第53章

类别:其他 作者:William James字数:5585更新时间:18/12/21 17:13:49
LeGeneralSkobeleff,NouvelleRevue,1886,abridged。)Skobeleffseemstohavebeenacruelegoist;butthedisinterestedGaribaldi,ifonemayjudgebyhis“Memorie。”livedinanunflaggingemotionofsimilardanger-seekingexcitement。 Thedifferencebetweenwillingandmerelywishing,betweenhavingidealsthatarecreativeandidealsthatarebutpiningsandregrets,thusdependssolelyeitherontheamountofsteam-pressurechronicallydrivingthecharacterintheidealdirection,orontheamountofidealexcitementtransientlyacquired。Givenacertainamountoflove,indignation,generosity,magnanimity,admiration,loyalty,orenthusiasmofself-surrender,theresultisalwaysthesame。Thatwholeraftofcowardlyobstructions,whichintamepersonsanddullmoodsaresovereignimpedimentstoaction,sinksawayatonce。Ourconventionality,[147]ourshyness,laziness,andstinginess,ourdemandsforprecedentandpermission,forguaranteeandsurety,oursmallsuspicions,timidities,despairs,wherearetheynow? Severedlikecobwebs,brokenlikebubblesinthesun—— “WosinddieSorgenunundNothDiemichnochgesternwollt’erschlaffen? Ichscham’michdess’imMorgenroth。” Thefloodweareborneonrollsthemsolightlyunderthattheirverycontactisunfelt。Setfreeofthem,wefloatandsoarandsing。Thisauroralopennessandupliftgivestoallcreativeideallevelsabrightandcarolingquality,whichisnowheremoremarkedthanwherethecontrollingemotionisreligious。“Thetruemonk。”writesanItalianmystic,“takesnothingwithhimbuthislyre。” [147]Seethecaseonp。69,above,wherethewriterdescribeshisexperiencesofcommunionwiththeDivineasconsisting“merelyintheTEMPORARYOBLITERATIONOFTHECONVENTIONALITIES whichusuallycovermylife。” Wemaynowturnfromthesepsychologicalgeneralitiestothosefruitsofthereligiousstatewhichformthespecialsubjectofourpresentlecture。Themanwholivesinhisreligiouscentreofpersonalenergy,andisactuatedbyspiritualenthusiasms,differsfromhispreviouscarnalselfinperfectlydefiniteways。 Thenewardorwhichburnsinhisbreastconsumesinitsglowthelower“noes“whichformerlybesethim,andkeepshimimmuneagainstinfectionfromtheentiregrovelingportionofhisnature。Magnanimitiesonceimpossiblearenoweasy;paltryconventionalitiesandmeanincentivesoncetyrannicalholdnosway。Thestonewallinsideofhimhasfallen,thehardnessinhishearthasbrokendown。Therestofuscan,Ithink,imaginethisbyrecallingourstateoffeelinginthosetemporary“meltingmoods“intowhicheitherthetrialsofreallife,orthetheatre,oranovelsometimesthrowsus。Especiallyifweweep! Foritisthenasifourtearsbrokethroughaninveterateinnerdam,andletallsortsofancientpeccanciesandmoralstagnanciesdrainaway,leavingusnowwashedandsoftofheartandopentoeverynoblerleading。Withmostofusthecustomaryhardnessquicklyreturns,butnotsowithsaintlypersons。Manysaints,evenasenergeticonesasTeresaandLoyola,havepossessedwhatthechurchtraditionallyreveresasaspecialgrace,theso-calledgiftoftears。Inthesepersonsthemeltingmoodseemstohaveheldalmostuninterruptedcontrol。Andasitiswithtearsandmeltingmoods,soitiswithotherexaltedaffections。Theirreignmaycomebygradualgrowthorbyacrisis;butineithercaseitmayhave“cometostay。” Attheendofthelastlecturewesawthispermanencetobetrueofthegeneralparamountcyofthehigherinsight,eventhoughintheebbsofemotionalexcitementmeanermotivesmighttemporarilyprevailandbackslidingmightoccur。Butthatlowertemptationsmayremaincompletelyannulled,apartfromtransientemotionandasifbyalterationoftheman’shabitualnature,isalsoprovedbydocumentaryevidenceincertaincases。Beforeembarkingonthegeneralnaturalhistoryoftheregeneratecharacter,letmeconvinceyouofthiscuriousfactbyoneortwoexamples。Themostnumerousarethoseofreformeddrunkards。YourecollectthecaseofMr。Hadleyinthelastlecture;theJerryMcAuleyWaterStreetMissionaboundsinsimilarinstances。[148]YoualsorememberthegraduateofOxford,convertedatthreeintheafternoon,andgettingdrunkinthehay-fieldthenextday,butafterthatpermanentlycuredofhisappetite。“Fromthathourdrinkhashadnoterrorsforme:Inevertouchit,neverwantit。Thesamethingoccurredwithmypipe……thedesireforitwentatonceandhasneverreturned。Sowitheveryknownsin,thedeliveranceineachcasebeingpermanentandcomplete。 Ihavehadnotemptationssinceconversion。” [148]Above,p。200。“TheonlyradicalremedyIknowfordipsomaniaisreligiomania。”isasayingIhaveheardquotedfromsomemedicalman。 HereisananalogouscasefromStarbuck’smanuscriptcollection:—— “IwentintotheoldAdelphiTheatre,wheretherewasaHolinessmeeting,……andIbegansaying,’Lord,Lord,Imusthavethisblessing。’Thenwhatwastomeanaudiblevoicesaid:’AreyouwillingtogiveupeverythingtotheLord?’andquestionafterquestionkeptcomingup,toallofwhichIsaid:’Yes,Lord; yes,Lord!’untilthiscame:’WhydoyounotacceptitNOW?’andIsaid:’Ido,Lord。’——Ifeltnoparticularjoy,onlyatrust。 Justthenthemeetingclosed,and,asIwentoutonthestreet,I metagentlemansmokingafinecigar,andacloudofsmokecameintomyface,andItookalong,deepbreathofit,andpraisetheLord,allmyappetiteforitwasgone。ThenasIwalkedalongthestreet,passingsaloonswherethefumesofliquorcameout,Ifoundthatallmytasteandlongingforthataccursedstuffwasgone。GlorytoGod!……[But]fortenorelevenlongyears[afterthat]Iwasinthewildernesswithitsupsanddowns。Myappetiteforliquornevercameback。” TheclassiccaseofColonelGardineristhatofamancuredofsexualtemptationinasinglehour。ToMr。Spearsthecolonelsaid,“IwaseffectuallycuredofallinclinationtothatsinI wassostronglyaddictedtothatIthoughtnothingbutshootingmethroughtheheadcouldhavecuredmeofit;andalldesireandinclinationtoitwasremoved,asentirelyasifIhadbeenasuckingchild;nordidthetemptationreturntothisday。”Mr。 Webster’swordsonthesamesubjectarethese:“OnethingIhaveheardthecolonelfrequentlysay,thathewasmuchaddictedtoimpuritybeforehisacquaintancewithreligion;butthat,sosoonashewasenlightenedfromabove,hefeltthepoweroftheHolyGhostchanginghisnaturesowonderfullythathissanctificationinthisrespectseemedmoreremarkablethaninanyother。”[149] [149]Doddridge’sLifeofColonelJamesGardiner,LondonReligiousTractSociety,pp。23-32。 Suchrapidabolitionofancientimpulsesandpropensitiesremindsussostronglyofwhathasbeenobservedastheresultofhypnoticsuggestionthatitisdifficultnottobelievethatsubliminalinfluencesplaythedecisivepartintheseabruptchangesofheart,justastheydoinhypnotism。[150]Suggestivetherapeuticsaboundinrecordsofcure,afterafewsittings,ofinveteratebadhabitswithwhichthepatient,lefttoordinarymoralandphysicalinfluences,hadstruggledinvain。Bothdrunkennessandsexualvicehavebeencuredinthisway,actionthroughthesubliminalseemingthusinmanyindividualstohavetheprerogativeofinducingrelativelystablechange。IfthegraceofGodmiraculouslyoperates,itprobablyoperatesthroughthesubliminaldoor,then。ButjustHOWanythingoperatesinthisregionisstillunexplained,andweshalldowellnowtosaygood-bytothePROCESSoftransformationaltogether——leavingit,ifyoulike,agooddealofapsychologicalortheologicalmystery——andtoturnourattentiontothefruitsofthereligiouscondition,nomatterinwhatwaytheymayhavebeenproduced。[151] [150]Here,forexample,isacase,fromStarbuck’sbook,inwhicha“sensoryautomatism“broughtaboutquicklywhatprayersandresolveshadbeenunabletoeffect。Thesubjectisawoman。 Shewrites:—— “WhenIwasaboutfortyItriedtoquitsmoking,butthedesirewasonme,andhadmeinitspower。IcriedandprayedandpromisedGodtoquit,butcouldnot。Ihadsmokedforfifteenyears。WhenIwasfifty-three,asIsatbythefireonedaysmoking,avoicecametome。Ididnothearitwithmyears,butmoreasadreamorsortofdoublethink。Itsaid,’Louisa,laydownsmoking。’AtonceIreplied。’Willyoutakethedesireaway?’Butitonlykeptsaying:’Louisa,laydownsmoking。’ ThenIgotup,laidmypipeonthemantel-shelf,andneversmokedagainorhadanydesireto。ThedesirewasgoneasthoughIhadneverknownitortouchedtobacco。Thesightofotherssmokingandthesmellofsmokenevergavemetheleastwishtotouchitagain。”ThePsychologyofReligion,p。142。 [151]ProfessorStarbuckexpressestheradicaldestructionofoldinfluencesphysiologically,asacuttingoffoftheconnectionbetweenhigherandlowercerebralcentres。“Thiscondition。”hesays,“inwhichtheassociation-centresconnectedwiththespirituallifearecutofffromthelower,isoftenreflectedinthewaycorrespondentsdescribetheirexperiences……Forexample:’Temptationsfromwithoutstillassailme,butthereisnothingWITHINtorespondtothem。’Theego[here]iswhollyidentifiedwiththehighercentreswhosequalityoffeelingisthatofwithinness。Anotheroftherespondentssays:’Sincethen,althoughSatantemptsme,thereisasitwereawallofbrassaroundme,sothathisdartscannottouchme。’“—— Unquestionably,functionalexclusionsofthissortmustoccurinthecerebralorgan。Butonthesideaccessibletointrospection,theircausalconditionisnothingbutthedegreeofspiritualexcitement,gettingatlastsohighandstrongastobesovereign,anditmustbefranklyconfessedthatwedonotknowjustwhyorhowsuchsovereigntycomesaboutinonepersonandnotinanother。Wecanonlygiveourimaginationacertaindelusivehelpbymechanicalanalogies。 Ifweshouldconceive,forexample,thatthehumanmind,withitsdifferentpossibilitiesofequilibrium,mightbelikeamany-sidedsolidwithdifferentsurfacesonwhichitcouldlieflat,wemightlikenmentalrevolutionstothespatialrevolutionsofsuchabody。Asitispriedup,saybyalever,fromapositioninwhichitliesonsurfaceA,forinstance,itwilllingerforatimeunstablyhalfwayup,andiftheleverceasetourgeit,itwilltumblebackor“relapse“underthecontinuedpullofgravity。ButifatlastitrotatefarenoughforitscentreofgravitytopassbeyondsurfaceAaltogether,thebodywillfallover,onsurfaceB,say,andabidetherepermanently。ThepullsofgravitytowardsAhavevanished,andmaynowbedisregarded。Thepolyhedronhasbecomeimmuneagainstfartherattractionfromtheirdirection。 Inthisfigureofspeechthelevermaycorrespondtotheemotionalinfluencesmakingforanewlife,andtheinitialpullofgravitytotheancientdrawbacksandinhibitions。Solongastheemotionalinfluencefailstoreachacertainpitchofefficacy,thechangesitproducesareunstable,andthemanrelapsesintohisoriginalattitude。Butwhenacertainintensityisattainedbythenewemotion,acriticalpointispassed,andtherethenensuesanirreversiblerevolution,equivalenttotheproductionofanewnature。 ThecollectivenamefortheripefruitsofreligioninacharacterisSaintliness。[152]Thesaintlycharacteristhecharacterforwhichspiritualemotionsarethehabitualcentreofthepersonalenergy;andthereisacertaincompositephotographofuniversalsaintliness,thesameinallreligions,ofwhichthefeaturescaneasilybetraced。[153] [152]Iusethiswordinspiteofacertainflavorof“sanctimoniousness“whichsometimesclingstoit,becausenootherwordsuggestsaswelltheexactcombinationofaffectionswhichthetextgoesontodescribe。 [153]“Itwillbefound。”saysDr。W。R。Inge(inhislecturesonChristianMysticism,London,1899,p。326),“thatmenofpreeminentsaintlinessagreeverycloselyinwhattheytellus。 Theytellusthattheyhavearrivedatanunshakableconviction,notbasedoninferencebutonimmediateexperience,thatGodisaspiritwithwhomthehumanspiritcanholdintercourse;thatinhimmeetallthattheycanimagineofgoodness,truth,andbeauty;thattheycanseehisfootprintseverywhereinnature,andfeelhispresencewithinthemastheverylifeoftheirlife,sothatinproportionastheycometothemselvestheycometohim。Theytelluswhatseparatesusfromhimandfromhappinessis,first,self-seekinginallitsforms;andsecondly,sensualityinallitsforms;thatthesearethewaysofdarknessanddeath,whichhidefromusthefaceofGod;whilethepathofthejustislikeashininglight,whichshinethmoreandmoreuntotheperfectday。” Theyarethese: