Chapter XXXVIII
Short Sentences Concerning The Distinction Of The Mind'S Impulses
Pusillanimity is a sign of despondency; the mother of both is negligence. A timorous man shows that he suffers from two illnesses: from love of the body and from want of faith. Love of the body is a sign of unbelief. But he that despises it, shows concerning himself that he trusts God and expects the future things. If there is anyone who has approached God without being troubled, try then on thy part to resemble him. Courage of the heart and contempt for danger arise from one of two causes: either from hardness of heart, or from a deep belief in God. The former is accompanied by haughtiness, the latter by humbleness of heart. It is impossible for a man to acquire confidence in God, if he has not before fulfilled His will in part. Confidence in God and manliness of heart rise from the testimony of conscience. For on account of the true testimony of our mind we acquire confidence in God. The testimony of the mind has its origin therein that a man is not despised by his soul for neglect of his duty, as far as this is possible. If our heart does not despise us, then we are frank with God. Frankness has its origin in a firm behaviour and in an unstained mind. It is hard to serve as a slave to the body. He that is aware of his hope, though to a small extent, will refuse to 292 serve again the stern will of this hard master. Endurance in perfect silence and preservation of solitude arise from on1e of three causes: from the [love of] glory among fellow-men; or the fervent zeal for excellence; or a certain
195
inward working of God towards which the mind is attracted. He that is destitute of the two latter causes, will suffer from the first as it were by necessity. Excellence does not consist in many manifest distinctions of bodily performances, but in a heart prudent in its hope, accompanying the works with a right intention. For often these performances do not favour service, and the mind will be able to gain profit even without them. But without the prudence of the heart the body cannot profit even when it performs service. For if there is an opportunity to perform beautiful works, a godly man cannot refrain from showing his love, in the performance of manifest deeds. The former kind is always succesful; the latter sometimes, and sometimes not. Do not reckon it a small thing when the causes of the affections are afar off and removed from a man. The stirring of the inferior limbs which comes quickly into existence, without deliberations, that is to say impure pleasure which springs from under a wall with fervour and captivates the soul with madness, 293 the will being of no use - undoubtedly arises in the body from a repleted belly. As a strong weapon in this strife reckon this, that a man be far from seeing women. What nature works by its power, even the foe cannot work it. Do not think that nature will forget till death that which God has sown and hidden in its roots, serving for the carrying on of our race and for testing us by strife. So every desire, whatever it be, is lulled to sleep in our limbs by keeping things at a distance; and its memory is given over to absorption and oblivion. Thoughts of far off things which make a simple passage through the mind, are different from the dark and cold impulses that arise from the soul itself. Those thoughts also which arise from living contact which immerses the mind in a sight not to be forgotten and which excites passion near-at-hand, feeding it as oil feeds the flame of the lamp which was already flickering and nearly extinguished, are different from the stirring of the sea of the body through the impulses which agitate it against the ship of the mind. The emotionability which exclusively rises from nature and which by God the creator has been deposited in us in order to educate the world of the body, is not able, without an increase from without, to bereave the will of its clearness, to
196
confuse it so that it lose its chastity. For God does not impart strength to nature so that it overcome the virtuous will. 294 But when a man is defeated by anger and by desire, it is not that which lies in nature which compels him to leave nature's domain and to cut the bonds of duty, but it is something which we add to nature by the intermediary of the will. All that God has made, He has made beautiful and in due proportions. And as long as the measure of natural things is rightly preserved in us they do not cause us to be swept from the way of God's law as it were by a deluge; only peaceful impulses stir in a body provided with the faculty of emotions, so long as we only know that passion exists, but not so when we also experience that it allures, or that it troubles the course of chastity and that it causes confusion or that it changes the state of peace into anger. If, however, we sometimes crave for things of the senses which are usually the source of unnatural anger, or for copious food and drink, or for constantly having the opportunity of seeing a woman near us, or of hearing tales about her which use to enflame in the body the fire of desires - then we cause the natural state of peace to be changed into that of bestiality, be it on account of the many humours in the arteries, or by various sights of [worldly] things. It occurs also on account of that abandonment that arises from presumption. But this does not really belong to this category. The former cases we call strife for freedom and they belong to the common way of nature. Strife through abandon ment arising from presumption we experience when we are occupied by labours and watchfulness for a long time and 295 then, in spite of them, the force of desire rushes in upon us with unnatural vehemence. But in other cases such events take place on account of our relaxation. When nature is augmented in force by the senses or by the belly, it is not to be persuaded to keep henceforth the original measure of its stamp. He that rejects troubles and loneliness is involuntarily compelled to love sins. Without these we are not able to remain far from spiritual allurements. The latter diminish in accordance with the growth of the former. For troubles dissipate the pleasure of the affections; consolation, on the other hand, strengthens and induces them. So it is clear that God and His angels rejoice at troubles;
197
Satan and his servants, however, at consolation. For if God's commandments are performed under bodily tortures and we reject these, it is clear that we contrive to reject Him that is the giver of the commandments. As by the affections, which are the offspring of consolation, we annihilate that which is the cause of excellence, namely hardship, so we make room for the affections to the same extent as we admit consolation. For in a tortured body deliberations cannot be distracted by idle things. When a man bears tortures with gladness, he has also strength enough to check the deliberations; because even the deliberations do not abhor labours. Thus, when a man flogs himself with troubles, on account of the recollection of his previous sins, God, on His side, will 296 care for his peace; because He rejoices when He sees that the sinner himself has executed a judgment against himself because of his deviation from His way - a sign of repentance. And as he greatly troubles himself, so to the same extent the signs of honour granted to him by God, will increase. Every joy which is not caused by excellence will at once stir emotions of desire in him that has found it. This is to be understood of all desires connected with the affections, not of the natural ones only.