The Press.
London, England, 1857-01-10 00:00:00

JANUARY 10, 1857

have firmly believed that He has favoured
them with some special revelation. Can a line
he drawn between various classes of mystics ?
Can we say of some their light was light from
Heaven, and of others their visions were mere
fantasy and illusion ? Are the saints of the
Romish Church to be set above the saints of
Cromwell's army, or the saints among the
Methodists? the Holy Spirit descend on
Mr. Irving's congregation when unknown
tongues were heard, or are we to reverence it
in the revelations of the mystic Swedenbourg?
Why the mind, even when it seeks God most
earnestly, should be liable to error, is a per-
plexing question. There may be presump-
tion, and so far sin, in the very desire for spe-
cial illumination. The most ardent faith must
be content to aspire, and to seek for heaven in
" Heaven's appointed way."
The sermons of Tauler may be discussed
in a more practical spirit. Tho translator
admits that they are " tinctured with an asee-
" tistn which throws contempt on the affections
"of ordinary life." Much of the preacher's
spiritual teaching is eminently beautiful; but
it proceeds all through on the principle that
man cannot serve two masters,—God and the
world; and that grace only grows iu the heart
as earthly things are renounced. The whole
spirit of Tauter's preaching is expressed in the
following passage, coming after the quotation
from Scripture, " Take no thought., saying
What shall we eat, or what shall we
drink," &e. :
Children, once before the Son of God had said that no
man could serve two masters—that is to say, God and
mammon, or the riches of this world ; for he must love
the one and hate the other. It is, indeed, a wonder pass-
ing our understanding how much is comprehended in
these words. We ought to set them up before our eves as a
mirror, and let them be our constant motto. How plainly
does Christ here instruct us in the truth with plain un•
varnished words and pertinent figures, when, forbidding us
to be anxious about earthly and perishing things, He says,
" Which of you, by taking thought, can add one cubit unto
his stature?" Therefore, ye of little faith, seek not what ye
shall eat, or what ye shall drink ; neither be ye of doubtful
mind. Children, ye shall see by this discourse how far we
are all in common from living according to the simple truth
of things in all our earthly relationships. But know that
there is an inward secret defect lurking under the cloak of
ouranxiety about daily things, a sinful though unconscious
covetousness, which is one of the seven deadly sins. And
this sin, working silently and unperceived in the hearts
both of worldly and religious people, is the cause of the
greatest evils that afflict thin earth. Let each, for in-
stance, only mark narrowly in himself and others the
marvels of ingenuity and labour invented and wrought on
all sides, each striving to outdo his fellow for the sake of
earthly gain. If we were to probe to the bottom the work-
ings of this false principle in worldly and in religious
people, it would hardly be told how deeply its roots have
struck, and how widely they have spread below the surface.
Think what it implies to have so little confidence in that
God who is able to do all things, when ye are striving. and
toiling, and wearing yourselves out with anxiety, as if you
meant to live for ever. All this comes from that evil prin-
ciple of covetousness. If one really looked into the
matter, it were frightful to see how man seeks his own
ends and not his neighbour's good in all things divine and
human; his own pleasure, or profit, or glory, by all his
words and works—nay, even gifts and services.

Whatever force there was in exhortation of
this kind at the time it was delivered, there
must be much more force in it now. There is
more desire for wealth now than then ; there
are more worldly anxieties, and " more marvels
"of ingenuity invented and wrought." And
it is observable that, in this particular, the
teaching of Dr. Tauter, in the ►piddle of the
fourteenth century, is faithfully copied in
pulpits in the middle of the nineteenth. We
still hear earthly cares denounced, and still
hear it asserted that we cannot serve God
and the world, by pietists who in their own
lives show no indifference to mundane goods.
The truth seems to be, that the interests of
society demand that men should pay great
and earnest attention to their worldly welfare.
This was in the main the view of Bishop
Butler, when, in his "Analogy," he wrote of the
certain ruin which overtakes men who are
careless of the rules of prudence in their ordi-
na►y affairs. The point to be settled is,
whether worldly prudence and true spiritual
feeling are compatible with each other.
With worldly prudence, as it is commonly un-
derstood and practised, there must be some
cares, and selfish thoughts, and moral hard-
ness. The aim of spiritual teaching should
be to show how the claims of Heaven and
earth can best be reconciled ; and the ai►n of
spiritual discipliie :should be to apportion to