CHAPTER LII.

A good distinction between true and false detachment.

KNOW, then, that there are three kinds of passing away. The first is a complete passing 261away. This takes place when a thing passes away so entirely that it ceases to exist; as a shadow passes away and is no more. In this sense of the word, the spirit of a man, to which we give the name of a rational soul, does not pass away at its going forth, but it continues for ever, in virtue of the high nobility of its rational nature and godlike powers. For God, after whose image it is fashioned, is a superessential reason, and therefore it is impossible for the soul to cease to exist, as the mortal body does.

Another kind of passing away may be termed a half passing away, and has its own hour and time. This is the case with those who are rapt in contemplation into the pure Godhead, as Paul was; or again, in another way, when a man becomes abstracted in thought, as often happens, and thus passes away out of himself. This kind, however, is transitory; for when Paul came to himself again, he found himself the same Paul, a man as before.

The third kind may be called a metaphorical passing away. This takes place when a man, by the renunciation of his free-will, abandons himself to God at each moment that he finds himself, just as if he knew nothing about himself, 262and God alone was lord and master. This kind of passing away cannot be complete and perpetual, so long as the body and soul are united; for at the very moment when a man has detached himself from himself, and fancies that he has so entirely passed away into God that he will never resume himself, so far as his lower or sensual nature is concerned, all at once, in an instant, he and his perverse self are back again, and he is the same that he was before, and has to forsake himself again and again. To think, then, that in this imperfect state of detachment a man may lawfully do just whatever he pleases, would be a simple delusion. Though certainly it is true, that the more any one estranges himself from himself, and passes away out of himself into God, the more completely he is established in the very truth.

Thou must know further that there are two kinds of detachment from self. The one is called antecedent, and the other subsequent detachment. Thou wilt understand this better from an example. A thief feels in himself through the wickedness of his nature an impulse and craving to steal. But his conscience opposes this, saying:—Thou shouldst not steal? for it is a sin. Now if the thief went out of 263himself and obeyed his conscience, this would be antecedent detachment, and the nobler of the two, for he would remain in his innocence. If, however, he will not detach himself from himself in this matter, but resolves to satisfy his wicked propensities, later on, when he has been caught and he sees that he must hang for it, the subsequent detachment comes, moving him to yield himself patiently to death, since it cannot be otherwise. This kind of detachment is good and saves the man’s soul, but the other is be yond comparison nobler and better. Hence we ought not to be so daring as to abandon ourselves to sin, according to the sentiments of some foolish persons, who say that he who would arrive at perfect detachment must wade through all sins. This is false; for a man would be a fool to throw himself wantonly into a filthy pool, in order that he might afterwards become more beautiful.

Therefore the most pious of God’s friends earnestly desire to be brought to naught, and to abide steadfastly in antecedent detachment, without ever resuming themselves in any thing so far as human frailty will permit; and whenever they fail in this, it is a source of lamentation to them. It is true, indeed, that they have 264this advantage over other men, that they can rid themselves more speedily of the obstacle (i.e. of the sin which stands between them and God); for out of their lamentation itself springs up at once a subsequent detachment, which replaces them quickly where they were before, and this happens when a man, finding himself still a man, bears with himself as such for God’s glory.

Moreover this subsequent detachment be comes in a certain sense profitable to them, through the self-knowledge which results from it; and here their lamentation ceases to be a lamentation, and they are born again into their former state of simplicity, and become once more what they were before. If, however, a man who is thus incomplete were to try by subtlety to help himself, alleging, What harm can it do a man if he resumes himself in what is only accidental, and thereby commits some sin exteriorly, provided that the essence of the man remains as it was, without being resumed in any point? To this I answer, that he neither understands himself nor what he says. And all learned doctors will agree to this, if only they understand what the term accident means. For the name of accident is given to that which may be added to or taken from the substantial essence 265without destroying the substance, as colour on a board. But here the case is different; for the soul and body, which in their ignorance they term accidents, are two essential parts which make up a man’s essence, and do not belong to him as accidents. Therefore every man, however perfectly he may be able to detach himself from, himself, and to bring himself back again, has still that in him by which he can act virtuously or sinfully. For the annihilation of the spirit, its passing away into the simple Godhead, and all its nobility and perfection, are not to be regarded as a transformation of man’s created essence into God, in virtue of which all that he is is God, only that he does not perceive it through his grossness, or, in other words, that he has become God, and his own essence is annihilated; but they are to be understood of a going out of self, and a contempt for self, such as has been described. And thus it is that the spirit of a man is taken out of itself and passes away duly and rightfully, and then for the first time it is well with him. For God has now become all things to him, and all things have become, as it were, God to him; for all things present themselves to him now in the manner in which they are in God, and yet they all remain each one 266what it is in its own natural essence. This is what those who are blindly ignorant and unexercised in reasoning cannot or will not admit into their bewildered minds according to the above true distinction.

Thou mayest now, with the help of this good distinction, proceed to consider the following rational maxims and instructions, which have for their object to free men from their grossness of spirit, and to lead them onwards to their highest bliss.

CHAPTER LIII.

Maxims, conformable to right reason, for the guidance of an exterior man into his interior.

LET thy walk be an interior one, and be not given to break out either in words or in thy walk.

Act according to the truth in simplicity, and whatever happens, be not helpful to thyself; for he who helps himself too much will not be helped by the Truth.

When thou art with men pay no heed to what thou seest or nearest, and cleave to that alone which has shown itself to thee (i.e. remember 267God alone who has shown Himself to thee under these outward things).

Be careful that in thy actions thy reason goes first; for when the sensual appetite gets the start, every evil comes of it.

God wishes not to deprive us of pleasure; but He wishes to give us pleasure in its totality, that is to say, all pleasure.

The more mightily thou humblest thyself, the higher thou shalt be exalted.

He who wishes to dwell in his inmost interior, must rid himself of all multiplicity. We must habitually reject all that is not the one thing.

Where the sensual appetite is the moving principle of a man’s actions, there is toil, suffering, and mental darkness.

What greater pleasure is there than to find myself the one thing that I ought to be, and the whole thing that I ought to be (i.e. one with God, who is one and all)?

A man should remain steadfast in his state of freedom from mental images, and of self-restraint. Herein lies the greatest delight.

In what does a truly detached man exercise himself? In annihilating himself.

When our love is given to a sensible image 268or person, it is accident, loving accident, and this we have no right to do; nevertheless I bear with myself in this until I get quit of it. It is, however, an interiorly simple act, when a man does not love the image, which is present to him, but when all things are to him one, and that one is God.

When a man detaches himself from himself without allowing the sensual appetite to break out, he destroys self. If he acted otherwise, he would be helping himself by means of his sensual appetite.

Keep thy feelings within thee both in weal and woe; for a man who does this loves more in one year than one who lets his feelings break out loves in three.

Wilt thou be of use to all creatures, turn thyself away from all creatures.

If a man cannot comprehend the matter, let him be passive, and the matter will comprehend him.

Take heed not to break out exteriorly in a way unlike the (divine and interior) pat tern.

A man should be on his guard against the inclination which leads him to catch at every thing which may save him from having to yield 269to the invitations of the simple Truth. If thou wilt not submit to be simple, thou wilt have to submit to be manifold.

Live as if there were no creature on earth but thee.

Say to creatures:—What thou art to me I will not be to thee (Res tibi, te Deo).

Nature loves nature and makes itself its aim. Some men’s nature has not been sufficiently crushed, and when this happens, they continue exterior.

The power of refraining from things gives a man more power than the possession of the things would.

One deflection from the right course brings along with it another.

See that nature in thee is unburdened, and that thy outward man is conformable to thy in ward man.

Look well to the inward man; for on this depends thy exterior and interior life.

It belongs to perfect detachment to keep nature at all times bridled.

A man should never lose sight of himself, lest nature should run away.

Thou lamentest that thou art still too active, undetached, and impatient. Nevertheless despair 270not. The more keenly thou feelest this the better.

Perishable love is a root of all vices, and a cloak of all truth.

The setting of the sensual nature is the rising of the truth. When the powers of the soul have ceased to work, and the elements have been purified, the powers remain fixed upon their eternal object, if they have been directed towards it according to their ability.

All the powers have one object and one work, and this is to be conformed to the eternal Truth.

There is nothing pleasurable save what is uniform with the most inmost depths of the Divine nature.

Some men are to be met with who have had an interior drawing from God, and have not followed it. The interior and exterior of these men are far apart, and it is in this that many fail.

Our nature in its present state is richly endowed. The more it goes out of itself, the further it is from God; and the more it turns inwards, the nearer to Him it is.

He who has attained to the purification of the senses in God performs so much the better all the operations of the senses.

If a man subjects his nature, when it has been purified, to the Truth, his nature is guided in such sort that it performs much more perfectly all exterior actions. Otherwise it wastes itself upon temporal matters, and can do nothing really well.

Purity, intelligence, and virtue give a feeling of wealth to those who possess them. When the sensible possession of these virtues is with drawn from such persons by God, it sometimes happens that they die to all creatures. Those who profit by this withdrawal are brought Higher to God by it.

What is that which drives a man to pursue evil courses? It is the craving for some thing which may satisfy him. Yet we can only find this in abnegation, and not in evil courses.

The reason why some men so often fall into a faulty sadness is that they do not at all times keep an eye upon themselves to avoid in every thing doing what deserves punishment.

To be worsted is to gain the victory in the estimation of God’s friends (Matt. v. 39).

Abide within thyself. The plea of seeking things outside thee presents itself as a necessity; but it is only a way of helping self.

It is bad to begin many things and to bring none to an end.

We should not move until we have observed whether it be God or nature that is working in us.

Take care that nature works in thee its works from out itself without the concurrence of other causes.

A truly detached man should attend to four things. First, he should be very virtuous in his walk, that things may flow from him with out him. Secondly, he should also be virtuous and quiet with regard to his senses, and not carry tales hither and thither, for this is calculated to fill his mind with images. Thus his interior senses will be able to act inactively. Thirdly, he should not be given to attach himself; and he should take care that there is nothing heterogeneous in him. Fourthly, he should not be contentious, but he should be have lovingly to those by whom God may be pleased to purify him.

Remain steadfastly in thyself until thou art drawn out of thyself without any act of thine.

Observe whether the intimacy between good people arises from inclination or from simplicity. The first is far too common.

Offer not thyself too much to any one. Those please least who offer most.

An interior humble walk beseems thee. When a thing acts in opposition to its nature, it is always unbecoming to it.

Happy the man whose words and ways are few. The more words and ways there are in any man, the more there is of what is accidental. Stay within thyself, and be not like such men, otherwise thou wilt suffer for it.

Some men act from their sensible feelings both in suffering and in joy; but a man should not look to himself in this.

In the spiritual annihilation of self the final consummation is attained. When Christ had said, “Into Thy hands I commend My spirit,” He added immediately, “It is consummated.”

God and the devil are in man. He who guides himself and he who forsakes himself discover the difference (i.e. the self-willed find in themselves hell, and the detached heaven).

He who desires to have rest at all times must be on his guard against himself in this as in every thing else (i.e. this desire is a species of self-seeking).

He who is interior amid exterior things is 274much more interior than he who is only interior when within himself.

It is good for a man to guide himself in nothing; and he is on the right road who contemplates under the forms of things their eternal essences.

There are many more reasoning men than simple men. Those are called reasoning men in whom reason rules. But the simple man, through his inaction, is freed from the multiplicity of images which are generated by sensible objects, and he does not contemplate things as sensible, for simplicity has become his nature, and he is like a vessel (full of God) and like a child.

He who wishes to possess all things must become as nothing to himself and all things.

How happy is the man who abides steadfast against multiplicity! What a sensible entrance he has into familiar intercourse with heaven!

A good intention often impedes true union.

Our eyes should not look outwards, except to rid ourselves of interior images.

We should bear as readily with that part of us which comes from Adam (i.e. the consequences of the fall) as with that by which we attain eternal bliss.

A detached man is always interiorly alike.

When a man still complains and is impatient, all this springs from imperfection. It must therefore be got rid of.

All those who allow themselves a wrong liberty make themselves their own aim and object.

A detached man must be unformed from the forms and images of creatures; he must be formed upon Christ, and transformed into the Godhead.

He who regards himself in Christ lets all things follow their rightful course.

When a man has died to self and begun to live in Christ, it is well with him.

When a man strives by turning inwards to conform himself to the Truth, it is clearly brought home to him that he has gone forth out of himself, and he observes that there is still some thing of the creature in him, on which the attraction acted. In this he bears with himself, and perceives that he has not yet ceased from all action. Now, thus to bear with self is to become simple. The going out of self produces a kind of weariness; but when he has turned away from creatures this weariness passes off.

What is a truly detached man’s object in all things? It is to die to himself; and when he dies to himself all things die to him.

What is the least obstacle? It is a thought. What is the greatest obstacle? It is when the soul abides in the obstinacy of its self-will.

A detached man should not let any moment pass away unmarked.

A detached man should not be always looking to see what he needs, but he should be always looking to see what he can do without.

If a detached man wishes to conform himself to the Truth, he must in the first place be diligent in turning inwards from things of sense, for God is a spirit. Secondly, he must take note whether he has attached himself to any obstacle (i.e. any thing which stands between him and God). Thirdly, he must observe whether he is his own guide in any thing, owing to the sensual appetite having got the start. Fourthly, he must, in the light which fills his soul, consider the presence of the all-penetrating Divine essence in him, and that he is one of Its vessels.

The more a man turns away from himself and all created things, the more perfect are the union and bliss to which he attains.

Wouldst thou be a detached man? take care that, however God may act towards thee, whether directly by Himself or indirectly by His creatures, thou abidest always the same, by a complete renunciation of what is thine.

Keep thy senses closed to every image which may present itself.

Be empty of every thing which the outward-gazing mind selects, which takes captive the will, and which brings earthly joy or delight into the heart:

Rest on nothing which is not God.

If thou art where a sin or imperfection is committed, add not aught of thine to it, and have nothing to do with it.

He who always dwells with himself becomes possessed of very ample means.

The recreation which a detached man grants to his nature should be confined to strict necessity, and it should be taken in harmless occupations, from which he can readily and without attachment turn away to God.

The more or less detachment a man has, the more or less will he be disturbed by transitory things.

It happened once to a half-detached man that, on a certain occasion when he had been 278too self-conscious in suffering, it was said to him:—Thou shouldst be so attentive to Me and so forgetful of thyself, that when thou knowest it is well with Me thou shouldst care nothing how it fares with thee.

In the case of a detached man who draws his senses inwards from external objects and establishes himself in the inner castle of his soul, the less he finds within to cling to, the more painful are his interior sufferings, and the more quickly he dies, the more swiftly he bursts through to God.

To give the senses a wide field withdraws a man from his interior.

See that thou undertakest nothing which will carry thee out of thyself.

If things come in search of thee, let them, not find thee.

Be quick in turning inwards into thyself.

Natural life shows itself in movement and in the operations of the senses. He who detaches himself from himself in this, and dies to himself in stillness, begins a supernatural life.

Some persons find no hindrance in going out of themselves, but they want steadfastness in this state.

Establish thyself in absolute detachment; 279for an unbounded longing, even for what is divine, when it is excessive, may become a secret obstacle.

A detached man should keep the powers of his soul under such restraint that, on looking within, this is apparent to him.

A detached man remains always inactive as regards himself, just as if he were unconscious of himself; for in that object, which is God, all things are well and harmoniously ordered in him.

Give heed also to thy outward man that it be at one with thy inward man, by the subjection of all fleshly appetites.

To return again into God by detachment is often more pleasing to Him than a self-satisfied stability.

Gather together and draw in thy soul from the external senses, through which it has dissipated itself upon the multiplicity of outward things.

Go in again, and return over and over again into unity, and enjoy God.

Be steadfast, and never rest content until thou hast obtained the now of eternity as thy present possession in this life, so far as this is possible to human infirmity.