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| Chapter XIX. The answer concerning the threefold condition of souls.
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Chapter XIX.
The answer concerning the threefold condition of
souls.
Daniel: There are, according to
the statements of Scripture, three kinds of souls; the first is the
carnal, the second the natural, and
the third the spiritual: which we find
are thus described by the Apostle. For of the carnal he says: “I
gave you milk to drink, not meat: for you were not able as yet. But
neither indeed are you now able; for you are yet carnal.” And
again: “For whereas there is among you envying and contention,
are you not carnal?”1305
Concerning the
natural he also speaks as follows: “But the natural man
perceiveth not the things that are of the spirit of God; for it is
foolishness to him.” But concerning the spiritual: “But the
spiritual man judgeth all things: and he himself is judged by no
man.”1306
And again
“You who are spiritual instruct such ones in the spirit of
meekness.”1307
And so, though
at our renunciation we ceased to be carnal, i.e., we began to separate
ourselves from intercourse with those in the world, and to have nothing
to do with open pollution of the flesh, we must still be careful to
strive with all our might to attain forthwith a spiritual condition,
lest haply we flatter ourselves because we seem as far as the outer man
is concerned to have renounced this world and got rid of the defilement
of carnal fornication, as if by this we had reached the heights of
perfection; and thence become careless and indifferent about purifying
ourselves from other affections, and so being kept back between these
two, become unable to reach the stage of spiritual advancement; either
because we think that it is amply sufficient for our perfection if we
seem to separate ourselves, as regards the outward man, from
intercourse with this world and from its pleasure, or because we are
free from corruption and carnal intercourse, and thus we find ourselves
in that lukewarm condition which is considered the worst of all, and
discover that we are spued out of the mouth of the Lord, in accordance
with these words of His: “I would that thou wert hot or cold. But
now thou art lukewarm and I will begin to spue thee out of My
mouth.”1308
And not without
good reason does the Lord declare that those whom he has previously
received in the bowels of His love, and who have become shamefully
lukewarm, shall be spued out and rejected from His bosom: in as much
as, though they might have yielded Him some health-giving subsistence,
they preferred to be torn away from His heart: thus becoming far worse
than those who had never found their way into the Lord’s mouth as
food, just as we turn away with loathing from that which nausea compels
us to bring up. For whatever is cold is warmed when received into the
mouth and is received with satisfaction and good results. But whatever
has been once rejected owing to its miserable luke-warmness, we
cannot—I will not say touch with the lips—but even look on
from a distance without the greatest disgust. Rightly then is he said
to be worse, because the carnal man, i.e., the worldly man and the
heathen, is more readily brought to saving conversion and to the
heights of perfection than one who has been professed as a monk, but
has not, as his rule directs, laid hold on the way of perfection, and
so has once for all drawn back from that fire of spiritual fervour. For
the former is at last broken down by the sins of the flesh, and
acknowledges his uncleanness, and in his compunction hastens from
carnal pollution to the fountain of true cleansing, and the heights of
perfection, and in his horror at that cold state of infidelity in which
he finds himself, he is kindled with the fire of the spirit and flies
the more readily to perfection. For one who has, as we said, once
started with a lukewarm beginning, and has begun to abuse the name of
monk, and who has not laid hold on the way of this profession with the
humility and fervour that he ought, when once he is infected by this
miserable plague, and is as it were unstrung by it, can no longer of
himself discern what is perfect nor learn from the admonitions of
another. For he says in his heart that which the Lord tells us:
“Because I am rich and wealthy and want nothing;” and so
this which follows is at once applied to him: “But thou art
wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and
naked:”1309
and he is so far
in a worse condition than a worldly man, because he has no idea that he
is wretched or blind or naked or requires cleansing, or needs to be
directed and taught by any one; and on this account he receives no
sound advice as he does not realise that he is weighted with the name
of monk, and is lowered in the judgment of all, whereas, though
everybody believes him to be a saint and regards him as a servant of
God, he must hereafter be subjected to a stricter judgment and
punishment. Lastly, why should we any longer linger over those things
which we have sufficiently discovered and proved by experience? We have
often seen those who were cold and carnal, i.e., worldly men and
heathen, attain spiritual warmth: but lukewarm and
“natural” men never. And these too we read in the prophet
are hated of the Lord, so that a charge is given to spiritual and
learned men to desist from warning and teaching them, and not to sow
the seed of the
life-giving word in ground that is barren
and unfruitful and choked by noxious thorns; but that they should scorn
this, and rather cultivate fallow ground, i.e., that they should
transfer all their care and teaching, and their zeal in the life-giving
word to pagans and worldly men: as we thus read: “Thus saith the
Lord to the men of Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem: break up your
fallow ground, and sow not among thorns.”1310
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