The Servant lifted up his eyes and was terrified,and,with a deep sigh,said:Woe to me,dear Lord,that ever I was born!Do I see aright,or is it only a dream?I saw Thee before in such richness of beauty,and such tenderness of love;now I see nothing but a poor,outcast,miserable pilgrim who stands wretchedly leaning on his staff before an old decayed city.The trenches are in ruins,the walls falling down,only that,here and there,the high tops of the old timber work still project aloft;and in the city is a great multitude of people;among them are many that look like wild beasts in a human form:and the miserable pilgrim goes wandering about to see if any one will take him by the hand.Alas!I behold the multitude drive him with insult away,and hardly look at him,because of the things about which they are busy.And yet some,but only a very few,offer to give him their hands;this the other wild beasts come and prevent.Now I hear the miserable pilgrim begin to sigh woefully,and cry aloud:O heaven and earth have pity on me--me who have garnered up this city with such bitter toil,and who am so badly welcomed in it,while those who have spent no labour upon it are yet so kindly received!
Lord,such is what has been shown me in the vision.O Thou eternal God,what does it mean?Am I right or wrong?
Eternal Wisdom.--This vision is a vision of pure truth.Hearken to a lamentable thing;O let it touch thy heart with pity!I am the miserable pilgrim whom thou didst see.At one time I was in great honour in that city,but now I am brought down to great misery and driven out.
The Servant.--Dearest Lord!what is this city,what are the people in it?
Eternal Wisdom.--This decayed city is an image of that spiritual life in which I was once so worthily served.And while they were living in it so holily and securely,it begins in many places to fall very much to ruin;the trenches begin to decay,and the walls to crack,that is to say,devout obedience,voluntary poverty,secluded purity in holy simplicity,begin to disappear,and,at last,to such a degree that nothing is to be seen standing,except the high timber work of mere exterior observance.As to the great multitude,the beasts in human form,they are worldly hearts under spiritual disguises,who,in the vain pursuit of transitory things,drive Me out of their souls.That a few should,nevertheless,offer to give Me their hands,but are hindered by the rest,signifies that some men of good intentions and devout feelings are perverted by the speech and evil example of others.The staff on which thou didst see Me stand leaning,is the cross of My bitter passion,with which I admonish them at all times to think on My sufferings,and to turn,with the love of their hearts to Me alone.But the cry of misery thou didst hear is My death which even here begins to cry aloud,and ever cries aloud,because of those in whom neither My unfathomable love nor My bitter death is able to do so much as to expel the worm of sinful thoughts from their hearts.
The Servant.--O Lord,how it cuts through my very heart and soul to think Thou art so lovable,and yet,in spite of all Thy advances,art in many hearts so utterly despised.Ah!tender Lord,what will Thy advances be to those who,though they see Thee in the miserable shape in which Thou art rejected by the multitude,yet stretch out their hands to Thee with sincere faith and love?
Eternal Wisdom.--Those who for My sake give up perishable affections,and receive Me with sincere faith and love,and remain constant to the end,will I espouse with My divine love and sweetness,and will give them My hand in death,and exalt them on the throne of My glory before the whole court of heaven.
The Servant.--Lord,there be many who think they will still love Thee without giving up perishable love.Lord,they will needs be very dear to Thee,and yet will not the less indulge in temporal love.
Eternal Wisdom.--It is as impossible as to compress the heavens together and enclose them in a nut shell.Such persons array themselves in fair words,they build upon the wind,and construct upon the rainbow.How may the eternal abide with the temporal,when even one temporal thing neither can nor will endure another?He but deceives himself who thinks he can lodge the King of kings in a common inn,or thrust Him into the mean dwelling of a servant.In entire seclusion from all creatures must he keep himself who is desirous of receiving his guest as he ought.
The Servant.--Alas,sweet Lord,how completely bewitched must they all be not to see this!
Eternal Wisdom.--They stand in deep blindness.They endure many a hard struggle for pleasures which they neither fix their attachment nor afford them full gratification.Before they obtain one joy they meet with ten sorrows,and the more they pursue their lusts the more are these upbraided with being insufficient.Lo!godless hearts must needs be at all times in fear and trembling.Even the fleeting pleasure they obtain proves very harsh to them,for they procure it with much toil,they enjoy it in great anxiety,and lose it with much bitterness.The world is full of untruth,falsehood,and inconstancy;when profit is at an end,friendship is at an end,and to speak shortly,neither true love,nor entire joy,nor constant peace of mind,was ever obtained by any heart from creatures.
