Hours with the mystics : a contribution to the history of religious opinion

Front matter

BOUGHT WITH THE INCOME FROM THE

SAGE ENDOWMENT FUND

THE GIFT OF

II. Symbolism, Or Exposition

OF THE

DOCTRINAL DIFFERENCES

BETWEEN

CATHOLICS AND PROTESTANTS

As evidenced by their Symbolical Writings By JOHN ADAM MOEHLER, X).D.

HOURS WITH THE MYSTICS

H dontribution to tbe Ibistorg of IReliolous ©pinion

BY

ROBERT ALFRED yAUGHAN, B.A.

SIXTH EDITION

TWO VOLUMES IN ONE

VOL. I

NEW YORK CHARLES SCRIBNER'S SONS

Preface To The Third Edition

^"^HE work which is now again published was the result of too many years' steady application, and has served too great an intellectual use in the special department of thought of which it treats, to be allowed to fall into oblivion. Certainly the reading which the author thought it necessary to accomplish before he presented his conclusions to the public was vast. and varied. That the fruit of his labours was commensurate may be gathered from the honest admiration which has been expressed by men knowing what hard study really means. The first edition of the 'Hours with the Mystics' appeared in 1856; the second was, to a great extent, revised by the author, but it did not appear until after his death. It was edited by his father, though most of the work of correction and verification was done by the author's widow.

There is no intention of writing a memoir here. That has already been done. But it has been suggested that it might be interesting to trace how Mysticism gradually became the author's favourite study. To do that it may be well to give a very short sketch of his literary career.

From the time he was quite a child he had the fixed

H Preface to the Third Edition.

idea that he must be a literary man. In his twenty-first year (1S44) he published a volume of poems, entitled ' The Witch of Endor, and other Poems.' The poetry in this little volume — long since out of print — was held to give promise of genius. It was, of course, the production of youth, and in after years the author was fully conscious of its defects. But even though some critics (and none could be a harder critic of his own work than himself) might point out an ' overcrowding of metaphor' and a ' want of clearness,' others could instance evidences of 'high poetical capability' and 'happy versification. But at the time it was thought desirable that the young poet should turn his attention to prose composition with the same earnestness. With that object his father proposed to him the study of the writings of Origen, with a view to an article on the subject in the British Quarterly Review. When just twenty-two the author finished this task, his first solid contribution to the literature of the day. The article showed signs of diligence and patient research in gaining a thorough knowledge of the opinions of the great thinker with whom it dealt. ' It is nobly done,' Judge Talfourd wrote. 'If there is some exuberance of ornament in the setting forth of his (Origen's) brilliant theories, it is only akin to the irregular greatness and the Asiatic splendour of the mind that conceived them.' And the words of the late Sir James Stephen were not less flatterhig : 'If I had been told that the writer of it (the article) was a grandfather, I should have wondered only that the old man had retained so much spirit and been able to combine it with a maturity of judgment so well becoming his years.' We believe it is no pre-

Preface to the Third Edition. vii sumption to say that the article has not ceased to be useful to those who wish to gain an idea of the character of one whose name has often been the subject of bitter wordy war between Christian men.

In I 846, a dramatic piece by Alfred Vaughan, entitled 'Edwin and Elgiva,' appeared in the London University j\Iagasine. The subject was one of a most sensational character, and was treated accordingly. Dunstan and his companions are painted in very black colours, and any doubts as to the reality of the cruelties alleged to have been practised on the unhappy Queen are not entertained. Two poems, the ' Masque of Antony' and 'Disenchantment,' though not published until later, were written about the same date.

At this time, the author was attending the theological course at Lancashire Independent College, of which his father was the president. Having completed his term of residence there, he went over to Halle in order to spend a year in a German University, before entering upon any fixed pastoral work. There he had a good opportunity of studying the state of German religious thought. The following extract from his journal shows the effect produced on his mind : — ' If I am spared to return, I will preach more of what is called the Gospel than I did before. The talk about adapting religion to the times zvhich is prevalefit here, even among the religious, appears to me a miserable mistake. It never needed adapting so much as when the apostles preaclied it, but they made no such effort! It was, too, while studying German speculations that the author adopted the system of philosophy, distinct alike from sceptical and mystical, which is apparent in this his chief work.

viii Preface to the Third Edition.

It is, we believe, impossible for an earnest mind to go through life without periods of sad and painful doubt. The author was no exception to this rule, and while at Halle heseems to have suffered bitterly. But heknew the one refuge for the doubting heart, and turned to it. In the ' Dream of Philo,' written at this time and published in the volumes of 'Essays and Remains,' we see some reflection of his own feelings, and the following verses which we venture to quote must, wc think, strike a responsive chord in many a heart yearning for peace amidst the turmoil of the world : —

Not a pathway in life's forest,

Not a pathway on life's sea ; Who doth heed me, who doth lead me.

Ah, woe is me !

Vain the planting and the training,

For life's tree on every side Ever launches useless branches.

Springs not high but spreadeth wide.

Ah, my days go not together

In an earnest solemn train.

But go straying for their playing.

Or are by each other slain.

Listen, listen, thou forgettest

Thou art one of many more ; All this ranging and this changing

Has been law to man of yore.

And thou canst not in life's city

Rule thy course as in a cell There are others, all thy brothers,

Who have work to do as well.

Preface to the Third Edition. ix

Some events that mar thy purpose May light them upon their way j

Our sun-shining in dedining Gives earth's other side the day.

Every star is drawn and draweth

Mid the orbits of its peers ; And the blending thus unending

Makes the music of the spheres.

If thou doest one work only, In that one work thou wilt fail ;

Use thou many ropes if any For the shifting of thy sail.

Then will scarce a wind be stirring

But thy canvas it shall fill ; Not the near way as thou thoughtest, But through tempest as thou oughtest, Though not straightly, not less greatly,

Thou shalt win the haven still.

These verses have been called 'Alfred Vaughan's Psalm of Life.' The lessons taught may be an encouragement to others, as they have been to the author's son, in times of trial and disappointment.

But it must not be supposed that at this time the author's thoughts were all devoted to painful doubts and yearnings. He determined while in Germany to unite the labours of a literary man to the work of a pastor. His first plan was to take special periods of Church History and lay them before his readers in the form of dramas. He thus describes his idea: — T shall commence the series with Savonarola. I think it will not be necessary to pay regard to chronological order in the order of composition. I may afterwards take up Chrysostom, per-

Preface to the Third Edition.

haps Hildebrand, endeavouring in all not merely to develop the character of the principal personage, but to give an exact picture of the religious and political spirit of the times. They must be dramas on the principles oi King John or Henry IV., rather than those oi Hamlet or Macbeth! With this scheme his father did not entirely agree, and the consequence was a considerable correspondence. Dr. Vaughan never doubted the genius of his son, or that something definite would come of his literary tastes, but he appears to have thought that the dramatic form was not a good way in which to bring the result of genuine hard work before the public. As it happened, none of these dramas saw the light, though the plan of the ' Hours with the Mystics' shows the strong attachment the author felt for that kind of writing, and it also shows the way in which he could overcome any difficulties arising from its peculiarities. The notion of gentlemen discussing the Mystics, over their wine and walnuts, or in the garden with the ladies in the twilight of a summer evening, has had to encounter the sneers of some harsh critics, but we cannot help thinking that advantage is gained by the device of these conversations, because the talking by various speakers affords an easy opportunity of glancing over many varying theories upon any subject at the same time, while the essayist would find it difficult to keep his line of argument clear, and at the same moment state the divergent lines of thought necessary for the right understanding of the position generally.

The author began definite ministerial work at Bath in 1848. The thoroughness with which he performed his pastoral duties did not give him much time for

Preface to the Third Edition. xi literary work. The articles written during his stay in that city were those on Schleiermacher and Savonarola. The materials for both essays were collected while at Halle. When writing to inform his father of the completion of the first of the articles, he refers to the Mystics in the following way : —

' I shall not begin to write another article at once. But I should like to fix on one to have more-or-less in view. There are three subjects on which I should like to write some time or other — ( i ) Savonarola, for which I have much material; (2) on Mysticism, tracing it in the East, in the Greek Church, in the German Mystics of the 14th century, in the French Mystics, and lastly in those most recent; (3) Leo the Great and his stirring times. I should like to do the Savonarola next. But I should also like to know what you think on these subjects, or on any other you would perhaps like better. The first and third would consist largely of interesting narrative. The second would be rather less popular but more novel.'

The ' second ' subject was worked up into the two volumes now republished. As it gradually became his favourite study, he felt that the field was expanding before him, and that it would be necessary, if he did justice to his theme, to treat it at a greater length than could be allowed to a magazine article. In the British Quarterly Review articles appeared on ' Madame Guyon,' and ' The Mystics and the Reformers,' which were simply the first results of his reading for the great work. It was at Birmingham that most of this writing was done : while there he was an indefatigable student. ' There,' says a writer in the Eclectic Review, Nov. 1861, xu

Preface to the Third Edition.

p. 508, 'he made himself familiar with many languages — the old German, the Spanish, even the Dutch, adding these to the Italian, French, Latin, and Greek in the classical and later forms, and all as preparations to the History of Mysticism to which he had pledged himself. The Mystics had thrown a spell upon him. Seldom have they wrought their charms without seducing to their bewildering self-abandonment In the case of Alfred Vaughan

it was not so ; he continued faithful to the high duties of life. He trod the sphere of action and compelled the ghostly band he visited, or who visited him, to pay tribute to the highest religious teaching of Christian truth and life.' But the body would not keep pace with his mind. In 1 85 5 he was obliged to resign his pastoral charge at Birmingham, arid from that time he devoted himself entirely to literature. He wrote several articles and criticisms, chiefly in the British Quarterly amongst these, one on Kingsley's 'Hypatia,' which we believe was much appreciated by the future Canon of Westminster. An article on ' Art and History ' appeared in Fraser's Magazine about the same time. And now we reach the first publication of his greater achievement, the 'Hours with the Mystics.' In August, 1855, the printing of the original edition began, and was completed in the February of the following year. The author lived long enough afterwards to witness its success, and then swiftly came the end. In October, 1857, Alfred Vaughan passed away into another world where he has doubtless found many of those on whose characters he loved to muse. We will not attempt any analysis of his character, but we cannot resist the impulse

Preface to the Third Edition. xiii

to insert one loving tribute to his memory, which appeared in a Birmingham paper {Aris' Gazette, Nov. 27th, 1857). 'It has seemed fit to the All-Wise Disposer of events to withdraw from this world one of its holiest and most gifted inhabitants, one who, had his life been prolonged, bade fair to have taken rank among its brightest lights and most distinguished ornaments. .... The strength and sweetness, so happily blended in his character, were apparent in his preaching ; he was tender enough for the most womanly heart, he was intellectual enough for the most masculine mind. As a writer he had already attained considerable reputation, and promised to become one of the chief luminaries of the age. As a Christian, he was sound in faith, benignant in spirit, and most holy in life; a delighter in the doctrine of God, his Saviour, and an eminent adorner of that doctrine.'

Before venturing on any remarks upon the subjectmatter of the book itself, we may be allowed to make a slight reference to opinions expressed upon it at the time of its publication. In Eraser's Magazine for September, 1856, there was a long review by Canon Kingsley. In this article weak points are shown and sometimes the criticisms are rather severe ; but there was too much real sympathy between the two men (though they never knew each other personally) for the reviewer not fully to appreciate the good qualities in the work before him. Now that Charles Kingsley's name is such. a household word in England, no apology is needed for quoting two passages from the above-mentioned essay. ' There is not a page,' it says in one place, 'nor a paragraph in which there is not something worth recolxiv Preface to the Third Edition.

lecting, and often reflections very wise and weighty indeed, which show that whether or not Mr. Vaughan has thoroughly grasped the subject of Mysticism, he has grasped and made part of his own mind and heart many things far more practically important than Mysticism, or any other form of thought; and no one ought to rise up from the perusal of his book without finding himself, if not a better, at least a m.ore thoughtful man, and perhaps a humbler one also, as he learns how many more struggles and doubts, discoveries, sorrows and joys, the human race has passed through, than are contained in his own private experience.' In another place, while pointing out various improvements which he would like to see in another edition, Mr. Kingsley adds, 'But whether our hope be fulfilled or not, a useful and honourable future is before the man who could write such a book as this is in spite of all defects.' The reviewer adds later in a reprint of this essay, ' Mr. Vaughan's death does not, I think, render it necessary for me to alter any of the opinions expressed here, and least of all that in the last sentence, fulfilled now more perfectly than I could have foreseen.'

With the mention of Charles Kingsley's name we are reminded of others of the same school of thought, and therefore the following comparison in an article in the Eclectic Revieiv (November, 1861) may prove interesting. The reader must judge of its truth. ' While Robertson of Brighton,' says the reviewer, 'was preaching his sermons, and Archer Butler was preparing his Lectures on Philosophy, Alfred Vaughan about the same age, but younger than either, was accumulating material for, and putting into shape, the "Hourswith the Mystics."

Preface to the Third Edition. xv

He died within a year or two of their departure, and still nearer to the period of youth than those extraordinary men. His name suggests their names to the mind — all victims to the fatal thirty-four and thirty-seven. He had not the wonderful touch of Robertson's "vanished hand"; he had not the tenacity of muscle and fibre of Archer Butler; but he combined many of the characteristics of both, and added that which gave individuality to his genius. He had not the fine subtle sense of insight possessed by Robertson ; he had not the rapid and comprehensive power of Butler. They again had not his large and generous culture.' More of such favourable criticisms and kindly words from men of learning might be quoted, but we forbear. The task of referring to such sentiments is not unnaturally attractive to the son of such a man ; but it is simply desired to put forward this book once again on its own merits, in the hope that there are still many who will rightly appreciate the labour and genius to which it bears witness.

About the work itself it will be necessary to say

only a few words.

When the ' Hours with the Mystics' first appeared it traversed ground which was to a great extent untrodden, at any rate in England. Mysticism, though a favourite study of the author, was not then, and can scarcely be said to be now, a popular subject. A matter-of-fact age puts such ideas on one side, as something too weak for serious consideration. The majority indeed have but a very hazy notion as to what Mysticism is ; they only have an idea that something is meant which is very inferior, and they pass it xvi Preface to the Third Edition.

by. Well has Mr. Maurice said that such terms (Mediaeval Phil. p. 143) 'are the cold formal generalisations of a late period, commenting on men with which it has no sympathy.' In the minds of thoughtful men the name of mystic points to a special and recognisable tendency, and the history given in this book shows that the same tendency has been working in the world for ages ; — Hindus and Persians, Neoplatonists and Schoolmen, Anabaptists and Swedenborgians, have all felt its force. The main principle of all their doctrine was the necessity of a closer union with the Deity. Among Christians, — with whom we are chiefly concerned, — this close connection, it was thought, could only be gained after passing through stages of illumination and purification ; and progress in the way of perfection was to be made not by labour and study, but by solitude, and asceticism. In these volumes this doctrine is exhibited ; especially we trace the influence which the pseudo-Dionysius had in the fourth century ; how, under his guidance, these ideas spread in the East, and thence to the West ; the position taken up by Mystics against the Schoolmen, and the condition of Mysticism at the time of the Reformation. These topics are intere.sting, and to the questions which must be raised in connection with them in every thoughtful mind, it is hoped that the reader will find satisfactory answers in the following pages.

It will be seen that the field over which the reader is taken by the author is very large. It is believed that though there have been during recent years various contributions made to the literature on this subject, no writer has attempted to take in all the various phases which

Preface td the Third Edition. xvii

are pictured in this book. In German Mystics soaie writers have found a congenial theme ; others have taught us more about the mysterious reh'gions of the East. It is, we think, to be regretted that more attention has not been paid to the Mystics of the Scholastic period. The position held by Hugo of S. Victor and his followers was by no means insignificant. As a mystic, Hugo showed that it was possible to combine contemplation with common sense and learning. In an age when Scholasticism was submitting religion to cold and exact logic, it was like turning from some dusty road into a quiet grass-grown lane, to hear of devout contemplation leading up to perfect holiness and spiritual knowledge. Most of us are ready to agree with these men when they maintain that there are mysteries of Divine Truth which cannot be analysed by the understanding, but which can be embraced by thoughtful and reverent contemplation. So long as the use of both learning and devotion was admitted, we are able to sympathise with them. But it is a truism to say that the tendency of any movement is to go to extremes. The Mystics of this period appear to have recoiled horror-struck from what seemed to them rationalistic or materialistic ideas. In that, they might be right enough. But starting from the true standpoint that there are mysteries in the Infinite which we finite creatures cannot fathom with our finite minds, they proceeded to the extreme of putting devotion before knowledge. Next, they thought there was nothing to which they could not attain by devout yearning, even to absorption into the Deity. The logical conclusion of these theories tended to pantheism : those who discarded logic VOL I. b xviii Preface to the Third Edition.

yielded to fanaticism. Into that error fell most of the disciples of the great Scholastic Mystics. And has not the like occurred elsewhere in history .'' Putting religion out of the question, Wycliffe may have been a socialist, but he was far behind his followers. But as such a falling away on the part of the disciple cannot justly tal<e from the character of the master, so we would still say a word for Hugo of S. Victor. A man whose aim in life was the knowledge of God, and who worked for that end with courage and diligence, is not a character to be neglected. ' His name,' says Mr. Maurice (Medieeval Phil. p. 148), 'has been less remembered in later times than it deserves, because it has been overshadowed by those of other men who met some of the tastes of the age more successfully, though their actual power was not greater than his, perhaps not equal to it.'

In Hugo of S. Victor and his predecessors, Bernard and Anselm, we see the combination of Scholasticism and Mysticism. To some extent they were able to keep a middle course. They would not allow tlieir reason to run riot over sacred mysteries, and their firm hold on the articles of the Catholic faith prevented them from sinking into vague pantheism.

Among the Mystics of Germany who come next in the hasty survey we are here attempting, there does not appear to have been so much steadiness. We do not mean to say that the Scholastic Mystics were perfect ; they were not free from exaggerations, but their extravagances appear to us less dangerous than were those of the old German Mystics. The names of the leading German Mystics are more familiar to most people than are any others. Who has not heard of Tauler ?

Preface to the Third Edition. xix

What the influence of his teaching was is shown in the following pages. He may be exonerated from all charge of pantheism, as may, also, be Ruysbroel< and Suso ; but it is very doubtful whether the writings left by Eckart acquit him of all connection with these errors. He has been claimed as orthodox by churchmen, and as a pantheist by many pantheists ; and extracts can be quoted from his works in support of either theory. Eckart's position was difficult. The general temper of the world at the timi was restless ; the errors and abuses of the Church drove earnest men to look within. They turned their attention to personal holiness, to the neglect of the fact that they had any duties towards the Christian brotherhood at large. To urge his hearers to a closer union with God was a noble subject for a preacher. But must it not be confessed that Eckart had gone too far when he could utter such words as these, 'a truly divine man has been so made one with God that henceforth he does not think of God or look for God outside himself.?' His teaching certainly approached often towards the brink of the abyss of pantheism, and as Archbishop Trench says (Med. Ch. Hist., p. 348), 'sometimes it does not stop short of the brink.'

Between these two schools, the Scholastic and the German, many comparisons may be made. The effect of them on the Catholic Church as it then existed was very different : the teaching of Anselm and Bernard was calculated to strengthen the Church, while that of the later school was not. Anselm and his friends were aware of the necessity for personal holiness, but they were always willing for their disciples to climb the road to perfection

XX Preface to the Third Edition.

by the help of the means of grace held out in the Church, as well as by devout coi*wmp]ation. The Germans, on the contrary, felt there wa^omething wrong with the existing ecclesiastical arraqgfeft^ents, and through indifference to them drew their disciples away from many practices which A\ere then accounted necessary to salvation. By this disregard for rites and ceremonies, and by their use of the German language in their teaching, they paved the way for the Reformers, and that is a great claim on our respect. At the same time, we cannot help thinking their hazy ideas rather chilling. Surely the highest point in the history of Mysticism had been reached and passed when the struggle to make reason and imagination work together gave way to mere ecstatic rhapsody.

Quietism is discussed in the second volume at considerablelength; thefamiliar namesof Madame Guyon,Bossuet and Fenelon are brought before us. The story is a sad one. There may be some M'ho think that Madame Guyon was not worthy of the friendship of such a saint as Fenleon, — that must be a matter of opinion; but on one point all will agree, the conduct of Bossuet under the circumstances was not \-ery creditable. Those who have a high opinion of the piet\- of Bossuet will confess that he does not appear in the narrative to advantage, even though they may not be able to agree with all the statements the author of this work makes about the Bishop of Mcaux. Fenelon was tender, gentle, loving, And Bossuet was firm, stern, and strict, but they both did their best to serve God in their relative position.s, and Ho, whose servants they were, will judge them.

Glancing, then, through the entire length of this history', we see that the great principle which appears to

Preface to the Third Edition. xxi have actuated all Mystics was a desire for union with God. This they tried to cultivate by seclusion and asceticism. The\- neglected social duties and fled away into monasteries and deserts; and sometimes their practical life was not equal in holiness to the reported spirituality of their ecstasies. Their excesses of mortification appear almost ludicrous when they themselves alone are concerned, but when their mad conduct is seen affecting others our feelings grow stronger. But let us speak gentl\' of such eccentricities. These good people, for good they certainly were, could not appreciate the fact that God was in the busy town as well as in the lonely desert. They heard no voice within them urging them to treat a beggar kindly for the sake of the Son of God. Some of them were very charitable, but what was the nature of their charity? Was it not simply done for their own advantage } Did they really think of charity asan act done to God, not meritorious, but as being an offering to their Heavenly Father of His own t It is to be feared that that was not the general idea. The more extravagant Mystics appear really to have been horribly selfish. They had yet to learn that the closer union for which they longed is not attained by efforts to ' faire son salut,' or by sitting still in the comfortable assurance of an imputed righteousness. Then it must be remembered that all these frantic efforts or dreamy ecstasies were made with a view to union with God. And this 'union' was of a novel kind — in many cases there was a notion of an absorption into the Deity, together with other ideas which clearly involved erroneous views of God. It was the old story of carrying one particular article of faith or pious opinion to extremes, and this xxii Preface to the Third Edition.