Wisdom Vault — onlinknow.co.za

into divine truth. They are the fruits of innu- merable efforts to achieve; the glorious gifts of him that overcomes; they constitute the ten-jewelled crown prepared for the calm brow of him who has conquered himself. With these majestic virtues is the mind of the sage adorned.

By them he is eternally shielded from sin and sorrow, from harm and hurt, from trouble and turmoil. In them he abides in a happiness, a blessedness, a bliss, so pure and tranquil, so deep and high, so far transcending all the fleeting excite- ments of self, as to be unknown and incom- prehensible to the self-seeking conscious- ness.

The sage has conquered passion, and has come to lasting peace. As the mighty moun- tain remains unmoved by the turbulent ocean that beats round its base, so the mind of the sage, towering in lofty virtue, remains unshaken by the tempests of passion which beat unceasingly upon the shores of life. [48 ] JFtom Passion to Peace Good and wise, he is evermore happy and serene; transcendently virtuous, he lives in beatific bliss. [49] Peace WHERE passion is, peace is not; where peace is, passion is not.

To know this is to master the first letter in the divine language of perfeft deeds; for to know that passion and peace cannot dwell together is to be well prepared to renounce the lesser and embrace the greater. Men pray for peace, yet cling to pas- sion; they foster strife, yet pray for heavenly j rest.

This is ignorance, profound spiritual ' ignorance; it is not to know the first letter in the alphabet of things divine. Hatred and love, strife and peace, cannot dwell together in the same heart. Where one is admitted as a welcome guest, the other will be turned away as an unwelcome stranger.

He who despises another will be despised by others; he who opposes his fellow-man will himself be resisted. He should not be surprised, and mourn, that men are divided. He should know that he [50] jTrom passion to peace is propagating strife.

He should understand his lack of peace. He is brave who conquers another; but he who conquers himself is supremely no- ble. He who is vidorious over another may in turn be defeated; but he who overcomes himself will never be subdued.

By the way of self-conquest is the Per-| feft Peace achieved. Man cannot under-j stand it, cannot approach it, until he sees the supreme necessity of turning away from the fierce fighting of things without, and entering upon the noble warfare against evils within.

He is already on the Saintly Way who has realized that the enemy of the world is within, and not without; that his own ungoverned thoughts are the source of confusion and strife; that his own unchastened desires are the violaters of his peacCj and of the peace of the world.

If a man has conquered lust and anger, hatred and pride, selfishness and greed, he has conquered the world; he has slain the [51 ] jFrom Passion to Peace enemies of peace, and peace remains with him. Peace does not fight; is not a partisan; has no blatant voice.