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view of life。  We glorify the soldier as the man absolutely



unincumbered。  Owning nothing but his bare life; and willing to



toss that up at any moment when the cause commands him; he is the



representative of unhampered freedom in ideal directions。  The



laborer who pays with his person day by day; and has no rights



invested in the future; offers also much of this ideal



detachment。  Like the savage; he may make his bed wherever his



right arm can support him; and from his simple and athletic



attitude of observation; the property…owner seems buried and



smothered in ignoble externalities and trammels; 〃wading in straw



and rubbish to his knees。〃  The claims which THINGS make are



corrupters of manhood; mortgages on the soul; and a drag anchor



on our progress towards the empyrean。







〃Everything I meet with;〃 writes Whitefield; 〃seems to carry this



voice with it'Go thou and preach the Gospel; be a pilgrim on



earth; have no party or certain dwelling place。' My heart echoes



back; 'Lord Jesus; help me to do or suffer thy will。 When thou



seest me in danger of NESTLINGin pityin tender pityput a



THORN in my nest to prevent me from it。'〃'193'







'193' R。 Philip:  The Life and Times of George Whitefield;



London; 1842; p。 366。















The loathing of 〃capital〃 with which our laboring classes today



are growing more and more infected seems largely composed of this



sound sentiment of antipathy for lives based on mere having。  As



an anarchist poet writes:







〃Not by accumulating riches; but by giving away that which you



have;







〃Shall you become beautiful;







〃You must undo the wrappings; not case yourself in fresh ones;







〃Not by multiplying clothes shall you make your body sound and



healthy; but rather by discarding them 。  。  。







〃For a soldier who is going on a campaign does not seek what



fresh furniture he can carry on his back; but rather what he can



leave behind;







〃Knowing well that every additional thing which he cannot freely



use and handle is an impediment。〃'194'







'194' Edward Carpenter:  Towards Democracy; p。 362; abridged。















In short; lives based on having are less free than lives based



either on doing or on being; and in the interest of action people



subject to spiritual excitement throw away possessions as so many



clogs。  Only those who have no private interests can follow an



ideal straight away。  Sloth and cowardice creep in with every



dollar or guinea we have to guard。  When a brother novice came to



Saint Francis; saying:  〃Father; it would be a great consolation



to me to own a psalter; but even supposing that our general



should concede to me this indulgence; still I should like also to



have your consent;〃 Francis put him off with the examples of



Charlemagne; Roland; and Oliver; pursuing the infidels in sweat



and labor; and finally dying on the field of battle。  〃So care



not;〃 he said; 〃for owning books and knowledge; but care rather



for works of goodness。〃  And when some weeks later the novice



came again to talk of his craving for the psalter; Francis said: 



〃After you have got your psalter you will crave a breviary; and



after you have got your breviary you will sit in your stall like



a grand prelate; and will say to your brother:  〃Hand me my



breviary。〃。  。  。 And thenceforward he denied all such requests;



saying:  A man possesses of learning only so much as comes out of



him in action; and a monk is a good preacher only so far as his



deeds proclaim him such; for every tree is known by its



fruits。〃'195'







'195' Speculum Perfectionis; ed。  P。 Sabatier; Paris; 1898; pp。



10; 13。















But beyond this more worthily athletic attitude involved in doing



and being; there is; in the desire of not having; something



profounder still; something related to that fundamental mystery



of religious experience; the satisfaction found in absolute



surrender to the larger power。  So long as any secular safeguard



is retained; so long as any residual prudential guarantee is



clung to; so long the surrender is incomplete; the vital crisis



is not passed; fear still stands sentinel; and mistrust of the



divine obtains:  we hold by two anchors; looking to God; it is



true; after a fashion; but also holding by our proper



machinations。  In certain medical experiences we have the same



critical point to overcome。  A drunkard; or a morphine or cocaine



maniac; offers himself to be cured。  He appeals to the doctor to



wean him from his enemy; but he dares not face blank abstinence。 



The tyrannical drug is still an anchor to windward:  he hides



supplies of it among his clothing; arranges secretly to have it



smuggled in in case of need。  Even so an incompletely regenerate



man still trusts in his own expedients。  His money is like the



sleeping potion which the chronically wakeful patient keeps



beside his bed; he throws himself on God; but IF he should need



the other help; there it will be also。  Every one knows cases of



this incomplete and ineffective desire for reform…drunkards whom;



with all their self…reproaches and resolves; one perceives to be



quite unwilling seriously to contemplate NEVER being drunk again!



Really to give up anything on which we have relied; to give it up



definitely; 〃for good and all〃 and forever; signifies one of



those radical alterations of character which came under our



notice in the lectures on conversion。 In it the inner man rolls



over into an entirely different position of equilibrium; lives in



a new centre of energy from this time on; and the turning…point



and hinge of all such operations seems usually to involve the



sincere acceptance of certain nakednesses and destitutions。







Accordingly; throughout the annals of the saintly life; we find



this ever…recurring note:  Fling yourself upon God's providence



without making any reserve whatevertake no thought for the



morrowsell all you have and give it to the pooronly when the



sacrifice is ruthless and reckless will the higher safety really



arrive。  As a concrete example let me read a page from the



biography of Antoinette Bourignon; a good woman; much persecuted



in her day by both Protestants and Catholics; because she would



not take her religion at second hand。  When a young girl; in her



father's house







〃She spent whole nights in prayer; oft repeating:  Lord; what



wilt thou have me to do?  And being one night in a most profound



penitence; she said from the bottom of her heart:  'O my Lord!



What must I do to please thee?  For I have nobody to teach me。 



Speak to my soul and it will hear thee。' At that instant she



heard; as if another had spoke within her:  Forsake all earthly



things。  Separate thyself from the love of the creatures。 Deny



thyself。  She was quite astonished; not understanding this



language; and mused long on these three points; thinking how she



could fulfill them。  She thought she could not live without



earthly things; nor without loving the creatures; nor without



loving herself。  Yet she said; 'By thy Grace I will do it; Lord!'



But when she would perform her promise; she knew not where to



begin。  Having thought on the religious in monasteries; that they



forsook all earthly things by being shut up in a cloister; and



the love of themselves by subjecting of their wills; she asked



leave of her father to enter into a cloister of the barefoot



Carmelites; but he would not permit it; saying he would rather



see her laid in her grave。  This seemed to her a great cruelty;



for she thought to find in the cloister the true Christians she



had been seeking; but she found afterwards that he knew the



cloisters better than she; for after he had forbidden her; and



told her he would never permit her to be a religious; nor give



her any money to enter there; yet she went to Father Laurens; the



Director; and offered to serve in the monastery and work hard for



her bread; and be content with little; if he would receive her。



At which he smiled and said:  That cannot be。  We must have money



to build; we take no maids without money; you must find the way



to get it; else there is no entry here。







〃This astonished her greatly; and she was thereby undeceived as



to the cloisters; resolving to forsake all company and live alone



till it should please God to show her what she ought to do and



whither to go。  She asked always earnestly; 'When shall I be



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