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X? E as 21 3 VA 221 sår x loss. For who will posion tow if He at the Comforter? And 1291 SN kody bear my weakness than He Who carrieth all things without weariness? To whom canst thou more safely reveal thy sorrows, than to Him Who fully knoweth all things? In

1 S. John xvi. 22.

2 S. John viii. 59.

whom wilt thou put more trust than in Him Who is Infallible Truth? If any of those without, who are not friends of the Bridegroom, have now heard these things, let him be put out, But if he loves the Bridegroom, is faithful, devout, and inner, let free entrance be given. If any guards his conscience; if a lover of virtue and discipline; if pure in affection, and clear in understanding; if humble in himself, and kind to others; if he knows, to bear good news, not to speak vainly, nor to argue rashly, nor defend warmly, nor speak proudly; but if, on the other hand, he hath learnt to reverence what he understands, and soundly interpret the hidden and mystical; let such be introduced, and be freely present at this colloquy. For the affections of the heart sounding forth the words should be rather weighed than the quality of the words. Tell me, then, O soul, how thou bearest up when the grace of thy Beloved is absent? I know that I could but hardly endure it, if He were long absent, and I think it is so with Thee. If thou pleasest, let us here sit together, and confer on this, for our mutual comfort.

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CHAPTER XIV.

On the Soul's Sorrow, when the Grace of the Beloved is Absent.

“My soul slumbereth for very heaviness.”1 What mean thy words? Why sayest thou, O Sion, the LORD hath forsaken me? Fear not, daughter of Sion, loving, and watchful soul. Behold thy King, thy best Beloved, will come unto thee. Arise, stand up on high, and see the joy which will come to thee from thy GOD. “I sought Him (said the soul) but I could not find Him; I called Him, but He gave me no answer." Therefore my soul slept for heaviness. And I answered, this is the voice of the turtle when she has lost her mate. It is not with thee to-day as yesterday, and in days gone by, when thou sangest songs of joy. The morning passed away, the evening came; but the Bridegroom slept at noon-day, and thou couldst not approach. Thy words are words of sadness, and thine eyes are wet with tears. Thou art in grief, But tell me my soul, and needest comfort.

whence it is? "I seek not gold, nor silver, nor aught of this world, neither loss nor gain, nor injury, nor want moves me, in that I am now dead,

and crucified to the world." If I know thee well thou hast long ago renounced all things of the world. But hast thou perfectly learnt self-abnegation in all things, and attained to contempt of thine own? This is the lot of very few, and is specially required of thee. Whence then springs thy grief? What hast thou lost? If it is touching thy Beloved, I know that not without a cause sorrow hath filled thy heart; and nothing can be joyous till He return, and restore His countenance unto thee. But how meanwhile dost thou keep up, O delicate soul, that leanest upon Him? For certain am I that He is not always present according to thy wishes. When then He is absent, what comfort hast thou, and in what dost thou rest thyself? Tell me thy secrets, even though full of grief. None, but he who loves not, doubts thy grieving for CHRIST when absent. Now thou art sorrowful, but it is for CHRIST the Bridegroom, and not for this world. And I know that, when He returns, thou wilt again be comforted, because He will not forget thee for ever. For He has said: “I will not leave you comfortless, I will go, and return to you again." Thy words then are not unprofitable, though full of grief; they show a loving heart, and strike the cold heart, which burns not with the love of

1 S. John xiv. 18.

CHRIST. For thy voice is sweet; it is the voice of the turtle, not the loud cry of discontent. Therefore I trust thou wilt find Him, for Whom lost thou grievest.

2. Yet I ask thee again, what sayest thou of Him, Whom when absent thou so bitterly bewailest? Is He good, or thinkest thou otherwise? "Yea good is He, and very good; just and faithful, in Whom there is not, and cannot be, any iniquity." Why then grievest thou for a good in which is no guile? "I grieve not for Him that is good, but I bewail myself unhappy one, in that I have lost a faithful and true friend. I, I have deserved it: but woe! woe! that I did not anxiously preserve His grace. Losing I have learnt what I had possessed. The absence of the Beloved tells what His Presence gave. I was glad and rejoiced in Him, and feared but little His speedy departure. He came skipping on the mountains. cheerful and joyous at the gates of my house. And forthwith the doors of the flesh were closed, and I brought my Beloved in unto me, and sat with Him, and rested under His shadow from storm and rain. And I joyed, when I beheid my Beloved. Why should I not rejoice? He is the joy, and exultation of my heart. Oh! what had

I, what possessed I in that hour? I cannot tell thee, how well it was with me: nor now indeed is