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that on the other side great obstacles are suddenly removed; that



when the time has come for something; one suddenly receives a



courage that formerly failed; or perceives the root of a matter



that until then was concealed; or discovers thoughts; talents;



yea; even pieces of knowledge and insight; in one's self; of



which it is impossible to say whence they come; finally; that



persons help us or decline to help us; favor us or refuse us; as



if they had to do so against their will; so that often those



indifferent or even unfriendly to us yield us the greatest



service and furtherance。  (God takes often their worldly goods;



from those whom he leads; at just the right moment; when they



threaten to impede the effort after higher interests。)







〃Besides all this; other noteworthy things come to pass; of which



it is not easy to give account。  There is no doubt whatever that



now one walks continually through 'open doors' and on the easiest



roads; with as little care and trouble as it is possible to



imagine。







〃Furthermore one finds one's self settling one's affairs neither



too early nor too late; whereas they were wont to be spoiled by



untimeliness; even when the preparations had been well laid。 In



addition to this; one does them with perfect tranquillity of



mind; almost as if they were matters of no consequence; like



errands done by us for another person; in which case we usually



act more calmly than when we act in our own concerns。  Again; one



finds that one can WAIT for everything patiently; and that is one



of life's great arts。  One finds also that each thing comes duly;



one thing after the other; so that one gains time to make one's



footing sure before advancing farther。  And then every thing



occurs to us at the right moment; just what we ought to do; etc。;



and often in a very striking way; just as if a third person were



keeping watch over those things which we are in easy danger of



forgetting。







〃Often; too; persons are sent to us at the right time; to offer



or ask for what is needed; and what we should never have had the



courage or resolution to undertake of our own accord。







〃Through all these experiences one finds that one is kindly and



tolerant of other people; even of such as are repulsive;



negligent; or ill…willed; for they also are instruments of good



in God's hand; and often most efficient ones。  Without these



thoughts it would be hard for even the best of us always to keep



our equanimity。  But with the consciousness of divine guidance;



one sees many a thing in life quite differently from what would



otherwise be possible。







〃All these are things that every human being KNOWS; who has had



experience of them; and of which the most speaking examples could



be brought forward。  The highest resources of worldly wisdom are



unable to attain that which; under divine leading; comes to us of



its own accord。〃'317'







'317' C。 Hilty:  Gluck; Dritter Theil; 1900; pp。 92 ff。















Such accounts as this shade away into others where the belief is;



not that particular events are tempered more towardly to us by a



superintending providence; as a reward for our reliance; but that



by cultivating the continuous sense of our connection with the



power that made things as they are; we are tempered more towardly



for their reception。  The outward face of nature need not alter;



but the expressions of meaning in it alter。  It was dead and is



alive again。 It is like the difference between looking on a



person without love; or upon the same person with love。  In the



latter case intercourse springs into new vitality。  So when one's



affections keep in touch with the divinity of the world's



authorship; fear and egotism fall away; and in the equanimity



that follows; one finds in the hours; as they succeed each other;



a series of purely benignant opportunities。  It is as if all



doors were opened; and all paths freshly smoothed。  We meet a new



world when we meet the old world in the spirit which this kind of



prayer infuses。







Such a spirit was that of Marcus Aurelius and Epictetus。'318'  It



is that of mind…curers; of the transcendentalists; and of the



so…called 〃liberal〃 Christians。  As an expression of it; I will



quote a page from one of Martineau's sermons:







'318' 〃Good Heaven!〃 says Epictetus; 〃any one thing in the



creation is sufficient to demonstrate a Providence; to a humble



and grateful mind。  The mere possibility of producing milk from



grass; cheese from milk; and wool from skins; who formed and



planned it?  Ought we not; whether we dig or plough or eat; to



sing this hymn to God?  Great is God; who has supplied us with



these instruments to till the ground; great is God; who has given



us hands and instruments of digestion; who has given us to grow



insensibly and to breathe in sleep。  These things we ought



forever to celebrate。 。 。 。 But because the most of you are



blind and insensible; there must be some one to fill this



station; and lead; in behalf of all men; the hymn to God; for



what else can I do; a lame old man; but sing hymns to God?  Were



I a nightingale; I would act the part of a nightingale; were I a



swan; the part of a swan。  But since I am a reasonable creature;



it is my duty to praise God 。 。 。 and I call on you to join the



same song。〃 Works; book i。 ch。 xvi。; Carter…Higginson



(translation) abridged。















〃The universe; open to the eye to…day; looks as it did a thousand



years ago:  and the morning hymn of Milton does but tell the



beauty with which our own familiar sun dressed the earliest



fields and gardens of the world。  We see what all our fathers



saw。  And if we cannot find God in your house or in mine; upon



the roadside or the margin of the sea; in the bursting seed or



opening flower; in the day duty or the night musing; in the



general laugh and the secret grief; in the procession of life;



ever entering afresh; and solemnly passing by and dropping off; I



do not think we should discern him any more on the grass of Eden;



or beneath the moonlight of Gethsemane。  Depend upon it; it is



not the want of greater miracles; but of the soul to perceive



such as are allowed us still; that makes us push all the



sanctities into the far spaces we cannot reach。  The devout feel



that wherever God's hand is; THERE is miracle:  and it is simply



an indevoutness which imagines that only where miracle is; can



there be the real hand of God。  The customs of Heaven ought



surely to be more sacred in our eyes than its anomalies; the dear



old ways; of which the Most High is never tired; than the strange



things which he does not love well enough ever to repeat。  And he



who will but discern beneath the sun; as he rises any morning;



the supporting finger of the Almighty; may recover the sweet and



reverent surprise with which Adam gazed on the first dawn in



Paradise。  It is no outward change; no shifting in time or place;



but only the loving meditation of the pure in heart; that can



reawaken the Eternal from the sleep within our souls:  that can



render him a reality again; and reassert for him once more his



ancient name of 'the Living God。'〃'319'







'319' James Martineau:  end of the sermon 〃Help Thou Mine



Unbelief;〃 in Endeavours after a Christian Life; 2d series。 



Compare with this page the extract from Voysey on p。 270; above;



and those from Pascal and Madame Guyon on p。 281。















When we see all things in God; and refer all things to him; we



read in common matters superior expressions of meaning。  The



deadness with which custom invests the familiar vanishes; and



existence as a whole appears transfigured。 The state of a mind



thus awakened from torpor is well expressed in these words; which



I take from a friend's letter:







〃If we occupy ourselves in summing up all the mercies and



bounties we are privileged to have; we are overwhelmed by their



number (so great that we can imagine ourselves unable to give



ourselves time even to begin to review the things we may imagine



WE HAVE NOT)。  We sum them and realize that WE ARE ACTUALLY



KILLED WITH GOD'S KINDNESS; that we are surrounded by bounties



upon bounties; without which all would fall。  Should we not love



it; should we not feel buoyed up by the Eternal Arms?〃







Sometimes this realization that facts are of divine sending;



instead of being habitual; is casual; like a mystical experience。 



Father Gratry gives this instance from his youthful melancholy



period:







〃One day I had a moment of consolation; because I met with



something which seemed to me ideally perfect。  It was a poor



drummer beating the tattoo in the streets of Paris。  I walked



behind him in returning to the school on the evening of a



holiday。 His drum gave out the tattoo in such a way that; at that



moment at least; however peevish I were; I could find no pretext



for fault…finding。  It was impossible to conceive more nerve or



spirit; better time or measure; more clearness or richness; than



were in this drumming。  Ideal desire could go no farther in that



direction。  I was enchanted and consoled; the perfection of this



wretched act did me good。  Good is at least possible; I said。



since the ideal can thus sometimes get embodied。〃'320'







'320' Souvenirs de ma Jeunesse; 1897; p。 122。















In Senancour's novel of Obermann a similar transient lifting of



the veil is recorded。  In Paris streets; on a March day; he comes



across a flower in bloom; a jonquil:







〃It was the strongest expression of desire:  it was the first



perfume of the year。  I felt all the happiness destined for man。



This unutterable harmony of souls; the phantom of the ideal



world; arose in me complete。  I never felt anything so great or



so instantaneous。  I know not what shape; what analogy; what



secret of relation it was that made me see in this flower a



limitless beauty。 。 。 。  I shall never inclose in a conception



this power; this immensity that nothing will express; this form



that nothing will contain; this ideal of a better world which one



feels; but which; it seems; nature has not made actual。〃'321'







'321' Op。 cit。; Letter XXX。















We heard in previous lectures of the vivified face of the world




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