The Mind’s Ascent to God by a Ladder of Created ThingsThird step. CONSIDERATION OF THE WORLD

We have considered the world as a whole; now let us pass on to its chief divisions, that from these we may raise a ladder such as it is possible to make, which will bring us to the contemplation of its Maker.

The first is earth, which although holding the lowest place and appearing less than the other elements, yet is in reality not inferior to water, and indeed in dignity and value it surpasses all the elements. Hence we read in the holy Scriptures that God made heaven and earth, as if to say they were the chief parts of the world, to which all the rest minister: for he made heaven, as it were, the palace of God and of the angels, and the earth the palace of man. ‘The heaven of heavens is the Lord’s and the earth hath he given to the children of men,’ saith the prophet. And this is the reason why the heaven is full of shining stars and the earth abounds in stores of metals, precious stones, herbs, trees, and many kinds of animals: while the water abounds in fish alone, and the air and fire are elements barren and wellnigh empty. But these facts apart, there are three things in the earth particularly worthy of consideration, and if we approach to consider them with watchful mind we shall without difficulty be able to rise by means of them, to God.

First, the earth is the very first foundation of the whole world, and if we had not this foundation man could neither walk, nor be at rest, nor work, nor spend his life in any kind of way.

“He hath made the round world so sure,’ saith David, ‘that it cannot be moved.’! ‘He laid the foundations of the earth that it never should move.’ 2

Secondly, the earth, as a good nurse to man and living creatures, with great care brings forth herbs, fruits, seeds, berries, and countless other things of the kind. For thus God spake, ‘Behold, I have given you every herb bearing seed which is upon the face of the earth and every tree in which is the fruit of a tree yielding seed, to you it shall be for meat, and to every beast of the earth.’ 3

Thirdly, the earth produces stones and wood for building houses, and metals of brass and iron for various purposes, and gold and silver, of which is coined money, a convenient means for gathering together all that is necessary for the life of man.

And that primary property of earth, namely that it is the place in which our bodies rest, which they cannot do either in water or air or fire, is a symbol of the Creator, in whom alone the human soul can find a place of rest: * Thou hast made us for thyself, O Lord,’ says Saint Augustine, and our heart is unquiet until it rest in thee.’4 King Solomon, if any one did, sought rest in his government, in riches, in pleasures: he maintained his extensive kingdom in peace, so that, as Scripture witnesseth, ‘Solomon reigned over all the kingdoms from the river unto the land of the Philistines, and unto the border of Egypt: they brought presents, and served Solomon all the days of his life.’ 5 He had besides countless riches: forty thousand stalls of horses for his chariots and twelve thousand horse men: and as we read in the same book, the fleet of Solomon brought gold from Ophir and precious gems in such quantities that silver was accounted of no value and was as plentiful in Jerusalem as stones in the streets. The number of pleasures he procured for himself seems incredible; but let us hear him speak himself: “I made me great works; I builded me houses; I planted me vineyards; I made me gardens and orchards, and I planted trees in them of all kind of fruits: I made me pools of water, to water therewith the wood that bringeth forth trees: I got me servants and maidens, and had servants born in my house; also I had great possessions of great and small cattle above all that were in Jerusalem before me: I gathered me also silver and gold, and the peculiar treasure of kings and of the provinces: I gat me men singers and women singers, and the delights of the sons of men, as musical instruments, and that of all sorts, So I was great, and increased more than all that were before me in Jerusalem; also my wisdom remained with me. And whatsoever mine eyes desired I kept not from them, I withheld not my heart from any joy; for my heart rejoiced in all my labour: and this was my portion of all my labour.’! ‘These words were written by the man who possessed rest in the highest degree, if rest is to be had in created things. For nothing was wanting to him—kingdom, riches, or pleasures, not even that which is reckoned of the very highest value, namely human wisdom, and there was not even lacking peace and quietness in the possession and retaining such good things for a length of time. Let us then ask whether he found rest in these things and if they were able to satisfy the capacity of his soul: he says, ‘‘Then I looked on all the works that my hands had wrought, and on the labour that I had laboured to do: and behold, all was vanity and vexation of spirit, and there was no profit under the sun.’ And so Solomon found not rest in these great riches, pleasure, wisdom, and honours, nor could he have found it had they been far more in number and much greater, for the human soul is immortal, and these things are mortal, and cannot abide long under the sun: nor indeed could it ever come to pass that the mind of man, capable of infinite good, should be satisfied with finite good things. For just as the human body cannot rest in the air however open, nor in water however deep, because its centre is not air or water but earth: so the human soul cannot rest in aerial dignities, worthless riches, or in watery, that is soft and sordid, pleasures, nor in the false glory of human knowledge; but it can rest in God alone, who is the centre of souls, and the true and only place of their rest.

O how true and how wise was the father of Solomon when he said, ‘Whom have I in heaven but thee, and what is there upon earth that I desire in comparison of thee? For thou art the God of my heart and my portion for ever’;? as if he would say: I find nothing in heaven, in earth, nor in any created thing, whether under heaven or upon the earth, able to bring me true rest: thou alone art the God of my heart, that is, thou alone art the solid rock for my heart—for the word ‘God’ in the Hebrew text in this place signifies ‘rock’—thou only art the most firm rock for my heart, in thee alone will I rest, thou alone art my portion, mine inheritance, all my good. All other things are nothing, and nothing can fill and satisfy me, and this not for one or two days or a year, but for ever. Thou alone sufficest me for ever, all other things fail to satisfy even for one day.

Dost thou not learn then, my soul, that God alone is thy rock, in whom thou canst rest, that all other things are vanity and vexation of spirit, which indeed have no existence, but only appear to have, and do not afford solace, but only affliction, since they are gained by labour and with grief held in possession?

Therefore, if thou art wise, despise all things that pass, lest they carry thee away with them: and abide in one alone and cleave in a bond of love, to him who abideth for ever. Lift thine heart to God in heaven, lest it become corrupt upon earth; learn true wisdom from the folly of many, in whose name Wisdom speaketh and wail: ‘Therefore have we erred from the way of truth, and the light of righteousness hath not shined unto us, and the sun of righteousness rose not upon us: we have gone through deserts where there lay no way: but as for the way of the Lord, we have not known it: we wearied ourselves in the way of wickedness and destruction. What hath pride profited us, and what good hath riches with our vaunting brought us? All those things are passed away like a shadow and we were consumed in our own wickedness,’ !

But there is another reason why the firm rock is a symbol of our Lord, which the Wisdom of God explained to us in his Gospel, when he said that a house built upon a sure rock remains immovable, if the rain falls upon it from above and the winds blow upon it from the side and rivers rush upon it from beneath: while a house built upon the sand can stand against none of these things, but at the first onset of rain or wind or flood, it is cast down and the ruin of that house

I Wisd. v. 6.

is great... Thine own house, O soul, whose rooms and halls consist of various powers and virtues, will be secure if it be thus founded upon God, that is, if thou believest firmly in God, if thy whole trust is in God, if thou art rooted and grounded in the love of God, so that with the Apostle thou canst say, ‘Who shall separate us from the love of Christ ?’; 2 and be assured that neither spiritual wickednesses which are above us, nor fleshly desires which are beneath us, nor the enemies of our household, namely relations and friends, which attack from every side, will ever prevail against thee with their scheming. The strength of spiritual powers is indeed great and their craftiness also, but greater is the power and greater the wisdom of the Holy Spirit, who keeps guard over that house which is builded in God. The flesh fighteth powerfully against the spirit, and fleshly desires continue to attack the strongest; but the love of God easily conquers carnal love and the fear of God easily casts down the fear of the world.

Lastly, a man’s foes are they of his own. household,3 and these by their advice draw souls into the company of sinners: but the soul who believes that she hath in the Lord, father, brother, and spouse in heaven, not only easily despises carnal friends and relations, but also knows how to hate them, and can say with the Apostle, ‘I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor any other creature, shall be able to separate me from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.’4 But the wretched soul whose house is built upon the sand cannot long abide, and in a short time the ruin of that house will be great, since it believes a lie and trusts in a reed for a staff, and its god is either the belly or money, or vapour of honour which all very quickly pass away and perish, and drag to everlasting destruction the soul that clings to them. 1 St. Matt. vii. 24. 2 Rom. viii. 35. 3 St. Matt. x. 36. 4 Rom. viii. 38.

Now a second property of earth is this, that, as a good nurse, she produces liberally herbs and fruits to be the food of men and other animals. And this very property leads us to the Founder and the true nourisher: for it is not the earth in itself, but God who produces all good things in the earth. For thus saith the Holy Spirit by the mouth of David, ‘These wait all upon thee, that thou mayst give them meat in due season. When thou givest it them they gather it and when thou openest thy hand they are filled with good’; + and the Lord in the Gospels saith, ‘Behold the fowls of the air: for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns, yet your heavenly Father feedeth them’; and the Apostle, ‘Nevertheless God left not himself without witness, in that he did good, and gave us rain from heaven, and fruitful seasons, filling our hearts with food and gladness.’3 And that is true which is said in the beginning of the book Genesis, ‘Let the earth bring forth grass, the herb yielding seed, and the fruit tree yielding fruit after his kind.’ 4 For indeed the earth doth bring forth grass and trees which bear fruit, but by the power bestowed upon it by God, by which very power God himself produces and preserves and gives the increase.

And so when David invites all created things to praise the Creator, he joins to the company ‘fruitful trees and all cedars’;5 and the three children with Daniel are exhorted with all the rest of creation, all the things that grow on the earth, to bless the Lord and ‘praise him and exalt him above all for ever.’ 6

And since all things praise God after this manner, with how great affection oughtest thou, O soul, to bless and praise God for all the benefits which thou enjoyest so freely, beholding in them the hidden hand of God bestowing all things, and the love of thy God not hidden, but plainly to be seen showing itself most pure and paternal, never ceasing to bless thee from heaven and to provide for thee in all things. But this is little in the eye of thy Lord God: for it is he who in thee, as in his own spiritual field, brings forth the most splendid fruit of love. For love is not of the world, but it is of God, as the beloved disciple says in his Epistle: From charity, as from a divine and heavenly tree, are produced the white and sweet-scented flowers of holy thoughts, verdant leaves of words profitable to man’s salvation, fruits of good works, by which God is glorified and the neighbour assisted, merits are acquired and preserved unto life eternal.

But woe to those who, after the manner of senseless beasts, desire satisfaction from the fruits of the earth and eagerly collect them and hide them away, thinking not of their Maker nor giving him thanks. The souls of such are like the earth which God cursed and which brought forth thorns and thistles. For when God is not sowing the seed of holy thoughts, what can fill their minds but murders, thefts, treachery, and other things of that kind, and what is their speech but of blasphemy, perjury, cursing, heresies, banquets, contumely, false witnessing, lying, and such things learnt from their father the devil? And what fruit do they at last produce but those poisonous fruits which we have said are eagerly pondered by them and which the Apostle calls ‘works of the flesh’?2 These are indeed thorns which at first pierce the minds of those who produce them, with the sharp pricking of fears and cares, then they pierce the fair repute, the bodies

1 1St.Johniv.7. © 2 Gal.v. 1g.

and minds of neighbours, making serious and often incurable bruises which afterwards bring grievous harm to others.

But passing by these things, do thou, my soul, if thou art a little garden belonging to the heavenly husbandman, beware lest thorns and briars be found in thee, but with all care cherish the tree of charity, the lily of chastity, the spikenard of humility: beware lest any one persuade thee to think that these heavenly seeds of virtues spring from thyself and not from thy Lord God, who is the Lord of virtues, the inspirer of holy purposes; but see that thou attribute the preservation and increase and perfection of the fruit of good works not to thyself, but to him, and let thy strength be always in him.

There remains the last glory of the earth, namely that it contains within itself, gold, silver, and precious stones. But in truth the earth does not produce these precious things by its own power, but he produces them, who speaks by Haggai, ‘The silver is mine and the gold is mine.’ O thou lover of men, is this not pleasing to thy loving-kindness, that not only were stones, wood, iron, brass, lead, and other kinds of things which are necessary for building houses, ships, and various instruments produced from the earth, but also gold and silver and precious stones for adorning and beautifying them? And if thou bestowest these things on those who wander about the earth and often even upon thine enemies who blaspheme thy Name, what wilt thou give to thy beloved ones, blessing thee and reigning with thee in heaven? Thou wilt give, not a small piece of silver, nor tiny precious stones, but that city of which the Apostle John speaks in the Apocalypse, saying, “And the building of the wall of it was of jasper, and the city was pure gold, and the foundations of the wall of the city were garnished with all manner of precious stones, and the twelve gates were twelve pearls.’! _

But we are not to think that the heavenly Jerusalem, the city that is above, is adorned or builded with gold and gems and pearls belonging to this earth: we know that these words are used by the Holy Spirit in speaking to us because we are unable to perceive the better and greater things; but most certainly that land which is the home of the elect of God will be far more beautiful than all the cities of this pilgrimage, just as a city all gold and precious stones surpasses the village of huts of rustics, which are built of mud and straw.

Raise therefore, my soul, the eyes of thy mind to heaven, and think how highly the good things therein should be valued, since the gold, silver, and precious stones which here are so highly regarded, when compared with them, are scarcely worthy of the name of mud or straw. Add to which that the gold, silver, and pearls which we consider so valuable, are perishable, while those which glitter in the heavenly city yonder are incorruptible and everlasting.

But if by the hands of the poor thou wilt lay up in the heavenly city this same corruptible gold and silver, which if thou art wise thou wilt surely do, it will become incorruptible and will remain with thee always. For the Truth, who cannot lie, saith, ‘Sell what thou hast and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven’;? and in another place, ‘Sell that ye have and give alms: provide yourselves bags which wax not old, a treasure in the heavens that fadeth not, where no thief approacheth nor moth corrupteth.’ 3

O unbelief of the sons of men! A liar promises ten for a hundred, and that he will repay to a lender the whole sum of money, and he is believed: God, who cannot lie, promises to him who bestows alms treasure in heaven, and to give even more than a hundredfold, and life eternal: the avaricious man is fearful and _ cannot be persuaded to believe it, and would rather hide his treasure where rust consumes it and where thieves break in and steal, than lay it up in heaven where neither thief steals nor rust consumes.

But, O unhappy man, even if thieves do not rob, nor moth or rust corrupt, to whom will belong those things which thou hast gathered together with such great labour? ‘Thine, for certain, they will not be, and yet they might have been thine if thou hadst laid them up in the heavenly treasury by the hands of the poor. For experience shows that the things which avaricious persons collect fall into the hands of spendthrifts who divide, and in a very brief time scatter, what their avaricious parents have gathered together, and meanwhile the sin of avarice remains and will remain for ever and the worm of conscience dieth not and the fire of hell is not quenched.t_ Therefore, my soul, learn by the follies of others and hear thy Lord and Master crying to thee, ‘‘Take heed, and beware of covetousness: for a man’s life consisteth not in the abundance of the things which he possesseth.’ The covetous man gathers and hoards that he may have wherewith to live a long life, but the contrary happens, for when he little thinks it, he dies, and his substance so eagerly gathered together and hoarded up produces the worm which dieth not and kindles the fire which is not quenched. O unhappy, covetous man, didst thou so carefully amass money in order to prepare fuel for the fire of hell, so that it should never go out? Hear the blessed James in the last part of his Epistle: “Go to now, ye rich men, weep and howl for your miseries that shall come upon you. Your riches are corrupted, and your garments are moth-eaten. Your gold and your silver is cankered; and the rust of them shall be a witness against you, and shall eat your flesh as it were fire.’ }

Ye indeed, saith blessed James, because ye are rich, think yourselves happy, and ye are called so: but in truth ye are wretched and more wretched than all needy persons, and you have great cause for mourning and lamenting on account of the great miseries which will certainly come upon you: for the superfluous riches which you held fast and which you suffered to become rotten when you should have bestowed them upon the poor, the superfluous garments which you had and which you preferred to see eaten by the moth rather than covering the poor, and the gold and silver which you preferred to see worn away by rust rather than spent upon food for the poor, all these things, I say, will bear witness against you in the day of judgement, and the moths and rust of your riches shall be turned into burning fire which shall forever be devouring your flesh and never consume it, the fire not quenched and the grief never ended. Therefore let us conclude with the royal prophet: fools have said, “Happy are the people that are in such a case,’ namely having riches in abundance; but in truth, ‘Blessed are the people who have the Lord for their God.’ 2