CHAPTER VII FAITH IN GOD ‘Only Believe’—“My duty towards God is to believe in Him,” my first duty, the duty of my life, without which other duties would not appear to count much. ‘Only believe,’ the writer was told as a girl, to her great anger and soreness of heart. If ‘only fly’ had been said, she could …
CHAPTER VI PRAISE Implies Discriminating Appreciation.—If our dull souls are slow to thank, perhaps they are still slower to praise, because praise implies discriminating appreciation and reflection as well as thankfulness. We know how the painter, the musician, writhe under the compliments of people who do not understand, while a word of discriminating praise …
CHAPTER V THANKSGIVING The Nine.—“Whoso offereth Me thanks and praise, he honoureth Me,” saith our God; and we are abashed when we realise that it rests with us to add honour to the Highest, and that we refrain our lips. “Were there not ten cleansed, but where are the nine?” Alas, how often are …
CHAPTER IV PRAYER Unconsidered Prayer.—It is hard to separate the functions of the Soul, because, indeed, all work together; but it is necessary to fullness of life that we should have continual speech with God, and also—though the soul is abashed before the greatness and sweetness of this hope—continual answering speech. These things are …
CHAPTER III THE KNOWLEDGE OF GOD WHEN we realise how the Soul of man is disabled by inertia, by preoccupation, even by aversion, from apprehending God, we discern, at the same time, what is the great thing which the Will has to do; and it rises to a noble effort, to the uplift of a …
CHAPTER II THE DISABILITIES OF THE SOUL THE Soul, like the Mind and Heart, has its chronic disabilities, its deep-seated diseases. With an over-powering need of God, a great capacity to receive Him, common to all men, very few attain anything like a constant “fruition of Thy glorious Godhead.” Many of us have fitful glimpses; …
PART III THE SOUL ———-♦♦———- CHAPTER I THE CAPACITIES OF THE SOUL STEP by step, we have tried to gather together the little knowledge that is open to us about Body, Mind and Heart,[1] Will and Conscience. We have seen that no clear definition of either of these is possible, and that there is no rigid …
CHAPTER XI FREEWILL Summary of Points considered so far.—We have seen that the ordering of Mansoul, the due coordination of all its powers, belongs to Will; that the Will is neither moral nor immoral; that the function of the Will is to choose; that the choice lies, not between things, circumstances, or persons, but …
CHAPTER X A WAY OF THE WILL The Way of the Will a Slow Way.—We have already seen something of the ‘way of the Will.’ We know that the Will acts upon ideas; that ideas are presented to the mind in many ways—by books, talk, spiritual influences; that, to let ourselves be moved by …
CHAPTER IX INTENTION—PURPOSE—RESOLUTION The History of a Resolution.—A gentleman was walking on the shore of a southern watering-place with is invalid wife. His attention was attracted by a greater black-backed gull which had fallen dead on the sands; other sea things attracted him, and by and by a little promiscuous collection began to form …
