Class. 
 Book.. 
 
 _£. 
 
 CqyrightN?.— T-Ufioj 
 
 COPYRIGHT DEPOSIT. 
 
jFtom Pa00ion to Peace 
 
BOOKS BY JAMES ALLEN 
 
 The Mastery of Destiny 
 
 Above Life's Turmoil 
 
 Byways of Blessedness 
 
 From Poverty to Power 
 
 All These Things Added 
 
 The Life Triumphant 
 
 Poems of Peace 
 
 From Passion to Peace 
 
 As a Man Thinketh 
 
 Out from the Heart 
 
 Through the Gate of Good 
 
wnimiiiiiiiiiiiniiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiinwiiiuiiiiiinniti/iimiiih 
 
 FROM 
 
 PASSION TO PEACE 
 
 OR 
 
 €f>e $atfjtoap of tfje $ure 
 
 BY 
 
 JAMES ALLEN 
 
 AUTHOR OF "AS A MAN THINKETH," a THE MASTERY 
 
 OF DESTINY," "FROM POVERTY TO POWER," "BYWAYS 
 
 OF BLESSEDNESS," &C. 
 
 at 
 
 lUeto tforft 
 
 THOMAS Y. CROWELL & CO. 
 
 WD ^ 
 
 ^ 
 
 ^c 
 
COPYRIGHT, 1910, BY JAMES ALLEN 
 
 COMPOSITION AND ELECTROTYPE PLATES BY 
 D. B. UPDIKE, THE MERRYMOUNT PRESS, BOSTON 
 
 <g/GI.A2655l7 
 
Amid the din and strife of 'men, 
 
 The Call Divine I hear again ; 
 
 Its telling is of things apart, 
 
 Above the tumult of the heart. 
 
 High o'er where sin's dark pathways wind 
 
 Waits the ivise ivilling of the mind; 
 
 Beyond strong Passion s guarded Gates, 
 
 There Peace awaits — there Peace awaits. 
 
THE first three parts of this book, Pas- 
 sion, Aspiration, and Temptation, repre- 
 sent the common human life, with its pas- 
 sion, pathos, and tragedy; the last three 
 parts, Transcendence, Beatitude, and Peace, 
 present the Divine Life — calm, wise, and 
 beautiful — of the sage and Saviour. The 
 middle part, Transmutation, is the tran- 
 sitional stage between the two; it is the 
 alchemic process linking the divine with 
 the human life. Discipline, denial, and re- 
 nunciation do not constitute the Divine 
 State; they are only the means by which it 
 is attained. The Divine Life is established 
 in that Perfedt Knowledge which bestows 
 Perfe6l Peace. James Allen 
 
 Bryngoleu 
 
 Ilfracombe, Devon. 
 England 
 
Contents 
 
 PASSION 
 
 ASPIRATION 
 
 TEMPTATION 
 
 TRANSMUTATION 
 
 TRANSCENDENCE 
 
 BEATITUDE 
 
 PEACE 
 
 I 
 8 
 
 16 
 *4 
 33 
 44 
 5o 
 
from $a$$ion to $eace 
 
 ♦ ♦ 
 
 ♦ 
 
 THE pathway of the saints and sages; 
 the road of the wise and pure; the 
 highway along which the Saviours have trod, 
 and which all Saviours to come will also 
 walk — such is the subjedt of this book; 
 such is the high and holy theme which the 
 author briefly expounds in these pages. 
 
 Passion is the lowest level of human life. 
 None can descend lower. In its chilling 
 swamps and concealing darkness creep and 
 crawl the creatures of its sunless world. Lust, 
 hatred, covetousness, pride, vanity, greed, 
 revenge, envy, spite, retaliation, slander, 
 backbiting, lying, theft, deceit, treachery, 
 cruelty, suspicion, jealousy — such are the 
 brute forces and blind, unreasoning im- 
 pulses that inhabit the underworld of pas- 
 sion, and roam, devouring and devoured, 
 
 [ « ] 
 
jTrom passion to Peace 
 
 in the rank primeval jungles of the human 
 mind. 
 
 There also dwell the dark shapes of 
 remorse and pain and suffering, and the 
 drooping forms of grief and sorrow and 
 lamentation. 
 
 In this dark world the unwise live and 
 die, not knowing the peace of purity, nor 
 the joy of that Divine Light which forever 
 shines above them, and for them, yet shines 
 in vain so long as it falls on unseeing eyes 
 which look not up, but are ever bent earth- 
 ward — fleshward. 
 
 But the wise look up. They are not sat- 
 isfied with this passion-world, and they 
 bend their steps towards the upper world 
 of peace, the light and glory of which they 
 behold, at first afar off, but nearer and with 
 ever increasing splendor as they ascend. 
 
 None can fall lower than passion, but all 
 can rise higher. In that lowest place where 
 further descent is impossible, all who move 
 forward must ascend; and the ascending 
 
JFrom Partem to Peace 
 
 pathway is always at hand, near, and easily 
 accessible. It is the way of self-conquest, 
 and he has already entered it who has be- 
 gun to say "nay" to his selfishness, who 
 has begun to discipline his desires, and to 
 control and command the unruly elements 
 of his mind. 
 
 Passion is the arch-enemy of mankind, 
 the slayer of happiness, the opposite and 
 enemy of peace. From it proceeds all that 
 defiles and destroys. It is the source of suf- 
 fering, the maker of misery, and the pro- 
 mulgator of mischief and disaster. 
 
 The inner world of selfishness is rooted 
 in ignorance, — ignorance of Divine Law, 
 of Divine Goodness; ignorance of the Pure 
 Way and the Peaceful Path. Passion is dark, 
 and it thrives and flourishes in spiritual 
 darkness. It cannot enter the regions of 
 spiritual light. In the enlightened mind the 
 darkness of ignorance is destroyed; in the 
 pure heart there is no place for passion. 
 
 Passion in all its forms is a mental thirst, 
 [ 3] 
 
Jfrom Passion to Peace 
 
 a fever, a torturing unrest. As a fire con- 
 sumes a magnificent building, reducing it 
 to a heap of unsightly ashes, so are men 
 consumed by the flames of passions, and 
 their deeds and works fall and perish. 
 
 If one would find peace, he must come 
 out of passion. The wise man subdues his 
 passions, the foolish man is subdued by 
 them. The seeker for wisdom begins by 
 turning his back on folly. The lover of 
 peace enters the way which leads thereto, 
 and with every step he takes he leaves fur- 
 ther below and behind him the dark dwell- 
 ing-place of passion and despair. 
 
 The first step towards the heights of wis- 
 dom and peace is to understand the dark- 
 ness and misery of selfishness, and when 
 that is understood, the overcoming it — the 
 coming out of it — will follow. 
 
 Selfishness, or passion, not only subsists 
 
 in the gross forms of greed and glaringly 
 
 ungoverned conditions of mind; it informs 
 
 also every hidden thought which is subtly 
 
 [4] 
 
jFrom passion to peace 
 
 conne&ed with the assumption and glori- 
 fication of one's self; and it is most deceiv- 
 ing and subtle when it prompts one to dwell 
 upon the selfishness in others, to accuse 
 them of it and to talk about it. The man 
 who continually dwells upon the selfishness 
 in others will not thus overcome his own 
 selfishness. Not by accusing others do we 
 come out of selfishness, but by purifying 
 ourselves. The way from passion to peace 
 is not by hurling painful charges against 
 others, but by overcoming one's self. By 
 eagerly striving to subdue the selfishness of 
 others, we remain passion-bound; by pa- 
 tiently overcoming our own selfishness, we 
 ascend into freedom. He only who has con- 
 quered himself can subdue others; and he 
 subdues them, not by passion, but by love. 
 The foolish man accuses others and justi- 
 fies himself; but he who is becoming wise 
 justifies others and accuses himself. The 
 way from passion to peace is not in the 
 outer world of people; it is in the inner 
 [5 ] 
 
Jfrom Passion to peace 
 
 world of thoughts; it does not consist in 
 altering the deeds of others, it consists in 
 perfecting one's own deeds. 
 
 Frequently the man of passion is most 
 eager to put others right; but the man of 
 wisdom puts himself right. If one is anxious 
 to reform the world, let him begin by re- 
 forming himself. The reformation of self 
 does not end with the elimination of the 
 sensual elements only; that is its beginning. 
 It ends only when every vain thought and 
 selfish aim is overcome. Short of perfect 
 purity and wisdom, there is still some form 
 of self-slavery or folly which needs to be 
 conquered. 
 
 Passion is at the base of the strufture of 
 life; peace is its crown and summit. Without 
 passion to begin with, there would be no 
 power to work with, and no achievement 
 to end with. Passion represents power, but 
 power misdiredled, power producing hurt 
 instead of happiness. Its forces, while be- 
 ing instruments of destru&ion in the hands 
 [6] 
 
 ^\ 
 
jfrorn passion to peace 
 
 of the foolish, are instruments of preserva- 
 tion in the hands of the wise. When curbed 
 and concentrated and beneficently directed, 
 they represent working energy. Passion is 
 the flaming sword which guards the gates 
 of Paradise. It shuts out and destroys the 
 foolish; it admits and preserves the wise. 
 
 Fie is the foolish man who does not know 
 the extent of his own ignorance; who is the 
 slave of thoughts of self; who obeys the 
 impulses of passion. He is the wise man 
 who knows his own ignorance; who under- 
 stands the emptiness of selfish thoughts; 
 who masters the impulses of passion. 
 
 The fool descends into deeper and deeper 
 ignorance; the wise man ascends into higher 
 and higher knowledge. The fool desires, 
 and suffers, and dies. The wise man aspires, 
 and rejoices, and lives. 
 
 With mind intent on wisdom, and men- 
 tal gaze raised upward, the spiritual warrior 
 perceives the upward way, and fixes his at- 
 tention upon the heights of Peace. 
 [ 7 ] 
 
aspiration 
 
 WITH the clear perception of one's 
 own ignorance, comes the desire for 
 enlightenment, and thus in the heart is born 
 Aspiration, the rapture of the saints. 
 
 On the wings of aspiration man rises 
 from earth to heaven, from ignorance to 
 knowledge, from the under darkness to the 
 upper light. Without it he remains a gro- 
 velling animal, earthly, sensual, unenlight- 
 ened, and uninspired. 
 
 Aspiration is the longing for heavenly 
 things — for righteousness, compassion, pu- 
 rity, love — as distinguished from desire, 
 which is the longing for earthly things, — 
 for selfish possessions, personal dominance, 
 low pleasures, and sensual gratifications. 
 
 As a bird deprived of its wings cannot 
 soar, so a man without aspiration cannot 
 rise above his surroundings and become 
 master of his animal inclinations. He is the 
 slave of passions, is subjedl to others, and 
 C »] 
 
JFrom Passion to peace 
 
 is carried hither and thither by the chan- 
 ging current of events. 
 
 For one to begin to aspire means that 
 he is dissatisfied with his low estate, and is 
 aiming at a higher condition. It is a sure 
 sign that he is roused out of his lethargic 
 sleep of animality, and has become con- 
 scious of nobler attainments and a fuller life. 
 
 Aspiration makes all things possible. It 
 opens the way to advancement. Even the 
 highest state of perfection conceivable it 
 brings near and makes real and possible; 
 for that which can be conceived can be 
 achieved. 
 
 Aspiration is the twin angel to inspira- 
 tion. It unlocks the gates of joy. Singing 
 accompanies soaring. Music, poetry, pro- 
 phecy, and all high and holy instruments, 
 are at last placed in the hands of him whose 
 aspirations flag not, whose spirit does not 
 fail. 
 
 So long as animal conditions taste sweet 
 to a man, he cannot aspire; he is so far 
 [ 9 ] 
 
j?rom passion to peace 
 
 satisfied; but when their sweetness turns to 
 bitterness, then in his sorrow he thinks of 
 nobler things. When he is deprived of 
 earthly joy, he aspires to the joy which is 
 heavenly. It is when impurity turns to suf- 
 fering that purity is sought. Truly aspira- 
 tion rises, phoenix-like, from the dead ashes 
 of repentance, but on its powerful pinions 
 man can reach the heaven of heavens. 
 
 The man of aspiration has entered the 
 way which ends in peace; and surely he will 
 reach that end if he stays not nor turns 
 back. If he constantly renews his mind with 
 glimpses of the heavenly vision, he will 
 reach the heavenly state. 
 
 Man attains in the measure that he as- 
 pires. His longing to be is the gauge of 
 what he can be. To fix the mind is to fore- 
 ordain the achievement. As man can expe- 
 rience and know all low things, so he can 
 experience and know all high things. As 
 he has become human, so he can become 
 divine. The turning of the mind in high 
 
 [ i°] 
 
jFrom passion to peace 
 
 and divine dire&ions is the sole and need- 
 ful task. 
 
 What is impurity but the impure thoughts 
 of the thinker? What is purity but the pure 
 thoughts of the thinker? One man does not 
 do the thinking of another. Each man is 
 pure or impure of himself alone. 
 
 If a man thinks, "It is through others, 
 or circumstances, or heredity that I am im- 
 pure," how can he hope to overcome his 
 errors? Such a thought will check all holy 
 aspirations, and bind him to the slavery 
 of passion. 
 
 When a man fully perceives that his er- 
 rors and impurities are his own, that they 
 are generated and fostered by himself, that 
 he alone is responsible for them, then he 
 will aspire to overcome them, the way of 
 attainment will be opened up to him, and he 
 will see whence and whither he is travelling. 
 
 The man of passion sees no straight path 
 before him, and behind him all is fog and 
 gloom. He seizes the pleasure of the mo- 
 
 [ " i 
 
jTrom Ipassion to locate 
 
 ment, and does not strive for understand- 
 ing or think of wisdom. His way is con- 
 fused, turbulent, troubled, and his heart is 
 far from peace. 
 
 The man of aspiration sees before him 
 the pathway up the heavenly heights, and 
 behind him are the circuitous routes of 
 passion up which he has hitherto blindly 
 groped. Striving for understanding, and his 
 mind set on wisdom, his way is clear, and 
 his heart already experiences a foretaste of 
 the final peace. 
 
 Men of passion strive mightily to achieve 
 little things, — things which speedily perish, 
 and, in the place where they were, leave 
 nothing to be remembered. 
 
 Men of aspiration strive with equal might 
 to achieve great things — things of virtue, 
 of knowledge, of wisdom, which do not 
 perish, but stand as monuments of inspi- 
 ration for the uplifting of mankind. 
 
 As the merchant achieves worldly suc- 
 cess by persistent exertion, so the saint 
 
 [ «] 
 
j?rom passion to Peace 
 
 achieves spiritual success by aspiration and 
 endeavor. One becomes a merchant, the 
 other a saint, by the particular dire&ion in 
 which his mental energy is guided. 
 
 When the rapture of aspiration touches 
 the mind, it at once refines it, and the dross 
 of its impurities begins to fall away; yea, 
 while aspiration holds the mind, no impu- 
 rity can enter it, for the impure and the pure 
 cannot at the same moment occupy the 
 thought. But the effort of aspiration is at 
 first spasmodic and short-lived. The mind 
 falls back into its habitual error, and must 
 be constantly renewed. 
 
 The lover of the pure life renews his mind 
 daily with the invigorating glow of aspira- 
 tion. He rises early, and fortifies his mind 
 with strong thoughts and strenuous endea- 
 vor. He knows that the mind is of such 
 a nature that it cannot remain for a moment 
 unoccupied, and that if it is not held and 
 guided by high thoughts and pure aspira- 
 tions, it will assuredly be enslaved and mis- 
 
 c 13] 
 
jTtom passion to Peace 
 
 guided by low thoughts and base desires. 
 
 Aspiration can be fed, fostered, and 
 strengthened by daily habit, just as is de- 
 sire. It can be sought, and admitted into 
 the mind as a divine guide, or it can be neg- 
 lefted and shut out. To retire for a short 
 time each day to some quiet spot, prefer- 
 ably in the open air, and there call up the 
 energies of the mind in surging waves of 
 holy rapture, is to prepare the mind for 
 great spiritual vidories and destinies of di- 
 vine import; for such rapture is the prepa- 
 ration for wisdom and the prelude to peace. 
 Before the mind can contemplate pure 
 things it must be lifted up to them, it must 
 rise above impure things; and aspiration is 
 the instrument by which this is accom- 
 plished. By its aid the mind soars swiftly 
 and surely into heavenly places, and begins 
 to experience divine things; begins to ac- 
 cumulate wisdom, and to learn to guide it- 
 self by an ever increasing measure of the 
 divine light of pure knowledge. ■ 
 [ 14] 
 
jFrom Passion to peace 
 
 To thirst for righteousness; to hunger 
 for the pure life; to rise in holy rapture on 
 the wings of angelic aspiration — this is the 
 right road to wisdom; this is the right 
 striving for peace; this is the right begin- 
 ning of the way divine. 
 
 [ 15] 
 
Cemptation 
 
 ASPIRATION can carry a man into 
 -/ A. heaven, but to remain there he must 
 learn to conform his entire mind to the 
 heavenly conditions: to this end temptation 
 works. 
 
 Temptation is the reversion, in thought, 
 from purity to passion. It is a going back 
 from aspiration to desire. It threatens as- 
 piration until the point is reached where 
 desire is quenched in the waters of pure 
 knowledge and calm thought. In the early 
 stages of aspiration, temptation is subtle and 
 powerful, and is regarded as an enemy; but 
 it is only an enemy in the sense that the 
 tempted one is his own enemy. In the sense 
 that it is the revealer of weakness and im- 
 purity, it is a friend, a necessary fadlor in 
 spiritual training. It is, indeed, an accom- 
 paniment of the effort to overcome evil and 
 apprehend good. To be successfully con- 
 quered, the evil in a man must come to the 
 [ 16 ] 
 
jFrom passion to Peace 
 
 surface and present itself, and it is in temp- 
 tation that the evil hidden in the heart 
 stands revealed and exposed. 
 
 That which temptation appeals to and 
 arouses is unconquered desire, and tempta- 
 tion will again and again assail and subdue 
 a man until he has lifted himself above the 
 lusting impulses. Temptation is an appeal 
 to the impure. That which is pure cannot 
 be subject to temptation. 
 
 Temptation waylays the man of aspira- 
 tion until he touches the region of the di- 
 vine consciousness, and beyond that bor- 
 der temptation cannot follow him. It is when 
 a man begins to aspire that he begins to be 
 tempted. Aspiration rouses up all the latent 
 good and evil, in order that the man may 
 be fully revealed to himself, for a man can- 
 not overcome himself unless he fully knows 
 himself. It can scarcely be said of the merely 
 animal man that he is tempted, for the very 
 presence of temptation means that there is 
 a striving for a purer state. Animal desire 
 
 [ ^7 ] 
 
jfrom passion to Peace 
 
 and gratification is the normal condition of 
 the man who has not yet risen into aspira- 
 tion; he wishes for nothing more, nothing 
 better, than his sensual enjoyments, and is, 
 for the present, satisfied. Such a man cannot 
 be tempted to fall, for he has not yet risen. 
 The presence of aspiration signifies that 
 a man has taken one step, at least, upward, 
 and is therefore capable of being drawn 
 back, and this backward attraction is called 
 temptation. The allurements of temptation 
 subsist in the impure thoughts and down- 
 ward desires of the heart. The objedt of 
 temptation is powerless to attradt when the 
 heart no longer lusts for it. The stronghold 
 of temptation is within a man, not with- 
 out; and until a man realizes this, the pe- 
 riod of temptation will be protra&ed. While 
 a man continues to run away from outward 
 objedls, under the delusion that temptation 
 subsists entirely in them, and does not at- 
 tack and purge away his impure imagin- 
 ings, his temptations will increase, and his 
 [ 18 ] 
 
jTrom Pa09ion to peace 
 
 falls will be many and grievous. When a 
 man clearly perceives that the evil is within, 
 and not without, then his progress will be 
 rapid, his temptations will decrease, and the 
 final overcoming of all temptation will be 
 well within the range of his spiritual vision. 
 
 Temptation is torment. It is not an 
 abiding condition, but is a passage from a 
 lower condition to a higher. The fulness 
 and perfection of life is bliss, not torment. 
 Temptation accompanies weakness and de- 
 feat, but a man is destined for strength and 
 vi&ory. The presence of torment is the sig- 
 nal to rise and conquer. The man of per- 
 sistent and ever renewed aspiration does 
 not allow himself to think that temptation 
 cannot be overcome. He is determined to 
 be master of himself. Resignation to evil is 
 an acknowledgment of defeat. It signifies 
 that the battle against self is abandoned; 
 that good is denied; that evil is made 
 supreme. 
 
 As the energetic man of business is not 
 [ *9 ] 
 
^rom passion to peace 
 
 daunted by difficulties, but studies how to 
 overcome them, so the man of ceaseless as- 
 piration is not crushed into submission by 
 temptations, but meditates how he may 
 fortify his mind; for the tempter is like a 
 coward, he only creeps in at weak and un- 
 guarded points. 
 
 The tempted one should study thought- 
 fully the nature and meaning of tempta- 
 tion, for until it is known it cannot be over- 
 come. A wise general, before attacking the 
 opposing force, studies the ta&ics of his 
 enemy; so he who is to overcome tempta- 
 tion must understand how it arises in his 
 own darkness and error, and must study, 
 by introspedtion and meditation, how to 
 disperse the darkness and supplant error 
 by truth. 
 
 The stronger a man's passions, the fiercer 
 will be his temptations; the deeper his self- 
 ishness, the more subtle his temptations; 
 the more pronounced his vanity, the more 
 flattering and deceptive his temptations. 
 
 [ 2 °] 
 
Jfrom pa&sion to Peace 
 
 A man must know himself if he is to 
 know truth. He must not shrink from any 
 revelation which will expose his error; on 
 the contrary, he must welcome such re- 
 velations as aids to that self-knowledge 
 which is the handmaid of self-conquest. 
 
 The man who cannot endure to have his 
 errors and shortcomings brought to the 
 surface and made known, but tries to hide 
 them, is unfit to walk the highway of truth. 
 He is not properly equipped to battle with 
 and overcome temptation. He who cannot 
 fearlessly face his lower nature cannot climb 
 the rugged heights of renunciation. 
 
 Let the tempted one know this: that 
 he himself is both tempter and tempted; 
 that all his enemies are within; that the flat- 
 terers which seduce, the taunts which stab, 
 and the flames which burn, all spring from 
 that inner region of ignorance and error in 
 which he has hitherto lived; and knowing 
 this, let him be assured of complete vidory 
 over evil. When he is sorely tempted, let 
 
 [ 21 ] 
 
jTrom passion to peace 
 
 him not mourn, therefore, but let him re- 
 joice in that his strength is tried and his 
 weakness exposed. For he who truly knows 
 and humbly acknowledges his weakness 
 will not be slow in setting about the acqui- 
 sition of strength. 
 
 Foolish men blame others for their lapses 
 and sins, but let the truth-lover blame 
 only himself. Let him acknowledge his com- 
 plete responsibility for his own condudt, 
 and not say, when he falls, this thing, or 
 such and such circumstance, or that man, 
 was to blame ; for the most which others can 
 do is to afford an opportunity for our own 
 good or evil to manifest itself; they cannot 
 make us good or evil. 
 
 Temptation is at first sore, grievous, and 
 hard to be borne, and subtle and persistent 
 is the assailant; but if the tempted one is 
 firm and courageous, and does not give way, 
 he will gradually subdue his spiritual enemy, 
 and will finally triumph in the knowledge 
 of good. 
 
 [ « ] 
 
jFrom pa$0ion to Peace 
 
 The adverse one is compounded of a 
 man's own lust and selfishness and pride, 
 and when these are put away, evil is seen 
 to be as naught, and good is revealed in 
 all-vi&orious splendor. 
 
 [ 2 3 ] 
 
Cransmutatton 
 
 MIDWAY between the hell of Pas- 
 sion and the heaven of Peace is the 
 purgatory of Transmutation, — not a specu- 
 lative purgatory beyond the grave, but a 
 real purgatory in the human heart. In its 
 separating and purifying fire the base metal 
 of error is sifted away, and only the clari- 
 fied gold of truth remains. 
 
 When temptation has culminated in sor- 
 row and deep perplexity, then the tempted 
 one, strenuously striving for deliverance, 
 finds that his thraldom is entirely from him- 
 self, and that instead of fighting against 
 outer circumstances, he must alter inner 
 conditions. The fight against outer things 
 is necessary at the commencement. It is the 
 only course which can be adopted at the 
 first, because of the prevailing ignorance of 
 mental causation, but it never, of itself, 
 brings about emancipation. What it does 
 bring about is the knowledge of the mental 
 
 [ H] 
 
jfrom passion to peace 
 
 cause of temptation ; and the knowledge of the 
 mental cause of temptation leads to the 
 transmutation of thought, and the trans- 
 mutation of thought leads to deliverance 
 from the bondage of error. 
 
 The preliminary fighting is a necessary- 
 stage in spiritual development, as the cry- 
 ing and kicking of a helpless babe is neces- 
 sary to its growth; but as the crying and 
 kicking is not needed beyond the infant 
 stage, so the fierce struggling with, and fall- 
 ing under, temptation ends when the know- 
 ledge of mental transmutation is acquired. 
 
 The truly wise man, he who is enlight- 
 ened concerning the source and cause of 
 temptation, does not fight against outward 
 allurements, he abandons all desire for them; 
 they thus cease to be allurements^ and the 
 power of temptation is destroyed at its 
 source. But this abandonment of unholy 
 desire is not a final process, it is the begin- 
 ning of a regenerative and transforming 
 power which, patiently employed, leads 
 [ 2 5 ] 
 
JFtora passion to Peace 
 
 man to the clear and cloudless heights of 
 spiritual enlightenment. 
 
 Spiritual transmutation consists in an 
 entire reversal of the ordinary self-seeking 
 attitude of mind towards men and things, 
 and this reversal brings about an entirely 
 new set of experiences. Thus the desire for 
 a certain pleasure is abandoned, cut off at 
 its source, and not allowed to have any 
 place in the consciousness; but the mental 
 force which that desire represented is not 
 annihilated, it is transferred to a higher re- 
 gion of thought, transmuted into a purer 
 form of energy. The law of conservation 
 of energy obtains universally in mind as in 
 matter, and the force shut off in lower 
 direftions is liberated in higher realms of 
 spiritual activity. 
 
 Along the Saintly Way towards the di- 
 vine life, the midway region of Transmu- 
 tation is the Country of Sacrifice, it is the 
 Plain of Renunciation. Old passions, old 
 desires, old ambitions and thoughts, are cast 
 
 [ 26] 
 
jFrom Passion to peace 
 
 away and abandoned, but only to reappear 
 in some more beautiful, more permanent, 
 more eternally satisfying form. As valuable 
 jewels, long guarded and cherished, are 
 thrown tearfully into the melting-pot, yet 
 are remoulded into new and more perfe6l 
 adornments, so the spiritual alchemist, at 
 first loth to part company with long-cher- 
 ished thoughts and habits, at last gives 
 them up, to discover, a little later, to his 
 joy, that they have come back to him in 
 the form of new faculties, rarer powers, and 
 purer joys, — spiritual jewels newly bur- 
 nished, beautiful and resplendent. 
 
 In transmuting his mind from evil to 
 good, a man comes to distinguish more 
 and more clearly between error and Truth, 
 and so distinguishing, he ceases to be 
 swayed and prompted by outward things, 
 and by the adlions and attitudes of others; 
 he ads from his knowledge of truth. First 
 acknowledging his errors, and then con- 
 fronting them with a searching mind and a 
 
 [ 27 ] 
 
jTroin passion to peace 
 
 humble heart, he subdues, conquers, and 
 transmutes them. 
 
 The early stage of transmutation is pain- 
 ful but brief, for the pain is soon trans- 
 formed into pure spiritual joy, the brevity 
 of the pain being measured by the intelli- 
 gence and energy with which the process 
 is pursued. 
 
 While a man thinks that the cause of his 
 pain is in the attitude of others, he will not 
 pass beyond it, but when he perceives that 
 its cause is in himself, then he will pass be- 
 yond it into joy. 
 
 The unenlightened man allows himself 
 to be disturbed, wounded, and overthrown 
 by what he regards as the wrong attitude 
 of others towards him; this is because the 
 same wrong attitude is in himself. He, in- 
 deed, metes out to them, in return, the 
 same aftions, regarding as right in himself 
 that which is wrong in others. Slander is 
 given for slander, hatred for hatred, anger 
 for anger. This is the adion and reaftion 
 
 [ *« ] 
 
jFtom pagsion to Peace 
 
 of evil; it is the clash of selfishness with 
 selfishness. It is only the self, or selfish 
 elements, within a man that can be aroused 
 by the evil in another; the Truth, or di- 
 vine characteristics, in a man cannot be 
 approached by that evil, much less can it 
 be disturbed and overthrown by it. 
 
 It is the conversion, or complete reversal, 
 of this self into Truth that constitutes 
 Transmutation. The enlightened man has 
 abandoned the delusion that the evil in 
 others has power to hurt and subdue him, 
 and he has grasped the profound truth that 
 he is only overthrown by the evil in him- 
 self. He therefore ceases to blame others 
 for his sins and sufferings, and applies him- 
 self to purifying his own heart. In this re- 
 versal of his mental attitude, he transmutes 
 the lower selfish forces into the higher 
 moral attributes. The base ore of error is 
 cast into the fire of sacrifice, and there 
 comes forth the pure gold of Truth. 
 
 Such a man stands firm and unmoved 
 
 [ 29 ] 
 
Jrrom IPassion to IPcace 
 
 when assailed by outward things. He is 
 self's master, not its slave. He has ceased 
 to identify himself with the impulses of pas- 
 sion, and has identified himself with Truth. 
 He has overcome evil, and has become 
 merged in Good. He knows both error 
 and Truth, and has abandoned error and 
 brought himself into harmony with Truth. 
 He returns good for evil. The more he is 
 assailed by evil from without, the greater 
 is his opportunity of manifesting the good 
 from within. That which supremely differ- 
 entiates the fool from the wise man is this, 
 — that the fool meets passion with passion, 
 hatred with hatred, and returns evil for 
 evil ; whereas the wise man meets passion 
 with peace, hatred with love, and returns 
 good for evil. 
 
 Men infli<5t sufferings upon themselves 
 through the aftive instrumentality of their 
 own unpurified nature. They rise into per- 
 fe<5t peace in the measure that they purify 
 their hearts. The mental energy which men 
 
 [ 30 ] 
 
jfrom Passion to peace 
 
 waste in the pursuance of dark passions is 
 all-sufficient to enable them to reach the 
 highest wisdom when it is turned in the 
 right direction. As water, when transmuted 
 into steam, becomes a new, more definite 
 and wide-reaching power, so passion, when 
 transmuted into intelle&ual and moral 
 force, becomes a new life, a new power for 
 the accompiishment of high and unfailing 
 purposes. 
 
 Mental forces, like molecular, have their 
 opposite poles or modes of a&ion, and 
 where the negative pole is, there also is the 
 positive. Where ignorance is, wisdom is 
 possible; where passion abounds, peace 
 awaits; where there is much suffering, much 
 bliss is near. Sorrow is the negation of joy; 
 sin is the opposite of purity; evil is the de- 
 nial of good. Where there is an opposite, 
 there is that which is opposed. The adverse 
 evil, in its denial of the good, testifies to 
 its presence. The one thing needful, there- 
 fore, is the turning round from the nega- 
 
 [31 ] 
 
jTtom passion to Peace 
 
 rive to the positive; the conversion of the 
 heart from impure desires to pure aspira- 
 tions; the transmutation of the passional 
 forces into moral powers. 
 
 The wise purify their thoughts; they 
 turn from bad deeds, and do good deeds; 
 they put error behind them, and approach 
 Truth. Thus do they rise above the allure- 
 ments of sin, above the torments of temp- 
 tation, above the dark world of sorrow, 
 and enter the Divine Consciousness, the 
 Transcendent Life. 
 
 [•3* ] 
 
CranscenDence 
 
 WHEN a man passes from the dark 
 stage of temptation to the more 
 enlightened stage of transmutation, he has 
 become a saint; namely, one who perceives 
 the need of self-purification, who under- 
 stands the way of self-purification, and who 
 has entered that way and is engaged in per- 
 fecting himself. But there comes a time in 
 the process of transmutation when, with the 
 decrease of evil and the accumulation of 
 good, there dawns in the mind a new vi- 
 sion, a new consciousness, a new man. And 
 when this is reached, the saint has become 
 a sage; he has passed from the human life 
 to the divine life. He is "born again," and 
 there begins for him a new round of expe- 
 riences; he wields a new power; a new uni- 
 verse opens out before his spiritual gaze. 
 This is the stage of Transcendence ; this 
 I call the Transcendent Life. 
 
 When there is no more consciousness 
 [33 ] 
 
jTrom Passion to peace 
 
 of sin; when anxiety and doubt, and grief 
 and sorrow, are ended; when lust and en- 
 mity, and anger and envy, no more possess 
 the thoughts; when there remains in the 
 mind no vestige of blame towards others 
 for one's own condition, and when all con- 
 ditions are seen to be good because the re- 
 sult of causes, so that no event can afflid 
 the mind, then Transcendence is attained; 
 then the limited human personality is out- 
 grown, and the divine life is known; evil 
 is transcended, and Good is all-in-all. 
 
 The divine consciousness is not an in- 
 tensification of the human, it is a new form 
 of consciousness. It springs from the old, 
 but it is not a continuance of it. Born of 
 the lower life of sin and sorrow, after a pe- 
 riod of painful travail, it yet transcends that 
 life, and has no part in it, as the perfect 
 flower transcends the seed from which it 
 sprang. 
 
 As passion is the keynote of the self-life, 
 so serenity is the keynote of the transcen- 
 [ 34] 
 
jTrom Passion to Peace 
 
 dent life. Rising into it, man is lifted above 
 inharmony and disturbance. When Perfedt 
 Good is realized and known, not as an 
 opinion or an idea, but as an experience, 
 a possession, then calm vision is acquired, 
 and tranquil joy abides through all vicissi- 
 tudes. The transcendent life is ruled, not 
 by passions, but by principles. It is founded, 
 not upon fleeting impulses, but upon abid- 
 ing laws. In its clear atmosphere, the or- 
 derly sequence of all things is revealed, so 
 that there is seen to be no room for sorrow, 
 anxiety, or regret. While men are involved 
 in the passions of self, they load themselves 
 with cares, and trouble over many things; 
 and more than all else do they trouble over 
 their own little, burdened, pain-stricken 
 personality, being anxious for its fleeting 
 pleasures, for its protection and preserva- 
 tion, and for its eternal safety and continu- 
 ance. Now in the life that is wise and good 
 all this is transcended. Personal interests 
 are replaced by universal purposes, and all 
 [35 ] 
 
Jftom pas0ion to Peace 
 
 cares, troubles, and anxieties concerning the 
 pleasure and fate of the personality are dis- 
 pelled like the feverish dreams of a night. 
 
 Passion is blind and ignorant; it sees 
 and knows only its own gratification. Self 
 recognizes no law; its objed is to get and 
 to enjoy. The getting is a graduated scale 
 varying from sensual greed, through many 
 subtle vanities, up to the desire for a per- 
 sonal heaven or personal immortality, but 
 it is self still; it is the old sensual craving 
 coming out again in a more subtle and de- 
 ceptive form; it is the longing for some per- 
 sonal delight, along with its accompanying 
 dreadlest that delight should be lostforever. 
 
 In the transcendent state desire and 
 dread are ended; and the thirst for gain and 
 the fear of loss are things that are no more; 
 for where the universal order is seen, uni- 
 versal good is seen; and where perennial 
 joy in that good is a normal condition, what 
 is there left to desire, what remains to be 
 feared? 
 
 [ 36 ] 
 
jFrom passion to Peace 
 
 He who has brought his entire nature in- 
 to conformity and harmony with the law of 
 righteousness, who has made his thoughts 
 pure, and his deeds blameless, he it is who 
 has entered into liberty. He has transcended 
 darkness and mortality, and has passed into 
 light and immortality. For the transcendent 
 state is at first a higher order of morality, 
 then a new form of perception, and at last 
 a comprehensive understanding of the uni- 
 versal moral causation. And this morality, 
 this vision, and this understanding consti- 
 tute the new consciousness, the divine life. 
 
 The transcendent man is he who is above 
 and beyond the dominion of self; he has 
 transcended evil, and lives in the practice 
 and knowledge of good. He is like a man 
 who, having long looked upon the world 
 with darkened eyes, is now restored to sight, 
 and sees things as they are. 
 
 Evil is an experience, and not a power. 
 If it were an independent power in the uni- 
 verse, it could not be transcended by any 
 [ 37 ] 
 
Jfrom passion to Peace 
 
 being. But though not real as a power, it 
 is real as a condition, an experience, for all 
 experience is of the nature of reality. It is 
 a state of ignorance, of undevelopment, and 
 as such it recedes and disappears before the 
 light of knowledge, as the intelle6hial ig- 
 norance of the child vanishes before the 
 gradually accumulating learning, or as dark- 
 ness dissolves before the rising light. 
 
 The painful experiences of evil pass away 
 as the new experiences of good enter into 
 and possess the field of consciousness. And 
 what are the new experiences of good? They 
 are many and beautiful — such as the joy- 
 ful knowledge of freedom from sin ; the 
 absence of remorse; deliverance from all 
 the torments of temptation; ineffable joy 
 in conditions and circumstances which for- 
 merly caused deep afflidtion; impervious- 
 ness to hurt by the adtions of others; great 
 patience and sweetness of character; sere- 
 nity of mind under all circumstances; eman- 
 cipation from doubt, fear, and anxiety ; free- 
 
 [ 38 ] 
 
jFrom passion to peace 
 
 dom from all dislike, envy, and enmity, 
 with the power to feel and adl kindly towards 
 those who see fit to constitute themselves 
 one's enemies or opponents; the divine 
 power to give blessings for curses, and to 
 return good for evil ; a deep knowledge of 
 the human heart, with a perception of its 
 fundamental goodness; insight into the law 
 of moral causation and the mental evolu- 
 tion of beings, with a prophetic foresight 
 of the sublime good that awaits humanity; 
 and above all, a glad rejoicing in the limi- 
 tation and impotency of evil, and in the 
 eternal supremacy and power of good. All 
 these, and the calm, strong, far-reaching life 
 that these imply and contain, are the rich 
 experiences of the transcendent man, along 
 with all the new and varied resources, the 
 vast powers, the quickened abilities, and 
 enlarged capacities that spring to life in the 
 new consciousness. 
 
 Transcendence is transcendent virtue. 
 Evil and good cannot dwell together. Evil 
 [ 39 ] 
 
jTrom l^assion to Peace 
 
 must be abandoned, left behind and tran- 
 scended, before good is grasped and known, 
 and when good i§ praftised and fully com- 
 prehended, then all the afflictions of the 
 mind are at an end, for that which is 
 accompanied with pain and sorrow in the 
 consciousness of evil is not so accompanied 
 in the consciousness of good. Whatsoever 
 happens to the good man cannot cause him 
 perplexity or sorrow, for he knows its cause 
 and issue, knows the good which it is or- 
 dained to accomplish in himself, and so his 
 mind remains happy and serene. Though 
 the body of the good man be bound, his 
 mind is free; though it be wounded and in 
 pain, joy and peace abide within his heart. 
 A spiritual teacher had a pupil who was 
 apt and earnest. After several years of learn- 
 ing and practice the pupil one day pro- 
 pounded a question which his master could 
 not answer. After days of deep medita- 
 tion, the master said to his pupil: "I can- 
 not answer the question which you have 
 
 [40 1 
 
JFtom passion to Peace 
 
 asked; have you any solution to offer?" 
 Whereupon the pupil formulated a reply 
 to the question which he had propounded; 
 and the master said to him: "You have 
 answered that which I could not, and hence- 
 forth nor I nor any man can instruct you, 
 for now you are indeed instru&ed by truth. 
 You have soared, like the kingly eagle, 
 where no man can follow. Your work is now 
 to instruct others. You are no longer the 
 pupil, you have become the master." 
 
 In looking back on the self-life which he 
 has transcended, the divinely enlightened 
 man sees that all the afflidions of that life 
 were his schoolmasters teaching him, and 
 leading him upward, and that in the mea- 
 sure that he penetrated their meaning, and 
 lifted himself above them, they departed 
 from him. Their mission to teach him hav- 
 ing ended, they left him triumphant master 
 of the field; for the lower cannot teach the 
 higher; ignorance cannot instruct wisdom; 
 evil cannot enlighten good; nor can the 
 
 [ 41 ] 
 
jTtom IPassion to Peace 
 
 pupil set lessons for the master. That which 
 is transcended cannot reach up to that which 
 transcends. Evil can only teach in its own 
 sphere, where it is regarded as a master; 
 in the sphere of good it has no place, no 
 authority. 
 
 The strong traveller on the highroad of 
 truth knows no such thing as resignation 
 to evil; he knows only obedience to good. 
 He who submits to evil, saying, "Sin can- 
 not be overcome, and evil must be borne," 
 thereby acknowledges that evil is his mas- 
 ter; and not his master to instruct him, but 
 to bind and oppress him. The lover of 
 good cannot also be a lover of evil, nor can 
 he, for one moment, admit its ascendency. 
 He elevates and glorifies good, not evil. 
 He loves light, not darkness. When a man 
 makes truth his master, he abandons error; 
 and as he transcends error, he becomes more 
 like his master, until at last he becomes 
 one with truth, teaching it, as a master, by 
 his acftions, and reflecting it in his life. 
 
 [42 ] 
 
Jfrom Partem to peace 
 
 Transcendence is not an abnormal con- 
 dition; it belongs to the orderly process of 
 evolution; and though, as yet, few have 
 reached it, all will come into it in the course 
 of the ages. And he who ascends into it, 
 sins no more, sorrows no more, and is no 
 more troubled; good are his thoughts, good 
 are his adtions, and good is the tranquil 
 tenor of his way. He has conquered self, 
 and has submitted to truth; he has mastered 
 evil, and has comprehended good. Hence- 
 forth nor men nor books can instruct him, 
 for he is instructed by the Supreme Good, 
 even the spirit of truth. 
 
 [43 ] 
 
IBeatituDe 
 
 WHEN divine good is practised, life 
 is bliss. Bliss is the normal condi- 
 tion of the good man; and those outer as- 
 saults, harassments, and persecutions which 
 bring such sufferings to others, only serve 
 to heighten his happiness, for they cause 
 the deep fountain of good within him to 
 well up in greater abundance. 
 
 To have transcendent virtue is to enjoy 
 transcendent felicity. The beatific blessed- 
 ness which Jesus holds out is promised to 
 those having the beatific virtues — to the 
 merciful, the pure in heart, the peacemakers, 
 and so on. The higher virtue does not 
 merely and only lead to happiness, it is 
 happiness. It is impossible for a man of 
 transcendent virtue to be unhappy. The 
 cause of unhappiness must be sought and 
 found in the self-loving elements, and not 
 in the self-sacrificing qualities. A man may 
 have virtue, and be unhappy, but not so 
 [44] 
 
jfrom passion to Peace 
 
 if he have divine virtue. Human virtue is 
 mingled with self, and therefore with sor- 
 row; but from divine virtue every taint of 
 self has been purged away, and with it every 
 vestige of misery. One comparison will suf- 
 fice to illustrate this: a man may have 
 the courage of a lion in attack and self-de- 
 fence (such courage being a human virtue), 
 but he will not thereby be rendered su- 
 premely happy; but he whose courage is 
 of that divine kind which enables him to 
 transcend both attack and defence, and to 
 remain mild, serene, and lovable under at- 
 tack, such a man will thereby be rendered 
 supremely happy. Moreover, his assailant 
 will be rendered more happy, in that his 
 more powerful good will overcome and cast 
 out the fierce and unhappy evil of the other. 
 
 The acquisition of human virtue is a 
 great step towards truth; but the divine 
 way transcends it, — truth lies upward and 
 beyond. 
 
 Doing good in order to gain a personal 
 [ 45 ] 
 
jTrom Ipassion to jpcace 
 
 heaven or personal immortality is human 
 virtue, but it is not unmixed with self, and 
 not emancipated from sorrow. In the tran- 
 scendent virtues all is good, and good is 
 all, and there is no personal or ulterior aim. 
 Human virtue is imperfedt; it is mixed with 
 the baser, selfish elements, and needs to be 
 transmuted. Divine virtue is unblemished, 
 pure ; it is complete and perfedt in itself. 
 
 And what are the transcendent virtues 
 that embody all felicity? They are: 
 
 Impartiality ; the seeing so deeply into 
 the human heart, and into human adtions, 
 that it becomes impossible to take sides with 
 one man or one party against another, and 
 therefore the power to be perfectly just. 
 
 Unlimited Kindness towards all men and 
 all creatures, whether enemies or friends. 
 
 Perfeft Patience at all times, in all cir- 
 cumstances, and under the severest trials. 
 
 Profound Humility ; the total abnegation 
 of self; the judging of one's own adions 
 as though they were the aftions of another. 
 
 [46 ] 
 
jFtom Pa00ion to IPeace 
 
 Stainless Purity of mind and deed. Free- 
 dom from all evil thoughts and impure 
 imaginings. 
 
 Unbroken Calmness of mind, even in the 
 midst of outward strife, or surrounded by 
 the turmoil of many vicissitudes. 
 
 Abiding Goodness of heart; impervious- 
 ness to evil; returning good for evil. 
 
 Compassion; deep pity for all creatures 
 and beings in their sufferings. Shielding the 
 weak and helpless; and protecting, out of 
 pity, even one's enemies from injury and 
 slander. 
 
 Abounding Love toward all living things; 
 rejoicing with the happy and successful, 
 and sympathizing with the sorrowing and 
 defeated. 
 
 Perfect Peace toward all things. Being 
 at peace with all the world. A profound 
 reconciliation to the Divine Order of the 
 universe. 
 
 Such are the virtues that transcend both 
 vice and virtue. They include all that vir- 
 [47 ] 
 
jTrom Passion to Peace 
 
 tue embodies, while going beyond it into 
 divine truth. They are the fruits of innu- 
 merable efforts to achieve; the glorious gifts 
 of him that overcomes; they constitute the 
 ten-jewelled crown prepared for the calm 
 brow of him who has conquered himself. 
 With these majestic virtues is the mind of 
 the sage adorned. By them he is eternally 
 shielded from sin and sorrow, from harm 
 and hurt, from trouble and turmoil. In them 
 he abides in a happiness, a blessedness, a 
 bliss, so pure and tranquil, so deep and high, 
 so far transcending all the fleeting excite- 
 ments of self, as to be unknown and incom- 
 prehensible to the self-seeking conscious- 
 ness. 
 
 The sage has conquered passion, and has 
 come to lasting peace. As the mighty moun- 
 tain remains unmoved by the turbulent, 
 ocean that beats round its base, so the mind 
 of the sage, towering in lofty virtue, remains 
 unshaken by the tempests of passion which 
 beat unceasingly upon the shores of life. 
 
 [48 ] 
 
jfrom Passion to Peace 
 
 Good and wise, he is evermore happy and 
 serene; transcendently virtuous, he lives in 
 beatific bliss. 
 
 [49] 
 
Peace 
 
 WHERE passion is, peace is not; 
 where peace is, passion is not. To 
 know this is to master the first letter in the 
 divine language of perfect deeds; for to 
 know that passion and peace cannot dwell 
 together is to be well prepared to renounce 
 the lesser and embrace the greater. 
 
 Men pray for peace, yet cling to pas- 
 sion; they foster strife, yet pray for heavenly 
 rest. This is ignorance, profound spiritual 
 ignorance; it is not to know the first letter 
 in the alphabet of things divine. 
 
 Hatred and love, strife and peace, cannot 
 dwell together in the same heart. Where 
 one is admitted as a welcome guest, the 
 other will be turned away as an unwelcome 
 stranger. He who despises another will be 
 despised by others; he who opposes his 
 fellow-man will himself be resisted. He 
 should not be surprised, and mourn, that 
 men are divided. He should know that he 
 [ 50] 
 
Jfrom passion to peace 
 
 is propagating strife. He should understand 
 his lack of peace. 
 
 He is brave who conquers another; but 
 he who conquers himself is supremely no- 
 ble. He who is vidorious over another may 
 in turn be defeated; but he who overcomes 
 himself will never be subdued. 
 
 By the way of self-conquest is the Per- 
 fect Peace achieved. Man cannot under- 
 stand it, cannot approach it, until he sees 
 the supreme necessity of turning away from 
 the fierce fighting of things without, and 
 entering upon the noble warfare against 
 evils within. He is already on the Saintly 
 Way who has realized that the enemy of 
 the world is within, and not without; that 
 his own ungoverned thoughts are the 
 source of confusion and strife; that his own 
 unchastened desires are the violaters of his 
 peace, and of the peace of the world. 
 
 If a man has conquered lust and anger, 
 hatred and pride, selfishness and greed, he 
 has conquered the world ; he has slain the 
 
 [51 1 
 
jTtom Passion to Peace 
 
 enemies of peace, and peace remains with 
 him. 
 
 Peace does not fight; is not a partisan; 
 has no blatant voice. The triumph of peace 
 is an unassailable silence. 
 
 He who is overcome by force is not 
 thereby overcome in his heart; he may be 
 a greater enemy than before; but he who is 
 overcome by the spirit of peace is thereby 
 changed at heart. He that was an enemy 
 has become a friend. Force and strife work 
 upon the passions and fears, but love and 
 peace reach and reform the heart. 
 
 The pure-hearted and wise have peace 
 in their hearts; it enters into their a&ions; 
 they apply it in their lives. It is more pow- 
 erful than strife; it conquers where force 
 would fail. Its wings shield the righteous. 
 Under its protection, the harmless are not 
 harmed. It affords a secure shelter from the 
 heat of selfish struggle. It is a refuge for 
 the defeated, a tent for the lost, and a tem- 
 ple for the pure. 
 
 [ 52] 
 
Jfrom Pa00ion to peace 
 
 When peace is pra&ised, and possessed, 
 and known, then sin and remorse, grasping 
 and disappointment, craving and tempta- 
 tion, desiring and grieving — all the turbu- 
 lence and torment of the mind — are left 
 behind in the dark sphere of self to which 
 they belong, and beyond which they cannot 
 go. Beyond where these darkspedres move, 
 bask in Eternal Light the radiant Plains of 
 Divine Beatitude, and to these the traveller 
 on the High and Holy Way comes in due 
 time. From the binding swamps of passion, 
 through the thorny forests of many vani- 
 ties, across the arid deserts of doubt and 
 despair, he travels on, not turning back, 
 nor staying his course, but ever moving 
 toward his sublime destination, until at last 
 he comes, a meek and lowly yet strong 
 and radiant conqueror, to the 
 Beautiful City of Peace. 
 
 A 
 
jUN 17 WO 
 
PBllWll 
 
 LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 
 
 9HHP 
 
 BUSS 
 
 ^H 
 
 ■ 
 
 TL 
 
 
 < 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 EML