their hearts fre from entanglement, ever afking, " Where is He whois " born a king ? " and watching with humble fear nd quick eye to difcern what God defires of them, that tey Second Sermon for Epiphany. 251 may do His pleafure. If God gives them to fuffer, they fuffer ; if He gives them to work, they work ; if He gives them to enjoy Him in contemplation, they contemplate. The ground of their own fouls bears witnefs that God has cleanfed them and created them anew. And this ground and fubftance of the foul wiU God poffefs alone, and will not that any Of the myfterious '¦ converfe of the foul creature fhould enter therein. In with God. ^.g ^j^^j^bg^ (jf ^he heart God works through means in the one clafs of men, and without means in the other and more bleffed fort. But what He works in the fouls of thefe laft with whom He holds dired converfe, none can fay, 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, fave only that God in very truth hath poffeffed the ground of his foul. And where this comes to pafs, outward works become of no moment, but tiie inward perceiving of God greatly increafes. But when a man reaches tihe higheft point that he may attain unto by his moft earneft endeavour and the help of God's grace, let him afcribe nothing whatever unto him felf; as our bleffed Lord faid : " When ye have done all , " thofe tihings which are commanded ^ Luke xvii. 10. „^^^^ ^^^^ ^^ ^j.^ unprofitable "^fervants: we have done that which it was our duty to " do." Therefore, let a man be never fo perfed, he fliaU 252 Second Sermon for Epiphany. , „ „ always ftand in humble fear, at his At our beft eftate we ¦' muft ftand in humble higheft glory ; and fhall always fay and feel, " Father, thy will be done ! " and fhall at all times keep a watch upon himfelf, looking narrowly left he fliould cleave unto one fingle thing that is amifs, and God fhould find anything in the fecret chambers of his heart that hinders His accompHfhing His glorious work therein without the help of means. May God help us all fo to arife that He may accompHfh His work in our fouls ! Amen. VII. Sermon for the Fourth Sunday after Epiphany. (From the Gofpel for the day; and from Hofea xiv. I, 2.) Of the great wonders which God has wrought, and ftill works for us Chriftian men; wherefore it is juft and reafonable that we fliould turn unto Him and follow Him, and whereby we may difcern between true and falfe converfion. Matt, viii. 23. — " Jefiis went into a fliip, and His difciples foUowed Him." And HosEA xiv. i, 2. — "O Ifrael, return unto the Lord thy God; " take with you words, and turn to the Lord." ^S^^g^^^E read in the Gofpel for this day that Jefus ^|*B| 1^ went into a fhip, and His difciples followed ^aS'w i^ Him. In like manner muft all pious ^§^^§^2^ Chriftians tum from fin and follow Chrift, as He commands us by the mouth of the Prophet Hofea, faying : " O Ifrael, return unto the Lord thy God." Out of all the tribes of mankind the Lord chofe one, to whom He fliowed great kindnefs, Of God's dealings with His chofen peo- and promifed to do yet greater ^ * ° "^ ¦ things for them, if they would tum with their whole heart unto Him, and not follow after the 254 Sermon for the ways of the other nations who lived according to their finful lufts in the darknefs and blindnefs of their hearts, and went aftray with wicked lives and perverfe minds after the vanities of the world and the deceits of the DevU. And to this end, God led His people out bodily by the hand of His fervants and prophets, and alfo gave them His law to teach them, that they might behold His great power which He had glorified againft their enemies, and His great love which He had manifefted by numberlefs ads and unfpeakable benefits towards themfelves, being minded to do yet greater things for them hereafter, if they would truly tum to Him with their whole hearty and love Him, and keep His commandments. And he com manded them that they fliould never forget the day on which they had been delivered out of the hands of their enemies, and from their cruel bondage and toil, but fhould fet themfelves with earneftnefs and diligence to confider His commandments, to keep them nefs ' ^" ^^'^^ ^' ^^^ *^° them. But this people was ftiff-necked, heedlefs, and unthankful, and did not do as God had commanded by the mouth of His fervants, but was continually felf-willed, perverfe, and bent on fin ; and therefore the Lord ment. ' ^" ^""' " fuffered them all to die in the wilder nefs, and flew many of them. And afterwards He fent again other fervants unto them, faying : Fourth Sunday after Epiphany. 255 " O my chofen people, if ye will be converted and tum " unto me with your whole heart, and not go aftray halting " between two opinions, but follow after me only, and " forfake the way of the Egyptians, the way of darknefs, " of fin, and of death, I will bring you into a land of " righteousnefs, where all good things fhall be given " you." Now all thefe things came to pafs under the old dif- penfation in paft ages, with many figns Thefe things an en- ^^^ j^^ ^^^^^^ Hiyfterious covenants fample tor us. ¦' fealed by oaths. But they alfo fore- fliadowed all that fliould come to pafs in future ages after the incarnation of the Son of God, in the which we now five. Now He purpofes to draw us likewife to Himfelf, by the help of thefe fame words and teachings, if only we will tum unto Him; and therefore does He give us fo many reafons, exhortations, inftrudions or motives, that we fhould turn unto Him with our God works as many wonders for us whole hearts. He works now-a-days as He did for them. . • i j • u.. quite as many miracles and mighty deeds as then, among the Egyptians of this world and Pharaoh its king, fpiritually and alfo vifibly, in the con verfion of each one among us, if we gave heed tihereto with thankful hearts. But alas ! it is with too many of us as it was with the Ifraelites, we are only changed out wardly with the body, but our heart is yet in Egypt. 256 Sermon for the We all pafs under good names, and make a fair fhow, but in reality our whole affedions and endeavours are turned towards the pleafures and advantages of the flefh and the world. And we are all the time fo very careful and diligent to keep ftridly to all that is commanded refpeding -Outward obfervances, fuch as veftments, chant ing, kneeling, and the like, and are fatisfied if all thefe matters are fcrupuloufly obferved, and fit down contented, fancying that all is well with us, and that we are far enough from Egypt. Nay, verily, dear children, we are very wide of the mark ; this is all a mere femblance and fhadow, the leaves of the fig-tree which could not fatisfy our Lord's hunger; He muft find fruit on the tree, elfe it is nigh to be curfed by Him, that no man tafte fruit thereof to all eternity. Ah ! how often have you been taught that you ought not to cleave Outward obferv- n. i ances mere fliadows unto mere fhadows and outward reaUriT' °^ ^^'"""'^ ^''''^^- Although tiiefe be whole fome and needful for beginners, ftiU they are but a long way off from the real truth and fub ftance, for the fake of which all thefe outward ads are performed. If you do not look to it betimes, you wiU have the outward fliape remaining, while within there is all manner of fin and wickednefs cherifhed in your hearts, as much as with thofe who have not the fhow of religion; and alas ! men often fall into deeper vice under this cloak, Fourth Sunday after Epiphany. 257 than if they were yet in the Egypt of worldlinefs. It would be better for them if they had never quitted the world, for now is their damnation greater while they wear the garb of holinefs, not ading conformably to it, and yet claim and make ufe of aU the privileges of their religious profeffion. Children, I know of nothing fo greatly needed as that thofe who are entering on a religious How we muft begin _ with learning good life fliould be mitruded With all care, • ^^'^"^' that they may know what things they ought firft to leam, and then afterwards, when tiie out ward pradice of good works and piety has become a habit to them, that they may alfo know how to advance farther, and not content themfelves or be but never reft con- fatisfied witih outward habits; for tented with them. thefe do not in themfelves make a perfed life, but are only a good preparation and a flight furtherance thereto. If this be early inftilled into begin ners, while they are yet young, docile, and quick of apprehenfion, and alfo hot and earneft, it may be that fome of them wiU ftudy betimes to prefs onwards to what is higher. But, alas ! and worfe than Of thofe who begin ^ , j^ ^^ f^ ^^^^^ ^^ behold the well in a Chriftian life, but afterwards fonowful fpectacle of fome who be- ^'"^^' gan in the fpirit with great zeal; who at firft were fo fervid that they would hardly turn tiieir eyes upon any who might lead their thoughts aftray; 17 258 Sermon for the and who now can hardly be perfuaded to quit men's com pany for an hour's meditation : fome who at firft could not bear to liften to a worldly word, and now, early and late, you can fcarcely get a refpite from their goffiping, and unprofitable queftions and anfwers; at firft they wanted to withdraw into filence and folitude, that they might by prayer and work fuftain their devoutnefs ; and now, the more earthly care they can encumber themfelves with, the better they are pleafed. Ah ! this and the like is a certain fign that they are held captive by the flefh, that they have wandered into darknefs, and in their hearts turned back again into Egypt. Children ! for the love of Chrift, look to yourfelves each of you, and fee how it ftands with you. However well you may begin in virtue, do not rely upon your good beginning, for all your piety may pafs away if you are not watchful. Our hearts are more uriftable than we can believe. Some are at firft fo zealous for all righteoufnefs, that if they hear an idle word, or witnefs any other little failing, it makes them angry ; but when they are a little older, they indulge without any rebuke of confcience in fuch levity, evil-fpeaking, and often ilialicious and fcomful fpeeches, that they not only caufe others vexation, but even ferious trouble and forrow, and never even give it a thought whether they may have done fo, but behave as if they had done perfedly right. Fourth Sunday after Epiphany. 259 Some are at firft fo ftrong, and ready to withftand temp- r^r- -L r t. t. ¦ tatlou auti affaults, that they are not Or thole who begin •' with great courage and even afraid of the Devil; yea, they would fain be great and holy mar tyrs; yet afterwards, when they have lived for a while among holy, pious people, you would hardly meet with more perverfe, crofs-grained, felf-willed perfons. Some are at firft fo eager to take upon themfelves all manner of hardfhips and indignities, that the feverities and felf-humi- Hation of thofe with whom they live are too light and few , ^ „ . for them ; but after they have travel- yet afterwards fall into perverfenefs and felf- led this road for a while, they are not only able to fubmit to the ordinary habits of others, but it is hardly poffible to make things comfortable and eafy enough for them to prevent their complaining, and every little inconvenience annoys them. Ah ! what would not be needed to flop their murmuring ! Very different from thefe are many pious, warm-hearted, Ofthe contrary fort fpititual-minded men, who find the °^™^"- crofs very hard to bear at firft, but in a fhort time make great progrefs, and become a moft edify ing and ufeful pattern to others, while thofe from whom too much was expeded have come to nothing. Hence we muft be very much upon our guard becaufe of our inftability ; we know not what may overtake us in time to come. 26o Sermon for the Dear children, that each of you may be able in fome ,.^ meafure to mark whether he be con- How we may dif cover the reality of verted or not, I will lay open to you true converfion. ,• i i i a little, whereby we may perceive the fincerity of our own converfion, and redemption from all the evil which our Enemy may try to lead us into by his various incitements to fin. In our baptifm we pro mifed before God and the Church to withftand all fm, and to ferve God iq, all holy living. But afterwards our wicked adverfary led us aftray again, fo that we fell afrefli, and loft the grace which had been given us ; but God of Jiis unfpeakable mercy calls us again to a new repentance,;, that all which we have loft may be reftored unto us. But ; herein many are beguiled by the Evil One into deadly error, fo that they mifs this opportunity of amendment ; for he knows how, with his cunning wiles, to cover our old fins under the mantle of converfion, and thus to fruf- trate all a man's labour and toil. That we may be the better able to efcape him, I will give you fome tokens to mark which man is truly converted and which is not. A truly converted Chriftian man abides in a fincere and The true convert tumble confeffion of his notiiingnefs; has a deep fenfe of his aU his defire is that none fliould fet own nothingnefs ; him above others, nor yet to rule over others, but ratiier to be fubjed in aU meeknefs to another, according to whofe will he may fulfil all his Fourth Sunday after Epiphany. 261 works. He thinks lightly of himfelf and his own wifdom, and defires in all things to take the loweft place ; and is wflling to take advice, and interprets everything for the beft ; and fimply in the fear of God, with a thankful heart, fulfils all that which he is bidden or counfelled, or that others beg of him to do. But, on but the falfe are arro- ° gant, contentious, and the Other hand, thofe who are not e -ju itymg. ^^^^^ converted think much of them felves, and deem all their works and fervices of great value, and it is not at all to their tafte to be subjed to others, or that any fliould have a right to command them, and are fond of reproving others unneceffarily, and of dif courfing on lofty matters, and boaft themfelves proudly of aU that belongs to them, and yet cover all this under a fpecious fhow of piety and humility, that men may not take it amifs of them. If any feem to put a flight upon tiiem, they are contentious, and defend and juftify them felves to the utmoft that they can. They are arrogant and ambitious, and unyielding in their hardnefs of fpirit. Thefe are aU ftill in the hands of the Enemy, yea, did tiiey wear the Pope's tiara. Thofe who are truly converted are kind-hearted to their neighbours, indulgent from brotheriy The true converts r *-!, ' are candid and gene- love, praifing the works ot tneir '¦°"'' neighbours as far as they can, and with great fincerity of heart rejoice in the well-being of 262 Sermon for the their neighbour, and lend him a helping hand wherever they can, and have great fympathy with him in his trou- but the falfe are fpite- bles ; but the falfely-converted are ful and fneering. fpiteful, and look with an evil eye on the ufefulnefs or piety of others, are ready to breed mifchief with a taunt, and are revengeful, fneering, and puffed up in their own conceits. The right fort of men are patient under all the annoy- „, ance and injuftice that God fuffers to 1 he true converts "^ are patient and long- befall them, and bear it long with fuffering ; peaceable tempers. They fpeak mild ly, ufing foft words, and are wont meekly to feek reconci liation with thofe who have done them wrong ; but the but the falfe are quar- f^l^^ bum with anger, are envious of relfomeandcenforious. Q^hers' good fortune, flanderous, quar relfome, and cenforious, not orderly in all their affairs, and full of murmuring againft all, above and below them, who do not conform to their wiOies. The truly righteous are ever gentle and merciful, ready The truly righteous ^° ^'^^ ^"^ <^° ^^^^ ^^ ^^' ^^ ^^Y ^'^ are helpful and chari- able, without regard to their own ad table ; ° vantage ; for they defpife the perifli' able things of time, and maintain their love, enjoyment, and cheerfulnefs under diftrefs, poverty, and contempt, being eafily contented and cheerful, and thankful to Al mighty God, in fpirit looking up conftantly to God who Fourth Sunday after Epiphany. 263 preferves and fuftains them, and cafting behind them all unprofitable earthly anxieties, that they may give the more heed to the things of God and eternity. But the , ^ ,^ , falfe burn like a furnace with the de but the falfe love to keep things for them- fire of temporal things, and feek their iclvcs own pleafure and eafe when and how they may, and often fteal time and other things for it, that they may not be difcovered by their fuperiors ; pr if they can no longer conceal their pradices, then they indulge in them with an obftinate bold face, and fteal time for them felves Diameleffly in the teeth of their mafters. They want to have praife and earthly reward for all that they do, and if they are not honoured and thought highly of, they become like one poffeffed, and openly or fecretiy do aU the harm they can for fpite and vexation. They are whereby theyare often ^^^^Y^ doping tO receive a Woridly led into grievous fin. ^^^ corruptible reward for their reli gious profeffions, and are often feduced into actual deceit and lying, in their ftruggle to get honour or to fave their reputation. The upright are careful to fill up their time induftri- oufly, with good and ufeful under- The truly upright j j u are induftrious and takings to the glory of God and the careful of their time ; ^^^^ ^^ ^j^^.^ neighbours, rejoicing in fpirit as they exercife themfelves in good works, endea vouring to do all things well, and continue with hearty 264 Sermon for the truft in God, fteadfaft in goodnefs. The falfe converts are but the falfe are indo- conftantly indolent and half-hearted lent and cowardly. jj^ their work, wavering, ill-mannered, eafily difheartened, and altogether drowfy, their minds lying wafte and their hearts undifciplined. The true converts are moderate and decorous in the ^, fatisfying of their natural wants, fhun- The true converts - ¦' are difcrget and tem- ning all exccfs, and if they by acci dent tranfgrefs, avoiding it for the future. By moderation in eating, they keep their facul ties clear and under control ; and above all, they moft ear neftly guard againft any excefs in drinking. But falfe but the falfe are given profeffors are given to eating and to felf-indulgence. drinking, yet they can never fully fatisfy their defires, and are unthankful to God for the food He gives them. Without reftraint or good man ners, they cram their bodies, whereby they often bring on grievous fickneffes, and they feek their pleafure without fliame wherever they can. And after excefs at table, fome give way to unfeemly levity in words and geftures, and inconvenient jefting, and telling and hearing all man ner of tales. Others become quarrelfome, brawhng, and fo noify, that to hear their fenfelefs cries you would think them affes, not men. Some become fo fleepy and lazy after dinner, that they could fcarcely repeat the Lord's Prayer without a blunder ; and in general, floth and the Fourth Sunday after Epiphany. 265 like commonly proceed from ftrong drinks and over- Of the evils that do ^"'^^"g" H'"'^' '^ '' *^^ ^^^ ^"^^ fpring from luxurious men have infifted fo ftrongly upon habits. fimplicity in food and drink, that they might give no caufe in themfelves or others to fuch infirmities. But now, alas ! it has gone fo far, that even the clergy, for the moft part, cannot, or rather will not, content themfelves even with rich men's fare ; and from this caufe their blindnefs has grown fo great that it is rare now-a-days to find one who is really aware of the dangers from this fource to which he is expofed by the affaults or fuggeftions of the Devil. For the adverfary is apt to bring thefe men fooner than they think for into an inclination towards, or even to commit ads of foul uncleannefs, by defiling their heart with obfcene thoughts and evil lufts ; and in this way they often fin groffly, and provoke God more than they believe. And then the tumult of evil de fires within makes them to be unfit for good works, and difpleafing to God and holy men ; and they are fo toffed, and driven, and blinded by paffion, that they adually try to quench it in riotous company, and in eating and drink ing. This leads to inordinate merriment and light dif courfe, which are generally wont to eftrange a man fo much from all godly thoughts, that afterwards he can hardly read a verfe with devotion ; and in his very pray ers the Devil brings the fcenes he has witneffed and the 266 Sermon for the language he has heard fo vividly before him, that he can fcarce hold in his tittering and laughing. The righteous and truly converted men are fo fhame- The true converts faced and chaftc of heart before God are pure of heart; ^^d the angels, tiiat tiiey would ra ther die than conceive an impure image in their hearts, and with all watchfulnefs they preferve their mind pure and unfuUied, and they diligently keep all their fenfes and members under ftrict and conftant control, infomuch that they will hardly pay any attention to their own bo dies, except for fafety and cleanlinefs ; and for the better preferving of their purenefs of mind, they chaftife their bodies with fafting, and watching, and toil, exercifing con ftant prayerfulnefs and truft in God, in whom all .their ^ ,^ , , help lies. But the falfe of heart do but the falfe do let ^ their thoughts run not fee much harm in looking at and dwelling on evil, finful thoughts and images in their hearts ; hence they often come into fuch perturbation of foul and body, that they ftand, as it were, in the very gate of hell ; yea, they often fall fo deep, as to give confent to fin with their heart, and would adually fulfil all wickednefs if the opportunity arofe. So unthink ingly do they fall through love of themfelves, in feeking , . the pleafure of the body ! Some of which ofttimes leads •' them into outward fin thefe become fo hardened, and reft lefs, and maddened with the fenfe of Fourth Sunday after Epiphany. 267 reftraint, that they come to hate God for having forbidden the lufts of the flefh, and wifh He did not know of their fins, or was not able to punifh them, which is as much as to wifh that there were no God. And now, dear children, confider how you ftand ; and, feeing the perils which befet us all. How we fliould all 1 . i. ^ /• .. t_ i j take heed to our go- ^^^ no one be too fecure or too bold, ings that our footfteps but let each look to himself in fear ; flip. not. and however well it may be with him now, let him not truft in his goodnefs ; and however deeply he may have fallen, or however far he may have wandered, let him now turn and be converted of a truth, for the path to all goodnefs ftands yet open to him fo long as God fpares him in life. That we may all enter therein, may God help us ! Amen. VIII. Sermon for the Sixth Sunday after Epi phany. (From the Gofpel for St. Matthias'-day, 24th February.) Of the proper marks of true humility. Matt. xi. 29. — " Learn of Me, for I am meek and lowly in heart." ^^^^^2^2^KI^IST, our bleffed Lord, the true mafter and 01 ff^^^S teacher of all art and fs^S I fii SSirk Chrift's leffons eafy • ^ 1 ,_,. c glgj^^^ and plain. virtue, and a pattem of KjXs^^i^ all perfedion, when He came down from Heaven to inftrud us poor ignorant men, did not fee fit to make ufe of great fubtieties, or myfteri ous and ingenious ftatements of truth ; but in fhort, plain, fimple words He dehvered to us a maxim, and gave us a very fhort, eafy leffon, which we were well able to learn. Now this ftood written in the book of His holy humanity, in large, diftind letters, eafy to be read, and runs thus: " Learn of me, for I am meek and lowly in heart." What fhorter, eafier, more intelligible leffon could be fet us ? But we muft give our minds with wiUing in- duftry to read it over and over again attentively, and Sixth Sunday after Epiphany. 269 pradife it in our life, ever looking to the admirable model of the divine humanity of Chrift, whofe whole life was not only meek and humble, but whofe words, ways, walk, and all that ever He did, are fimply the illuftration of this dodrine. Hence He chofe at the Chrift's whole life . . j ,•/- ¦ , an illuftration of hu- beginning fuch fcholars and difciples '"' ^' as were fpecially fitted to ¦ learn this dodrine, and thefe were the holy Apoftles, and His bleffed mother, who faid when flie had conceived Him : " He hath regarded the lowlinefs of His handmaiden." Thus He fays, in the Gofpel for this day, " I thank Thee, " O Father, Lord of Heaven and earth, becaufe Thou " haft hid thefe things from the wife and prudent" (that is from the proud), " and haft revealed them unto babes " (that is to the humble). From this we gather that none but the humble are able to receive the hidden things of God. Therefore, dear children, that Of the tokens of .^^ ^^y obtain this grace, and the true humility. better learn this leffon, we fliall now confider fome tokens of true lowlinefs which is never without meeknefs, and tiiefe are tiie following : He who fincerely defires to become lowly of heart, muft not be afliamed of performing No outward ofiice outward office fuch as tiie worldly regarded as too mean. •' heart thinks mean and humiliating; for as it is a fure token of converfion from fin that it 270 Sermon for the becomes hateful to the man, fo it is a fign of true repent ance, when he is ready in all things to take the meaneft place, if that he may attain 'to that true lowlinefs of heart which is feated inwardly in the foul. And he who will go forward in this bleffed path muft faithfully examine himfelf, and to this end God alfo will beftow on him fuch great grace as he has never had before. He muft always be ready to acknowledge himfelf in fault towards whomfoever it may be, knlw^dged"'"^^ "' ^"d efteem otiiers better tiian him- felf; for by fo doing the loving heart can beft foften the difpofitions of men, and touch tiieir hearts, and win them over to meeknefs. And ilthough he be fometimes not juftly to be reckoned as in fault at all, yet knowing that he might have done the svrong, he fhall always behave himfelf humbly, for the fake of love, to the glory of God, feeing that God has forgiven him fins ere he committed them ; for it is equally m ad of mercy to forgive fins, or to preferve us from [inning. In the third place, it belongs to a lowly heart to be , . kindly affected towards all, not with A generous and im- ¦' partial love towards a partial love ; that is, not to fhow more kindnefs to one than another, :o friends more than ftrangers, but to do good to all for jod's fake, as our neighbours, not from mere natural Sixth Sunday after Epiphany. 271 affedion, but to beftow on all a free, generous love (like our Father in Heaven, " who maketh his fun to rife on " the evil and the good, and fendeth rain on the juft and " on the unjuft"), and alfo to love each according to his worthinefs. In the fourth place, it is neceffary to lowlinefs of heart that we diveft and difencumber ourfelves of all things, that we may cleave only to our merciful God, and become one with Him ; for God will not and cannot unite Him felf or dwell with a worldly heart. Therefore let a man bow himfelf to the earth beneath God and his creatures, in felf-annihilation inward and outward ; and this is what is meant by forfaking all things, and putting away the creature. The fifth token of true A readinefs to fuffer ^o^Hnefs of heart is to know how to tor the glory or God. fuffer to the glory of God, for fincere love of God, fimply hoping, believing, and trufting in Him. Thus a lowly walk confifts in three things ; in patient endurance, in giving up out of love and faith, and in hope towards God. And from thefe flows the fenfe of our own wretchednefs, the knowledge of our Creator, and a wiU wholly refigned to God, not for our own fake, but for the glory of God. May God help us to leam thus to be meek and lowly of heart. Amen ! IX. Sermon for Septuagefima Sunday. (From the Gofpel for the day.) In this Sermon following we are taught how we muft perpetually prefs forward towards our higheft good, without paufe or reft ; and how we muft labour in the fpiritual vineyard that it may bring forth good fruit. Matt. xx. i. — "The kingdom of heaven is like unto a man that is an houfeholder, which went out early in the morning to hire labourers into his vineyard." ^^^^P|HIS houfeholder went out early at the firft ss is|-j SS hour, and again at the isi I sS§ Of the houfeholder , . , , i_ /• ..l !| i ^^ who went out to hire third and at tiie fixtii ^^S|Si l^ourers into his j^q^^s, and hired labour- vineyard. ers for a penny a day. But when it was quite late in the evening he went out again, and ftill found men ftanding idle. Then he faid unto them. Why ftand ye here all the day idle ? Go ye alfo into the vineyard, and whatfoever is right I wifl give you. Dear children, this houfeholder fignifies our Lord Jefus The houfeholder is Chrift ; His houfe is the heavens, and Our Lord Jefus Chrift. ^-^ ^^^^^^ ^^^ purgatory, and helL Sermon for Septuagefima Sunday. 273 He faw that all nature had gone aftray, infomuch that His lovely vineyard lay a barren wafte ; and man, whom He had made to poffefs this fair and fruitful vineyard, had wandered far away from Him, and left this excellent vineyard to be untilled. But the Lord of the vineyard determined to invite men to return into this vineyard for which He had created him, and went out early to that end. Dear children, in one fenfe Jefus Chrift went out eariy In what fenfe He ' ^om the divine bofom ofthe Father, went out early. ^^^ ygj- evermore dwells there. But in another fenfe. He went out eariy in human nature, that He might hire us into His fervice, and bring us back again into His noble vineyard, and fo tiiere might be labourers to tiU it. And He went out at tiie firft hour, and alfo at die tiiird, and fixth, and nintii hours. And at tiie eleventh hour He went out once more, and again found men ftanding idle, to whom He fpoke roughly, faying. Why ftand ye here aU die day idle ? Then tiiey anfwered. Of thofe who are No man hatii hired us. Lord. Thefo ftanding idle both jjj^ ^^^ whom no man hath hired from the world and - • i from God. are thofe who are ftill in their original, uncorrupt, and innocent ftate, and hence they are rightly caUed bleffed ; for God faw as He looked on tiiem, that tiiey were unhired ; tiiat is, not held in fervitude to tiie worid and tiie creatures. There are fome who are God'a 2 74 Sermon for Septuagefima Sunday. hired labourers, and thefe are in a higher fenfe free, and at large., and not held in fervitude to the world or the creature. But thefe of whom we are now fpeaking are ftill ftanding idle, which ought not to be ; that is, they are ftanding in apathy, cold, lovelefs, and devoid of grace ; for fo long as a man is not ftanding in the grace of God, he is ftanding alone in nature. And if fuch a man (were it poffible, which it is not) were to fulfil all the good works which have ever been done in this world, he would ftill, never thelefs, be living altogether idly, unprofitably, and in vain, and it would avail him nothing. Again, this going out early in the morning is a type of the dawning of the grace of God in the foul ; for the morning is the end of the night, when the darknefs vanifhes, and the day-fpring of grace arifes in the foul of man, and God fays. Wherefore ftand ye here idle ? Go ye into my vineyard, and what is right, that will I give you. But the men entered after a very unequal manner into Ofthe beginners in the vineyard. One clafs are tiiofe God's vineyard who ^Jjq ^^^ ^^^^^ beginners ; thefe work think much of out- " -ward works. in God's vineyard with outward aSs, and bodily exercifes, and felf-impofed talks, and are perfuaded that they are accomplifliing great good works with their fafting, watching, and praying ; while they never look to the purity of their motives, but retain their love of earthly enjoyments, and their own likes and diflikes. Sermon for Septuagefima Sunday. 275 And therefrom do fpring up injuftice, falfe judgment, and many faults ; fuch as pride, earthly or fpiritual, bitternefs or enmity, and more of the like, that greatly hinder the outpouring of divine grace, if we allow thefe untoward difpofitions to break forth in words or adions. Let one who has thus been building upon a falfe foundation give heed to himfelf, and watch how he may beft condemn and deftroy this inward falfehood, that it lead not to his own ruin, nor caufe harm to thofe with whom he may hold converfe. A fecond clafs of men who have likewife entered into Ofthe fecond clafs, ^^^'s vineyard, are thofe wTio are who find pleafure in above living for mere temporal well-doing without . thinking of God as its things, and have alfo overcome their ™ ¦ groffer fins, and have turned their minds towards higher things. Their life is fpent in the rational pradice of virtue ; and in this they find fuch pleafure and delight, that they are contented with their condition, and mifs the higheft and fublimeft truth; for they abide in the prefent fenfe of fatisfadion, and do not pant to reach upward through and above this enjoyment to the eternal God Himfelf For our delight ought to be in God Himfelf, not in thefe gifts of His. But the third clafs of thofe who go into God's vineyard are truly noble and highly-favoured men, who in deed and truth rife above all creature things in God's vineyard ; 276 Sermon for Septuagefima Sunday. Of the third clafs ^""^ ^^Y ^^^^ ^"^ ^^^^ "°*i"g ^Ut of truly noble men, fimply God in Himfelf Theyneitiier who feek nothing but God Himfelf. look to pleafure, nor to any felfifh end, nor to that which is a mere outflow from God; for their inner man is wholly plunged in God, and they have no end but the praife and glory of God, that His good pleafure alone may be fulfilled in and through them and in all creatures. Hence they are able to bear all things and to refign all things, for they receive all things as fi-om God's hand, and offer up to Him again in fimplicity of heart all that they have received from Him, and do not lay claim to any of His mercies. They are Hke a river that flows out with every tide, and then again haftens back How they refer all to its fource. So do thefe men refer things to God. all tijgjr gifts back to tiie fource whence they proceed, and flow back again unto it them felves likewife. For inafmuch as they carry all the gifts of God back unto their divine fountain, and do not claim any ownerfliip in them, either for pleafure or advantage, and do not purpofe this nor that, but fimply God alone, God muft of neceffity be their only refuge and ftay, out ward or inward. But although this aim carry a man fo completely out of himfelf, and be perfedly fimple and direded to notiiing but God, yet 'nature has fome regard to herfelf, of which a man cannot be wholly bereft. Whether he choofe it or no Sermon for Septuagefima Sunday. 277 (this is a fimple fad), he cannot but always defire to feel God's prefence ; and fo too it is a natural inftind to wifh to be happy. But this defire fliould be far from his ftrongeft, and the leaft part of what he takes into the account in his purpofes. [*And here I wifh to rebuke all thofe religious perfons who are leaning Of thofe who treat . their good works as on their good works, and as it were their own property. . - . keep a right ot property in them, thinking themfelves free to do or not to do them. For whenever they fee or imagine any new undertaking or religious pradice which can afford them inward or outward fatisfadion, they give themfelves to it with prayer, and ftriving, and weeping, and watching. And as long as they find pleafure in it, they cannot have enough of it ; but if this fenfe of pleafure and intereft paffes away, their devo tion paffes away likewife, and they come to diflike their good and holy work, and then they grow lukewarm and carelefs, performing all they do without devotion. All this is owing to their not having had a fingle eye to God's glory. They have been prompted and fuftained in their labour by the pleafure it has yielded them, and now this has fled. For we muft not feek enjoyment and fweetnefs in the gifts of God, either in holy exercifes, or in words * The parts enclofed between brackets are wanting in the Straftjurg MSS. ; but, according to the Frankfort Edition of 1 826, exift in the edition of 1498. 278 Sermon for Septuagefima Sunday. or works ; but we muft take delight in God alone, and not in His gifts. ^ There are, however, fome religious perfons who will , ' not be left without folace or ftay. We muft not feek ^ folace in faints or an- For rather than be left fimply and gels, but in God only. , . , - , , ^, , truly without a folace, deititute and bare, they fet up for themfelves heavenly beings, fuch as the faints and angels, and claim a fort of right to them as a fource of fpiritual enjoyment, and look to them as a confolation. Thus they will fay : " Such a faint or an- " gel is dear to me before all others ;" and if you throw down this prop of their own raifing, and fay that they ought not to fpeak thus, you leave them little peace; nay, they are greatly difquieted ; and this is worft of all, and doing God a great wrong. Thou muft not place thy reliance on any creature in heaven or on earth, nor repofe nor lean on any fave God alone. If thou didft truft Him really and truly, all His faints would be truly and rightly honoured and reverenced by thee ; for the departed faints are always abforbed in the divine, fatherly abyfs of the Holy Trinity. For I tell thee by that Truth, which is God Himfelf, if thou art ever to become a man after the win of God, every thing muft die in thee to which thou art cleaving, whether it be God's gifts, or the faints, or tiie angels, or even all that would afford thee confolation for thy fpiritual wants : all muft be given up. if God is to fliine Sermon for Septuagefima Sunday. 279 in on thy foul brightly, without a cloud, and accomplifli His noble and glorious will in thee, thou muft be free and unencumbered by all that affords thee comfort out of God. We are not, therefore, forbidden to honour the bleffed ,„ , faints, but only to claim any property We are not, there- ' •' J r tr j fore, forbidden to ho- in their merits for the fake of our nour God's fervants. , ,. , . own delight in them ; for I tell thee, that if thou hadft all manner of heavenly grace from God, and didft poffefs the good works of all mankind, fo foon as thou fliouldft claim it as thine own, for the fake of thine own delight therein, that moment all this goodnefs would be fullied and defaced with thine own evil For a true and faithful fervant of God fliall be always preffing upward to what is before him, not fuffering himfelf to be held back by comfort or pleafure, joy or forrow, wealth or poverty. Through all this he fliall urge onward, till he come unto the infinite ocean of the Godhead. And therein he fliall be loft without his own knowledge, and dazzled by excefs of light and love. There it fliall be given him to know all that belongs to true perfedion.] A good and devout man fliall be like the labourer in How f i ritual en- ^^ vineyard, who works all the day joyment is to be to us Jong, and neverthelefs he muft take as food, taken that we may have ftrength to food. But the labour is long and the meal barely lafts an hour, and he only takes it for the fake of the work. He muft eat that 28o Sermon for Septuagefima Sunday. he may work, and the nourifhment he takes diffufes itfelf through every part of his body, continually fupplying it with frefli ftrength, which again is confumed in his labour • and when it has been confumed with labour he eats again a little, that he may again confume it by working in the Lord's vineyard. So is it with a noble-minded man. When he feels an inchnation in himfelf to enjoy God or His heavenly grace and what is thereof, let him for a Ht tle while feek and purpofe his own good, but not longer than is needful for the nourifliing of his foul, that he may confume his fpiritual ftrength again in labour ; and when it has tiius been fpent in the noblest of all ways, from a love flowing back unto God who has infpired it, tiien tiie man muft go for refrefhment again into the river of life that floweth out from the throne of God, that it may again bring fortii in him the fruit of good works. AU thefe fpiritual men who thus know how to refign or to return again unto God, with tiieir body and their fpirits, the gifts that He has mercifully beftowed on tiiem, witii deep, humble felf-renunciation, thefe do continually grow more able and more worthy to receive bleffing from God. Where fuch admirable, god-like men are to be found, tiiey were worthy, as none elfe are, to be fed witii gold If we do fo, God ^"^ ^^^^^r and fine pearis, and the will provide for all our beft tiiat tile worid contains as tiieir heritage. But tiiere is many a poor Sermon for Septuagefima Sunday. 281 noble man of God, who has none of all thefe things ; let fuch an one humbly caft himfelf on the all-powerful God and truft him utterly ; without doubt tihy heavenly Father will and muft provide thee well, yea, wert thou hidden in a rock. Thefe exalted and moft noble men are juft like the wood of the vine, which is outwardly How the nobleft , , i , i , i i j j r men are often out- hard and black and dry, and good tor wardly infignificant no purpofe whatever ; and if we had like the vine. ^ ^ never feen it before, we fliould think it of no ufe 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 fap, and power of yielding the nobleft of all juices, and of bringing forth a greater abundance of fruit than any other fort of wood that grows. And thus it is with thefe beloved and lowly children, who are at all times and feafons plunged in God ; they are outwardly in appearance like unto black rotten wood, feeming unto men dry and unprofitable. For there are many of thefe who are humble, noways re markable for their gifts, outward or inward, nor for any extraordinary works or fayings or exercifes of devotion, and who move in the narroweft fphere ; but living veins from the fountain of truth lie hidden within them, foraf much as they have afked for no earthly heritage, but God is their lot and their portion, their life and their being. 282 Sermon for Septuagefima Sunday. Now the vine-dreffer goes out and prunes the vine, lop- How the vine-dref- ping off the wUd flioots; for if he fer prunes the vine. negleded this, and fuffered tiiem to remain on the good ftem, the whole would yield bad, four wine. So likewife fliall good men do : they fhall cut off from themfelves all that is not according to God's order in their condud or difpofitions, likings or diflikings, and deftroy it to the very root ; thou fhalt cut away all evil failings from thy heart, and it will do thee no harm, either in head or in hand, or any member. But hold thy knife ftill, till thou haft really feen what ought to be cut off. If the vine-dreffer be not fkilled in his art, he is as likely to crop off the good branches which bear the grapes ^ as. the wild flioots, and thus fpoil the vineyard. So it is with thofe who do not underftand We muft not ufe the knife on nature, this fpiritual art ; they leave the roots but on vice. . ., ,.^ . . ,. of Vice and evil difpofitions alive m the heart, and hew and lop at poor nature, and thereby / deftroy this noble vineyard. Nature is in itfelf good and noble, why shouldft 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, bleffed, devout life, then it wifl be feen that thou haft fpoiled thy nature. After this the labourer binds up the vine, putting m ftakes; he bends the upper branches down towards the earth, and faftens the vine to a ftrong framework, that it Sermon for Septuagefima Sunday. 283 How the vine-dref- ^^Y have a fupport. This is atype of fer trains the vine. the fweet and holy life, the facred ex ample and fufferings of our bleffed Lord Jefus Chrift, for thefe and nothing of our own fliould be a man's ftay. For the higher powers of his reafon fhall be drawn down into due control, and he fliall fink low in deep fubmiffive humility before Our Lord, in truth and not with hypocrify, with all his powers, outward and inward. For when both the ap petites of the body, and the higheft So muft all our • n n. i r t r t powers be trained af- intelledual powers ot the loul ate X •al'^ P^"f " °^ thus trained and bound down, each Chrut s example. in its own place, fo that neither the fenfes nor the will, nor any faculty, is left too free and too proud, but they are at all times controlled and trained into due rightful order under the Divine will, and man's defire at all times, and in all things, is to be, by the help and grace of God, to the utmoft of his power, outwardly and inwardly obedient to the Divine will, without contradic tion, in all that the Eternal God, our Heavenly Father, has determined in His eternal divine counfels ; — [and when all the powers humbly ad in this way, in depend ence upon God, whether they are exercifed or kept in check, — were it within the bounds of reafonable poffibility that a man could be confcious of poffeffing all the good works, and aU the heavenly graces of all mankind, and yet took none of all this unto himfelf, but, calling nothing 284 Sermon for Septuagefima Sunday. his own, ftood up deftitute and bare, in free, fimple love to God, as if all this goodnefs belonged to another, and not himfelf; — Children, wherever fuch If it were fo with , , ,„ ,. . , . us, God would truly "oblc men may exift or live in tins accomphfti His work ^f -^^ ^^^ ^^ YathtX m and with us. o o > , .j of Heaven truly and abfolutely ac complifh His divine and myfterious work without any hindrance. And in him whofe heart is not fincerely ftand ing thus toward God, as to the guiding principle of his life, in him doubt not that this holy, divine birth cannot be truly brought to pafs or be made fruitful] Afterward the vine-dreffer digs about the ftems of the , . , ^ vine, and roots out all noxious weeds. How the vine-dref fer weedeth the vine- Thus fhall a devout man dig about A the foil of his own heart by clofe ob fervation and tefting of his own principles, to fee whether there be aught for him to root out. And if he find any thing, let him that moment pluck it up, however trifling or unimportant it may be, that the beams of the eternal and divine fun may penetrate the farther into his very midft, fliining with unbeclouded force, and frudifying his nobleft powers. For thus the glorious fun draws the juices outward into the living veffels which He hidden in the bark, and then the fair clufters begin to appear. Ah ! children, if man knew how fo to tend his vine, that God's fun might flaine in on and vivify his foul, what fweet. Sermon for Septuagefima Sunday. 285 excellent, delicious fruit would the eternal fun draw forth „ , r , from him ! For the lovely fun fhines How the lun mak- "^ eth the vine to fruc- with all its fulnefs into him, and works within thefe precious clufters, and makes them flourifli in fweetnefs and beauty. Their bloffoms fend forth a fweet and delicate fragrance, which difpels all poifonous vapours ; neither ferpent nor toad can endure their perfume, when the eternal divine fun fhines direct among the branches, and through the clufters. The fruit is fo entirely of God's producing, and flourifhes in fuch beauty and richnefs, in pure looking up to God, whofe rays draw forth from it fuch wondrous and deli cious favour and perfume, that it needs muft destroy the venom of the old ferpent ; yea, had all the devils in hell, and all the men on earth confpired together, they would not be able in the leaft to injure a thoroughly godly-mind ed and God-loving man, but the more they ftrive to injure him, the deeper he is rooted and the higher he is built up in God with all his powers. And if fuch an admirable man, bearing his precious fruit, were to be caft down to / the depths of hell, he muft needs tum it into a kingdom of heaven, and God and eternal blefl]ednefs would exift in hell. And a man who fliould bear fuch fruit would not need to fear in anywife all the reproach that could be heaped upon him. When we have no aim but God, no thing can part us from Him, or lead us aftray. 286 Sermon for Septuagefima Sunday. Now after that the vine has. been well pruned, and its ,^ , ,. . ^ ftem cleared of all weeds, the glorious How the divine fun ripeneth the fruits of fun fhineth yet more brightly, and cafteth his heat on the precious cluf ters, and thefe grow more and more tranfparent, and the fweetnefs begins to difclofe itfelf more and more. And to fuch a man as we have defcribed, all means of communication between God and his foul begin after a time to grow fo tranfparent that the rays and glances of the divine fun reach him without ceafing, that is, as often and as foon as he turns himfelf towards them in feeling and thought. This divine fun fhines much more brightly than all the funs in the firmament ever fhone ; and in its light all the man's ways, and works, and doings are fo changed into its image, that he feels nothing to be fo true as God, with a certainty that is rooted in the very midft of his being, yet is far above the fphere of his rea fon, and wjiich he can never fully exprefs, for it is too deep and too high above all human reafon to be explored and underftood. After this the vine-dreffer loves to ftrip off the leaves, that thus the fun may have nothing to hinder its rays from pouring on the grapes. In like manner do all means of grace fall away from this man, fuch as images ofthe faints, teachings, holy exercifes, fet prayers, and the like. Yet let none caft thefe things afide before they faU away of Sermon for Septuagefima Sunday. 287 themfelves throuo"h divine grace : that is to fay, when a , , , , ^ , ^ man is drawn up above all that he can Of the bleffednefs ^ of utter union with comprehend, then do thefe precious and divine fruits grow more fweet and delightful than either fenfe or reafon may conceive, and it is poffible for him to be carried fo far that his fpirit is as it were funk and loft in the abyfs of the Deity, and lofes the confcioufnefs of all creature diftindions. All things are gathered together in one with the Divine fweet nefs, and the man's being is fo penetrated with the Divine fubftance, that he lofes himfelf therein, as a drop of water is loft in a calk of ftrong wine. And thus the man's fpirit is fo funk in God in divine union, that he lofes all fenfe of diftindion ; and all that has brought him to this point, fuch as humility, the feeking God's glory, — ^nay, his very felf, — lofes its name, and there remains a fecret, ftill union, without cloud or colour. And all good purpofes are fufed into a true and pure onenefs, and a real but filent myftery, fucl^ as human powers can fcarce apprehend. [Children, How one moment could WC but truly ftand in this holy of fuch a union were ru v r i. „* :* better than forty years of holics for an hour or a moment. It of outward works. y^^re a thoufand times better and more profitable for us, and more pleafing and praifeworthy in tile fight of the Eternal God, than forty years fpent in your own felf-impofed talks.] That we may thus give place to God, [for Him to do ,/ 288 Sermon for Septuagefima Sunday. His work in us, and die to all to which we ought to die, that we may live truly and only to that to which we ought to live, if this exalted work of God is to be accomplifhed in us and through us,] may He help us. Amen ! Sermon for Afh Wednefday. Gal. ii. 19. — " I am crucified with Chrift, neverthelefs I live ; yet not " I, but Chrift liveth in me." HE holy Apoftle Paul, whofe endeavours towards a perfed life How Paul could fay that he was crucified wcrc all founded upon with Chrift. , j .. r endurance and true refig nation, fliows us in himfelf how a righteous, fpiritual man, being nailed with Chrift to the crofs, and whofe fufferings bring forth in him the living fruits of the Spirit, now no longer liveth through himfelf, but Chrift liveth in him, as is taught in the words which he writes to the Galatians, faying : " I am crucified with Chrift : neverthelefs I live ; " yet not I, but Chrift liveth in me." Again he continues : " The life which I now live in the flefli, I live by the faith " of the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himfelf for "* me." In thefe words we have a wholefome admonition to ftrive after fuch a life as that Chrift may be glorified in us, and his bitter grief and crofs may be manifefted in our mortal body, to the bettering of our neighbour and our- 19 290 Sermon for Afh Wednefday. Though there be ^^^^^S" Wherefore we ought to many croffes, yet there obferve here, that though there be is but one that bring- -. r r -i r n- • eth falvation. many kinds of crofs and fuffering, of which each has its own length, and depth, and breadth, and height, yet there is only one on which our etemal redemp tion was accomplifhed; that is, the crofs of Chrift's humanity, which again points us to a ftill higher crofs (yet, fo to fpeak, without crofs and pain), of His divine nature. So likewife there were two croffes which ftood befide the crofs of Chrift; the one bearing the malefador on His right hand, and the other on His left. From all which we purpofe to gather fome fpiritual emblems that may help us to difcern what fort of crofs and grief it is that we are bearing, and to which of thefe three croffes it may be compared. This we may tell by the following tokens. By the crofs of the malefador on Chrift's left hand may r^r t r t ^c undctftooti thofe who have made Of thofe who are hanging on the crofs a religious profeffion, and are hanging of outward works. r r • 1 •/- j on the crofs of continual exercifes and outward aufterities which they have bound themfelves to pradife ; they have well deferved this crofs, but it brings tihem no profit, becaufe they have not died on it to felf-will and other finful failings. It is poffible for them after this crucifixion to go down to etemal torment with the unjuft malefador ; fo that, to ufe a common proverb, they drag the barrow here and the waggon in the world to* come. Sermon for Afh Wednefday. 291 The height of this crofs is the fpiritual pride and felf-com- placency which they have in the ftridnefs of their life, on account of which they fet themfelves up above others ; for none can be good enough for them, and they lay great ftrefs on fuch aufterities, defpifing all who do not lead fuch a life as themfelves. St. Auguftine faid to his brethren : " Dear brethren, " rather than you fliould fay or think yourfelves to be " different frorn or better than other men, I would that " you fhould return to the world. You ought to fay, as " Chrift did by the mouth of his Prophet David : ' I am a " ' worm, and no man ; a reproach of men, and defpifed " ' of the people ; ' and with the publican : ' God be " ' merciful to me a finner.' " The depth of this crofs is a type of the depth of fin into which fuch men fall; and that Of the depths of fin , , , . . , . into which thefe for- comes hence, that tiieir inward prin- Slin"^ '"^ '^""^^^ '^'P^^ ^^ ^^^^^ through and tiirough, and they have never taken pains to look within and examine their evil unchanged hearts, and amend them ; they lean altogether on outward exercifes, which at the fame time they hate, and perform with back ward hearts. They know nothing of a union with God, or of His myfteries ; nay, they no more reach after any thing of this kind by queftioning, or inquiring, or feeking, than 'they think of the Sultan over the fea, and take no 292 Sermon for Afh Wednefday. more thought about it than if it in no wife concerned them. If they hear talk of divine things, they underftand as much of them as a German does of Italian. They fay their prayers and read their Bibles, and perform their dry works of obedience with the outward man and their fenfes; and with this they are well fatisfied. Let God unite Himfelf with whom He will, what does that con cern them ? But if it were a queftion of outward ad vantage in refped of gain, or honour, or other things that might be turned to account, which any one had obtained thereby, then we fliould fee whether it concerned them or not. Hence, in fpite of their pious ads, it comes to this, that when they are called on to renounce their own way and will, they behave as if they were deaf or fenfelefs. Thus St. Auguftine writes : " I do not know wickeder, " more utteriy corrupt men than thofe who fall away " while maintaining a religious profeffion ; for not feldom " they fall fo deeply into fin, that they come to err from " the faith and tiie things touching the Holy Scriptures, " and thus fink under the crofs to which they are bound " and faftened." The width or breadtii of this crofs is that they go the How thofe who are wide, broad, well-trodden way that fir intuJenceT^'do' l^adetii unto hell; for tiiey live after often ftray from the the flefti, and tiierefore tiiey do not narrow way, and may •' haply lofe it for ever, feek after the fweetnefs of the fpirit ; Sermon for Afh Wednefday. 293 for he who liveth to the flefli cannot pleafe God. He who will not feek the narrow path that leadeth unto eternal life muft needs often be delayed and lofe the way, by which means he is made too late to find the way that leadeth unto life. This is the cafe with thofe who feek and intend themfelves in all things, and are always wanting to get fome eafe and to gain fome indulgence from the Lord, now for this, now for that for bidden thing ; in a word, to have nothing to bear is what would fuit them beft. For this very reafon they are obliged to bear a heavy crofs in their confcience whether they Hke it or no, and have no confidence towards God whom they have fet at nought, nor yet any confolation from the world which defpifes them. Ah I dear children, what a hard life and crofs is theirs ! They would fain be without pain, and have the very bittereft pain ; which will, more over, be followed by eternal pain, unlefs they repent and turn to God. The length of this crofs is, that they remain and perfe vere impenitent and without virtue How fuch are apt ^^^^ ^^ ^^^ ^^^ ^.^jg (,ojjjgs £^0^ to perievere impeni tent unto the end, their great ingratitude, inafmuch as and become of the r i_ number of thofe of God has bcftowed on them fuch Heb!"vi. +-8^^* ^ "^ great grace before other worldly peo ple who would have made better ufe of it, and has vifited them in fo many good influences and 294 Sermon for Afh Wednefday. admonitions, inward and outward, as often even to raife their own wonder ; and for all that they do not turn from evil. Of thefe fays Paul : " For it is impoffible for thofe who " were once enlightened, and have tafted of the heavenly " gift, and were made partakers of the Holy Ghoft, and " have tafted the good word of God and the powers of " the world to come, if they fhall fall away, to renew them " again unto repentance ; feeing they crucify to themfelves " the Son of God afrefh, and put him to an open fliame." And he gives us a likenefs for them : " For the earth " which drinketh in the rain that cometh oft upon it, and " bringeth forth herbs meet for them by whom it is " dreffed, receiveth bleffing from God : but that which " beareth thorns and briers is rejeded, and is nigh unto " curfing : whofe end is to be burned." As much as to fay. Of thefe men who have received great grace from God, and to whom He has fhowed fpecial tokens of His fecret favour, when they are notwithftanding obftinately perverfe and unfruitful, it is to be feared, if they perfevere in fuch a courfe, that they will fall under the etemal curfe of God. Therefore beware that you be not hanged on this crofs of condemnation, and meet your laft end thus. The fecond kind of crofs is good, and is that of the Of the good and "i^lefador on Chrift's right hand, fruitful crofs laid upon who had indeed well deferved his thofe who do rightly turn unto God, like punifliment, but it became unto him Sermon for Afh Wednefday. 295 the malefaftor on fruitful and profitable. This crofs Chrift's right hand. we may take as a type of the hard- fliip and fufferings needful to be borne by thofe who have turned with their whole heart from this world and fin to a life of repentance; who have indeed well deferved to fuffer much for their fins, becaufe they have wafted their time fo unprofitably in fleflily and natural pleafures, doing their own will; but now they wifli to forfake all thefe things for God's fake, and on the contrary to fuffer what ever God fliall appoint for them. To thefe the crofs is not only profitable and fruitful, but alfo confoling, fweet, and lovely. For to them it brings, as it did to this male fador, a ftrong faith with a firm hope in the unfpeakable love and mercy of God. Ah ! children, what greater good could befall this criminal hanging on the crofs, in this fhort fpace of time, than to hear thofe comfortable words : " Verily I fay unto thee, this Luke xxiii. 43. " day fhalt thou be with me in Para- " dife." And what can better comfort thefe rightly dif pofed converts of whom we are fpeaking, than for Chrift to exclaim unto them : " Come unto me all ye that labour " and are heavy laden, and I will Matt. xi. 28. " give you reft." That is, I will re ceive you into my favour, and help you to bear your burdens, and after a fliort feafon of travail moft fweetly quicken and refrefli you. 296 Sermon for Afh Wednefday. The depth of this crofs is boundlefs humility, not deeming ourfelves higher than other Its depth, bound- jjjen, but having our eyes always. lefs humility, remem- bering that this fuffer- open to our own fhortcomings : like ing is far lefs than , r c\ i 1 1 i i their deferts. this malefador, who acknowledged that he was fuffering the juft reward,' of his mifdeeds. So let it be with all thefe converts; in all their forrows let tihem remember that they might juftly have fuffered more, and that no fuffering on earth or in hell would be a fufficient retribution for their fins. This makes them not to defpife, nor judge, nor condemn any but themfelves; and when they are brought to this point, then their crofs begins to bloffom and bear fruit. The height of this crofs is a mind direded upwards to the contemplation of divine and hea- afpttfoS'' '"'"'' ^^"ly thingS' ^"d a forfaking of out- ward things ; that is, they fliall leam to look upward toward eternal things, without letting their eyes wander after earthly things, and fix their looks on the admirable life and walk of our dear Lord, his fuf ferings, his bitter death, his refurredion, afcenfion, and everlafting reign. This makes a man's fuffering and crofs light unto him, as it did to this malefactor when he faid : " Lord, remember me when thou Luke xxiii. 42. . , , . , , t> " comelt into thy kingdom. ce- Sermon for Afh Wednefday. 297 hold, dear children, how his mind and thoughts were filled ¦with the eternal world. , The breadth of this crofs fignifies a hearty, all-embrac ing love to God, men, and all crea- Itsbreadth, univerfal ^^^^ f^^ ^^^^ ^y^^ ^^^ ^^ ^^^ ^^^(^ love t«r God and man. pray with lip and heart, not alone for themfelves, but alfo for all men, even for their enemies : thus their prayer extends unto all, and they are ever ready to devote themfelves, body and foul to their fellow-crea tures; and thus they do what in them lies to make amends to God, whom they have aforetime difhonoured and provoked in his creatures. Thus love, as St. Peter faith, covereth a multitude of fins ; and, as Chrift faid of Mary Magdalene : many fins are forgiven her, for fhe loved much. The length of this crofs is perfeverance and growth in good works; for tfiefe men never Its length, perfeve- , ¦ i • j j • . ranee in efforts to do ceafe from their kind and virtuous ^°° ¦ labours, but undertake one after an other with juft difcrimination, and give all diligence to put off their old man, and to put on a new man created after God in righteoufnefs and holinefs of life. And hence their inward man is renewed day by day, and grow- eth up amidft all their forrow, pain, and temptation, fo that they may well feel how truly Paul has faid, that " this "light afflidion, which is but for a 2 Cor. iv. 17, 18. , 1 /- r " moment, worketh for us a tar more 298 Sermon for Afh Wednefday. " exceeding and eternal weight of glory ; while we look " not at the things which are feen, but at the things which " are not feen : for the things which are feen are temporal, " but the things which are not feen are eternal." The third crofs is the crofs of Chrift, and is a tj'pe of OfthecrofsofChrift '^^ P"^^^ "^^"' °^ ^^°™ ^heir Hea- m which the nobleft venly Father has beftowed peculiar men do ftiare. glory and honour, and fellowship with His only begotten Son, in that He fends them, after a fpecial fort, all manner of contradidion, pain, affaults, tribulation, and croffes of every kind ; and gives them to drink of the cup of which Chrift, His only begotten Son, has drunk. As it was with the holy Apoftles James and John, to whom Chrift faid ; " Are ye Matt. XX. 22. •' " able to drink ofthe cup that I fliaU " drink of? and to be baptized with the baptifm that I am " baptized witii ?" As much as to fay. If ye defire to be the chiefeft, deareft friends of God, ye muft, like me, fuffer tiie greateft contradidion beforehand ; for .the difciple is not above his inafter. If Chrift muft needs fuffer and enter by the crofs into the kingdom of His Father, without doubt fo muft every friend of God have fomewhat likewife to endure. The deptii of this crofs is that they have at all times a Its depth, a con- 'childlike fear, and allow God to tinual childlike fear of movc them as He will, and keep a God. conftant care not to offend God. Its Sermon for Afh Wednefday. 299 ^ , . , „ height is the well-grounded hope Its height, a well- ^ or 'grounded hope of eter- which they have of eternal bleffed- ' nal life. . , , , . I nefs, not founded on their own merit or good life, but on a firm faith, in a humble principle of entire felf-furrender to the perfedly holy will of God. And this hope maketh not afliamed ; but, as St. Paul fays, " the love of God is fhed abroad in their hearts by " the Holy Ghoft which is given unto them." The width or breadth of this crofs is that they loJelt'ji'aXS love God With their whole hearts, and themfelves and all men through God ; and endeavour with all their might " to keep the " unity of the fpirit in the bond of Eph. iv. 3. r^t n ¦ tt ¦ ¦ r " peace." They fhun all giving ot offence and fcandal, and are ufeful to all and hurtful to none. And therefore they fuffer gladly aU that befaUs them in their work of love, that they may bring many fouls unto God. The length of their Its length, a re- ¦ • r nouncmg of their own crofs ftretches out into eternity : tor wi to a etermty. ^^^^ ^^^ ready to fuffer gladly all that God fhaU appoint unto them in time or in eternity : it is their higheft happinefs to forward all that Gt)d choofes to do through them ; however and whenever He will, they fimply follow His leading, without murmuring or queftioning. They are thofe who are able to fay in fin cerity with Chrift : " Not my will, but thine be done." 300 Sermon for Afh Wednefday. Nothing grieves them more than that they cannot utterly give up their own wiU, by reafon of human infirmity and weaknefs. O, how bleffed are thefe men, and how fruit ful is their crofs, not only to themfelves, but alfo to all Chriftendom ! This crofs leads and brings them to the ineffable crofs of the divine nature, of which Paul of ?/e^ib?nam"!^' ^^s tiiinking when he prayed for his friends that they might " be able to Eph. iii. i8, 10. 1 1 • 1 11 /- • 1 • " comprehend with all faints what is " the breadth and length, and depth and height, and to " know the love of Chrift which paffeth knowledge, that " ye may be filled with all the fulnefs of God." The length is His never-ending eternity; the breadth His boundlefs goodnefs and mercy, which has been fhed abroad, and is yet poured out over the whole creation and mankind ; the height is His omnipotence, and the depth _, - , ... His unfethomable wifdom. Now he Thoie who will reach up into this -who will reach up unto the crofs of crofs muft be con- _ formed unto the like- Chrift's divine nature, muft firft be nefs of Chrift's death, r n.- i • i i-i r r tr- lalhioned into the likenefs ot rlis crucifixion in the flefh. And all thofe who truly lead a life in the fpirit, fuch as we have defcribed, are thus cru cified with Chrift ; for they fliall keep themfelves from all the works of the flefli, which God hates, and fhall have an earneft love to all righteoufnefs, fo that they are united Sermon for Afh Wednefday. 301 with the bonds of their foul unto His divine nature. They fhall, moreover, be ever ftriving to fulfil God's will, continually fixing their thoughts on Him, and keeping themfelves from all that would be difpleafing in His fight, and thus be nailed with the right foot to the crofs of the divine nature ; and they fliall further learn to hold them felves between thefe two, that they be neither carried away by unbleffed happinefs, nor yet fhrink from bleffed unhappinefs, nor be led aftray between thefe two; and thus are they bound with the left foot to the crofs of the divine nature. Furthermore,' they fliall have an inward fympa thy with God, for the diflionour that has been done Him from the beginning of the world, and will yet be done Him by men in the Church and in the world until the laft day, and for the fhame and difhonour of His deareft friends, who have yielded themfelves to fuffer on this crofs with Chrift, that His divine glory may be magnified through them ; for God will guard them as the apple of His eye, infomuch tha*- whofo entreateth them evil hath done it unto God. That we may thus be nailed with Chrift to the crofs of his humanity, — that we may be admitted to the eternal beholding of the brightnefs of His godhead, may the Almighty Trinity grant and help us. Amen ! XI. Sermon for the Second Sunday in Lent. (From the Gofpel for the day.) Tells us how God drives forward fome of His children by the fbuggle between the inward and outward man. Matt. xv. 21-28. — "Jefus went thence and departed into the coafts of " Tyre and Sidon. And, behold, a woman of Canaan came out of " the fame coafts, and cried unto Him, faying. Have mercy on me, 0 " Lord, thou Son of David ; my daughter is grievoufly vexed with a " devil. But He anfwered her not a word. And His difciples came " and befought Him, faying. Send her away, for flie crieth after us. " But He anfwered and faid, I am not fent, but unto the loft flieep of " the houfe of Ifrael. Then came flie and worfliipped Him, faying, " Lord, help me. But He anfwered and faid. It is not meet to take " the children's bread and to caft it to dogs. And flie faid. Truth, " Lord ; yet the dogs eat of the crumbs that fall from their mafter's " table. Then Jefus anfwered and faid unto her, O woman, great is " thy faith : be it unto thee even as thou wilt. And her daughter was " made whole from that very hour." !^S^^^S^KIE gofpel for this day points us to a guiding OS ^ i^ principle which is of all others the nobleft, ^g| i |V fureft, moft ufeful and moft effential pnn- &SSKS^ ciple that we can have while here on earth. For be affured, that unlefs your converfion have within it Sermon for the 303 this kernel, all your efforts to perform good works and to abftain from tranfgreffion will avail you little or nothing. Now let us in the firft place confider thefe words: r r t r " Jefus went out from thence." Jems departs from the Scribes and Phari- Whence was it that He departed ? fees From the Scribes and Pharifees. Now give heed to the principle herein contained : the Scribes were the wife men who prided themfelves upon their knowledge; and the Pharifees were thofe who prided themfelves upon their fpirituality, and trufted in their religious pradices and fet talks. who are types of many ^j^^^^ ^^^ ^j^jj-^^ ^^ ^^^ ^^^ among ourlelves. ¦' s^ of two of the moft dangerous prin ciples which can exift among religious people ; and thofe who remain in their way of thinking are loft, for thefe two principles do ruin the foul like a worm at the root, fo that men come to nothing. And yet there are few but what are in fome meafure under the influence of one or both of them, though fome much more than others. „, , , By the Scribes we may underftand The Scnbes thofe ^ _ •' . who rely upon know- men of a reafoning tum of mind, ^ ^^" who try all things by the light of their reafon, or as they appear to them through their fenfes. They receive ideas by means of their fenfes, and then exercife upon them their powers of refledion that they may attain to the comprehenfion of high queftions. 304 Second Sunday in Lent. And they glory therein, and make very lofty difcourfes ; but in the inward parts, where pure truth fliould gufh forth from its fount, they are empty and dry, yielding nothing. The fecond clafs are the Pharifees. Thefe are the _, „, .^ , ^ religious people who look upon tiiem- The Pharifees thofe o a 1 1 who rely upon out- felves as the excellent of the earth, and think highly of themfelves, and take their ftand upon prefcribed cuftoms and ways, and regard thefe ufages as of more importance than anything elfe, and defire to be refpeded on this account and to have praife of men; but their hearts are full of judging thoughts of other men who do not obferve or approve of their ways. From thefe our Lord went out. The Scribes had afked him to pronounce a judgment, faying : Why do thy difciples tranfgrefs the good cuftoms of our forefathers, by eating with unwafhen hands ? And He anfwered them : Why do ye tranfgrefs the commandments of God ? Juft fo do thofe ofthe prefent day who regard their own ordinances and pradices of devotion as the commandments and will of God, and condemn and think fHghtingly of the friends of God who refufe to follow ufages of man's prefcribing, becaufe they are conftrained to follow God's fecret mo tions in their hearts. In thus faying, we do not mean that open evil-livers or defpifers of godhnefs are not to be judged by the congregation, for elfe there would be an end of all ecclefiaftical difcipline ; but let each beware of Sermon for the 305 this pharifaical temper in himfelf, looking to fee if any falfe piety lurk within him that has fome other origin or end than God. For Jefus departs when that is fo, and affuredly will not ftay where that. exifts. Thus we find many people who never look to any thing beyond their outward condud ; T'^f^^. X?,^ f",*^ they perform good works and behave read their Bible while g '¦ ° their heart is filled with decorum, and then think they with felf inftead of , , ,, ,.,,.. , God. "^^^ done all ; while their inward part is altogether overgrown and choked up with the creature, by which they are held faft to their great hurt. And while in this ftate, they pray much and read their Bible. So likewife did the blind Jews, they read much in the Scriptures ; and yet God was an utter ftranger to them, and hidden from them in fpirit and in truth. So it is with this fort of religious people : they fubmit to Church difcipline, they pray, they faft, they watch; and for all this, God is not really and truly the principle of their life, but poor, miferable nature, toward which all their love, and ftriving, and afpiration is direded, notwithftanding the abundance and the fervour of their rehgious exercifes. No, children, the eternal God will have nothing to do with thefe Pharifees ; for they are not plants which our Heavenly Father has planted, but weeds which muft be plucked up by the roots, as our Lord Him felf has faid : " He who is not with me is againft me ; " 3o6 Second Sunday in Lent. and, " He who gathereth not with me, fcattereth." When the time of harveft is come, and the eternal God will gather His wheat into the garner, thefe will be found to be the called who have not gathered with Him, and He wifl not know them ; and where He does not find His planting in the ground of the heart. He will caft the men out into outer darknefs. I have fliown you two falfe principles ; I befeech you, for God's fake, beware of them, if you would be kept unto eternal life. For this zealous adivity of the natural man, after the fafliion of the Scribes or Pharifees, in outward fliow or prefcribed ufages, prevails greatly, alas I at this day among all ranks. Men's minds are now- a-days fo fubtle and quick, after the fafliion of thefe Scribes [raifing doubts and queftions of confcience], that a con fcientious confeffor fcarcely knows how to dired their fouls by reafon of their fubtiety or their fcrupuloufnefs. From fuch men Jefus departed, as He does ftill to this day. But whither did the Lord Jefus go? He went into the land of Tyre and Sidon. Now out'^^T*: antsiZ; Tjre fignifies a ftate of apprehenfion, which are types of the and Sidon fignifies the ftate of one inward ftruggle be- . tween the flefli and driven by the hunters. Ah, children.' the fpirit in the chil- r , , .... dren of God. *^'*'' ^'^^ • ^^^ Willing to experience in themfelves what it is to go thither; and yet it is a wondroufly ennobling and profitable tiling Sermon for the 307 that thefe two trials fhould be laid upon a man together 1 and if under them he can ad rightly and well, what noble- nefs, growth in grace, and good fruit will be born of this fliarp tribulation ! Now what is this being hard preffed by the hunters *? Nothing elfe but that the inward man would always fain be with God (who is his proper refting- place) ; and thus it ever drives the outward man towards and after God ; but tihe outward man ftrives in the con trary diredion, always going outwards after lower things, where indeed is his proper place; and thus there is a divifion in the man. The inward man's own place is God, and towards this centre all his defire, and free-will, . and endeavours are turned ; and he is continuaUy called and drawn this way by God his Lord. But this is con trary to the outward man, by his very nature, which wars againft it every day and hour. As St. Paul fays : " For " I delight in the law of God after Rom. vii. 22, 23, « ^j^g inward man : but I fee another " law in my members, warring againft " the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to " tiie law of fin which is in my members." Wherefore, " tiie good tfiat I would, I do not ; but tiie evil which I " would not, tfiat I do." Thus the flefli and the fpirit ftrive and fight. againft each other; and tiien cometh God from above, and purfues after tiiem both witii His grace. And where this is rightly and duly underftood, it ftands 3o8 Second Sunday in Lent. well with the man ; for all who are thus led by God's fpirit, are the children of God. Now this conflid caufes to the man fharp and bitter pain and tribulation. But while he ofSL Jrugglt""'"" ^' Pl^^S^'^ ^^ *^ "^""^ ^^ *^ ""^^' perceiving nothing beyond it, and de ftitute of confolation, then comes Jefus and enters in of a furety. And to the man who does not obey the ftrivings of God's fpirit, nor experience this inward conflid, Jefus does not enter in. For all thofe who have never felt this inward ftrife, nor God's hand heavy on their foul, and truly yielded to it in their life, thefe will never bring any good to pafs fo long as they live. Moreover, they never come to themfelves, and therefore know nothing of all that is lying hidden within them. For many af- fauUs!"^ '° ""'"' "'"" faults come upon us, botii carnal and fpiritual, which we can beft with ftand by meeting them with a fpirit of humility and gratitude; and if we await thefe trials with a cheerful fpirit, we may be affured that God will ftand by us with His grace. And then, when the world comes with its raging ftorms, beating upon his head, and the Devil widi his crafty wiles, and the man's own flefh and fenfes and loweft powers are befet with great weaknefs and paffionate impulfes towards outward things, and all this while the inward man is urged on by God, and by the thirft which Sermon for the 309 he by nature has after God, — then, indeed, there muft needs be within him a bitter agony and tearing ftrife. And what fliall the poor wretched, comfortlefs man do, hunted and affailed as he is, without way or means of efcape ? He fhall do as this poor woman did ; go to Jefus and cry with the loud voice of ftrong defire : " O, Lord, thou fon of David, have mercy on me !" And then from the depths of the of the fpirit^^^ '^ '"^ ftruggle an impetuous cry leaps forth ; and this cry of the fpirit flies over thoufands and thoufands of miles with its piercing call : it is an infinite fighing from the fathomlefs abyfs. This is fomething far above nature, whereunto the Holy Spirit muft fupply what is lacking becaufe of our infirmities : as St. Paul fays: "The Spirit maketh Rom. viii. 26. . _ ^ . , " interceffion tor us with groanings " which cannot be uttered." And by thefe means the Holy Spirit doth better prepare the ground of the heart than any other preparation on earth that can be ima gined. And when a man is thus hunted and plunged into the bottomlefs pit of temptation and fuf- t:^l.%i h^eSn^t feting, and tiien, amidft "groanings the prayer of the con- » which cannot be uttered," cries to trite. God with a loud voice, fo that the ac cents of his ftrong defire pierce through the heavens ; and 3IO Second Sunday in Lent. yet God makes as though He did not hear, or would not liften, O, how utterly muft the man yield up his own felf, and fuffer his wifhes to melt into the depths of God's will, waiting with ever-ftrengthening patience upon God, till His appointed time come to vifit him and all creatures ! For, oh! how impoffible were it that the fount of all mercy fhould be fealed up ! yet, when this woman came crying after Jefus with a loud voice, the ftream from this fount of mercy was not fuffered to flow out unto her. The difciples prayed that it might be opened ; and at laft, with fevere afped and harfh words, Jefus anfwered them that He was not fent fave to the loft fheep of the houfe of Ifrael, faying : " It is not meet to take the children's " bread and to caft it to the dogs." He not only refufed her the bleffing fhe fought, but did what was much harder to bear, — proved in clear, cutting language that it was reafonable and juft that He fliould do fo. He not only refufed to give her bread, which is neceffary to Hfe, and a common bleffing, but denied her the name of a child, thus depriving her of humanity, and called her a dog. Could our Lord have tried her by a harder, fliarper teft, — could He have preffed her harder, or overwhelmed her more completely? But what does flie do in this her diftrefs and anguifli ? She takes it all meekly and patientiy, and fuffers herfelf to be driven and buffeted as He wiU. Nay, flie finks much lower than He had plunged her, and cafts Sermon for the 311 herfelf into the very depths of humiliation, faying : " No, " Lord, not a dog, but even lefs, one of the leaft of the " little whelps." But in her felf-abafement and felf-anni hilation fhe holds faft her confidence, and fays : " Yet, O " Lord, the little whelps are wont to be fed and fatisfied " with the crumbs that fall from their mafter's table." Oh, how bleffed and holy were men who could thus Of true felf-know- ^"1^^ into the very truth of things, kilge- and fee themfelves with the mind of God, not through figures of fpeech, or cuftomary phrafes, or as the world judges. Neither God nor all His creatures could then abafe and annihilate them fo thoroughly as they would abafe, and accufe, and annihilate themfelves in the fight ofthe truth ! Bleffed indeed, if then, notwithftanding tills wretched tumult of fuffering and humiliation, theyi fhould be conftant in their hope and a lZT'iZ''7- confidence in the goodnefs of God, wards God and truft ^j^d abide therein without wavering ; in His mercy, fo that under all thefe afflidions their defire and earneft purpofe towards Him fliould ftrengthen more and more, as it was with this woman. However harihly our Lord fpoke to her, and denied her His ads of . He will affuredly hear "^"cy, yet ftie never let go her truft our prayer at the laft. [^ fjis grace. Therefore everything was granted to her that flie had fought and defired of the Lord. Dear chUdren, this is the right, true, godly 312 Second Sunday in Lent. vray unto eternal truth. Oh I this way leads unto the truth ; this alone leads ftraight to God without a means. And fome have not ftrength to try the depth of this fathom lefs annihilation of felf This was the way the woman of Canaan took, and fhe received at laft the bleffed anfwer : " O, woman, great is thy faith ; be it unto thee according " to thy will ! " Children, I tell you of God's truth, that to every man who fhall be found really and truly thus walking in this way, God will affuredly one day declare : " My beloved " friend, whatfoever thou choofeft or defireft, it fhall be " done unto thee according to thy will ; forafmuch as thou " haft willingly given up all that was thine. Therefore, " thy will is fwallowed up in mine, and thou haft become " one with me by grace, and a partaker of my nature." Now this becoming one with the etemal Goodnefs cannot come to pafs but by an abfolute renunciation of our Self, and all that is ours, natural or fpiritual ; for in the fame meafure that a man comes out from himfelf, in that meafure does God enter in with His divine grace, and he who lofeth his life fhall find it. Children, I will fay no more now, but tell you a little A ftory of a certain ^OT that is very apt to our purpofe. '^°"'"' I knew a " woman of Canaan," well deferving of the name. What I am about to tell you, happened within thefe four years, and flie is yet living. Sermon for the 313 This woman loft her fenfes, and fell into a trance, and was borne up on high, till flie came into the prefence of God, * who had a heavenly ^"^ beheld our Lady and all tiie faints. '^'^'°"" And as flie looked upon this vifion, fhe faw herfelf to be at an immeafurable diftance from God. Then her fpirit was feized with fuch an unutterable woe that it feemed as if fhe muft perifli that moment with the bitter, fmarting, heUifh pain that it gave her to fee herfelf fo far off from God. (For know ye that this is the worft torment which the fouls in hell have to endure, that they know themfelves to be afar off, and utterly parted from God and all His eled, and know that it will laft for ever, and that they fhall never fee God.) Now in this unfpeakable diftrefs fhe turned to our Lady and all the faints, and befought them all that they would intercede for her. But then fhe faw that the bleffed faints were fo utterly loft in the contemplation of God that none of them for a moment liftened to her cries and appeals. In their overwhelming blifs and joy they never even heard her voice. Then fhe turned after a human fafliion to the facred forrow and bitter death of our Lord Jefus Chrift, and it was anfwered her, why fhould fhe appeal to that to which fhe had never fhown due honour and reverence ? But when fhe faw that neither our Lady, nor the faints, nor the fufferings Qf our Lord brought her help, fhe turned herfelf with all earneftnefs to God, and faid : " Ah, Lord ! 314 Second Sunday in Lent. " fince 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 fentence, accord- " ing to Thy moft bleffed will ; and whether Thou wilt " have me to remain for ever in this horrible, heUifh " torment, I leave, dear Lord, altogether to Thy moft " bleffed will." But when flie had thus utterly furrendered herfelf to God for all eternity, that moment fhe was lifted up far away beyond all intervening things, and wafted into the abyfs of God's love. O what a glorious abyfs is that I This fame perfon is ftill often brought either into this ftate of mind, or carried into the abyfs of the divine love. She is a young maiden, and I firmly believe that fhe had never in her life committed any grofs fins, wherewith fhe had What this ftory provoked God; and yet fhe needed teaches us. tiius to fuffer. Children ! how great and manifold, then, muft be the pangs of thofe who have often and deeply angered God, and withal are ftill cleaving while on earth fo clofely to the miferable creature delights? But this maiden refigned herfelf humbly to the wiU of God, content to bear an eternity of pain in hell, if God in His righteoufnefs faw fit to condemn her thereunto. How unlike this woman are thofe who fancy that in _^ , , , . four or five years they fhall work Of thofe who are in ¦' •' hafte to attain to high wonders, and fay to Others: "Ah, things in a fpiritual , r- , , -, , r "my dear friend, pray the Lord for Sermon for the 315 life without knowing " me that I may become one of his what that involves. n r • " deareft friends." Now know that, if thou wert in the right way, thou wouldft never think thyfelf worthy to become one of the leaft of the friends of God ; therefore fet thyfelf humbly in the loweft place, as the Gofpel teaches, and then thou wilt be bidden to come up higher. But thofe who lift themfelves up, God will affuredly caft down. Wherefore befeech Him that His good pleafure may be wrought in and with thee, according to His ever- bleffed will, and fo wilt thou find thy dwelling-place and reft in Him, and not elfe. Children, on this wife God entereth into the foul immediately, without a veil; that is, when a man wholly renounces Self — all that he has. Now, How that one fpark if any man while here on earth fliould offelf-renouncinglove ^^^^^^ ^^^ ^ ^f ^j^j^ l,l^ff teaches more than all ^ " outward exercifes. and onc fpark of this love fliould be kindled in his foul, he would be more truly and really made fit for God's dwelling, and led farther into the truth, than if he were to ftrip all the clothes off his body and give them to the poor, or to macerate his flefh with penances. One moment in this ftate were more worth living than forty years fpent in doing and leaving undone what we pleafed. Moreover this would be the nobleft and fliorteft, and alfo the eafieft, of aU courfes that reafon can conceive. Of our awfol wafte O God! witfi what things are men of precious time. ^^^^^ ^p^ .^^hile they wafte this 3i6 Second Sunday in Lent. precious, bleffed feafon of grace, and come fliort of that pure, exalted good which might and ought unceafingly to be wrought in them ; and fo the long years roll flowly by, and they are as one in a fleep, never coming any farther, unftirred by God's grace ; and after the many years that they have lived, they are as far from true perfednefs as the firft day that they fet out. This is indeed a terrible and awful thought for all religious perfons ; for if they knew the great and perilous injury that they do to their fouls with their own devices, their very marrow and blood would dry up within their body. Now let us pray God that we may thus fink into the divine abyfs, and fall down before God's fentence, that we may be alfo found in Him Hke this woman of Canaan ! Amen ! XIL Sermon for the Fourth Sunday in Lent. Of the power of the Word of God, of fiery defires, and the effence of felf- renunciation. John viii. 47. — " He who is of God heareth the words of God." |j2^2^2^S^EAR children, ye ought not to ceafe from pl [lr| Ip How that we ought hearing or declaring tiie IfsS ILI §^k not to lower our ftand- ,„ i „r c 1 \.,^..,n..Ca sossg li^ KXJ« word ot (jod becaule spsjaaaf^WasTK ^rd becaule we tall lar ^^^^^^^ below it. you do not alway five according to it, nor keep it in mind. For inafmuch as you love it and crave after it, it will affuredly be given unto you ; and you fhall enjoy it for ever with God, ac cording to the meafure of your defire after it. There are fome people who, when they hear fpeak of high things which they do not underftand, and moreover fee that they have no fliare in them, turn away from thefe things with fuch averfion, that they do not even like to hear them treated of, or that others fhould think about them and feek after them. Yea, they hear of high things, and fay : " That is " not my way of thinking ; I had better not try to put it " into practice, for I fliould not keep it, and then I fliould be 3i8 Sermon for the "juft where I was before." And thus they tum away then felves and others from the truth, juft as if it in no wil concerned them, and fit down quite contented with the own ways, while yet they know in the bottom of the hearts that their ways are not the beft that might b( This is an infallible token that thefe perfons will neve reach the higheft point of which they are capable : no will they become partakers of the higheft, pure, abfolut goodnefs, unless indeed they come to go through a pain ful and agonizing ftruggle after it. St. Bernard has faid : " Man, if thou defireft a nobh " and holy life, and unceafingly pray For if our defire _ <-¦ j r • -r i towards goodnefs be " ^11 tO God for It, if thou COntinu( grate? 'to us tlTtta^ " --ft--^ ^ ^lis tiiy defire, it win b. thereunto here or « granted unto thee without fell, ever hereafter. _ " if only in the day or hour of th) " death ; and if God fliould not give it thee then, thov fhalt find it in Him in eternity: of this be affured' Therefore do not relinquifli your defire, though it be noi fulfilled immediately, or tihough ye may fwerve fron your afpirations, or even forget them for a time. It were a hard cafe if this were to cut you off for ever from th( end of your being. But when ye hear the word of God furrender yourfelves wholly to it, as if for etemity, witii £ full purpofe of will to retain it in your mind and to ordei your Hfe according to it ; and let it fink down right deej Fourth Sunday in Lent. 319 into your heart as into an eternity. If afterward it should come to pafs that you let it flip, and never think of it again, yet the love and afpiration which once really exifted Hve for ever before God, and in Him ye fliaU find the fruit thereof; that is, to all eternity it fliall be better for you than if you had never felt them. What we can do is a fmall thing ; but we can will and _ ^ . . ^ afpire to great things. Thus, if a Our alpirations mult i. o o ' never be bounded by man cannot be great, he can yet be the meafure of our ability to perform good in will ; and what he, with his goo wor s. whole heart and mind, love and de fire, wills to be, that without doubt he moft truly is. It is Httle we can bring to pafs ; but our will and defire may be large. Nay, they may grow till they lofe themfelves in the infinite abyfs of God. Not that we ought to think within ourfelves that we wifh to be this or that, like fuch a faint or angel, for we ought to be much more than we can conceive or fathom : wherefore our part is to give ourfelves over to God, and leave ourfelves utterly in His hands, being wholly His. And if ye cannot be as en tirely His as ye fain would be, be His as much as ye may ".attain unto; but whatever ye are, be that truly and en tirely ; and what ye cannot be, that be contented not to be, in a fincere fpirit of refignation, for God's fake and in Him. So fliall you peradventure poffefs more of God in lacking than in having. Therefore be God's; yield to 320 Sermon for the His hand, fuffer Him to do in thee, and to thee, and with thee, what He wiU ; and then nothing here or hereafter fliall be able to confound you. Think not that God will be always careffing His chil dren, or fliine upon their head, or kindle their hearts, as He does at the firft. He does fo only to lure us to Him felf as the falconer lures the falcon with its gay hood. ,.^ ^ , . Our Lord works with His children How Ood trains up His children to aft for fo as to teach them afterwards to themfelves, work themfelves ; as He bade Mofes to make the tables of ftone after the pattern of the firft which He had made Himfelf Thus, after a time, God allows a man to depend upon himfelf, and no longer en lightens, and ftimulates, and roufes him. We muft ftir up and roufe ourfelves, and be content to leave off leam ing, and no more enjoy feeling and fire, and muft now ferve the Lord with ftrenuous induftry and at our own coft. Our Lord ads like a prudent father, like a judicious father. who, while His children are young, lets them live at His coft, and manages everything for them. What is needful for them. He provides, and lets them go and play ; and fo long as this lafts they are at^ leifure, free from care, happy, and generous at their fa ther's expenfe. Afterwards he gives a portion of his eftate into their own hands, becaufe he wiU have them to take care of themfelves, and earn their own living, to Fourth Sunday in Lent. 321 leave off childifh play, and thus learn how to grow rich. So it is with us. In the beginning of a holy life, there is nothing but brightnefs, enjoyment, and feeling, and God draws us after Him with His gifts, that we may praife 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 ourfelves and our own will, and to accept Him with readinefs in His ads of feverity, and in all kinds of fuffering, and in darknefs of mind, whatever He may do, and however contrary it may be to all our natural wifhes. As the Lord faid to Peter : " When John xxi. 18. . 1 in 1 " thou wait young, thou girdedlt thy- "felf, and walkedft whither thou wouldeft; but when " thou flialt be old, thou flialt ftretch forth thy hand, and "another fliall gird thee, and carry thee whither thou " wouldeft not." Thus did the Lord How that the Lord's -^^ ^^^ ^ i ^ ^^f^^^ j^^^. prophecy unto Peter, j j o ing US onward by His benefits : then wc went whither we would, for our will was fweetly girded with the pleafantnefs of divine things. But now #j» it muft be otherwife : another fliall gird us, and lead us whither we would not. The Lord will draw us and fecurely lead us to Him- . . is fpiritually fulfilled in ^^1^' ^^ ^ ^^^ ^^""''^"Y to aU out na- us His children. tural will, until He- have divefted us 322 Fourth Sunday in Lent. thereof, and confumed it and made it thoroughly fubject unto the Divine will. For this is Hi§ will: that we fliould ceafe to regard our own wifhes or diflikes; that it fliould become a light matter to us whether He give or take away, whether we have abundance or fuffer want, and let all things go, if only we may receive and apprehend God Himfelf, that whether things pleafe or difpleafe us, we may leave all things to take their courfe and cleave to Him alone. Then firft do we attain to the fulnefs of God's love as His children, when it is no longer happinefs or mifery, profperity or adver fity, that draws us to Him, or keeps us back from Him. TT . r . •/- What we fhould then experience How that mbmn- '^ fion is nobler than none can Utter; but it would be fomething far better than when we were burning with the firft flame of love, and had great emotion but lefs true fubmiffion : for here, though there may be lefs fhow of zeal, and lefs vehemence of feeling, there is more true faithfulnefs to God. That we may attain thereunto, may God help us with His grace. Amen ! XIIL Sermon for Palm Sunday. How a man ought in all His works to regard God alone, and purely to make Him his end without anything of his own, and fliall freely and fimply perform all thefe works for the glory of God only, and not feek his own, nor defire nor expeft any reward. Wherewith he may do fuch works without any felf-appropriation or reference to time and number, before or after, and without modes. How the Divine Word fpeab and reveals itfelf in the foul, all in a lofty and fubtile fenfe. Matt. xxL 10-17. — " ¦^"'^ when He was come into Jerufalem, all the city " was moved, faying. Who is this ? And the multitude faid. This is " Jefus, the Prophet of Nazareth of Galilee. And Jesus went into the " temple of God, and caft out all them that fold and bought in the " temple, and overthrew the tables of the money-changers, and the feats " of them that fold doves : And faid unto them. It is written. My " houfe fliall be called the" houfe of prayer ; but ye have made it a den " of thieves. And the blind and the lame came to Him in the temple ; " and He healed them. And when the chief priefts and fcribes faw " the wonderful things that He did, and the children crying in the temple, " and faying, Hofanna to the Son of David, they were fore difpleafed, " and faid unto Him, Heareft thou what thefe fay ? And Jefus faith " unto them. Yea ; have ye never read. Out of the mouths of babes " and fucklings Thou haft perfefted praife ? And He left them, and " went out ofthe city into Bethany; and He lodged there." 324 Sermon for Palm Sunday. ^&S^S^E read in the holy Gofpel how that our Lord f"ig How that our Lord ^^^^ into tiie Temple,' f.^y.,3^ "^'^^ ^^"^ *^ '^""P^^ and drove out tihofe who SxSSSlti °-^ '^^ ^°^^ empty, for C&S& Him to dwell alone were buying and felHng therein, and faid to thofe who fold doves : " Take thefe things hence." Herewith He fignified nought elfe but that He would have the temple empty; juft as if He had faid: " I have a right to " this temple, and will dwell there alone, and have the " fole rule thereia" Now what is this temple of which God is minded to have poffeffion even by force, and to rule according to His own will ? It is the foul of man, which He has created and fafhioned fo truly in His own likenefs ; as we read that God faid : " Let us make man " after our image." And He has done fo too, and made the foul of man fo like Himfelf, that there is nothing in heaven or on earth fo like Himfelf as that is. For which reafon God will have this temple to be empty, that nothing be tihere but He alone ; and the caufe why this temple pleafes Him fo well, is that it is fo like Himfelf, and He loveth to be in it forafmuch as He is there alone. Now mark, who were the people who were buying and felling, and whom do they reprefent What fort of people 1 . , are typified by thofe at this day ? Now obferve, I intend Tn'the'tetL"' '°" ^« ^P^^^ only of the good people who thus bought and fold, and yet Sermon for Palm Sunday. 325 whom our Lord fcourged and drove out, and do not mean to fay anything to-day concerning open finners, who knowingly live in the commiffion of deadly fins. And the Lord does the fame now-a-days to all who buy and fell in His temple, for fuch He will not fuffer to remain therein. Behold, dear children, all thofe are traders who keep themfelves from open fins, and would fain be good people, and do their works to the glory of God, and per form many good works, fuch as fafting, watching, praying, and the like ; yet do it all in order that our Lord may give them, or do for them, fomething that they wifh, and thus they feek themfelves in all things. All fuch are traders ; that is, to fpeak in vulgar language, they wifh to give one thing in exchange for an- ^ Of trafiickers with ^^^^^ ^^^ ^^^^j f^^^ ^^^ j^j^^ ^ traffic with our Lord; and they are deceived in their bargain, for all that they poffefs or are able to perform they have received from God, and confe- quently God does not owe them anything in return, nor is He bound to do anytihing for them, except, indeed. He would do it of His free bounty. What they are, they are of God ; and what they become, they have received of God and not from themfelves ; therefore God owes them nothing in retum for their works and their gifts, unlefs He do it of His own pleafure, of His grace, and not for, the fake of their works and gifts ; for they have nothing 326 Sermon for Palm Sunday. of their own to give, they do not even do their good works of their own power ; as Chrift faid : " Without me " ye can do nothing ! " Thofe who would thus bargain with our Lord are thick-headed and will'be decTe?''°''' ignorant men, who have little or no infight into the truth, wherefore God fcourges them and drives them out of the temple. Light and darknefs cannot dwell together. God is the Truth and Light in Himfelf; when, therefore. He cometh into His temple. He drives out of it ignorance and darknefs, and reveals Himfelf with light and truth. Then when the truth is perceived, the buyers and fellers are gone; and the truth will have nothing to do with trafficking. ^ , , „ ^^. God does not feek His own ; all His God does all His works for love, and fo works are done voluntarily and in muft the man who ^ t r r /-ttj t. would be united with finglenefs ot purpofe : He does them ^™" for very love. So likewife is it with the man who is united with God : his works alfo are done voluntarily and in finglenefs of mind, and he does them for love without any wherefore — that is, without any regard to himfelf — to the glory of God only, and feekedi not his own in them ; and God works them through him. I fay further, fo long as a man in any of his works is feeking or defiring anything that God has to give, or will give hereafter, he is like thefe traffickers. But if thou wouldft be quite pure from fuch a mercenary fpirit, thou Sermon for Palm Sunday. 327 muft do thy utmoft in good works fimply for the praife of God, and fhalt ftand apart from it all, as if thou hadft not done it ; thou flialt afli nothing in return. If thou doeft thy works in this fpirit, tihen are they godly and fpiritual. And then the buyers and feUers are altogether driven out of the temple, and God alone dweUeth there, when thou purpofeft nothing but what God pur- pofeth. Now mark, there is yet a higher ftate than that of the traders, which is indicated to us in Of thofe who are fignified by the money- this Gofpel ; namely, that of the men cliAn&crs who perform tiieir Works with a fincerely good intent, and yet are hindered from coming to the clofeft union with God, inafmuch as they ftill carry on fome traffic and converfe with the creatures, and are thus like the money-changers and thofe who fold doves, whofe tables and feats the Lord overthrew. For although this their occupation was at firft begun by certain of them with a good intent, it was an unfeemly pradice, and was afterwards turned to the greateft abufes of covetoufnefs, rather than to the fervice of God. So likewife it is with the perfons of whom I am fpeaking; for although their intent is good, and they do their good works fincerely for God's fake, and do not feek their own therein, yet never thelefs they do them with felf-appropriation, with time and number, with images and reference to before and after. 328 Sermon for Palm Sunday. By thefe things they are hindered being hindered by _ mixed motives in their from coming to the beft and higheft truth ; for they ought to keep them felves free and empty of all that is accidental, from pleafure and pain, even as our Lord is free and alone, and receiveth Himfelf ever afrefli, without interval or time, from His Heavenly Father, and in the fame Now is ever without ceafing begotten afrefli in perfednefs, with thank ful praife, into the Majefty of the Father, in co-equal dignity. In like manner muft the man who defireth to perceive the higheft truth, and to live therein without before or after, and without let or hindrance from any of the outward ads or mental images with which he has ever been converfant, ftand free and alone in this etemal Now. He fliall fimply receive the gift of God, and bring it fortii again and render it up to God without let or hindrance, in His light, and with thankful praife through our Lord Jefus Chrift. Thus he will have done with aU the doves and money-changing ; that is, with all the hindrance and qualification which arifes from thofe works which are good in themfelves, but in which a man feeks fomething of his own. For which caufe alfo the Lord would not fuffer any to carry veffels to and fro in the temple, as St. Mark tells us; aU which has to do with the fame principle^-that a fpiritual man muft keep himfelf free and aloof from all objeds that would hinder his advance towards perfednefs. Sermon for Palm Sunday. 329 Now when the temple is thus cleared of all that blocks it up, i. e. of all felfifhnefs and igno- Ofthe beauty ofthe . . . templewhenitisclear- rance, it fhine s forth in fuch beauty, ed of all but God. t ¦ r t • t j r -i j ^ i. and is fo bright and refplendent above all elfe that God has created, that nothing can outfliine it fave the uncreated God alone. Nothing even that be longs to angelic exiftence can be compared to this temple. The higheft angels do indeed in many refpects refemble the temple of a noble foul, yet not wholly, for there is fome meafure, a certain bound, fet to their fimilarity to it in knowledge and love, beyond which tihey cannot pafs ; but the foul is ever able to advance fo long as it is in time. For if the foul of a man yet living in this prefent ftate were on a level with the higheft angel, the man could yist, by virtue of his free felf-determination, outftrip the angel at every fucceffive moment, without count, that is to fay without mode, and above the mode of the angels, and all created reafon. God is alone free and uncreated ; and therefore He alone is equal to the foul as touching freedom, and unequal as touching uncreatednefs, for the foul is created. But when the foul enters into the un mixed light, fhe, with her created I, finks fo deeply into her own nothingnefs, that flie cannot by her own power regain the fenfe of her feparate exiftence as a creature. But God upholds her with^ His uncreated power, and keeps tiie foul ftiU herfelf- The foul has dared to become 330 Sermon for Palm Sunday. naught ; and yet fhe cannot attain thereunto of her own power, fo entirely is fhe lost until God upholds her with His power. It muft needs be fo, feeing that, as I faid before, Jefus entered into the temple of God, and caft out thofe who bought and fold therein, and began to fpeak in the temple. Now, dear chUdren, know of a truth, if any one elfe would fain fpeak in the temple, that How that none muft ••,'/•. fpeak in the foul fave IS in tihe loul, except Jefus alone, Spetcr''^"'^"^'^ He holds His peace, as if He were not there ; and in truth He is not at home in the foul, for fhe has ftrange guefts with whom fhe defireth to hold converfe. But if Jefus is to fpeak in the foul, fhe muft be alone, and muft be filent herfelf that fhe may hear the voice of Jefus ; and then He enters in and begins to fpeak. What does He fpe?keth.'' ^^'^ "' ^P^^^ ^ He fpeaks tiiat He is. And what is He then ? He is the Word of the Father ; in which Word the Father utters Himfelf, and all the divine nature, and all that God is, fo that, in that He perceiveth it. He alfo is it, and He is perfed in His perception and in His power. Hence He is perfed through this His fpeaking, for when He utteretih this Word, He uttereth Himfelf and all things in another perfon, and giveth that perfon the fame nature which He Himfelf has, and fpeaks aU rational fpirits into being in Sermon for Palm Sunday. 331 that Word, according to the type or pattern which abi- deth continually in Him. And thus the Word fhines forth in man, according as each word exifts in God. Yet is he not in all refpeds like this fame effential Word ; but rather the poffibility is granted to him of receiving a cer tain likenefs by the grace of this Word, and of receiving the Word as it is in itfelf This all has the Father Him felf fpoken through the Word, and all that is in the Word. Here the queftion might be afked. If the Father hath fpoken this, in what fenfe doth Jefus fpeak in the foul ? Here remember, dear children, what I have faid of the manner of His fpeaking, namely, that He revealeth Him felf and all that the Father hath uttered in Him, accord ing to the meafure of the foul's ability to receive it. In the firft place He reveals the Father's fovereignty to the foul, by declaring His changelefs, He declareth the ¦ c •. t> a j l ...i- l Power of the Father, infinite Powet. And when tiirough the Son the foul hath experience of this power, it becomes ftrong and mighty in whatever happens, fo that it grows powerful and fteadfaft in all vir tues and in perfed finglenefs of mind, fo that neitiher weal nor woe, nor any or all of the things that God has created in time, have power to ftir him, for that he has firm and abiding footing in the ftrength of God, againft which all things are weak and unavailing. 332 Sermon for Palm Sunday. In the fecond place, the Lord reveals Himfelf in the foul with an infinite Wifdom, which Son '- °'^ ° ^ He Himfelf is. In this Wifdom the Father perceiveth Himfelf, with all His Fatherly fovereignty. And that fame Word which is alfo Wifdom, and all that it comprehends, is aU the fame, fole Unity. When this Wifdom is united with the foul, all doubt and error and darknefs utterly vanifli away, and fhe is tranfported into a pure light, which is God Himfelf As the prophet fays : " Lord in Thy light "fliaU we fee light." That is to fay: "Lord in Thy " light fliall we perceive the light in the foul." Then is God perceived in the foul by means of God. Then does flie, by means of this Wifdom, perceive herfelf and aft things, and perceiveth this Wifdom itfelf, and through ft flie perceiveth the Father's majefty, and His effential felf- exiftence in fimple onenefs, without diftindion. In tiie third place, Chrift reveals Himfelf alfo witii an infinite Love, fweetnefs and richnefs Holy Ghor °^ '^' ^°^^"S fo'"* from tiie power of tiie Holy Ghoft, overflowing and ftream- ing in a very flood of richnefs and fweetnefs into the heart that is waiting to receive it ; and witii this fweetnefs He not only reveals Himfelf to the foul, but unites Himfelf witii her. Through this fweetnefs, the foul in its effence by grace flows out with power above all creatures back Sermon for Palm Sunday. 333 into her firft origin and fount. Then is the outward man obedient unto the inward man, even unto death, and liv eth in conftant peace in the fervice of God continually. That the Lord may thus come into our fouls alfo, over throwing and cafting out all hindrances, bodily or fpiritual, that we may become one here on earth, and hereafter in the kingdom of heaven, may He help us evermore. Amen. XIV. Sermon for Thurfday in Eafter Week. How we ought to love God, and how Chrift is a Mafter of the Eternal Good, wherefore we ought to love Him above all things ; a Mafter of the Higheft Truth, wherefore we ought to contemplate Him; and a Mafter of the Higheft Perfeftnefs, wherefore we ought to follow after Him without let or hindrance. John xx. i 6. — " She turned herfelf and faid unto Him, Rabboni ; which " is to fay, Mafter." I^^^^^HEN our Lord had rifen from the dead, El^SiS How that our Lord Mary Magdalene defired liSil '^lS£nrl!'^. -th her whole heart to ^MfiM^ refurreaion. behold our bleffed Lord; and he revealed Himfelf to her in the form of a gardener, and fo fhe did not know Him. Then our Lord faid unto her "Mary;" and with that word fhe knew Him, and faid, Rabboni ! that is to fay, Mafter. Now mark, fo long as Mary ftood by the grave looking „„ . TT 1^-1 at the angels, Chrift ftood behind her, Wherefore He hid ° Himfelf from her at concealing Himfelf from her. For firft. 1 T 1 the Lord our God hideth Himfelf from thofe who are full of care about the creatures, and Sermon for Thurfday in Eafter Week. 335 and grieving over the lofs of earthly things and creatures ; but as foon as man turns from the creatures to find God, God reveals Himfelf unto the foul. Thus, when Mary turned to the grave of Chrift, it was faid unto her, " Mary," which name fignifies a ftar of the fea, a queen of fhe world, and one who is illuminated by the Holy Spirit. He who defireth to fee God, muft be as a ftar in the firmament, fevered from and fpuming all the things of time, and illuminated to fee aU heavenly things. When flie heard tiie word that Chrift fpoke, " Mary," „ , „ , fhe knew our Lord, and faid, Rab- But when flie knew Him, called Him boni, which is to fay, Mafter ; for flie " Mafter ' " and His other difciples and followers commonly addrefs Him witii this titie, as He fays : " Ye " call me Mafter and Lord, and ye fay well, for fo I am." For He is truly a Mafter of the Higheft Good, and there fore fliould we love Him above all things. He is a Mafter of Truth, and therefore fliould we contemplate Him. He is a Mafter of die Higheft Perfednefs, and therefore fliould we follow Him without any looking back wards behind us. He is (as I faid firft) a Mafter of the Higheft Good, and therefore fliould we love Him How that Chrift is a • u a Mafter of the Higheft above aU things. Now, thou mightelt ^°°^' fay, "God is infinite, a fupreme " Good witiiout Hmits, and the foul and all creatures are 336 Sermon for " finite and bounded; how, then, can the foul love and " know God ? " Hearken : God is infinite and without end, but the foul's defire is an abyfs which cannot be filled except by a Good which is infinite ; and the more ardently the foul longeth after God, the more fhe wills to long after Him ; for God is a Good without drawback, and a well of living water without bottom, and the foul is made in the image of God, and therefore it is created to know and love God. So, becaufe Chrift is a Mafter of the Higheft Good,' the foul ought to love Him above all things; for He is love, and from Him doth love flow into us, as out of a well of life. The well of Hfe is love ; and he who dwelleth not in love is dead, as St. John fays in his Epiftle. Now, forafmuch as Chrift is a well-fpring and Mafter of the Higheft Good, therefore fliall the foul love Him without refiftance. For it is her property that fhe muft love that „ , , which is God ; and therefore muft fhe Wherefore we Ihould love Him without love that which is the Higheft Good, without meafure, without rival, and without ceafing to utter forth His praife. Without meafure fliall the foul love God ; conceming which St. Bernard fays: "The caufe wherefore the foul " fhall love God, is God ; but the meafure of this love is " without meafure, for God is an immeafurable Good, " becaufe His benefits are without number or end : where- " fore the foul fliall love God without meafure." Hence Thurfday in Eafter Week. 337 St. Paul fays : " I pray God that your love may increafe " and abound yet more and more." And St. Bernard fays : " In our love to God we have no rule nor diredion " to obferve, but that we love Him as He hath loved us. " He hath loved us unto the end that we might love Him " world without end. Therefore, our inward defire ought " ever to increafe fo long as we are here on earth ; but " although the inward work of our love to God ought " ever to increafe, yet the outward works of love ought to " be meted out with due wifdom, that we fo exercife our- " felves as not to injure nature, but to fubdue it unto " die fpirit." In the fecond place, the foul fliall love God without a fellow ; that is to fay, in that degree ' of love with which ' the foul loveth God, fhall no creature ftand ; and all whom the foul loves, fhe fhaU love in God and to God. Furthermore, flie fliall love the creatures for God's fake, to God and in God. She loves them for God's fake, when fhe loves them for tiiat caufe which is God; fhe loves them to God, when flie loveth them for that goodnefs which is God ; fhe loves tiiem in God, when fhe feeks no other delight nor end in tiiem but God ; and thus flie loveth the creatures in God, and God in the creatures. Hence Chrift tells us : " Thou " flialt love God witih aU thy heart, witii all tfiy foul, and "witii all thy mind," which words are thus expounded by zz 338 Sermon for St. Auguftine : " Our Lord faith that we are to love God " with all our heart, with all our foul, and with all our " mind, to the intent that man fliould have no fingle " faculty within his foul that is empty or barren ofthe love " of God; that is, from which the love of God is abfent; " and that all which it comes into our heart to love, we " may love for God's fake, and enjoy in godly love ; for " God loveth the foul, and therefore fhall the foul love " Him without a fellow." In the third place, the foul fhall love God without and be ever declaring ^^^nce ; for he who is UI love cannot His praife, jjg flient, but muft proclaim and utter forth his love. St. Gregory fpeaks of two forts of crying aloud : the one is that of the mouth, the other that of the works. He fays of the voice of the deeds, that it is louder than that of the mouth. Of the with our lips, latter, David fays : " I have cried unto " God with my voice, and He hath heard my prayer." Chry- foftom fays : " It is the habit and cuftom of loving fouls " that they cannot hide their love, nor forbear to fpeak of " it, but they tell it to their familiar friends, and defcribe tiie " inward flames of love ; and tihe faults which they have "committed againft God they teU to thofe whom they " love, and cannot keep filence about them, but often " fpeak of them, tiiat they may obtain relief and refrefli- " ment tiiereby." The fecond cry is that of the adions,— Thurfday in Eafter Week. 339 , . , , , the way in which a man proves his and with our deeds, "^ '¦ which fpeak louder inward love by his outward works. St. Gregory fays the witnefs of love is the proof given by the works ; for where love is, it works great things ; but if it work not, it is a fure fign that it is not there. Thus Mary Magdalene had good reafon to exclaim " Mafter ! " for Chrift is a Mafter of aU Good. Therefore we ought to love Him above all things. And rightly is he called a Mafter of Love, for three caufes ; for He rewards nothing but love. He rewards only out of love, and He rewards with love. Firft, I fay that He rewards nothing but love. By three things may a man win reward : The Lord of love ^ ^ rewards nothing but by outward ads, by inward contem- ' plation, and by inward afpiration and love. The outward ad has no merit unless it be wrought in love; for the outward ad perifhes and is over, and cannot merit that which is eternal. For Paul fays : " Charity never ceafes ; " wherefore a man can never win etemal life by any works except they be done in love ; and hence he who truly loveth God feparates himfelf from aU that is not God ; for he who loves the uncreated good, defpifes the created. In the fecond place, I faid that God only rewards out rewards only out of of love. For from the love where- '°^^' with He lovedi man, He givetii 34© Sermon for Himfelf, He giveth His very felf as a reward. He giveth Himfelf wholly, and not in part ; for God hath loved man with an eternal love, and He gives a man nothing lefs than Himfelf He faid to Abraham : " Fear not, I am " thy fhield, and thy exceeding great reward." In the third place. He rewards a man with love. For this reward confifts in being able to and rewards with love. , , , ,. , . . , behold God in His cleamefs without a veil, and to enjoy the fruition of His love, and keep it for all eternity. Wherefore it was not without reafon that Mary exclaimed " Mafter ! " And thou too, O man, cry unto Him devoutly from the bottom of thy heart : " 0 " Mafter. of, the Higheft Good, and my God, by the love " which Thou, art, draw me to Thyfelf, I long after Thy " favour, and that I may love Thee above all things." Now when I began I mentioned two other points: firft, „ , ^, .„ . how that Chrift is a Mafter of the How that Chrift is a Mafter ofthe High- Higheft Truth, and therefore we .eft Truth, , , ^^. ^^ ought to contemplate Him. Here take note that thou canft contemplate God in His creatiires, which He has made out of nothing, whereby thou art able to difcover His omnipotence. But when thou feeft and confidereft how admirably the creatures are fafliioned and put together, and in what wonderful order they" are arranged, thou art able to perceive and trace the Wifdom of God, which is afcribed to the Son. And when Thurfday in Eafter Week. 341 further thou comeft to perceive the gentlenefs of the crea- tures, and how all creatures have fomething loving in them, then thou perceiveft the loving-kindnefs of the Holy Spirit. Thus St. Paul tells the Romans that men are able to behold the invifible goodnefs of God through the things that they can fee ; that is to fay, the creatures which He has made. We are alfo able to perceive God by the light of grace, as the Prophet fays : " Lord, in Thy " light fhall we fee the light;" that is, God Himfelf; for " God is light, and in Him is no darknefs anywhere." Moreover we fliall at the laft behold God in the light of His glory, and there fliall we fee Him without a veil, bright as He is ; for He is a Mafter of Truth, who giveth and a Mafter of Per- ^^ tO know aU truth. In tilC third feftnefs. pl^ce, Chrift is a Mafter of Perfedion ; wherefore a man fhall leave aU things to follow Him, for in God he fliaU find aU things united in one perfednefs which are fcattered abroad among the creatures. There fore, O man, if thou wilt be perfed, be a follower of Chrift. He fays: "Whofo wiU not forfake fatiier and " mother, and fifters and brothers, and- all tiiat he hatii, can- " not be my difciple." For fatiier and mother, fifters and brothers, and aU creatures, are a man's enemies if they keep him back from God and hinder him from treading tile ftraight path .to eternal bleffednefs. Therefore forfake 342 Sermon for Thurfday in Eafter Week. the creatures, and foUow after the Mafter of Perfedion, even Jefus Chrift, bleffed for ever. May he grant us by His grace to do fo ! Amen. XV. Sermon for the Firft Sunday after Eafter. (From the Gofpel for the day.) ¦How we are to afcend by three ftages to true peace and purity of heart. John xx. 19. — " Peace be to you.." jEACE be with you," faid our beloved Lord TT ,, , . . to His difciples after How that peace is the -^ aim of all men's defire His refurredion. All and effort. men by nature defire reft and peace, and are ever ftriving after it in all their manifold adions, efforts, and labours ; and yet to all eter nity they will never attain to true peace, unlefs they feek it where alone it is to be found, — in God. What, then, are the means and ways to find true peace, and the pureft, higheft, and moft perfect truth ? Now mark, I will fpeak „ , , unto you in a parable. As our blef- We muft be drawn "^ '¦ to God in order to fed Lord drew His disciple St. John . " ' ¦ to Himfelf in a three-fold manner, even fo does He now draw all who ever arrive at the deepeft truth. The firft way in which our Lord drew St. John to 344- Sermon for the Himfelf was when He called him How St. John was ^r...u u j ju- drawn to Chrift. ^^t ot the world and made him an Apoftle. The fecond was when He fuffered Him to reft on His bofom; and the third and moft perfed was on the holy day of Pentecoft, when the Holy Ghoft was given unto him, and a door was opened unto him through which he was taken up into heaven. Thus, like St. John, is each man firft called out of the world, when all his lower powers We muft firft be , i i i_ • i_ • i. n. drawn upwards by the comc to be govcmcd by his higheft lowerpowersbeinggo- ^^^{on, fo tiiat he learns to know verned by the higher. himfelf and to exercife his free felf- guiding power; fo that he fets a watch over his words, faying nothing to anyone which he would not wifh to be faid to himfelf; — over his impulfes, marking whether they proceed from God and tend towards Him; — over his thoughts, that he do not voluntarily indulge in any evil or vain imaginations, or that, if fuch fuggeft them felves, they fliould be made only an incentive and ftep- ping-ftone to better things ; — over his works, that in his undertakings he may have a fingle eye to the glory of God and the welfare of mankind. On this wife does the Lord call thee out of the world, and make thee an apoftle of Chrift to thy fellow-man, and fo thou leameft to con vert the outward into the inward man, which is the firft ftep in the Chriftian courfe. Firft Sunday after Eafter. 345 Secondly; wilt thou with St. John reft on the loving „ J, 1 , • heart of our Lord Jefus Chrift, thou secondly, by being ' changed into the image muft be transformed into the beau- of our loving Lord. teous image of our Lord by a con ftant, earneft contemplation thereof, confidering His holy meeknefs and humility, the deep, fiery love that He bore to His friends and His foes, and His mighty, obedient refignation which He manifefted in all the paths wherein His Father called Him to tread. Next call to mind the boundlefs charity which He fliowed to all men, and alfo His bleffed poverty. Heaven and earth were His, and He called them not His own. In all His words and deeds. He looked only to the glory of His Father and the falvation of mankind. And now ye muft gaze much more clofely and deeply into the glorious image of our Lord Jefus Chrift than I can fhow you with my outward teaching, and maintain a continual, earneft effort and afpi ration after it. Then look attentively at thyfelf, how un like thou art to this image, and behold thy own littlenefs. Here will thy Lord let thee reft on Him. There is no better and more profitable way to this end while in our prefent ftate, than to receive worthily the facrament of the body of Chrift, and to follow the counfel of one on whom the Hght of grace has fhone more brightly than it has on thee. In the glorious likenefs of Chrift thou wilt be made rich, and find all the folace and fweetnefs in the world. 346 Sermon for the But there are many who, having advanced thus far, think in their hafte that they have neeTet^^"^"''"' """^ conquered for tiieir own the ground on which they ftand, while yet they are far from the goal. Although St. John had lain on Chrift's bofom, yet he let his cloak fall and fled when the Jews laid hands on Chrift. Therefore, however holy may be thy walk in thefe two paths, look to it that, if thou art affailed, thou do not let thy mantle fall through thy hafty thought for thyfelf It is good and holy that thou fliouldft exercife thyfelf in thefe two ways, and let no creature turn thee afide therefrom, until God .Himfelf draws thee up into a clofer union with Himfelf If He thus draw thee up, then let go all forms and images, and fuffer Him to work as with His inftrument. It is more well-pleafing to Him, and more profitable to thee, that thou fhouldft leave Him to do as He will in thee for a moment, than that thou fhouldft exercife thyfelf in lower things for a hundred years. Now fome may afk : Art thou not yet got beyond all this ? I anfwer : No ; be yond the image of our Lord Jefus Chrift may no man come. Thou fliouldft afk ; Art thou not got beyond the ways and works that thou haft called thine own ? Look to it diligently, and be quick to perceive the commands of God, and let each good work be followed by another. In the third place, when the Holy Spirit was given to Firft Sunday after Eafter. 347 „ St. John, then was the door of hea- Thirdly, how the door of heaven is ven opened unto him. Thi& hap- opened to fome. ^ . , , . . pens to fome with a convulfion of the mind, to others calmly and gradually. In it are ful filled thofe words of St. Paul : " Eye hath not feen, nor " ear heard, nor hath it entered into the heart of man to " conceive the things which God hath prepared for them "that love Him; but God hath revealed them unto us " by His fpirit." Let no man boaft that he is continually drawing nearer to the higheft perfedion poffible while here on earth, unlefs the outward man have been con verted into the inward man; then, indeed, it is poffible for him to be received up on high, and to behold the wonders and riches of God. Believe me, children, one who would know much about thefe high matters, would often have to keep his bed, for his bodily frame could not fupport it. Further, know ye that before that can come to pafs, of which we have here been fpeaking, nature muft endure many a death, outward and inward. But to fuch death, eternal Hfe anfwers. Children, this is not the work of a day or a year. Be not difcouraged ; it takes time, and requires fimplicity, purity, and felf-furrender, and thefe virtues are the fliorteft road to it. Through fuch exercifes as we have defcribed, a man obtains true purity of mind and body, fuch as St. John poffeffed in a high and peculiar manner ; what our Lord meant when 348 Sermon for the he faid : " Bleffed are the pure in whSUauTe^Gor " heart, for they fliaU fee God." A pure heart is more precious in the fight of God than aught elfe on earth. A pure heart is a fair, fitly-adorned chamber, the dwelling of the Holy Ghoft, a golden temple of the Godhead ; a fanduary of the only-begotten Son, in which He worfhips the Hea venly Father ; an altar of the grand, divine facrifice, on which the Son is daily offered to the Heavenly Father. A pure heart is the throne of the Supreme Judge ; the feat and fecret chamber of the Holy Trinity; a lamp bearing the Eternal Light; a fecret council-chamber of the Divine Perfons ; a treafury of divine riches ; a ftore- houfe of divine fweetnefs; a panoply of etemal wifdom; a ceU of divine folitude ; the reward of all the life and fufferings of Chrift. A pure heart is a tabernacle of die Holy Father; a bride of Chrift; a friend of the Holy Ghoft'; a delight to the eyes of all faints ; a fifter of tiie angels ; a caufe of joy to tihe heavenly hofts ; a brother of all good men ; a terror to the Devil ; a vidory and con- queft over all temptation ; a weapon againft all affaults ; a refervoir of divine benefits ; a treafury of all virtue ; an example to all . men ; a reftoration of all that has ever been loft. Now, what is a pure heart ? It is, as we have faid before, a heart which finds its whole and only fatif- fadion in God, which reliflies and defires nothing but Firft Sunday after Eafter. 349 God, whofe thoughts and intents are ever occupied with God, to which all that is not of God is ftrange and jarring, which keeps itfelf as far as poffible apart from all unwor thy images, and joys, and griefs, and all outward cares and anxieties, and makes all thefe work together for good; for to the pure all things are pure, and to the gentle is nothing bitter. Amen ! '^r=^ iniMjjii XVI. Sermon for the Fourth Sunday after Eafter. (From the Goipel for the day.) John xvi. 7-1 1. — "It is expedient for you that I go away; for if I go " not away, the Comforter will not come unto you ; but if I depart, I " will fend Him unto you. And when He is come. He will reprove " the world of fin, and of righteoufnefs, and of judgment : of fm, " becaufe they believe not on Me ; of righteoufnefs, becaufe I go to the " Father and ye fee Me no more; of judgment, becaufe the prince of " this world is judged." * !^v!-<'SSSHILDREN, it behoves us to give diligent j\--^^^^^ heed to the meaning of this paffage, and Oi^^i^ fee how it is that the Holy Ghoft could fekXftSrSry not be given to the dear difciples and friends of Jefus, unlefs He firft went away from them. What is meant by Chrift's going away from us? Nothing elfe than our deftitution, What it is for Chrift hopeleffnefs, and helpleffnefs, when to go away irom us. 1^ ' r ' we are heavy and flow in all good * The greater part of this and the following fermon having been tranf lated by Archdeacon Hare, in his Notes to " The Miffion of the Com- " forter," I obtained his kind permiflion to extraft from that work die paffages he had given there. — Tr. Fourth Sunday after Eafter. 351 things, and cold and dark; for then Chrift is gone from us. If perfons who are in this ftate render it ufeful and fruitful for themfelves, this would be a truly noble thing for them thus to mafter and bend it ; and to fuch an one all variety will be fufed into unity, and he will have joy in forrow, and be patient under reproach, in conftant peace amid war and trouble, and all bitternefs will to him become true fweetnefs. " Now our Lord faid : " When the Holy Ghoft cometh, " He will reprove the world." What How when the is the world which He wiU reprove. Holy Ghoft truly ^ ' cometh to us He re- and how will He reprove it ? He proveth the world in . r t t 11 our hearts. Will enable man to lee clearly whether the world is lying concealed within him, hidden in the principle of his being: this he will deted and rebuke. Now what is the world in us ? It is the ways, the workings, the imaginations of the world, the world's comfort, joy, love, and grief, in love, in fear, in forrow, in care ; for St. Bernard fays : " With all wherein " thou rejoiceft and forroweft, thou fhalt alfo be judged." Children, this will the Holy Ghoft, when He comes to us, clearly reveal, and rebuke us on account thereof, fo that we fhaU never have reft or quiet, fo long as we know and find this evil and noxious poffeffion within us. And when one •finds this evil inclination in a man, that he is poffeffed by any creature, be it living or dead, and he 352 Sermon for the remains unrebuked, all this is the world. And when a man keeps this in himfelf unrebuked, this is a true and manifeft fign that the Holy Ghoft has not entered into the principle of his Hfe ; for Chrift has faid ; When He comes. He will rebuke all thefe things. " He wifl reprove the world of fin." What is fin? . . , , .„ Ye know well, dear children, that om IS when the will turns afide from its God has made all things, and ap- natural end. . , , i • r ¦ • t , pointed each thing tor its right end. Thus He made fire that it fhould rife up, and ftones that they fliould fall down. Thus nature has given to the eye to fee, to the ears to hear, to the hands to work, and to the feet to walk ; and thus each member is obedient to the natural will, without any oppofition, whether the matter be eafy or hard, fw;eet or four, if fo be that the will thoroughly wills it ; thus, too, the members are thoroughly obedient, even when it is an affair of Hfe and death. This appears often in many lovers of this world, how they merrily and joyfully caft away all eafe, and riches, and honour, for the fake of what they love, to the end that their carnal luft may thus be fatisfied. Now finners fay. Who is thus obedient to God, and thus exad in all His commandments ? Which of you dares thus to refign for God's fake his body and goods, and all that he likes or fears, — nay, every thing fave his confcience, of ^«hich God is the rightful Ruler? Now this is the fin which the Fourth Sunday after Eafter. 353 Holy Ghoft reproves, that man fo repTo^'eth^tSfin^tnd greatly and fo often refifts His divine maketh a man to judge ^[n ^nd admonitions. This fin and himielf many hidden offences the Holy Ghoft rebukes when He comes to a man. This rebuke works a quick, fliarp, hard judgment in a man, and a hellifh pain, and an intolerable woe, whereof worldly men know little. When this judgment is indeed borne, the cafe is fafe. For a thoufand offences which a man truly acknowledges and confeffes himfelf to be guilty of, are not fo perilous and fo mifchievous to a man as a fingle offence which thou wilt not recognife nor allow thyfelf to be convinced of. Children, thofe who are fo well pleafed with themfelves and others, nor have ever felt any anxiety about their fin, except to prove that they are in the right, are very wrong; they are in dangerous fin, and will never come to any good. Next: the Holy Ghoft will reprove the world of Secondly, the Holy righteoufnefs. Alas, merciful God, fortur^^^rSLf! ^^at a poor miferable thing our nsfs. righteoufnefs is in the eyes of God ! For St. Auguftine fays : Woe and woe to all righteousnefs, unlefs Almighty God judge, for He has faid by the prophet Ifaiah: "All your righteoufneffes are as filthy "rags;" and our Lord faid: "When ye have done aU " that ye can, fay, we are unprofitable fervants, we have 23 354 Sermon for the " done that which it was our duty to do." He who thinketh fomewhat of himfelf when he is nought, deceiveth himfelf, as St. John faith. Many a man is fo heartily well pleafed with his own ways, that he will neither open his heart to God nor to man, and keeps his eyes carefully Ihut, that he may not let God into his foul. If our Lord comes to him with his admonitions, diredly or indiredly, he follows his own courfe, and heeds them not a ftraw. Such men are utterly untoward, both to God Almighty and to all his creatures; but wherever the Holy Ghoft comes, he reproves thefe men's ways ; for wherever he is, man perceives his faults plainly, and learns felf-renun ciation, humblenefs, and all things that belong to etemal life. Thirdly : the Holy Ghoft reproves man for judgment. „ , What is this judgment? It means Thirdly, He re- . proveth us for our that every man paffes judgment on judgment of others. , . ... i i i i his neighbour, and that they have no eyes for their own faults and fin, although Chrift has faid : " With what meafure thou metefl, with the fame it " fliaU be meafured to thee again." " Judge not that ye "be not judged." A holy man has faid: "By as many " as thou haft unjuftly condemned, fhalt thou be judged." The people all want to be priefts and provincials, that they may have a right to fit in judgment, and know not what they are themfelves. And know that there- Fourth Sunday after Eafter. 355 with ye built great thick walls between God and your felves. Children, beware of judging any but yourfelves, as ye love God and your fouls and everlafting happi nefs. A man fliould judge nothing that is not a plain mortal fin. I would rather bite my tongue that it bleed, than judge any man. One fhould leave this to the eternal judgment of God; for from man's judgment upon his neighbours there grows a complacency in one's felf, an evil arrogance, and a contempt for one's neighbour. This fruit is therefore truly a feed of the Devil, whereby many a heart is defiled, and therein the Holy Ghoft dwelleth Of the fpirit and not. But where the Holy Ghoft is t TuratS t-ly -ith His prefence. He judges rebuke. by that fame man where it is necef fary ; and then that man waits for the hour and occafion when it is fitting to punifh. This muft not be done fo that when we would heal one wound, we inflid two in doing it ; not with violence, or harfh words, nor fo as to crufh a man nor lower him in any other man's heart ; but we fliould do it as from love and gentlenefs, and fo as to preferve our own humility and poverty of fpirit which we then bear within us wherever we go, and whatever we do, whether amid a congregation or alone. And herewith we profit no one elfe but ourfelves in a true fimplicity ; and let all fuch things alone as do not concern us and are not committed to us. 356 Sermon for the Children, ye fliall not feek after great fcience. Simply enter into your own inward principle, and learn to know , , . what you yourfelves are, fpiritually 'Knowledge is not to ¦' •' ^ ¦' be the great end of and naturally, and do not dive into our ftriving, but the r /^ j /i • obeying of that which the fecret things ot God, alkmg ques- we know. ^j^j^g ^^^^^ ^^^ ^^^^ ^^^ j.^^^^ ^^ the Aught into the Naught, or the effence of the foul's fpark, for Chrift has faid : " It is not Afts i. 7. -^ ' " for you to know the times or the " feafons which tne Father hath put in His own power." Therefore, let us maintain a true, entire, fimple faith in one God in a Trinity of Perfons, and yet not as mani fold, but as one and fimple. For Arius and SabelHus, who had a wonderful underftanding of the Trinity, and the wife Solomon and Origen, who have marvel- loufly inftruded the holy Church, what has become of them ? We know not. Wherefore, look to yourfelves, and know that no one is anfwerable for you but your felves. Therefore, give heed to God and His will, and to the calling wherewith he has called you, that ye may follow it in integrity and finglenefs of heart. And if you know not what God's will is, then follow thofe who have been more enlightened by the Holy Spirit than yourfelves; and if you have not thefe either, then go alone to God : without doubt He will give you purely and fimply that which you need, if you continue inftant in prayer for it. Fourth Sunday after Eafter. 357 If you are not fatisfied with this, then, in all doubtful cafes, confider the matter with fincerity and earneftnefs, and choofe that courfe which you fee to be moft bitter to nature, and to which you feel leaft inclined. Do this in the firft place, for in each death of nature, God becomes moft truly living in you, and will grow in you of a certainty. Now, children, fince the Holy Ghoft could not be given unto the dear difciples unlefs Chrift went away from them, we fhould in reafon look to fee with what we are holding converfe. Wherefore forfake all things for God, and then God will be truly given unto you in all things. If you do this in earneft, and with your eyes conftantly fixed upon the truth, you fliall receive a wonderful reward of God, even in this prefent time. And " when He, the Spirit of " Truth, is corne. He will guide you into all truth." . . . " And He will fhow you things to In what fenfe the i .1 i Holy Ghoft will teach " come." Dear children, the Holy us all things. ^^^Q, ^j^ ^^^ ^^^^^ ^g ^jj ^j^jj^gg jj^ the fenfe that we fliall be given to know whether there will be a good harveft or vintage, whether bread will be dear or cheap, whether the prefent war will come to an end foon. No, dear children ; but He will teach us all things which we can need for a perfed life, and for a knowledge of the hidden truth of God, of the bondage of nature, ofthe deceitfulnefs ofthe world, and ofthe cunning 358 Fourth Sunday after Eafter. of evil fpirits. Children, walk in the ways of God diligently, earneftly, and circumfpedly ; and give heed to the calling in which God by His mercy hath called you, and follow it faithfully. Do not, as fome do, who, when God will have them to mind the affairs of their foul, attend to outward things ; and when God fummons them to outward duties, want to tum their thoughts inwards. This is a hard, poor, perverfe courfe. Thus when the Holy Ghoft comes to us. He teaches ,.^ ,^ „ , us all truth; that is. He fliows us a How He ihoweth us a true pifture of our- true pidure of our failings, and con- fclvcs. founds us in ourfelves, and teaches us how we fliall live fingly and purely for the truth, and teaches us to fink humbly into a deep humility, and to caft ourfelves utterly down beneath God and beneath every creature. This is a true art in which all art and wifdom is concluded, and which we indifpenfably need for our true perfedion and felicity. This is a true, hearty humility, without any pretence, and not in word or out ward fhow, but of a truth wrought into the fubftance of our fouls. May God help us at all times to be thus pre pared for the Holy Ghoft to come and enter in to us! Amen. XVII. Second Sermon for the Fourth Sunday after Eafter. Of three hindrances which refift the coming of the Holy Ghoft in three claffes of men. John xvi. 7. — " It is expedient for you that I go away : for if I go not " away, the Comforter will not come unto you." >. iJBSERVE, dear children, how high and in How we can reach what way man muft be our higheft bleffednefs • j . i. ...i. only by dying to na- ^^^'^d "P ^ reach tiie ture. ftate of his higheft blef fednefs ; for this can only be through a real abandonment of thofe things which are efpeciaUy pleafant and lovely to him and his nature. To all thefe he muft wholly die, and muft let them go, however good, and holy, and fpirit ual, and precious he may deem them. For if it was neceffary that Chrift's difciples fhould be deprived of His lovely, holy, gracious humanity, to be fitted for receiving the Holy Ghoft, no man, it is certain, can be a recipient of Divine grace whofe heart is poffeft by any creature. Now we find three forts of hindrances in tihree different 360 Second Sermon for the claffes of men. The firft are finful How the Holy , Ghoft is hindered perfons, or open finners, who are b^Xrirufrof hlnde-d by tiie creature, in ti^t the good things of ^^ey make ufe thereof againft God, this Ufe. ¦' . according to their own wiU. Thefe people go aftray in God's way. David fays, " Curfed are " they who err in God's way," that is, in the creature. There are alfo fundry good folks, who fpend too much care upon the neceffaries of this life, or look too much for pleafure to outward things. Againft thefe Chrift says, " He who " loves his life fliall lofe it;" that is, carnal love; he who holds this too dear lofes his life ; " and he who hates his " life fliall receive everlafting life ;" that is, they who refift their diforderly lufts and defires, and do not follow them. The fecond hindrance is when good people are kept Ho others are ^^^^ ^^ true fpirituality through the hindered from receiv- mifufe of the feven facraments. He ing Him by ftopping at the fign in the holy who dwells with plcafutc on the fign r^chTng atothTeter- of a holy facrament, does not get to nal truth fignified. ^^ inward truth; for the facra ments all lead to the pure truth. Marriage is a fign of the union of the Divine and human natures, and alfo of the union of the foul with God ; but he who would ftop at the fign alone is hindered bv his outward fenfes from reaching the eternal truth ; for this is not a true marriage. There are alfo fome who make too much of Fourth Sunday after Eafter. 361 repentance and confeffion, and cleave to the fign, and do not ftrive to reach the pure truth. Againft thefe Chrift fays, " He who is wafhed needeth not fave to wafh his "feet;" that is, he who has once been wafhed with a hearty repentance and fincere confeffion needs nothing more than that he confefs his daily fins, and not his old fins, which he has already repented of and confeft ; but he muft wafh his feet — that is, his defires and confcience ; thefe he muft purify from his daily fins. Moreover many good men, by fpending too much anxiety on outward geftures towards the facred Body of our Lord, hinder themfelves in divers ways, fo that they cannot receive Him fpiritually, and enter inwardly into the truth ; for this is a defire after a real union, and not in appearance merely. Hence they do not receive the facrament wor thily ; for all facraments are the fign of fpiritual truth. Here it is to be remembered that we ought to worship God in all places and at all times. How we may wor- n • i t-> i_ a ftiip God in all times He who Will worfhip tihe Father mult and places. concentrate his whole mind in afpi ration ahd faith. Thefe are the higheft powers of the foul ; for they are above time, and know nothing of time nor of the body. So St. Paul tells us, " tiiat we ought to "rejoice evermore, pray without ceafing, and in every- " thing give thanks." Now, thofe pray witiiout ceafing who do aU their works alike for the love of God, and not 362 Second Sermon for the for any felfifh enjoyment, and humbly bow down before God, and let Him work alone. When the higheft pow ers of the foul are thus gathered together in prayer, the foul becomes infpired, and if henceforward the fpirit cleave unto God with an entire union of the will, it is " made a partaker of the Divine nature," and then, for tiie firft time, does the man offer up true worfliip, for he has attained the end for which he was created. But there are fome, ay, many people, who do not ^ , , rightly worfliip the Father m the Of thofe who feek ° •' '^ the creature and not truth. For fo foon as a man prays God in their prayers. ^ 1 r 1 r to God tor any creature, he prays for his own harm ; for fince a creature is a creature, it bears its own bitternefs and difquiet, pain and evil, about it: therefore fuch people meet their deferts when they have trouble and bitternefs, for they have prayed for it He who feeks God, if he feeks anything befide God, wifl not find Him ; but he who feeks God. alone in the truth, will find Him, and all that God can give, with Him. Again, many good people hinder themfelves in their ^, , r , perfedion by this, that they look Of thofe who are ^ ¦' ' ¦' hindered from receiv- folely to the humanity of our Lord ing the Holy Ghoft t /" /-.u -n. j l i_ • 1. by looking only to the Jelus Chriit, and that they give them- humanity of Chrift. ^^j^^g ^^^ ^^^^j^ ^^ ^j^^^^^^ . ^^^ -^ to fay, that they are too fond of contemplating the images of outward things in their minds, whether it be angels or Fourth Sunday after Eafter. 363 men, or the humanity of Chrift, and believe what they are told when they hear that they are fpecially favoured, or of other men's faults or virtues, or hear that God purpofes to do fomething by their means. Herein they are often deceived, for God never does anything through any crea ture, but only through His own pure goodnefs. And He even faid to his difciples, " It is good for you that I go " away ;" forafmuch as to them that wifh to be His difci ples in high perfedion. His humanity is a hindrance if they fix upon it, and cleave unto it with efpecial delight ; for they ought to follow God in all His ways ; therefore His humanity fliould lead them onward to His Deity. For Chrift faid, " I am the Way, and John xiv. 6 . . " the Truth, and the Life : no man " cometh unto the Father but by Me." Greatly then do they err who fuppofe that they can do anything good of themfelves; for Chrift fays that of Himfelf He did nothing. Chrift's true humanity we are to worfhip only in its union with His Deity ; for the man Chrift is truly God, and God is truly Man. Therefore we are not to trouble ourfelves about any creature, but folely to feek God, our Lord Jefus Chrift, who is our only Way to the Father. Now even if we come into the Way unJrand no"by vl of ttutii, which is Chrift, yet WC ate made'bleffrd *^^" ^^ "°^ perfedly bleffed, altiiough we be hold the Truth of God : for while 364 Second Sermon for the we are beholding, we are not one with that which we behold ; fo long as there is anything in our perceptions or underftanding, we are not one with the One ; for where there is nothing but One, we can fee nothing but One : for we cannot fee God except in blindnefs, or know Him except in ignorance. St. Auguftine fays that no foul can come to God unlefs it go to God without a creature, and tafte Him without a likenefs. Therefore, becaufe the foul is a creature, it muft caft itfelf out of itfelf, and in its hour of contemplation muft caft out all faints and angels ; for thefe are aU creatures, and hinder the foul in its union with God. For it fhould be bare of all things, without need of anything, and then it can come to God in His likenefs ; for nothing unites fo much as likenefs, and receives its colour fo foon ; for God will then give Himfelf to the faculties of the foul, fo that the foul grows in the likenefs of God and takes His colour. The image Hes in the foul's powers, the Hkenefs in its vir tues, the Divine colour in its union ; and thus its union becomes fo intimate that it does not work its works in the form of a creature, but in its divine form, wherein it is united to God ; nay, that its works are taken from it, and God works all its works in His form. And then, while it beholds God, and thus becomes more united with Him, the union may become fuch, that God altogether pours Himfelf into it, and draws it fo entirely into Himfelf that Fourth Sunday after Eafter. 365 it no longer has any distind perception of virtue or vice, or recognifes any marks by which it knows what it is itfelf But God regards the foul as a creature. There- „, ,. , - fore let the light of grace overpower The hght of nature b & f muft be fwallowed up the light of nature in you ; for the in the light of grace. , . , , , , t r t ¦ ¦ higher knowledge the foul attains in the light of grace, the darker does it deem the light of nature. If, then, it would know the real truth, it fliould obferve whether it is drawn away from all things, whether it has loft itfelf, whether it loves God with His love, whe ther it be not hindered by any things, and whether God alone lives in it : if fo, it has loft itfelf, as Mary loft Jefus, when He went into the fchool of His Father's higheft dodrine ; therefore He heeded not His mother. Thus it happens to the nobleft foul that goes into God's fchool ; there it learns to know what God is, in His Deity and in the Trinity, and what He is in His humanity, and to know the all-gracious Will of God. That man is moft truly of God who works all his works out of love, and gives up his will to the will of his Heavenly Father. That we may attain thereunto, being delivered from all hindrances, may God grant us. Amen ! XVIII. Sermon for Afcenfion Day. This third fermon on the Afcenfion tells us how man ought continually to follow after Chrift, as He has walked before us for three and thirty years, paffing through manifold and great fufferings, before He returned vmto His Father. Mark xvi. 19. — " So then after the Lord had Ipoken unto them. He was " received up into Heaven, and fat on the right hand of God." ^^Sg^FTER tiie Son of God, Jefus Chrift, had i ffi gi^ eaten with his difciples upon the Mount of \ 'M i^ OHves, and reproved them, that they had ^SrSHs been fo long time with Him and yet were fo flow of heart to believe. He was taken up into heaven before tiieir face Ah, children ! how do you think it ftood then with the How the difoiples hearts of the difciples, who regarded folWHimlrH;: Him with fuch a ftrange love? For glorious afcenfion. Jt was not unteafonable that they fhould be filled with a reftlefs, forrowful yearning to follow after Him; for where your treafure is, there will your heart be alfo. By His glorious afcenfion, willeth Jefus Sermon for Afcenfion Day. 367 Chrift to draw after Him the hearts and minds of all His eled Friends, and all their powers, inward and outward, that we may not henceforward have our dwelling with contentment and fatisfadion among the things of time ; but that all our walk and converfation, pleafure and fatisfac tion, may be in heaven, and nowhere elfe, where God dwelleth not. It cannot be otherwife but that the mem bers fhould follow their Head, Who, as on this day, has afcended into heaven, and has gone before us in all humility to prepare a place for thofe who fliall come after Him ; therefore fhould we fay with the Bride, in the Song of fongs : " Draw me, and I will come after Thee," bleffed Lord. And who can hinder us from following evermore after our Head, Jefus Chrift ? For He Himfelf has faid : " I afcend to my Father and your Jo nxx. 17. "Fatiier." His origin. His end. His bleffednefs and our bleffednefs, is truly a bleffednefs in Him, for we, with all that we are, have proceeded forth from the fame fource, and therefore we are partakers of the fame End, and deftined to fall into the fame Ocean (if we for our parts will only difpofe ourfelves accordingly.) Now let us meditate how Chrift has gone before us into Tf , , r „ the glory of His heavenly Father. it we would follow o j j ^ Chrift into the glory Therefore, if we defire to foUow Him, ofthe Father, we muft i_ • t_ tr i. follow in His foot- we muft mark tihe way which Jtle has fteps here. ^^^^ ^^ ^^^ trodden for tiiree and 368 Sermon for Afcenfion Day. thirty years, in mifery, in poverty, in fhame, and in bitter nefs, even unto death. So likewife, to this day, muft we follow in the fame path, if we would fain enter with Him into the Kingdom of Heaven. For though all our mafters were dead, and all our books burned, yet we fhould ever find inftrudion enough in His holy Hfe. For He Himfelf is the Way, the Truth, and the Life, and by no other way can we truly and undeviatingly advance towards the fame confummation, than in that in which He hath walked as our Exemplar while He was yet upon earth. Now, as the loadftone draws the iron after itfelf, fo doth How the hearts ^^^'^^ draw all hearts after Himfelf which have been which have once been touched by touched by Chrift muft needs follow after Him; and as when the iron is im pregnated with the energy of the loadftone that has touched it, it follows the ftone uphill although that is contrary to its nature, and cannot reft in its own proper place, but ftrives to rife above itfelf on high; fo all the fouls which have been touched by this loadftone, Chrift, can neither be chained down by joy nor grief, but are ever rifing up to God out of themfelves. They forget their own nature, and follow after the touch of God, and follow it the more eafily and diredly, the more noble is their nature than that of other men, and the more they are touched by God's finger. Now let each one mark for himfelf, whether his foul has , Sermon for Afcenfion Day. 369 How we may know been touched by God or not. Thofe whether our hearts have been touched by who have not been touched by God . whether we maTepro^ o^™ ^^S^^ "^^"7 excellent under- grefs or ftand ftill. takings from which we might expect that great things would come to pafs ; but if we watch them for a time, behold it all comes to nothing ; for they foon fall back again, and they plunge once more into all their old cuftoms, and give themfelves up to their natural inclinations. They do juft as the untrained dogs in the chafe, which have no perception of the noble quarry, but run with all fpeed after the good dogs of nobler breed. And verily, if they kept on running, they would with them bring down the ftag. But no ; in the fpace of fome fhort hour or fo, they look about them, and lofe fight of their companions, or they ftand ftill with their nofe in the earth, and let the others get ahead of them, and fo they are left behind. But the dogs of noble breed, who have come upon the fcent of this noble quarry, eagerly purfue after it, through fire and water, through brake and bufli, till they have brought down their game. So do thofe noble- minded men, who have caught a glimpfe of the Higheft Good; they never flacken ftep till they have come up with it. Now the other fort of men remain at the fame point, and make no progrefs in their whole Hfe ; but aU fuch as ftand ftill while they are in this ftate, and make no pro- 24 370 Sermon for Afcenfion Day. , grefs before death, muft ftand ftill for ever hereafter; fo long as God is eternal. Children, if our fouls have not been touched by God's , , ., finger, we have no right to lay the It is our fault if our ° _ a j hearts have not been caufe of it to the charge of the Eternal thus touched. y-, , /- i i i /¦ God, as men otten do when they fay, figuratively : " God does not touch me, nor move me, as " He does fuch and fuch an one." This affertion is falfe. God touches, impels, and admonifhes all men ahke, and (fo far as it refts with Him) will have all men to be faved ; but His touch. His admonitions and His gifts, find a different reception and refponfe in different men. With many, when God comes to them with His touch and His gracious gifts. He finds the chambers of their foul occu pied and defiled by other guefts. So then. He muft needs go His way, and cannot come in to us, for we are loving and ferving fome one elfe. Therefore, His gifts, which He offers without ceafing to every man, remain unaccepted. This is the caufe of our eternal lofs : the guilt is ours, and not God's. How much ufelefs trouble do we create for ourlelves ; infomuch that we neither perceive our own condition nor God's prefence, and thereby do ourfelves an unfpeakable and eternal mischief Againft this, there is no better or furer remedy than an inftant, refolute turning away of the thought, and hearty, fervent, continual prayer. Sermon for Afcenfion Day. 371 Hereby we may obtain this fteadfaftnefs, together with a firm, and entire, and loving truft in the unfathomable mercy of God, in which lies all our falvation, and like- wife a diligent and faithful watchfulnefs, to keep our goings ever in accordance with the will of God, that all we do or abftain from, and all our affedions, fpiritual and natural, may remain at all times agreeable to the will of God. Children, the place from which Chrift afcended up to heaven was the Mount of Olives. How the foul muft _,, . • i i i r r be as a hill for the fun This mountain had three forts of of righteoufnefs to rife ^j i ^_ ^j^^ ^^ ^^^ ^^^^ ^^^ {nnnie, upon It. ° for the hill is high and flopes towards the Eaft; and when the fun no longer fhone on the mountain, its rays were refleded from the golden roof of the temple; and, thirdly, on that hill grew the effential material of light, the olive-tree. So likewife the foul in which God fhall arife fweetly as without a cloud, muft be a lofty hiU, raifed above thefe perifhable earthly things, and be iUuminated by three kinds of light; that is to fay, there muft be a place whereon the rays of the high and holy Trinity can fliine and bring forth God's high and noble work in the foul, according to aU His will, and fo that the brightnefs of the Eternal God may flow into that foul. This mountain lay between Jerufalem and Bethany. 372 Sermon for Afcenfion Day. ^, , „ Now, know of a truth that whofo- 1 he true followers of Chrift muft defcend ever will truly follow after Chrift. with Him into Beth- „ i- i i_- i -n -i any, the valley of muit mount or climb this hill, toil fome or weary as the talk may be ; for there is no mountain on the face of the earth, however beautiful and delightful, but what is difficult and toilfome to afcend. Thus, whofoever will follow Chrift, muft furely caft off Nature and her lufts. Now we find many who would gladly follow Him without pain or toil and as long as the path was eafy, and would fain be upon this moun tain on the fide looking towards Jerufalem, which figni- fieth peace, that it fliould minifter to their peace, and they fliould be without contradidion. Such perfons experience in themfelves comfort, peace and joy ; yet they come to nought. They will not fet foot on the other fide that looks towards Bethany, which name fignifies the pain of obedience or of fuffering. Of which place the prophet fays in the Pfalms : "Who paffing Ps Ixxxiv. o» " through the valley of Baca make it " a well." Know, dear children, he who will not pitch his tent in this valley, remaineth unfruitful, and nothing will ever come of him. However great his peace, and however fair his feeming, it muft have an end. There fore, a devout heart fliall ever have a forrowful yearning after her Beloved, who has afcended to fuch diftant and lofty heights, whither her eye cannot follow or trace Him Sermon for Afcenfion Day. 373 Hence, the more truly and deeply the ground of a man's foul has been touched by God, the more truly does he find this valley of tears within him. And had he no other caufe for tears, there were need enough of them by reafon of fin and the defilement that lies hidden in our frafl nature, by which man is fo often and fo greatly hin dered from a lofty converfe with God (which might and ought by God's grace to go on without ceafing within the foul), and from the fweet afpirations by which a man fhould continually carry up all things to God, but that grofs nature hinders him and turns his thoughts afide, and alfo often rules in fecret where God alone ought to have His conftant abode. This is the meaning of the other fide ofthe mountain looking towards Bethany. But he who fhould experience in himfelf all that I have ^, , faid, would then have his face turned Thus ftiall he come unto Jerufalem, the towards Jerufalem, the city of peace, and thus would become wife as to all that he fhould do or leave undone, and able to diftin guifh between the promptings of God and of nature. Further, this would ftrengthen him that he might be the better able to bear pain and forrow, and not grow too weak by reafon of his fufferings and mifery, when he is forfaken of God, and left without comfort or help in bitter defolation. The wife man fays: "My fon, when the " evil days come, thou flialt not forget the goodnefs of 374- Sermon for Afcenfion Day. " God." Children, thefe two profpeds towards Jerufalem and Bethany muft be both at once in the foul of man. For Jerufalem means a city of peace ; yet in this fame city, Chrift was put to death, and muft S'ther'^e""' ""' ^ad to fuffcr all mamier of torments. Truly, child, fo muft thou alfo in perfed peace fuffer and die to all that is thine, for it can not be otherwife ; and commit thy caufe fimply and truly to God, and renounce thyfelf utterly, for thou too muft needs fall into the hands of the wicked Jews, who will and muft torment, fcourge, and crucify thee, and caft thee out of their borders, as if thou wert a falfe traitor; and flay thee in the hearts of all men. Dear chUd, thou muft utterly die, if God Himfelf without a medium is to become thy life and being. Nay, did not Chrift Himfelf fay to His difciples : " Whofoever John xvi. 2. " flayeth you will think that he " doeth God fervice ? " For all thofe who defpife and judge thee, or torment and flay thee, will be perfuaded. in their own minds that they are doing God a fervice on thee, and mean to do fo. Ah ! dear children, how greatly bleffed were fuch a man, if he neverthelefs were a dweller in Jerufalem, and had a perfed peace in himfelf, in the midft of aU this difquiet ! Then would the very peace of God be indeed brought forth in man. Children, on this Mount grows the olive-tree, by which Sermon for Afcenfion Day. 375 is fignified true godly devoutnefs. tru?d*outnir'''°^ A^' children, the effence of devout nefs is a cleaving of the whole fpirit to God, with a mind ready and prepared at all times to love and to purpofe all that is of God, fo that the man is inwardly united with God in will and purpofe and all things. This is an oil that overflows and rifes above all tafting and feeling. Haft thou this olive-tree growing in the ground of thy foul, thou art in truth a devout man. This flame of devotion fliall often be refrefhed and re newed with the fire of Divine love, and thou flialt unceafingly look at and through the ground of thy fo.ul, that nothing may be concealed there which is not truly and merely God's ; fo that nature may not rule and work in the ground of thy foul, where God alone fliould dwell, and nought elfe. For, alas ! we find many, both among the religious and the worldly, who do not fimply purpofe God in all things and nothing elfe, but will intend them felves in things fpiritual and natural. We find very few who ferve God for His own fake, and do not regard comfort, nor joy, nor divine gifts in time or eternity, but God alone, and no objed befides. ' And now may God tihe Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghoft, grant us to afcend with the eternal Son of God from this miferable ftate, and from all creatures, that we may with Him poffefs eternal life ! Amen. XIX. Sermon for Whit Sunday. John vi. 44. — " No man can come to Me, except the Father which hath " fent Me draw him." ^Ps^^lQgHUS faid the bleffed Jefus : " No man can BTB Of the forlorn ftate " ^°™^ ^^ ^^ ^^^^P^ ^^.^JLwiS °f ^^^ difoiples after " die Father which hatii I^.^SiSiWl Chrift's death, U'^i-^^-is^^^M " fent Me draw him." The perfecuted, diflieartened difciples of Jefus, who were held captive in the bonds of ignorance as with iron fetters, and in their own efteem were lying in the deep dungeons of their trefpaffes, confeffing themfelves ftript of all their own might, cried with fervent prayer to the Almighty Father (as St. Luke tells us, that while they were " wait- " ing for the promife of the Fatiier," Afts i. 14. , .... J . they " continued with one accord m " prayer and fupplication "), praying that their bonds might be loofed, and that they might be dehvered from ^ , , their prifon-houfe. Wherefore their and how God drew '• them out of it unto Heavenly Father, to whom they had made known their requefts in faith, heard their prayer, and fet them free from all bonds, and Sermon for Whit Sunday. 377 drew them out of their dungeon by fix fteps into the glorious liberty of the Holy Spirit, where they were filled with all truth. Firft of all. He turned His merciful eyes upon them, and made them fit to receive, not only His ordinary influences, whereby He is wont to bring men unto Him felf, but He fought to bring them unto Himfelf in a Ho God dra eth P^^^^i^'" nianner above other men. men tb Himfolf by For WC find three other ways by means ofthe creatures, which God draws men unto Him felf The firft is by means of the creatures, in whom He very clearly reveals Himfelf to men through the created Hght of their fouls. Thus St. Thomas tells us how fome heathen, from the evidences of His in-dwelling and pre fence in all the creatures, have maintained that God is the creator and ruler of the world, and how therefore in every part of the world honours ought to be rendered unto Him. In this drawing by means of the creatures, does God give a hint and offer of Himfelf to man. The fecond way is by His voice in the fjulSeatrtil'^thf ^ou\, When an eternal truth myfteri- oufly fuggefts itfelf So St. Auguftine fays, that the heathens have difcourfed of certain truths, and thefe they have reached by virtue of the eternal laws of God which are working in all men when they fpeak what is true, and not by the mere light of their own 378 Sermon for Whit Sunday. nature. As Auguftine fays : " Whatever is true, by " whomfoever it is fpoken, proceeds from the Holy " Ghoft." Hence, at thofe moments when all the powers ot the foul are colleded and turned inwards, it often happens that fome eternal truth prefents itfelf with irre- liftible clearnefs. This happens not unfrequentiy in morning fleep, juft before waking. This fort of drawing may be called a whifper of love, or a monition. The third way is when the human wiU is !he im unto'^ffimfelf Subdued, and ftands waiting for tiie bleffed Will of God, truly ftript of itfelf and all things, fo that the Almighty Father draws the created will without refiftance, and it leans towards Him with peculiar delight. This drawing may be called a union and an embrace. This drawing of the wiU towards God comes from the Higheft Good ; from Him who has created heaven and earth, and all the creatures, for man's fake, and yet humbled Himfelf even unto death. Now it is becaufe He has a greater delight in man than in all the glories of heaven and earth, and for no other reafon, that He feeks him out and gives him monitions through all things. It was that He might thus draw the beloved difciples unto Himfelf that He caft His eye of mercy on them, and through bleffing and afflidion turned and difpofed their wills until He fitted them to receive and follow His leadings. And it was becaufe the Sermon for Whit Sunday. 379 difciples let Him work in them as it pleafed Him, that they came at laft to experience the full power of His drawing, as we may fee in all that happened to them afterwards. Now fome may afk. Why did God thus prepare the „,, r ^ 1 difciples for His leadings, and not Wherefore God '¦ ° choofes fome rather me, Ot Others before me, in whom than others for the ^ . objefts of His fpecial He has not wrought after luch a Ipe- ^^ '"^^" cial manner ? For this fpecial lead ing there were two caufes ; the firft is the fovereign will of God, who choofes fome men above others to be par takers of His myfteries and hidden fweetnefs; juft as a King, out of his mere good pleafure, choofes certain knights to compofe his privy council and to be about his perfon. The fecond caufe is that one man liftens more attentively to God's voice, and takes more pains to dif cover God's leadings, or endeavours more ftrenuoufly to lay afide his faults and whatever comes between him and God; and for this caufe alfo one man is more ftrongly drawn than another. Now becaufe the dear difciples had this mind in them, that with hearty repentance they be fought forgivenefs for all their paft life of ignorance and fin, and meditated on the fweet teachings and holy life and death of their beloved Mafter and His boundlefs love and refignation, and forfook all things, and watched con tinually and committed themfelves wholly to God, ever 380 Sermon for Whit Sunday. waiting to difcern His will, and gave heed thereto, and did without means fo far as they could, and prayed for help when they could not ; therefore this fpecial drawing was given unto them, as it is ftill given to this day to thofe who follow in their footfteps. Now it may be afked. But the difciples could not have „c 1. c rnade this firft ftep of their own pow- Of the extent of r r man's powers, and er; for the Word of Truth fays: how that he is free to refift the monitions of " Without Me ye can do nothing." ^'" ¦ Therefore, it muft have been necef fary for God to draw them, and to influence their will, even as regards thefe three points already treated of But if this be fo, all hangs upon the firft caufe, as has been faid before. To this the dodrine of Scripture anfwers : It is true that we can do no good thing without God's ordi nary influence, except we make progrefs by means of a fpecial influence from the Holy Spirit; yet, at the fame time, man may do his part, inafmuch as his will has power to withftand the offers of the Holy Spirit, and to cleave to his own way. God does not juftify a man without his own free will ; even as our eyes cannot fee except they are enlightened by the fun or any other Hght, yet even when we have the light we muft open our eyes, or we can never fee it. If the eyes were covered with a thick veil or fcreen, the man muft take it away or he could fee no thing, however brightly the fun might pour forth his rays. Sermon for Whit Sunday. 381 Now, when the Almighty Father came unto the difciples with His Divine light, they opened their eyes, and caft away the fcreen of outward forms, as much as might be ; therefore, God did His part alfo, and drew them up unto Himfelf after a fpecial manner. This was the work of the lovely. Divine Son, who is the reprover of all hearts, — clearing out all ftumbling-blocks and rending away all veils of darknefs from the inward eye of the foul. Secondly, their Heavenly Father drew them forth from the bonds of flavery to fenfe, fo that How the Father drew the difciples out they wete delivered from this cap- of captivity to fenfe. . . . r n • • i tivity never again to tall mto it, but to ftand ready in perfed acquiefcence to receive His fur ther leadings. Wherefore he gave them, by His beloved Son, four precepts, according to which they fliould order their lives, as St. Matthew tells us : " Provide neither " gold, nor filver, nor brafs, in your Matt. x. 9, 10. r ¦ r " purfes, nor Icrip tor your journey, "neither two coats, neither fhoes, nor yet flaves." He who only confiders the matter aright, will find that this drawing them up above the things of the body was very neceffary, if they were to enter the fchool of the Eternal Light. For this fchool has four Eternal Lighf"' "' ^^^l'^^^^- ^'"^ ^^^ ''' '' ™^^^ ^^' above all time, not only in tihe third heaven, phyfically fpeaking, but above all the movements 382 Sermon for Whit Sunday. of the heavenly bodies, and all elfe that is fubjed to time. In the fecond place, that whatever may be found ftill re maining of felf-appropriation is not fuffered to make itfelf a home and refting-place in the heart. In the third place, in this fchool is perfed reft ; for no ftorms, nor rain, nor fin, nor aught that can bring change, is there. Fourthly, there reigns perpetual light, clear and unbedimmed; for the fun and moon, which fet from time to time, and leave the earth in darknefs, do not fhine there. God is their eternal fun, fliining in His brightnefs. Now, feeing that all material, created things are bafe, narrow, fubjed to change and alloy, it was needful that the difciples fhould be raifed above the trammels of material things, for St. Jerome fays : " It is as impoffible for God to beftow "Himfelf under the limitations of time, or temporal " things, as it is for a ftone to poffefs the wifdom of an " angel." Here a queftion occurs : Since the Etemal Father draws fome men from earth by happinefs. The difciples were j 1 1 drawn unto God more and Others by pain, by which were ZtttinS-r the difciples moft ftrongly drawn? I anfwer: If you confider their Hfe, you will find that they were drawn to God much more by great hardfliips than by enjoyment; for even while Chrift dwelt with them, tihey were always fuffering contempt, and contradidion to their felf-love; and after His holy Sermon for Whit Sunday. 383 death, until they were lifted up as on this day, they were indeed well-nigh crufhed to the earth with forrow and difappointment, before the bonds were withdrawn from their eyes : and their Heavenly Father ordered it thus out of fpecial love toward them. To be drawn to God through pain is in itfelf a furer way than by joy, as St. Gregory fays, paraphrafing on the Pfalmift : " In time of " perfecution and tribulation a thoufand fliall fall by thy " fide ; but in a time of profperity and good fortune ten " thoufand fhall fall at thy right hand." So, too, is it more like Chrift in all His life and death ; and, moreover, it is a .. ^ greater proof of love ; for it is faid : Heb. xii. 6. ° ^ " Whom the Lord loveth. He chaft- " eneth, and fcourgeth every fon whom He receiveth." Wherefore, as the difciples were to receive many peculiar and myfterious favours from God, fo this was to be paid for beforehand, and for each gift a death was to be fuffered — a dying unto themfelves; and if one trial was removed by God, He forthwith fent another equally fevere (as He does to this day with His beloved friends), and they underftood this, and endured to the end all that their Heavenly Father laid upon them, until they came to have their fufferings turned into gladnefs, and rejoiced that they were found worthy to fuffer for the name of Jefus. Thirdly, their Heavenly Father drew them up above all 384 Sermon for Whit Sunday. How the Father *^ corporeal ideas tiiat they had drew the difoiples up of the humanity of Chrift, making above the corporeal r i_ r ideas of Chrift's hu- their mmds as bare ot thofe and aU ™^""''' other images, as they were when firft created, in order that henceforward, according to their neceffities, they might learn for evermore in the fchool of the Holy Spirit. For this we are able to perceive four reafons. Firft ; that truth and love, which are the end of all teaching in all fchools, have no images nor any exiftence outfide the foul ; for no painting can, properly fpeaking, depid truth and love ; for they have no images, external or internal. No' image or type which we can devife to exprefs love, is love itfelf; and it is the fame with truth. Next ; that in the fchool of the Spirit, man does not leam through books, which teach through outward images addreffed to the fenfes ; but here the truth, which of its nature does not fpeak by means of images, is fpoken into the foul itfelf Hence the humble St. Francis commanded the brethren of his Order not to trouble themfelves too much with books and letters, and that thofe who were unlettered fliould not be anxious about acquiring leaming, but remember to covet above all things the Spirit of God, and pray only for a pure heart and His influences. Thirdly ; becaufe in the fchool of the Spirit man learns wifdom through humility, knowledge by forgetting, how to fpeak by filence, how to live by dying. For St. John Sermon for Whit Sunday. 385 was fleeping when he looked into the fount of eternal wifdom, and St. Paul knew not whether he was in the body or out of the body, when he was " caught up to the " third heaven and heard unfpeakable 2 Cor. xii. 2, 4. , , . , . . , ^ , ^ " words, which it is not lawful tor a " man to utter." Therefore it was needful for the difciples to be deprived of aU images that they might learn in this fchool. Fourthly ; where the mind is bufied with images, time muft neceffarily enter into the operations of the imagination, and this has no place in the higheft fchool of the Holy Spirit ; for there neither time nor images can help us, but contad is all that is needed, the which may happen without time within the fpace of a moment. St. Ofthe teaching of Gregory fays: "The Holy Ghoft is the Holy Ghoft. « ^^ admirable mafter-workman ; He " fiUs a fiflierman, and makes a preacher of him ; He fills " a perfecutor, and transforms him into a teacher of the " Gentiles ; He fiUs a publican, and makes of him an " evangelift. Who is this mafter-workman ? He needs " not time for His teachings ; by whatever means He " choofes, fo foon as He has touched the foul. He has " taught it, and His mere touch is His teaching. For thefe four reafons we can perceive how that it was necef fary for the difciples to have their fouls bereft of aU images. But when they were drawn upwards to this end, not aU happened to them which happened to St. Paul, 25 386 Sermon for Whit Sunday. when he was caught up to the third heaven ; for, in the opinion of St. Auguftine, it was given to Paul in his trance, and to Mofes in Sinai, to behold the Godhead without a veil. This was not the cafe with the difciples at this time, for they well knew that they were ftill in die body. Yet their hearts were fo Hfted up, and their minds fo illuminated with eternal truth, that they were enabled to receive the fame thing, though fome more and fome lefs, which Sl Paul afterwards received in his vifion. In the Fourth place ; the Holy Father drew them out How the Father °^ tiiemfelves, and delivered tiiem drew the difoiples from all natural felf-feeking, fo tiiat forth from the captivity ° to Self into the free- they ftood at reft, in true peace with dom of His children. m r 1 i . /- n ,- , themfelves, and in perfed freedom. Then ceafed all the mourning, fears, and pain which they had fuffered hitherto ; for in the lifting up of their fouls, there was an ad of fuch entire felf-furrender, tiiat they reached tiie fummit of that firft ftage of tiie Chriftian courfe of which we have fpoken above. Henceforward tiie Eternal Fatiier could fulfil His good pleafure in tiiem without any refiftance from their will or natural inclina tions. The Eternal Fatiier tiius drew tiiem upwards, tiiat He might reign as a mafter in tiiem, in His omnipotence, greatnefs, unity, and love, and they fliould learn of Him and grow up into His likenefs. Hence it was needful that they fliould be drawn out of themfelves, becaufe they Sermon for Whit Sunday. 387 could not be free, at one, noble and loving, fo long as they were held captive to Self It may be afked : When the difciples were thus drawn out of themfelves, and all images were effaced from their fouls, was there an extinc tion of their natural powers, fo that they were dead to f nature ? I anfwer. No : their nature How that grace brings us into harmo- was not extinguifhed, for they were ny with nature. much more truly according to nature in their felf-furrender than they had ever been before ; for what the Lord of nature ordains for a creature, that it is natural for the creature to obferve, and if it departs therefrom, it ads contrary to nature. Thus St. Auguftine fays, " that the rod in the Old Teftament was turned into " a ferpent was not contrary to nature, for it was God's " wiU." Wherefore I fay too, that inafmuch as the difci ples furrendered themfelves utterly to the Divine Will, they were in the higheft fenfe in harmony with nature ; and their nature did not perifh, but was exalted and brought into rightful order. There were no fewer images in their minds than before ; but the images did not dif turb their inward harmony or move them out of God. And when I faid that their minds How the light of , . , ^ . . . namre is loft and ab- Were to be emptied of images, it is forbed in the Divine ^^ ^^ underftood in this fenfe, that it hght. was juft as when you fet a Hghted taper at midday in the funfhine, the taper continues to 388 Sermon for Whit Sunday. burn, and fheds forth no lefs light than it did before ; but its light is loft in the funfhine, becaufe the greater- light prevails over the leffer and abforbs it, fo that it no longer feems to fhine with a feparate luftre, but is diffufed and fhed forth in the greater light. Thus I faid of images and of creatures in the cafe of the difciples, that hence forth they performed all their works by means of the Divine light, and yet were much more according to na ture, and their minds were as full of images as before. Fifthly : the Heavenly Father drew His difciples, thus free and acquiefcing, into fo clofe a How God giveth . , __ ._._. ^ ,^ , Himfelf unto thoft ^nion that He gave Himfelf as truly that have given them- ^^^^ ^ ^5 ^ j^^j -^^ ^^^_ lelves to Him. •' o felves unto Him. Then all the de fire of the good pleafure of God was fulfilled, and alfo aU the defires of the difciples, fo that God's will with them went no farther than tiheir own wills. Not only did the Holy Ghoft give himfelf unto them, but alfo, God the Father and the Son gave themfelves witih the Spirit, as one God without diftindion of perfons. For when love is attributed to the Holy Spirit (as wifdom to the Son), He muft be confidered as a diftind Perfon, as touching his How God giveth attribute of being the bond of mutual not Himfelf in the love, but not as otiierwife diftind. lame degree to all, but according to their ca- Here fome may afk, if the difci- pacity of love. , „ , ^ , pies were all drawn out of them Sermon for Whit Sunday. 389 felves, and gave themfelves up to God, did God draw diem all to Himfelf in the fame degree, and alfo give Himfelf alike to all ? I anfwer : though all the difciples were fet free of felf, yet one turned to God with warmer love and ftronger defire than another ; as the angels who kept their firft eftate all remained in perfed obedience to God, and yet one cleaved to Him with greater love than another. Wherefore God gave Himfelf more to one than to another, though all with like fincerity turned unto Him. Thus was it with the difciples ; they turned unto God with unequal affedions, and hence God beftowed Himfelf and His gifts upon them after an unequal man ner. The beloved difciple John was the moft highly favoured becaufe he looked up to God with the greateft fervour of love. It is true, neverthelefs, that in tiiis mat ter much muft be afcribed to the fovereign will of God, who giveth to every man as He will. Further, we muft note that it was not only on the Day of Pentecoft that God gave Himfelf perfonally to His difciples ; for, as Richard and other dodors fay, fo often as that grace is given to man which makes the creature to find favour in tiie fight of God, fo often is the Perfon of the Holy Ghoft given unto him. Thus the difciples had many times before received the Perfon of the ' Holy Ghoft, but they had never before utterly renounced themfelves, and opened their hearts to His gifts. Hence, in this fenfe, 39© Sermon for Whit Sunday. He was firft given unto them on the Day of Pente coft. Sixthly, the Eternal Father brought them into the higheft fchool of the Holy Spirit, in How the difciples , , . i i n • t i were brought into the the which they ftraightway under- higheft fchool of the ^^^j ^^ myfteries of tiie Holy Scrip. Holy Ghoft, and re- •' -^ ^ ceh ed His fevenfold tures, and the fimple naked truth of gifts . God, which cannot be underftood by any of the mere earthly mafters in the fchools. And in this fchool the greatnefs of God was firft laid open to them; and therewith the gift of childlike fear of God fank down into their hearts, and abode there unto their life's end. Next, all power was given unto them, and they were enabled always to look up to God; and here with they obtained the gift of ftrength. In the third place, they learnt not only to obey the precepts, but alfo to apprehend the counfel of Chrift, and therewith they received the gift of counfel. Fourthly, He taught them to feel the hidden fweetnefs of God, and gave them therewith the gift of charity. Fifthly, He taught them how to obferve and judge the creatures, and to diftinguifh between the light of God and the fuggeftions of nature, and therewith beftowed on them the gift of fcience. Sixthly, He taught them to perceive aright their prefent condition, and all their previous ftates, and gave them therewith the gift of underftanding. Seventhly, He taught Sermon for Whit Sunday. 391 them to be transformed into the likenefs of God, by lov ing union with Him, and gave them therewith the gift of wifdom. Thefe fevenfold gifts does the Holy Ghoft convey to the difciples in His fchool : for as the fchools of natural learning teach the feven fciences, and the fchool of dodrine the feven 'facraments, fo does the Holy Ghoft, in his fchool, teach thofe feven things with His fevenfold gifts. Here a queftion arifes : Did the difciples in this higheft fchool of the Spirit obtain an infight How far the difci- i • i' pies had an infight into all thofe fcicnces which are learnt into natural foience. .^ ^^^ ^^^^^^ ^^ ^^^^^^ ^ j ^^^^^^^ Yes ; it was given them to underftand aU fcience, whether touching the courfes of the heavenly bodies, or what not, in fo far as it might conduce to God's glory, or concerned the falvation of man ; but thofe points of fcience which bear no fruit for the foul, they were not given to know. This in no wife abated their happinefs, or their perfedion ; for, as St. Auguftine fays : " He is a miferable man who " knows aU things, and does not know God ; and he is " happy who knows God, even though he know nothing " elfe. But he who knows God and all elfe befide is not " made more bleffed thereby ; for he is bleffed through " God alone." That God may thus draw us up unto Himfelf, and fliine into our inmoft parts with the fame truth, may He grant us of His grace ! Amen I XX. Sermon for the Fourth Sunday after Trinity. (From the Gofpel for the day.) This fermon telleth us of four meafures that Ihall be rendered unto man, and of two grades of a godly hfe, and how we ought to love our neighbour. Luke vi. 36-42. ^^SW^E read in the Gofpel for this day that our Lord lMi"i Jefus Chrift faid: "Be mmm^m The leflbns to be learned from the Gof- " ye therefore mercifiil, pel for the day. - . " as your lather alto is " merciful. Judge not, and ye fhall not be judged ; con- " demn not, and ye fhall not be condemned ; forgive, and " ye fliall be forgiven ; give, and it fliall be given unto you : " good meafure, preffed down, and fliaken together, and " running over, fliall men give into your bofom. For with " the fame meafure that ye mete withal, it fliall be mea- " fured to you again. And He fpake a parable unto " them. Can the blind lead the blind ? fliall they not both " fall into the ditch ? The difciple is not above his " mafter; but every one that is perfed fliall be as his Fourth Sunday after Trinity. 393 " mafter. And why beholdeft thou the mote that is in " thy brother's eye, but perceiveft not the beam that is in " thine own eye ? Either how canft thou fay to thy " brother. Brother, let me pull out the mote that is in " thine eye, when thou beholdeft not the beam that is in " thine own eye ? Thou hypocrite, caft out firft the beam " out of thine own eye, and then flialt thou fee clearly to " pull out the mote that is in thy brother's eye." I will fay a few words on the precept : " Be ye merciful, , , " even as your Father in heaven is How mercy teacheth as to entreat our neigh- "merciful." This noble virtue is, now-a-days, quite a ftranger to the hearts of many, infomuch that it is grievous to behold. For each is called to exercife this mercy towards his neighbour, whereinfoever the latter may have need of it ; not only as regards the giving of earthly goods, but alfo the bearing with his neighbour's faults in all gentlenefs and mercy. But no ! each one falls upon his neighbour and judges him; and as foon as any mifliap befals a man, whether deferved or not, ftraightway, without waiting to take thought, another comes along and lends a helping hand to make matters worfe, to put a bad face on them, and fuggefts the moft evil interpretation that he can imagine ; nay, it is tiianks to God if he do not add a great piece from the ftores of his own wicked imagination. This evil tongue (from which arife untold forrows and 394 Fourth Sunday after Trinity. vexations) is at work at once before a man has time to refled and pafs a deliberate judgment. Poor creature ! as thou loveft thy eternal falvation, wait, at all events, till thou canft calmly refled, and know what thou thinkeft and fayeft. For it is a bafe and fcandalous thing for a man thus thoughtleffly and rafhly to pafs fentence, which may not even be deferved, upon his neighbours, with his fharp, ruthlefs words, whereby he, fpiritually fpeaking, flays his neighbour in the hearts of others. And who has com manded thee to pafs judgment? Wherefore Chrift tells us that whofoever judges another fliall be judged by God: " For with what judgment ye judge, ye fhall be judged; " and with the fame meafure that ye mete, fhall it be " meafured to you again." Of this matter no more for the ' prefent ; but let us confider thofe words of Chrift : " For " with the fame meafure that ye mete, it fliall be meafured " to you again." We read in the Gofpel of four forts of meafures that -,, , ^ fhall be given to a man, — a good Of the four mea- ° ' " fures that may be given meafure, one fhaken together, one to men. preffed down, and one running over. The dodors of divinity teach us that a good meafure is for a man while in this prefent time, through the help and grace of God, to be in a ftate of falvation and holinefs, whereby he may enter into eternal life hereafter. The fecond fort of meafure is for the body of a juftified man Fourth Sunday after Trinity. 395 to be glorified with his foul at the day of judgment : this is the meafure which is added to. The meafure preffed down is, that a man fhould have his portion with all the faints and angels of God in eternal life. The meafure 'unning over is, that a man fliould have a perfed fruition of God diredly without means. Now, dear children, we will give you yet another expo fition of thefe words, and afk : First, what is the meafure whereby we fhaU be meafured? Secondly, who is He that meafures ? The meafure where- be"m:af:?r:rby":he by we fliaU be meafured is the faculty power of love in our ^f j^^^g Jjj ^J^g foul — the human Will. fouls. This is, property fpeaking, the mea fure whereby all human words and works and life are meafured, for tihis is neither added to nor taken from. By fo large a meafure as tiiou haft meted withal fliall be meted unto thee again with thine own meafure in eter nity. And the meter is thine own enlightened reafon and confcience. Now let us obferve firft Of the good mea- concerning the good meafure, that it fure of thofe who lead >=> ° a godly and well-or- jg^ when a man freely and heartily turns to God in His wiU, and lives circumfpedly according to the commands of God and the holy Church ; and moreover lives orderly in the commu nion of tiie holy facraments, in the true Chriftian faith, being truly forry for his paft fins, and having a tiiorough 396 Fourth Sunday after Trinity and fteadfaft purpofe to abftain from them henceforward, and to live in penitence and the fear of God, loving God and his neighbour. Alas ! there be few now-a-days who thus do, or even defire to live in the fear of God. Chil dren, one who. thus lives is faid to and does lead a jift Chriftian life, and is a true Chriftian man; and this is a good meafure which, without doubt, hath a part in eternal life. Thefe are rules which all really Chriftian men muft needs obferve. There are fome whom God has invited and called to this " good meafure," and of whom He de mands no more than this. And it may very poffibly be appointed and come to pafs that fuch men may walk fo unfpotted and godly in this way, that after death they may enter into eternal life without any purgatory. Yet neverthelefs this is the loweft path by which to approach to our merciful God. After thefe, there is a fecond fort of men whom God has called to tread a much higher Of the heaped-up i 1 i , u meafure of thofe to P^th, that they may reach a much whom God allots higher goal, notwitiiftanding tiiat fome many inward exercues. o o ' o of thefe fliould have to pafs through purgatory, inafmuch as they have not lived perfedly and faultleffly according to the vocation to which God had called them. Thefe have to fuffer fuch long and fliarp anguifli in the fire of purification as no human heart can fathom or exprefs. But when they have reached the Fourth Sunday after Trinity. 397 term of their purification, they rife a thoufand degrees higher than the former clafs of men. With them it ftands thus : that having fet out in a fpiritual, bleffed, and holy life, they were overtaken by death ere they had reached their goal. Now when thefe men are in the be ginning of their fpiritual life, they pradife many excellent outward exercifes of piety — fuch as prayer, weeping, faft ing, and the like ; but they receive from God a heaped- up meafure, in that they have alfo inward exercifes, fet ting themfelves with all diligence to feek God in the inmoft ground of their fouls, for therein is feated the kingdom of God. Their life is very far different from that of the firft clafs I have defcribed. Now, children, would a man attain to fuch a point that tr .1. . .. J the outward things fliould not hinder How that outward o obfervances are good, the inward workings of the foul, that but the inward work far better and more would be indeed above all a bleffed thing; for two things are better than one. But if thou find that the outward work hinders the inward working of the foul, then boldly let it go, and turn thou with all thy might to that which is inward, for God efteemeth it far before that which is outward. Now we priefts do on this wife : for during the faft days in Lent we have many fervices, but at Eafter and Whitfuntide we ftiorten our fervices and fay fewer prayers, for the greatnefs ofthe feftival. So Hkewife do thou when thou art bidden 398 Sermon for the to this high feftival of inward converfe ; and fear not to lay afide outward exercifes, if elfe they would be a fnare and hindrance to thee, except in fo far as thou art bound to perform them for the fake of order. For I tell thee of a truth, that the pure inward work is a divine and bleffed life, in which we fliall be led into all truth, if we can but keep ourfelves pure and feparate, and undifturbed by out ward anxieties. So in thy hours of meditation, when thou turneft thy thoughts within, fet before thy mind whatever thou fhalt find moft helpful to thee, whether it be the noble and unfpotted life of our Lord Jefus Chrift, or His manifold fliarp and bitter fufferings, or His many painful wounds and His precious blood-fhedding, or the etemal and effential Godhead, or the Holy Trinity, or the Eternal Wifdom, or the Divine Power, or the gentle and com- paffionate kindnefs of God, or the countlefs benefits that He has beftowed on thee and all men, and will beftow evermore on thee and all thofe who deferve them and are found in God's grace at their end. Therefore, dear children, among aU thefe excellent Of the benefits of things, whichever moft ftirs you up to pious meditation. ^^^ devoutnefs and fervent defire, take, and humbly fink down into the abyfs of God, with great thankfulnefs, and wait for God with this preparation. For, by fuch exercifes, with love, the foul becomes very quick to feel God's touch, far more fo than by any out Fourth Sunday after Trinity. 399 ward pradices of devotion. For the inward work is always better than the outward ; and from it the outward works of virtue draw all their power and efficacy. It is as if thou hadft a noble excellent wine, of fuch virtue that a drop of it poured into a cafk of water would be enough to make aft the water tafte like wine and turned it into good wine. This would be a great miracle ; and fo it is with the noble, excellent, inward work of the foul compared to the outward. Now, we find fome men whofe love is like a very broad veffel ; that is, they can medi- Of thofe who have , , t j j great fervour but little tate a great deal upon our Lord, and depth, from lack of .^^j^ ^^^^^ ^^f^^^ ^^d fervOur, but love to man. ^ they are hardly two inches deep. That is to fay, they lack humility and a common godlike love toward all mankind. For, as St. Auguftine fays, " Salvation does not depend on the length of time that a " perfon has been converted to God, nor on the number " of good deeds performed, but folely on the greatnefs of " his love." This we fee in the example of the hufband- men who, with great labour, tiU the wheatfields and precious vineyards, yet partake not themfelves of thefe beft fruits of the earth, but have only rye to eat and water to drink. So it is witih many perfons, in a fpiritual fenfe, with regard to the outward good works which they do, that other more noble-minded and devout perfons reap tile fruit and benefit thereof 400 Sermon for the Next comes the meafure that is fliaken together ; and this fignifies an overflowing love Of the meafure that ^.y^^^^ jjj.^^S ^^ ^^ingS into itfelf; IS Ihaken together. ° that is to fay, all good deeds and aU forrows, nay every good which is brought to pafs in the world, whether by good or wicked men, does this over flowing love draw into its own veffel. And he who poffeffes this love has a much larger ownerfliip and dehght in the good adions of another, who does thofe adions but lacks this love, than the doer himfelf Therefore, if all the pious ads, the maffes, vigils, and pfalters that are read and fung, the many great facrifices that are made for God's fake, — of all thefe good things is more meted and allotted to fuch loving men than to thofe who may have done the good works, but do not ftand in this overflowing love. For I tell thee that God will not accept the works of which He is not the beginning and the end ; but as St. Paul tells us, " Though I beftow I Cor. xiii. 3. " all my goods to feed the poor, and " though I give my body to be burned, and have not " charity, it profiteth me nothing." Hence this virtue of godly charity is the greateft of all virtues ; for by love k draws unto itfelf all good deeds, cuftoms, and fervices, in heaven or on earth, which are the an goTd'tSs!""^"""' f-it^ °f g---- •¦ -hat evU a man has remains his own, but what Fourth Sunday after Trinity. 401 good he has is the property of love. Even as when we pour corn into a veffel, all the grains do hurry forward and prefs together as though they defired to become one, fo doth love fwallow up all the goodnefs of angels and faints in heaven, all fuffering and pain, and all the good nefs that is found in any creature in heaven and on earth, whereof more than can be told is wafted and thrown away, as far as we are concerned, but love doth gather it all up into itfelf, and. will not fuffer it to be loft. The godly dodors of Holy Scripture tell us that in heaven the eled do ever bear fuch great love one to another that, if one foul were to perceive and fee that another foul had a clearer vifion and greater fruition of the Deity than her felf, fhe would rejoice with her fifter as though fhe herfelf had won and enjoyed this bleffednefs. Therefore, the more while here on earth we approach and are made like unto this overflowing love, the more fliall we enjoy of its bleffednefs hereafter in eternal life ; for he who moft entirely rejoices in good works here on earth in a fpirit of love, he alone fliaU poffefs and enjoy love in eternal life hereafter. But this fame fpirit of love is what the Evil One always hates in a man : wherefore he is ever trying to bring fuch as. have it into a falfe felf- feeSTotftlt?hi: righteoufnefs, and into difpleafure love by foducing us ^ith their neighbours' ways and into a judging fpirit. works, fo that tiie man conceits 402 Sermon for the within himfelf that his neighbour's works are not fo good as they ought to be, and fo in a moment he falleth away from this love, and begins to judge his neighbour and pafs fentence on him. And then from the depth of this judging fpirit darts forth a flinging venomous tongue, that wounds and poifons the foul unto eternal death. This fame arrow of judgment will fmite and flay all the excellent and virtuous, works that thou hadft ftored up unto thyfelf through an overflowing love, and thus thou wilt find thyfelf defpoiled and laid wafte, and thy peace deftroyed within thee, and then thou wilt be in a miferable and dangerous condition. Wherefore, in godly faithful nefs, I counfel thee ever to keep thy tongue with all diligence, if thou wouldft be, and call thyfelf, a friend of God. Ofttimes too does the Evil One come and feduce thee into anger with a pious and good man. If thou uttereft this by paffing a judgment on him, in thus cutting thyfelf off from the feUowfliip of his love, thou art alfo cut off from participation in the benefits of the gifts with which God has endowed him, and the works of his virtue. Of this brotherly fellowfliip the Pfalmift fays : " It is like the " precious ointment upon the head, Ps. cxxxm. 3. " that ran down upon the beard, even " Aaron's beard, that went down to the Ikirts of his gar- " ments." Now the beard has many hairs, and the pre- Fourth Sunday after Trinity. 403 cious ointment flows into them all ; but if one hair be cut off, it receives none of this precious ointment. In like manner, fo long as thou haft a whole f?*^'l!'i'T™™'°" and undivided fove towards aU men, of brotherly love. a fhare of the virtues and divine in fluences beftowed upon all flows out unto thee through this love. But I tell thee, if thou doft fever any one from this fpirit of univerfal love, thou wilt not receive the precious benefits of the outflowings of love. Wherefore give diligent and earneft heed to yourfelves in this matter of divine love, and maintain a hearty goodwill towards all men, and bear no grudge againft any, and defpoil not the facred temple of God, which has been fandified by our higheft pontiff, Chrift; and beware that ye do not call down upon your heads God's everlafting Interdid. But, alas ! now-a-days, nature is fo perverted in many, both clergy and laymen, as touching brotherly faithfulnefs and love, that if they fee their neighbour fall, they laugh at him, or ftand by and let it go on, and care nought for it. Take heed to your failings, and look how it ftands witii your inward love to God and your neighbour, and keep ever alive within you the fear of God ; for I tell you that that which you fail to obtain here through your own negled, you wiU lofe for ever. After this life nothing wiU be added to you or taken from you, but ye fliall receive according to tihat ye have deferved, whether it be 404 Sermon for the good or whether it be evil. I tell you that then, though our Lady and all the faints fhould intercede for a man with tears of blood, it would not help him. Therefore give heed to yourfelves ; for now God is alway at hand, waiting for us, and ready to give us much more than we are ready to defire of Him. St. Paul fays. Love never faileth, it doeth all things, and endureth all things. There fore feeing that the love of God is never ftanding idle, fo be ye conftantly abounding in good works, enduring aU that befals you cheerfully, for God's fake. And then fliall ye be made partakers of the overflowing meafure, which is fo full, fo rich, fo generous, that it runneth over on all fides. God touches this brimming veffel wifh His finger, and Of the meafure that it Overflows, and pours itfelf back runneth over, and the _ • ¦ . •. -r-v • r r love that floweth back ^g^^" '^'o Its Divinc fource, from unto its fource in God. whence it has proceeded. It flows back into its fource without channel or means, and lofes itfelf altogether ; will, knowledge, love, perception, are aU fwallowed up and loft in God, and become one with Him. Now God loveth Himfelf in thefe men, and worketh in them all their works. The gufh and outflowing of this love cannot be contained within the man's own foul, but he hath a yearning defire, and faith : " Oh ! my beloved " Lord Jefus Chrift, I befeech Thee to have compaffion " upon poor finners, and to forgive them their fins Fourth Sunday after Trinity. 405 " mifdoings ; and efpeciaUy upon thofe who, after hav- " ing done good works, have loft the fame again by " reafon of fin ; and grant them, dear Lord, the crumbs " that fall from the rich table of Thy grace ; and of Thy " goodnefs turn them from their fins through the pains of " purification, and impart unto them the overflowings of " Thy grace, that through Thy merits they may be kept " unto the end." Thus do thefe Eled men carry up all things, themfelves and all creatures, to their true fource in God, and take all things that are done in the holy Chriftian Church, and offer them up, from a joyful, humble, fub miffive heart, to their eternal, heavenly Father, for them felves and for all men, bad and good; for their love excludes none here in this time of grace, and they are alway in unity with all men. No love or bleffednefs that the faints or angels poffefs is loft to them, but all is poured into their meafure. Verily, had we none of thefe godlike men among us at this prefent time, we were doubtlefs in evil cafe. There fore let us all befeech the God of all mercy, that we may fulfil and receive again this meafure that runneth over. Amen. XXL Sermon for the Tenth Sunday after Trinity. (From the Epiftle for the day.) Admonifliing each man to mark what is the office to which he is called of God, and teaching us to praftife works of love and virtue, and to refrain from felf-will. 1 Cor. xii. 6. — " There are diverfities of operations, but it is the fame " God which worketh all in all." T. PAUL tells us in this Epiftle that there ^r t ¦ are different kinds of Or the works wrought by the Spirit wotks, but that they are all wrought by the fame Spirit to the profit and well-being of man. For they all proceed from the fame God who works all in all. " But " the manifeftation of the Spirit is given to every man to " profit withal. For to one is given by the Spirit the " word of wifdom, to another faith ;" and fo Paul goes on enumerating many gifts ; but repeats that " all thefe " worketh that one and the felf-fame Spirit, dividing to Tenth Sunday after Trinity. 407 " every man feverally as He will." And he fays many things for the confirmation of our faith. In old times the Holy Ghoft has wrought very great and wondrous deeds through his fer- Of the works ^ n- t r • t wrought by the Holy vants for a teftimony to the faitii, Sd°timl" *^ '^^'^ °^ having given us great figns by the raifing up fuch a fucceffion of prophets, and by the blood of His faints, and thus fuffer ing unto death. For this kind of teftimonies there is no longer any need. Yet, know that of true, living, adive faith, there is, alas, as little in fome Chriftian men as in Heathens or Jews ! Now let us meditate on thefe words of St. Paul : " There are diverfities of operations, var?ouf'mfmbe« 'of " ^ut it is tiie fame God which work- Chrift's body, the « gth all in all." Children, if you Church. ^ look around you, you fee that you have bodies, and that thefe bodies have many members and many fenfes, and that each member, fuch as the eye, the mouth, the nofe, the hands, the feet, has its own fpe cial office and work. No one of thefe takes upon itfelf to be another, nor to do anything but what God has ordained unto it. In like manner, we are all one body, and members one of another, and Chrift is the head of the body. In this body there is a great diverfity of members ; the one is an eye, the other an ear, the third a hand or a 4o8 Sermon for the foot or a mouth. The eyes of the body of the holy Chriftian Church are her teachers. This office is none of yours; but let us common Chriftians look tO fee what is our office, to the which our Lord has called and bidden us, and what is the gift of which our Lord has made us the veffels. For every art or work, however unimportant it may feem, is a gift of God, and all thefe gifts are be ftowed by the Holy Spirit for the profit and welfare of man. Let us begin with the loweft. One can fpin, another can make fhoes, and fome have great Our aptnefs for any r r art of life is the gift of aptnefs for all forts of outward arts, the Spirit of God, and /•„ ..u .. .^u ^ j i not to be defpifed, but ^^ *^^ *ey can earn a great deal, ufed with all diligence while Others are altogether without for His fake. . . - this quicknefs. Thefe are all gifb proceeding from the Spirit of God. If I were not a prieft, but were living as a layman, I fliould take it as a great favour that I knew how to make fhoes, and fhould try to. make them better than any one elfe, and would gladly earn my bread by the labour of my hands. Chil dren, the foot or the hand muft not defire to be the eye. Each muft fulfil the office for which God has fitted him, however weighty it may be, and what another could not eafily do. Alfo our fifters fliall each have her own office. Some have fweet voices ; let them fing in the Churches, for this alfo comes from the Spirit of God. St. Auguftine Tenth Sunday after Trinity. 409 fays : " God is a homogeneous, divine, fimple fubftance, " and yet the Author of all variety, and is all in all, one " in all, and all in one." There is no work fo fmall, no art fo mean, but it all comes from God and is a fpecial gift of His. Thus, let each do that which another cannot do fo well, and for love, returning gift for gift. Know ye, whoever does not exercife his gift, nor impart it, nor make ufe of it for the profit of his neighbour, lays up a heavy reckoning againft the laft day. For, as Chrift tells us, a man muft give account of his ftewardfhip, or his office. Each fhall and muft reftore that which he has received of God, and is anfwerable in proportion to his advantages over others, and the meafure of the ability which God has given him. Whence comes it then, that we have fo many com- Wherefore it is that plaints, each faying that his occupa- we find our work a ^j^^ j^^ hindrance to him, while hindrance in the di vine life. notwithftanding his work is of God, who hindereth no mkn? Whence comes this inward reproof and fenfe of guilt which tornient and difquiet you *? Dear children, know that it is not your work which gives you this difquiet. No : it is your want of order in fulfil- Hng your work. If you performed your work in the right method, witii a fole aim to God, and not to yourfelves, your own likes and diflikes, and neither feared nor loved aught but God, nor fought your own gain or pleafure, but 4IO Sermon for the only God's glory, in your work, it would be impoffible that it fhould grieve your confcience. It is a fhame for a fpiritual man, if he have not done his work properly, but fo imperfedly that he has to be rebuked for it. For this is a fure fign that his works are not done in God, with a view to His glory and the good of his neighbour. You may know and be known by this, whether your works are direded to God alone, and whether you are in peace or not. Our Lord did not rebuke Martha on account of her works, for they were holy and good ; He reproved her on „ ^^ account of her anxiety. A man How we muft fift "^ our motives in our ought to bufy himfelf in good and work ufeful occupations of whatever kind they may be, cafting his care upon God, and labour filently and watchfully, keeping a rein upon himfelf, and proving himfelf, fo as to fift what it is that urges and impels him in his work. Further, he muft look within, and mark whether the Holy Spirit will have him to be adive or quiet; that he may obey His godly leadings in each inftance, and do and have undone by the influence of the Holy Spirit; now refting, now working, but ever fulfilling his due talk in peace. And wherever you fee the aged, the fick, the helplefs, you fliould run to their affiftance, and ftrive with each other in fulfilling works of love — each helping the other to bear his burden. If thou doft not fo, be fure that God Tenth Sunday after Trinity. 411 wUl take thy work from thee, and give it to another who win do it aright, and will leave thee empty and bare at once of gifts and of merit. If, when at thy work, thou feel thy fpirit ftirred within thee, receive it with folemn joy, and tiU^hTveLrSld' Aus leam to do thy work in God, inftead of ftraightway fleeing from thy talk. Thus fliould ye learn to exercife yourfelves in virtue; for ye rnuft be exercifed if ye are to come to God. Do not exped that God will pour virtue into you without your own effort. You fhould never truft in virtue that has not yet been put into pradice, nor believe that the Father, Son, and Holy Ghoft have entered into a man, unlefs the man hath given evidence thereof in his own labours, outward or inward. Once as a good man was ftanding, threfhing his corn, he fell into a trance ; and if an angel had not turned afide the flail, he would have ftruck himfelf with it. Now ye are all craving to be thus fet free from your work, and this comes, for the moft part, from floth; each would fain be an eye, and give himfelf to contemplation rather than to work. I know a man who has the clofeft walk with God of any I ever faw, and who has been Of a certain holy ^jj j^j^ jjf^ ^ hufbandman,— for more man. than forty years, and is fo ftill. This man once alked the Lord in prayer if he fliould give up 412 Sermon for the his occupation and go into the Church; and it was anfwered him. No; he fliould labour, earning his bread by the fweat of his brow, to the glory of Chrift's precious blood, fhed for him. But let each choofe fome fuitable time in the courfe of every four-and-twenty hours, in which he can give his whole mind to earneft meditation, each after his own fafhion. Thofe nobler men who are able to turn to God fimply without the aid of images or forms, fhall do fo after their fafliion, and others after theirs. Let each fet apart a good hour for fuch exercifes, each taking his own method ; for we cannot all be eyes ; but to our life's end it is moft needful for us to keep up fome ftrenuous exercifes of piety, of whatever kind God may appoint, with loving and peaceful hearts, and in obedience to His will. He who ferves God after God's will fliall be rewarded according to his own will ; but he who prays to God according to his own will fhall not be anf^red in accordance with his own will, but after God's will. Children, it is of this coming out from our own felf- will, that the true, folid peace is be- Enduring peace muft be the fruit of gotten and fprings forth, and it is ong- rie vir e. ^^^ ^^^.^ ^^ long-tried virtue. Unlefs thy peace come from this, be fure that it is falfe; for inwardly and outwardly thou muft be exercifed. But the peace that comes from within none can take away. Now fome foolifli men, who are puffed up in their own conceit. Tenth Sunday after Trinity. 413 come and fay that ye ought to do this and that, and want to dired every man's mind according to their own opinion and their own notions and pradices. And many of them have lived for forty years in the profeffion of religion, and to this day do not know what is their own real ftate. They are much bolder than I. I hold the office of an inftrudor; and when people come and confult me, I inquire how it ftands with them, and how they came into this ftate. Yet I dare not pafs a judgment on them ; but I lay their cafe before the Lord, and if He does not give me what I fliall fpeak, I fay to them : Dear children, feek help yourfelves from God, and He will give it you. But you want to judge and fet an eftimate on every man, trying him by the ftandard of your own ufages and con ceits. Thus it is that the worms get in and devour the good faplings that were fhooting up in God's garden. — Then they fay, " We have no fuch cuftom ; this is an " innovation, and comes from the new notions," and never refled that the hidden ways of God are unknown to them. Alas ! what ftrange things do we fee among thofe who fancy themfelves in an excellent way ! Now St. Paul fays, that the Holy Ghoft, by His opera tions, teaches us the difcerning of How the Holy Ghoft teacheth the fpirits. Children, who do you fup- iscerning o pints. ^^^^ ^^^ ^j^^ ^^^ ^^ whom God gives this power of difcerning the fpirits ? Know ye, that the 414 Tenth Sunday after Trinity. men who have this gift have been thoroughly exercifed in all ways : by their own flefh and blood, and have gone through the moft cruel and perplexing temptations : and the devil has been in them, and tiiey in him, and they have been tried and tefted to the very marrow; thefe are the men who can difcern the fpirits. When they are minded to do this, they confider a man, and ftraightway they difcern his fpirit, whether it be of God or no, and what are the neareft roads of accefs for him, and what is holding him back from God. Oh ! how greatly to our hurt do we fall fliort of the nobleft, higheft truth through fuch trifling, mean things ; for the fake of which we muft fuffer lofs for ever and ever, fo long as God is etemal. For what we here mifs through our ovim negled will never be made up to us hereafter. But may God help all of us truly to fulfil the offices and works which His Spirit has committed to us and taught us to perform, each doing as he is inwardly monifhed by the Holy Ghoft! Amen. XXIL Sermon for the Twelfth Sunday after Trinity. (From the Epiftle for the day.) Teaching us that we ought to receive God, in all His gifts, and in all His burdens, with true long-fuffering. 2 Cor. iii. 6. — " The letter killeth, but the fpirit giveth life.' HERE are two forts of men among God's How the old law ^"^"ds ; thofe of the Old was a preparation for Teftament, and thofe of the new. the New. All the men who fliould be faved before the birth of Chrift had to obferve the old difpenfation with all its rites, until the new difpenfation came with its laws and its rites. The old law ferved as a way unto the new, and was a perfed fore- fliadowing of it. And this new law we have under our very eyes, but it was the old law that prepared us to receive it. And every thing that is meant to receive fomewhat muft firft be made able to receive. The old law Of the burdens of had many intolerable burdens, and the old law. terrible judgments for offenders, and 4i6 Sermon for the a far fterner manifeftation of the juftice of God, with a dark, diftant hope of redemption. For five thoufand years the gates were altogether clofed againft thofe who lived under the Old Covenant ; fo that, with all their pain and weary ceremonies, they could not enter into the Kingdom of God, but had to wait long in gloom and forrow for the coming of the new law, which is peace and joy in the Holy Ghoft. Now -he who would come to the new law with full affurance of faith muft firft be made at one with the old. Man muft learn to fuffer, and to bear heavy burdens, and to bow down humbly beneath the mighty hand of God ; he muft be afflided outwardly and inwardly, from where- foever his pain cometh, and whether it be deferved or not. Dear children, behold ! this thing muft be brought to „ ^ „ pafs after a very different fefhion How we muft firft '¦ ¦' be fubjeft to the old from what you like to dream ; but hold faft the dodrine of God, and let him who hath received it be wife, and hold it faft as long as he hath it. But fubmit and endure God's dealings in all that befalls you, through whomfoever it may come. If you would come to the new law, you muft firft fuffer under the old one, and be fubjed to it in the humility of your hearts. So, whatever confolation may be granted you, fpiritual or earthly, it will not follow you all your courfe through. And you muft travel this road and no other ; turn it which way you wiU, and it muft be even fo. Twelfth Sunday after Trinity. 417 Therefore, dear children, learn to do without the Holy Sacraments, fpiritual light, the fenfe of God's prefence, and aU human help. Dearly beloved, bow down your old man under the yoke of the old law, with all meeknefs and refignation, and receive all God's gifts with all their bur dens. Of a truth. His burdens are Hght and his yoke is eafy. Children, I commend you from the bottom of my heart into the captivity of the Crofs of our Lord Jefus Chrift ; that it may be in you, over you, behind you, and before you, lying heavy on you, and yet received by you with free and full acquiefcence to the will of God, what ever it may pleafe Him to do with you. May God, of His mercy, give you to bear with a good courage all the forrow tihat is before you, and alfo, when ye are defpifed of aU men, and flandered, and counted for nought. Thus let your old man be subjed unto the old law, until Chrift be born in you of a truth, where peace and joy in the truth do fpring up. The patriarchs, greatly as they longed to fee the advent of our Lord, yet had to wait five thoufand years. But, verily, if you would thus humbly yield your felves up, you need never wait a year. If you had had a quartan ague one year or two, you muft bear it till you became well again; fo you muft bear the yoke of the old law. The fecond burden of the old law was its awful judg ments, and ftem difplay of God's juftice. This is mani- 27 41 8 Sermon for the Of the ftem judg- ^^^^^ ^^ ^^"^Y ways— by afflidions ments of the old law and by the gnawings of confcience. which muft be felt in J b b our confcience and Now fome try to work themfelves ^' out of this by confeffion. But if you were to confefs your fins a thoufand times, it would avail you nothing, fave indeed the confeffing of mortal fin, accompanied by fatisfadion for it. The reft leave humbly to God, and bear what he appoints unto you, till He of His mercy fend you relief But confefs all to Him inwardly in your foul, to the very laft tittle, with humble fubmiffion to His will, and acquiefcing in His unknown judgments, without looking to yourfelf or to other men for help. Meanwhile, there are fome who endeavour to get rid of the burden of fin by afking counfel and hearing preachers, hoping to hear fomewhat that may afford them a ftay, and thus they may find deliverance. Behold, dear friend, if thou fpend all thy years in running from church to church, thou muft look for and receive help from within, or thou wilt never come to any good ; however thou mayeft feek and inquire, thou muft alfo be willing to be tormented without fuccour from the outward help of any creature. I tell you, children, that the very holieft man I ever faw in outward condud and inward life, had never heard more than five fermons in all his days. When he faw and perceived how fhe matter ftood, he thought that was enough, and fet to work to die to that to which Twelfth Sunday after Trinity. 419 he ought to die, and live to that to which he ought to live. Let the common people run about and hear all they can, that they may not fall into defpair or unbeHef; but know that all who would be God's, inwardly and out wardly, tum to themfelves, and retire within. And know We muft not look that if ever you defire to be fpiritual W cld' and^'leave ^""^ ^^^^^'^ "!«"' 7°" ^"^^ ^eafe from all to Him. running outwards for help, and turn within ; for you will never get what you want by a multi tude of words, hear as many as you will ; but only by loving and ferving God from the bottom of your heart, and your neighbour as yourfelf, and leaving all things to ftand on their own foundation. But pant after God with all your heart, as the holy patriarchs did, and covet that which you truly ought to covet, and leave all things, whether concerning yourfelf or any other creatures, to God's moft bleffed will. The third charaderiftic of the old law was that it had a How the men under ^ark hope of a diftant redemption ; the old law knew not fo^ the gates were clofed, and tiiere when the redemption " ftiould come, ahd fo was no prophet who could tell muft we too commit . . , ourfelves unto God, when the redemption might come to and wait His time to '^^ g^ Hkewife muft we fimply receive peace and joy -^ '¦ ¦' in the Holy Ghoft. commit ourfelves to God with perfed truft in His etemal purpofe ; for when He pleafes that it fliall be accomplifhed to our waiting fouls, then, no doubt, 42 o Sermon for the He will come to us, and be born in us. But when ? Leave that to Him : to fome He comes in their youth ; to others in old age ; to fome in death : this leave to His Divine will, and do not take upon thyfelf to adopt any fingular exercifes, but keep the Commandments, and believe the articles ofthe Chriftian faith. Leam the Creed and the Commandments, and have patience, and give up thyfelf in all things according to the will of God, and affuredly Chrift, the new law, will be born in thee with peace and joy in the Holy Ghoft, and thou wilt have a life like that ofthe angels, in freedom from the bonds of matter and in intelligence. This feems to thee a great thing! No; the truth is much greater. "The Spirit " giveth life ; " — a fpark of His own Divine Life, which is higher than all angelic life, and paffes man's comprehen fion, lying beyond the fphere of fenfe and of reafon. But this muft come to pafs in the way that I have told you, and no other. A man may, indeed, attain fo fer as to catch a glimpfe of this glorious truth, and play upon the furface of it with his fenfe and reafon ; but to become and be fuch an one, to this none can attain but by this path of true felf-furrender ; but through that affuredly it will be found. * In the Old Teftament the Levites bare the ark, but here the holy ark bears us. Thus, whofo will not yield to God in His juftice and His judgments, without doubt Twelfth Sunday after Trinity. 421 he fhall frill under God's eternal juftice and etemal con demnation ; it cannot be otherwife. Turn it as tiiou wilt, thou muft give thyfelf to fuffer what is appointed thee. But if we did that, God would bear us up at all times in aU our forrows and troubles, and God would lay His fhoulder under our burdens, and help us to bear them. For if with a cheerful courage we fubmitted ourfelves to God, no fuffering would be unbearable. For it is becaufe now we are without God, and ftanding in our own weak nefs, that we are neither able to endure nor yet to ad. God help us aU worthily to bear His yoke ! Amen. XXIIL Second Sermon for the Twelfth Sunday after Trinity. (From the Gofpel for the day.) T'his fermon tells us how a man who truly loves God, whofe ears have been opened to receive the feven-fold gifts of the Holy Spirit, is neither lifted up in joy nor caft down in forrow. Mark vii. 37. — "He hath done all things well; He maketh both the " deaf to hear and the dumb to fpeak." E read in the Gofpel for this day, that as our bleffed Lord was going Of the man who was born deaf and from One place to an other, they brought unto Him a man who was born deaf and dumb ; as muft needs be ; for he who is born deaf muft alfo be dumb ; for fince he has never heard, he does not know what fpeech is. The Lord put His fingers into the ears of this deaf man, and touched his tongue with His fpittle, and faid, "Be " opened." And when the people faw what was done, Twelfth Sunday after Trinity. 423 they came together and wondered at the miracle ; faying : " He hath done all things well ; He maketh both the " deaf to hear and the dumb to fpeak." Children, it behoves us greatly to mark what it is that makes men deaf, like the man in the How we have be come deaf through Gofpel. From the time that the firft liftening to the , , . , . ^ Tempter, fo that we "1^" opened his ears to the voice of nafword'^' '^' ^'^'' ^^ Enemy, he became deaf thereby, and all we after him, fo that we can not hear or underftand the fweet voice of the Eternal Word. Yet we know that the Eternal Word is ftill fo unutterably nigh to us inwardly, in the very principle of our being, that not even man himfelf, his own nature, his own thoughts, nor aught that can be named, or faid, or underftood, is fo nigh or planted fo deep within him, as the Eternal Word is in man. And it is ever fpeaking in man; but he hears it not by reafon of the fore deafnefs tiiat has come upon him. Whofe fault is this ? I fay that fomething has covered man's ears, and ftopped them up that he may not hear this Word ; and his fenfe is fo benumbed that he has become dumb, not knowing his own felf If he defired to fpeak of what is within him, he could not; for he does not know how it ftands with him, nor difcern his own ways and works. The caufe whereof is that the Enemy has whifpered in his ear, and he has liftened to the voice, and hence has he grown deaf 424 Second Sermon for the and dumb. What is this moft hurt- By what ways the ^^^ whifpering of tiie Enemy ? It is Jinemy ipeaks to us. r o j every diforderly image or fuggeftion that ftarts up in thy mind, whether belonging to thy creature likings and wifhes, or the world and the things thereof; whether it be thy wealth, reputation, friends or relations, or thy own flefli, or whatever it be that lays hold of thy fancy, making thee to like or do fomewhat. Through all thefe he has his accefs to thy foul ; for he is ever at hand; and as he marks to what a man is inclined inwardly or outwardly, what he likes and diflikes, ftraight way he lays hold of it and attacks him with that weapon, and fuggefts what agrees with that man's inclination, and pours into the ears of his foul all manner of imaginations concerning that thing, that the man may not be able to hear the Eternal Word. If the man inftantly turned his ears and mind away from the enemy, the affault would be eafily repulfed, but as foon as he opens his ears fo far as to dwell upon and dally with temptation, he is already well nigh conquered, and the ftrife is at the hardeft. But as foon as thou haft bravely turned thy ear away, thou haft weU nigh prevailed; for this enables thee to hear the inward voice of the Word, and takes away thy deafoefs. Not only worldly but alfo religious men are liable to this deafnefs, if they make the creature their idol and aim, and their hearts are poffeffed therewith. The Devil has Twelfth Sunday after Trinity. 425 marked this, and fuggefts to them the imaginations to ^ , . , which he finds them inclined. With Of thofe whom habit has made deaf fome their ears are ftopped up with to the Eternal Word. . . , . , , , ., their own inventions, and the daily routine of habit with which they go through certain out ward ads, learnt by means of their fenfes from the creatures. All this dulls a man's hearing fo that he can not apprehend the Etemal Word fpeaking within him, nor in any wife underftand what it fays. It is true, how ever, that we ought to maintain the habit and pradice of works of piety, though without a fpirit of felf-exaltation on account of them, fuch as prayer, or meditation, or the Hke, in order that our fluggifli nature may be aroufed into vigour, our minds raifed on high, and our hearts allured and kindled. But there muft be no claiming to ourfelves thereof, but rather our ears muft be left open to liften to the whifpers of the Eternal Word. Let us not be as fome obftinate men who never go forward, but to the day of their death remain ftanding on their outward cuftoms, feeking for nothing further, and when God would fay aught unto them, there is always fomething that gets into their ears, fo that His Word cannot be heard. Children, at the laft day, when aU things come to be laid bare and open, it wiU be an everlafting forrow to think of the end lefs variety of thefe things that have come between us 426 Second Sermon for the and God, and how we have been entangled in mean bondage to our own ways and habits. Now the. Word is fpoken into no man's ear, except he How that the Word ^^^^ ^he love of God ; for Chrift does not fpeak to us fayg ; « If ye love me, hear my except we love God, ^ and of the tefts of true " words." On this point fays St love. Gregory : " Wilt thou know whe- " ther thou love God ? take note when cares, troubles, or " forrows overtake thee (from within or from without, " whencefoever they come), and weigh down thy fpirit fo " that thou knoweft not which way to tum, nor what is to " become of thee, and canft find no counfel and art out- " wardly in a ftorm of affiiction, in unwonted perplexity " and fore diftrefs ; if thou then remaineft inwardly at " peace and unmoved in the bottom of thy heart, fo that " thou doft not in any wife falter, either by complaint,, or " in word, or work, or gefture, then there is no doubt that " thou loveft God." For where there is true love, a man is neither out of meafure lifted up by profperity, nor caft down by mifhap ; whether you give or take away from him, fo long as he keeps his beloved, he has a fpring of inward peace. Thus, even though thy outward man grieve, or weep downright, tiiat may well be borne, if only thy inner man remain at peace, perfedly content with the will of God. But if tiiou doft not find it tiius Twelfth Sunday after Trinity. 427 with thee, then thou art in truth deaf, and haft not really heard the voice of the Etemal Word within thee. Further thou mayeft try by this teft whether thou haft the right fort of love ; namely, whe- fukeftTo God J*'"""" ^^^ *°^ ^aft ^ li^^ly tiiankfulnefs for the great benefits which God has beftowed upon thee and all His creatures in heaven and on earth, and for His holy Incarnation, and for all the manifold gifts which are ever flowing out from Him to aU men. And this thankfulnefs fliall comprehend all men, even as it fhall fpring from love to all; whether they be clergy or laymen, monks, nuns, or in whatever condition of life they be, or whatever be their condud, thou fhalt cherifh an honeft, true love for them, not a con cealed felf-love, or felf-feeking. This real, univerfal love is a fource of meafurelefs benefits. Know ye, children, that where men are true, glorified friends qf God, their hearts melt with tendernefs towards all mankind, living or dead ; and if there were none fuch on the earth, the world were in an evil plight. Moreover, Sto^'m""" thou flialt let thy fove fliine forth before men, fo far as in thee lies, imparting to them of thy fubftance, and giving them comfort, help, and counfel. It is true that thou muft minifter to thine own neceffities ; but when thou haft no thing to fpare, thy love fhould be ftill lively, wifliing that 428 Second Sermon for the thou hadft aught to give, and ready to do fo to the utmoft of thy power. Thefe are the true figns of love and that a man is not fpiritually deaf Now when our Lord comes and puts his finger into a man's ear and touches his tongue, how eloquent will he become ! O children, of this wondrous things might be ^r t r .r ^alti ! But WC wUl now confider the Of the fcvei. gifts of the Spirit imparted feven gifb of the Spirit, given to by the Lord's touch. , , , . 111, man through this touch whereby the ears of his mind are opened. Firft is given unto him the fpirit of fear, which has power to rid him of all felf-wiU, and teaches him to flee from temptation, and at all times to fhun unruly appetites and licence. Next is given to him the fpirit of- charity, which makes him fweet-tem- pered, kind-hearted, merciful, not ready to pafs a harfh judgment on any one's condud, but full of tolerance. Thirdly, he receives the gift of knowledge, fo that he underftands the meaning of his inward experience, and thus learns to guide himfelf according to the bleffed wiU of God. The fourth gift is Divine ftrength : through this gift fuch Divine might is imparted unto him, that, with Paul, it becomes a fmall and eafy matter to him to do or bear all things through God who ftrengtheneth him. The fifth is the gift of good counfel, which all thofe who fol low become gentle and loving. Laftly, come two great gifts, underftanding and the wifdom of infight, which are Twelfth Sunday after Trinity. 429 fo fublime and glorious, that it is better to feek to experi ence them than to fpeak thereof. That our ears may thus be opened of a truth, that the Eternal Word may be heard in us, may God grant us I Amen ! XXIV. Sermon for the Fifteenth Sunday after Trinity. (From the Gofpel for the day.) This fermon forbiddeth all carefulnefs, and telleth in what righteoufnefs confifteth, and rebukes fundry religious people and their works, likening their ways to fimony. Matt. vi. 33. — " Seek ye firft the Kingdom of God and His righteouf- " nefs, and all thefe things fliall be added unto you„" IN this paffage, the Son of God gives us a fimi- Htude, bidding: man, who Of the leflTons taught _ to ' by this Gofpel for the is a reafonable creature, to look at the flowers that deck the face of the earth, and at the unreafoning fowls of the air, faying : " Confider the lilies of the field how " they grow ; they toil not, they fpin not ; and yet I fay " unto you that Solomon, in all his glory, was not arrayed " like one of thefe !" " Behold the fowls of the air, for " they fow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into " barns ; yet your Heavenly Father feedeth them. Are " ye not much better than they ?" " Therefore I fay Fifteenth Sunday after Trinity. 431 " unto you, take no thought, faying. What fhall we eat, " or what fhall we drink, or wherewithal fliall we be " clothed ? For after all thefe things do the Gentiles " feek : for your Heavenly Father knoweth that ye have " need of all thefe things. But feek ye firft the kingdom " of God, and his righteoufnefs ; and all thefe things fliall " be added unto you." Children, once before, the Son of God had faid that no man could ferve two mafters, that is How that we cannot ferve God and Mam- to fay, God and Mammon, or the riches of this world; for he muft love the one, and hate the other. It is indeed a wonder paffing our underftanding how much is comprehended in thefe words. We ought to fet them up before our eyes as a mirror, and let them be our conftant motto. How clearly does Chrift here inftrud us in the truth with plain unvarnifhed words and pertinent figures, when, forbidding us to be anxious about earthly and perifhable things, he fays : " Which of you by taking thought can add one " cubit unto his stature ? Therefore, ye of little faith, " feek not what ye fliall eat, or what ye fhall drink ; nei- " tiier be ye of doubtful mind." Children, ye fee well by this difcourfe how far we all are in How all faithlefs anxieties are a ferving common from living accordmg to of Mammon. ^^ ^^^pj^ ^^^^^ ^^ ^^.^^^^ -^ ^^ ^^^ earthly relationfliips. But know that there is an inward 432 Sermon for the fecret defed lurking under the cloak of our anxiety about daily things, a finful, though unconfcious covetoufnefs, vphich is one of the feven deadly fins. And this fin, working filently and unperceived in the hearts both of worldly and religious people, is the caufe of the greateft evils that afflid this earth. Let each, for inftance, only mark narrowly, in himfelf and others, the marvels of labour and ingenuity invented and wrought on all fides, each ftriving to outdo his fellow for the fake of earthly gain. If we were to probe to the bottom the workings of this falfe principle in worldly and in religious people, it could hardly be told how deeply its roots have ftmck, and how widely they have fpread below the furface. Think what it implies to have fo little confidence in that God who is able to do all things, when ye are ftriving, and toiling, and wearing yourfelves out with anxiety, as if you meant to live for ever. All this comes from that evil principle of covetoufnefs. If one really looked into the matter, it were frightful to fee how man feeks his ovni ends and not his neighbour's good, in all things Divine and human ; his own pleafure, or profit, or glory, by aU his words and works — nay, even gifts and fervices. Chil dren, this great fin is fo deeply rooted in many, that every corner of their heart is full of earthly, perifhable things, and they are juft like the crooked woman we read of in the Gofpel, who was bent down to the earth by her infir- Fifteenth Sunday after Trinity. 433 mity, and could in no wife lift herfelf up, or raife her eyes above the ground. Thou poor blind man, fpiritual in outward vefture but , ,. , not in reality, why fliouldft thou not How the bhnd •' •' want of truft in God ttuft that the God who has done thee bringeth us into divers ,..,., temptations that eat fo great a benefit m redeeming thee out all fpiritual life. fj.^^ ^^ ^^^j^jj^g ^^^^g ^f ^j^jg f^i^^^ wicked world, that He is alfo willing to give thee fuch poor mean things as are needful for thy earthly fuftenance ? And is it not a pitiful thing that a religious man fhould fpend his whole induftry, and fole effort, and have his tiioughts turned, -day and night, upon his own little doings, and fhould be fo full of them that he can Hardly properly hold converfe with God, or his own heart? And if what he has in hand fucceeds, he feels no impulfe urging him onwards towards eternal things, except in fo far as it may be neceffary to fecure his own falvation, and from the deUght that he may find in his own good works ; and he is as much taken up with petty perfonal cares as worldly people are with weightier things. Wherefore our Lord fays : Ye cannot ferve two mafters; ye cannot ferve God and riches. But feek ye firft the Kingdom of God, which is before all things and above all things, and His righteoufnefs, and " all other things fliall be added unto " you." Juft as if He had faid, thefe are not worthy to be called a gift ; but they fliall be added over and above 434 Sermon for the God's gifts. How greatly thefe vain, pitiful things are efteemed and loved and fought after, fecretly and openly, and what anxiety they give rife to, and how eagerly men defire them, and heap up treafures by unlawful means, is not to be fully fet forth, and I muft not attempt it. St. Peter fays : " Caft all your care upon God, for He " careth for you." This carefulnefs I Pet. V. 7. How •' that undue care blinds concerning outward things works a our reafon, quenches ... t 1 i- 1 our love, and comes nian three great injuries. It blinds between us and God. j^j^ ^^^^^^ ^^^ ^^^^ ^^^^^ . j^ quenches the fire of love, and deftroys all its fervour and heat ; and it tlocks up the ways of fecret accefs to God. It is Hke a noxious vapour, or thick fmoke, that rifes up and chokes a man's breath. This care is bom of the fin and vice of covetoufnefs. Therefore look well to your foot fteps, and fee with what ye hold converfe whUe you are in this prefent ftate, and feek the Kingdom of God and His righteoufnefs, that you may find and difcover it where it lies hidden in the inmoft depths of the foul, that it do not moulder away or remain unfruitful within you. But to this end, he who purpofes manfully to withftand him felf, the Devil, and the world, muft fuftain many bold, valiant conflids, witiiout reft or inter- But many conflifts arc needful to conquer miffion. For the Kingdom of God will never be truly found except thefe faults be firft caft off; and this is not the work of a Fifteenth Sunday after Trinity. 435 day. For whatever a man fliall take by force, he muft firft with great pains conquer; and thus he muft make continual efforts before his outward man can be drawn away from the love of thefe perifhable things. For this vice has ftruck its hidden roots fo deeply into the animal nature of man, that he feeks himfelf in all things, — in his words and works, in his dealings with others, and in his friendfhips; nay, the miferable felf-feeking of nature works in fecret even as regards God, making men crave to enjoy comfort, illumination, fweet emotions ; in fliort, they are ever wifliing to obtain fomething, and would fain hold converfe with the world and yet poffefs the Kingdom of Heaven. But we ought to bear all things in the holy faith of Chrift, and leave the reward to God. Do good works, and exercife thyfelf in all virtue, and God fhall give thee a great reward. We muft do our . - - , , n i t r tr duty for the fake of ^ fo far as thou haft kept thyfelf Srd to'^Gor^ ^^^ from judging thy neighbour, and haft not preferred thyfelf before him, for that would ill become thee. Dear children, be on your guard againft this fubtle felf-feeking of nature, that ye do not fulfil good works of piety for the fake of any earthly reward ; for that has fomewhat of the nature of fimony, a fin which the holy Church abhors above all others, and which is efpeciaUy contrary to God's righteoufnefs; for^ God is by His nature the end of aU things, and thou 436 Sermon for the fetteft in His ftead, as the end of thy works, an evU, mean, perifhable thing. We fhould feek God's righteoufnefs, but this is contrary to His righteoufnefs ; therefore, chil dren, beware of this evil principle within you, and feek the Kingdom of God and His righteoufnefs ; that is to fay, feek God alone, who is the true Kingdom for which we and all men daily pray when we fay the Lord's Prayer. rru V J f Children, the Lord's Prayer is a The Kingdom of ¦' God for which we pray mighty prayer: ye know not what is that He fliould reign in the hearts of us and ye ptay for in It. God is Himfelf ™^"' the Kingdom, and in that Kingdom He reigns in all intelligent creatures. Therefore what we afk for is God Himfelf with all His riches. In that Kingdom does God become our Father, and manifefts there His fatherly faithfulnefs and fatherly power. And infomuch as He finds place in us to work, is His name hallowed, and magnified, and made known. That His name fliould be hallowed in us, means that He fhould reign in us, and accomplifli through us His rightful work. „,, . And thus is His will done here on What it means to pray "Thy will be earth as it is in heaven; that is, " done," &c. u • • When It IS done in us as it is in Him felf, in die heaven which He Himfelf is. Oh! how often does man give hinjfelf up in will to God, and take himfelf back, again as quickly, and faU away from God! But now begin again, and give thyfelf to Him afrefli; Fifteenth Sunday after Trinity. 437 yield tiiyfelf captive to the Divine Will in rightful allegiance, and truft thyfelf to the power of thy Father, who has all power and might, and whofe prefence thou haft fo often and fo plainly felt, and art yet made to feel every day and hour. Truft Him wholly, and feek His righteoufnefs. For therein is His righteoufnefs fhown, that He abideth ever with thofe who heartily feek Him, and make Him their end, and give themfelves up to Him. In fuch He reigns, and all vain care falls away of itfelf in thofe who thus keep clofe to God in true felf-furrender. Not that we fliould tempt God ; for it is our duty to exercife a reafonable prudence in We arc not to tempt God by negleftdng due providing fuch things as are right, to the fupply of our neceffities and thofe of others, and profitable to ourfelves and the com munity, and to fee that everything be done in a difcreet and feemly manner. But that which is your end when you fit and meditate in the church, fliould be likewife your end when you are bufied in all the affairs of daily life ; whether you work, or fpeak, or eat, or drink, waking and fleeping, do all to the glory of God, and not for thyfelf For a noble man wiU make thefe perifliing tilings of time a mere paffage-way by which he wiU afcend through the creatures, not being held down by any felfifli cleaving to them, up to his everiafting home, his eternal fource from which he fprang at his creation. 438 Sermon for the Now fome may afk, how we can fay that God forfakes none that truft Him, feeing that He timrfeetf t°o'fo;: often permits good men to fuffer ftke thofe that truft great poverty and afflidion. This He does, as Bifhop Albert fays, for three caufes : the firft, that He may try them, and fee whether they utterly beheve and truft Him ; thus God often fuffers men to be brought into diftrefs that he may teach them fubmiffion, and then fuccours them that they may perceive His hand and His friendihip and help ; in order that their love and gratitude may increafe from that time forth, and they may draw clofer to God and become dearer to Him. Or again, God will by thefe troubles fliorten their purification hereafter; or again. He fends them diftrefs for a judgment on thofe who might relieve them and do it not. Therefore, children, feek firft the Kingdom of God, which is God Himfelf, and nought elfe. When this cleaving to the creature is altogether caft off, then will the will of God be done on earth as it is in heaven, and fo fliall the Father have the power and the glory for ever in heaven, that is, in His Sons. For when man ftands thus, having no end, nor purpofe, nor defire but God, then does he himfelf become God's Kingdom, and God reigns in him. And then does the Eternal King fit on His royal throne, and command and govern in man. Fifteenth Sunday after Trinity. 439 This Kingdom is feated properly in the inmoft receffes TT .1, -of the fpirit. When, through all How the man is s^ ' b transformed into the manner of excrcifes, the outward image of God when the Kingdom of God man has been converted into the cometh in his foul. . . r i_i j .^i_ ^i. inward, reafonable man, and thus the two, that is to fay, the powers of the fenfes and the pow ers of the reafon, are gathered up into the very centre of the man's being, — the unfeen depths of his fpirit, wherein Hes the image of God, — and thus he flings himfelf into the Divine abyfs, in which he dwelt eternally before he was created ; then when God finds the man thus fimply and nakedly turned towards Him, the Godhead bends down and defcends into the depths of the pure, waiting foul, and transforms the created foul, drawing it up into the uncreated effence, fo that the fpirit becomes one with Him. Could fuch a man behold himfelf, he would fee himfelf fo noble that he would fancy himfelf God, and fee himfelf a thoufand times nobler than he is in himfelf, and would perceive all the thoughts and purpofes, words and works, and have all the knowledge of all men tiiat ever were. Now tiiou fliouldeft look into the bottom of thy heart, and fee whether thou wouldeft fain Do we fincerely , . .,^. , j * i wifti to enter into this enter into this Kingdom, and partake Kingdom? ^^^j^.g j^jgj^ jjgj^jjy_ Then were aU tiiy cares over and gone for ever ! This is the Kingdom 440 Sermon for the which we are told to feek firft ; and this is righteousnefs, that we fliould fet God before us, the rightful end of all our purpofes in all our doings, and truft in Him. For as we can never love God too well, fo we can never truft Him too much, if it be but the right fort of truft, that cafts all care upon Him, as Peter bids us do. Now St. Paul tells us, however, that we muft be careful How the bond of ^^ ^^^P *^ ^^^y of tiie fpirit in tiie inward peace is the bond of peace. Children, that peace common love towards all, working as Chrift's which is found in the fpirit and the love worked. . t-r • n i i- inner lite is well worth our care, for in that peace lies the fatisfadion of all our wants. In it the Kingdom of God is difcovered and His righteoufnefs is found. This peace a man fhould allow nothing to take from him, whatever betide, come weal or woe, honour or fliame. But ever keep thy inward man in the bond of peace, which confifts in the common love of all to all ; and fet before you the lovely example of our Lord Jefus Chrift, and fee how His love wrought, leading Him to endure greater fufferings than all tiie faints or all mankind ever endured. For He was all His life more utterly deftitute of confolation than any man ever was, and ended it by the bittereft death that man ever died ; and yet in His higheft powers He was never lefs bleffed than He is at tihis moment. Now thofe who are moft truly followers of Him in emptinefs of outward confolation, and in true Fifteenth Sunday after Trinity. 441 poverty, inward and outward, having no refuge or ftay, and in no wife clinging to the creature, or feeking, themfelves, thefe come to difcover, in the trueft and nobleft fort, the Kingdom of God. And this is God's righteoufnefs, that He will give us to find His Kingdom by treading in Chrift's footfteps, in true felf-furrender and willing poornefs of fpirit. That we may all fo feek the Kingdom of God as truly to find it, may He help us. Amen. xxv. Sermon for St. Stephen's Day. Of three grades of thofe who learn to die unto themfelves, like a com of wheat, that they may bring forth fruit ; or of thofe who are beginners, thofe who are advancing, and thofe who are perfeft in a Divine life. John xii. 24. — " Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it " abideth alone : but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit." !^S&2^S^Y the corn of wheat we underftand our Lord r^ iii) i?@ u ,u c- Jefus Chrift, who by His ^S^ 1^ Sic How the corn of ' •' ^1 M> l@ wheat that dieth is a death has .brought forth gjsg^S^^^lfg type of our Lord sS^ScSfts?k Jefus Chrift, who died much fruit for all men, to bring forth fruit, .^ , and how we muft " they are but willing likewife die. ... 1 .. • -..i, not only to reign with Him, but alfo and in the firft place defire to follow Him in a dying life. For this may be called a dying life, when a man for the love of God refufes to gratify his fenfes and take his natural pleafure, and follow his own will ; and as many lufts as he dies to, fo many deaths does he offer to God, and fo many fruits of life will he receive in return. For in what meafure a man dies to himfelf. Sermon for St. Stephen's Day. 443 and grows out of himfelf, in the fame meafure does God, who is our Life, enter into him. Now mark, dear children, that the path of a man thus dying may be divided into three ofadyinglife!^ ^^^^ ftages. Thofe who have entered on the loweft ftage, do ads of felf-denial from fear of hell, and for the hope of heaven, with fome Of the firft ftage of ^^^^ ^"^ ^""^ "^^"g^^^ therewith, thofe who die to which leads them to fhun the moft earthly pleafiires for ¦ the fake of a reward flagrant fins ; but the love of God eaven. feldom works ftrongly in them, ex cept it be ftirred up by the contemplation of hell or heaven; for by reafon of their blind felf-love thefe men are terribly afraid of death, and by no means eager to fet their hand to the work of mortifying their undifciplined nature, which fhrinks therefrom; and they have little faith, which is the caufe of this timorous weaknefs, that leads them to be ever fearing for their own fafety : thus, juft as formerly they fought and loved themfelves in all kinds of carnal enjoyments and worldly vanities, and avoided bodily pain and inconvenience out of felf-love, fo now is the fame motive at work leading them to fhun fin on account of punifhment, in order to efcape hell, and obtain the rewards of heaven. And when they are ftill young in the love of God, they are apt to tafte little fweetnefs in loving God, fave when they hope to enjoy 444 Sermon for St. Stephen's Day. fomething from His love ; as for inftance, to efcape hell and get to heaven ; and if fometimes they meditate on the fufferings of our Lord, and weep over them with ftrong emotion, it is becaufe they think how he was wiUing to fuffer fo much for their fakes, and to redeem them by his bitter death ; ftill (becaufe their love is fmall) they are much more inclined to dwell upon the bodily fufferings that He endured in His human nature, than to refled how He manifefted by His death the higheft per fedion of all virtue, as humility, love, and patience, and therein fo greatly glorified His Heavenly Father. For this fort of perfons fet out and begin to die while as yet they love themfelves far too well ; hence they are not yet able to fee truly what it is to refign themfelves to God, and to maintain a fpirit of fubmiffion ; and although God does all things for the beft, yet this they will never believe, and it is a perpetual ftumbling-block to them. Thus, they often afk and wonder why our Lord chofe to fuffer fo much, and why He leads His friends and followers to Himfelf along fuch a path of fuffering. And when they are at the outfet of a dying life, and How that it is a i i ir fign of a beginner to Only half-way inclined towards true think much of aufteri- „ (-n r • .. i_ ties, and judge thofe Perfednefs, nor perceive as yet where- who prafUfe them in this confifts, they ofttimes torment not. ¦' themfelves with watching and fafting, and an auftere way of life ; for whatever is outwardly Sermon for St. Stephen's Day. 445 painful to the flefli, they fancy to be greatly and mightily regarded and prized by God. So when they eagerly take upon themfelves all the hardfliips they can, then they think they have reached the fummit of perfedion, and judge all other men, nay even thofe who are much more perfed than themfelves, and think meanly of all who do not pradife outward aufterities, calling them low- minded and ignorant in fpiritual things; and thofe who do not feel as they do, they think to have gone aftray altogether from a fpiritual courfe, and defire that all men fhould be as they are ; and whatever methods of avoiding fin they have pradifed and ftill make ufe of by reafon of tiieir infirmity, they defire, nay, demand, that every one elfe fliould obferve ; and if any do not do fo, they judge diem, and murmur at them, and fay that they pay no regard to religion. Now, while they thus keep themfelves and aU that belongs to them as it were working in their own fervice, and in this felf-love unduly regard them felves as their own property, they cut themfelves off from our Lord and from the univerfal charity. For they ought to cherifli continually a general love toward all men, both good and bad ; but they remain abforbed in their partial and feparate affedions, .whereby they bring upon them felves much difquiet, and remain a prey to their befetdng fin of always feeking and intending tiiemfelves. And they are very niggardly of their fpiritual bleffings towards 44^ Sermon for St. Stephen's Day. their feUow-Chriftians ; for they de- How fuch do lack n i • , ,. . a generous univerfal votc all their prayers and rehgious love, and rather do exercifes to their own. behoof; and right from fear. if they pray or do any other kind ad for others, they think it a great thing, and fancy they have done them a great fervice thereby. In fhort, as they look little within, and are little enlightened in the knowledge of themfelves, fo alfo they make little increafe in the love of God and their neighbour ; for they are fo entangled with unregulated affedions, that they live alone in heart, not thoroughly commingling their foul with any in the right fort of thorough love. For the love of God which ought to unite them to God and all mankind, is wanting in them ; and although they appear to keep the ordinances of God and the Holy Church, they do not keep the law of love. What they do is more out of conftraint and fear than from hearty love; and becaufe they are inwardly unfaithful to God, they dare not truft Him, for the imperfedion which they find in themfelves makes a flaw in their love to God. Hence their whole life is fuU of care, full of fear, full of toil and ignoble mifery ; for they fee Eternal Life on the one fide, and Wherefore theyare ^^^' ^° ^°^^ ^t, and fee heU on tiie grievoufly opprefled other, and fear to fall into it ; and all with their own in- . . firmitics, and with the their prayers and religious exercifes cannot chafe away their fear of hell. Sermon for St. Stephen's Day. 447 fo long as they do not die unto themfelves. For the more they love themfelves, and take counfel for their own welfare, the more the fear of hell grows upon them ; info much that when God does not help them forward as much as they wifh, they complain ; and they weep and figh at every little difficulty they encounter, however fmall, fuch as being tempted to vanity, wandering thoughts, and the like. They make long ftories of what is of no confequence, and talk about their great difficulties and fufferings, as if they were grievoufly wronged; for they efteem their works, although fmall, to be highly meritori ous, and that God Almighty owes them great honour and bleffings in return. But our Lord wiU tell them (as He does in fad afterward, when He has enlightened them with His grace) a poor fool loves his own wooden ftick, or any otiier little worthlefs article, as weU as a rich and wife man does his fword or any other great and precious thing. All fuch are ftanding on the loweft fteps of a dying life, and if they do not mortify themfelves more, and come to experience more of what a dying life is, it is to be feared, that tiiey wiU fall back from that little whereunto tiiey have attained, and may plunge into depths of folly and wickednefs, from which God keep us all ! But before a man comes to fuch a fall, God gives him great, fpiritual delight ; and upon tiiis he is fo greatiy rejoiced that he 448 Sermon for St. Stephen's Day. cheerfully endures all forts of aus- How that God of ten fuffereth fuch to teritics and penances, and then he mayTeSVem'fdf- weenetii that he hatii arrived- at per- knowledge and fliow fedion, and begins to judge his neigh- His mercy upon them. o j o o hours, and wants to fhape all men v after his own model, fo greatly does he efteem himfelf in his own conceits. Then God comes in His mercy to teach him what he is, and fhows him into what error he has fallen, and permits the Enemy to fet before him and make him tafte the fweetnefs of fin ; and then, when he has thus tafted, he conceives an inclination to one fin after another, and he cannot rid himfelf of thefe inclinations. Then he wflhes to flee fin that he may efcape hell, and begins to do outward good works ; and yet it is a dread ful toil to perform thefe good works as a mere labour, and to put himfelf to pain ; thus he is brought into an agonizing ftruggle with himfelf, and does not know which way to tum ; for he dimly fees that he has gone aftray. Then muft God of His mercy come and raife him up, and he fliall cry eameftly to God for help, and his chief meditation fliall be on the life and works and efpeciaUy the fufferings of our Lord Jefus Chrift. Of the fecond de- ^he fecond degree in which tiie gree of a dying life, corn of wheat dies, is when a man is when a man is perfe cuted for righteouf- called upon to endure infult, con- tempt, and fuch like deaths ; and fo Sermon for St. Stephen's Day. 449 long as his grace lafts he would fain continue to fuffer, for by the fenfe of undeferved injury all his powers are but quick ened and raifed into a higher ftate of adivity. But when he is bereft of this gracious fenfe of the Divine prefence, foraf much as he is ftill far from perfedion, he cannot bear up under this fpiritual deftitution, and, through his infirmity, falls a prey to miftruft of God, and fancies that (rod has forgotten him, and is not willing to help him towards per fedion. Often he is in a hundred minds what to do or not do, and if our Lord fhow him fome kindnefs, then he feels as if all were well between his foul and God, and he feels himfelf fo rich as if he could never more be poor, and thinks to enjoy the prefence and favour of God (though as yet he is quite untried) juft as if the Almighty were his own perfonal, fpecial friend, and is ready to be lieve that our Lord is, fo to fpeak, at his dispofal, will comfort him in adverfity, and enrich him with all virtue. But forafmuch as our gracious Lord deaTngs'^S a' mt feels that fuch a man wiU be very apt by which he learns ^q ^^\j upon his imagined powers, and that he is nothing. "^ i /• i/- thus to fall grievoufly, and fees alfo diat the beft and ripeft fruit is being loft, inafmuch as the man has not yet attained to that perfedion to which our Lord defires to lead him, therefore in due time He with draws from him all tiiat He had revealed to him, becaufe the man was too much occupied with himfelf, with think- 450 Sermon for St. Stephen's Day. ing about his own perfedion, wifdom, holinefs and vir tues ; He thus brings hjm through poverty to diffatiffac- tion with himfelf, and a humble acknowledgment that he has neither wifdom nor worthinefs ; then does he begin to refled within himfelf how juftly Almighty God has ftayed His hand from beftowing any fenfible tokens of His mercy, becaufe he fancied that he was fomething; now he fees clearly that he is nothing. He was wont to care for his good name and honour in the world and to defend them as a man ftands up for his wedded wife, and to count them who fpoke evil of him as an enemy to the common good. He was wont to defire and thirft after the reputation of holinefs, like a meadow after the dew of heaven. He weened tha,t men's praifes of him had pro ceeded altogether from real goodnefs and fympathy of heart and by God's ordination, and had wandered fo far from felf-knowledge as not to fee that he was in himfelf unfound from head to foot ; he fancied that he was really as he ftood in man's opinion and knew nothing to the contrary. Here we muft mark that he who wifhes to heal himfelf How we muft ex- °^ ^"^^^ ^^^e grievous miftakes, and amine ourfelves under fubdue fuch an unmortified nature, perfecutions, whether we are patient, praif- muft take note of three points in 'truly lovbg our"'en"e- himfelf Firft, how much he has ^^^^- ftriven to endure cheerfully, for the Sermon for St. Stephen's Day. 451 fake of goodnefs, all the rebuke, flander, and fliame that has come upon him, patiently enduring it in his heart* without outward complaint. ^Secondly, how much in the time of his rebuke, fhame, and diftrefs, he has praifed and glorified God and his fellow-men, and fliown kindnefs to his neighbour in all ways, in fpite of all contradidion againft himfelf. Thirdly, let him examine himfelf whether he have loved with cheerful and willing heart the men or creatures who have thus perfecuted him, and fincerely prayed for them ; and if he finds that he has not done fo, and is unwilling to do fo, but is hard and bitter in his grief then he may furely know and ought to feel certain that there is fomething falfe in him, and fome refting in the praife of men and in his own fpiritual pride, and that he is not dead. He has not yet come to the fecond ftep in a dying life. But our kind Lord, like a tender mother who is full of love, or a wife phyfician who defires to reftore a fick man to perfed health by his powerful remedies, fuffers him to faU many times, that he may learn to know himfelf, and How God fome- thus he faUs into fleflily, unfpiritual times fuffers carnal temptations fuch as he never experi- temptations to befet '^ fuch a man, cticed in thofe paft days, in which he fancied himfelf very good and fpiritual-minded. Out of mercy God deprives him of all underftanding, and over clouds all die light in which he walked aforetim£, and (o 452 Sermon for St. Stephen's Day. hedges him in with the thorns of an anguifhed confcience, that he thinks nothing elfe but that he is caft off from the light of God's countenance ; and he moans greatly, and often with many tears exclaims : " O, my God, why haft " Thou caft me off, and why go I thus mourning all the " days of my pilgrimage "? " And when he finds himfelf thus from the crown of his wherefore he is Head to the fole of his foot unlike brought into fuch /~i j j . • -^i,' i_ • tx • great diftrefs and anger ^od, and at variance Wltil him. He IS at himfelf, flUed with the fenfe of his own un- worthinefs and with difpleafure at himfelf, infomuch that he can hardly abide himfelf; and then he thinks many miferable things about himfelf from paffages of Holy Scripture, and fheds many tears in the fenfe of his finful nefs, till he is weighed down to the earth with the preffure of God's hand, and exclaims with the Prophet : " My fins " are more in number than the fands of the fea ; they have " taken hold upon me that I am not able to look up ; for " I have ftirred up God's anger againft me, and done much " evil in His fight." Thefe things he faith, and more of the like. And at times he is not even able thus to weep and lament, and then he is ftiU more tormented with tribulation and affaults; for on the one hand he feels a ftrong defire to caft himfelf down humbly and die to himfelf, and on the other he is confcious of great pride and arrogance about himfelf, till he is fo exafperated at Sermon for St. Stephen's Day. 453 that he could fain de- ^^"^^'^^' ^^^ ^"^ ^°'' ^^' difllonour tO ftroy himfelf, and is God he could fain kill himfelf I well-nigh in defpair. believe that all fuch conflid greatly wears out the intelledual and natural powers, for it is fo exceffive, that one would rather fuffer onefelf to be put to death than endure it. Yet one grace is left him, namely, that he looks on it all as of no moment, whatever may be poured out over him, if only he may not knowingly offend God. After a while the grace of tears comes back to him, and he cries to God and fays : " O Lord, arife ! why " fleepeft Thou *? " and afks Him why He hath fealed up the fountains of His mercy. He calls upon the holy angels and bleffed fpirits to have pity on him. He afks the heavens why they have become as brafs, and the earth wherefore fhe is as iron, and befeeches the very ftones to have compaffion on his woes. He exclaims : " Am I " become as the blafted hiU of Gilboa, which was curfed '* of David that no dew or rain fliould fall on it ? And " how Ihould my wickednefs alone vanquifh the invincible " God, and force Him to fhut up His mercies whofe " property it is to have mercy and to help ? " In the fecond ftage of the dying life God leads the foul How that God fo through thefe exercifes and operations exercifes a man that ^^ jjjg ^^^^ ^^ through fire and water he may purify him ' ^ wholly, by turns, until the workings of felf- fufficiency are driven out from aU the fecret corners ofthe 454 Sermon for St. Stephen's Day. fpirit, and the man henceforward is fo utterly afliamed of himfelf, and fo cafts himfelf off, that he can never more afcribe any greatnefs to himfelf, but thoroughly perceives all his own weaknefs, in which he now is and always has been; and whatever he does or defires to do, or whatever good and bring him to un- thing may be faid of him, he does not fpeakable mercies. ^^^^ j^ ^^ his own credit, for he knows not how to fay anything elfe of himfelf, but that he is full of all manner of infirmity. Then he has reached the end of this ftage ; and he who has arrived at this point is not far from the threfhold of great mercies, by which he fhall enter into the bride-chamber of Chrift. Then when the day of his death fliall come, he fliall be brought in by the Bridegroom with great rejoicing. It is hard to die. We know that littie trees do not ftrike their roots deep into the earth. How this dying life j i r i_ n i i is hardeft for thofe ^^'¦^ therefore they cannot ftand long ; who are great upon fo Jj jg witii all humble hearts, who earth. ' do not take deep root in earth, but in heaven. But the great trees which have waxed high, and are intended to endure long upon the earth, thefe ftrike their roots deep, and fpread them out wide into the foil. So it is with the men who in old times and now at this prefent have been great upon eartih, they muft needs through many a ftruggle and death, die unto themfelves before all the felf-fufficiency of their heart can be broken Sermon for St. Stephen's Day. 455 down, and they can be furely and firmly rooted for ever . in humility. It does, however, happen fometimes that the Holy Spirit finds eafier ways than thofe of which we have fpoken, whereby He brings fuch fouls to Himfelf. The third degree in which the corn of wheat dies be longs only to the perfed, who, with Of the third ftage unflagging diligence and ceafelefs of a dying life ; toto to o defire, are ever ftriving to approach perfedion. Thefe men's ftate is one of mingled joy and forrow, whereby they are toffed up and down; for the Holy Spirit is trying and fifting them, and preparing tiiem for perfedion, with two kinds of grief and two kinds of joy and happinefs, which they Ire unceafinglf ajfc have ever in their fight. The firft ing towards perfeftion, -^f jg ^^ inward pain and an over- and all whofe griefs ° and joys are a fympa- whelming forrow of heart, in the thy with ll . ^^^^^ ^^ ^^^ unfpeakable wrong done to the Holy Trinity by aU creatures, and fpecially by the bad Chriftians who are Irving in mortal fin. The fecond grief confifts in their fellow-feeling for and experience of aU the grief and pain which the human nature of Chrift has undergone. The firft of the two joys lies in this dying ; it is a clear intuition and a perfed fruition to which they are raifed in Chrift by the power of the Holy Spirit, that they may enjoy the fruition of Him, and triumph in all the joys 456 Sermon for St. Stephen's Day. , which they hope and believe after this life to behold in all their perfed fulnefs. The fecond triumph is that they are fulfilled in all the joys which the human nature of Chrift poffeffed. This joy fuch a man hopes to fliare as a member of Chrift ; and even if he cannot fathom the abyfs of God, he rejoices therein, for he fees that the overflowings of God's mercy are unfpeakable, and feels that it is good for him that he is vanquifhed in the effort to comprehend God's power, and bends down beneath God in his felf-dying. I To this ftate a man cannot attain except he unite his I To this none can ^^'1 ^i^h God, witfi an entire renun- i attain except he be ciatiou and perfed denial of himfelf, ' emptied of felf and filled with the Holy and all felfifh love of himfelf; and all delight in having his own will be over-maftered and quenched by the fhedding abroad in his heart of the Holy Spirit in the love of God, fo that it feem as though the Holy Spirit Himfelf were the man's will and love, and he were nothing and willed nothing on his own account. Yea, even the kingdom of heaven he fhaft defire for God's fake and God's glory, becaufe Chrift hath earned it in order to fupply his needs, and choofeth to beftow it on him as one of His fons. How that fuch an one loveth all things When in this ftage, a man loveth all in their right order. .^1 . . , . . , .^-i 1 1 thmgs in their right order, God above aU things, — next the bleffed (human) nature of Chrift, and Sermon for St. Stephen's Day. 457 after that the bleffed Mother of Chrift, and the faints of all degrees, each according to the rank which God hath enabled him to attain. When his affections are thus regulated, he fets himfelf in the loweft place at the wed ding-feaft of the Bridegroom. And when the Bridegroom comes who has bidden him to the feaft. He faith unto him : " Friend go up higher." Then he is endowed with a new life, and illuminated with a new light, in the which he clearly perceives and fees, that he alone is the caufe of his own evil, that he cannot, with truth, throw the blame either on nature, the world, or the devil. Yea, he con feffes that God has appointed him all thefe exercifes and affaults out of His great love, in order that he may glorify God in overcoming thefe, and deferve a higher crown. Further, he perceives and fees, that it is God alone who has upheld him, and ftayed his fteps, fo that he has no longer an inclination to fin, and who has removed the occafion to fin that he might not fall. Yea what is ftill worfe, he is forced to confefs thathe has oftenbeen diffatiffied that he was not able to derive more enjoyment from his fins. Thus all his being is fwallowed up in forrow and remorfe for that he is ftiU laden with his boundlefs infirmity. But he hath delight and joy in that he feeth that the goodnefs of God is as great as his Of his delight in ^ r M God's unfathomable neceffities, fo that his life may weU goodnefs. ^^ ^^jj^j ^ ^y.^g jj^^ ^y ^^^^^^ Qf 458 Sermon for St. Stephen's Day. fuch his griefs and joys which are conformable and like unto the life of our Lord Jefus Chrift, which from begin ning to end was always made up of mingled grief and joy. Grief, in that He left His Of the griefs and joys of our Lord Jefus heavenly throne and came down into this world; joy, in that He was not fevered from the glory and honour of the Father. Grief, in that He was a Son of Man ; joy, in that He neverthe lefs was and remained the Son of God. Grief, becaufe He took upon Him the office of a fervant ; joy, in that He was neverthelefs a great Lord. Grief becaufe in human nature He was mortal, and died upon the crofs ; joy, becaufe He was immortal according to His God head. Grief, in His birth, in that He was once bom of His mother; joy, in that He is the only-begotten of God's heart from everlafting to everlafting. Grief, becaufe He became in Time fubjed to Time ; joy, becaufe H'e was Eternal before all Time, and'AiaU be fo for ever. Grief, in that the Word was born into the flefh, and hath dwelt in us; joy, in that the Word was in the beginning with God, and God Himfelf was the Word. Grief, in that it behoved Him to be baptized like any human finner by St. John the Baptift in the Jordan ; joy, in that the voice of His Heavenly Father faid of Him : " This is' my beloved " Son, in whom I am weU pleafed." Grief, in that like others, finners. He was tempted of the Enemy; joy, in Sermon for St. Stephen's Day. 459 that the angels came and miniftered unto Him. Grief, in that He ofttimes endured hunger and thirft ; joy, becaufe He is Himfelf the food of men and angels. Grief, in that He was often wearied with His labours ; joy, becaufe He is the reft of all loving hearts and bleffed fpirits. Grief, forafmuch as His holy life and fufferings fliould remain in vain for fo many human beings ; joy, becaufe He fliould thereby fave His friends. Grief, in that He muft needs afk to drink water of the heathen woman at the well; joy, in that He gave to that fame woman to drink of living water, fo that fhe fliould never thirft again. Grief, in that He was wont to fail in fliips over the fea ; joy, becaufe He was wont to walk dry-fhod upon the waves. Grief, in that He wept with Martha and Mary over Lazarus ; joy, in that He raised their brother Lazarus from the dead. Grief, in that He was nailed to the crofs with naUs; joy, in that He promifed paradife to the thief by His fide. Grief, in that He tiiirfted when hanging on the crofs ; joy, in that He fliould thereby redeem His eled from eternal thirft. Grief, when He faid, " My God, " my God, why haft thou forfaken me ? " joy, in that He would with thefe words comfort aU fad hearts. Grief, in tiiat His foul was parted from His body, and He died and was buried; joy, becaufe on the third day He rofe again from the dead with a glorified body. " Thus was all His Hfe, from tiie manger to tiie crofs. a 460 Sermon for St. Stephen's Day. How that His life mingled web of grief and joy. Which is a teftament unto us. life He hath left as a facred teftament to His followers in this prefent time, who are converted unto His dying life, that they may remember Him when they drink of His cup, and walk as He hath walked ! May God help us fo to do ! Amen. XXVI. Sermon for St. Peter's Day. Of brotherly rebuke and admonition, how far it is advifable and feemly or not, and efpeciaUy how prelates and governors ought to demean them felves toward their fubjefts. 2 Tim. iv. 2. — " Reprove, rebuke, exhort, with all long-fuffering and doftrine." HIS is the leffon which St. Paul gives to his How that all paftors beloved difciple Timo- and magiftrates Ihould t 1 t r 1 pofl-efs long-foffering thy, whom he fet to rule and doftrine, and re- ^^gr men, and it equally buke finners to bring ^ •' them to amendment. behoves all paftorS of fouls and magiftrates, to poffefs thefe two things, — long- fuffering and dodrine. Firft, it is their office to rebuke all open finners, whom tiiey may poffibly bring to a better way, and efpeciaUy thofe over whom they are fet in authority, that they may reveal the truth unto them, for this is needful, and in many places Scripture doth tell us how we ought to teach. 462 Sermon for St. Peter's Day. rebuke, and exhort thofe who are committed to our charge, each according to the office which he holds, as St. Gregory has fufficiently fhown and fet forth in his Paftoral, wherefore we will refrain for the prefent from faying more on that point. But we will rather tum to the fecond point, which is How that they muft more fpiritual, teaching a man to alfo look within and , , ... i-i t • r tr r • judge themfelves, and 'ook Withm and judge himfelf feeing put the beft interpre- ^jjat he who defires to become a fpi- ration they can upon '^ the conduft of others, ritual man muft not be ever taking note of others, and above all of their fins, left he fall into wrath and bitternefs, and a judging fpirit towards his neighbours. O children, this works fuch great mifchief in a man's foul, as it is miferable to think of; wherefore, as you love God, fhun this evil temper, and turn your eyes full upon yourfelves, and fee if you cannot difcover the fame fault in yourfelves, either in times paft or now-a-days. And if you find it, remember how that it is God's appoint ing that you fliould now behold this fin in another in order that you may be brought to acknowledge and repent of it ; and amend your ways and pray for your brother that God may grant him repentance and amendment, according to His Divine Will. Thus a good heart draws amend ment from the fins of others, and is guarded from aU harfh judgment and wrath, and preferves an even temper, while an evil heart puts the worft interpretation on all that it Sermon for St. Peter's Day. 463 fees, and turns it to its own hurt. Thus is a good man able to maintain inviolate a due love and loyalty towards his feUow-man. Further, this generous love makes him hold others innocent in his heart: even when he fees infirmity or fault in his neighbour, he refleds that very Hkely all is not as it feems on the outfide, but the ad may have been done with a good intention ; or elfe he thinks that God may have permitted it to take place for an admonition and leffon to himfelf; or again, as an oppor tunity for him to exercife felf-control and to learn to die unto himfelf, by the patient endurance of and forbearance towards the faults of his neighbours, even as God has often and have patience with home many wtongs from him, and their fins. jia^j patience with his fins. And this would often tend more to his neighbour's improvement than aU the efforts he could make for it in the way of reproofs or chaftifements, even if they were done in love (though indeed we often imagine that our reproofs are given in love when it is in truth far otherwife). For I teU thee, dear child, if thou couldft conquer thyfelf by long-fuffering and gentienefs and the purenefs of thy heart, tiiou wouldft have vanquiflied all thine enemies. It would be better for thee tiian if tiiou hadft won the hearts of all tiie world by thy writings and wifdom, and hadft mifera- bly deftroyed thine own foul by paffing judgment on thy neighbours ; for the Lord fays : " And why beholdeft thou 464 Sermon for St. Peter's Day.. " the mote that is in thy brother's eye, but confidereft not " the beam that is in thine own eye ? " In thus fpeaking, I except thofe who are bound by their „, r- ¦ 1 1 office in the Holy Chriftian Church to 1 he ipirit and mode ' in which rebuke fliould rebuke Others. Let them wifely be- be adminiftered. , , ware how they reprove, and for what caufes, fo that they rebuke none with an irritable demeanour, or with harfh and angry words, from which much trouble and toil do fpring, for that they have no right to do, but it is permitted to them to reprove thofe who are under them for their own amendment. But alas ! it happens for the moft part now-a-days that thofe who occupy the higheft places do often and greatly forget themfelves in thefe refpeds, and hence their rebukes do not produce any amendment, but only anger and ahenation of heart. For if they were to inftrud thofe who are under their care in the fear of God, in fuch wife that the people could mark and be fure that it was done folely for the faving of their fouls, they would be much the more ready to fet them felves to amend, and would be content, — but now, alas ! they fee that their fuperiors are only feeking their own glory and profit, and taking upon themfelves wrongfully to keep them down and defraud them of their juft rights, and therefore reproof only makes them the more refradory and indignant. And there are many in authority who do really believe that they rebuke thofe under them from a Sermon for St. Peter's Day. 465 reverence for righteoufnefs, and yet are doing it from a wrathful, domineering, and arrogant fpirit ; and what they think they are doing from hatred to fin, they are doing from hatred to men. But I befeech you examine yourfelves, whether you do , , ^ in truth love thofe whom you are Of the danger of miftaking our impa- punifhing fo bitterly out of reverence tience and wrath for . . , r r a zeal for righteouf- and zeal for righteoufnefs as you "^'^- fuppofe. For when we fee men punifhing and oppreffing with fuch vehemence thofe who are under them, or treating them fo harihly with fliarp words and four looks, it is to be feared that there is more reproof given out of cra,bbed impatience, tihan for the fake of righteoufnefs from the true ground of charity and kindnefs, efpeciaUy by thofe who have not yet expe rienced the inward joy of hearty fweetnefs and godly love: for the foul that has not yet experienced inward love and divine fweetnefs does not know how to hold a difcreet mien and juft language in rebuking; but genuine love teaches us how we ought to treat thofe who are worthy of punifliment. Now let him who has to punifli in virtue of his office firft take account of Ood's diflionour How that fuperiors i, r 1 C ftiould confider, and and the injury done to the iouls ot renje';^ l^\Zl his flock, and tiien rebuke witii fweet, with gentlenefs. loving words and patient demeanour 3° 466 Sermon for St. Peter's Day. and geftures, fo that the weak fhall be able to mark that he is feeking and purpofing their welfare alone, and nothing elfe. And if in the difpenfations of God's Provi dence it fliould happen that thofe who are fubjed fliould at times rife up and offend by licenfe and prefumptuous irreverence againft their fuperiors, the latter ought not in any wife to regard or revenge it, fo far as that may be, without fcandal to the reft of their fubjeds : for if they revenge themfelves they fall under fufpicion of felfifh motives, and it is likely that God will not be able to work any fruit through them ; but they muft rather treat fuch offenders with more patience, kinder words and ads, than they do others. For this is commonly the greateft tempta tion which befalls thofe in authority, by which they for the moft either win or lofe the greateft reward of their labours; wherefore they fhould ever be on their guard, for gentlenefs and a readinefs to forgive injuries is the beft virtue that a ruler can poffefs. They fliall fhow no partiality in their affedions, neither How they fliould ^""^ ^^'' °^^ S^^'T '^°'' Y^^ towards love all, without un- particular perfons, but they fhaU em- juft partiality, and guide their flock into brace all their ftock in the arms of a common love, as a mother does her children. To the weak they fliould ever fliow the greateft love and care, and without ceafing lift up their hearts unto God in prayer, earneftly befeeching Him to guard Sermon for St. Peter's Day. 467 and defend the people committed to their charge, and not indulging in any felf-glorification. Likewife, fo far as it refts with them, let them be the firft to do fuch works as they would wifh to fee their people do : for fo it ftands, that, with the help of God, all may be accomplifhed to a good end, when thofe in authority are inclined to virtue, for then their fubjeds muft needs follow as they lead, even though they may have been beforehand inclined to all evU and vice, and hoftile to their fuperiors. But for thofe who have received no commiffion to govern other men, but ftand in a How thofe who are . , a • i ai •,. • not governors fliould pnvatc charader without office, it is not take upon them- needful tiiat they fecretly judge felves to judge others. •' j .> >-> themfelves inwardly, and beware of judging all things without, for in fuch judgments we do commonly err, and the true pofition of things is generally very far otherwife from that which it- appears to us, as we often come to difcover afterwards. On this point remem ber the proverb : " He is a wife man who can turn aU " things to the beft." May God help us fo to do ! Amen. XXVII. Sermon on a Martyr's Day. Of three forts of fpiritual temptation by which holy men are fecretly affailed ; to wit : fpiritual unchaftity, covetoufnefs, and pride. James, i. 12. — "Bleffed is the man that endureth temptation; for when " he is tried he fhall receive the crown of life, which the Lord hath pro- " mifed to them that love Him." LL our life (fays Job), fo long as we are upon earth, is full of How that this life n 1 i is full of temptation, ftruggle and temptation, but it is aU for our infomuch that tills Hfe is profit. not called a life by the Saints, but a temptation. When one temptation is over, ftraightway others are awaiting us, and the caufe is that our Lord will have us to go and bring forth fruit ; and the fruit is to walk in the ways of God and go forward ; for the fruit confifts in the very overcoming of temptation, from which we may draw out a hidden fpiritual fweetnefs, as the bees fuck honey from the thorn-bufhes as well as from all other flowers. He who has not been tempted, knows nothing, nor lives as yet, fay the wife man Solo- Sermon on a Martyr's Day. 469 mon, and the holy teacher St. Bernard. We find more than a thoufand teftimonies in Scripture to the great profit of temptation ; for it is the fpecial fign of the love of God towards a man for him to be tempted and yet kept from falling; for thus he muft and fliaU of a certainty receive the crown, like the martyr whofe death the Chriftian Church commemorates this day, finging of him that he is bleffed becaufe he hath endured temptation, and has been tried and proved therein, that he might receive the crown of life which the Lord has promifed to them that love Him. Now obferve, dear children, that there are two kinds of temptation. The one is carnal, and Of outward and ^^^ j^g fphere in tiie kingdom of carnal temptations. ^ ^ fenfe in this prefent life, as when a man is tempted through his outward fenfes to feek his happinefs in other men, be tiiey friends or relations, or any others, or to undue fondnefs for the outward fliow of life, fuch as drefs, jewels, books, inftruments, a pleafant abode, and other tranfitory creatures, and wilfully cleaves tiiereunto with manifold affedions, and they ftick to him like burrs. At times our outward fenfes are left in peace, and are quit of aU affaults, yet is the man ftrangely affaulted inwardly in his flefli and blood by unfeemly tiioughts; but, however impure may be tiiefe tempta tions, and however horrible they may look, they cannot of tiiemfelves defile a man's purity. St. Gregory fays : 47 o Sermon on a Martyr's Day. " Temptations do not defile a man except through his " own flacknefs and want of diligence in turning afide " from them." The other fort of temptation is inward and fpiritual, and has its feat in the realm o^ the Of inward temp- intelled. The workiiigs of the Spirit tations m the intelleft. to r and of Nature are fo mingled to gether and interwoven as long as we are in this prefent life, that all our inward exercifes and converfe with God are carried on at the fame time with all the motions and workings of nature. Moreover, our Lord has fo ordained it for our good, that the Evil Angel, Satan, has power to tranfform himfelf before the inward eye of the mind into an Angel of Light ; and he does it moft of all at thofe times when a man gathers up all his powers to enter into communion with God. Obferve, dear children, that St. John divides fin into three kinds, when he fays, all that is of the world is " the luft of the flefh, I John ii. 1 6. " and the luft of the eyes, and the "pride of life." As thefe three fins that reign in the world exift together in the flefh, fo do they alfo reign inwardly in the mind, under a fpiritual guife. Outward fins are very clear and eafy to fee, if a man have a mind to watch himfelf; but thefe mental fins are in many ways more covert, and can put on fuch a good face, that we are often hardly aware of the grievous fall that is clofe at hand. Sermon on a Martyr's Day. 471 Now mark : it is to be counted as fpiritual unchaftity r^c r ¦ • 1 rir o^ wautonucfs, whcu a man feeks Of fpiritual felf- ' feeking in the indul- himfelf too much, and with eager gence of emotion. t r n • defires ftrives after warmth and fen fible devoutnefs, to the end that he may always be in a ftate of contentment, and none may have a right to re prove him, though he fliould give himfelf to his own fpe cial prayers and religious exercifes, while leaving unful filled the work that is his duty. When fuch an one has none of thefe fweet einotions, he is quite troubled and becomes peevifh and very impatient in the trifling mif- haps that befall him, though they are really of no import ance whatever; and when he cannot enjoy or obtain inward peace according to his defire, he complains of the great grievances and temptations which he has to endure. St. Bernard fays that our Lord be- Senfible delight in _ , ^ ^ - ., , Divine things not be- Aows thefe graces of fenfible emo- ftowed in proportion ^^^^ ^ ^^^^ ^3 y^^^^ (Jq^C nothing to our worthinefs or '^ unworthinefs. to deferve them nor are worthy of them, but He does this in mercy, that He may draw fuch to His love; and He withholds thefe gifts from fome who have undergone long and painful exercifes, and were weU fit to receive them; yea from fome He withholds tiiem all their life long, but He will give them a great recompenfe for it in the next life. The reafon of His tiius withholding fenfible dehght is that our fpiritual fruit- 472 Sermon on a Martyr's Day. fulnefs and higheft bleffednefs do not He therein, but in our inward trufting and clinging to God, in our not feek ing ourfelves either in forrow or joy, but through joy and forrow devoting ourfelves to God, and like poor unwor thy fervants offering ourfelves to Him at our own cofts, though we fliould have to ferve him thus for ever. Yet it may indeed be permitted to a young, weak Chriftian, at the outfet of his courfe, to pray for fuch graces or gifts from our good God, in order to be able to glorify Him with the greater adivity, and to be grounded the more firmly in His love. But when we defire fuch inward fer vours and fweet peace (which are His gifts and not our deferts) more for their own fakes than the Giver Himfelf, we fall into fpiritual wantonnefs and black difloyalty, which our good Lord has not deferved at our hands with His utter renunciation of Himfelf outwardly and inwardly. Spiritual covetoufnefs is when a man is always coveting to have more than bare neceffaries oufnefs^'" ^ covet- .^j^Qe purfuing this earthly pilgrim age. For what more fliould a pilgrim take with him by the way than fuch things as are needful to fuftain him till he come fafely to his home ? Believe me, it is a great blemifli in true outward poverty to defire aught beyond neceffaries ; fo likewife it is a ftill greater blemifh in the inward poverty of the fpirit. Ah ! who has ever been fo poor as He, who, in utter poornefs ot Sermon on a Martyr's Day. 473 fpirit, ftood forfaken by Heaven and by the creatures, caft out alone in utter exile, when He fent forth that bitter cry : " My God, my God ! why haft Matt, xxvii. 46. " Thou forfaken me Y " And this was all that He might be an enfample unto us, to comfort our poverty and bereavement by teaching us true fub miffion. I hear thee faying : " Yes ; How we muft not « [f [^ ^erc not my own fault, and be difcouraged by the confequences of our " if I had not failed to receive the own tranfgreflions, „ , , -r- 1 1 -l it rr but ever prefs for- bleffing through my own heedleff- ward, and truft in „ ^^^^^ ^^ tihrown it away by my own " guilty folly, I could bear it all the " better ; what fhould I then have to mourn over ? But " now it is all my own doing : I have brought the mif- " chief upon myfelf" I anfwer : Do not let this lead thee aftray ; doft thou not know how that it is written : " The juft man falleth feven times, Prov. xxiv. 16. 1 .,- 1 • „ J J n " and rif eth up again ; and dolt thou think to ftand always? Yes; I affert and confefs with thee, that it is thine own fault, that thou haft brought it upon thyfelf, and well deferved it ; yet, neverthelefs, it is better that thou fliouldft, with firm truft, pray our kind God for His grace (who knows thy weaknefs, and is ready to forgive thy trefpaffes feventy and feven times in a day), than that thou fliouldft thus drive thyfelf back in thy courfe with fuch faint-heartednefs. O child, haft thou 474 Sermon on a Martyr's Day. fallen ? arife, and go, with childlike truft, to thy Father, like the prodigal fon, and humbly fay, with heart and mouth : " Father, I have finned Luke, XV. 1 8, 19. " againft heaven, and before thee, " and am no more worthy to be called thy fon ; make me " as one of thy hired fervants." And what will thy Heavenly Father do but what that father did in the parable? Affuredly He wiU not change His effence, which is love, for the fake of thy mifdoings. Is it not his own precious treafure, and a fmall thing with Him to forgive thee thy trefpaffes, if thou believe in Him ? for His hand is not fliortened that it cannot make thee fit to be faved. Therefore, beware of fpiritual covetoufnefs; for the poorer thou art in thine own eyes when thou comeft to Him, the more acceptable art thou in His fight, and the more richly He will endow thee and clothe thee out of His treafures. Spiritual pride is wheri a man is not wiUing to be put Of fpiritual pride, ^° A^ame in his own eyes on account Tirit^ felf-juftifying of his tranfgreffions, but is ever trying to excufe and glofs over his faults, and is never wiUing to abafe himfelf, even in fmall matters. And this often leads people to make many ufelefs and wrong fpeeches in order to excufe themfelves and to juftify themfelves in every refped; as much as to fay, I am not the man to be accufed of this and tihat ,' and they Sermon on a Martyr's Day. 475 are unwilling to remember, or confider, that he who cannot clear himfelf with the fimple truth will not be helped by the untruths by which he often adds to his guilt ; and that a man who humbles himfelf before God is more in his eyes than an arrogant, felf-righte.ous man, who deems himfelf able to anfwer for all his deeds with his own righteoufnefs. Hearken, dear child; what does all our righteoufnefs come to at laft ? Ifaiah fays : " All our righteoufneffes are as " filthy rags ; " and however great our righteoufnefs is, or might become, yet, if the Lord fhould fit in judgment on us, without doubt we fliould have to confefs ourfelves His debtors, and place all our hope in His mercy. Our Lord often difciplines a man by his own failings, if he is humble under them and throws himfelf at God's feet ; for God will have every knee to bend before Him, and will have the praife and glory of all goodnefs. Hence we may obferve that there is often a fecret pride within us from which many unfeemly fruits do grow. But he who gives diligence to beware of fpiritual wantonnefs, covetoufnefs and pride, fliall be kept from ftraying out of God's ways, or falling into error in his inward exercifes. But in order to keep yourfelves from thefe fins, and Three rules to avoid withftand this kind of temptation, thefe three fins. All n , r i_ i u- u T feeming evil that makes you muft obferve three rules whicn 1 frorGod!"' ^^"* '' will tell you. The firft is: none of 476 Sermon on a Martyr's Day. the inward difficulties that rife up from within, or the adverfe circumftances that ftay our hands from work ing, by which we are drawn or preffed into likenefs and conformity to the humble image of Chrift and His Saints (not alone outwardly, but that of their inward condition), can be the work either of evil fpirits or of nature, but without a doubt come from God. For He is the Higheft Good, and from the Higheft Good nought but what is good can flow ; and all the goodnefs that God gives us of His ftores, and that we render back again to Him, has proceeded from Him as its fource ; juft as all ftreams flow back again to their fource, the Ocean whence they have arifen, and all things do rejoice in their retum. But all that draws us and leads us afide from fuch confor mity and likenefs proceeds without doubt from the Spirit of Evil, who is ever on the watch to difturb and draw us down, as our Lord faid : " He who is not with me is " againft me, and he who gathereth not with me, fcatter- " eth." This rule is againft the firft fpiritual vice, that of wantonnefs. The fecond rule is : Whatever befalls a man inwardly, .„ , „ whereby he is brought to a clofer All that fliows us •' *= our own poverty is of and more fenfible gathering up of all his affedions and impulfes, in fin glenefs of heart, into a fteadfaft truft in and love of '¦he Father's loving-kindnefs and not his own works and ex- Sermon on a Martyr's Day. 477 periences, this is from God. And he who at all times fees himfelf to be a poor beggar, however fair his works may feem, the more narrowly he looks into his own heart, and the more maftery he gains over himfelf, the more does he difcover his own nakednefs of all virtue. He becomes aware in himfelf that he is nothing but an empty, worthlefs veffel, fitted not unto honour but unto eternal deftrudion, which veffel God alone muft and will fill with His grace. When we cling to Him, fuffer Him to have accefs to our fpirits, and do not defend ourfelves with our felves, that work is no doubt of God, by which a man is driven into himfelf to learn his own poverty. But the fuggeftions of the Enemy and of nature rob and defpoil a man of all the benefits of his virtues ; and this is the cafe whenever a man does not know his own real ftate, and thinks to poffefs what he never had, and fays (as it is written) : " I am rich, and increafed " with goods, and have need of " nothing," and knows not that he " is wretched, and " miferable, and poor, and blind, a|id naked." This is the rule againft fpiritual covetoufnefs. The third rule is : Whatever befalls a man by which he is leffened and humbled in his All that brings us . j t,- u to fubmiffion is of own inmoft emotions, and which *^°'^" makes him bend under the Almighty Hand of God, under all creatures, abafing and annihilating 478 Sermon on a Martyr's Day. himfelf in true humility, this comes no doubt from God. For as Lucifer and his followers defired to be great and lofty, and were therefore thruft down from heaven, fo are we led back again to heaven by felf-abafement, as it was faid of the Kings of the Eaft that they travelled back" into their own land again by another way. Thus does every being do and,teach according to that „ which is his effence, drawine; into his How that all ° beings, bad or good, own Hkenefs all whom there are to feek to draw others ..... into their own Uke- draw, as far as in him lies. The Evil Spirit is puffed up in his own obftinate conceit, and in the loftinefs of his pride is fo hardened and unbending in his own ftiff-necked will and purpofe, that neither to win heaven nor for anything elfe, will he humble himfelf for one moment, fo fixed is he in his evil mind. So likewife is it with all the proud who have learnt of him to truft in their own underftandings above all other men's opinion and reafon ; wherefore they fall into ftrife and variance with their neighbours, which begets much trouble and difquiet of heart, and hence arife many breaches of brotherly love. They will take reproof from none, and grow fo hardened in their own obftinate evil wiU, and fet upon their purpofes, that they rafhly dare to withftand all the admonitions of God and His friends, as the Jewifti fcribes and priefts withftood our bleffed Lord ; and of fuch the prophet Ifaiah, fpeaking in Sermon on a Martyr's Day. 479 the perfon of Chrift, complains : " I " have fpread out my hands all the " day unto a rebellious people, which walketh in a way " that was not good, after their own thoughts." But our bleffed Lord, on the contrary, is meek and ^, , , .,. , humble, yea. He is himfelf the effence Ofthe humility and •' glory of our Bleffed of humility, whereunto He is unceaf- Lord lefus Chrift. . , , . ,, , , mgly drawing all men whom there are to draw, and who are willing to be drawn. His Being is the caufe, the effence, and the origin of all things. He is the life of the living, the refurredion of the dead, the reftorer of all deformity and unfitnefs, and of thofe who have corrupted and defpoiled themfelves through fin. He calleth back thofe who have fallen away and wandered from His fold. He raifeth up and confirmeth thofe who are in temptation. He is the bulwark of thofe who ftand. the awakener and guide of all who are looking and ftriving upwards towards Him, the fource of all light, the lamp of all who walk in light, the revealer of myfteries, in fo far as it is fitting for us to know, and the beginning of all beginnings. His Effence is incomprehenfible, unfpeakable, and without a name. Therefore fliould we honour and glorify His unfpeakable myftery with holy reverence and filence, and nevermore covet to fathom or to tafte aught except in fo far as is to His honour and to our profit, but ever with fit reverence and devoutnefs turn with all our 480 Sermon on a Martyr's Day. might in fhamefaced awe to contemplate the radiance of His bright and fpotlefs mirror. It behoves man to be ever in fear and to bethink him of the word that God, our Lord, fpake by the mouth of Mofes : " If a man or a beaft touch " the mountain, he fhall be ftoned ; " which fignifies that How we muft not our animal fenfes muft not prefume T:l6^r^^ to Climb the Mount of tiie Divine ^°^- Effence, but muft rather keep them felves below and take the meaneft place, until the time come when it fliall be faid unto man : " Friend, come up " higher." And then he fliall not go up of himfelf, but he fhall fuffer himfelf to be led upwards, and his fenfual nature fliall be purified and endowed with the light of God, whereby he fhaU receive more Hght than he could ever win by all his great and ftrenuous labour. For the Divine Nature of Chrift is a magnet that draws unto itfelf aU fpirits and hearts that bear its Hkenefs, and daily unites them to itfelf through love. Now Richardus fays: "I receive Chrift not alone on Of receiving Chrift " the ctofs, but alfo in His transfigu- in His transfiguration. « ^^^^^^ ^^ ^^^^^ rj,^^^^ g^^ j " may not receive Him there except I find James, Peter " and John, Mofes and Elias with Him, who bear witnefs " to me that it is truly Chrift." That is to fay : in all our diftreffes, in all our painful inward deftitution, we may boldly believe that Chrift is prefent with us ; but if He Sermon on a Martyr's Day. 481 appears to us on the Mount of inward Contemplation, we need thefe witneffes that we may not enjoy the fruition of His gifts in a wanton fpirit for the fatisfadion of our own defires, nor too ardently covet more of His good gifts than we can put to a good ufe ; but may ever abafe our felves fo thoroughly that we fall not into any fpiritual pride. Thefe are the true witneffes that we may freely receive Chrift in His glory on the heights of Mount Tabor without hindrance or error, for where thefe witneffes are of a truth, there we cannot be deceived by the Spirit of Falfehood. May Almighty God help us fo to do I Amen. FINIS. YALE UNIVERSITY LIBRARY 3 9002 03462 9353 it , « ^.T"., ''¦1 . Vt" ^ ^. -»»J' 1 -J- *•* " - *Hl 1- 4- 3s x' rfi" "MlH U