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〃He swore at me; and called me a Methodist devil。  I told him



that God did not tell me to let him rob me。  He cursed again; and



said he would push the wagon over me。







〃'Well;' I said; 'let us see whether the devil and thee are



stronger than the Lord and me。'







〃And the Lord and I proving stronger than the devil and he; he



had to get out of the way; or the wagon would have gone over him。







So I gave the wagon to the boy。  Then said Tom:







〃'I've a good mind to smack thee on the face。'







〃'Well;' I said; 'if that will do thee any good; thou canst do



it。' So he struck me on the face。







〃I turned the other cheek to him; and said; 'Strike again。'







〃He struck again and again; till he had struck me five times。 I



turned my cheek for the sixth stroke; but he turned away cursing。







I shouted after him:  'The Lord forgive thee; for I do; and the



Lord save thee。'







〃This was on a Saturday; and when I went home from the coal…pit



my wife saw my face was swollen; and asked what was the matter



with it。  I said:  'I've been fighting; and I've given a man a



good thrashing。'







〃She burst out weeping; and said; 'O Richard; what made you



fight?' Then I told her all about it; and she thanked the Lord I



had not struck back。







〃But the Lord had struck; and his blows have more effect than



man's。  Monday came。  The devil began to tempt me; saying:  'The



other men will laugh at thee for allowing Tom to treat thee as he



did on Saturday。' I cried; 'Get thee behind me; Satan;'and went



on my way to the coal…pit。







〃Tom was the first man I saw。  I said 'Good…morning;' but got no



reply。







〃He went down first。  When I got down; I was surprised to see him



sitting on the wagon…road waiting for me。  When I came to him he



burst into tears and said:  'Richard; will you forgive me for



striking you?'







〃'I have forgiven thee;' said I; 'ask God to forgive thee。  The



Lord bless thee。' I gave him my hand; and we went each to his



work。〃'167'







'167' J。 Patterson's Life of Richard Weaver; pp。 66…68; abridged。















〃Love your enemies!〃  Mark you; not simply those who happen not



to be your friends; but your ENEMIES; your positive and active



enemies。  Either this is a mere Oriental hyperbole; a bit of



verbal extravagance; meaning only that we should; as far as we



can; abate our animosities; or else it is sincere and literal。 



Outside of certain cases of intimate individual relation; it



seldom has been taken literally。  Yet it makes one ask the



question:  Can there in general be a level of emotion so



unifying; so obliterative of differences between man and man;



that even enmity may come to be an irrelevant circumstance and



fail to inhibit the friendlier interests aroused?  If positive



well…wishing could attain so supreme a degree of excitement;



those who were swayed by it might well seem superhuman beings。 



Their life would be morally discrete from the life of other men;



and there is no saying; in the absence of positive experience of



an authentic kindfor there are few active examples in our



scriptures; and the Buddhistic examples are legendary;'168'what



the effects might be:  they might conceivably transform the



world。







'168' As where the future Buddha; incarnated as a hare; jumps



into the fire to cook himself for a meal for a beggarhaving



previously shaken himself three times; so that none of the



insects in his fur should perish with him。















Psychologically and in principle; the precept 〃Love your enemies〃



is not self…contradictory。  It is merely the extreme limit of a



kind of magnanimity with which; in the shape of pitying tolerance



of our oppressors; we are fairly familiar。 Yet if radically



followed; it would involve such a breach with our instinctive



springs of action as a whole; and with the present world's



arrangements; that a critical point would practically be passed;



and we should be born into another kingdom of being。  Religious



emotion makes us feel that other kingdom to be close at hand;



within our reach。







The inhibition of instinctive repugnance is proved not only by



the showing of love to enemies; but by the showing of it to any



one who is personally loathsome。  In the annals of saintliness we



find a curious mixture of motives impelling in this direction。 



Asceticism plays its part; and along with charity pure and



simple; we find humility or the desire to disclaim distinction



and to grovel on the common level before God。  Certainly all



three principles were at work when Francis of Assisi and Ignatius



Loyola exchanged their garments with those of filthy beggars。 



All three are at work when religious persons consecrate their



lives to the care of leprosy or other peculiarly unpleasant



diseases。  The nursing of the sick is a function to which the



religious seem strongly drawn; even apart from the fact that



church traditions set that way。  But in the annals of this sort



of charity we find fantastic excesses of devotion recorded which



are only explicable by the frenzy of self…immolation



simultaneously aroused。  Francis of Assisi kisses his lepers;



Margaret Mary Alacoque; Francis Xavier; St。  John of God; and



others are said to have cleansed the sores and ulcers of their



patients with their respective tongues; and the lives of such



saints as Elizabeth of Hungary and Madame de Chantal are full of



a sort of reveling in hospital purulence; disagreeable to read



of; and which makes us admire and shudder at the same time。







So much for the human love aroused by the faith…state。 Let me



next speak of the Equanimity; Resignation; Fortitude; and



Patience which it brings。







〃A paradise of inward tranquillity〃 seems to be faith's usual



result; and it is easy; even without being religious one's self;



to understand this。  A moment back; in treating of the sense of



God's presence; I spoke of the unaccountable feeling of safety



which one may then have。  And; indeed; how can it possibly fail



to steady the nerves; to cool the fever; and appease the fret; if



one be sensibly conscious that; no matter what one's difficulties



for the moment may appear to be; one's life as a whole is in the



keeping of a power whom one can absolutely trust?  In deeply



religious men the abandonment of self to this power is



passionate。  Whoever not only says; but FEELS; 〃God's will be



done;〃 is mailed against every weakness; and the whole historic



array of martyrs; missionaries; and religious reformers is there



to prove the tranquil…mindedness; under naturally agitating or



distressing circumstances; which self…surrender brings。







The temper of the tranquil…mindedness differs; of course;



according as the person is of a constitutionally sombre or of a



constitutionally cheerful cast of mind。  In the sombre it



partakes more of resignation and submission; in the cheerful it



is a joyous consent。  As an example of the former temper; I quote



part of a letter from Professor Lagneau; a venerated teacher of



philosophy who lately died; a great invalid; at Paris:







〃My life; for the success of which you send good wishes; will be



what it is able to be。  I ask nothing from it; I expect nothing



from it。  For long years now I exist; think; and act; and am



worth what I am worth; only through the despair which is my sole



strength and my sole foundation。  May it preserve for me; even in



these last trials to which I am coming; the courage to do without



the desire of deliverance。  I ask nothing more from the Source



whence all strength cometh; and if that is granted; your wishes



will have been accomplished。〃'169'







'169' Bulletin de l'Union pour l'Action Morale; September; 1894。















There is something pathetic and fatalistic about this; but the



power of such a tone as a protection against outward shocks is



manifest。  Pascal is another Frenchman of pessimistic  



natural temperament。  He expresses still more amply the temper of



self…surrendering submissiveness:







〃Deliver me; Lord;〃 he writes in his prayers; 〃from the sadness



at my proper suffering which self…love might give; but put into



me a sadness like your own。  Let my sufferings appease your



choler。  Make them an occasion for my conversion and salvation。 I



ask you neither for health nor for sickness; for life nor for



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