Treatise LXXVI

52i SHORT SAYINGS

The blessed Paul leaches us saying : Put off the old man and put on the new man, which after God is created in righte- ousness and holiness l ).

He does not say : Put on the new man over the old man. For he knows that this is not possible. Look, how wisely he gives his order. He does not say : Put on the new man who is renewed by the knowledge o( God, but he says, first put off this, and then put on the new. Also he says definitely in another place : Flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, neither does corruption inherit incorruption ~). By incor- ruption he means the knowledge of the other world. By cor- ruption and ilesh and blood he designates the corruptible af- fections of soul and body, which have the place of their motion in the fleshly mind. Purity he calls the new man, and by the kingdom of God he means the exalted and intelligible con- templation of the blessed motions of the essential rays into which the saintly soul only is allowed to enter when its in- corruptible emotions are lifted up above corruption and flesh and blood.

If :! ) the apple of thy soul's eye has not been purified, do not venture to look at the sun, lest thou be bereaved of thy usual visual power and thou be thrown into one of those intel- 522 ligible places which are Tartarus and a type of Hell, namely darkness without God, whither those who with the impulses of their mind leave nature, wander by the cognitive nature which they possess. Therefore he that ventured to go to the banquet in sordid garments, was ordered to be thrown out into that outer darkness. By the banquet is designated the sight of spiritual knowledge. The institutions in it are the mani- fold divine mysteries, full of joy and exultation and delight of the soul. The garment of the banquet he calls the mantle of purity ; the sordid garments the emotions of the affections in the soul which are defiled, the outer darkness, the state with-

SHORT SAYINGS 35 I

out any delight of true knowledge and communion with God. He that is clad with such garments and ventures to think phantastically with his intellect on the heights of God and to introduce and to settle his soul within the spiritual contem- plations of that holy banquet which is made to dawn in the pure only, and who, partaking only of the delight of the affec- tions, wishes to mingle in the delight of that banquet — ■ is suddenly overwhelmed, as it were by some hallucination, and expelled thence unto the place without rays, which is called Hell and destruction, which is ignorance and oblivion of God. For it has been said that the things of God come of their own, if there is a pure and undeiiled place. That they come of their own, means that it naturally belongs to purity that heavenly light shines in it, without investigation and labour S23 on our part. For in the pure heart, the new heaven is stamped; of which the sight is light and the room is spiritual. As also in another place it is said : As the magnet-stone has the natural faculty to attract atoms of iron, so has spiritual knowledge [the faculty to attract] the pure heart.

Though it has been handed down rightly by the true ones that no mind is absolutely steadfast against the allurements of the affections in this life, yet I say with confidence without being afraid of the truth of experience, that he who is clad with the garment of mourning in his mind, is not only invincible against the allurements of the effections, but a hero in the war against them and a victor, because they absolutely do not venture to show themselves with the intention of strife, nor do they even venture to appear from afar where there is a mourning soul which has made itself a wailing-place with various lamentations on account of its sins. As it has been said by the blessed Jacob : It makes its abode in the grave, till it meets the beloved Joseph. Where there is the bitterness of mourning, I do not believe that the above-mentioned pleasure of the affections is admitted.

But I say that in watchfulness lies this service and confidence, exalted above fear. He that is constantly in a state of mourning because of his fear — as he docs not know what the end of his course will be • — is more excellent than he that is con- 524 stantly in the way of gladness, because he perceives the hope of his service.

O thou whose town is vanquished by inward affections, put

35 2 SHORT SAYINGS

on the armour of mourning' and persecute them and save thy soul from their hands. For always invincible is this weapon and that of confidence, and tried by the true ones.