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know just why or how such sovereignty comes about in one person



and not in another。  We can only give our imagination a certain



delusive help by mechanical analogies。















If we should conceive; for example; that the human mind; with its



different possibilities of equilibrium; might be like a



many…sided solid with different surfaces on which it could lie



flat; we might liken mental revolutions to the spatial



revolutions of such a body。  As it is pried up; say by a lever;



from a position in which it lies on surface A; for instance; it



will linger for a time unstably halfway up; and if the lever



cease to urge it; it will tumble back or 〃relapse〃 under the



continued pull of gravity。  But if at last it rotate far enough



for its centre of gravity to pass beyond surface A altogether;



the body will fall over; on surface B; say; and abide there



permanently。  The pulls of gravity towards A have vanished; and



may now be disregarded。 The polyhedron has become immune against



farther attraction from their direction。







In this figure of speech the lever may correspond to the



emotional influences making for a new life; and the initial pull



of gravity to the ancient drawbacks and inhibitions。  So long as



the emotional influence fails to reach a certain pitch of



efficacy; the changes it produces are unstable; and the man



relapses into his original attitude。 But when a certain intensity



is attained by the new emotion; a critical point is passed; and



there then ensues an irreversible revolution; equivalent to the



production of a new nature。







The collective name for the ripe fruits of religion in a



character is Saintliness。'152' The saintly character is the



character for which spiritual emotions are the habitual centre of



the personal energy; and there is a certain composite photograph



of universal saintliness; the same in all religions; of which the



features can easily be traced。'153'







'152' I use this word in spite of a certain flavor of



〃sanctimoniousness〃 which sometimes clings to it; because no



other word suggests as well the exact combination of affections



which the text goes on to describe。







'153' 〃It will be found;〃 says Dr。 W。 R。 Inge (in his lectures on



Christian Mysticism; London; 1899; p。 326); 〃that men of



preeminent saintliness agree very closely in what they tell us。 



They tell us that they have arrived at an unshakable conviction;



not based on inference but on immediate experience; that God is a



spirit with whom the human spirit can hold intercourse; that in



him meet all that they can imagine of goodness; truth; and



beauty; that they can see his footprints everywhere in nature;



and feel his presence within them as the very life of their life;



so that in proportion as they come to themselves they come to



him。  They tell us what separates us from him and from happiness



is; first; self…seeking in all its forms; and secondly;



sensuality in all its forms; that these are the ways of darkness



and death; which hide from us the face of God; while the path of



the just is like a shining light; which shineth more and more



unto the perfect day。〃















They are these:







1。  A feeling of being in a wider life than that of this world's



selfish little interests; and a conviction; not merely



intellectual; but as it were sensible; of the existence of an



Ideal Power。  In Christian saintliness this power is always



personified as God; but abstract moral ideals; civic or patriotic



utopias; or inner versions of holiness or right may also be felt



as the true lords and enlargers of our life; in ways which I



described in the lecture on the Reality of the Unseen。'154'







'154' The 〃enthusiasm of humanity〃 may lead to a life which



coalesces in many respects with that of Christian saintliness。 



Take the following rules proposed to members of the Union pour



l'Action morale; in the Bulletin de l'Union; April 1…15; 1894。 



See; also; Revue Bleue; August 13; 1892。







〃We would make known in our own persons the usefulness of rule;



of discipline; of resignation and renunciation; we would teach



the necessary perpetuity of suffering; and explain the creative



part which it plays。  We would wage war upon false optimism; on



the base hope of happiness coming to us ready made; on the notion



of a salvation by knowledge alone; or by material civilization



alone; vain symbol as this is of civilization; precarious



external arrangement ill…fitted to replace the intimate union and



consent of souls。  We would wage war also on bad morals; whether



in public or in private life; on luxury; fastidiousness; and



over…refinement; on all that tends to increase the painful;



immoral; and anti…social multiplications of our wants; on all



that excites envy and dislike in the soul of the common people;



and confirms the notion that the chief end of life is freedom to



enjoy。  We would preach by our example the respect of superiors



and equals; the respect of all men; affectionate simplicity in



our relations with inferiors and insignificant persons;



indulgence where our own claims only are concerned; but firmness



in our demands where they relate to duties towards others or



towards the public。















〃For the common people are what we help them to become; their



vices are our vices; gazed upon; envied; and imitated; and if



they come back with all their weight upon us; it is but just。







2。  A sense of the friendly continuity of the ideal power with



our own life; and a willing self…surrender to its control。







3。  An immense elation and freedom; as the outlines of the



confining selfhood melt down。







4。  A shifting of the emotional centre towards loving and



harmonious affections; towards 〃yes; yes;〃 and away from 〃no;〃



where the claims of the non…ego are concerned。 These fundamental



inner conditions have characteristic practical consequences; as



follows:







a。  Asceticism。The self…surrender may become so passionate as



to turn into self…immolation。  It may then so over…rule the



ordinary inhibitions of the flesh that the saint finds positive



pleasure in sacrifice and asceticism; measuring and expressing as



they do the degree of his loyalty to the higher power。







b。  Strength of Soul。The sense of enlargement of life may be so



uplifting that personal motives and inhibitions; commonly



omnipotent; become too insignificant for notice; and new reaches



of patience and fortitude open out。  Fears and anxieties go; and



blissful equanimity takes their place。 Come heaven; come hell; it



makes no difference now!







〃We forbid ourselves all seeking after popularity; all ambition



to appear important。  We pledge ourselves to abstain from



falsehood; in all its degrees。  We promise not to create or



encourage illusions as to what is possible; by what we say or



write。 We promise to one another active sincerity; which strives



to see truth clearly; and which never fears to declare what it



sees。







〃We promise deliberate resistance to the tidal waves of fashion;



to the 'booms' and panics of the public mind; to all the forms of



weakness and of fear。







〃We forbid ourselves the use of sarcasm。  Of serious things we



will speak seriously and unsmilingly; without banter and without



the appearance of banter;and even so of all things; for there



are serious ways of being light of heart。







〃We will put ourselves forward always for what we are; simply and



without false humility; as well as without pedantry; affectation;



or pride。〃







c。  Purity。The shifting of the emotional centre brings with it;



first; increase of purity。  The sensitiveness to spiritual



discords is enhanced; and the cleansing of existence from brutal



and sensual elements becomes imperative。  Occasions of contact



with such elements are avoided:  the saintly life must deepen its



spiritual consistency and keep unspotted from the world。  In some



temperaments this need of purity of spirit takes an ascetic turn;



and weaknesses of the flesh are treated with relentless severity。







d。  Charity。The shifting of the emotional centre brings;



secondly; increase of charity; tenderness for fellow…creatures。



The ordinary motives to antipathy; which usually set such close



bounds to tenderness among human beings; are inhibited。 The saint



loves his enemies; and treats loathsome beggars as his brot

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