active
life
is
better
tlian
the
life
of
contemplation,
so
far
as
we
actually
spend
in
charity
the
income
we
derive
from
contemplation.
It
is
all
the
same
tiling
;
wc
have
but
to
root
ourselves
in
this
same
ground
of
contemplation
to
make
it
fruitful
in
works,
and
the
object
of
contemplation
is
achieved.
True,
there
is
motion,
but
no
more
than
one
;
it
conics
from
one
end,
God,
and
goes
back
to
the
same.
As
though
I
went
from
one
end
to
th«^
other
of
this
house
;
that
would
in
sooth
be
motion,
but
of
one
in
the
same.
Even
so
in
this
activity
wc
are
in
the
state
of
contemplation
in
God.
I'he
one
is
centred
in
the
other
and
perfects
the
other.
God’s
puqDose
in
the
union
of
contemplation
is
fruitfulness
in
works
;
for
in
contemplation
thou
servest
thyself
alone,
but
the
many
in
good
works.
Hereto
Christ
admonisheth
us
by
his
whole
life
and
the
lives
of
all
his
saints,
every
one
of
whom
he
drove
forth
into
the
world
to
teach
the
multitude.
St
Paul
said
to
Timothy,
‘
Beloved,
preach
the
Word.’
Did
he
mean
the
outward
word
that
beats
the
air
?
Nay,
surely
!
He
meant
the
in-born,
hidden
Word
that
lies
secreted
in
the
soul
;
it
was
this
that
he
exhorted
them
to
preach,
to
the
end
that
it
might
be
made
known
to
and
nourish
the
powers
of
such
as
spend
themselves
wholly
in
the
exterior
life.
That
what
time
thy
fellow-man
hath
need
of
thee
thou
niayst
be
found
ready
to
serve
him
to
the
best
of
thy
ability.
It
must
be
within
thee,
in
thought,
in
intellect
and
will,
and
shine
forth
in
thy
deeds.
As
Christ
said,
‘
Let
your
light
shine
before
men.’
He
was
thinking
of
those
people
who
(*are
only
for
the
contemplative
life
and
neglect
the
virtuous
uses
of
it,
which,
they
say,
do
not
concern
them,
they
are
passcxl
that
stage.
Not
these
had
Christ
in
mind
when
he
observed
:
‘
The
seed
fell
upon
good
ground
and
yielded
fmit
an
hundredfold,’
but
these
he
meant
when
he
declared
:
‘
The
tree
that
bcareth
not
fruit
shall
be
cut
down.’
Thou
mayst
object
:
‘
Hut,
Sir,
what
of
that
silence
you
said
so
much
about
?
This
means
images
galore.
Every
one
of
these
acts
has
its
ayjpropriate
image,
be
the
act
internal
or
external
;
whether
it
be
teaching
one
or
comforting
another
or
arranging
this
or
that,
so
what
quiet
can
I
get
withal
?
If
the
mind
sees
and
formulates
and
the
will
wills
and
memory
holds
it
fast,
does
not
all
this
necessitate
ideas
?
’
Let
me
explain.
We
were
speaking
just
now
of
the
active
intellect
and
the
passive
intelle(!t.
Active
intellect
abstracts
the
images
of
outward
things,
stripping
them
of
matter
and
of
accidents,
and
introduces
them
to
the
passive
intellect,
begetting
their
mental
prototypes
therein.
And
the
passive
intellect
made
pregnant
by
the
active
in
this
way,
knows
and
cherishes
these
things
with
the
help
of
active
intellect.
Passive
intellect
cannot
keep
on
