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of those evils which I had been too long doing; therefore I was



now required to put it away and cease from it。







〃Again; the corrupt and unsound form of speaking in the plural



number to a single person; YOU to one; instead of THOU; contrary



to the pure; plain; and single language of truth; THOU to one;



and YOU to more than one; which had always been used by God to



men; and men to God; as well as one to another; from the oldest



record of time till corrupt men; for corrupt ends; in later and



corrupt times; to flatter; fawn; and work upon the corrupt nature



in men; brought in that false and senseless way of speaking you



to one; which has since corrupted the modern languages; and hath



greatly debased the spirits and depraved the manners of



men;this evil custom I had been as forward in as others; and



this I was now called out of and required to cease from。







〃These and many more evil customs which had sprung up in the



night of darkness and general apostasy from the truth and true



religion were now; by the inshining of this pure ray of divine



light in my conscience; gradually discovered to me to be what I



ought to cease from; shun; and stand a witness against。〃'176'







'176' The History of Thomas Elwood; written by Himself; London;



1885; pp。 32…34















These early Quakers were Puritans indeed。  The slightest



inconsistency between profession and deed jarred some of them to



active protest。  John Woolman writes in his diary:







〃In these journeys I have been where much cloth hath been dyed;



and have at sundry times walked over ground where much of their



dyestuffs has drained away。  This hath produced a longing in my



mind that people might come into cleanness of spirit; cleanness



of person; and cleanness about their houses and garments。  Dyes



being invented partly to please the eye; and partly to hide dirt;



I have felt in this weak state; when traveling in dirtiness; and



affected with unwholesome scents; a strong desire that the nature



of dyeing cloth to hide dirt may be more fully considered。







〃Washing our garments to keep them sweet is cleanly; but it is



the opposite to real cleanliness to hide dirt in them。  Through



giving way to hiding dirt in our garments a spirit which would



conceal that which is disagreeable is strengthened。  Real



cleanliness becometh a holy people; but hiding that which is not



clean by coloring our garments seems contrary to the sweetness of



sincerity。  Through some sorts of dyes cloth is rendered less



useful。 And if the value of dyestuffs; and expense of dyeing; and



the damage done to cloth; were all added together; and that cost



applied to keeping all sweet and clean; how much more would real



cleanliness prevail。







〃Thinking often on these things; the use of hats and garments



dyed with a dye hurtful to them; and wearing more clothes in



summer than are useful; grew more uneasy to me; believing them to



be customs which have not their foundation in pure wisdom。  The



apprehension of being singular from my beloved friends was a



strait upon me; and thus I continued in the use of some things;



contrary to my judgment; about nine months。  Then I thought of



getting a hat the natural color of the fur; but the apprehension



of being looked upon as one affecting singularity felt uneasy to



me。  On this account I was under close exercise of mind in the



time of our general spring meeting in 1762; greatly desiring to



be rightly directed; when; being deeply bowed in spirit before



the Lord; I was made willing to submit to what I apprehended was



required of me; and when I returned home; got a hat of the



natural color of the fur。







〃In attending meetings; this singularity was a trial to me; and



more especially at this time; as white hats were used by some who



were fond of following the changeable modes of dress; and as some



friends; who knew not from what motives I wore it; grew shy of



me; I felt my way for a time shut up in the exercise of the



ministry。  Some friends were apprehensive that my wearing such a



hat savored of an affected singularity:  those who spoke with me



in a friendly way; I generally informed in a few words; that I



believed my wearing it was not in my own will。〃







When the craving for moral consistency and purity is developed to



this degree; the subject may well find the outer world too full



of shocks to dwell in; and can unify his life and keep his soul



unspotted only by withdrawing from it。 That law which impels the



artist to achieve harmony in his composition by simply dropping



out whatever jars; or suggests a discord; rules also in the



spiritual life。  To omit; says Stevenson; is the one art in



literature:  〃If I knew how to omit; I should ask no other



knowledge。〃  And life; when full of disorder and slackness and



vague superfluity; can no more have what we call character than



literature can have it under similar conditions。  So monasteries



and communities of sympathetic devotees open their doors; and in



their changeless order; characterized by omissions quite as much



as constituted of actions; the holy…minded person finds that



inner smoothness and cleanness which it is torture to him to feel



violated at every turn by the discordancy and brutality of



secular existence。







That the scrupulosity of purity may be carried to a fantastic



extreme must be admitted。  In this it resembles Asceticism; to



which further symptom of saintliness we had better turn next。 



The adjective 〃ascetic〃 is applied to conduct originating on



diverse psychological levels; which I might as well begin by



distinguishing from one another。







1。  Asceticism may be a mere expression of organic hardihood;



disgusted with too much ease。







2。  Temperance in meat and drink; simplicity of apparel;



chastity; and non…pampering of the body generally; may be fruits



of the love of purity; shocked by whatever savors of the sensual。







3。  They may also be fruits of love; that is; they may appeal to



the subject in the light of sacrifices which he is happy in



making to the Deity whom he acknowledges。







4。  Again; ascetic mortifications and torments may be due to



pessimistic feelings about the self; combined with theological



beliefs concerning expiation。  The devotee may feel that he is



buying himself free; or escaping worse sufferings hereafter; by



doing penance now。







5。  In psychopathic persons; mortifications may be entered on



irrationally; by a sort of obsession or fixed idea which comes as



a challenge and must be worked off; because only thus does the



subject get his interior consciousness feeling right again。







6。  Finally; ascetic exercises may in rarer instances be prompted



by genuine perversions of the bodily sensibility; in consequence



of which normally pain…giving stimuli are actually felt as



pleasures。







I will try to give an instance under each of these heads in turn;



but it is not easy to get them pure; for in cases pronounced



enough to be immediately classed as ascetic; several of the



assigned motives usually work together。  Moreover; before citing



any examples at all; I must invite you to some general



psychological considerations which apply to all of them alike。







A strange moral transformation has within the past century swept



over our Western world。  We no longer think that we are called on



to face physical pain with equanimity。 It is not expected of a



man that he should either endure it or inflict much of it; and to



listen to the recital of cases of it makes our flesh creep



morally as well as physically。  The way in which our ancestors



looked upon pain as an eternal ingredient of the world's order;



and both caused and suffered it as a matter…of…course portion of



their day's work; fills us with amazement。  We wonder that any



human beings could have been so callous。  The result of this



historic alteration is that even in the Mother Church herself;



where ascetic discipline has such a fixed traditional prestige as



a factor of merit; it has largely come into desuetude; if not



discredit。  A believer who flagellates or 〃macerates〃 himself



today arouses more wonder and fear than emulation。  Many Catholic



writers who admit that the times have changed in this respect do



so resignedly; and even add that perhaps it is as well not to



waste feelings in regretting the matter; for to return to the



heroic corp

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