Wisdom Vault — onlinknow.co.za

submits to evil, saying, "Sin can- not be overcome, and evil must be borne,'* thereby acknowledges that evil is his mas- ter; and not his master to instrud: him, but to bind and oppress him. The lover of good cannot also be a lover of evil, nor can he, for one moment, admit its ascendency.

He elevates and glorifies good, not evil. He loves light, not darkness. When a man makes truth his master, he abandons error; and as he transcends error, he becomes more like his master, until at last he becomes one with truth, teaching it, as a master, by his adlions, and refleding it in his life. [42 ] Jfrom Pa00ion to Peace Transcendence is not an abnormal con- dition; it belongs to the orderly process of evolution; and though, as yet, few have reached it, all will come into it in the course of the ages.

And he who ascends into it, sins no more, sorrows no more, and is no more troubled; good are his thoughts, good are his adlions, and good is the tranquil tenor of his way. He has conquered self, and has submitted to truth; he has mastered evil, and has comprehended good.

Hence- forth nor men nor books can instruct him, for he is instruded by the Supreme Good, even the spirit of truth. [43 ] IBeatituDe WHEN divine good is pradised, life is bliss. Bliss is the normal condi- tion of the good man; and those outer as- saults, harassments, and persecutions which bring such sufferings to others, only serve to heighten his happiness, for they cause the deep fountain of good within him to well up in greater abundance.

To have transcendent virtue is to enjoy transcendent felicity. The beatific blessed- ness which Jesus holds out is promised to those having the beatific virtues — to the merciful, the pure in heart, the peacemakers, and so on. The higher virtue does not merely and only lead to happiness, it is happiness.

It is impossible for a man of transcendent virtue to be unhappy. The cause of unhappiness must be sought and found in the self-loving elements, and not in the self-sacrificing qualities. A man may have virtue, and be unhappy, but not so [44] jTtom passion to Peace if he have divine virtue.

Human virtue is mingled with self, and therefore with sor- row; but from divine virtue every taint of self has been purged away, and with it every vestige of misery. One comparison will suf- fice to illustrate this: a man may have the courage of a lion in attack and self-de- fence (such courage being a human virtue), but he will not thereby be rendered su- premely happy; but he whose courage is of that divine kind which enables him to transcend both attack and defence, and to remain mild, serene, and lovable under at- tack, such a man will thereby be rendered supremely happy.

Moreover, his assailant will be rendered more happy, in that his more powerful good will overcome and cast out the fierce and unhappy evil of the other. The acquisition of human virtue is a great step towards truth; but the divine way transcends it, — truth lies upward and beyond.

Doing good in order to gain a personal [45 ] jTrom Passion to l^eace heaven or personal immortality is human virtue, but it is not unmixed with self, and not emancipated from sorrow. In the tran- scendent virtues all is good, and good is all, and there is no personal or ulterior aim.

Human virtue is imperfed; it is mixed with the baser, selfish elements, and needs to be transmuted. Divine virtue is unblemished, pure ; it is complete and perfed in itself. And what are the transcendent virtues that embody all felicity?